Weeks 26-28

I have had some technical difficulty with my blog. Google has made some changes that weren't helpful to me. I wrote a post last week, saved it as normal, then went to preview it. I could not exit the preview, so I closed out and went back in and the post was gone! As I tried to find it and retrieve it, I accidentally deleted my post from Week 25. Frustrated, I put it aside for a little while until I could play with the new settings and feel more comfortable. So, I am back in business now but have some major catching up to do! Briana has had two weigh ins since my last post. In Week 26, she weighed in and had lost two pounds. I was mildly disappointed because this was her first time falling below her average of 1.5 pounds per week. I wasn't too concerned, however, because the weigh in came the week after her birthday and Easter. I knew that her diet had been a little looser during that time, so I felt like we could get back on track by working harder in our sessions together. I worked Briana hard for the next two weeks. She got mad at me, got over it, and gave me her best effort. She was even putting in extra time at home to work out. Her mom said that she was exercising in the morning every day and in the evenings on the days she didn't see me. So, with two workouts per day, her Special Olympics training on the weekends, and the Pure Barre class she had started again on Saturdays, I was feeling good about the next weigh in. Disappointment hit for the second time on the scale in Week 28. Briana lost one pound. I hate saying I was disappointed, because a pound is a pound and that is progress. I can't be disappointed in progress. I tried finding the good for Briana's sake. She looked to me for encouragement and wanted me to be happy and proud. I had to shift gears and put things in perspective. The truth was she had lost a total of 40 pounds since October! How could I be disappointed with that? Honestly, she is only ten pounds away from her target weight loss of 50 pounds, and we still have five months to get there. That means Briana has achieved 90% of her weight loss goal in six months! Again, how can I be disappointed with that? I decided to switch gears and take measurements. The last time I had measured Briana was in January. In four months, she had lost another 1.5 inches in her waist, an inch in each leg, and an inch her neck. When I told her this news, she was thrilled. She was also thrilled that she had finally reached the 40 pound weight loss mark. As it turned out, switching gears was good for both of us. While Briana did her treadmill work that day, I told her that I would need to go through her meal plans over the last few weeks and see where we might need to make changes. I also told her that I would begin to give her new exercises to help her muscles work in new ways so that she would continue to lose weight. She liked these ideas and told me she would do whatever it takes. Now, as we approach Week 29, I feel like we are back on track. We may have hit a small plateau, but I am confident that Briana will continue to progress and do well. I am also confident that she will surpass her initial goal of 50 pounds! I know we are both prepared to put in the work it will take to get her there. The odds are now in our favor. Right?