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After starting a bunch of goal-related and motivational threads on 3FC today (I feel like maybe it’s becoming an addiction, posting there. Maybe?), I feel tons better about pulling myself up out of my slump. I gave myself multiple opportunities (and this is another) to voice specifically what I intend to do in the upcoming weeks to right my situation. It’s really helped me commit to re-focusing because, you know, even if you say you’re refocusing it doesn’t make it so until it actually happens.
It’s probably good that I’m recommitting before tomorrow’s WI, because I’m afraid my week may have had unpleasant scale-related side effects. We’ll see, though — I woke up today feeling slightly smaller than the day before (was having a major fat day Thursday), and my pants are fitting nicer than they were when I wore them Tuesday. Perhaps I was just retaining some water or something. So who knows, it could go either way! (Of course I’m hoping it goes down, I’m ready to hit my first 10-pound mark, and even readier to get the heck out of the 200’s!)
So… here are some short-term things I need to work on:
-TRACK. I’ve been slacking in tracking (ha, a rhyme!) and I think that’s a big problem. I lose track of what I’ve eaten and find ways to negotiate my point count down (“I didn’t really eat 1 cup, it was more like 1/2…”) as to find room to pack more junk in. So bite it & write it.
-EXERCISE. It’s been about a week and a half since I’ve moved in any constructive way. I’ve been like a slug. Sitting around. I need to get back on my exercise wagon, even if it’s only 3x per week.
-CLOSE THE KITCHEN. Bye-bye, after-dinner snacking hell. After dinner and dessert (if there is one/if I want one), the kitchen è chiesto. (chiesta? because kitchen is feminine? oh Italian, you fail me.) Perhaps I should pick up on a habit I see many praising — have a cup of tea after dinner. The extra liquid fills your stomach, and the warmth is comforting. We shall see, we shall see.
Here are things I want to accomplish in March:
-Achieve at least 700 minutes of exercise. I tried for February but ended up 120 minutes short. So close!
-Go to a WW meeting every week!**
-Do something active every weekend.
-Study everything that needs to be read for my oral exams.
-Keep eating out to once per week, twice if necessary.
In February, I lost 2.2 pounds. That’s not a whole lot, but at least it’s a loss!! I’m gonna count it as a success.
**Okay, I’m really excited about this — I think the WW gods are smiling on me. I was getting worried about next week, as I’m going to DC and won’t be able to make my regular WW meeting. I just looked up meeting locations in DC to see if I could swing by one to at least get weighed for the accountability, and wheeeeee! There’s a WW center literally three blocks away from my company’s DC office, which I’m going to visit on Friday! Which means I just have to walk down the street and weigh! (Which is also very convenient if I end up moving to DC and transferring to that office!) I was concerned because I’m going with two non-diet-friendly people, and was worried they’d bully me out of going, but now there’s no excuse — there’s a Borders on the ground floor of my office building so I’ll just walk down to the WW center myself and they don’t have to be bothered. Yippee, I’m actually *really* excited about this!!
Okay, here’s to a new week, and a new month! I will be back tomorrow with my WI results, for better or for worse!
Lizzie – Thanks for checking in on me, here I am :)
I feel like I haven’t posted in a while, probably because I haven’t. It’s been a week, huh?
Well, WI last Saturday showed no loss, no gain. Which is fine by me, really — I mean, as long as I don’t gain, I’m doing something right. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is what my body does at this point in my cycle — it’s about 2 weeks before TOM and I’m getting my typical skin and mood things, so I think that explains the lack of loss.
This week — I have no idea how this week is going to shape up. I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything. Eating has been generally bad… or at least, bad as I define it. I guess technically I haven’t crossed my FP line — I’m sure I’ve eaten at least 30 of them but I don’t think it’s gone over 35. So hopefully, as long as I’m careful tonight and tomorrow, I might see a little shift in the numbers. What really messed me up this week was a box of graham crackers — what a poor decision it was to bring anything into my house that came from the cookie aisle, I should know myself better than that! “Oh, they’re low-fat graham crackers, it’ll be okay.” And then Sunday becomes one giant graham cracker-fest, with lunch comprising of a grilled cheese sandwich and about 10 graham crackers. I’ve been over my target points every day this week, which feels strange because I’m not used to eating like that.
