Monday, May 18, 2009

Weekend Update

I had big hopes for this weekend. We had a lot of plans most of them involving enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having.

I got off early on Friday and ran down to the AT&T so they could set up my phone for me. It was exciting to finally get to use my new 'toy' (I got an iphone) and it was a great way to kick off the weekend.

After that I jumped on BART and rode down to pick up my car and then drove to a local park called Shadow Cliffs - there I was meeting up with a group of folks to do an open water swim! But first, I had to pass the swim test.

I wasn't really worried about the swim test, and it was a nice warm-up to the longer swim that was planned for that night. At 6:15 I was in my wetsuit, in the water, and headed for the far side of the lake - now a certified 'ORCA' :) The out and back was 1600yards total, and that along with the 300yard swim test I had done earlier meant I had done over a mile - whoop! It felt GREAT.

After the swim I headed home, showered, changed and then planned on getting some food for the dog. But that's when I got 'the call' from my husband :( He had been driving down the highway home when the rear tire had blown out. He and the car were ok, but while trying to change the tire he found out that they had never given us the lug nut key and he couldn't get the old 'blown-out' tire off!

Well the dog food (and my food) were forgotten in the rush to get down and meet up with him. He tried a few 'tricks' to get the tire undone, and when that didn't work it was up to me to drive from store to store to see if I could find what we needed.

I didn't. I was getting hungerier and hungerier as the night wore on and finally I HAD to stop. A quick drive through the at Arby's and I had a roast beef sandwich in hand. I threw out the bread and ate just the 'beef' and at least stopped shaking. It was at least enough to get me through until I got home.

After the futile search for the lug nut key, we finally just had to throw in the towel and I picked up hubby and we went home, leaving the car in a gas station parking lot. Any ideas we had of a nice relaxing Friday night at home were completely blown. We finally hit the door after 11! I mixed a quick shake for my last meal of the day and hit the sack.

We were up early on Saturday, but not for the nice bike ride I had been planning. Instead it was a drive to the Toyota dealership to try to find the key. They told us there were 12 different keys and they needed the car in order to tell which one! Only the car had a flat that we couldn't fix and was over 15 miles away! duh! We drove back to the car and made an imprint of the lock with play dough and brought that back to the dealership. They spent some time trying to figure out the match before the guy at the shop just said "I'll probably get in trouble for this, but just take them all and bring back the ones that don't work" and so we did (Thank you thank you thank you Toyota guy!).

FINALLY the car was fixed, we took back the keys that didn't work, bought the one that did and made it home. I spent the rest of the day cleaning the yard, planting flowers and pulling weeds, while hubby scrubbed bathrooms, vacuumed, swept and did laundry (yeah we're weird like that).

Our reward for all the housework? We settled down to taco salads (with ground turkey and no chips) and the finale of "The Biggest Loser". It was a the perfect ending to a less then perfect day. Watching the Biggest Loser always charges me up and I ended up day with a 30 minute light calistenic session including the first day of my 100 pushup program.

Sunday we were all up EARLY - the whole family (except my son) were going to run the Bay to Breakers. We all had breakfast and suited up for the day. A short drive and then we were on BART and on our way into the city.

Once in the city, we started walking to where our starting corrals were. On our way we go a very pleasant surprise! Cause standing on the sideway (almost in front of the place I work) was Jerry - who I had just watch win 100,000 the night before!

The girls just HAD to meet him so we did, and got pictures.

This was awesome!

After that, we lined up to start and about a half an hour later, we were off!

We had a GREAT time. The B2B is a great race, lots of fun and the participants and the fans are amazing.

At mile 5 I decided to pick up the pace and ran to the finish. It felt great and I was glad to push myself a bit.

After 7.5 miles we were finished, and while rounding up the family members we ran into Jerry again! The girls wanted to see how his race went so we said hi. He told us that he had always wanted to do the B2B but was too heavy - so this was a dream come true for him -- it was great to be there to witness it!

