Yes!

I guess I already knew that the JC plan worked. It was wonderful to see it in action. Down 3.5 pounds this week! It is SO helpful to have Mr. ShrinkingT doing a weight loss program at the same time. (of course he's doing something I think is crazy and unhealthy but it's probably just good for him to lose weight any way he can)

The big difference was the work out this week and the commitment to eating the plan. Energy level has been okay (except for the Sinus infection and subsequent allergic reaction to the antibiotic of course)

This week:
- 3 days of cardio
- with out of town guests coming in; limit drinking as much as possible (2 drinks/night)

Moving in the right direction again

Down a pound and a half this week. It's amazing how well I do when Mr. Shrinking T is not home to tempt me with non-diet foods. I worked out like crazy this week and I think that also contributed mightily to my success.

In other great news, my pants are starting to get loose. This is the first I'm seeing of results to my body and is definitely motivating me to keep going. While I don't think JC is a long term tool for me, it has definitely jumpstarted my progress.

Goals for this week:
1) 2 days weight lifting
2) 3 days cardio
3) try one new video (candlelight yoga anyone?)
4) try one new recipe

New Fitness Goal Achieved

I jogged a full lap . . . that's a quarter of a mile. I did it 4 times last night on my treadmill very slowly. But I did it. I haven't done that since I played soccer regularly some 20 years ago. Mr. Shrinking T has been bugging me to just "jog a lap then walk a lap" forever and I've never been able to do it. Thank God for VS for playing "The Replacements" and for the brilliance of Albuterol. I got off the treadmill last night with the confidence that I might be able to jog a 5k at some point. Amazing. I was starving after but it was well worth it.

Light Beer + Camping = Success at the Scale

Who knew that I could get a buzz on, eat cheetos and gummy bears and still lose 3.6 pounds?  Not me!  I mean, I had hoped that the couple hours I spent hiking and shooting would lead to some loss but I never would have expected that!  And, while it was a little scary to challenge my anemia dizzies, it was well worth it.

Tips for people going on vacation:
1) Try a side of carrots instead of chips with your meal
2) Light beer is just as fun to drink as the more calorie-rich kind in the cooler
3) Have some fruit instead of the candy
4) Go for a little walk

I'm not going to discuss the goals from last week.  I still haven't made progress so I need to reassess this week while going for the goal my WW leader gave me:

FRUIT AND VEGGIE CHALLENGE:
At every meal, fill half your plate with fruits or veggies.
(The goal is to get to the USDA's recommended daily value of 5 fruits and/or veggies a day.)

Let's Try this Again

I'm trying not to make excuses for myself.  After all, it was me who decided on Fried Chicken on Friday night.  Still. . . . with the health stuff going on last week, I'm giving myself a break.  Up a little, still down overall. 

Also, it's time to revisit those goals for the week:
1) Food: Write down everything I ingest
Better this week but still not great.  Goal for this week is to actually do this.
2) Movement: 20 minutes of walking 3 days + Ab work or Yoga or Pilates 2 days
Big fat goose egg on this goal.  With the camping trip this weekend, I think the 20 min of walking 3 days is doable.  That's my goal for this week.
3) Health: Research nutrition expert
Got a couple of names from my chiropractor and another idea from a friend.  No substantial progress made.  Goal for this week: call one of the leads

Down 1.8!

Love going to WW meetings and actually ending up on the negative side of the spectrum.  I cannot believe I let myself get this out of control even if I was changing jobs and moving my entire life to So Cal.  I'm extremely grateful that my boss said something to me that made me think "what the hell are you doing to yourself".  Add to that the scary health news (severely anemic on top of everything else) . . .  I am finally back to that place I was before.  I'm 35 years old.  If I'm having these health problems now, what is another 20 years of this extra weight going to do?  Type 2 diabetes?  Heart attack?  Stroke?  No thank you!  New town, new commitment.

 

Goals for this week:

• Food: Write down everything I ingest
• Movement: 20 minutes of walking 3 days + Ab work or Yoga or Pilates 2 days
• Health: Research nutrition expert

Gain Some and Lose Some

Truth is this week is more like "Gain Some and Gain Some".  Granted it was the last week of the year and I alternated my time between sleeping, eating, watching TV and drinking . . . drinking A LOT.  I'm giving myself a little break here and deciding to focus on some of the other things I've gained, namely insight.

