Return Of The Scale

February Steps

Tracking your steps daily with your pedomter means you can’t lie to yourself about your physical activity.  When I first got the pedometer, I was getting around 4,00 steps.  Toward the end of the month, on a regular day, I started walking close to 7,000 steps a day.  However, my goal is still to walk 10,000 steps everyday, so it looks like I have some work in store for March.

My New Year’s Resolutions

I believe that these are attainable goals and all things that I like to do. I love fruits and vegetables, but still don’t eat enough. I like to cook, but always run out of ideas, so if I learn new recipes, I will be less likely to eat out. I love to walk my dog, so that is a good way to get exercise. Now the hardest goal for me, is waking up early - snooze button habit. This is a bad habit that is a factor in my weight gain because I don’t feel well when I oversleep. At first I wanted to make a really extreme goal for this, but I think 30 minutes is a good starting place.

Enjoy The Holiday’s Without Weight Gain

I made it though the holidays without gaining 20lbs and without depriving myself.  My strategy was to stick with my regular routine as much as possible on regular days.  Then, when I was at events, I ate - in moderation (crazy concept huh). If I didn’t like something that much, I didn’t eat it.  I saved my calories for the things I really enjoy and crave all year long.  Since I haven’t been eating as much, I didn’t eat as much.  I felt pretty full after eating much less than usual.

Now that I have been riding my brain of the dieters mentality, a lot has changed.  Normally the lounge at work is filled with goodies over the holidays, as it was this year.  I didn’t find the treats too tempting though.  The old me, would have been depriving myself so much and finally given into temptation.  Then ate a lot because I already ruined my diet. Then continued that all the way till new years, and probably after.  Last year, I would think to myself “might as well enjoy myself while I can, before I go on the ulimate diet,” this year, I didn’t really think too much, just asked myself if I really wanted something and if I was full.

I did catch myself eating mindlessly though.  I was eating a cookie and someone else asked if it was good.  I must have made a face because they laughed.  Then I said I probably shouldn’t eat it and threw it out.

Weight Loss Success! - No Soda in over 3 weeks

As I mentioned in my weekly weight loss report, I have not had a soda in over 3 weeks. This is a huge milestone. I have been drinking crazy amounts of soda since high school (thanks to the nearby gas station which offered 44oz drinks for 39 cents, I could find that in the seats of my car). When I lost weight in the past, I still drank soda, only diet. After drinking a lot of that, especially embarrassingly large 64 ouncers, I started feeling sick (like it was burning a hole in my stomach) so naturally, I switched back to regular.

I can’t blame all of my weight gain on regular soda, but I would say a large portion of my fat is pure Dr. Pepper. I did stop drinking it for a while, lost weight, fell off the wagon somehow, started drinking more than ever, and gained more than ever. Somehow I am hoping this time will be different. I have made it quite a while, and I don’t plan to stop. The difference this time is that I am not going to tell myself it is horrible to have a soda and if I ever drink one again I failed. I know that doesn’t work, so hopefully if I do have a soda, I can limit it to just one. I will keep you posted.

The amazing thing is, that I have been drinking iced tea instead of soda. It is much more thirst quenching and refreshing. Lately I have been choosing tea because that is what I want, not what I tell myself I have to have. The problem is, that at many social functions and convenience stores, there are not a lot of choices for drinks when you eliminate soda and artificial sweeteners. I can always get bottled water, but I don’t really think that you should buy bottled water (this is a whole other soap-box), so I have been taking my water bottle with me. Maybe I just shouldn’t go to the convenience stores any more. Sad thought, since they have been my friends for years. “Sorry old friends, I think I am going to have to move on.”

Overweight People vs. Not Overweight People

This revelation came to me when I was at the gas station getting a soda with some friends. Two of us were dieters and one wasn’t. Along with my soda, I got some junk food because I said, I was “already splurging, I may as well,” which the dieter agreed with, but the non-dieter thought that was funny because they would think if I was having a soda, I shouldn’t have the junk food. – Not exactly the best way of telling the story, but the point is, I was thinking backwards.

I have been observing people for the past few years and I have noticed that overweight people and always on a diet, or talking about their weight or worried about their weight. Thin people aren’t. Of coarse, this is a generalization, because there are thin people who are obsessed with their weight and overweight people who don’t seem to care. In general though, it seems like people who don’t struggle with their weight are more in touch with themselves. They don’t eat certain things because they don’t feel well when they eat them, they know when to stop eating, and they choose healthy food because they know it will make them healthier or they like it.

Overweight people eat for reasons other than hunger. I rarely know when I am actually hungry. I eat because I think I am supposed to or it’s time, or there is food in front of me, or because I decided I am going to splurge or treat myself for whatever reason. I usually eat very fast and don’t really taste my food. I eat a large portion too, because I don’t really pay attention to myself when I am eating. I try not to talk about my weight to other people that much, but I am always thinking about it. And, unfortunately, at home I talk about my weight and failed plans a lot. I make a lot of my choices based on my weight. I would say that I am obsessed.

Top Ten List – why being overweight is not my cup of tea.

