Switching Things Up and Exercising on Vacation

Switching Things Up

Again, it's been quite a while since I've posted. It's funny, because you'd think that summer would be a time for me to do more with things like my blogs and crafting (it's been well over a year since I scrapbooked) since I don't have to work during the summer. But I think what has happened is that I get so busy doing other things that I am just not near my computer that much. That, and I am busy entertaining my kids. During the school year, however, I am always on my computer updating my class web page, writing lesson plans, etc.

The same thing has happened with my weight loss. I thought sure that the summer would be the time to really see a huge amount of progress in my weight loss numbers. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I still go to the gym every day, I still go to my Weight Watcher meetings every Monday, and I still watch what I eat (though I'm not consistent in tracking my food.) However, my weight has been going up and down all summer.

After talking to one of the receptionists at my WW meeting after weighing in last week and only losing 0.4 pound, I decided to take a look at my habits. I had been working out 7 days a week for 1 1/2 to 2 hours each day. She told me that another member had had the same problem and decided to not exercise on the day of her weigh in. She thought that she might be having some water-retention carrying into her weigh-ins. So, I tried the same technique this past week and lost 1.6 pounds. I also started thinking that maybe I'm exercising too much. So, I'm going to switch things up and scale back my workouts to 5 days a week rather than 7, and definitely not workout on my weigh-in day. I'm also going to be more diligent in my tracking.

Exercising on Vacation

This weekend, my husband and I had the opportunity for a weekend trip alone. That's right, no kids. We dropped our three boys off at my parents' house and drove the 10 hours to New York City. We are staying with friends of ours in Manhattan until Sunday evening. Today, while they guys were doing some podcasting work, I decided that I would take advantage of the beautiful park across the street from their apartment building and take a brisk walk. So, I changed into my workout clothes, laced up my running shoes, and strapped on my iPhone and headed out. Our friends recommended that I take the paths that go through the woods, as they are inclined and scenic. And they certainly were. I found myself walking at a fast pace, and even occasionally broke into a run. Before I knew it, about 45 minutes had passed and I decided I should start heading back. I soon discovered that this park was enormous. By the time I finally found my way back to the apartment, I had completed a 90 minute trek. Who knew that exercising while on vacation could be so relaxing and enjoyable?

Catching Up

It's been about a month and a half since my last post. That's not because I've given up or experienced a setback. It really has to do more with dealing with everything else going on in my life. May is always a very busy and very stressful month for me. Getting ready to wrap up the school year and head into the summer is very stressful for me. I worry about what material I haven't covered with my class, what can I still squeeze in, are their second grade teachers going to criticize me for what they aren't prepared for when they reach them? I know that some of these fears are ridiculous, but some are worth worrying about. Regardless, I can't seem to focus on much else during the last weeks of school.

Nevertheless, I did stick to my eating and workout routines, so that much is positive. I just kind of let this blog, and my other one, fall by the wayside. I could go back and write a blog for each of those weeks that I missed, but I don't think I'm going to do that. I'll just update from where I am now and continue one.

As has always been the case, I've kind of gone up and down, but in small increments. I was really excited when last week (after my first full week out of school) I lost 3 pounds! That put me at 36 pounds lost to date. Unfortunately, that also gave me a false sense of security that I had it all under control. As a result I didn't track this week, I wasn't careful about what I ate (in fact, I was very reckless about the food I ate), and even though I still kept up with my daily trips to the gym, I gained 5.6 pounds. Yikes!! Now, that is what I call a setback. I'm back down to a net loss of 30.4 pounds. It's still great progress. I'm not going to de-value that. But, it is a lot of ground lost. And it comes on the verge of two separate trips away from home.

