Disappointed.
That's how I'm feeling this morning. I did well this week, stayed in my points and I exercised A LOT . . . so there is absolutely NO reason why I should have gained .4 at the weigh-in today.
What a bummer.
Fortunately we talked about emotional eating at the meeting today, which, based on my last post, is something I really need help with.
Yeah, I didn't go over my points, but I didn't spend them very wisely either. Pizza one night, a Sam's Club hot dog another day. . . after several meals I ended up overly full. Not exactly the recipe for weight-loss success.
BUT, it's another week . . . right? My success or failure hinges on whether I learn from this week or whether I let it get me down.
I'm not letting it get me down, no sir. I'm disappointed, sure, but it's time to move on.
Here's to a full week of eating for hunger ONLY.
Say it with me now... "If hunger is not the problem then food is not the answer."
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Still Learning
Frustration.
That's what I'm feeling.
It's not because I've been unsuccessful . . . I have been successful. This week, though, has opened my eyes to the fact that I'm still learning . . . and sometimes, I go against the things I already know to be true.
For example, I know that pizza is my personal adversary, my mortal enemy to weight loss . . . pizza can throw me off of a good eating day faster than anything, and it is virtually impossible to stop eating it! If there is pizza still available, I will eat until I am busting at the seams.
And all the while there is a little voice in the back of my head screaming, "No! Not pizza! You know you can't defeat pizza!" This voice knows that pizza destroys my resolve and leaves me wanting to eat even more--usually ice cream!
Why can't I stay away from pizza? I'm really not sure. I guess a part of me doesn't want to be deprived of anything and pizza is a food I really love.
And it's not just pizza . . . other junk foods have a hold on me that I still haven't been able to break . . . french fries, cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, pop tarts. Thankfully, I don't have these foods all that often, but when I am faced with them, I usually eat way more than I wanted and end up feeling defeated.
This week there have been several meals that have left me feeling defeated--not because I went over on my points, but because I ate until I was stuffed and uncomfortable. I have felt this week like I was eating for something more than hunger . . . and I'm just not sure what other void I was trying to fill.
My weigh-in is tomorrow and based on my tracking and exercise this week, I should be expecting a loss although I'm not feeling it. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised . . . you never know.
This week I've got to work on eating for hunger . . . I read a quote this week in a magazine that said, "If you're not hungry, you shouldn't be eating." So simple, really.
That will be my goal for this week:
To identify hunger and satisfy it, and to examine my feelings when I determine it's not hunger and figure out what I can do to satisfy that need.
That's what I'm feeling.
It's not because I've been unsuccessful . . . I have been successful. This week, though, has opened my eyes to the fact that I'm still learning . . . and sometimes, I go against the things I already know to be true.
For example, I know that pizza is my personal adversary, my mortal enemy to weight loss . . . pizza can throw me off of a good eating day faster than anything, and it is virtually impossible to stop eating it! If there is pizza still available, I will eat until I am busting at the seams.
And all the while there is a little voice in the back of my head screaming, "No! Not pizza! You know you can't defeat pizza!" This voice knows that pizza destroys my resolve and leaves me wanting to eat even more--usually ice cream!
Why can't I stay away from pizza? I'm really not sure. I guess a part of me doesn't want to be deprived of anything and pizza is a food I really love.
And it's not just pizza . . . other junk foods have a hold on me that I still haven't been able to break . . . french fries, cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, pop tarts. Thankfully, I don't have these foods all that often, but when I am faced with them, I usually eat way more than I wanted and end up feeling defeated.
This week there have been several meals that have left me feeling defeated--not because I went over on my points, but because I ate until I was stuffed and uncomfortable. I have felt this week like I was eating for something more than hunger . . . and I'm just not sure what other void I was trying to fill.
My weigh-in is tomorrow and based on my tracking and exercise this week, I should be expecting a loss although I'm not feeling it. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised . . . you never know.
This week I've got to work on eating for hunger . . . I read a quote this week in a magazine that said, "If you're not hungry, you shouldn't be eating." So simple, really.
That will be my goal for this week:
To identify hunger and satisfy it, and to examine my feelings when I determine it's not hunger and figure out what I can do to satisfy that need.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Bothered...
Does anyone else get bothered when January rolls around and all the advertisements start promising surefire weight loss, a magic pill, the quick solution to all your weight loss problems? I sure do! Sure enough, every January, every internet sidebar and dozens of TV commercials start making outrageous promises, all counting on the fact that a desperate public will fork over the dough for a magic solution. I honestly get SO mad when I hear the words, "Eat whatever you want, no exercise required!" Yesterday the sidebar on my email had a dramatic before and after picture of a woman saying: "I lost 46 pounds in two weeks!" What did she do, buy a tapeworm?It just infuriates me to no end that big companies try to dupe people into buying products that will do nothing for them. And believe me, I know this from experience! I've been on the pills, prescription and non... and while they do work for a while, that's not something you can do for the rest of your life! And where is the information about the side effects? It's so frustrating to me!
I'm so grateful to Weight Watchers--so grateful that it's something totally doable and it fits into my everyday life. I CAN eat anything I want... in moderation, of course. I get frustrated when any diet plan/program tries to cut out entire food groups (Yes, I've done Atkins!) or even sweets... like I'm never going to have a bowl of ice cream again? Yeah, right.
I'm not sure where this post is going, but I just wanted to express my frustration with quick fixes--especially because they get into my head and tempt me to try them! There is NO quick fix. To lose weight and keep it off you must expend more calories than you consume . . . day after day, year after year.
