Farewell Turkey Day. My favorite gluttonous meal is over until next year. The Great Turkey was sacrificed so that I could pig out and indulge myself without guilt and I survived without putting on any weight. That is an accomplishment so I'll choose to see that as a positive thing. However, this last month has been a hard one. In the last month I have only lost 1 1/2 pounds. Most of my recent entries have illustrated the struggle. That's because I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. I can make lots of excuses for this but it doesn't make me any happier.
I know workouts are important, and I always start out with good intentions. Unfortunately, anything will work as a detterent for me. I can start each day with a pre-planned schedule, but within half an hour of waking up in the morning I will re-prioritize the day, and somehow the workout gets pushed down the list. Today is a perfect example. It is the day I do Feederwatch. (On Feederwatch days, I stay close to the window and track the numbers and species of birds that flock to my feeder. I record the numbers and send it in to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.) My plan was to do my weights workout by the window so I could kill two birds with one stone. (OOPS. Poor analogy there. Sorry birds!) Instead after I got up, I did my weekly weight and inches stats update... and the results led me to blogging. One workout pushed down the list! So if I am looking at why the weight loss has slowed so much I would have to admit that workouts have been my biggest failure.
I was sick for a few weeks and that dictated what I did and what I ate. I can accept that. It is not in my control. However, I was only losing 1 pound a week before all of this. I am willing to accept slow weight loss as a good thing because it allows me to develop new eating habits that will hopefully become my new norm. But it has become way too slow! It's time to figure out what to change. Today, when I recorded my stats, I noticed an interesting trend, found a few positive points and set a new goal.
1) When I measure myself I record the bust, mid-torso, waist, belly, and butt. My mid-torso and belly are the two areas that bug me. They fluctuate every week. They are also the 2 areas that I don't like when I look at myself in clothes. While I was 'sick' with hyper acid reflux the bloating was uncomfortable and it was trackable as I recorded my inches gained or lost. The inches over all my body went up a total of 3 1/2 inches. Today they were all down. I know I've been feeling much better, and haven't noticed the symptoms I was experiencing, but I think this kind of proved it, too! (Good news.) In fact, my body lost a total of 4 1/4 inches overall this week!
2) I checked the stats for the past few months. When I look back over the weeks and months of this diet, my bust, waist, butt, leg, and arm have all recorded a steady, if slow, loss in inches. Because they don't change for weeks, I often don't see the difference, but when I look back over my record keeping, it is obvious. The change has been positive. Of course, the one place I have seen it is in my clothes. Tops and pants that were tight are now comfortable, and in some cases, loose. YEA!!!
3) My new goal is to lose 2 pounds this week. It will be hard. I have to work out to increase my metabolism. I've got to stick to my diet plan, but after seeing the inches drop down when I measured myself, I feel sure the scale is ready to help me out. I really want to lose another 5 pounds before Christmas and losing 2 pounds this week is the key to reaching that goal.
Time to get going. I will log off of this blog, pick up those weights and do that workout I planned t do first thing this morning. Wish me luck.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Best Reward
One of the problems I have always had with sticking to a weight loss program is finding a reward that works. I guess I am too accustomed to the 'immediate gratification' syndrome of the day because if I want something I tend to get it.
For instance, I could say I would reward myself with a massage when I lost 5 pounds, but the truth is, if I really want a massage, I'll get one. If I want to go to a movie, I go. A really nice reward would be to treat myself to a nice dessert at a restaurant, but that really defeats the purpose doesn't it?
As a result, the reward part of dieting has never worked for me. Instead I had to find a way to simply motivate myself to keep at it. That was why I started this blog. Talking about my goals, my efforts, and my failures, as well as measuring those results turned out to be the best Diet Partner I could find. I have no idea why it works, but it does.
However, today I got the BEST reward. Last spring when my weight was obviously not coming down and my jeans were not expanding along with me, I gave in and bought a few new pairs. I came to realize the muffin top look spilling out over my waistband was not a flattering look, nor was it comfortable!
Today, I put on one of those jeans and I couldn't find my belt. It became quickly apparent I really needed the belt. They were falling off!!!!!!! They don't quite make it over my hips, but a few more pounds and they will.
Can you say HAPPY!!!!! The 'bad' news is that I'm not ready to buy new jeans yet. I need to lose another 5-10 pounds so that I can buy the size and fit I really want. I guess I'll have to scour my closet for a few pants to wear this winter until I'm ready to shop. It's been awhile since I've been this weight. I wonder what I'll find?
For instance, I could say I would reward myself with a massage when I lost 5 pounds, but the truth is, if I really want a massage, I'll get one. If I want to go to a movie, I go. A really nice reward would be to treat myself to a nice dessert at a restaurant, but that really defeats the purpose doesn't it?
