Reframing  was one of the most important techniques/coping mechanisms I learned in my year  of cognitive behavioral therapy in 2008.

Reframing means exactly what it sounds like: changing the meaning or context of something so that  it can be seen differently, with the aim of creating a shift in feelings, perceptions or behavior (Source for the clinical definition).

While my therapist was the one to reframe things for me eight years ago (to make me see things differently), I now realize I have the power to reframe things on my own; we all do. We can all take a situation and see it differently. It’s just that often we are blinded by our emotions and lose sight of the big picture.

I know I for one have been blinded by it; I don’t always honor that power and fall victim to the “woe is me” camp when facing a challenge.

Like this recent weight loss journey … or lack thereof, I should say. I still have not seen anything more than the initial 4.4 lb [WATER!] drop on the scale that first week. Since then, I’ve  seen it go up, down, up, down, up (thanks, monthly guest this week) —  and as of last week my net loss for the month was a “measly” 3.4 lbs — not even back to the 4.4 loss!

My first inclination was to be mad about it, as I expressed here. How can this be? I’m journaling, following the program, working out more, eating *significantly* less … and significantly better … so why am I not losing like my tracker says I should?! Is it my metabolism??!

My second inclination was to blame my Fitbit Charge HR. After  all, it’s easy to lay blame on a piece of plastic. Maybe it has my HR  all wrong and maybe it’s inaccurate or …

But then today I was chatting with  one of my besties about how hard it is to lose weight at this age, especially as mothers. After pregnancy/pregnancies, our bodies really will never be the same after enduring pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, weaning,  and then another round of it. Worth it, of course, but it does do a number on the body.

The reality is we can tone and strengthen and get leaner, but it’s much harder now — at 36 — than it was at 24, or  especially pre-kids. So in that conversation, I shared that the reason it was so frustrating because  I lost 35 pounds sooooo easily at 24 over a 9 month-period.

And then it hit me.

Aside from the fact  that I had never dieted or food journaled a day in my life prior to joining WW in April 13, 2004 … if you take the 35 lb loss over 9 months and look at the monthly losses … that translates to [roughly] a 4 lb/month loss!

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM …. Cumulatively, all that hard work yielded a 4 lb/month loss. Nearly EXACTLY what  I “netted”  out my first month back on WW  this month.

Unfortunately I don’t have my old WW  tracker that showed my weekly WIs from back then, but now it all makes sense; there were surely weeks I lost big, lost little, gained, and stayed the EXACT SAME in spite of being totally “OP” (on program). And I still ended up netting a 4 lb/month loss.

So looking at it that way — reframing it –– my “measly”  3.4 lb loss this month isn’t really anything to scoff at, at all! In fact, it’s a respectable loss (nearly 1 lb/week). And if I can lose 3-4 lbs a month over the next three months, that will put me at close to goal before our California vacation — and surely at goal by our November wedding anniversary!

It blows my mind how we so often have the tools / knowledge at our disposal … but often don’t use them (or it) because we are so hung up on the challenge at hand.

All I know is I am so glad I dug the reframing tool out of the shed today — I clearly needed  it! #Nourish2016