The last few days I have been struggling. Tuesday night, I totally lost it. I ate a big bowl of macaroni and cheese, and I ate one of those red heart shaped box of chocolate (about 9 pieces). Since I am the queen of making excuses, I looked back on what happened Monday.
I ended the Healthy Games challenge and weighed out. I made my 6% loss! Woohoo!
I had two different people tell me that I was looking good. They noticed that I was starting to lose weight!
I know....terrible things.
Actually, I have had worse days. So, why did I scarf down a bowl of mac-n-cheese and the box of chocolates? I could tell you that I did it because just as I finished making the pasta for the kids and started making my on-plan lean and green meal....the power went off. I couldn't use the oven or the microwave, and did not have anything to eat that didn't have to be cooked (which is actually true...grocery shopping tonight!). But that would just be making an excuse.
What I really think happened was that because I had compliments, because I made my goal, I reverted back to old habits. You know the ones.....rewarding yourself with food. I felt good that people are starting to notice. I felt good that I made my goal. But then, I rewarded my good choices with something bad. FOOD
Augh.
But, let's look at the silver lining.
In the past, I would have just made an excuse and keep on making bad choices. I wouldn't really realize that I was rewarding myself with food, I would have just made an excuse as to why I went off plan.
So now I am looking at rewards that I can give myself when I need a reward. No, it is not going to be anything with food...coming up with things can be difficult when you are so programmed to just eat something!
Here is to being honest with myself, and rewarding myself for the good things I am doing! I know it is going to be hard to break that mindset, but I am working on it!
Have a great week everyone!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Losing Weight With A "Gimmick"
One of my really good friends has told me, "I promised myself that I will not do any diet with a gimmick. I am done portioning food into colored containers, eating only a program's specific diet food, moving sliding windows when I ate something....I am just not going to do that anymore, because once I stop, the weight piles back on....and then some!"
Here is the definition of gimmick:
gim·mick
Let's face it.....many diet programs have some sort of "gimmick". These diet companies are trying to draw your attention, so you will join them. Many of my co-workers are doing the 21 Day Fix. The premise is that you have a certain number of servings of specific colored containers. You fill the container with the food specified, and then you are done with that group. Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig, you purchase their meals and eat a certain amount each day. Weight Watchers has you counting point values for the food you eat, and you subtract it from a total amount of points you have each day. You name it, diets tend to try to outdo themselves to make their plan seem the easiest to follow and lose the weight.
I am doing Take Shape For Life, which uses Medifast foods. I make one lean and green meal, but eat 5 of the Medifast packaged foods each day. Is that a gimmick? Some say yes, some say no.
Is losing weight by using a gimmick bad thing?
I believe it depends upon how you look at it.
Is your "diet" going to be followed for a certain amount of time, then go back to unhealthy habits?
Will you give up during your "diet" and just go crazy eating pizza, ice cream, chips, etc?
Or, are you looking to make changes that will last a life time? Are you just looking to lose weight, or are you looking to be healthy?
I am looking to get healthy. Losing weight is a part of that, but I need to relearn how to eat. I need to learn how to make better choices. If a "gimmick" is getting you into a mode where you can rethink how you eat, is that really a gimmick?
I think that the only diet that is a trick, is one that makes you believe that you can eat whatever you want, anytime you want, and still lose weight. The only way to lose weight is sticking to a plan, but once you reach your goal, it is not over. You may be over losing weight, but you still have a lot of work to do.
I remember reading about people who made it to their goal, and started to transition. Those people said that losing weight was the easy part. Easy part? Really? Even though I am not saying losing weight is easy, keeping and maintaining a healthy weight doesn't seem like a piece of cake either. I mean look at me....I was eating "normal" food and gaining weight without even thinking about it.
Anyway, I wish my friend would try Take Shape for Life with me, but she won't because she thinks it's a gimmick. So far I have lost 18 pounds. I am pretty sure this is the gimmick I need to get me to think about my choices and change my habits for a lifetime!
Here is the definition of gimmick:
gim·mick
/ɡimik/
noun
- a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or business.
synonyms: publicity stunt, contrivance, scheme, stratagem, ploy;
informalshtick"the trivia contest was a gimmick to sell more newspapers"
Let's face it.....many diet programs have some sort of "gimmick". These diet companies are trying to draw your attention, so you will join them. Many of my co-workers are doing the 21 Day Fix. The premise is that you have a certain number of servings of specific colored containers. You fill the container with the food specified, and then you are done with that group. Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig, you purchase their meals and eat a certain amount each day. Weight Watchers has you counting point values for the food you eat, and you subtract it from a total amount of points you have each day. You name it, diets tend to try to outdo themselves to make their plan seem the easiest to follow and lose the weight.
I am doing Take Shape For Life, which uses Medifast foods. I make one lean and green meal, but eat 5 of the Medifast packaged foods each day. Is that a gimmick? Some say yes, some say no.
Is losing weight by using a gimmick bad thing?
I believe it depends upon how you look at it.
Is your "diet" going to be followed for a certain amount of time, then go back to unhealthy habits?
Will you give up during your "diet" and just go crazy eating pizza, ice cream, chips, etc?
Or, are you looking to make changes that will last a life time? Are you just looking to lose weight, or are you looking to be healthy?
I am looking to get healthy. Losing weight is a part of that, but I need to relearn how to eat. I need to learn how to make better choices. If a "gimmick" is getting you into a mode where you can rethink how you eat, is that really a gimmick?