As a result, the reward part of dieting has never worked for me. Instead I had to find a way to simply motivate myself to keep at it. That was why I started this blog. Talking about my goals, my efforts, and my failures, as well as measuring those results turned out to be the best Diet Partner I could find. I have no idea why it works, but it does.
However, today I got the BEST reward. Last spring when my weight was obviously not coming down and my jeans were not expanding along with me, I gave in and bought a few new pairs. I came to realize the muffin top look spilling out over my waistband was not a flattering look, nor was it comfortable!
Today, I put on one of those jeans and I couldn't find my belt. It became quickly apparent I really needed the belt. They were falling off!!!!!!! They don't quite make it over my hips, but a few more pounds and they will.
Can you say HAPPY!!!!! The 'bad' news is that I'm not ready to buy new jeans yet. I need to lose another 5-10 pounds so that I can buy the size and fit I really want. I guess I'll have to scour my closet for a few pants to wear this winter until I'm ready to shop. It's been awhile since I've been this weight. I wonder what I'll find?
Friday, November 19, 2010
2 weeks later...
I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted here. What's been happening? Am I still on the diet? Am I losing weight? The basic answer is yes. The detailed answer is that last week I wasn't feeling well, and neither was my computer.
I started experiencing stomach problems on Oct. 23rd after my birthday dinner. It was a delicious dinner, but I felt so miserably full, and the feeling stayed for hours, until the food exited my stomach (in the wrong direction). Problems continued for a couple of weeks so I decided it was important to check it out. After seeing a doctor I am on the way to feeling better...but not there yet.
As a result, my exercise was limited and I haven't followed the same eating rules as before. When your stomach is easily upset, diet rules go out the window. The only thing that matters is what works. I ate foods that felt right, and I ate the amount that worked. Tracking carbs or calories was pointless, but my food diary included the amount I ate, what time, and how I felt afterwards. Since I couldn't eat a lot, I wasn't in danger of regaining weight. In fact my weight loss stayed about the same.
Exercise was a different matter. After one workout in which I did a different abs exercise my stomach hurt for a few days. It was hard to tell if my stomach pain was a result of my abs work or the stomach itself, so I stopped working out. And on some days I just didn't feel well enough to go for a long walk or attempt a good workout.
Things are looking up. A prescription for Prilosec has settled my stomach. So far, all tests have been negative. The hope is that the Prilosec will get my digestive process back on the right track. My current situation is that I feel fine as long as I eat small amounts, slowly. It is hoped that eventually I will be able to eat normally.
I really can't complain. Eating small amounts is the perfect prescription for weight loss. This experience confirms that it isn't What you eat, but how much that counts. It's true that I prefer the Atkins/low carbohydrate-high protein diet. It is easy for me to monitor my carb intake, and my body responds better to proteins than to carbs. I also find it hard to know what my calorie intake should be for good weight loss.
Now that I'm feeling better, I am back on track with my walking and my workouts, much to the happiness of my dog. I can get back to eating what I usually eat, just in small amounts. The downside is that I have gotten back to nibbling, which I was really trying to avoid. As for the weight? I am under 140 for the first time in years. I've bounced between 137 and 139 for two weeks now, but I haven't seen 140 in a while. That is the best news, to me!
And my computer? After we fixed the router it was happy once again. My computer is happiest when it can reach out and touch the world. Just like me.
I started experiencing stomach problems on Oct. 23rd after my birthday dinner. It was a delicious dinner, but I felt so miserably full, and the feeling stayed for hours, until the food exited my stomach (in the wrong direction). Problems continued for a couple of weeks so I decided it was important to check it out. After seeing a doctor I am on the way to feeling better...but not there yet.
As a result, my exercise was limited and I haven't followed the same eating rules as before. When your stomach is easily upset, diet rules go out the window. The only thing that matters is what works. I ate foods that felt right, and I ate the amount that worked. Tracking carbs or calories was pointless, but my food diary included the amount I ate, what time, and how I felt afterwards. Since I couldn't eat a lot, I wasn't in danger of regaining weight. In fact my weight loss stayed about the same.
Exercise was a different matter. After one workout in which I did a different abs exercise my stomach hurt for a few days. It was hard to tell if my stomach pain was a result of my abs work or the stomach itself, so I stopped working out. And on some days I just didn't feel well enough to go for a long walk or attempt a good workout.
Things are looking up. A prescription for Prilosec has settled my stomach. So far, all tests have been negative. The hope is that the Prilosec will get my digestive process back on the right track. My current situation is that I feel fine as long as I eat small amounts, slowly. It is hoped that eventually I will be able to eat normally.
