Yo. Yo. Yo.
No, I'm not trying to be hip. This is the sound of my dieting life.
I've been up and down so many times, I feel like one of those blow up punching things we had as kids that you could punch and would come right back up again. They usually had Bozo's face on them...which is also apropos.
Long story short...if you haven't been here before... I, like a million others, struggle with my weight. (I know you are SHOCKED). Last year, I went on a very drastic low fat/low cal/low carb diet and dropped 40 lbs in 4 months. It was a beautiful, albeit, somewhat stupid thing. I went from a 12 to a 6 in the blink of an eye.
But realistic it was not because the bad habits crept back and now...a year later, I'm back in that size 12.
And I am pissed!
I hate how I look in my clothes...God forbid out of them.
I'm angry that I let it get to this point. But I suppose that getting here is the thing that will get me to jump or limp into action.
Just exactly what that action is...is indeed the question.
Low carb has worked in the past (but is often inconvenient).
WW has worked in the past (but I just cannot to the points thing again).
So, as I set out on the next leg of this journey...AGAIN, I'm setting smaller goals.
This week, I'm giving up sugar, white flour, and the worst high carb culprits. No pasta, no white bread, no potatoes.
Beyond that...I'm just going to try and eat healthy and see how it goes.
I have some new favorite blogs that I'm reading. Check them out on the right. I'm feeling especially inspired by Pasta Queen and love the Habit-a-Week Challenge over at Escape from Obesity.
Join me on the journey. And stay tuned for less of me.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Exercise or else
The funny thing about writing a blog, is that if you write that you will do something, well, then gosh darn it, you better do it. So out of fear of being ridiculed by those folks nice enough to have read my last post...
Yes.
I did it.
I got up early today and exercised. (can I get a "woo hoo" from the crowd?)
Granted, it wasn't a lot. But I did manage to squeeze in 20 minutes of vigorous kick boxing this morning before racing into the shower. (still waitin' on that "woo hoo").
It was one of those workouts-on-demand on cable and to be honest, I wasn't all that thrilled with it because the "instructor" was more than a tad annoying but...Gotta start somewhere, right?
I will try something else tomorrow.
Stay tuned for less of me.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Making slow and steady progress on Weight Watchers
First a thanks to Miz Fit for the little kick in the butt this week for not updating in a while.
It wasn't intentional. I swear.
I'm a little frustrated with the slow pace of Weight Watchers despite knowing that it's better to lose it this way.
Five weeks in and I've lost 5 pounds. (Hurray for me ???)
The funny thing about weight loss programs though is that in order for them to work, you have to work them. Profound, I know.
Some days I'm better at it than others. I find it impossible to stay on program every day and I know that I am my own worst enemy if I fail to write stuff down.
Some slip ups are obvious....like the piece of cheesecake I HAD to have to celebrate my friend's birthday. What kind of friend would I be to go to Cheesecake Factory with him and not have "something"...right? Yea, Yea, I know.
In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny... "what a maroon!"
Other slip ups are not so obvious or maybe just unavoidable. Weekends are just deadly for me lately as I have found myself in social situations where food I shouldn't be eating in ANY quantity has found itself in my gullet. And of course, I'm instantly sorry and kicking myself clear into the next day.
But aside from the obvious and not so obvious stated above, my biggest challenge continues to be...exercise. It's not the how, or even the what (since, like most everyone I know, I have a plethora of bands, balls, weights and dvds to get the job done). Instead it's just the WHEN?
Every day, my alarm clock goes off at 5:30. Every day I have the intention of getting up and doing some form of exercise before I have to start getting myself and two 7 year olds ready to start the day. And more times than not, I find myself hitting the snooze enough times to make those intentions worthless.
So if any of you have any great suggestions of how I can get over this hurdle, please speak up. I KNOW that if I can figure out a way to make exercise a regular and permanent part of my daily routine, that the weight will melt away.
Stay tuned for less of me.
It wasn't intentional. I swear.
I'm a little frustrated with the slow pace of Weight Watchers despite knowing that it's better to lose it this way.
Five weeks in and I've lost 5 pounds. (Hurray for me ???)
The funny thing about weight loss programs though is that in order for them to work, you have to work them. Profound, I know.
Some days I'm better at it than others. I find it impossible to stay on program every day and I know that I am my own worst enemy if I fail to write stuff down.
