Three blind men were walking through the jungle when they happened upon a vast, mysterious animal. The first man touched part of the animal and declared, “It appears we have encountered a giant snake!” The second man touched another part of the animal, and said, “It’s not a snake! Why, this is nothing more than a rope.” The third man touched the animal and declared, “You are both wrong. There’s nothing here at all, only another tree in the forest.”
Point of view is everything. For as you probably already know, these three men found an elephant. One felt its trunk, sure they had found a snake. The other its tail and the last a leg like the bole of a large tree. Without looking at the big picture, you’re sure to draw the wrong conclusions.
This is my second full check-in of my Last Diet Ever. How is it going, you might ask? You tell me. Are you standing at the trunk, the tail, or the leg?
From one point of view, the month looked like this:
No kidding. My weigh-ins on the first and last day of the month were identical. I don’t think I could have done that if I tried. And if we look no further than that, it’s easy to say, “Oh well, could have been worse, given the fact that this month contained an unholy amount of mashed potatoes.”
But what if we move around to another part of this animal? You can immediately see why I think weighing in once a month is a bad idea. You miss out on all the fun:
Imagine that! In a little more than a week, I was already down three pounds. Now, what about the backside of this animal?
Damn, there it is. In another two weeks I completely erased the month’s earlier gain. Granted, this is a period that covered both Thanksgiving and a string of seventy to ninety hour work weeks. So we’re not really talking the picture of healthy living. At this point I was ready to write off the month completely. Then a miracle occurred.
In just days, I lost four pounds. It wasn’t even a scale fluke, since I went below 220 two days in a row. Elated, I thought, “Whew! And just in time for my next check-in post.” However, at that point the Universe said, “This won’t do!” and made another holiday correction:
And that’s where things stand. Did I lose weight? Gain weight? Stay the same? That all depends. Which part of this elephant are you inspecting? Leave your interpretation below!
on December 5, 2011 at 9:59 am
If an elephant eats Cheetos in the woods and nobody sees him, will he gain weight?
Charlie I’d say you had a stellar month what with your Gains! Losses!! Plateaus!!! A little something for everybody. As long as you didn’t end up higher than you started? Big check in the WIN column (whichever part of the beast THAT is…).
I am harboring secret plans to make ZERO Chex Mix this year. Shhh…..As long as everybody else in my entire family forgets to ask, I’ll be so home free…..
on December 5, 2011 at 10:05 am
Oh no, Deb said Chex Mix! I think I gained 3 pounds just by reading that.
It’s crazy, but I think maintaining this time of year is a non-scale victory!
I somehow gained 2.8 pounds from Saturday morning until today – not sure how that happened, 🙁
Love, your prettier sister, Biz
on December 5, 2011 at 3:16 pm
I think when people see the dips they eat Chex Mix. Which is why I don’t weigh myself every day. Also? All those dots on the chart would drive me batty. I suppose you could feel grateful that it’s not an uphill line…
on December 6, 2011 at 12:40 pm
But I love dots on charts. I can’t live without them. 🙂
on December 8, 2011 at 11:51 pm
haha, that was a funny way to interpret the weight fluctuations. I seem to experience a bunch of those!! Throughout it all though i find laughter makes everyday a whole lot easier!! I also find it helpful not to weigh my self everyday because then i become obsessive. The most effective thing which has worked for me is weighing my self once a week. Tuesdays my day. Thanks for the support. 🙂
on December 13, 2011 at 2:29 am
Laughter def makes life easier. Just focusing on happiness is even better. If you have time get the happiness advantage. Its a great book and an easy read. Anyways, thanks for you efforts:)
on December 15, 2011 at 12:09 pm
I want chex mix!! Do you guys have a recipe you want to share??? I always can adjust it to cut some calories!!
Let me know,
Thanks.
Ps. Its nice to see someone experiencing the same thing as me. I”ve recently started reading blogs and it’s so great to see I’m not alone. I usually try not to get hung up on the plateaus because thats gunna happen no matter what.
on January 2, 2012 at 6:11 pm
Read your first post of your “last diet ever” and this one and you’re learning Charlie. That’s what this is all about anyways. It’s not always the diet, it’s what we are learning along the way.
I’m on pause too but hoping starting tomorrow when life gets back to normal I can start losing a bit more. 25 lbs last year, 35 the first year, this year 20 or so and then done. Then more learning.
Take care and have a blessed new year. Good luck on update 3.
on April 17, 2012 at 6:00 am
[…] stopped blogging, but with his work schedule, any family time I realize that something had to go. I especially love this post – called point of view.I think it’s especially appropriate for those of us losing weight. For some of us, it’s the […]
on February 12, 2014 at 2:58 pm
[…] stopped blogging, but with his work schedule, any family time I realize that something had to go. I especially love this post – called point of view.I think it’s especially appropriate for those of us losing weight. For some of us, it’s the […]