Another day of sticking to the plan. It really is a "one day at a time" thing. Each day when I get up, I have to actively make the decision to spend another day limiting what I eat. Each day, when I get up, I get on the scales and mark the result on a chart. I have done this for 424 days now, including during a 6-7 month period where I did not actively work to lose weight. Continuing the behavior prevented me from regaining a significant portion of the weight I had worked to lose in the first 5 months of this journey. Although I was not actively "dieting" during that off time, when the scales would show that I had gained more than 3 pounds, I would tighten control for a few days to drop those pounds.

When I resumed actively working at losing, I weighted 4 pounds more than when I had faded off back in November. Maintenance has never been great for me, I have lost significant amounts of weight at times in my life but when I get to the point where I stop "dieting", it is typically not long before pounds start to return. It is also typically my pattern to not get on the scales for extended periods of time when this is happening so I am not confronted with the returning weight. I have come to realize that for the rest of my life, I will need to take a weight every morning if I want to avoid regaining what I've lost. Regaining is not an option this time.

I began this weight loss journey over a year ago after waking in Afib, which continued for what seemed like hours but was actually 5-10 minutes. It was not the first time I’d had Afib but it had been pretty controlled for a year. I learned weight can be a contributing factor and decided that day that I would lose weight. I also realized I would have to keep it off for the rest of my life if I hope to minimize the Afib. I can’t say if the lost weight is the reason but I think I have only had one brief episode in the past year. I hope it is having a positive impact on the Afib, as well as other health factors. It surely can’t hurt.