Some slip ups are obvious....like the piece of cheesecake I HAD to have to celebrate my friend's birthday. What kind of friend would I be to go to Cheesecake Factory with him and not have "something"...right? Yea, Yea, I know.
In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny... "what a maroon!"
Other slip ups are not so obvious or maybe just unavoidable. Weekends are just deadly for me lately as I have found myself in social situations where food I shouldn't be eating in ANY quantity has found itself in my gullet. And of course, I'm instantly sorry and kicking myself clear into the next day.
But aside from the obvious and not so obvious stated above, my biggest challenge continues to be...exercise. It's not the how, or even the what (since, like most everyone I know, I have a plethora of bands, balls, weights and dvds to get the job done). Instead it's just the WHEN?
Every day, my alarm clock goes off at 5:30. Every day I have the intention of getting up and doing some form of exercise before I have to start getting myself and two 7 year olds ready to start the day. And more times than not, I find myself hitting the snooze enough times to make those intentions worthless.
So if any of you have any great suggestions of how I can get over this hurdle, please speak up. I KNOW that if I can figure out a way to make exercise a regular and permanent part of my daily routine, that the weight will melt away.
Stay tuned for less of me.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Watching the Scale Go Down-Week 2 on Weight Watchers
This week, I lost another 1.5 pounds for my second week on Weight Watchers. Slow and steady wins the race.
This week I was a little concerned though. My regular routine was disrupted by having to attend two days of training in NYC. I knew this was going to mean having to make some hard food choices since these things are never an opportunity to eat well...just to eat whatever is handy. I did better than I thought I would, though. I skipped the bagels they provided in the morning and the cookies they set out in the afternoon. Ate breakfast before I left and made sure I had some fruit handy. But maybe because it was weighing so heavily (no pun intended ) on my mind, I felt like I was STARVING the whole day. It could be because my day started so much earlier. I had to eat breakfast at 6:30 before leaving the house to catch the train instead of my usual 8:30 (at my desk) And I'm certain that I drank a lot more coffee than I usually do (It was not what you'd call a "sit on the edge of your seat" kind of training so I needed a little help.) The good news is that it forced me to do a lot more walking that I typically do in my suburban life.
I've been wearing a pedometer lately so I can tell you that from my house to the World Trade Center where I got off the train... it was 1700 steps. But between walking to the building where my training was down near Wall Street and getting a little turned around on the first day trying to find the entrance to the train on the way back...I logged over 10,000 steps each day.
I guess that's one of the pitfalls of living a "get-in-your-car-to-go-everywhere" kind of life. When we lived in the city, I wouldn't have given it a second thought to walk anywhere. Now, it's a different story completely.
I also found this week that if I'm really good about eating the right things, drinking water and overall, staying on plan 95% of the time, then when I'm faced with those situations that cause me to stray, I don't have to feel like I just sabotaged my entire week.
This week could have been MUCH worse if I had just given in to temptation and convenience. But I am really proud of my restraint in choosing bananas over cookies and a hot pretzel (in the train station on the way home) over a Haagen Daz ice cream pop.
Happy 4th of July and stay tuned for less of me.
This week I was a little concerned though. My regular routine was disrupted by having to attend two days of training in NYC. I knew this was going to mean having to make some hard food choices since these things are never an opportunity to eat well...just to eat whatever is handy. I did better than I thought I would, though. I skipped the bagels they provided in the morning and the cookies they set out in the afternoon. Ate breakfast before I left and made sure I had some fruit handy. But maybe because it was weighing so heavily (no pun intended ) on my mind, I felt like I was STARVING the whole day. It could be because my day started so much earlier. I had to eat breakfast at 6:30 before leaving the house to catch the train instead of my usual 8:30 (at my desk) And I'm certain that I drank a lot more coffee than I usually do (It was not what you'd call a "sit on the edge of your seat" kind of training so I needed a little help.) The good news is that it forced me to do a lot more walking that I typically do in my suburban life.
I've been wearing a pedometer lately so I can tell you that from my house to the World Trade Center where I got off the train... it was 1700 steps. But between walking to the building where my training was down near Wall Street and getting a little turned around on the first day trying to find the entrance to the train on the way back...I logged over 10,000 steps each day.
