Thinking vs. Doing

Both thinking and doing are important for a weight loss/journey-to-health adventure.

I used to think that the "thinking" part came before the "doing part" and that once you were done with the "thinking" you didn't need to deal with it again, but actually, they are a continuing, cycling necessity.

I did really well with the "doing" most of last year.  It took a lot of "thinking" to get to the point where I actually started this journey.  I had to be mentally ready before I could start the physical part of it.  Once I hit that "ready" point, I jumped in and did really, really well for a long time.  Then I kind of dwindled off the "doing" and gained some weight back.

After some "thinking" lately, I may finally be back on track.

Right now, I seem to be back in the "doing" phase.  I rode the bike this morning for the first time in weeks.  I also cooked a lower calorie dinner and watched my portions.  I also ordered the Total Gym (the one Chuck Norris says is so great) which I am really excited about.  Maybe adding that in to my work out routine will help keep me on the "doing" side, rather than the "thinking" side.

Clearly, though, the "thinking" is important too.  If your head isn't in the game, your body certainly won't be.  I don't know where I lost my determination and mental edge.  It just kind of dwindled away.  So, I'm fighting to get it back, which I suppose means I'm still in the "thinking" phase as well.

I must say it feels good to finally be DOING something, though.  The bike ride was great.  I feel really good!  I'm proud that I am actually doing something again.

And I am really excited about the Total Gym.  It looks fluid, which my aging joints need.  And it uses your own weight (and the angle of the bench) for the resistance.  And I still have the bowflex as well.  I've been looking for that extra "something" to get me kick-started, and I think this is it.  I will definitely keep you posted on how it works!

So, what I have learned is that while I'm "doing" I feel great and things go along on their own steam, but I can't forget to "think" along the way or else I lose my determination, will, drive and fire for fighting my way on this roller-coaster ride to good health.

Today I feel like this:



I will keep you guys posted!

Monday Mornings

I seem to keep finding myself on Monday mornings saying, "Well, last week was bad, but it's a new week!"

I start off well every Monday, then gradually (sometimes not so gradually) fall off track.  Why can't I make it through a single week??  I know it's crazy time of year with school ending and graduations, but aren't those just excuses?  Why do I give in so easily each week??

I have a new plan.  I was pretty disgusted with how I look in my daughter's graduation pictures.  I think I will put them in key places around the house so I'm constantly reminded to stay on track.  I had been putting up inspirational pictures of fit women and exercising women, and clearly, that isn't working.  I need to be reminded of what I am trying to change.  It reminds me of this cartoon:

I think there might be something to it!

Last week had challenges I failed to overcome.  We had date night which is always a calorie blow-out.  We also celebrated my hubby's Mom's mother's day since last week was crazy.  We had steak, green bean casserole, creamed corn, bread, baked potatoes with LOTS of butter.  And sweet tea.  I can never have just one glass of sweet tea.  I over-indulged.  I also ate out lunch several days - one day when we were apartment hunting for my UGA transfer daughter (we found her apartment!  One down, one to go!).  I also got worn out with the shopping for the upcoming elementary school party (which is tomorrow!) and ate out that day, too.  And I didn't make good choices because I let myself get too hungry and then my beast came out and I was lost.

I did manage one good dinner that was NOT a Lean Cuisine.  I made chicken and dumplings with lots of carrots, celery and onions.  Fat free chicken broth.  The worst part was the dumplings and I ate more broth than dumplings.  Lost some weight that night, which made me feel pretty good.  Gained it back over the weekend.

So I'm back to the Lean Cuisines this week.  I have another week of challenges.  Last day of school is Wednesday and I usually have a fiesta for the kids and their friends.  I will be in Indiana with my oldest daughter looking for apartments for her, which means all meals eaten out.  We will probably go to the Renaissance Festival at some point this coming weekend (grand fun, but lots of really fattening - delicious! - food).  