Does anyone else get bugged by this?
Just Do It
I really haven't been very good at updating the blog lately! I got in the vacation mindset over Christmas break and I haven't been able to get back in the swing of things! Speaking of Christmas, the holidays didn't have a huge impact on my weight loss since I was sick that week, but I managed to make up for that by squandering that loss the next two weeks. Unfortunately, I felt like I had somehow been robbed of indulgence and I overate for two weeks running, gaining back all but .6 lbs of the weight I lost Christmas week. Thankfully, I was able to stop the bleeding this week and come back strong with a 4 pound loss, to hit my lowest weight yet.
I have had a lot of random thoughts lately about this weight loss journey. Becoming a slim (or slimmer) person has really changed a lot of preconceived notions I once had. Having been overweight pretty much my entire life, I always figured that thin people just had it easy... I knew people who could eat pretty much whatever they wanted and not gain an ounce. I don't know about you, but that always made me mad! Honestly, though, I think those people are pretty few and far between.
I have a couple of friends, two in particular, who are very thin, but who still make a concerted effort to eat well and exercise--I really love that! I used to think, "Oh, she doesn't even have to try!" But now I know better. I know that a person can be very thin and still be VERY out of shape, and a person can carry a few extra pounds and be very fit. It's been an eye-opening experience.
You know one of the best parts about losing weight? The compliments. There is just nothing better than having someone recognize your hard work with a compliment... I sincerely appreciate every single compliment, and they never get old.
I also overcame a personal obstacle in the past few weeks. I have wanted to teach aerobics for a long time now... it's something I enjoy and always felt like I would be good at. I have a friend who has encouraged me, but I always felt self-conscious with the extra weight. I figure who wants to take a fitness class from someone who isn't fit? Well, I have finally become comfortable enough in my skin to get over my self-consciousness and I am working on getting hired at a local gym! It's just such a good feeling to want something and to go out and get it.
So to everyone who has been held back for one reason or another, if there's something you want to accomplish, don't let anything hold you back. Whoever you are, whatever you want to do, you can do it! If I can do it, you can do it!
I have had a lot of random thoughts lately about this weight loss journey. Becoming a slim (or slimmer) person has really changed a lot of preconceived notions I once had. Having been overweight pretty much my entire life, I always figured that thin people just had it easy... I knew people who could eat pretty much whatever they wanted and not gain an ounce. I don't know about you, but that always made me mad! Honestly, though, I think those people are pretty few and far between.
I have a couple of friends, two in particular, who are very thin, but who still make a concerted effort to eat well and exercise--I really love that! I used to think, "Oh, she doesn't even have to try!" But now I know better. I know that a person can be very thin and still be VERY out of shape, and a person can carry a few extra pounds and be very fit. It's been an eye-opening experience.
You know one of the best parts about losing weight? The compliments. There is just nothing better than having someone recognize your hard work with a compliment... I sincerely appreciate every single compliment, and they never get old.
I also overcame a personal obstacle in the past few weeks. I have wanted to teach aerobics for a long time now... it's something I enjoy and always felt like I would be good at. I have a friend who has encouraged me, but I always felt self-conscious with the extra weight. I figure who wants to take a fitness class from someone who isn't fit? Well, I have finally become comfortable enough in my skin to get over my self-consciousness and I am working on getting hired at a local gym! It's just such a good feeling to want something and to go out and get it.
So to everyone who has been held back for one reason or another, if there's something you want to accomplish, don't let anything hold you back. Whoever you are, whatever you want to do, you can do it! If I can do it, you can do it!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
2008--Year in Review
I don't know about you, but I always love the beginning of a new year. Each year when I transfer my information from my old planner to the new, I go over my resolutions from the past year and make new goals for the new one. Of course there are always resolutions that went out the window the second week in January . . . BUT, I am so proud that in 2008 I kept one of my major resolutions and during the past 12 months I have lost 60 pounds!!
I can't even count the number of times I have tried to lose weight in the past--I have tried off and on since I was 12 years old. I have lost and gained, lost and gained, struggled, cried, planned, starved, binged and "dieted" FOREVER!
This time it was different.
I turned 30 in 2008 and I just knew it was my year. I wasn't going to let anything stop me from reaching my goal. And I didn't.
I joined Weight Watchers on Feb. 16, the day after my birthday, and I have missed only one meeting (we were in St. John, USVI) since then.
I struggled with the same five pounds for almost 8 weeks during the summer, but I kept going back.
I have gained several times, once a pattern of every other week almost made me crazy, but I kept going back.
I have lost and gained, lost and gained, struggled, cried, and planned, but I have not starved, binged or "dieted"!
And I kept going back.
Last weeks weigh-in was a day-after-Christmas present with a loss of 3.2! Don't mistake me for a super hero of self-discipline, though . . . I had the stomach flu all week long, so the holiday treats weren't nearly as tempting as usual. I have fallen off the wagon this week and let some of my tracking slide, so I'm definitely not expecting a loss at weigh-in tomorrow. I'm hoping for only a small gain that I can get under control quickly next week.
I am getting closer to my weight goal, only 17 pounds to go!
Here is the past year in pictures:
January 2008 -- Ben got out the saws-all to chop up a ham bone last year. I hated this picture at the time, but now I can appreciate the humor in it! Me at my heaviest.
February 2008 -- Ben's Airman Leadership School graduation.
June 2008 -- Me and Sammy
July 2008 -- Family vacation to Utah
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008 -- At the pumpkin patch
December 21, 2008 -- Sammy's first birthday
December 2008 -- lowest weight since 2002
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)