Maybe Needs to Take a Hike!

Two posts in one day, what’s wrong with me?  Well, someone said something that really struck me.   On our support group on Facebook I read the comment “maybe I’ll start walking today” and thought . . . what is that “maybe” doing in that sentence?  That maybe gives the person an out.  I actually commented on the post and stated that Maybe needs to take a hike.  But I realize I do it too.

“Maybe if I have this chocolate, I can just work out later . . . “

“Maybe I’ll find the time to clean the room after this program”

“Maybe I can go out tonight, I’m just not sure right now, but I’ll get back to you.”

“Maybe we can walk on our second break, since the first one is already past”

“Maybe I’ll turn on the exercise video when I get home, and do that before I cook dinner . . .”

I don’t know about you, but Maybe provides me an awesome out every time I use it.  I’ve decided, starting today, that MAYBE I just won’t say maybe anymore.  Scratch that, I simply WON’T.  I’m a 38 year old woman, and I’m more than capable of committing to things that are important.  My health, my well being, are important.  Even after the Walk-it! Challenge on Sunday I thought . . . “maybe I should make this a weekly thing – walk down to the lake, walk around it, and walk back up.” 

Well . . . here it is . . . MAYBE I shouldn’t be such a wuss, and I should just commit that I WILL find time, once a week, to walk down to, around, and back up from the lake.  It’s a three mile walk, it’s not the end of the world.  I can do it with my kids, we can rollerblade sometimes, but MAYBE has no place in this.  Maybe can take a hike, because I’m going for a walk.

No one ever maybe’s on the important stuff.  You don’t hear “maybe I’ll marry you” or “maybe I’ll make my house payment”  When you DO hear it on important things, it’s because the person genuinely isn’t ready to commit – “maybe your mother can come live with us,” or “maybe I’ll go back to school.”  You and I both know that when the person talking is in the maybe boat, it just ISN’T going to happen!  We both know that the only way to MAKE it happen is to get them out of the maybe boat – it’s a sinking ship.  With maybe, it’s more often a no than a yes. 

The point is – stop maybe-ing!  Maybe you’ll go for a walk? Come on, GO for a walk.  This isn’t a life and death decision, just decide to DO it, and then follow through.  Just like you decided to lose weight.  I decided to go on weight watchers and lose weight – so I’m doing that.  I haven’t waffled, there was no maybe this time.  When I said I was doing it, I said “that’s it, enough is enough, I’m joining.  I’m done.  I’m losing this weight, and I’m NEVER going to let myself slide this far again!”  and you know, since I said that, both out loud and to myself, it’s been easy.  It wasn’t a maybe.  There is no escape hatch.  No possible out.  I’m DOING it. 

Your health, my health, our weight loss goals, matter.  Maybe is gone, commitment is here. 

Look Ma! No Spare Tire!

Okay, the title might be pushing it a little, but I AM sporting a very cute skirt (used to be a touch snug, now I’ve got room to spare) and a very fitted tank top of the cotton/spandex family.  My tummy isn’t sticking out over the top of the skirt in a fabulous roll, in fact, I actually look like I have a waist, and some curves – in the RIGHT places. 

I still have a long ways to go, but last week was the week of clothes fitting me properly, or being loose.  It was the first week where almost EVERY day, I noticed how my clothes fit, in a good way.  It all started when  I wore this cute little black and white spring dress that I’ve worn before.  I bought it a while back because I needed SOMETHING cute – but to be honest, my girth had grown to at least meet the fabric, if not push a bit against it, at the waist.  I wore that, and a little black cropped jacket. 

My friend, who is also on WW commented that day “you’re not going to be able to wear that dress much longer!” By golly, I noticed she was right!  The dress was loose.  It was BIG in the waist!!  I’ll go buy a belt today so I can get away with it a bit longer, but man did that feel good.  From then on, all week, I noticed how my clothes fit.  My jeans are getting loose, clothes I used to have to pour myself into fit right, a skirt I hadn’t worn in a while, because the back was significantly higher than the front (due to a large booty and hips) fell equally in the front and back, and was loose!

I had a crummy week last week, as far as food goes – but even a “bad” week for me means SOME weight loss.  A “bad” week means I used some of my weekly points, and I usually try not to.  Today, Monday, is weigh day.  We’ll see what happens when I hop on that scale, but no matter WHAT it says, my clothes tell me I’m headed in the right direction, and I love it!

