So yeah, don’t let the stuffed bear fool you. She’s a little creepy but I had to figure out a way to sneak her into this week’s video. She’s just too cool not to.
I’ve gone back and forth between being vigilant about my discipline with food and being lazy. I think it all evened out in the end.
I’ve been in a good mood even though I found a WHITE hair yesterday. Not grey, like it could be. But white. Yes, like Casper, or my legs in December. White.
That has nothing to do with the video.
And the bear has nothing to do with my eating habits.
Mandy wanted to help me on my Monday video, but instead of offering the moral support she promised, she threw me under the bus.
She just reminded me of all the food I’d forgotten I’d eaten. But then she also reminded me that I had run. In the leaves. In the autumn. In Massachusets.
There is always grace, it seems, because even though I’m sure I didn’t lose any weight on my vacation, for some reason I kept my eating in check.
If you minus the two scoops at the Cherry Hill Creamery and the roast beef sandwich at Nic’s. There was also some business with chowder and lobster on Saturday too.
And the scale on the floor of my bathroom is moving ever so slowly down toward my goal of 141. 15 pounds total. Not because I am obese. But because I’ve gained this amount of weight over the past year because of poor eating habits and a lack of discipline. And because my jeans weren’t fitting.
If you are new to my journey, click here to watch my first confession.
I am trying to get this part of my life under control. And as it turns out, I am learning a lot about myself in the process.
Another simple broadcast in my quest to bring myself under control.
I don’t like that part of me. It has gotten me into some trouble. But it also translated into really good grades in high school and college, and determination to finish most things I begin.
But with my more recent attempts at weight loss, my all-or-nothing mentality has really been a day to day thing. One day, I’ll do great on everything, and then the next day I feel like a miserable failure.
So I must learn how to balance. I need to figure out where my sweet spot is between all out diet-crazyness and downing handfuls of goldfish crackers to fill my salt craving. Balance is my new word.
Ever been on a balance board at the gym or a BOSU Ball? Have you ever lifted weights on balance discs or done ab work on an exercise ball? Training your body to right itself when caught off balance stregthens most of the large muscles of your body including your core and legs. Just the simple act of trying to remain upright helps you to become more fit.
So, I need the equivalent of a balance disc for my eating and exercising habits. I need to train myself to make the small changes needed to remain upright and on track with my plan. I need to try forget the all-or-nothing mentality. I need to stick with it even when I feel like I’m going to fall flat on my rear.
I am still praying for you all who are joining me on my long journey. Hopefully you all have learned something about yourselves somewhere along the way too.
I repeat this when I’m running sometimes, or when I’m pushing away a piece of cheesy toast at Claim Jumper. I think this when I drive by my favorite frozen yogurt place.
This past week, however, I had a small taste of success, only because I decided to change some things. Now, there hasn’t been one week since I began this when I’ve been perfect (perfect food journalling, perfect calorie intake, perfect workout schedule). If so, I might be losing faster.
But this whole thing is an effort to build better habits, to learn more about myself, and to gain control of an area of my life that is at times out of control.
(sorry I talk so fast right in the beginning; I was trying to get everyone out the door for church).
I stopped drinking carbonated beverages. Because I gave up diet coke, I also have accidentally been steering away from caffiene. I still drink some coffee and tea.
I started interval workouts a couple times a week. Sunday, I jogged up to the park by my house. I ran five laps of 1/3 mile each: half of the lap at a fast run and half at a jog. I stopped between laps and did crunches, pushups, tricep dips, lunges and some step exercises at a picnic bench. My whole workout took an hour and I kept my heart rate varied. Today I’ll run sprints on the treadmill and take a weight training class.
I have been avoiding carbohydrates. I am staying away from all refined sugars and breads. No crackers, no tortillas, no sugary frozen yogurt (my favorite). I’ve been eating lean protein and dairy and the carbohydrates I have been getting are from yogurt and cottage cheese, as well as vegetables. I’ve discovered greek yogurt.
I think this will be another week of the same regimen. I am trying to keep my food written down – it just helps me. Hopefully next week I’ll be able to report I’ve lost again!
4.4 pounds lost…10.6 more to go. I had no idea it was going to take this long. But, if its worth having, it is bound to be difficult.
So this week has been all about change. For me at least. And for a few others that I know.
I changed the way I’ve been eating (more on that on Monday). I’ve changed what beverages I am consuming (again, more on that on Monday). And I have changed the way I have been working out.
For a long time, I had considered the hour-per-day threshhold of cardio as necessary for weight loss or maintenance. I’m not so sure anymore. Because I HAD been doing that much cardio every day.
And nothing was happening.
I think the key was that I was being lazy in my cardio: jogging slowly or doing the elliptical trainer at a moderate level.
So this is ONE thing I’m learning about my own body.
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