At this point, what I need to do is take an honest look back at the week behind me and identify what I did (or didn't do) that led to this gain. Then, I need to set goals for myself that will put me back on the right track to success.  So, I'm going to lay it all out here for everyone to see. I realize that I probably don't have many readers, but this blog has never been about anybody else. It has always been about me. Putting down a record for myself, a chance for me to reflect on this journey that is (nearly) 38 years in the making. I see my oldest son heading down the same path of obesity that I traveled all of my life and I want to do what I can to prevent him from taking that journey. If keeping this record of all I have done and learned can accomplish that, then it has been well worth the effort I have put into it. So, here's my reflection of the week that led to +5.6 pounds:

What I did:
* On the plus side, I still worked out every day (yay for me!)
* We went out to eat quite a bit this week.
* I have been drinking a lot of diet soda and I have not been drinking my daily water goal.
* On Wednesday, we took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese's for their birthday celebration. I had pizza and salad.
* On Friday, I had Chipotle for lunch and CiCi's pizza for dinner. While I still had my two servings from the salad bar, I also had more than my allotted 2 slices of pizza.
* On Father's Day, when I got lunch for my husband from McDonald's (his request) I did not choose a salad as I should have (they have really LAME salads there--I much prefer Wendy's for fast-food salads,) instead I had a grilled chicken sandwich and french fries
* My middle son, Ben, won a raffle prize at Giant Eagle--a bag of a package each of four different kinds of cookies. I had quite a few of those cookies, quite a few times.
* When we got dinner on Sunday, I ate all of my egg roll, all of my egg drop soup, and all of my Phad Thai.

My goals:
* I will drink my 64 oz. of water every day before I allow myself to have a diet soda.
* If I have alcohol, I will limit it to just 1 drink, and only after I have had my water for the day.
* If I eat out, I will make the best choice I possibly can.
* I will track every bite I eat every day.
* I will do my workout every day.
* I will watch my portion sizes and let my body tell me when I am done eating, not the condition of my plate.
* I will eat only when I am hungry and eat until I am satisfied, not full.

I think that this week is serving as a wake-up call that I will need to be careful about my habits regarding food for the rest of my life. I have heard, and repeated, many times that this is a lifestyle change. I can't do any of this temporarily. It has to be for good. I can't think of the way I eat as a "just for now" kind of thing. And I am going to have to work at it every day for the rest of my life. It is permanent and it is forever. It has to be.

Inching Closer

Tonight was another night of inching closer to that 30 pound mark. This week I lost 0.8 pounds. I only have 0.8 to go to reach my 30 pound goal. It isn't my final goal, but it is a big milestone on the journey.

Tonight's meeting topic was eating out. How can you eat out at a restaurant and still be successful? There are a few things to keep in mind when you know that you are going to be dining away from home.

* PLAN AHEAD
- figure out where you are going to go before you leave the house
- go online and look for the nutritional information, figure out what you are going to eat and what the points are before you go
- choose a place that has a salad bar and eat that first
- get a to-go box up-front
- share your meal with someone
- ask for alternatives, don't be afraid to ask questions and make requests
- be assertive when asking for your food to be cooked the way you want it
- be aware of portion sizes

The fact is that you will occasionally go out to eat. It's a fact of life. You can't avoid restaurants because they might pose challenges. You need to know how to make good choices in your eating and anything is possible. Nothing is off-limits. No matter what you do to lose weight, the reality is that it needs to be a lifestyle change to be a lasting change. Don't think about it being temporary. You can't say, "when my diet is over I can eat XYZ again." Make XYZ part of what you eat now, just in moderation. Everyone has the potentional to be successful if you know your tools and how to use them properly. It's taken me many years of being overweight to finally embrace that philosophy.

Visible Proof of Progress

For quite a while now, people have been telling me that I look like I've lost weight. Unfortunately, I'm too close to see it. So after about the millionth person told me that I looked like I was getting thinner, I decided to try to gather some evidence for myself. On my computer at school is a program called "Photobooth" in which I can take a picture of myself through the computer. I thought I would take the picture then do a side-by-side comparison to a picture from before I started losing weight. I can't believe how shocked I was to see the difference in my face. I think the next step is to have my husband take some pictures of me in my workout clothes to compare with the "before" picture I posted in January. So, here they are, a before and after/during documentation of my weight loss efforts.

   











 

What You Weigh is Not Who You Are

I think I should have paid more attention to the notes that I kept during tonight's Weight Watchers meeting.

When I got home after a 0.2 pound loss, I was moping around (as my dear husband called it.) Going into this meeting, I was only 1.8 pounds away from losing 30 pounds. I really had my heart set on achieving this goal tonight. So, when I arrived home and my husband asked how it went, I was kind of mopey. I really needed just a few minutes to reflect on the week before and what I had or had not done that led to such a small loss. In all rational parts of my mind, I know that any loss is good because it's a loss and the scale is going in the right direction. So, now I'm 1.6 pounds away from my 30 pound goal.

