Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

Yesterday morning, something odd happened to me: I got my regular crowded bus and headed to the middle to grab hold of the pole for the journey downtown, which was only about fifteen minutes long. Shortly after boarding, a women my age tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I'd like her seat. I politely refused and she pressed on; again, I refused and she sat back down.

It's a nice thing to do, but I have to admit, I was baffled. Kindness does still exist where I live; It's not unheard of for a man to give his seat up for a woman, a young person for a senior citizen or an able-bodied person for someone with a disability, but why would a woman the same age as me give up her seat for me and not any of the other bus riders? Readers, you don't know me on a personal basis (At least, I don't think you do ... ) but I can assure you, I do have all my limbs, I don't limp and I don't have any sort of disability, either mental or physical.

Then a cold sweat rushed over me. Was she ... ? Did she ... ? No. The only viable reason I could come up with was this: She must think I'm pregnant. In all fairness to her, I was feeling quite bloated that day after chowing down on Chinese leftovers (I know! Slight set-back. More on that later.) And? It's cold here so I was wearing plenty of layers underneath my heavy winter coat.

But still. My self-confidence for the day was shot. And you know what comes to mind when my self-confidence plummets? Chocolate.

I resisted though, and was even more determined to enjoy a healthy lunch and get rid of the dreaded bloating. It's moments like this that can either set you back or kickstart a waning motivation into high gear. For me, it was the latter.