Ran into Jerry again

We finished our day with a one mile walk to go get food and pick up our finishers t-shirts, and then a two mile walk to catch the train back to the race start. Even though it was exhausting, it made for an AMAZING finish to the weekend.

And my weight in all of this? Well that's the biggest bummer I guess. Saturday I had a weird jump up to 215.1 (from a low of 213.9). Sunday I woke up still at 215.1 and this morning? 215.4 -- My hormones have been going crazy since I started this program and TOM has started again WAY early so between that and all the exercise plus the extra salty food over the weekend... should make this an interesting week to say the least :)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Pretty Good Day

For a Monday :)

Yesterday was good. I ate on plan; did it without any snacks, and I made it to the gym.

I absolutely KILLED it at the gym, which I love

Leg Day

Leg Press - 3 x (360 x 10)
Squat - 3 x (195 x 10)
Dead Lift - 3 x (90 x 10)
Stand Calf - 3 x (90 x 10)

Then I went home and went for a run. It's week 4 of my 1st day to 5K program that I'm doing from the podrunner website. which looked like this:

WEEK 4

29 minutes from 129 to 140 BPM

BPM CHART:
5-minute warmup @ 129 BPM
3 minutes @ 140 BPM
90 seconds @ 130 BPM
5 minutes @ 140 BPM
2 minutes 30 seconds @ 130 BPM
3 minutes @ 140 BPM
90 seconds @ 130 BPM
5 minutes @ 140 BPM
Two minute cooldown @ 130 BPM

Those 5 minute running intervals after a 90 second rest were just killing me! :) But in a good way. I really pushed myself and it felt GREAT!

After that, I ate my L&G and hit the hay. Tired but in a good way!

Got up this morning and had a BIG surprise - weight 214!! I've hit the 25 lb mark. I've shed 25 lbs of fat, never to be picked up again!

I also , finally got around to taking measurements - wow!

In five weeks I've lost:
Chest (this is just under my arms): -2.2"
Waist: -3.7"
Hips: -2"
Butt: -1.5"
Thigh: -1" 
Calf: -1"

Overall I've very very happy with my performance AND the results!

Monday, May 11, 2009

The Long and Winding Road

I promised myself that my blog would be a true and accurate picture of my weight loss journey. That's why I'm posting here today that I stumbled yesterday.

I can make a bunch of excuses like "It was Mother's Day" or "It's the first time since I started this program that my kids have been over" but it was, plain and simple a stumble. I'm still working on the true 'why' of it all and on strategies for keeping it from happening again - but I'm trying to avoid making excuses and taking the easy way out.

I woke up yesterday morning happy to see that even after going to Home Town Buffet that my weight was down .1lb (216.4) My youngest loves to make me breakfast on Mother's Day but was ok about honoring my request that she not, this year. So, I got up and grabbed some MF - Oatmal and some MF - cinnamon chips. I don't know why I grabbed the chips - well I do. Ever since I bought all those MF - Snacks they have been calling me. All of the rest of my food is carefully packaged in bags, a day's worth of food in each, but the snacks. They just sit there, waiting for when I say "I'll have a snack!" and my feast beast pounced on the opportunity. ((You'll notice a theme coming up)).

So I ate my breakfast, packed up some food and the kids and loaded the car so we could go to the lake. I packed a MF Bar and a MF - RTD Shake alongside the Lean & Green that I was bringing to BBQ so that I would have food all day. I was set.

Once we got to the lake and got set up, I started feeling a bit peckish. My family was snacking on chips and crackers all of which I knew I wasn't going to eat. For some reason I looked over the stuff I had brought and went, "Grapes, ooo grapes are healthy, and grabbed two, popping one in my mouth. It was seriously just an automatic thing. My husband, who was sitting right there said, 'I thought you weren't supposed to eat fruit?'

I sat there for a second process what he just said with one grape in my mouth literally sitting between my teeth waiting to be crushed! Finally it hit me what I was doing and I spit it out and threw them both in the trash. I grabbed my MF bar and thanked him - still kind of stunned that I had gone so brain dead.

The rest of our day went really well. We had a nice lunch of chicken and grilled asparagus and then spent over an hour swimming in the lake.

