Weight Loss

No topics are off limit in this blog, so to be half informative and half inspire-myself. I'd like to talk about my weight loss!

First off, I am not at my ultimate goal (which is an unknown weight because I do not know what I'll look like or where my body will be at). I have lost 70 lbs over about 2 years. Obviously, not all of that time was used wisely, but that's part of the process.

Since January of this year, I have lost about 40 of it. Over the summer, I fluctuated between about 5-7 lbs since my eating went out of whack! I am in the process of trying to get back into the swing of things.

Right now my goal is 1lb a week starting THIS week. I am feeling optimistic since some of it has got to be water weight ;) Today I wrote down what I ate, I didn't even write down everything, and I was feeling a bit guilty and down. But tomorrow and right now, I can make a conscientious effort to do better. That's what you gotta keep doing and reminding yourself. It is possible. You can do it, but only you can do it! No one else can make me eat better or smarter. No one else can exercise for me.

Food is everywhere. Sometimes I feel like food controls me, when it's supposed to be the other way around. I just love my sweets! But what I've also noticed, is that I will go around munching on anything sweet in my house until I get the sweet fix I actually want. This is bad because I don't usually have chocolate cake on hand. ;)

When I first started losing weight, I used food as a reward, and eventually was able to get away from that as my cravings lessened and my discipline increased. After months of poor eating choices over the summer, I am kind of back at square one when it comes to my brain. The month of September I kept trying to pick it back up where I left off or calorie count where I left off, but it very clearly hasn't been working.

But guess what? That's okay! It is a learning process, after all. I've decided that for the next two months, I am indulging once a week. JUST ONCE A WEEK. I am also going to ease back into calorie counting and regular gym going this month. I've already hit up the gym once this week, so I feel good about that. As for eating........ well, I have part of that figured out, right?

The other part will be eating less. Less snacking. Being thoughtful to hungry and full and thirsty. I do not expect eating within my "calorie limits" that I had previously set to happen right away, but that's the goal. So I wrote down all the crap I consumed today, and guess what? Tomorrow's plan is so simple: DO BETTER. I am not going to freak out and be mean to myself and most importantly, I do not want to set unrealistic goals that I won't even reach. If I don't eat better tomorrow, I am only hurting myself and my own goals.  So tomorrow? I will eat less, and I'll be thinking about that delicious treat I am going to earn next week!

Maybe by this time next week, I'll be close to my calorie goals! I can only take one day at a time and remember what my goals are and remember that only I can make them happen.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! :)

Gym woes.

Sometimes I do not want to go to the gym. It's just how it goes sometimes. It happened last Friday and again today. I tend to feel unusually guilty about missing a gym day without a valid enough excuse. Talk about hard on one's self. It's okay though. Last week the deal I made with myself was gym for 30 minutes or cleaning for an hour. Well, cleaning for an hour actual won out, and I am glad it did. I was able to tackle cleaning my stove, getting the house swept, the kitchen mopped, and the living room and dining room vacuumed. Today productivity did not ensue although I missed the gym. I did manage to empty the dishwasher and get some pictures hung that have been sitting on my entry way table for about a month. So it was a step in the right direction. At least a few things got done.

But sometimes, we need a break, and we need to feel okay about taking that break. I once heard that you need to talk to yourself like your best friend, and best friends generally don't insult or shame us when we make what we deem a "bad" decision.

I think there is a difference between being a friend to yourself and self-sabotaging. Now maybe a friend would tell us it was okay that we had that slice of cake for dessert despite our eating plans, but a best friend would also remind us how we're going to do better next time, and in my case, encourage me to go to the gym tomorrow instead. There is a delicate balance between making up excuses and listening to what you need!

Remember to love yourself! You need to be your own best friend, your cheerleader and your coach!