I guess that's one of the pitfalls of living a "get-in-your-car-to-go-everywhere" kind of life. When we lived in the city, I wouldn't have given it a second thought to walk anywhere. Now, it's a different story completely.
I also found this week that if I'm really good about eating the right things, drinking water and overall, staying on plan 95% of the time, then when I'm faced with those situations that cause me to stray, I don't have to feel like I just sabotaged my entire week.
This week could have been MUCH worse if I had just given in to temptation and convenience. But I am really proud of my restraint in choosing bananas over cookies and a hot pretzel (in the train station on the way home) over a Haagen Daz ice cream pop.
Happy 4th of July and stay tuned for less of me.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
First Weigh In on Weight Watchers
I went to my first weigh in tonight and I'm proud to say I am down 1.8 pounds. I was really hoping it would be more. Every other time I've done Weight Watchers there's been this great jump start at the first weigh in.
I know. I know. One to two pounds a week is the best way to lose.
But I was pretty sure this first week was going to be more.
WAIT. What am I whining about? I followed the plan and it worked! Right??
So what did I do right and what could I have done better? I used WW's eTools to track everything I ate. It's a great tool and recording everything is truly key to keeping track of everything that goes in my mouth. I also found a great tool for looking up anything I don't find in the WW database. Check out www.nutritiondata.com to look up any food you can think of.
Write it down. It'll make a difference.
The goal this week is to get a little more exercise and see if I can step it up for next week.
Stay tuned for less of me.
I know. I know. One to two pounds a week is the best way to lose.
But I was pretty sure this first week was going to be more.
WAIT. What am I whining about? I followed the plan and it worked! Right??
So what did I do right and what could I have done better? I used WW's eTools to track everything I ate. It's a great tool and recording everything is truly key to keeping track of everything that goes in my mouth. I also found a great tool for looking up anything I don't find in the WW database. Check out www.nutritiondata.com to look up any food you can think of.
Write it down. It'll make a difference.
The goal this week is to get a little more exercise and see if I can step it up for next week.
Stay tuned for less of me.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Surviving McDonald's on Weight Watchers
Every dieter I know struggles with how to get through the weekends. I do ok through the Monday to Friday routine of eating at pretty much the same time every day. But with two small children at home, the weekends are typically a whirlwind of errands and social/ family engagements. Eating on the run and feeding the kids wherever we happen to be that will cause the least amount of drama often means choosing things that I would never choose if I was by myself.
Today...one daughter had a birthday party to attend so I promised the other one that we would do something together (of her choosing). This included lunch out and a trip to the park. So of course she picked McDonald's for lunch which sent me into a mild panic over how many points I would have to spend on lunch.
Much to my surprise, McDonald's is not the enemy. I chose the Southwest salad with grilled chicken and Balsamic dressing which I later learned was only 7 points. Slightly more than I might have normally spent on lunch but certainly not the off the chart point count that, say, a quarter pounder with cheese might have been. McDonald's is even nice enough to provide a handy little chart of nutritional content for the most popular items and a link to their web site to check out anything else on the menu. If you are curious, check it out here. Similar charts exist for Wendy's and Burger King.
It's not always easy to make the healthiest of food choices when out. And don't get me wrong. I am NOT suggesting that we should all run out and eat fast food every day and still expect to lose weight. But what I am saying is that on Weight Watchers, you can eat anywhere and still stay on plan.
Stay tuned for less of me.
Today...one daughter had a birthday party to attend so I promised the other one that we would do something together (of her choosing). This included lunch out and a trip to the park. So of course she picked McDonald's for lunch which sent me into a mild panic over how many points I would have to spend on lunch.
Much to my surprise, McDonald's is not the enemy. I chose the Southwest salad with grilled chicken and Balsamic dressing which I later learned was only 7 points. Slightly more than I might have normally spent on lunch but certainly not the off the chart point count that, say, a quarter pounder with cheese might have been. McDonald's is even nice enough to provide a handy little chart of nutritional content for the most popular items and a link to their web site to check out anything else on the menu. If you are curious, check it out here. Similar charts exist for Wendy's and Burger King.
It's not always easy to make the healthiest of food choices when out. And don't get me wrong. I am NOT suggesting that we should all run out and eat fast food every day and still expect to lose weight. But what I am saying is that on Weight Watchers, you can eat anywhere and still stay on plan.