I also haven’t exercised in over a week.
Well, if I DO see a gain Saturday (which is a possibility), I’ll know why. I won’t be gaining despite doing everything right, which I think is one of the hardest things to see when you’re actively trying to be healthier. I’ve done nearly everything wrong this week (I say nearly because despite everything I’ve made a couple good choices and haven’t gone over FPs yet) so I’ll definitely deserve whatever shows up.
I’ve also stopped being diligent in keeping up with tracking in my WW journal this past week, which I think is indicative of my dwindling focus. I come back to it to find blank pages I can’t fill in accurately because I can’t remember what I ate. I’m headed down some very dangerous paths here, guys, and I need to get myself back on track before I start giving up hope.
I think part of my problem, too, is that I’ve been at this for 2 months now, and lost 8 pounds. Now, I’m usually the one to tell people “be patient, you can’t control the pace at which your body loses.” But 1 pound per week sounds awfully slow. Then again, if I continue losing 1 pound a week for the rest of the year, I’ll be 52 pounds down by New Year’s. That’s okay I guess. Sigh. I don’t know. I’m just in a funk, and maybe it’s hormone-related, too. What I need to do is start exercising again — get out there and do it. that’ll probably help me feel better, wouldn’t you think?
Goooood afternoon everyone.
Well, it’s 4pm and I’ve met all of my daily fruit and veg requirements, eaten two of my healthy fats, and ingested both my dairy servings (going by calcium intake, not dairy specifically). Water intake is sitting at about 32oz, though, which can (and should) be improved on.
I’ve only eaten 15 points so far today, too, which means I have a ton left over for dinner.
Of course, this on a day when I have a really low-points dinner planned due to its high vegetable content. We’re having broiled (“indoor grilled” — shhh) portobello caps topped with roasted red peppers and melted provolone cheese, with a side of oven-baked spiced sweet potato french fries.
I’m just having one of those days where I don’t have a whole lot of high-cal foods planned, and I don’t really want any high-cal foods. Aren’t days like this part of the normal course of human eating? Should I really push myself to get up to 27? When other people ask this question, my answer is always, “yes! of course! slow metabolism lurks behind low food intake!” But when it’s me trying to convince myself to bulk up my meals, I just kind of groan.
With dinner, I’ll reach 20 pts consumed. I guess I could eat a bucket of almonds to make up the difference. I really don’t want to do it unhealthily — that is, I don’t want to fall victim to the chocolate spread throughout the office as I have been doing this week. I was aiming for today to be sugar-free because I really need to break the cravings I’ve been getting since Valentine’s Day-related splurging. Maybe I can make a bean salad type thing to go with dinner.
Oh, I don’t know. I guess I’ll report back tomorrow about what happened tonight, I’m just not up for thinking about it right now. What happens happens. What does everyone else do in these situations? Do you just deal with it and promise not to make it a habit, or do you force the points/cals in?
The Happiness Project is something I heard about from Marianne over at PracticeLiving. She talks about hearing the idea from an old friend of hers, and I’m not sure if her friend decided to start it independently or if she was inspired by someone else. However, a quick search reveals The Happiness Project, a developing documentary about the search for truth and happiness throughout the world. It’s an interesting concept, to do it on a global scale, since what makes us happy can vary so widely from culture to culture.
I mean, think about it. Even something so basic as the conditions under which we live can be the cause for happiness/unhappiness, and chances are you have a different ideal than the guy sitting next to you on the bus. Maybe he dreams of mountainside solitude while you envision your eventual purchase of a home in a trendy beachfront community. Those are two very, very different ideas of happiness associated with space, and can comfortably coexist within one culture. So just imagine how vast the differences can be when we transcend borders.