Been a while . . .

Wow, okay, I didn't think anyone would mind my missing a few . . .ahem . . . weeks of posting.  I trust no one did.  Anyhow, today was a GREAT day.  I have come to figure out that my naked morning weight is usually about 2-2.5 pounds off of what I will weigh at the weigh-in.  Still, today, my morning weight was only 223.5, so at 2 extra pounds, I'm down to 225.5, which is GREAT.  Now, it's not as far as I want to be by Monday.  My goal is to hit 10% one week from THIS monday, so I was hoping to get down to AT LEAST 224.5, but I still have the weekend to get there, and it's only one pound!  I'm pretty sure that's do-able!!  I know that probably sounds a little like I'm riding the crazy train, but whe you figure I lose 2-3 pounds per week, and then you figure there are still technically 3 more days in my week (almost 1/2 of it!) then you realize trying to lose another pound shouldn't be the end of the world.

More than all of that, I just feel GOOD!  I feel like I'm finally starting to be able to SEE the body I used to have.  Not a GREAT body, mind you, but at least the body I had when I first left Jason.  I'll need to do more work - more exercise is definitely necessary to tone my tummy up - but hey, getting rid of the large layer of fat is helping!  I see it in my face, and in the clothes I wear as well.  I'm not down to a size 16 yet (I know, crazy, right? Who the hell loses 20+ pounds, and DOESNT lose a dress size?  Oh yeah - that would be me! ugh!)  but I'll be there eventually.  Right now, I'm happy in my less-tight 18's.  My hope is to be solidly in a 16 by July 4, when I want to wear my pretty dress.

That, and I'd like to be significantly smaller when Sean gets home, than I was when he left.  Perhaps a dumb motivation, but . . .one I'm okay with.  My initial goal was to lose 20 before he got home - well - we passed that one, now on to bigger and better things!

Do what works for you . . . BUT . . .

I’m all for telling people to do what works best for them, and I believe that different things work for different people.  All of that said, I’m going to go into my Judgey McJudgerton mode here for a moment.  I’ve considered fad diets, I’ve maybe even tried one or two in the past.  I’ve thought about medical interventions (inter-gastric ballooning seems somewhat reasonable to me), but ultimately, I’ve decided I need to try eating smaller portions of the right foods, and exercising before I try anything too drastic.  And with THAT said (jumping on my soap box) people who try this new fangled HCG diet are absolutely NUTS! 

Okay, go ahead, throw the stones and sticks at me and tell me I’m not supportive.  I am supportive, supportive enough to worry about people who think injecting their bodies with a hormone derived/extracted from placenta, while cutting their diets to 500 calories a day to help them lose weight is a “normal” or “reasonable” method of weight loss. 

First, there’s the fact that this is NOT FDA approved.  I don’t like the FDA, to be honest.  I think their approval methods are crap, and are largely driven by politics and money, and they haven’t approved inter-gastric ballooning either.  Still, this method involves giving yourself shots (for the most “effective” method) or drinking some crazy potion, and then cutting your calories to 500 per day.  These don’t sound relatively low-risk to me.  More importantly, many of the people trying this insane method aren’t even aware it’s not approved.  That alone scares the hell out of me!

Next, let’s address the fact that 500 calories is less than a rabbit eats!  Alright, I admit it, I don’t know if that’s true.  What I do know is that 500 calories is NOT a healthy diet.  You’re not eating “normal” foods, nor normal amounts of them.  OF COURSE YOUR GOING TO LOSE WEIGHT!  Just because the scale goes down doesn’t mean it’s healthy!  Eating 500 calories a day starves your system of the necessary nutrients for muscle building – hell – for muscle maintenance.  Are you going to lose weight? Sure you are.  Is it safe? NO! 

Lastly, and here’s my REAL point – what are these folks going to do when they STOP taking the shots? When they’re left to their own devices to eat healthy, small portion foods to keep the weight off? Have they truly learned how to eat under “normal” circumstances? My understanding is that the shots surpress their appetite, which is why they can eat so little and not go postal.  Have they learned how to indulge at that office party, and then what choices to make so that it doesn’t bounce their weight?  What does this crazy diet do to their blood sugar?  UGH! I could go on and on.