Sometimes I wonder if I should just give up on this attempted journey until all the diversions are out of the way.  But then, there are always diversions, aren't there?  Reading back on my older posts, I seemed to get around this problem by planning.  Maybe that's the key.  I need to plan every detail; it makes it easier to stay on track.

So this is how I feel today:

I'm going to go plan out the menu for the week.  That's half the battle!

That Which Doesn't Kill Us ...

This month has been crazy.  I'm amazed I've survived.  Today is the first day I have to actually take a breath!

Graduation went well.  It was a wonderful time of celebration and family!  ... And food ...

I do remember now why I don't wear dresses very often.  My inner thighs were a bit raw from all the walking we had to do.  Fat thighs equal rash.  Not pleasant and a bit upsetting, but a strong reminder as to why I need to lose the weight.

We celebrated my mother's birthday, the graduation and Mother's Day all around that time frame.  Four days of rich (yummy!) food.  My body rebelled a bit since it was a shock to my system to eat so much fatty food in such a short time frame.

Then I came back to court, a trip to Athens to find an apartment for my 2nd oldest daughter for her time to come at UGA.  Luckily, this was more walking, so even though I've eaten foods that were not the best choices, I did get a lot of walking exercise in.  Then I came back from that to settlement conferences and finally, today I have a breather!  Hubby is out of town, so that is always tough, but nothing is planned until Sunday (a late Mother's Day celebration for hubby's mom!).  I don't quite know what to do with myself for today and tomorrow with no major events planned!  Holy cow, I may be able to get caught up on some work!

So, today I'm back on track.  I've already had my Advocare Slim for the morning and I have my meals planned out.  Hubby did get the grocery shopping done before he left town, which is great as otherwise I'd end up eating out every meal with all we had going on.

I'm excited to be back on track.  AND my sister and niece have both gotten the UP Jawbone so we are adding in statistics to track on our weekly charts!  Amount of sleep, stairs climbed, etc will be added in.  AND my oldest has joined in the tracking as well!  So I now have three people to help motivate me and talk to about my journey and stats.  Maybe this will help.

Looking at the pictures of me from the graduation show that I'm really looking terrible again.  I look about the same as my before pictures even though I'm 17 lbs lighter now than I was in those pictures.  I really look fat and terrible.  I must dig in and really work to get myself going again.

For my Mother's Day present, my kids made me a wonderful healthy cookbook!  They gathered recipes that are lower calorie, healthy, and look quite tasty!  They are concerned about my Lean Cuisine diet because of the high sodium content and the preservatives.  I am very, very excited to try these recipes!  I will post on the recipe page and I will also try and put pictures up of the meals!

It is amazing what a little support can do for you.  Having all of the kids helping me find healthy recipes is fantastic.  And sometimes I'll be weakening and veering towards an unhealthy choice and one of them will ask if I REALLY want to do that.  They don't force, because sometimes a person does need an unhealthy choice, but they help remind me of my journey so that I can remember what I'm SUPPOSED to do and that helps me stay on track as well.

So, today is back on track.  I hope.  I plan on it, anyway.

So, with the help I'm getting and my new plans, here is how I feel today:

Leaning on my family and friends for support!

Willpower Success!

Yesterday was the shopping day for graduation outfits.  It was fun, and it had ups and downs.  I actually looked really good in some of the dresses, so that was a pleasant surprise!  I ended up getting two dresses for the weekend festivities.

We did eat out for lunch and I'm sure I ate way more than I should have.  But we walked a LOT and tried on clothes all afternoon, so I probably worked off some of it!

My willpower success came last night!  We didn't get home until late and I was way too tired (and my feet HURT) to cook, so hubby and the kids ordered out.  I did NOT order anything and I ate a Lean Cuisine!  I did it!!  I was able to forego that hamburger and fries and eat a better choice!  I am so proud of myself!  As tired as I was, I am really surprised I didn't just break and go with the ordered food.