On the way home my oldest reminded me of the porkchops in the fridge that we were supposed to have Saturday night for dinner and asked we could have them when we got home. I agreed - after all, the girls had helped me prep them.

When we got home everyone started snacking again. I was getting the chops ready and was feeling a little hungry myself. What I should have done was had a shake or some other MF meal, but since it was so close to dinner time, I talked myself out of a meal and allowed myself a 'snack' instead. I mean it was a MF snack wasn't it? I grabbed a package of crackers and the hummus I had bought the day before. I spread each cracker with spread and munched away happily as I cooked. But then that package of crackers was gone and before I could really THINK about it I grabbed another and opened it! These disappeared quickly too and I found myself thinking about what else I could put hummus on so I could keep eating it.

At this point my rational brain started to take over, and I saw this for the binge it was becoming! The familiar arguement started in my head. You've blown the day already, just keep eating. You've done so well, what's one day? May as well finish the hummus so that it won't tempt you another day...

But, something came back to me that I had told another weight fighter many many years ago. Adherence to your plan starts the minute you stop being off plan. The 'Day' is never blown, unless you keep eating.

So I put the crackers and hummus away, finished cooking and had the second 1/2 of my Lean & Green for the day when dinner was done. That was it - I was back on plan.

What I realized was that being on plan isn't like walking a tight rope. If you do make a misstep, you aren't left helplessly falling, waiting to hit bottom and hoping you survive!

Being on plan is more a journey through the forest. Your eating plan is your GPS - guiding you to your goal and showing you the path through the trees. A misstep can take you off that path and can even have you walking backwards for a bit, but the minute you pick up your GPS again, you find the path and you're back on your journey again. THE MINUTE you pick it back. That means mid bite, mid binge, mid day -- it doesn't matter!

Anyway - after all of that I entered all my food into the "My Plan" page and found that I hadn't killed my calories or my carbs. And as a 'reward' for making right choices later - my weigh in was 215.8 this morning.

So, I'm here, on track and paying very close attention to my GPS right now!

Saturday, May 09, 2009

What a Day

It started out great - woke up for my official weigh in and I was 216.5! That's 3.1 lbs for the week - I hit and surpassed my goal for the week!

I fixed Macadamia nut pancakes with caramelized bananas and coconut syrup. And fed them to my family. While I had MF - scrambled eggs.

Then we went to the store and picked up a BUNCH of Lean and Green supplies.

Then the kids and I spent a hour or so prepping a bunch of food. and after I went to my choir concert. My kids showed up, my grandparents and my uncle and my other uncle and his wife and kids :) were all there too. It was nice to see everyone. And since it had been a while since we had been together, we all went out to dinner... at Home Town Buffet!

I was dreading going in there - I mean, it's a buffet!

This is the place where before - in my former life I would go in and eat and eat and eat until I felt like I would burst, and then go grab one of each of the deserts.

So I walked in -- looked at all of that food, picked up a chicken breast and roasted squash and that was my dinner. The best part was that the food was good! I enjoyed my dinner and didn't really miss all the crap that I would have eaten before at this place. Plus, I felt much better when I walked away!! Victory!!

Friday, May 08, 2009

I think I need some new jeans

Day 1 - The Shrinking Waist

Another day another victory!

Yesterday ended well. I got to rehearsal, did my thing and then headed home. I got in about 9:00 but went straight upstairs and changed into running clothes. There was no way I was going to get settled and talk myself into skipping this workout!

At about 9:30 I hit the door, and off I went for a nice Jog/Walk. The temp was perfect even for so late at night. It was a nice 2.2 mile run walk and I have to say I'm actually starting to enjoy it which is a big plus for me!

Food, as usual, was right on plan. I'm kind of excited about the next few weeks because I picked up a package of spices and cooking oils from Time Saver Gourmet. I already used some of the cinnamon in my shake last night and I plan on using more in my lean and green (chicken and Fauxtatoes) tonight.