Tonight, my leader Marie talked about NSV's - Non Scale Victories. We need to celebrate the small, everyday victories not just the ones dictated by the numbers on the scale. My NSV was that I went to the gym on Easter morning before going to dinner. I need to remember to let my behavior drive the scale, not let the scale drive my behavior. I am not my weight and the numbers on the scale do not determine the kind of person I am or how I live my life. When asked how my week was, I should not respond based on what the numbers on the scale said. So my next step is to rationally reflect on the week behind me and determine how I can make each day better than the last and make changes in my life that will lead to a long-term healthy lifestyle.

Visualization and the Power of Positive Thinking

"You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be." -David Viscott

I am pleased to say that tonight I continued my weight loss journey with another 2-pound loss. I have now lost a total of 28.2 pounds in 15 weeks. This is the first time I can remember such a positive feeling and outlook associated with weight loss. I feel so encouraged by my progress and feel like it's finally the last time I will go down this road. I've been working so hard, I can't imagine ever going back to the weight I was at before. I have to think positively and believe with all my heart that there is a thin woman hiding inside me. I have to think that, in a year's time, I will finally have shed all my unwanted weight for good. I have a hard time putting a picture in my mind because I've never been thin, so I have nothing to go back to.

Our meeting topic tonight was on visualization and the power of positive thinking. To achieve success, we need to picture ourselves making good choices. This doesn't leave a lot of room for spontaneity when it comes to eating, because I usually make poorer choices when I don't have the opportunity to plan things out. It's almost like we have to have a plan for every instance that could come our way. Unfortunately, that's not something I can see myself doing either. I need to strike a balance in order to achieve success. The picture that I visualize in my mind is stepping on that scale. What will it be like if I step on the scale Monday night after eating that cheeseburger instead of the salad or chicken sandwich? How will I feel if I have a gain or a small loss and know that I could have avoided it by making a different choice? I know that I would beat myself up over it and be super-strict the next week.

By this point, making the best choices should be natural, not an afterthought. Do I still feel like I need to treat myself every once in a while? Absolutely. But, along with that comes the guilt that I should have "treated" myself in ways other than with food. I have 37 years of bad eating habits to overcome. It's going to take some time. I don't know that I'll ever prefer a nice green salad over a big greasy cheeseburger. But, that's what's nice about doing Weight Watchers rather than another "diet" that might get me quick results, but won't be something that I can live with for the rest of my life. I don't have to live without the foods I enjoy. I just have to indulge in moderation and plan ahead for them. I can't think that I'm never going to have another cheeseburger. But, I can plan to plan for it.

"Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blue print, and begin to build." -Robert Collier

Me Time

I'm not what I ought to be, I'm not what I want to be, but I'm not what I was.

This week, I worked really hard. I wrote down everything I ate, I stayed within my points every day, and I exercised every day.  The results, -0.2 pound. It's not big, but it's still a loss no matter how small. My loss last week was pretty big, so I'm pleased with the direction I'm going.

The topic of this week's meeting was taking care of ourselves and having a little "me time." This really spoke to me because I think that's what finally got me motivated to head back to Weight Watchers this year. I finally decided that I needed to do something for myself, to feel better about myself. Many people are astounded at how I can get up to exercise every morning before work, but that's my "me time." I don't have to rush through my workout to get home or get the boys out of the childcare room. As much as I love my family and enjoy my job, I need to make sure that I have time for this important task in my life.

During our meeting, we were asked to take the letters of our first name and write down something we can do for ourselves that would help us achieve success that starts with each of the letters. Here's mine:

Change it up (add variety to exercise and eating)
Always write it down (when I write down everything I eat is when I have the most success)
React to stress in ways other than eating
Only treat occasionally (nothing is off-limits as long as you do it in moderation)
Load up on fruits and veggies (snacking on fruits and veggies has 0 points and helps fill me up)
Yes! It's my turn to do something for myself
Never forget to exercise

When is it going to be your turn to take care of yourself? What can you do to ensure success?