It’s a fascinating concept. I have to wonder, though, how well-executed the final product will be when it’s revealed. It has the chance of being eye-opening and astounding… and it has an equal chance of becoming a pedestrian travel video. So the jury’s still out on that one.
Anyway, all this has inspired me to do start a similar project, along the lines of Marianne’s friend’s idea: to take a photo each day of something, however small, that makes us happy. It’s an interesting way to really re-focus, at least once a day, on what brings you happiness and positivity in your everyday life. Sure, it’ll make me happy to be 60+ lbs lighter, but what makes me happy now? Plenty of things. But we get sidetracked in the negativity associated with weight and losing and dieting and exercise and frustration and sweat and forget about the immediate pleasures and ever-accessible joys of life.
Plus things like this appeal to the amateur photographer in me. Not that I have any decent photo equipment… I have a really nice Nikon SLR but it’s pre-digital and therefore not very appropriate for this task. My little Canon Elph will just have to do…
I will start a different blog, I think, for this project. I just wanted to write about it here because it’s something to think about. When I get started I’ll be sure to post the link somewhere. Hope everyone’s doing well.
Happy President’s Day! (Or is it Presidents’ Day? Or Presidents Day? I’m really not sure what the “official” word is on that!)
It’s a beautiful day here in Charlottesville, with temperatures in the low 60’s and sunshine all over the place. I’m quite happy with the warmth today because it means I can get out there and jog this evening! I haven’t been able to since it turned cold again, and I’m too much of a wuss to go brave the elements just yet. I’m looking forward to it. I also plan on walking home after work, so I should actually get a good 4+ miles of moving in today, in addition to whatever I manage to accumulate between walking to the bathroom and the water cooler throughout the day (which won’t be much, stupid sedentary job that makes me work on President’s Day, grumble grumble).
In other positive news, all the angel food cake and whipped cream is out of the apartment now. Of course, how it managed to leave the apartment is another matter… But point being it’s all gone now and I’m actually looking forward to being on plan this week. I just never feel as good when I’m loaded up with sugar. I wonder if I’ll ever get to a point where dessert just doesn’t seem like a good idea anymore from the outset. Hmmm…. probably not…. but one can hope. :)
And in closing, I’ll leave you with a little motivational story: A woman in West Virginia who lost 120 lbs through good, clean eating and exercise! (Imagine that!) She looks amazing and radiantly happy — what a wonderful inspiration!
Totally groovin’ off the TurboJam vibe. TurboJam vibes are a good thing… In fact, they are fantastic! They make me all happy and energetic and positive and upbeat about this journey towards fitness. Wooooohoooo!
So y’know how it’s been since Sunday since I exercised? I seem to have made up for it today, as I just couldn’t sit still and ended up doing three active things — biking downtown (which is a HUGE accomplishment for me, as I’ve been wanting to do it for a while but always felt too self-conscious), the TurboSculpt workout, and a yoga session I hadn’t done in a long time. Wahoooo for moving my exercise ticker again, I was starting to wonder if I was going to make my February goal but it seems I’m back in the running!
Tonight… tonight is pizza and beer night. Right after I finish this post I’m going to go change and head over to a friend’s house. I’ve bought some Corona Light and a California Pizza Kitchen thin-crust pizza for the occasion, and if all goes according to plan, I should be consuming 15 pts between the two. I’ve allowed myself to eat half the pizza… That’s enough to make me feel like I’m indulging without doing any real damage (it’s 9 points for 1/2 the pizza, that’s pretty decent!). The beers are 2 each, and I’m counting on three but might have four… I’m okay with four. Because of the exercise I’m only over my points for the day by 1, so if I have an extra beer it means 3 into FPs and that’s no problem. Hurray for exercise pretty much negating my angelfood cake/whipped cream/strawberries episode this afternoon! … I need to get away from sugar for a couple days, I’m starting to crave it a little too strongly. Had too much of it last week.
