Kellie’s Journey…

I appreciate the comments you’ve been leaving me. It’s nice to know that someone is actually reading what I write…sometimes kind of scary, too! For todays post I’m going to brainstorm with what’s working for my weight loss and what’s not. I think it’s important to evaluate from time to time and see where your downfalls are and acknowledge what is working.

I weighed in yesterday and was up 0.6 lbs. I wasn’t entirely surprised, as it’s that special time of the month and I’m really feeling it this time. Plus, that whole box of cookies earlier in the week couldn’t have helped either. However, I don’t want to let one week of posting a gain turn into 3 and 4 weeks. So, I’m going to break my goal down into smaller pieces so I can really see where I’m at. Bare with me, and feel free to jump ahead as well!

The contest I’m participating in runs 12 weeks. My goal is to lose 24 pounds during that time which is an average of 2 pounds a week. Yesterday put us officially 1/2 way through the contest, so I should be at 12 pounds lost. I’m at 9 which means I need to kick it up a little to reach my goal. Therefore, I need to lose 2.5 pounds for the remaining 6 weeks in order to reach my goal. Now I must ask myself how I plan to do that. What’s been working, what’s not, and a bit of explanation of each one.

What’s Working:

1. Drinking my water- I’ve gone from drinking on average 52 oz+ Diet Pepsi a day to 1-2 cans a week or less and getting my 6-8 glasses of water a day in. Whereas, when I was drinking all the pop, drinking water was a foreign thing to me.

2. Getting in some exercise- This is one I still have to work at. I have been exercising 2-3 times a week, but the amount of time isn’t very long…about 1/2 hour. I have come to decide I like working out with my exercising ball (speaking of which, why haven’t you been using it???!!) and I’m rather liking the concept of Pilates as well. I’m having a hard time getting my cardio workouts in and because of it I sometimes feel like there’s no use in exercising if I’m not getting my heart rate up to fat burning zone. (The all or nothing concept is a huge part of me as you can see.)

3. Cutting down on the snacking- This one has really been a hard one for me. It seems like much of my days have been focused on eating “something good”. I’ve really started talking to myself, (sometimes even out loud) questioning if I’m really hungry or what the true reason is for wanting to snack. Sometimes the best answer I can come up with is because it sounds good. But coming from a total junk food junkie, I’ve really made strides in this area.

4. Being more aware of what I’m eating- This is an area I think has helped me thus far, but on the flip-side it’s also an area I can continue improving in. When I eat I’m really trying to focus on eating and nothing else and enjoying the taste of each different thing. I try stopping myself when I go to grab some food off the counter just because it’s there and making myself focus in. I heard somewhere, and this is what I keep telling myself, “If you’re going to eat, do it on purpose!”

5. Talking about my struggles and getting tips from my blog/family/co-workers. Also, doing this contest and us posting our weekly % lost at work has been a lot more motivating for me than when I was weighing in at Weight Watchers. Now, I’m certainly not saying anything bad about WW, as I personally think it’s the one of the best plans around and what my weight loss plan encompasses. But it didn’t seem to bother me as bad when I weighed in at WW if I had a gain or not. Perhaps I’m more motivated this time, but I really don’t think that’s the case, I feel it’s the accountability and knowing that it’s not just the lady weighing me who knows how I’m doing. Anyways, sorry, got off on a bit of a tangent.

6. Picking myself up quicker. That may sound funny, but I’m learning to pick myself up quicker after a “bump” on the weight loss path. After eating something I shouldn’t have, I am learning it doesn’t give me permission to continue the behavior repeatedly. If I stumble along the way but quickly return to my plan, the “bump” is a lot less damaging to my progress. I have really cut down/out my binging episodes.

I’m sure there are more, but that’s what I can see I’m doing that is definitely helping.

What’s NOT working?

1. Eating out so frequently/Portions- I REALLY struggle with this one. Largely due to the fact, I’m not much of a cooker and honestly, I don’t enjoy it. I feel like there are a lot of foods OUT that taste so good that I couldn’t possibly even know how to try attempting to cook at home. I’m a picky eater, and my kids even more so. I get frustrated and fed up with when I do cook, there always being 1 or 2 out of our family that doesn’t eat it. I feel like I’m always having to make something different at some point for the one who won’t eat what I cook. I’m sure some are reading this thinking, “if they don’t eat what you cook then they don’t eat” and while that may be what I should do…it’s not. I can’t let my kids go hungry. I’m going to start working harder at leaving food on my plate each time I eat and dishing up 1/2 of what I normally would with the idea in my head that if I’m hungry in an hour or so after I eat, I can go back for more.

2. Poor Planning/ Lack of Tracking- More and more I see that weight loss isn’t an accident. It’s something that is planned and thought through. I want to plan my days worth of eating in advance, I know of some who do it the night before. But for whatever reason I don’t do it. I don’t plan out lunches or dinners so when I go grocery shopping I just try buying the staple items and a few random things here and there, which always leads me to trying to decide what to make for dinner last minute, and therefore, back to eating out we go. I’ve GOT to plan exercise into my day. It’s got to be a priority just like doing laundry, or picking up the house. So, I’m going to work on some kind of plan to putting together a weeks worth of lunches/dinners…and tentatively planning in my exercise time. It’s got to happen, especially if I’m going to lose 2.5 pounds a week.  I’ve also been terrible with writing down what I eat and tracking my points.  So, my focus this week is to do an excellent job of tracking my points for at least 3 days.  That’s a good place to start.

3. Expecting a weight loss and trying to really kick things into gear just a few days before weigh-in. This has got to be something done on a daily basis. This is a lifestyle change and a few days/weeks here and there on plan doesn’t equate to a lifestyle. I’ve got to be more proactive and treating each day as if tomorrow is weigh-in.

4. Getting those darn fruits and veggies in. My last post I did receive a few good ideas for this, although honestly I haven’t incorporated many of them. I think this problem also comes down to lack of planning and being creative. What’s some real sneaky ways of putting veggies into my cooking without my kiddies realizing it?

5. Level of exercise. I’ve really got to pump this one up. As I said earlier, I really want to work on getting started with cardio, but although it embarrasses me to say it…being the size I am, doing real cardio workouts wind me so fast that I give up before I start.

I decided to list one fewer issue of what’s not working because I think it’s important to be nice to ourselves and focus on what we ARE doing well. But that doesn’t mean we can be oblivious to what we’re not doing and then be upset with the lack of results.

I really want to start posting pictures along the way, but what have you all found to be the best way to take these pictures? I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I’m waiting for the “right” way to do them. Do you think it’s best to dress in the same outfit each time to see the progress? One thing I’m really self-conscious of is sitting in pictures. Standing helps to hide things a bit better, but when I see pictures of me sitting I really get upset with myself. Would taking some pictures along the way of me sitting, be a good way as well? Silly questions I know!

So something I’ve gathered as I’ve been typing this up is I desperately need ideas for meals. I don’t plan for meals because I’m clueless as what to make. Any of your ideas here would be extremely helpful.

WOW! This was a long post. I can’t wait to hear from all of you. I am going to be out of town the next few days. My hubby and I are going for 2 nights to a Bed & Breakfast. I’m very excited, but extremely nervous about our eating out plans as well. So, my goal is to not take any leftovers with me and to try eating only half of what they bring me. I’m also going to take some 2 point snacks with us and some oranges to snack on. Wish me luck! And I wish you the best of luck this upcoming week!