Why My Attitude Remains Positive, Upbeat and Hopeful.

After losing 72 pounds in less than 4 months, my weight loss well suddenly went dry for 17 days. From November 13th to November 30th, not a single pound came off the scale for me. Did I stay within or under calories each day? Yes. Did I exercise each day? On the days that I could (due to a recent back injury that seems to have finally resolved itself), yes. Was there any real reason why the scale did not move for 2 1/2 weeks when I would otherwise have lost between 8 and 10 pounds in that period? Yes. Why? Because it didn't. That's why.

Did I panic or give up during that time? No. Did I depression binge during that time? No. Did I feel like a failure during that time? No. Did I get depressed? No. Did I continue to remain upbeat and sprinkle my absurd brand of humor throughout my MFP friend updates? Yes.

Why?

The answer lies in two things that have happened in the past 24 hours.

First, since yesterday morning, the scale has dropped 3 pounds for me. In 24 hours. Ridiculous, right?

I have learned that weight loss is not linear. We cannot "will" the scale to move. It will move when it will move. We can help it along by eating within calories, limiting salt intake, drinking enough water, eating a balanced diet, getting regular and adequate sleep, and regular exercise. But sometimes, it does not move despite all that, and sometimes it moves a lot regardless of not doing some of it. The main thing is to recognize that this is a marathon, not a sprint. And if you run even one step per day for the right number of days, EVERYONE who has the ability to run one step per day can run a marathon. It will simply take a long time, but almost every one of us can run a marathon given enough time and patience.

The second thing that happened within the past 24 hours is a bit more surreal. Mrs.TFT and I have four sons. Therefore, we have four cars. In the past 15 years, I have NEVER hand washed a car that that I own or otherwise. Not because it is "beneath me" or because it is "manual labor." I have simply NEVER been physically able to do it because of my weight. After losing about 1/3 of the total that I need to lose, I finally AM able to do something like wash my own car by hand. Also, now that my back injury has resolved, I have felt better after stretching the past few days. So I thought to myself, "geesh... I am going to try washing my minivan by hand tomorrow morning."

Most of the time that I have thoughts like that, it turns into "yeah, right, I am going to drive my minivan to the car wash and have a latte while someone else washes it." But not today. For some reason, the very second I opened my eyes, I thought to myself, "get up, get dressed, go wash the minivan." I felt practically compelled to do it myself. That has NEVER happened before. So I got up, got dressed and washed my minivan. It was actually fun. And by the way, I now have A GREAT DEAL OF RESPECT for the people who do that for a living because it is hard work!!! My arms are really tired, but in a good way. But that is not the spooky, freaky, life affirming part of the story. This is.

In life, I am generally aware that cars have four tires. I know they're black and made of rubber. And if you run over a nail, you need to replace them. That's about it. Anyway, as I bent over to wash the right front quarterpanel of the car, my eyes froze and locked onto the front passenger side tire. Why? Because there, in a place that I would NOT have noticed it under any circumstances EXCEPT washing my car, I saw a huge bulging bubble on the INSIDE sidewall of the tire. I had a cold shiver of terror as I realized that tomorrow morning, Mrs.TFT and I planned to get into that minivan and drive 162 miles to a meeting in Austin, Tx. In all probability, had we put that minivan to highway speed for an extended period of time, the bulge would have blown out and we could have been seriously injured or killed. Instead, we will now take Mrs.TFT's car and have mine repaired when we get back.

That is why I don't let this weight loss stuff get to me. That is why I choose to maintain a positive attitude regardless of the other tsouris (look it up), headaches and heartaches in my life.

Scott R. in Houston, Tx.

P.S. Please, please, PLEASE periodically inspect your vehicle tires for nails, bulges, unusual wear, inflation, etc. Especially when the temperature drops a lot over a short period of time (because cold air reduces tire pressure). It could save your life and the lives of the people you love.