Normally I look forward to Monday mornings. I don’t wake up in a bad mood because the weekend is over and I have to (as some may put it) “get back to reality”. Instead I view it as an amazing gift, another opportunity to create my own reality, one that I love no matter what day of the week it is. However after living in pain all week and just trying to “get through” each day, I found myself struggling with the thought of another Monday morning. I knew I hadn’t put any effort into my weight loss goals last week as well as this week and I just couldn’t bring myself to face the scale…and that’s why I missed last week’s report in.
It took me last week and most of this week to realize what I was beginning to do and put a stop to it. I was doing a little self sabotage. It is true I was sick and at times the pain was almost unbearable. However I could have easily stayed the course food wise and held off on the exercise. But I’m not going to dwell on it, instead I will focus on the fact that I recognized the behavior before it sent me spiraling backwards.
So here I am and although the last two weeks have been less than perfect, less than I would have hoped for I still managed to weigh in at 176! I have lost yet another pound. Still on track; still headed in the right direction, lucky I didn’t let my imagination push me too far off the path. One of the best things is I am beginning to feel a difference in the way my clothes fit…and I really, really like it.
My struggles are variety with healthy food options to work into my menus…there are so many things that I just don’t like and some that I am allergic to that I sometimes I feel like my options are limited. Also although I do notice the change in the way my clothes fit my belly still makes me look and feel huge so it’s going take a little more time and some creative imagination in the kitchen before I truly feel like my plan is a successful one…it’s working though, I’m headed in the right direction so I guess it is successful.
Have a great week and I’ll talk to you on Monday
Smile Often
Barbara
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Monday March 15tht 2010, 2nd full week
Monday March 15tht 2010, 2nd full week
Ok so I didn’t add anything. However by focusing on the positive (what I was able to do this week) I was able to stay on course and not go backwards. I kept drinking my water, kept the pasta to one night only (multi grain), took a couple short walks during my work day, didn’t pig out on junk, made sure to eat breakfast, took my supplements, continued working on eating slow & consciously, and even made a few substitutions. Maybe for most people on a “diet” that wouldn’t seem like a whole lot of effort, but then again wasn’t that my point? I wanted to do this in a way that I could easily fit it into my life, without overwhelming myself or guilting myself to the point where I feel the need to come up with excuses so that I can make it easy for myself to…quit. That’s one thing that is unacceptable.
After realizing that I was still ok, that things weren’t as bad as I was starting to imagine they were, I was able to calm down and give myself permission to coast for a week. Doing that opened up my mind and although I may not have added any of the steps I had originally planned to I did discover a few small changes that I could make without much effort. One of the things I discovered is; not all turkey products taste like cardboard! Now I know there are many people out there that simply love ground turkey over ground beef, and they even love turkey bacon, but I’m not one of them. Cardboard is cardboard and although I don’t mind packing my “stuff” in it I certainly don’t like to eat it. That’s why I found it so surprising that I do like turkey kielbasa and turkey sausage. I know, I couldn’t believe it either, but it’s true. Butter Ball makes an awesome Turkey Kielbasa that made it difficult for me to notice the difference. I don’t think I will ever get to the point where I will choose ground turkey over ground beef, but this was a victory for me and it makes me hopeful that I may just find a few other healthy substitutions that I enjoy.
With all that said when I woke up Sunday I wasn’t expecting to see movement on the scale…but I did. Two more pounds! I am now down to 177! No extra effort, small steps…consistency is the key. I know it’s not as fast as many would like, but if you’ve done fast before and it hasn’t stuck then continuing to do the same thing and expecting “this time” to be different…well why don’t you let me know how that works out. If it works for you, great I will celebrate with you, if however you find yourself once again struggling to keep up the pace maybe it would be worth the effort to try the slow and steady way. The way I look at it is that steady loss with easy adopted changes is much better than the rollercoaster ride I was on.
So after my second full week I’m feeling pretty good. I’m happy with my progress and I’m going into week three with a positive attitude. I am looking forward to next week and being able to share my new measurements with you.
Have A Great Week & Smile Often!
Barbara
PS If you have any healthy substitutions that you have tried and liked please share them with me…not the cauliflower one, been there tried that and it’s almost as bad as the cardboard!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Monday March 8th 2010, first full week
What a great weekend!
