Where I fell into a trap

Well, I did it. I fell into the "I only lost xx pounds" trap. I can't believe it. This past week, I lost 1 pound and phrased it as "only 1 pound" in my head — and immediately started to worry that the sleeve won't work for me, that the initial success was a fluke. Illogical. And powerful. 

As my therapist would say, "What's the data?" The data is I've lost 20 pounds in 5 weeks. The data indicates my sleeve is working. 

So where does this insidious "only" and worry come from? I'd like to say that part of it is osmosis — reading so many other people's posts about "only" losing so much, and doubting whether the sleeve is working for them. (A typical recent post: someone thought her sleeve wasn't working because she "only" lost 45 pounds in 2 months.) In all areas of my life, I'm careful about the energy I expose myself to. If I'm not strong enough yet to ignore the negativity, I might need to distance myself from the support groups.

But most of the worry, I think, comes from years of tried and failed diet attempts. I'm definitely carrying baggage, and I know I'm not the only one. In the past two days, two people in different groups have posted, "Am I the only one who thinks the sleeve won't work for them?" 

How do I move forward? I need to keep reminding myself that this is a new process. I'm 5 weeks out from major surgery, and my body still is healing and undoubtedly is in shock. I'm following my surgeon's plan, getting in all of my protein and fluid almost every day. I'm resting, focusing, working the tool.  

If that "only" slips again, I'll do my best to gently rephrase it in my head. "I've lost 20 pounds in 5 weeks!" is much more powerful than "I only lost 1 pound this week." And I did promise to claim my power.