I really can't complain. Eating small amounts is the perfect prescription for weight loss. This experience confirms that it isn't What you eat, but how much that counts. It's true that I prefer the Atkins/low carbohydrate-high protein diet. It is easy for me to monitor my carb intake, and my body responds better to proteins than to carbs. I also find it hard to know what my calorie intake should be for good weight loss.
Now that I'm feeling better, I am back on track with my walking and my workouts, much to the happiness of my dog. I can get back to eating what I usually eat, just in small amounts. The downside is that I have gotten back to nibbling, which I was really trying to avoid. As for the weight? I am under 140 for the first time in years. I've bounced between 137 and 139 for two weeks now, but I haven't seen 140 in a while. That is the best news, to me!
And my computer? After we fixed the router it was happy once again. My computer is happiest when it can reach out and touch the world. Just like me.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Inspiration--Christina's Story
The Racheal Ray Show is following the story of a teen girl who is trying to lose 70 pounds by prom night. She is very overweight, and ultimately needs to lose more than that, but I think her goal is realistic. It is also very hard.
Each Friday the show profiles how her week has gone. I've seen a few of those stories. I am inspired by her determination, but I feel for the battles she has to win to get there. Not everyone in her family is overweight, and she is clearly the heaviest of them all. The story this week really touched me. The family was preparing for her sister's birthday party. Pizza, chips, birthday cake, Italian meats and cheeses were everywhere. I didn't see one veggie platter or fruit tray. I really felt as if she was fighting this battle alone.
She did eat a piece of pizza and a piece of birthday cake and afterwards hated herself. That fed her low self-esteem so she skipped a couple of days at the gym. In the end she put back on 5 pounds of the 13 she had lost.
How would I ever lose a pound if my family only had high fat foods around? I am the captain of my own ship here! I am the grocery shopper and the cook. I am in total control of the food I consume, good or bad. I have no excuses. But I don't know if I could persevere the way Christina is if I were 17 years old. Having a good support system is so important! Christina continues to fight back, but I hope future updates show others rallying around her and providing her with the opportunities to make the right choices.
To put a brighter ending to this tale I can tell you that at the end of the week she had gotten back to the gym and was once again watching what she ate and lost 3 of those pounds. She has a long way to go, but she is inspiring to me. I wish I could be her phone and work out buddy and we could challenge each other. And I hope the next time they show her family, I see a veggie platter on the table somewhere!
Each Friday the show profiles how her week has gone. I've seen a few of those stories. I am inspired by her determination, but I feel for the battles she has to win to get there. Not everyone in her family is overweight, and she is clearly the heaviest of them all. The story this week really touched me. The family was preparing for her sister's birthday party. Pizza, chips, birthday cake, Italian meats and cheeses were everywhere. I didn't see one veggie platter or fruit tray. I really felt as if she was fighting this battle alone.
She did eat a piece of pizza and a piece of birthday cake and afterwards hated herself. That fed her low self-esteem so she skipped a couple of days at the gym. In the end she put back on 5 pounds of the 13 she had lost.
How would I ever lose a pound if my family only had high fat foods around? I am the captain of my own ship here! I am the grocery shopper and the cook. I am in total control of the food I consume, good or bad. I have no excuses. But I don't know if I could persevere the way Christina is if I were 17 years old. Having a good support system is so important! Christina continues to fight back, but I hope future updates show others rallying around her and providing her with the opportunities to make the right choices.
To put a brighter ending to this tale I can tell you that at the end of the week she had gotten back to the gym and was once again watching what she ate and lost 3 of those pounds. She has a long way to go, but she is inspiring to me. I wish I could be her phone and work out buddy and we could challenge each other. And I hope the next time they show her family, I see a veggie platter on the table somewhere!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Without Jillian? Why?
I am trying to lose 20 pounds. 30 by next summer. I would like to see it gone by Christmas and I am half way there. There is hope, but I am on this journey alone. I don't have a diet or a workout buddy. This blog seems to be my biggest source of accountability. Go figure! Why is this blog called "Losing it without Jillian"? 2 reasons, actually.
For one thing, I'm not on the Biggest Loser, so I don't have all of the resources that a person has when they devote 6 months of their life to losing 100 plus pounds. And I don't need to lose 100 plus pounds, so I don't need 'the ranch'!
But the biggest reason I am losing it without Jillian is because there is NO WAY I could subject myself to any of the stuff those contestants subject themselves to. In my book, they are heroes who saw themselves as zeroes and decided to do something about it. I admire each of those contestants so much. Going to the gym is hard enough even when you are just a little overweight. I can't fathom how they stick to it and persevere when every part of their body must be screaming. I think the trainers are really good. (I do worry about the producers, though. I personally think some of the challenges the contestants are put through are dangerous and I've come to believe the trainers don't have much, if any, input on them.) I like Jillian and Bob and think most of the time they do a great job, but I would crumble on that treadmill when Jillian challenged me to 30 more seconds, or whatever, when my lungs were dying. No thanks. I'll do it my way.
