Losing weight in spite of myself.

I began this blog in February 2011 as a way to help me not quit trying to lose weight, and to learn a few things. It's been an interesting and powerful experience. It certainly confirms what I've long suspected--that although I am a genuinely happy cheery person in the main, I am NOT a happy cheery dieter. I DETEST losing weight. I resent being overweight in the first place and I am a virtuoso in the art of self-sabotage. And YET--I'm doing it! I'm fighting and kicking and EATING all the way down, but the weight is finally going down. The plan I was following in February was a half-baked one largely based on wishful thinking. I gained a little weight and decided to get real. I knew I couldn't just join weightwatchers or count calories or do any one plan and expect to be successful. I decided if I was going to bother to make the effort to lose weight I was going to throw everything I could think of at the problem. And so I do. My real "Day One" for this blog is April 1, 2011. I joined weight watchers, I joined caloriecount.com (awesome website), I read the blog losingweighteveryday.blogspot.com religiously, I keep this blog faithfully, I joined the health programs sponsored by my insurance, I use the principles from overeater's anonymous, I use my church's 12 step program as well, I subscribe--and use--Healthy Cooking Magazine.



The result of all this? Painfully slow progress (About 20 lbs in 10 months). But it IS progress and like the little engine that could I keep on trying in my rebellious way. I have no intention of quitting. This is by far the longest sustained weight loss effort I've ever made in my life. Successful I think, because for the first in my life I've done this MY way--which I've discovered, involves a lot of pizza and restaraunt food. I'm convinced this is the only way to lose weight. For me it must be MY way. For you it MUST be YOUR way. Not weight watcher's way, not your doctor's way, but YOUR way. Any plan or idea I use is only a tool.

The latest plan to lose weight my way began on Oct 29, 2013. It really is my own crazy plan. As you'll see if you read that post. I've implemented the best ideas of all sorts of eating plans and thrown out the scale. A couple of months in and I'm definitely healthier. I'm actually enjoying myself. I won't weigh until April 1, 2014, so I'll see then if this works the way I hope it will.

There is no magic weight loss bullet. But there IS a great deal of magic in the discovery of what I can happily live with (very different from what weight watchers tells me I can happily live with) and still have the body and health I want.

Good luck to all of us on this journey. It's quite a trip!







Saturday, September 17, 2011

168 Exercise

Phew! I am WELL exercised today and proud of myself. Yesterday we did go to the mall and just to compound the temptations there is a new place at the food court--Teazers.. Perfect name. Hot wings, gourmet burgers and nachos. All the things I like best. Sometime I'll go down specifically to have all of that, but not last night. I really did go to Subways. I had a club--wanted a roast beef--one of their better options, but the roast beef was frozen, so I just a little extra turkey on the club. I also had a yogurt parfait. No idea what the points where but it was 190 cal with 2 grams of fat. The idea was to fill up on healthy things so I wouldn't inhale too much movie popcorn.  I'm not sure if that worked or not. We got a large tub, and Dave also got some chocolate covered almonds. By the end of the movie (much better the second time round), most of the tub was gone, but I'm not sure if I was the one who ate most of it or Dave. Anyway movie popcorn and all I was 190 this morning.

It's been a good day. I slept in until 9. Had a bowl of cheerios and went for my 90 minute walk. It was probably closer to a two hour walk. I went in the direction of Manor Care rehab center thinking to visit Sis. Mead if the distance was at all close--it was! About 50 min from my house to her. I visited with her for about a 1/2 an hour. Then I took another detour to the Pleasant Valley library--which I swear had moved farther down the road--paid off my fine, checked out just a few things (didn't want to haul 40 pounds in my backpack) and got home about 3 hours after I'd left. My legs are more tired than I think they should be. I had a good lunch of leftover gyro stuff. Worked on Catherine's mural a little bit, and took my phone interruptions downstairs where I have begun to clean out and reclaim my craft closet.  My goals for today are to mow the lawn (more exercise!), the craft closet and to spend 1/2 hour on pictures. I have not handled the transition to digital cameras very well. We take hundreds of pics and then they are never seen again. I'm still not quite sure how to handle them, but the first thing I want is to get them all on well labeled disks or jump drives. I always put off the project because I'm never sure where the cords are and how to get the computer to work etc etc etc. But that's not going to change unless I tackle the project, so 1/2 an hour it is. I have 16 points left for dinner and I'm calling this week a very good week and who knows? I might even see the magic 189 again tomorrow.

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