AND yesterday the packages of MF-Snacks I ordered came in! I means I got to have crackers with my soup at lunch - oh man that was nice!
Anyway - I still don't have a solid plan for the weekend. I think we're going to go to the beach for Mother's Day and I hope to grill up some chicken etc. I'll have to figure out Saturday and my son's birthday still...

OH! and I forgot to mention - the scale finally started moving again. My plumbing is better and it shows as the scale showed 217.8 this morning. I'm finally starting to feel like Onederland is just around the corner!

100 Days - Day 8 - Help me, please

"To get support instead of criticism from the people you love, you may have to train them."

Today

"Write a list of things that people are always welcome to say or do in regard to your weight-loss efforts."
    You look great!
    Wow! I can really tell you're losing weight!
    Those pants are really baggy! You must need a smaller size
    I'm proud of you
    You're looking really fit
    I can see your muscles
"Create a list of things you don't ever want people to do or say"
    Wow - your back only has two rolls now instead of three
    Can you eat this on your diet?
    We can't go there, it'll ruin your diet
    I can't believe you ate that!
    How's your diet going
    Please do NOT, avoiding doing something or avoiding going somewhere because you think you are protecting me or my food plan!
"Read both lists to your support people including your spouse, your children, and your best friend."

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Some Rambling

Last night was kind of strange. I rushed home, dropped off hubby and then rushed to dress rehearsal for choir only to find out I had the wrong night. Duh! So, I went back home and drug my bike out. I got hubby to agree to go with me so we strapped on helmets and went for a short jaunt. I was glad I got the 20+ minutes in. Sometimes it's hard for me to get motivated when I know I can't do the whole thing, but last night I did it anyway.

After that I made some dinner and we settled in to watch the last Biggest Loser. Big fun :)

Today's been ok. I think my stomach is finally feeling better, and I had a good weigh in (219). Only downer is that tonight is the rehersal I thought was last night so I'll miss going to the gym AGAIN :( Oh well, the concert is Saturday and then I'll be done with Choir for a while. Not that I don't love it, I'm just ready for this session to be over.

Other then that... well, I'm on plan and I'll go for a run after choir.

I just know I'm ready for this week to be over, but I'm not sure I'm ready for this weekend. We're going to be celebrating my son's birthday and Mother's day. He wants to go out to a Pizza Buffet place for this birthday - bleh!

Have a good one everyone - and happy Friday ((A)) :)

100 Days - Day 7 - I can do it!

"Practice saying the words "I can do it!" over and over.

"Push them deep into your mind and use them as a powerful affirmation that you WILL succeed with your plan"

Today

"Write the words "I can do it". Mentally remind yourself of this phrase at least 10 times today. Use this to cheerlead yourself through the entire day!"

I CAN DO It!!

"Write "I can do it because..." then add a few supportive phrase such as "I'm capable of doing anything."

I can do it because...

I am focused, I have tunnel vision and have my goals firmly in front of me.

I have the help and support of Medifast and the network of friends here

I have the help and support of my husband at home

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me ((Phillippians 4:13))

Not doing it is not an option

"Read your phrases often, using them to reinforce your goals and build your enthusiasm."

Hmmm - enthusiasm - I think that's a huge key to success. I mean, yeah, sometimes you have to 'just do it', even when you don't feel like it, but imagine how few times you would have to 'just do it' if you could maintain your enthusiasm. But how does one do that?

Many programs, for weight loss and for goal setting in general talk about building your 'why' or your 'benefits list' or 'advantages' if you should reach your goal. I've done this several times in the past, but I've never been good at keeping them in front of me. I think that's a change that I'm going to make. Enthusiasm is remembering WHY you're doing what your doing.

But I also agree with Susan Powder. (Yes she's still around and yes I still enjoy her messages): Sometimes the motivation is in the doing. Or: (I'm sorry I can't remember who I'm quoting) Success begets success. That is to say, you get off the couch, go for a walk and you feel good, and that 'feel good feeling' motivates you to get of the couch the next day, and the next. I guess I'm back to what I said in the beginning - Just do it! :)

So here's the formula:

Keep your enthusiasm high by cheering yourself on, and believing that you can do it.

