And we’re back.

Did you miss me? Maybe you did, since I am kind of addictive.

I took four days off from the blog, and one day off the diet. Why didn’t I write on Sunday when I said I would? Well, I didn’t feel the need to tell you the story about the pizza I devoured on Sunday. Here’s the short story: It was good, but not that good.

The time away gave me a chance to think about what I am doing with this weight-loss plan.

The main problem I have with the first 20 days is the erratic nature of the scale. Granted, I understand variables and have a working knowledge of how weight loss sometimes manifests itself. However, the yo-yoing back and forth has been nothing short of ridiculous. Let’s note the peaks and valleys:

1. Lost four pounds in the first two days.. Awesome, right?

2. Had a terrible binge on Day 3 and gained three pounds back over the next two or three days…sucks, right?

3. Managed to get a few good days in and got down under 290 pounds…fantastic.

4. But, for some reason, kept inching up over 290 pounds for a while…not good.

5. Got explosive diarrhea last week, actually got down to 284…hell yeah! (for the weight, not the diarrhea.)

6. Predictably gained some weight back the next day, and finished 13 straight days of eating a low-calorie, low-fat diet weighing in at 289 pounds.

So here I am, Day 20 in the books, and I have lost 10 pounds. It’s progress, undeniably concrete progress at that. But it’s not the kind of progress I expected with this. (And, as of Monday night, I haven’t weighed myself since Saturday morning. The off-day pizza probably did a number on the scale. I am hoping I countered correctly with a decent, but not great, day of eating and a decent amount of exercise on Monday).

Sometime over the weekend I had to ask myself why this isn’t working the way I thought it would.

The easiest and most convenient answer is nature. Simply put, this rate of weight loss is an exact result of my process. This is how my body will react to this entire eating overhaul, and this is the rate I’ll have to get used to.

But I didn’t buy that. Instead, I wondered if I was doing something wrong. Obviously I am not perfect, nor am I doing this with any scientific knowledge or consult. What I am using is the trial and error method.

And I realized it might be time for a new trial.

Honestly, I have not attacked this with the vigor it deserves. Instead of exercising and eating actually healthy food, I’ve chosen to allow myself to be talked out of trips to the gym and eaten simply low-fat, low-calorie food that really isn’t all that healthy.