So my first full week came to a close last night…I must admit I was a little concerned getting on the scale this morning, I didn’t accomplish all that I wanted to. I got in a couple of days of “exercise” not nearly as much as I had hoped to, but two days more than I had been getting in…progress is good. I did ok with the “slow” eating, but I know I can do better. I need to pay closer attention to my sugar/carb intake and keep it around 16grams sugar and 22grams carbs per day. All in all it was a good week below are this week’s wins;
1. Increased water intake
2. Continued with supplements
3. Meditated 3 days
4. Switched pasta to a multi grain (didn’t care for the whole wheat)
\5. No out of control cravings
6. Worked in two days of exercise
7. Worked in a couple of short walks, breaks from my work day
8. Left food on my plate, stopped eating when I was satisfied
9. Said no to late night snacking very easily
10. Lost inches!
11. Weighed in at 179!
Simple steps that fit into my life without a tone of extra effort…down a total of 5lbs! I think this is great! Imagine the results I could see if I step it up a bit (remember part of the goal is to make this as easy and as simple as possible, adopt habits and methods that fit into my life easily so that I once I reach my goal I will be able to continue my new lifestyle never feeling deprived of the things I love…YES, I love sweets, junk food, pasta, bread. I may not eat a tone of it but I do not want to cut it out of my life all together and when I eat it I don’t want to waste any time convincing myself that something taste just as good as the “real” thing. So good tasting substitutes are ok but if my taste buds say “Ya, right” I’m not going to force the issue, I would rather have a purely “sinful” indulgence ever so often than a nasty tasting copy more frequently. I may not be dropping a ton of weight but the diet isn’t consuming me either. That’s just me; being honest with me and making it work.
Now I bet you want to know if there were any changes in my measurements, well here they are;
Starting Current
Abs: Upper 41.5 Lower 45 40/44
Hips: 45 44
Arms: Left 13.5 Right 14 13/13
Thighs: Left 25.5 Right 26 24/25
Neck: 15 14
I’ve heard it said that “every journey begins with a single step”, it looks like even small steps pay off, and losing 5lbs and a total of 7 inches is pretty good. This week I’ll add in more exercise time, work to nail the “eating slow” thing, get the carbs & sugar grams down. I think that if I can add these steps to my plan I’ll have an even better week this week.
Last week ended on a high note and I’m getting closer to wearing some of the clothes I avoid because they make me look and feel like I’m seven months pregnant. It’s been kind of fun looking for the small things I can change to make this improvement, things so simple that anyone could adopt them into their lifestyle.
Have a great week, see you on Monday March 15th th
Smile Often,
Barbara
So my first full week came to a close last night…I must admit I was a little concerned getting on the scale this morning, I didn’t accomplish all that I wanted to. I got in a couple of days of “exercise” not nearly as much as I had hoped to, but two days more than I had been getting in…progress is good. I did ok with the “slow” eating, but I know I can do better. I need to pay closer attention to my sugar/carb intake and keep it around 16grams sugar and 22grams carbs per day. All in all it was a good week below are this week’s wins;
1. Increased water intake
2. Continued with supplements
3. Meditated 3 days
4. Switched pasta to a multi grain (didn’t care for the whole wheat)
\5. No out of control cravings
6. Worked in two days of exercise
7. Worked in a couple of short walks, breaks from my work day
8. Left food on my plate, stopped eating when I was satisfied
9. Said no to late night snacking very easily
10. Lost inches!
11. Weighed in at 179!
Simple steps that fit into my life without a tone of extra effort…down a total of 5lbs! I think this is great! Imagine the results I could see if I step it up a bit (remember part of the goal is to make this as easy and as simple as possible, adopt habits and methods that fit into my life easily so that I once I reach my goal I will be able to continue my new lifestyle never feeling deprived of the things I love…YES, I love sweets, junk food, pasta, bread. I may not eat a tone of it but I do not want to cut it out of my life all together and when I eat it I don’t want to waste any time convincing myself that something taste just as good as the “real” thing. So good tasting substitutes are ok but if my taste buds say “Ya, right” I’m not going to force the issue, I would rather have a purely “sinful” indulgence ever so often than a nasty tasting copy more frequently. I may not be dropping a ton of weight but the diet isn’t consuming me either. That’s just me; being honest with me and making it work.
Now I bet you want to know if there were any changes in my measurements, well here they are;
Starting Current
Abs: Upper 41.5 Lower 45 40/44
Hips: 45 44
Arms: Left 13.5 Right 14 13/13
Thighs: Left 25.5 Right 26 24/25
Neck: 15 14
I’ve heard it said that “every journey begins with a single step”, it looks like even small steps pay off, and losing 5lbs and a total of 7 inches is pretty good. This week I’ll add in more exercise time, work to nail the “eating slow” thing, get the carbs & sugar grams down. I think that if I can add these steps to my plan I’ll have an even better week this week.