I know four people doing this diet right now.  I’m supportive, but cautiously so.  ONE of these people is thin as a rail, but has maybe . . . 5 pounds to lose.  She isn’t doing 500 calories, she’s cut to 1200, and is doing the drops of HCG.  I’d like to get a hold of the doctor pushing this, the doctor who prescribed this to her, and drop kick him.  She doesn’t NEED an untested, non-approved diet, she needs to lower her intake and up her activity a little.

I’m all for doing what works for you – but please, don’t go out and think that drugs are the answer to one more of life’s little problems.  Come on – be strong, make good choices, and do it the hard way, because when you do it the hard way, eating right and exercising, you’re going to keep it off, and you’re going to appreciate it SO much more!

5%!

I did it, I hit 5%!  Last night I hopped on my scale at home before going to the meeting, so I knew what the result would be - a total of 12.2 pounds lost, at meeting my 5% goal.  I was extremely happy!  I've worked pretty hard for it - I mean, I've totally changed the way I eat - from WHAT goes in my mouth, to how much of it and how often.  I've still got a LONG, LONG way to go - I want to lose a total of 66 pounds, so 54 to go, but this feels like a VERY solid start! 

I've done WW before, but I have never managed to hit 10% - it always seemed completely unattainable to me, and I always quit before I got there.  The coach would tell me at the beginning that most people reach it around the 12 week mark. . . which is perfectly reasonable . . . I just never had the tenacity to hang on that long.  This time I will!  12 more pounds - that's not that tough, really.  I know it won't come off as quickly as the first 12, but hey, even if it takes another 12 weeks, I know how amazing it would feel to lose that weight, and I WILL do it.

I love feeling motivated and good about what I'm doing.  I know I'm healthier, and my kids are healthier, and generally everything we're doing is better for our bodies than what we did before.

Splurging, and surprises.

Okay, first off, I totally went overboard last night.  I had a couple of reeses peanut butter cups, then got home and had two cookies.  CRAZY!! I went over my points by just a couple, which, by the way, I NEVER EVER do.  Oh well.  Today is a new day, and I had the 'weekly' points to do it, but still, I dont' think it was a GOOD idea at all.  I'll make up for it tonight, I'm having roasted tomatoes for dinner, and they're only 1 point each.  Even if I put two of them with a cup of brown rice, I'm lookin' at a total of 7 points for dinner.

Next, I left my water bottle at home today.  Talk about a HUGE bummer!  I can drink cups of water at work, but it's really not the same as drinking from a big water bottle.  I may just decide that the bulk of my water intake has to happen tonight.  Besides, that way I won't snack as much once I'm home, right?

Finally, and this is the surprise/good news - I've been totally obsessed about getting on the scale this week.  I think the low loss on Monday kicked me into wanting to check and make sure it was a fluke.  Or more to the point, was the result of water retention due to dehydration from getting stupidly drunk.  Apparently it was, because this morning the scale registered 234.1 pounds - now, granted, that's a MORNING weigh, with NO clothes on (don't try to imagine it, it's NOT a pretty site!), and I know the weight will fluctuate.  In fact, last night it was 235.4, so there's a pound of fluctuation right there.  Still, it was AMAZING to see it that low.  That's the LOWEST I've seen it, even in all of it's fluctuations.  If I get to 234.0 by Monday, I'll have met my first goal of 5%!! and more importantly, I'll have lost a total of 12 (nearly 13) pounds!  To me that's just incredible.  And I DONT feel deprived, or grumpy about this, I've stayed positive, and remain that way now.  It's a little crazy.  Maybe this time, it really WILL work and I WILL stick with it!

:)

eating eating eating - UGH!

Today I have had the appetite from HELL!!  I have already had 17 points, which is quite a lot for me at this point in the day - especially consdidering that I brought chili for lunch - just 4 points.  And breakfast was only 3 points - so what does that tell you?  I've SNACKED and MUNCHED my way through an extra TEN points today!

I'm like the very hungry caterpiller!!  It's insanity people! "drink your water" yeah, I'm drinkin' my water, you worry about your OWN water!  No, seriously, I've had a ton of water, and lots of food.  I wonder if being on my period has anything to do with my eating habits.  Maybe it does.  All I know is I'm totally craving chocolate (already spent 6 points on sweet things - 3 on a reeses peanut butter cup, and another 3 on a 100 calorie peanut butter kudos bar.  BTW, the cup was worth it, the bar totally wasn't!)

Anyhow, I'll stay in points today, because I'll have chili with brown rice for supper, but I am SERIOUSLY wanting to eat my DESK today!  It's a little crazy!