I think that the only diet that is a trick, is one that makes you believe that you can eat whatever you want, anytime you want, and still lose weight. The only way to lose weight is sticking to a plan, but once you reach your goal, it is not over. You may be over losing weight, but you still have a lot of work to do.
I remember reading about people who made it to their goal, and started to transition. Those people said that losing weight was the easy part. Easy part? Really? Even though I am not saying losing weight is easy, keeping and maintaining a healthy weight doesn't seem like a piece of cake either. I mean look at me....I was eating "normal" food and gaining weight without even thinking about it.
Anyway, I wish my friend would try Take Shape for Life with me, but she won't because she thinks it's a gimmick. So far I have lost 18 pounds. I am pretty sure this is the gimmick I need to get me to think about my choices and change my habits for a lifetime!
Monday, February 9, 2015
Planning for Stress
It is usually at this point in my "diet" journey that I get discouraged.
Something comes up.
I go off plan.
I think, "Well, I am already off, I might as well go crazy today and start fresh tomorrow."
When tomorrow comes, same thing.
I give into the junk food, and the weight comes back on.
This weekend was crazy. I am still feeling the stress from the weekend. I feel like I have a big tension knot in my chest.
I did give in a little this weekend. I had a cupcake. I had some nachos. I drank a lot of diet coke.
But there was a difference this weekend. When I "feel off the wagon", (let's face it....falling off would be making an excuse....I jumped off of my own free will) I started to hear that voice telling myself that I already had a cupcake, I might as well have __________. I started saying that I would start fresh tomorrow. But like I said, this weekend was different.
Instead of listening to that voice, I made a different choice. I made a gingerbread soft bake.
I did not go crazy and have the candy bar that my husband put in the fridge from my daughter's play this weekend. I did not order something off the menu that was pizza or pasta or bread....I ordered the grilled steak salad. Instead of having a bowl of icecream with everyone else, I made a MF brownie.
Yes, I skipped some MF meals. Yes, I ate things off plan. But I did not give up. I did not give into that little voice and go crazy. I stopped and made a different choice.
When I weighed in this morning, I found that my weight did not go up, but it did not go down either (at least not yet). I know sometimes the bad choices show up a day or two later. I know I am an emotional eater, and when I get really stressed, I tend to skip MF meals and get too hungry (then make bad choices).
I have identified this problem, and now I can anticipate when something big is coming up, I know what my behaviors are. Now that I have named them, I can plan to do things differently next time.
When I have five million things to do, like I did this weekend, I can automatically put extra bars in my purse, so I always have something easy on hand to eat.
If I am home, I can grab a bar. If I am in the car, I can have a bar. Making my MF meals even simpler will make it easier to get all my MF meals in, so I do not get starving, and go for the cupcake.
I feel that next time, I can be stronger, because I was stronger this past weekend. Sometimes you have to remember to focus on progress, not perfection. Life is not perfect. Mistakes are going to be made.
Did I make mistakes this weekend? Yes.
Did I realize those mistakes and stop? Yes.
Did I then make better choices? Yes.
Did I make progress? YES!!!
Just remember, one day at a time.
Something comes up.
I go off plan.
I think, "Well, I am already off, I might as well go crazy today and start fresh tomorrow."
When tomorrow comes, same thing.
I give into the junk food, and the weight comes back on.
This weekend was crazy. I am still feeling the stress from the weekend. I feel like I have a big tension knot in my chest.
I did give in a little this weekend. I had a cupcake. I had some nachos. I drank a lot of diet coke.
But there was a difference this weekend. When I "feel off the wagon", (let's face it....falling off would be making an excuse....I jumped off of my own free will) I started to hear that voice telling myself that I already had a cupcake, I might as well have __________. I started saying that I would start fresh tomorrow. But like I said, this weekend was different.
Instead of listening to that voice, I made a different choice. I made a gingerbread soft bake.
I did not go crazy and have the candy bar that my husband put in the fridge from my daughter's play this weekend. I did not order something off the menu that was pizza or pasta or bread....I ordered the grilled steak salad. Instead of having a bowl of icecream with everyone else, I made a MF brownie.
Yes, I skipped some MF meals. Yes, I ate things off plan. But I did not give up. I did not give into that little voice and go crazy. I stopped and made a different choice.
When I weighed in this morning, I found that my weight did not go up, but it did not go down either (at least not yet). I know sometimes the bad choices show up a day or two later. I know I am an emotional eater, and when I get really stressed, I tend to skip MF meals and get too hungry (then make bad choices).
I have identified this problem, and now I can anticipate when something big is coming up, I know what my behaviors are. Now that I have named them, I can plan to do things differently next time.
When I have five million things to do, like I did this weekend, I can automatically put extra bars in my purse, so I always have something easy on hand to eat.
If I am home, I can grab a bar. If I am in the car, I can have a bar. Making my MF meals even simpler will make it easier to get all my MF meals in, so I do not get starving, and go for the cupcake.
I feel that next time, I can be stronger, because I was stronger this past weekend. Sometimes you have to remember to focus on progress, not perfection. Life is not perfect. Mistakes are going to be made.
Did I make mistakes this weekend? Yes.
Did I realize those mistakes and stop? Yes.
Did I then make better choices? Yes.
Did I make progress? YES!!!
Just remember, one day at a time.
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