Last week ended on a high note and I’m getting closer to wearing some of the clothes I avoid because they make me look and feel like I’m seven months pregnant. It’s been kind of fun looking for the small things I can change to make this improvement, things so simple that anyone could adopt them into their lifestyle.
Have a great week, see you on Monday March 15th th
Smile Often,
Barbara
Monday, March 1, 2010
March 1st 2010
Good Morning!
Well today will be day four, since I started pulling my actual eating plan together so I think we can skip the measurements until next Monday. I did however get on the scale yesterday and my day three weigh was…183! One pound three days, I think I’ll take it, and if we want to get technical we could say 182.8 but I rounded up. Not bad for the first few day, not bad at all. I figure as long as I’m going in the right direction It’s all good.
I have to admit I didn’t hit the ground running. However I never thought I would, which is why I chose to combine the plans that I did…quality, I want it to last. If I do have a week where I lose big great I’ll take that too, but for now I’m happy with 1lb.
I made some small changes that wouldn’t take too much effort to work into eating and life style and that I can continue to build upon. Here is a list of the changes I made so far:
1. Increased my water intake and added lemon juice to it.
2. Started taking all the supplements that I had previously listed.
3. Eating slower put my fork down between every bite. Giving myself time to notice when I’m full.
4. Cut out almost all Splenda (I just can’t give it up in my morning tea…yet). Not sure if you are aware but Splenda, Equal, and Sweet-n-Low all cause stomach bloating and can cause you to hang onto belly fat.
That’s it, that’s really all of done the last few days. This week I will be adding in a few more steps and some exercise. It’s a busy week for me so I know I am going to need to push to get some exercise in. I also want to add in the meditation CD from I Can Make You Thin
. Those two things alone will be a challenging since I am always giving up what little time I put aside for myself…can’t do that now need to learn to put myself first once in a while and practice a little “extreme self care
”.
I have a couple of stressful weeks coming up so it’s going to be interesting for me to see how I manage, but I am excited…I’ve lost 1lb! So many of you are on the same journey and I would love to hear how you are doing. Maybe something you’re doing will help one of the other readers…or maybe it might help me.
See you on Monday March 8th, I will be down a few more pounds and have my new measurments.
Smile Often,
Barbara
LifeTude/testimonials
Life Lessons
Well today will be day four, since I started pulling my actual eating plan together so I think we can skip the measurements until next Monday. I did however get on the scale yesterday and my day three weigh was…183! One pound three days, I think I’ll take it, and if we want to get technical we could say 182.8 but I rounded up. Not bad for the first few day, not bad at all. I figure as long as I’m going in the right direction It’s all good.
I have to admit I didn’t hit the ground running. However I never thought I would, which is why I chose to combine the plans that I did…quality, I want it to last. If I do have a week where I lose big great I’ll take that too, but for now I’m happy with 1lb.
I made some small changes that wouldn’t take too much effort to work into eating and life style and that I can continue to build upon. Here is a list of the changes I made so far:
1. Increased my water intake and added lemon juice to it.
2. Started taking all the supplements that I had previously listed.
3. Eating slower put my fork down between every bite. Giving myself time to notice when I’m full.
4. Cut out almost all Splenda (I just can’t give it up in my morning tea…yet). Not sure if you are aware but Splenda, Equal, and Sweet-n-Low all cause stomach bloating and can cause you to hang onto belly fat.
That’s it, that’s really all of done the last few days. This week I will be adding in a few more steps and some exercise. It’s a busy week for me so I know I am going to need to push to get some exercise in. I also want to add in the meditation CD from I Can Make You Thin
. Those two things alone will be a challenging since I am always giving up what little time I put aside for myself…can’t do that now need to learn to put myself first once in a while and practice a little “extreme self care”.I have a couple of stressful weeks coming up so it’s going to be interesting for me to see how I manage, but I am excited…I’ve lost 1lb! So many of you are on the same journey and I would love to hear how you are doing. Maybe something you’re doing will help one of the other readers…or maybe it might help me.
See you on Monday March 8th, I will be down a few more pounds and have my new measurments.
Smile Often,
Barbara
LifeTude/testimonials
Life Lessons
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