But what if I actually was 100 pounds overweight? Where would I find the courage, or motivation to make that change? My next post is going to share the story of one girl trying to do it alone.
For one thing, I'm not on the Biggest Loser, so I don't have all of the resources that a person has when they devote 6 months of their life to losing 100 plus pounds. And I don't need to lose 100 plus pounds, so I don't need 'the ranch'!
But the biggest reason I am losing it without Jillian is because there is NO WAY I could subject myself to any of the stuff those contestants subject themselves to. In my book, they are heroes who saw themselves as zeroes and decided to do something about it. I admire each of those contestants so much. Going to the gym is hard enough even when you are just a little overweight. I can't fathom how they stick to it and persevere when every part of their body must be screaming. I think the trainers are really good. (I do worry about the producers, though. I personally think some of the challenges the contestants are put through are dangerous and I've come to believe the trainers don't have much, if any, input on them.) I like Jillian and Bob and think most of the time they do a great job, but I would crumble on that treadmill when Jillian challenged me to 30 more seconds, or whatever, when my lungs were dying. No thanks. I'll do it my way.
But what if I actually was 100 pounds overweight? Where would I find the courage, or motivation to make that change? My next post is going to share the story of one girl trying to do it alone.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Catching Up
I am so behind on tracking my progress. It has been a busy two weeks. Our church had it's first Pumpkin Patch and I worked it most week days. Last Sunday was my birthday and I celebrated it by getting sick. (Not a good plan!) This week was spent working the Patch and trying to get my stomach back to normal.
When I think of the contestants on Biggest Loser I remember one who had to be taken to the hospital and was only allowed to walk when she returned to the ranch. She wasn't able to work out. So she walked. The alternative would have been to go home. She had to find the way to lose enough weight to stay. This week I maintained what activities I had to but walking wasn't one of them. It was so easy to rationalize not going out. My stomach was queasy. I'd 'better not push it today'. The big difference between Miggy and me was that she had only one thing to do and that was lose weight. She HAD to do it or she would go home. Once again, it is obvious that I am not a 'competitor'. I never have been. I'm just me. I can make excuses with the best of them. Jillian would walk out on my if she was my trainer!
The news wasn't all bad, though. I really had to watch what I ate. Indigestion set in if I ate 1) a lot, 2) anything rich (like toast with butter), 3) a lot... (oh yeah, I said that). I ate a lot of cereal, soup and Italian ice. Well, if my exercise level was low, so was my calorie intake!
I'm back to normal, and the pumpkins are gone so it's time to pay attention to what I'm putting in and how much I'm working out!
The good news?? I did manange to lose a pound. Next week's goal is 139!!!!! I can't wait until I reach it. It will be the first time I was under 140 since 2006 and then it was for about 2 weeks. The scales like to tease me. It shows me a number and then bounces up a pound for the next 2-3 days. It has hinted at 139 already, but I know it is just playing games with my mind. But by Friday, it should be there!!!
I can't wait! See you then.
When I think of the contestants on Biggest Loser I remember one who had to be taken to the hospital and was only allowed to walk when she returned to the ranch. She wasn't able to work out. So she walked. The alternative would have been to go home. She had to find the way to lose enough weight to stay. This week I maintained what activities I had to but walking wasn't one of them. It was so easy to rationalize not going out. My stomach was queasy. I'd 'better not push it today'. The big difference between Miggy and me was that she had only one thing to do and that was lose weight. She HAD to do it or she would go home. Once again, it is obvious that I am not a 'competitor'. I never have been. I'm just me. I can make excuses with the best of them. Jillian would walk out on my if she was my trainer!
The news wasn't all bad, though. I really had to watch what I ate. Indigestion set in if I ate 1) a lot, 2) anything rich (like toast with butter), 3) a lot... (oh yeah, I said that). I ate a lot of cereal, soup and Italian ice. Well, if my exercise level was low, so was my calorie intake!
I'm back to normal, and the pumpkins are gone so it's time to pay attention to what I'm putting in and how much I'm working out!
The good news?? I did manange to lose a pound. Next week's goal is 139!!!!! I can't wait until I reach it. It will be the first time I was under 140 since 2006 and then it was for about 2 weeks. The scales like to tease me. It shows me a number and then bounces up a pound for the next 2-3 days. It has hinted at 139 already, but I know it is just playing games with my mind. But by Friday, it should be there!!!
I can't wait! See you then.
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