First day back.

Do you know what it feels like when you re-enter a gym after taking a long break? Especially when the breaks have been for birthday parties, attending weddings, traveling and did I mention anniversary parties? Yes, entering the gym and getting on those scales can feel like watching a scary movie. That's exactly how I felt when I went to the gym yesterday. Even though 3 months is the shortest break I've had being away from the gym. In fact 3 months is the longest I would've been at the gym in the past.... ;)

Getting back to the point. My first day back at the gym. I walk to the scales, put my bags on the side, remove my key chain, take off my havaianas and then get on the scale. My eyes are closed tightly and I slowly just lift a little of my right eye lid to have a peek at the weight. Oooh.... my right fully opens just to make sure there hasn't been a mistake and within a split second both my eyes are wide open. I can't believe it. I get off the scale. Let it go back to Zero. I get back on. I find myself talking to myself. "Try not to jump, try not to jump, try not to jump."

I did not jump. Wait, does updating my facebook status to the effect count as jumping with excitement? Oh well, its hard not to have. I weighed lighter than I did when I was last there. 

Five months ago, my weight had plateaued. Anything and everything I did was of no use. The scales just wouldn't move. So after a couple of months I decided to take a break from the gym. 

I would be lying if I said I was reckless and wasn't mindful about putting on the weight. But I wasn't stressing about it. 

What I realised yesterday is that as the year came to an end I was so stressed about not having made my goal of losing 35 kilos that I had started to skip meals or experimenting with different diets which mostly involved cutting out important food groups like carbs or fat and it did nothing but backfire. My weight would move for one day and go right back the next. It wasn't working and in the end I just ended up frustrated and more stressed.

Sometimes, you just have to do the right thing and the results will follow, eventually.