new girl trying to get to the bottom of it all

[Blitz]

At least you are facing life with honesty. The good with the bad.

Scales are such tricky things. Often I can weigh myself many times in a row and get different readings. My rule for myself is 3 same readings in a row means that it can go into my weight recording book. Some days that can be straight forward, other days I can look like a yoyo! When I brought my scales I looked for a set that could take the highest weight reading. The first set I had to take back to the shop because it was nowhere near able to read my weight. The one I finally got turned out to be 3 kilos maximum wise below my starting weight but it did the job. 68kg? So tempting to take the number!

Well a Dagwood dog and a frozen fanta...ouch! Time to learn from the encounter. Ask yourself the tough questions about why it happened and develop a plan for next time (there's always a next time). I have found that being prepared beforehand makes it easier to deal with. For example in this situation I would first ask if this small gratification was worth undoing the good work I've put in? Then I would option it. One or the other but not both. Then the battle is not about giving in to all but about which one (halving the damage). Then comes the offset. If I have it, how do I account for it? This means I must forgo something in my eating plan (so the Dagwood becomes your dinner etc) or extra exercise must be undertaken. Is that worth the price? I have found bring along an apple or a low cal snack or drink to use at such times as a healthy alternative can be very helpful.

Don't think of this as a failure. It is only a failure if you fail to learn from the experience. It is good that you are not too hard on yourself but don't get complacent. Paint scraping for your sins sounds like a fair trade!

Regards
Kim
Was: 153.7kg
Lost: 87kg
Now: Keeping it off for life!

[feebeejay]

Hey Kim, thanks for that ... It's been a bit of a challenge, but I've been making better choices this week ... Really trying to find the food that I like that doesn't have too many calories in it ... I've hit the 6.5kg mark, so in old terms, that's a stone I guess ... But there's still this little part of my brain that doesn't really believe that the numbers are real, so I guess until I reach my first goal, it probably won't feel quite real. Of course, once I hit that goal thoug, I'm gonna work on the next 10kg ... I even mucked around with my iPad app yesterday to see what it would tell me if I plugged in that next part of my goal now, but it all seemed a bit overwhelming, so I'm just gonna focus on one step at a time. I'm realizing more and mores that this is a lifelong plan. I actually had a moment yesterday that made me think that something in my mindset is changing, in that I hadn't really eaten much all day as I was out and didn't want to succumb to fast food or something with more calories in it than I was prepared to consume. I had this idea of what I wanted to eat for dinner and figured that I'd save my calories up for then. Well, by the time I got home and did the things I had to do, it was 8.30 by the time I sat down to eat, which is way later than it should have been, but I got half way through what I had served up, which was well within my calorie allowance, and stopped because I was full!!! That's something that doesn't usually happen, I usually eat what is on my plate, which is why I've been really careful about managing portions lately, but because I hadn't only really had a snack for lunch, I figured I could eat what I'd dished out ... Interesting how things work out, huh? And another lesson learned too. I'm feeling pretty pleased that I've hit that 6.5kg mark, and know that revere is the possibility of a plateau around the corner as I've been doing this for nearly 6 weeks, but I'm just gonna take one day at a time, and hope for the best.
Thanks for your encouragement, and congratulations on your achievement!!
Cheers, fj

[Blitz]

You're on the right track. You've got to make make it a lifestyle that you can do. That means making little changes in your life gradually that will last. It takes learning and figuring it out. So it isn't surprising when we get it wrong. Just make sure when it does go wrong that you learn from it and develop solutions.

Don't wind yourself up too much on the big picture. Get the small steps right and the rest will follow.

6.5kg = 1 stone. That is the way to see it. Every milestone you can figure out to use as stepping stones to the end goal. I use to go for any round number going. I'd convert my weight to stones and/or pounds to find them. I calculated total body percentage losses. Figure thirds, fourth, quarters and halfway points in my weight loss. I was never more than 2 or 3 kilos from some number to aim at. I would feel great when I could tick them off my list.

Regards
Kim
Was: 153.7kg
Lost: 87kg
Now: Keeping it off for life!