OH! Before I forget… I actually managed to *lose* this week! Yep, a whole 0.6 of a pound! That takes me down to an even 8lbs lost to date. Hey, it’s not a gain, so I’ll take it for sure!! I’m hoping this week will show a biiiig loss, and maybe push me towards that 10lb mark. I just have to make sure I work hard and DESERVE a big loss, which I didn’t last week. I barely earned my 0.6…
Well, that’s it for me for today. Hope you are all having wonderful, healthy, active weekends!
Man, eating has been trouble the past couple of days. I can’t get a good feel for how I’ve been doing… I’ve been very snacky and kind of stressed out over a few things, plus I’ve been neglecting to pack my lunch in the evenings, which means I should be getting up earlier but I haven’t been doing that either. So I make do with what I can grab in three minutes or I go out. And the problem with going out is I have NO idea what the exact nutritional profile of my food is, and I have a hard time estimating. I always want to overestimate to be on the safe side but then I get hungry later and try to rationalize lowering my estimations, and the end result is by the end of the day I have no idea where I stand. I think I’m okay. I think I’m like 17 into my flex points, which is just fine… and that’s an overestimation anyway.
At least I still feel like I’m doing well. I feel smaller. My pants and my wedding ring are looser/fit better, and my shirts definitely look better. And last time I measured my waist it was back in the 30’s again. But I think I reported all of this before, so I’ll move on. Just need to reassure myself that even if my eating isn’t spot-on my exercise is decent enough to make up for it and I’m still doing far better now than when I’m not on Weight Watchers!
Speaking of exercise, though, I haven’t gotten any since TurboSculpt on Sunday. Mondays and Wednesdays are my early to work, late at class days and I’m generally exhausted when I get home. Last night I was preparing two presentations I have to give tonight. I’m hoping to convince myself to do something tonight… Maybe not something as challenging as TurboJam but perhaps just a WATP or yoga. Or one of my old PUSH dvds, as I haven’t done those in ages and they’re good basic strength exercises. We’ll see how I feel post-work/class/dinner. I sure could use the APs.
Turns out my friend in Toronto isn’t coming down to see me Easter weekend… which is really too bad, I was looking forward to seeing her. She just can’t find flights that work with her minimal time off. And she’s got this giant cast on her leg right now and it’d probably be HELL to deal with TSA/airport security with that thing. I am, however, going up to D.C. the second weekend in March with another couple of friends, which I’m alternately excited about and kind of dreading–because of eating. I can’t relax around food yet, you know? And it’s going to be two days of restaurant eating… And it’ll make me miss my WW meeting that week. That sounds like a bad combination. I guess I’ll have to learn to deal with situations like that so I better start now.
Hmmm… Valentine’s Day is tomorrow…. I have no idea what to do for DH! I got him a card… and I have some very sexy lingere he’s never seen (bought it for the honeymoon and didn’t “get around” to wearing it) [and omg it's going to look so much better on me now than it would have in June]… But I feel like I need something else. I was thinking about cooking him a special meal but I cook all year round and he always thinks my meals are special… even when it’s a pita pizza or spaghetti…. he’s very easily pleased! Can’t think of anything tangible he wants/needs…. I guess I could get him some nice chocolate (he’d love that), as long as I make sure it’s off-limits to me!
Anyway… I’m rambling… I can’t keep my mind on work right now, it’s easier to think about this stuff!!
I was in the shower after a particularly wonderful workout and all of these reasons why I’m happily OP today kept occurring to me. I think I’m going to start building a list and keeping it somewhere, adding to it as things come up, as it’s very motivating to think of ALL the wonderful side effects of this process.
Some of the things I came up with were:
-I love the HARD muscle I can feel again in my legs!
-I can honestly see my collar bones coming through, I’m not just fooling myself with wishful thinking!
-I’m out of the 40-inch range on my waist 1″ above my belly button!
-I’m out of the 210’s! (where’s that dancing carrot?)
-I am loving all the changes I’m seeing in my body.
-I can walk up the 3 flights of stairs to the library and not get winded.
-I feel compelled to exercise because I love it, not because I feel I HAVE to.
