I gained almost three pounds yesterday. So, in roughly four days, I’ve gained nearly ten pounds, which is similar to the jump that I made a week ago. The primary culprit: sugar. Those chocolate-covered almonds have become a recurring indulgence that I can’t really afford. The single-serve cups of ice cream are a problem, too, given that consuming more than one of them at a time does not constitute a single serving.

The slippery slope that I’ve referred to before is real. Mindfulness regarding calorie (and carbohydrate) count has gone out the window on the days on which I’ve had a social engagement. And while social engagements always involve a meal, that one meal has led to temporarily abandoning any restraint for the rest of the day. Obviously, I’m not going to avoid social engagements, but I need to let the one associated meal be the only “cheat” for the day.

I mentioned this before, but the other problem is that I’ve been mostly a couch potato on the weekends. Part of this has to do with the weather: I become extremely lethargic and unmotivated when it’s gloomy outside. The other factor, though, is my job. On Saturdays, I’m useless and almost feel like I’m recuperating from some minor trauma because I so dislike my job. The work itself is tolerable, but the constant micromanagement takes a significant toll and honestly makes for a miserable week.

Anyway, my body aches more than it usually does, which is something that happens when I get back into the weight range I once again find myself in. Weekends have been just terrible throughout this project in terms of staying on track. Much of that is probably because I’m just not busy enough on Saturdays and Sundays. I do actually have a list of things to get done on the weekends, but most things on that list don’t get done due to just feeling mentally exhausted and unmotivated. I’m a notoriously bad manager of my free time, and that needs to change if I expect not to slide into bad behavior on the weekends.

Something that really needs to change is my job—or at least how I handle my job—because it’s making me miserable. Given that I’m an emotional eater, I need to curb the sources of chronic anxiety in my life if I expect to make any lasting progress regarding weight management. Or I need to figure out how to deal with that anxiety in a way that doesn’t involve food.