[feebeejay]

Hey, I hadn't thought of tracking all those milestones, but will now, thanks ... Only .5kg to go Until its three quarters to my first goal!
I Did more paint scraping and sanding today, the front door is almost ready for painting, so its unconventional exercise, but moving all the same ... Tomorrow I'm starting on the exercise bike ... I think I'm going to aim for a goal of working off a certain number of calories, rather than kilometres ... Guess I'll just have to try it out and go from there.
Cheers,
Fiona

[Blitz]

Fiona

See how doable .5 is? Getting those little goals right under your nose really does help you to go for it.

Paint scaping and sanding will burn those calories. The great thing about this type of activity is that they use muscles that your routine exercises don't use. It jump starts the body out of complacency.

Best wishes for the exercise bike. I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love the results but loath the effort it takes. When I finish there is a puddle of sweat under the bike and I'm totally done in. The benefits however can not be denied. The read outs really challenge you to beat what you have done. Gives you great legs. You can watch TV or a DVD while doing it. Can be done if the weather is rainy. Can be done in the comfort of air conditioning on very hot days. It really burns those calories and no one has to see how dead and horrible you look exercising like a mad dog! I have had my revenge on the exercise bike. I manage to kill off my first bike with furious exercise and now working on the second one.

Regards
Kim
Was: 153.7kg
Lost: 87kg
Now: Keeping it off for life!

[feebeejay]

Hey, just thought I'd update the story about exercise ...
So I have arranged with my 21yr old daughter to get together every Monday night to exercise together. Last week we tried to do a kickboxing DVD and only got about 10mins in before we both cracked up and well, I was completely puffed out, so decided there had to be a better way.
Today, I loaded the exercise bike in the back of the car (those things aren't light you know) and thought we'd be able to put our bikes together and ride/exercise while maybe watching the Telly. So when I got to my daughters place she said that as it was a nice day did I want to go for a walk instead, so we walked around the suburb where she lives and each time we stopped to maybe turn around, we decided to keep on going until we'd walked for a total of one and a half hours!!! And I was reminded that from the last time I lost a stack of weight (20kg about 3-4 years ago) that my body constantly surprised me by what it can do if you just put the effort in. I've also arranged to walk with another friend on Tuesday nights, so that's two nights of the week covered ... Who knows what else I can do if I just set my mind to it. Looking forward to the next phase ... And the exercise bike is still in the car, so who knows where I might end up...
Cheers
Fiona

[Blitz]

You need another five friends and you'll have the week covered!

Sounds like you have found a new way to use an exercise bike. You will get fit just by hefting the bike in and out of your car.

It is surprising how the benefits of exercise creeps up on you. When you first start it feels like climbing Mt Everest, then one day you find yourself at the summit.

Regards
Kim
Was: 153.7kg
Lost: 87kg
Now: Keeping it off for life!

[feebeejay]

Hmm .. Well, I have to admit I'm disappointed in myself ... Today was the 6 week mark, and weighed in at 114kg. Now I know it's good in the scheme of things, 6kg in 6 weeks really isn't anything to complain about, but I think since I managed to get to 113.5kg on the weekend, I got so anxious and excited about getting that result again, that I think I perhaps have somehow self sabotaged ... Although I haven't really gone over my calorie count over the whole week, the types of food I've been eating have been more carbohydrates I think than protein, and I was really naughty the other day and had a chocolate, which seriously affected my plan for that day. The good news is though, that I managed to be creative with lots of veggies in a stir fry with noodles, so in terms of calories it was pretty ok, but having dinner late and especially carbs, it really seems to make a difference on the scales the next day compared to having dinner of primarily protein. Something I will be mindful of in the future ...
Walking with my friend fell through last night because the weather wasn't great, so I stayed at work for an extra hour or so instead, which meant by the time I got home it was about 7:30, and by the time I finished dinner it was too late and I was too tired to exercise ... Now I need to work out if that is really the truth or if I am just making excuses!!! It's a challenge, that's for sure ... I guess I'll just have to be patient and see what tomorrow brings!!!
I'll keep you posted ...
Cheers fj

[Blitz]

6kg in 6 weeks is good. That's a sensible rate to lose it. If I had done it that way maybe I wouldn't look like the world's biggest wrinkled prune today. 0.5 isn't the be all and end all, in terms of weight. The body is always swinging up and down weight wise, you may have just caught it on an up. It's more likely than not just water. If it goes up, up and away - that's the time to worry.

