The Conclusion Of The October Project

In September I was struggling with a plateau. It seemed like regardless of the amount of exercise I performed each week, the scale just wouldn’t move. It was tremendously stressful and I went from weekly weigh-ins to weighing myself every few days.

I talked to a couple of people about the issue that I was having and the suggestion was to increase my calories from 1,800 to 2,200 and incorporate more protein into my diet. I resolved to do just that and, to reduce stress, I also resolved to stay off the scale and trust the process. The October Project was born.

Throughout the month of October I set out to eat at least 180 grams of protein per day and split my Macros into 40% Protein, 40% Carbohydrates, and 20% Fat. It didn’t always work out but I made an honest effort at sticking to my template.

The hardest part was staying off the scale. In the back of my mind I feared that the extra calories I was consuming would turn to fat and I would surely gain weight. Without periodic weigh-ins how would I keep the weight gain in check?

My last weigh-in before October had me coming in around 235 pounds. The weeks leading up to the final weigh-in had me in a range from 232.2 at my lowest to 241 at my heaviest. I told myself that as long as I didn’t weigh more than 241 pounds at the end of the experiment, I would consider it a success.

Throughout October I logged my food, water, and exercise and made a point to blog about it frequently. By sharing my logs with the online community I felt like I was keeping myself accountable. As the month went by I exercised, logged, and blogged.

Today is November 1st and the day I stepped onto the scale for the first time in a month. I weighed in at 239.4 pounds. While I was keeping my fingers crossed for a new lowest weight, I can’t complain. I’ve been consuming considerably more food than I had been and my weight fell into the same range it did a month ago.

Despite the scale remaining more or less the same, there have been some changes happening with my body. I had to toss some of my clothes because they were comically large. For instance, I used to fill out a XXL Shirt. These days I wear an XL and feel very comfortable in it. There are days when it feels a little snug but when I put on an old shirt it feels as though I’m trying to wear a bed sheet.

My pants are much the same way. I used to wear a 40 waist and those same pants are tremendously baggy all over. I bought some new 38 waist pants and even those feel like they are going to be too big soon. I could probably slip into a pair of 36 loose fit without much trouble.

These changes didn’t all occur during the month of October but it is when I began to pay closer attention to the way I looked in the mirror and how my clothes felt. Partaking in this little project has taught me a lot. I don’t have to obsess over the scale to feel good about myself. As long as I eat a moderately healthy diet and keep active, positive changes will happen despite what the scale says.