I didn't weigh myself on my trip and I gained 5 pounds in 6 days. 270.0 pounds, + ? pounds today, + ? pounds this week, + 16 pounds in 2025, - 63.0 pounds overall

I made a mistake.
One that I knew better than to make.
One I’ve made before.

I went on a trip — and I didn’t weigh myself once.
Not before I left. Not during. Not even right when I got back.

And now, six days later, I stepped on the scale to face it:
I gained 5 pounds.

It’s hard to even write that.
Because I want to be the person who’s “figured it out.” The person who stays mindful no matter the circumstances. The person who can go on a trip and come back without that heavy feeling — both emotionally and physically.

But this time, I wasn’t that person. I slipped back into old patterns:

• Letting every meal be a “special occasion”

• Snacking mindlessly while driving

• Telling myself I’d “reset when I got home”

• And, maybe most importantly, avoiding the scale so I wouldn’t have to deal with the truth in real time

And here’s the thing: not weighing myself gave me permission to disconnect from the goal I’ve worked so hard toward. The number wasn’t the problem — the avoidance was.

That said… this isn’t the end of the story.
It’s just a rough chapter.

Now that I know, I can adjust. I can re-engage. I can take responsibility without shame.

So here’s what I’m doing:

• Getting right back into my intermittent fasting rhythm

• Drinking all the water I avoided on the road

• Moving my body daily — not to punish it, but to reconnect with it

• And most of all, facing the facts without letting them define me

Because this isn’t about perfection — it’s about learning, adjusting, and continuing.

If you’ve ever come home from a trip with the same feeling — pants a little tighter, energy a little lower, scale a little higher — please know this:
You’re not alone.
You haven’t failed.
And you don’t have to spiral.

You just have to start again.

And that’s what I’m doing — today.