Carbohydrates always get a bad rap. Like protein they are essential and have there place. The conventional wisdom seems nowadays to be they work better for us earlier in the day. I have a very early dinner so this has never been much of an issue with me.

You can have chocolate. Just make sure that it is quality chocolate (not fat and sugars pretending to be chocolate) and that you only have a little bit (set your limit and stick with it). Make a food forbidden, you'll crave for it more and gorge on it when you finally give in to the temptation.

You have to exercise. If you can't do the walk you must find something that you can fall back on. Anything for any amount of time is better than nothing. My late night fall back is the exercise bike. If you are tired just promise yourself 20 minutes only. Rest a while, then wrestle with your conscience about doing another 20. You may find that starting the exercise will "wake you up" out of your tiredness. Worst case, at least you did 20 minutes.

Every day you learn something about yourself and you grow as a person. You build character that will keep you on track, keep you honest and keep your weight off forever. Isn't it an exciting and interesting journey?

Regards
Kim

[feebeejay]

Hi Kim, yes, you are right, in that it is an interesting journey, and I am learning heaps about myself and about how food 'works' ... Thank you for your encouragement, and maybe I'm just putting too much pressure on myself, I had stopped eating chocolate really, although I allow myself little treats every now and then, and separate them into zip lock bags to 100 calories worth. The problem was that one of those cheap stores had chocky bars for about one dollar each and having always been a bargain hunter, I bought into it. I hadn't had the opportunity to separate it into bags, and well, it was just there. I think I have learned a fair bit though from this experience, and don't think I will do it again. So, I'm accepting that I do just have to take it each day at a time, and yes, getting out to exercise in some way. Yesterday I carted boxes up and down the stairs after carrying them from the post office, not much in the scheme of things, but more than I have been doing, and yes, I'm going to sort out that exercise bike tonight and work out a plan that is achievable. I like the 20 min idea, so will probably start with that and see where it takes me. No movement on the scales today, but hopefully by next Wednesday, something will have moved. Maybe I pre-empted this by talking about the dreaded plateau ... I've just got to keep on working through it. Again, thanks for your encouragement, and I'll keep you posted.
Cheers
Fiona

[Blitz]

As frustrating as plateaus may be, remember it's just the body catching up with the changes. It's just consolidating your achievements. If you just run a marathon, wouldn't you expect to catch your breath before you start another one?

If a bar of chocolate costs a dollar it ain't a good one! Give yourself a real treat and by some dark quality chocolate like Lindts (supermarkets have them often on special). Sometimes buying cheap will cost you more in the end.

Kim

[feebeejay]

I was in that bargain shop again today, and I looked at the chocky bars, and remembered what happened the other day, and I WALKED AWAY!!! I was feeling pretty happy with myself, and then I arrived home and my husband had surprised me with a packet of Tim tams, in a new flavour he thought I might like. Needless to say, I havent opened them. They work out to about 100 calories each or so, so I'll bag some up and use them as my ultimate treat, and of course will share them with my husband and son, and then maybe I won't be too tempted!!

I've been reviewing my food diary and am wondering if my water intake has been too low, I've really tried to stick to my calorie count and trying to make better choices, so think I've been doing ok, but, yep, am stuck on the plateau for the moment. I tested out the exercise bike this morning (only a few minutes as we had a full day ahead, including dealing with a tornado warning!!) and am planning to set it up properly tomorrow, it's in one if our sheds with all my other gym equipment, but there is so much other stuff in there, it's difficult to move ... Maybe I can rearrange it a bit better and make where it is a bit more user friendly ... Busy weekend planned, including making an elf costume so I can accompany Santa around Target for the weekends leading up to christmas, hope they don't mind a chunky elf!! Maybe I'll be a little bit lighter by then, fingers crossed!!
Cheers, fee

[Blitz]

Good one on the cheap chocolate front. Keep away from those babies.

Good wise planning on the Timtam front. It's tough when loved ones sabotage you like that. They don't do it on purpose, it's just that they haven't thought it out. They are still relating to your "old" self. I received several big family blocks of chocolate from friends and family (even my own mother!) while trying to lose weight. It's not that they don't know, it's just the link between my weight loss and the lump of cheap chocolate hasn't connected in their brains.

