Return Of The Scale

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.

October 19, 2008 - My First Week

A Rocky Start

Well, the important thing to remember is that I am staying accountable by writing. This is my way of saying that I didn’t have the most successful week. In fact, I gained weight. So now my first picture will be at 245lbs. I ate out a lot this week, maybe every night, and I even ate fast food. I also had at least one soda a day. So I am going to make sure I plan out my meals this week. I also need to find something to replace drinking soda, maybe tea. Soda seems to be a trigger for me to eat other unhealthy things.

On the positive side, I did a lot of exercise. I went on a few walks with my dogs, I worked in the yard, went on a two mile hike (this was a requirement for work) and I did a 5K walk. I had been planning on doing the 5k for a few weeks and signed up weeks ago. If I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have gone or done the walks earlier in the week to get ready. One upsetting moment was when I picked up my XL t-shirt for the walk and it was too tight to wear. Maybe I will keep it even though I don’t like it, so I can show off when it fits.

So, I have increased exercise, but I still need to work on my eating habits. This week my goal will be to make dinner Monday through Friday and go on at least 3 walks with my dogs. I am also going to post my start pictures.

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.