I'm up .6 lbs this morning.  I'm sure a lot of it is water weight as we ate Chinese for lunch and I always have issues with water retention after that.  I hope that is what it is, anyway.

So today I feel more like this:

We'll see if I can keep it up.  

It's Working!

This plan seems to be working!

I had expected to see the usual upward fluctuation in weight after showing such a drop yesterday, but I'm still the same as I was yesterday!

I did pretty well yesterday, even given that my hubby went to a bakery and got BROWNIES ... cream cheese brownies, no less.  And I ate half of one.  Which actually seemed to do the trick for me.

Today is going to be more problematic.  Two kids home and I have to take them shopping for graduation dresses.  The timing is going to put us out there at lunch so I will have no choice but to eat while we are out.  The good news is that I've ridden the bike this morning and all the walking and trying on clothes will burn extra calories ... AND I'll eat my Lean Cuisine for dinner, so there is some damage control.  I plan to scope out the local restaurants and see if I can find one with a decent low calorie option and eat there.

Tomorrow's picture taking at the college will be less of a problem than I thought.  It has been moved to later in the afternoon, so I'll be able to eat before I go.  I'll take a low-cal snack for the afternoon and that should get me through until I'm home for dinner!

Even though I'm tired today, I feel pretty good.  I must say that seeing those numbers on the scale staying down today really has bolstered my mood.  I'm excited/apprehensive of the shopping experience.  I get very frustrated when I have to buy clothes and I'm up in weight.  I could end up this day in a very frustrated and unhappy mood OR I might actually find a flattering dress that I can wear to the graduation ceremony.

My one real concern about this diet plan is the amount of sodium intake.  Lean Cuisines are not the best choice for keeping sodium intake low.  And I already have high blood pressure (though it is very controlled with medication at the moment).  Still, it's not a long term thing, so I am okay with this plan for now.

So, today I don't feel quite so down, but I am tired, and not super bubbly.

I feel more like this today:

Which I think is better than the last two days!  I'm hanging in there!  I am actually feeling a little bit of hope again after being stuck for so long.  I will keep on, and as always, will report back.

Planning Works Again.

I made it through another day!  And I'm down 2.8 lbs since yesterday - another fluctuation and water loss, etc, but it's fluctuating down farther than it has in a while!  I really needed to see that this morning.

I counted the calories with gusto yesterday.  I ended up eating 982 calories and I also rode the bike yesterday morning, so I feel like I accomplished what I set out to do yesterday.  It helps when I'm really busy since that prevents me from thinking too much about food.

I felt the need for pasta last night.  It is one of my comfort foods.  I ate the Lean Cuisine Chicken Fettuccine and it was really good!  I then had a cup of cooked cabbage, which really made me feel full. I made salmon for the family - which I probably could have eaten myself and been fine, but since I can't control my portions, it was better to just have the fixed Lean Cuisine so I knew exactly what I was getting.  Later I'll be able to go back to eating my own healthy foods.  For now, I can't trust myself not to overeat, so I just can't go that route.

I had a soft boiled egg as a snack yesterday.  Eggs seem to really be a great choice in snack for me.  I expect it's the protein in it.  It's very satisfying and filling.  I have also gotten some yogurt for snacks this week.  And I have some gorgeous grapes that we picked up at Sam's Club.

My weak points this week are going to be Thursday and Friday.  My kids are coming home on Thursday.  At some point we have to go shop for graduation dresses and I'm afraid while we are out, we'll end up eating out.  On Friday I'll be in Athens taking graduation pictures since the day of graduation will be packed with thousands of other students and parents all wanting pictures at the same place.  I will have to eat out that day as I won't be near home.  Worrisome given my lack of will power.

I did ride the bike this morning again.  I had a brief moment of not wanting to get up - I'm very tired! - but I did it. I rode for 67 minutes.

Today I feel more like this:

I just need to keep moving forward.  If I can just get through 5-13, I'll feel much better stress-wise, so that's got to help.  Meanwhile, I'll just take it one step at a time.