Things I've figured out this week:

1. At that point where I get close to a breakthrough and really improve myself; at that certain point in every self-improvement journey I have taken, I have quit.  I believe that I am, somehow, not worth it.  Logically I know this is ridiculous but emotionally I haven't caught up yet.  And, if I take that one step further, I can say that the reason I am overweight is that I don't believe myself to be worth the effort of treating my body well.
2. I have decided to lose weight for two reasons.  The first is that the healthiest I have been in 10 years was 5 years ago, directly following a 25 pound weight loss.  I don't believe in coincidence.  I know I need to do this to get my health (and sanity) back.  The second is that I am pretty tired of always thinking of myself as the fat one.  It's a constant thing.  Walking to lunch today with my friend I thought "I wonder if people are looking at how much bigger I am than she is".  If my friend told me that I would smack her silly because NOBODY has time to think about other people like that.  And, if they did . . . I wouldn't want to be their friend!  Ridiculous!
3. If I look at numbers 1 and 2 above, it follows logically that I have been unsuccessful in maintaining my weight loss because I sabotage myself.  If I believe that I am not worth the work and if I think that nobody else believes I am good enough as I am, then I can conclude that I am acting in ways that contradict my ultimate goal.  It makes logical sense that it is easier for me to be overweight and unhappy than to be proven wrong in my deep-seeded beliefs.  Emotionally I think it's because I lack follow through.  But, if I'm ever going to GAIN follow through, I need to get going.  Further (and in some ways more importantly) I need to get over my fear of failure.  Not trying to live a better life is cowardice.

Big stuff this week.  Tomorrow I'm going to try a new recipe from a book I saw on WeightWatchers.com.  If it turns out and if Mr. ShrinkingT likes it, I will let you know.

First Book for T.I.S.T.

The Best Life Diet by Bob Greene

As with all lifestyle makeovers, this book is a step by step guide to making permanent changes to an unhealthy life.  What I love is that Bob Greene asks the reader to ease into the changes instead of going cold turkey.  I mean, I love cold turkey as much as the next person (especially in the form of Thanksgiving leftovers) but when authors tell me to cut down my calories and start doing a minimum of 45 minutes of cardio to start, I take issue.  So I was particularly pleased when I read the phase one section of this makeover plan and saw that I'm only really supposed to be trying to eat 3 meals a day, bumping up my exercise up one notch and eliminating alcohol (eeek).  But that wasn't the best part!  Every author emphasizes the importance of goal setting.  However, Greene takes this idea to a new level by asking me to really think about what I want and why I want it.  Before making any major changes, he asks the reader to be a little introspective by answering the following questions:

1. Why are you overweight?
2. Why do you want to lose weight?
3. Why have you been unable to maintain weight loss in the past?
   

Um, that's a lot to think about.  So, my goal for this week is to be a little introspective and answer those questions.  And, while I think about it, I am going to keep on reading this book cuz Bob is kind of getting me pumped up.

View all my reviews

The Incredible Yo-Yo

Six months before my 30th birthday I resolved to lose a significant amount of weight (somewhere in the vicinity of 30 pounds).  It was by no means a spur of the moment decision.  I had tried and failed several times to lose weight, coming to the conclusion that my body was not meant to be smaller and that I was destined to be the fat sister, the chubby (and funny) friend and the slightly frumpy coworker.  Then came the health problems.  To say I was always a sickly kid is to put things mildly; to name a few of my afflictions: allergies, asthma, ITP, endometriosis, Hashimotos disease.  One day I woke up and thought "if I don't straighten up, I'm going to have a stroke and diabetes to boot" . . . that's the great thing about family history . . . it tells you what you have to look forward to.  So, I joined the Weight Watchers and lost a little over 25 pounds in a little over six months.  And, as I lost, I gained a self confidence and sense of control I had never before felt.  A good friend started calling me "The Incredible Shrinking Tessa".

It's been almost exactly 5 years since I took a look at myself and made that momentous decision to change.  And, as of this morning, I weigh almost exactly what I did when I made that decision.  I am certainly more stable and successful in other areas of my life . . . I suppose that is what made focusing on my health so hard to do.  But it is time for me to be honest with myself and start taking control again.  And if I can get the hubby to join me we will both be the better for it.  Over the next few months, I will chronicle my struggles with the scale.  I will share my tricks for better balance (i.e. how to expend more energy than I consume).  As an avid reader, I will review books I read, letting you know what (if anything) is helpful.  I will provide you with links to articles and tools.  If I find a good recipe, I will post that here.  Most importantly, I will share the ups and downs of my experience.

Your Chubby Friend,
Tessa