Progress Made?

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day.  I am grateful for Keto today and how it has made me feel so much better inside, mentally, emotionally, etc.  For me that is real progress.  I have energy I didn't have last year at this time. I can see and feel the difference physically as well.  But am I losing weight???

I don't know how to answer that one.  Awhile back I was given this wonderful old-school style doctor's office scale...you know...the kind with the sliders.  Well, to be honest, even though I have not divulged my actual weight in this blog, I weighed too much to have it register on that scales.  So the only way I could tell if I was losing any weight was in how my clothes fit and in how I felt when I touched my body.  Otherwise, I have to wait until I can go to the doctor's office to get weighed.  I have my next appointment right after Christmas this year and I want to be showing progress.  So last week I decided to give that big scales another try.  

It worked!!!  I didn't believe what I was seeing, but the scales showed I had lost approximately 46 pounds since my doctor's appointment the end of August!!!  I did a double take and set it up again and got the same results.  I had lost 46 pounds!!!

Monday I weighed myself again and it would not register again.  I've had other people test it out and it is working correctly for them, so I have no clue why it would not register my weight on Monday.  At this point I have to say that I do hold fluids and take a diuretic to get it off my body.  It doesn't remove the fluids the way I would like, and I am not supposed to take the diuretic every day.  I was told to take it 2-4 days on and then a day or two off.  Well, I didn't take it from Saturday through Monday, but I could not believe that I would have gained back 16-17 pounds of fluids in 4 days.  Would I?  So now this week I have taken the "water pills" for 3 days and got back on today without any change in the scales.  I don't understand what is going on.  It's definitely something I have to research now.  

So, is there progress?  I still believe there is.  And I also know that for someone as large as I am, 46 pounds might not show up as very much progress in photos because those pounds would have come from everywhere and not just one location.  But here are the most recent photos, the head shot taken yesterday and the photos at the door taken today.  You be the judge.  Has progress been made?  Obviously my face has changed and continues to change.  When I took that selfie back in January 2017 and had that full fat double chin, and then seeing it yesterday...yes, there is change.  You decide what you will, and let me know.  

My goal now is to get down at least 20-40 pounds before my appointment after Christmas.  If the weather is clear and I can walk safely to and from a vehicle, I will go to the appointment.  Otherwise, if it is icy or snowy, I will stay home and reschedule.

So okay, comparison photos....

January 2017

January 2019

November 2019

October 2018

October 2018

October 2018

October 2018

November 2019

November 2019

The reason there are two sets of photos from October 2018 is because I did not like the clothes I was wearing and how they looked in the first set (the green and tan) so I had them taken the next day in a different outfit.  So, okay, 46 pounds is not going to show a lot of difference...but I do see difference...even though it is slight.  Everyone says I am building muscle, and I could have been all this past year which would skew the scales a bit.  I started walking a lot more this past spring, and this fall I joined a card group and play cards several evenings a week which really helps with the intermittent fasting as well as keeping me occupied.  Additionally, I have now been doing exercises each of the days I take the diuretics, which seems to help in that arena as well.  

So there you have it.  Not the spectacular quick weight loss we see in the video examples. But I want to be honest with this whole thing.  It's a journey.  So I am really trying to make this work and inspire others.