Drinking lots of water is so critical to weight loss. Hunger pangs can be satisfied by drinking water. It also keeps your plumbing going and stops blockages, being regular is important. I wasn't very good in this area when I started to lose weight. I would stand up after sitting for a while and I'd feel dizzy and light headed. I thought it was the lack of food. It took a while before I realised that it wasn't the food, it was the lack of water. With sweaty exercise we need to make sure we get plenty of water, especially as we enter the summer months.

Santa! I'm playing Santa again this year at a shopping centre. Santa is one of the reasons I lost weight. Every year my Santa pants got tighter around the girth. One year I couldn't get the pants over my girth and I knew that the next year I'd have trouble getting it over my bottom. This was a Santa suit that I had already had specially made to be roomy! Christmas 2010 I had my Mum put in extra panels in the suit to make it bigger. It looked horrible but that's all I could do at the time. The worst of it was my zip up Santa boots (boots I've had since '78 and had re-soled several times) no longer zipped up. My ankles were swollen and I couldn't get them up. I had to wear them under the pants. Not very Santa like at all. Now when you're getting so fat that you longer can fit into a Santa suit - you know you've got a problem! It was then that I told myself Christmas 2011 was going to be different. I lost the weight, had to have the Santa suit let in (poor old Mum) and for the first time in my long career playing Santa I had to use a pillow to bulk up. One of my proudest moments was zipping up my Santa boots that Christmas. I felt a real sense of achievement. Several people observed that Santa had lost weight, they didn't know the half of it. This year I'm lighter again...I may have to use two pillows!

Kim

[feebeejay]

Well I've got a couple of positives this week ...
I managed to dodge the raspberry Tim tams (mostly), although I did have one, and to be honest didn't really enjoy it so told my hubby he could have the rest...
We went to a local show on sunday and although I did have a snow cone (mostly ice) I did refrain from the dreaded Dagwood dog, and did lots of walking so the calorie count ended up way ok for the day!
I also was obsessing about wanting a cream bun on Monday, but stopped myself and didn't have one. Although I did go over my Count for the day because the one bite of my hubby's pizza, turned into a whole slice, and then. I paid for it all night, gave me heartburn, serves me right I reckon, another lesson learned.

On the downside, today was super busy and super stressful, and there was a little bit of procrastination going on, and I ate more fruit bites than I had anticipated, they are a bit like fruit fingers that I used to buy for my kids, but just tiny bite size, really my, they feel better for you than ordinary lollies, but instead of my 100cal snack, I prob had about 300 cals ... Ordinarily I could probably forgive that, but I'd already eaten my snack allowance for the day ... Ho hum, I did have lots of water though and I'm hoping that will help. Tomorrow is weigh in day, although I'm not expecting too much, given the challenges I've had this week, but as i said before, I just have to learn from them and move on ... A yeah, I've just looked at the clock and realise it's already tomorrow so, until next time ... fj

[feebeejay]

ok, so weighed in this morning at 113.4kg. i'm thinking that part of this is water weigth as I had about 1.5 litres of water at about 8.30 last night, but still, i'm ok with it. The scales did tell me 113kg on sunday, but i've gone over on my cal count (mon & Tues) so figure there's got to be a trade off. My plan is still telling me i'm on track to reach my first goal of 10kg by christmas day, so i'm just going to keep ticking along.
i'm thinking it's going to be another stressful day today, so i'm planning to keep my water handy to reach for that instead of things i shouldn't - had about a 500 cal breakfast - i sort of ate my mid morning snack for breakfast which was probably a pretty poor choice as yesterday I didn't get lunch until 2.30pm (breakfast at 7am) but i'll try to be sensible. Today my snacks are box of sultana and apricot (approx 100 cals), and a banana (90cals), lunch is a really yummy chicken pinwheel thing (about 300cals) and a side of capsicum, onion, mushrooms (not sure how many cals, but as all these things are pretty low in cals, it's a good filling choice) - yum!! I'll be so looking forward to lunch!!! and i'm thinking probably soup for dinner ... that should make up for my splurge this morning ...
anyway, onward and upward, work to do - i'll stop by later to let you know how I go ...
cheers
fj