Keep your motivation high by focusing on the benefits, advantages the 'why' of your goal.,

And when you lack either of those, keep doing it anyway, because in the doing, you'll find both those other things again...

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

100 Days - Day 6 - Protect your program

Yes - I missed doing a day yesterday - that's ok no big deal. I missed doing the book work, but not the rest of the work. So, I'm good - it's time to pick up where I left off in the book though :)

--------------
"Instead of depending on others to help you be successful with your diet. make a commitment that you will protect your program at all costs!"

"Anytime you feel pressured to eat something, sidestep the food pusher by saying, 'Not just yet; I'm going to wait a little while."

Today "Watch for chances to respond to food invitations by using the line "Not just yet; I'm going to wait a little while."

"Identify at least three high-risk times or events such as family gatherings or quiet weekends. Describe how you'll protect your diet program during each of these."

When I first started reading through this exercise for the day I thought - I don't need this. I don't have friends or family that are 'food pushers'. I never feel guilty about telling people 'I'm not eating that". But, just as I was thinking about all of this I got a message from my daughter. "What do you want to do for mother's day? Where do you want to go eat at..."

And I felt guilty!? Guilty that I didn't want to go someplace that she wouldn't consider a 'treat' like deem sum, or Indian or even for Chinese (I love me some lemon chicken!) I even found myself momentarily trying to think of ways to 'get around' my self imposed food restrictions so that I could make her and my other two children happy that they could take me out someplace 'special'.

Thant's when I realized that YES I do need to protect my program - even from my own feelings. My plan? I think I'm going to ask them if we can just BBQ at home. Some chicken and grilled glazed asparagus sound amazing right now :)

99% of the time I'm happy to go to a restaurant and pick out food that fits into my plan - or even eat nothing at all! What bothers me most is when people start going against what they want or are craving so that they don't 'ruin my diet'. Really - I don't need you making sacrifices for me. It doesn't help. It makes me feel guilty and makes me want to go off my diet so I don't feel like I'm ruining your fun. I'm not going to do that ever again!

"Do at least one thing today that reinforces your determination to protect your program at all costs. Write down what you did"
-------------------
One other thing I wanted to note here. I've had Linda Spangle's book "100 days of weight loss" for several years now. I got the book because I liked the concept, but didn't know much about the author. When I started going through her book again, I ended up signing up for some stuff on her website, and ordered her second book "Life is Hard, Food is Easy" Boy was I surprised the other day when I opened it up and found the introduction to the book was written by the president of Medifast!

Made it feel like a 'small world' and better yet, it felt like a HUGE God wink, that I'm where I'm supposed to be right now.

Alright - going to go heat up my lunch. Peas Out folks! :)

Non-scale Focus

Yes - the scale is still being stubborn. 220 today :

BUT -- I'm still seeing all kinds of progress. Put on a skirt today and I think today's going to be the last day I can wear it. The sweater I have on is super baggy - I'm a little bummed because it's one of my favorite. I think this weekend is going to be the first time in over two years that I box up (and get rid of) clothes that are too big for me. that's such a good feeling!

I like to take measurements once a month. I've found that's usually a good time frame to see big enough changes that don't leave me going - hmmm maybe I just held the tape measure wrong :). So this weekend I'll take measurements again -- and I'll probably take some progress photos too!

Over all, I'm back at work and feel like I'm back on track. That's a good thing :)

Today I struggled

It all started yesterday really.

Two abdominal surgeries have left me with some scar tissue around my large intestine and if the plumbing isn't working correctly I'm in a lot of pain. Well for some reason yesterday I started having a LOT Of pain. Normally the kind of pain I'm in when I've eaten ice cream, but I haven't had ice cream or any dairy in a month. The only thing that's been new in my diet is that Sunday I was drinking a new electrolyte replacement -- guess I won't be having that again.
Still, I've been in pain before... no biggy.

