Weighing in this week showed I lost 1.2 pounds, almost back to where I was before the Great Disappointment of August 8th. Better news, sure, but not good enough. After a rant and wail, I did some thinking:
- Have I been totally in line with no sugar/no flour? Theoretically, yes...but there was my birthday dinner. And my aunt's birthday dinner. And my grandma's birthday dinner. No kidding -- I have six close family members (including me) with birthdays in a 2.5 week period. Not to mention about eight friends' birthdays during the same stretch of time. HELLO LEOS!
- Eating out. That salad dressing seemed a little sweet...and I forgot to ask for it on the side, so of course ended up with drenched lettuce. The gravy...only a spoonful, but surely it contained flour. Splitting just one sushi roll is OK, right? Wrong.
- Booze. Allowing for a glass of wine, no problem. But four on a Saturday night? Even spaced over the course of many hours? Adds up, perhaps?
- Portion sizes? Snacking? Getting better, but still an issue due to habit. Or boredom. Or both.
And so, I recalibrate. I hold myself accountable. And I move back into the tried-and-true:
- Dear Diary: Today I had...a half-pound of ground beef for breakfast?! Sure, hunger kicked in big time after all-morning blood draw fasting, but who truly needs that much at one sitting? (NB: This meal was an honest one-off, but illustrative of what happens when I don't pay attention.) Keeping a food log helps me remember where I am in a day and holds me to a place of honesty. For people like me who can't grasp "don't eat unless you're hungry," it's also a way to remind yourself of what's gone into your body in the last few hours. Often that is enough to curb thoughts of more.
- Doing the Grams: 30 grams of carbs (minus fiber). 60-80g of protein. These are my daily goals. Not difficult, if you keep a diary that calculates as you go -- and shows you where you could cut back and/or make wiser choices in future, if you make an honest mistake.
- Remember the Good: Is my face more defined? (Yes.) Are my jeans loose? (Hell, yeah -- and my belt is on the second-to-last notch for the first time in two years.) Do I feel better overall? (Absolutely.) Maybe I need to focus more on this than a silly, slow-moving number on a scale.
I can be logical and do all of this and hope for the best. The struggle is truly mental. Mind over matter, especially when your matter doesn't want to help in the slightest. And patience is not your virtue.
What do you do to recalibrate or re-up yourself for the challenges ahead? What works and what are simply platitudes? I'd love to know some of your tricks.
When I'm working to lose weight (as I currently am), I watch what I eat most days of the week and I weigh myself once a week. I work out 3-4 days a week. I enjoy doing weights, so the number of the scale (especially at the beginning) hurts much more than it helps. So I look at the definition of my muscles, and use a tape measure to measure the circumference of my arms/legs/waist, etc. Seeing that number go down does wonders for my psyche, though everyone has a method for their madness.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of using technology when I need to drop a few. Lose it! is a favorite app of mine. I'm thinking of investing in a Fitbit as well. I did a pedometer challenge a couple of years ago and found it really motivated me. The fitbit is supposedly a much more sophisticated version, but I haven't decided if it's worth the $100. The pedometer works especially well when the weather is nice and it's easy to go for an extra walk around the block to get in the daily stpes. Bonus! I really got to know my neighbors that year.
ReplyDeleteThrow away the scale. Or hide it anyhow. You're doing it right, and there are so many variables when it comes to "weight". Ideally we'd all have a water displacement chamber to tell the truth!
ReplyDeleteAnonymousi: Thanks. I do need to exercise more (I was doing very well on that front until last week, for what it's worth), but motivation is lacking when it's 110+ outside and I can't imagine sweating voluntarily -- particularly while my mood is so foul. And I know...endorphins, etc. I just can't bootstrap myself to do it this week, despite massive, kind encouragement to do so from various fronts. I have cheerleaders, but I'm not listening. I hope this will pass very soon.
ReplyDeleteMy dear GW: You are also right. But I can't. I need to see some sort of measurement and trend. It's hard enough to only weigh myself once a week. But I'm with you -- shouldn't the water displacement chamber arrive with my damn jet pack that's been on backorder since 2001?