1. Health Concerns – I think every person who is overweight, knows how harmful it is to your health and is constantly worried about the risks and the constant worry leads to stress, which leads to overeating – and the cycle continues
2. Diets – I firmly believe that diets are what is making Americans overweight. Not diet as in – this is what I eat – diet as in the mentality of loosing weight. Somewhere along the way, we forgot how to eat like a normal person. We are always creating rules for ourselves, and then breaking them, and then feeling guilty, and then saying, “Oh well, I already had a small bite sized piece of chocolate,” (which isn’t on my diet) “I might as well eat the whole bag.” Weight loss diets have an end because you cannot maintain them for the rest of your life, which means when it is over, you will, most likely, gain the weight back.
3. Weight Cycling – My sister has worn one size for the last 15 years. On the other hand, my closet is full of a variety of sizes, depending on the day. When I go on a diet, my size goes down, when I quit the diet, my size increases and then some.
4. Laziness – I know the word lazy has a negative connotation, maybe lethargic is better. I am not a lazy person. I work very hard for other people, and at my work, but when it comes to taking care of myself, I would rather not. I don’t want to go exercise and I don’t want to cook healthy food when I am gaining weight because I don’t feel well. Even though I know sitting and eating take-out won’t help, I do it anyway, which makes me feel worse.
5. Aches and Pains – When you are carrying an extra person around, it hurts. My feet hurt, my back hurts, basically , I ache all over. Need I explain more?
6. Bellies – A belly is an underestimated thing. It is very cumbersome and is constantly in the way. It hangs over pants, it makes you feel insecure, and it gets in the way.
7. Insecurities – When you are overweight, you constantly feel like you are being judged, probably because you are being judged. Our society is very prejudice of overweight and obese people. Low self confidence is a major factor to weight gain.
8. Clothes – Shopping for clothes is terrible when you can’t find anything that fits. Many clothes that are in XXL sizes are just wider, which doesn’t really help or flatter anyone. When you shop at a specialty store, prices skyrocket, and no-offense, the clothes are ugly. Why do I have to dress like a crazy person, just because I gained weight? As a result, I never have the outfits needed for certain events, and I don’t feel confident in the clothes I do have.
9. Avoiding People, Places and Events - Now that I have gained weight, I don’t want to do as much. I don’t want to go certain places and I don’t want to see certain people. I get stressed out about going places that used to be a daily part of life. I procrastinate more, therefore worry more.
10. Worry about Seating – I have come to a point where I now have to worry about where I will fit. I can still fit in chairs but my sides hit the handle bars. This is very uncomfortable in many ways, and I would rather not have to worry about whether or not I will fit in a seat.
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Tags: diet, health, weight loss
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5k Walk

This weekend, I participated in a 5k walk. I completed the walk in just under 1 hour. I had a good time and it was fun to get outside early in the morning and have a purpose. My sister did the walk with me so it was nice to be accountable to someone. I am really happy that I participated in this event because it was fun and I felt a sense of accomplishment.

I started preparing for the walk by walking around my neighborhood. Then I drove in my car to estimate about how far I was walking and a made a practice route that was close to three miles. I didn’t train as much as I wanted to, but I was ready and was able to keep a steady pace the entire time.

In the past I have participated in 5ks and even a 10k at one point. However, I ran them (if you can call what I do running). I had the mentality that if you didn’t run, you weren’t really accomplishing anything. I really enjoyed walking and my time wasn’t that much longer than my time was when I jogged.

On the down side, I got a fancy long sleeved T-shirt (the kind runners wear) for participating, and the XL didn’t fit. I am keeping it so that when it fits, I can show off. I am not sure that I am brave enough to post a picture, but you never know.

My Healthy Weight Game Plan

1. Learn How to Eat – Not Diet – in the past I would pick some random diet and get all pumped up and have a little success, then fail and make up a crazy diet, which didn’t work – so no more diets except for a healthy diet. I am going to plan my meals for the week and cook meals at home. I will eat out only for social reasons, and be mindful of what I eat. To help me grasp a concept of portion sizes and how much I need to be eating, I will be using a computer program to help count and keep track of how many calories I eat.
2. Exercise – I will do some sort of physical activity every day. It may be walking, riding a bike, using my exercise bike, going to the gym, working in the yard or doing sit-ups. My goal is to do something every day.
3. Be Accountable – Here is the kicker, and the reason for this site. I do better when I am accountable for myself. I was very successful at previous “diets” when I had challenges with family and friends or I had something to keep me accountable. That is why I am making this site, to share my successes and failures, but above all, to be accountable for what I am doing.
4. Change Bad Habits – Overeating isn’t just about food. I am eating when I am stressed, when I am sad, when I am tired and when I am happy. I need to replace my bad habits with good ones. Then maybe I can stop the cycle of overeating.
5. Maintain Weight Loss- I am not looking for a crash diet or exercise plan. I don’t ever want to go on a diet again, or force myself to do activities I hate doing. I want to change so that I enjoy eating healthy food and find activities and exercise that I like to do. I want to change so that I am not on a diet for the rest of my life.