But then later, I went to choir practice. We were informed that our director had been in the hospital and was awaiting test results back to find out if she has swine flu :

Generally I'm not a doom and gloom kind of person -- I would shrug this kind of thing off, but Tuesdays (today) I have a standing meeting with my boss who has a newborn baby at home. So I came home , and dashed off an email to him telling him I would be working from home to try to limit his exposure.

Now, my boss has pretty much given me permission to work from home whenever I need to, but that doesn't keep me from feeling guilty. I mean, yeah I get the same amount of work done at home.. but it just feels weird.

At 3:00 my boss asked if we could have our meeting via conference phone. So, I used my soft phone to call in. Only, I could hear them, but they couldn't hear me -- great. I fiddled with my laptop for a bit, trying to get it working and finally gave up. Next step, cell phone. Only my cell phone is on it's last leg AND I get crappy reception at my house. So there I am, walking around my front yard, holding the antenna in place (cause it's broken) and praying for my phone to work!

Finally I get through - they can hear me, and I can BARELY hear them. I get asked my opinion on something - only because I can't hear, I misunderstand and in front of my boss and my peers I go on a ramble about something completely off topic. When I finally realize what's happened it's too late. :(

An hour of straining to hear what's going on and I was so stressed I was vibrating! I get back to my computer and there's my husband asking if we're going to the gym. I just want to scream
And so, throughout the day... I keep finding myself pacing in the kitchen, or standing in front of the refrigerator taking inventory. Bah!

But I didn't eat anything. In fact, I didn't dwell on the food or that I was being 'bad'. But I did spend some time figuring out what was going on. When I acknowledged that what was driving me to the kitchen was stress, I felt a little better. When I reminded myself that falling off plan would only ADD stress to my life, not remove it - I felt strength and resolve very slowly coming back.

When hubby asked if we were going to workout tonight, I wanted nothing more then to continue sitting on the couch. On top of the stress, I had spent all day at home, and I've found that the old idiom a body at rest will stay at rest is very very true in my case. I didn't 'feel' like working out. I felt like sitting on the couch and eating an entire jar of peanut butter! But instead I told my husband, "I don't feel like going to the gym, I don't feel like working out, but I need to, and I'm going to do it anyway".

He said, "Good, get your butt dressed and ready, I'll see you at the gym at 6:30."

Honestly, making that statement didn't really help all that much. My butt was grumpy at having to leave the house. I was still in pain and still feeling stressed out from my day (and still no word on the swine flu). But I was determined to do it anyway.

I did my weight workout. I started cranky but each rep, each set, each exercise I started to feel a little bit better. By the time I left, while not on cloud nine - I was glad I had come.

Then when I got home I strapped on my headphones and grabbed the dog and went for a run. I didn't think about work, or weight loss or food or anything. I just ran and got sweaty and watched the dog enjoy getting out for a while. And you know what? Then I was glad I had done it all. I was glad I had done it anyway, and I felt good, and I felt motivated and I felt committed to my plan.

My guts aren't 100% just yet - but I think my head's in the right place again!

What the heck is going on?

No, seriously! :) First - my weight loss has been doing a strange yo-you thing since last Wednesday.

Wed: 219.7
Thr: 220.4
Fri: 220.1
Sat: 219.6
Sun: 220.4
Mon: 219.7

I thought maybe it was my allergy meds or something like that, but I stopped taking them, so that wasn't the answer.

Now I've had some pretty serious weight loss over the past four weeks. So I wasn't really worried about this strange activity in my scale - just a little confused by it. What had been concerning me before now was that I had lost (almost) 20 pounds but couldn't 'see' it. My clothes didn't feel radically different, I didn't see the difference in the mirror... nothing

BUT - on Sunday in the midst of all that scale bouncing I noticed that I had to hook my bra one set of hooks smaller.. oooo!

Then I noticed that my 'big' workout pants were feeling a little loose around the hips and in the butt.

At the end of the day I noticed that my ankles were looking much much slimmer, in fact, even after doing a triathlon, my socks weren't 'indenting' my ankles.

Then, today, I put on a pair of pants that fit just last week and they were falling off my hips! The sweater that I pulled on wasn't tight around my arms like the last time I wore it, and again, my socks didn't leave a mark on my ankles when I took them off at the end of the day!!

