My AI Wellness Experiment: Day 11: The Willpower Dip and Understanding My Body Changes

Day 11 of my AI supported wellness journey, and I've officially passed the one-third mark of my 30-day plan. Overall, things are still going well, but I have to be honest about what I'm experiencing - my willpower is starting to decline a little. 

It's not that I'm giving up or anything dramatic like that. It's more subtle than that. The initial excitement and momentum from those early results - like losing 4 pounds in the first week - doesn't feel as strong anymore. The newness has worn off, and now I'm in what feels like the grinding-it-out phase. 

Fighting the Mental Battle 

I'm trying to stay focused, and I've started doing the personal affirmations that came up in our previous conversations. It feels a bit awkward at first, talking to myself in the mirror or repeating positive statements, but I know I need something to help maintain my motivation during this phase. 

There's something about day 11 that feels different from the first week. The early days were carried by excitement and the novelty of the new routine. Now it's about discipline and creating lasting habits, which honestly requires a different kind of mental energy. 

I'm hoping the affirmations will help bridge this gap. Sometimes you need external validation and encouragement, but when that's not available, you have to become your own cheerleader. 

The Body's Confusing Signals 

One thing that's been on my mind lately is how my body is changing - or at least, how it feels like it's changing. Someone told me that as you begin to lose fat, it actually gets looser before you lose it completely. This sounded strange to me, so I wanted to understand if this was actually true or just another diet myth. 

Turns out, it's completely real and well-documented. As fat cells shrink during weight loss, they leave behind a softer layer beneath the skin. The analogy that makes the most sense to me is thinking of it like a balloon losing air - it deflates, but doesn't disappear immediately. 

There's even a name for this phenomenon: the "whoosh effect." What happens is that when my body burns stored fat for energy, the fat cells don't immediately shrink completely. Instead, they temporarily fill with water before eventually shrinking down. This makes areas feel softer, jiggly, or looser to the touch before I see the full visual results. 

This is particularly noticeable in the stomach region, which can feel flabbier as weight loss progresses. If I didn't know this was normal, it would be really discouraging. It might actually feel like I'm not making progress when I actually am. 

Reframing the Experience 

Understanding this process has been eye-opening. That softer, looser feeling I've been noticing isn't a sign that something's wrong - it's actually a sign that fat loss is happening. My body is actively changing, even if the changes aren't immediately visible in the mirror. 

This knowledge is particularly helpful right now when my willpower is feeling weaker. Combined with the natural motivation decline around day 11, physical changes that seem counterintuitive could really mess with my head if I didn't understand what was happening. 

Instead of getting frustrated by these temporary changes, I can now see them as progress markers. My body is working through the process, doing exactly what it's supposed to do as I stick to my plan. 

The Mental Game Continues 

What I'm learning is that this journey isn't just about changing what I eat or how much I exercise. It's about understanding the psychological and physical processes that happen during transformation. 

The willpower dip around day 11 seems to be as normal as the physical changes I'm experiencing. Both are part of the process, not signs that I'm failing or that the plan isn't working. 

The personal affirmations feel more important now than they did in the beginning. When I was riding high on early success, positive self-talk felt almost unnecessary. Now that I'm in the trenches of habit formation, those affirmations are becoming tools for getting through the harder moments. 

This phase is teaching me that sustainable change isn't just about the exciting breakthrough moments - it's about showing up consistently even when motivation is lower and the physical feedback is confusing. 

Key Learning 

The willpower dip around day 11 is normal, and understanding that my body feeling softer or looser is actually a sign of progress helps me stay mentally strong when motivation naturally declines. 

Sometimes being soft is a good thing. 

Check out my next day when I struggle with "just one" becoming half a bowl

Interested in reading all my experiences and conversations so far? Check them out here!