Stay tuned for less of me.
Friday, June 20, 2008
A New Dieting Path
Yes, it's been a while.
Have you wondered where I've been?
Standing in front of the fridge stuffing my face is the obvious answer. But wait...I'm jumping ahead. Let me back up and get the new folks up to speed.
Once upon a time, a beautiful but plump girl went on a diet. OK, she went on a lot of diets and had a fair amount of success on each and every one. Until she grew bored and slipped back into old habits. And before long she was slipping back into the larger sizes in her closet.
Then one day, she went on a low carb/ low fat diet (yes, it is a contradiction for those doing the math). The diet (which shall not be named) was somewhat controversial but Scalemistress lost nearly 40 pounds in 4 months. Which all the experts will tell you is too much too soon. But she didn't care because she went from a size 12 to a size 6 in time for a big family vacation.
That was 10 months ago. And in these past 10 months I have struggled to regain (pardon the pun) the glory of being that single digit size that I was so happy to obtain last summer. And also in these 10 months, I have tried to resume some healthier eating habits and exercise more. But ultimately, all I've achieved is gaining back nearly 30 of the original 40 pound loss.
It's horribly depressing.
What to do. What to do.
Well I tried a few things on my own. but if there's anything I know for sure about all of the diets out there, it's that they all work...if you work them.
Some universal truths to dieting are:
Write it all down
Drink a lot of water
Move more
What you put in your mouth may vary but those things are always true. And one more truth for me is I work them best when I don't do it alone.
So when a few of my co-workers decided to do Weight Watchers, I battled the inner demons. You know the ones. The voices in my head that said "But Scalemistress, you've been swearing by the low carb life for so long. Are you switching teams? Are you going over the dark side?"
But I know that Weight Watchers works. It's worked for me before. Just like low carb worked for me before. The bigger question is...what will work for me now?
So yea.... I took the plunge. I joined Weight Watchers....again. Went to a meeting. Stepped on the scale. And now I'm two days into counting points...again. So far so good. I'll step back on that scale each Wednesday....in between stepping on the one at home more than a dozen times before then.
So join me in this next chapter on my weight loss journey.
And stay tuned for less of me.
Have you wondered where I've been?
Standing in front of the fridge stuffing my face is the obvious answer. But wait...I'm jumping ahead. Let me back up and get the new folks up to speed.
Once upon a time, a beautiful but plump girl went on a diet. OK, she went on a lot of diets and had a fair amount of success on each and every one. Until she grew bored and slipped back into old habits. And before long she was slipping back into the larger sizes in her closet.
Then one day, she went on a low carb/ low fat diet (yes, it is a contradiction for those doing the math). The diet (which shall not be named) was somewhat controversial but Scalemistress lost nearly 40 pounds in 4 months. Which all the experts will tell you is too much too soon. But she didn't care because she went from a size 12 to a size 6 in time for a big family vacation.
That was 10 months ago. And in these past 10 months I have struggled to regain (pardon the pun) the glory of being that single digit size that I was so happy to obtain last summer. And also in these 10 months, I have tried to resume some healthier eating habits and exercise more. But ultimately, all I've achieved is gaining back nearly 30 of the original 40 pound loss.
It's horribly depressing.
What to do. What to do.
Well I tried a few things on my own. but if there's anything I know for sure about all of the diets out there, it's that they all work...if you work them.
Some universal truths to dieting are:
Write it all down
Drink a lot of water
Move more
What you put in your mouth may vary but those things are always true. And one more truth for me is I work them best when I don't do it alone.
So when a few of my co-workers decided to do Weight Watchers, I battled the inner demons. You know the ones. The voices in my head that said "But Scalemistress, you've been swearing by the low carb life for so long. Are you switching teams? Are you going over the dark side?"
But I know that Weight Watchers works. It's worked for me before. Just like low carb worked for me before. The bigger question is...what will work for me now?
So yea.... I took the plunge. I joined Weight Watchers....again. Went to a meeting. Stepped on the scale. And now I'm two days into counting points...again. So far so good. I'll step back on that scale each Wednesday....in between stepping on the one at home more than a dozen times before then.
So join me in this next chapter on my weight loss journey.
And stay tuned for less of me.
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