I know a lot of people have talked about 'mini-stalls' that include a shift in body mass, but I've never experienced it so dramatically before. I'm not complaining! Just observing out loud :)
But what's really strange is how I've felt today.

Yes, I've been on MF for just over four weeks now, and yes I haven't had cravings or anything like that, but I have been hungry...sometimes gnaw off my arm hungry! But today -- nothing! In fact I got so wrapped up in work today that twice.. TWICE I missed a meal and had to double-up to make up for it. What the Heck!?

I can't wait to see what tomorrow is like!

<<>>

Monday, May 04, 2009

100 Days - Day 5 - Magic Notebook

Get a "magic" notebook (or blog)

"For many people, recording personal thoughts or actions each day provides a lot of insight. It also serves as an outlet for emotions and struggles around weight-loss efforts"

I think this is an easy statement to agree with. I mean most of the people who are reading this are also writing their blogs and know what a valuable tool journaling can be.

Eat it another time

"Just because you think about a food doesn't mean you have to eat it."

"When a food thought crosses your mind, remind yourself that you don't have to act on it. Instead, write down the name or even an description of the food, then anticipate the pleasure of eating it sometime in the future."

Now, I have to say that at this point in my journey I'm a lot better off just dismissing a food as soon as I think about it. I quickly turn my thoughts to other things. But this technique might help some people. What do you think? are you better off recording your food cravings and analyzing them - or just 'turning the other cheek'??

I like this next bit though

"Practice the skill of observing food cues, then letting them go. When you walk into a movie theater, notice the small of popcorn, then forget about it. If it helps, record these cues in your "magic" notebook.

Today

-------

Whenever you think about a particulare food you want, write it down in your notebook.

-- Sorry, already said I wasn't going to do this :) heh

Plan that you'll eat it at another time. If you wish, add the amount you'll have and how often you'll fit it into your program

-- Now this I think will be a great tool for when I hit transition, and I'm going to bookmark this part and come back to it at that time.

Stretch the times farther apart for eating this food. You may discover that after a while, certain foods don't seem as important to you as they once did.

-- Honestly, this is what I think has happened to me with the MF 'cold turkey' approach. Foods that I thought I couldn't stand to not have - have become much lower in importance to me. For the first time ever I feel as if I am in 'recovery' from my food addiction
and I LOVE being free!

Sunday, May 03, 2009

100 Days - Day 4 - Boundaries, not diets

Picture your diet program as a road or a path.  You can define the boundaries ofyour diet road....

Boundaries stay flexible... they allow for common sense and good judgement.

During times when you're strong and focused on your diet, you move the boundaries closer together, making the road narrower.  When you takea break from your program or work on maintenance, you widen the boundaries... 

But even on a really bad day, you never eliminate the road or get off of it completely.

Narrow Road
  • Medifast 5&1 with no snacks or 'extras'
  • Some form of excercise 45 minutes a day/6 days a week
Wider Road
  • Medifast 5&1 with a MF snack such as crackers, or a serving of nuts
  • Sorm form of excercise 45 minutes a day/3 days a week
There's no doubt in my mind that there will be and even wider road down the line.  But right now I'm focused on getting to my first 'mini-goal' of 170.  At that point I'll decide how fast I want/need to continue and base my narrow/wide road from there.  Transition will be another excercise of determining what my boundaries are.

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Interesting Discovery

The past four weeks while on Medifast has been really strange for me. I've found myself not tempted by off plan foods, no cravings, no struggles. It's been nice but strange and almost frightening. I mean, what if those feelings spontaneously return?

I still don't fully understand why this is happening to me, but tonight I was able to further clarify the extent in on this very strange feeling I've had.

We went out to dinner tonight at Chili's. As I read through the menu looking for something with chicken and veggies I realized that none of the food was 'attracting' me the way it normally would. I have noticed this over the past few weeks but it was really brought to my attention tonight because I was sitting there reading a menu and I was having this -- indifferent attitude.