-I cut myself shaving my legs today — because there was a new bump (muscle) where there hadn’t been before!
-Healthy food tastes GOOD.
-I am far more energetic when I eat healthily.
-I love finding ways to be creative in the kitchen to lighten up recipes.
-This doesn’t feel like a chore. It finally feels like I’m doing what I was meant to do.
-This chocolate-banana smoothie tastes goooood, and has both my dairy servings and only 3 points :D
-I’m very excited about the prospect of being a runner, eventually.
-Working out makes me feel awesome.
-I’m needing an hour less sleep on average to feel awake in the morning.
-My shirts are fitting better.
-My pants are falling off!!
-I know my feet are happier with less weight to carry around.
-I am doing immensely wonderful things for my future health.
That’s probably enough for now, but you get the idea — What are some of the reasons YOU are staying on plan today? And tomorrow? And the next?
The good:
I went jogging again! I’m so proud of myself :D I know I did more actual jogging this time, too, because I made it home faster AND I went a different route which added 0.2 miles to the trek. We’re talkin’ a 10 minute difference, here. I brought my iPod along with me this time and I think the music really helped me focus and push myself more — at one point I was facing a rather large uphill and a particularly fantastic song came on (Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz), I just focused on the music and looked either at my feet or the houses around me. If I looked up at the hill I got discouraged by its hugeness, so I decided I was better off just not looking up! And I made it! And I was proud! And so was DH! :) I’m still a very slow jogger, but my endurance is already picking up (probably from that livingroom cardio and strength work).
Yay for getting in shape. I’m excited, y’all! If you couldn’t tell by the proliferation of exclamation marks in this post!!
The bad:
Eating was somewhat off-track today, even though I managed to stay at my points target. The details are what make the next part of this post…
THE UGLY:
Somehow I managed to stay at my points target while eating 17 points’ worth of Ritter Sport chocolate… Not sure how to explain that. I even wrote “ENOUGH” on a post-it and put it on the chocolate when I had the max I would feel comfortable eating, but then I just took the post-it off and doubled my chocolate consumption. Oh well, it seems to have worked out okay somehow… All that sugar’s not good for me but I guess at least I accounted for it.
Tomorrow’s plan is to eat a large lunch and a light-ish dinner and do TurboJam cardio (20 or 40 mins, I will decide tomorrow). I’ll also try to find something interesting for you guys to read about besides my inane personal ramblings. :)
Seems there’s a general anti-gym class sentiment going around, huh? (judging from the comments on the previous post.)
It makes me wonder, then–did we get ANY benefit out of gym? What purpose does it serve? If we hear our (future) kids coming home complaining of gym class, do we feel sympathy or tell them to buck up?
I mean, I don’t think gym helped me AT ALL. I was overweight as a kid and gym didn’t make me healthier or skinnier or feel like I ought to do something about exercising more. (Besides, most of my weight problem wasn’t due to lack of exercise, but poor food choices. Pudding for lunch and such.) Gym taught me how to fake an injury; how to lie about going to the nurse’s office; how to forge dr.’s notes; how to cry at will to get out of things. Gym class taught me about embarassment, about the difference between my body and other girls’ (in the locker room), about how I should be ashamed of the fact that I can’t do a pull-up. About the general disdain with which fat kids are treated by gym teachers.
Well, at least that was my experience. AKA Welcome to Hell on Earth.
That being said, I wonder what I’ll do when I have a kid that’s elementary-aged, if he or she happens to be less-than-fit? I mean, I’m obviously going to do my best to raise a healthy, fit child, but some kids just aren’t built for gym class. I’m not kidding myself, I don’t have 100% control over what my future kids turn out to be like. I can do my best to influence them, but not much else. So anyway, what if my child comes home crying from gym class? Talking about how the other kids make fun of him/her? Or how the gym teacher yells because he/she can’t run a mile? It’s tough! It’s brutal! It’s counter-productive!
But what happens?
…
I don’t really know the answer to that, and I guess I’ll just have to wait and see, when I become a parent.
