I’ve spent most of my life doing the weight loss thing. The one thing I have finally learned, is you don’t have to beat yourself into submission. My friend Meagan and I recently made a pact to get rid of our Pandemic Pudgies together, and she is very stressed about not losing weight since week one of four. Of course that is frustrating and makes and eating plan harder to stick with, but nothing is ever accomplished by hating the weight off. Have some patience with yourself and show yourself some love. Prior to the coronavirus I was working out 5-6 times per week running 6-13 miles per day. Of course I lost weight, but even if the pandemic hadn’t happened, was that sustainable? Probably not. I treated exercise as something I HAD to do, and it was a battle of wills every time. I did it because I have a strong will, but I didn’t want to. This time I am taking a relaxed approach, I work out, but not as aggressively. If I’m only eating 1700 calories a day, I don’t need to run even 6 miles. Three miles and a nice walk cool down. Sure, it will take longer, but maybe when I get there this time I can stay there because I haven’t done crazy stuff to achieve the weight loss. Experts say around 85 percent of the battle is food, 15 percent working out. So, I am getting the food right, and not treating food as my friend and confidant, and that seems to be working! Good luck to you and your journey to a healthier you. See, I said healthier not skinnier!