If you've never been a food addict, then maybe you can't understand how strange it is to look at a menu of food and be hungry and see the food as -- fuel, not the highlight/pleasure of the day.

Anyway, later as my hubby was flipping through the desert menu and looking at all the pictures I found myself, once again, looking at it all with supreme indifference (and shock at my reaction). Finally I was able to put my finger on the HUGE difference. I couldn't 'taste' the food.

It's the only way I can think of to describe it. While looking at the pictures, while reading the descriptions, I realized my 'normal' reaction of being able to taste the food, to visualize the smell, flavor and texture, was gone! THAT'S why I'm not craving foods.

Is it possible I'm doing it on purpose?!

When I started this diet I gave myself 'no choice' to go off plan. I've not argued with my feast beast, I've just said "NO" and that's it. Has this caused the 'shutdown' of my normal reaction?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining - no by a long long shot. I just don't want it to come back!? If I can hang onto this feeling -- I'll never struggle with my weight again!

100 Days - Day 3 - Do it anyway

Commited means do it anyway

People who are interested in losing weight

  • Stick with it until something better comes along
  • Take action only if tey "feel like" doing it
  • Need to see results in order to stay motivated
  • Blame people or circumstances for their struggles
  • Easily give up when they face challenges
People who are committed to losing weight

  • Stick with their plans no matter what
  • Take action whether they feel like doing it or not
  • Assume that if they stay motivated, results will follow
  • Take responsibility for their own actions
  • Keep going in spite of challenge and setbacks

Today:

In your diet or exercise plan, identify a task you don't feel like doing, then do it anyway!

-- I've really been struggling with excercise and I don't know why - probably because I forgot to bring my 'do it anyway' attitude to bear.  Well it's come to bear now and I'm not going to let my 'feelings' determine weather I do it or not.  It's time to be committed to all aspects of this lifestyle.  In fact, it's time to be more committed in a lot of things in my life.   I live way too much of my life just 'interested' in the things around me.  I really do believe that living life to it's fullest means making committments and keeping them.

Notice how it feel sot accomplish a goal by taking a "no matter what" approach to it.

-- Just changing my thinking to "no matter what" gives me a burst of energy and a feeling of satisfaction - imagine what actually living that will do.

In your notebook, make a list of actions you plan to stick with today, regardless of howyou feel at the moment.

-- Get in a short bike and run - despite the rain
-- Eat an extra serving of veggies at dinner
-- Go to bed early and get all the rest I need for tomorrow's big day.

So - anyone reading this blog?  Have you committed?

Weigh-in Day

Saturday is my weigh in day, and today's my weigh in. --219.6!! I met my goal for the week!

That's a 2.7lb loss for this week and a total of 19.4 for four weeks!

As for exercise, I didn't meet my goals for this week. I kept using my race tomorrow as a reason to 'take it easy' only I managed to translate that as 'do nothing'. I don't want to be 'skinny fat' - I want to be FIT! so this week I'm going to be focused. Not having to focus on the food should make focusing on getting my exercise in easy.

Goals for next week?

Sunday - 219.3
Monday - 218.9
Tuesday - 218.6
Wednesday - 218.3
Thursday - 218.0
Friday - 217.6
Final Goal: 217.3

Alright - got to run, I have to go sing at the Relay for life.

Friday, May 01, 2009

100 Days - Day 2 - Interested or committed

Committed means "no matter what!"

You don't blame circumstances or other people for your struggles. Instead, you stay on your diet in spite of not having enough money, time or supportive friends and family members.

Decide that you will always be committed to your weight-loss plan, not just interested.

-- I've been doing that for four weeks now :)

In your notebook, describe how you will stick with your program, no matter what.

-- I will stick with my program, no matter what. As I said before, a party is still a party without a cake, and a night out is still a night out without a drink. When I stay on plan I'm loving myself and it's about time I spent a little love on myself.

Do at least one thing today that demonstrates you are truly committed. For example, take a walk or eat your vegetables - no matter what.

Today - I will go for a walk and make sure that my calories match my TEE on Medifast.