No-scale November!

Ladies, I have hit another plateau in my weight loss attempt. I am so stinking close to losing 100 pounds but it's just not happening. I have been losing and regaining the same 3 pounds for a month...a MONTH! Now, had I not gone home and had 2 week of naughtiness followed by another week of trying to get back on track I might be at that beautiful milestone but if's aren't cutting it right now. I'm not worried, I hit a plateau right before I hit the 50 pound mark as well and eventually busted through, it's just frustrating to lose a pound, gain a pound, lose 1.5 pounds, gain 2 pounds, lose 2.5 pounds etc. So, in an attempt to salvage my sanity and the well being of my scale I have decided to embark upon a no-scale November.

I have been weighing myself everyday for the last 6 months. Now, many people might not like this fact. There are, in fact, many people who recommend that you only weigh yourself once a year. I think that's great if you're of normal weight and you're just trying to maintain. However, I find that when I'm actively trying to lose weight that the scale is just another tool in my arsenal. Because of my daily weigh-ins I know how my body responds to all sorts of things: hormones, salt, really hard workouts, GI issues, over/under hydration, lack of sleep etc. The daily fluctuations don't bother me at all because that's part of a daily weigh-in. It also keeps me from freaking when I gain over 5 pounds that special time of the month because I know in about 5 days it will all be gone. I calculate my actual weight loss not by daily numbers but by my monthly weight trend. Most days of most months I can look back to the previous month and find that I have lost about 5-9 pounds between the two. As long as my monthly weight trends down I'm happy. However, that did not happen from September to October. So, I figure for the next few weeks I'll fly blind. I plan to change up my workout plans, not because of the plateau but because I've been needing to do it, and really focus on a strong, healthy diet and by the time I get back on the scale in December I should be at, or over, 100 pounds.

Anyway, on to other things. Work is going well but it's been crazy since I've been back and it's going to be getting crazier. The move to the new hospital was pushed back. We were supposed to be moving this coming week and weekend but it's now been moved to the first weekend of December. I'm really excited about this because I can't imagine being ready to move by Thursday. Also, I think I'm going to be in the market for a new employee soon. Sheena got a job offer as a night-shift patient care tech on 5E which is the pediatric cardiology inpatient floor. Apparently the letter of recommendation I wrote her really stuck out because the hiring manager and the woman who did the interview both sought me out to tell me how good it was. I'm glad they liked it but I was really hoping to not have to replace Sheena until after the new year. She is such a strong employee and we're still training Jill so it would be nice to have her in place until Jill is fully functional but I guess I don't get to make that decision. I'm going to miss Sheena but this job will be really good for her and her family. Fortunately I had another applicant when I hired Jill that was a really strong candidate and as far as I know he's still interested in our department so I know that there will be at least one good applicant this time.

That's pretty much it for now. I still have some blog ideas, I just need to find some time to get them down on paper. I think I might make it a goal this week to get a few most posts. If nothing else I have a soup recipe I would like to share, maybe two. My sweet potato and black bean chili that I made last week was amazing and today I'm going to whip up a pot of spicy onion and apple soup. If it's any good I'll share that recipe too!