Where I work OOS stands for Out of Service and while I’m not exactly Out of Service, I am definitely Out of Shape!
I truly started this journey more to be at a healthy weight and to set a healthier example for my children than to be “hot”. I was tired of being winded from something as simple as climbing one set of stairs. Today I was reminded that, while I am 30lbs lighter than when I started this journey I am not necessarily in any better cardio health. I mean, I don’t workout with any regularity and it shows. You see, I decided to go for a bike ride with my son and intended to be out for an hour. Ok perhaps, just perhaps, if the chains had allowed me to adjust them as they were intended I might have stayed out longer but the truth of it is my legs were burning within the first few minutes and I returned to the house short of breath and heart racing after just 25min.
Deep down yes, I’d love to be a hot mama but more importantly I’d like to be able to ride with my child until he is ready to return home and not when his mother is in need of a rest. I’d love to look good naked but truth be told I’d be happy to be at a normal BMI and not have a closet full of clothes with only a few that “fit right now”.
I must get back into the habit of moving and doing so with regularity. I may just have to go against my nature and make a plan. Map out my workouts and stick to them until they become second nature as they were for a brief period earlier in the year. I have got to turn this around and get to my healthy goal. I think that for this challenge, the GAG one, I would like to make it to Onederland...I haven't wanted to say that out loud because that was the same goal I'd had for end of Summer...and that failed in big bold neon fashion. This time I will do it. I will start the new year in Onederland and make a solemn vow to myself and all of Blogland that I will NEVER allow myself into the 200s again!!
I think I may have just answered my own distress signal...
Sunday, September 6
Wednesday, September 2
GAG Wk1 Gameplan and Recipe
I intended to log on this morning and share an NSV from my very first (ok, more like one hundredth 1st day) back on plan and then saw Shielas challenge and decided to combine my NSV with the challenge requirements.
What is my Non Scale Victory you ask? Well, after lunch yesterday I got a call that we were to go to Olive Garden for dinner to meet my brother in law. He was in town from out of state and would only be here a couple of days before returning hm and soon being deployed overseas. Typically this would have been a Woo Hoo Breadsticks moment - not this time. I immediately wished I could get out of dinner and have my already planned teriakyi pork chops, baked potato and green beans. What to do? You are faced with a challenge - a special event - what do you do? I used the tools sitting right of me and went to the website and sought out nutrional information (NI). I checked which entree would be my best option and even had an alternate incase they didnt have my first choice. I did the homework on what a breadstick would "put me back" and went into the meal with a plan! *gasp* Me? A Plan!? Who woulda ever thought it.
I ate minestrone while others ate the salad which deceptively has very high calorie/fat dressing and indulged in a single breadstick before my herb-grilled salmon arrived. Ahhh. The satisfaction of not allowing myself to derail was wonderful.
Now this isn't always the way we can make a plan...I mean, is there a NI website available for your close friends BBQ spread? NO..so what can you do to be better prepared to stay on your plan? Here are a few ideas: 1) eat before you go (I was going to say this before I read Lucrecia's blog I swear) if you are already full or close to full before you go you are less likely to over indulge. 2) know your weakness and bring a healthy alternative - if you love dips/appetizers bring a healthier version of a favorite and stick to it, if you are a dessert person bring something sweet that you know exactly what went into it so that you aren't guessing at what you are consuming. 3) Keep water in hand or gum in mouth. Sometimes the simpliest of things can keep us from mindless eating. I have successfully thwarted overdoing it at a party myself by keeping a fresh piece of gum in my mouth all night.
As for a healthy alternative recipe. Here is one I got from a fellow online Weight Watcher that I've seen since with various names as well as several recipe variations but every single time I've made it I've gotten rave reviews and it has dissappeared so here goes:
*forgive this, I now can't find a recipe w/ the ingredients I use and since I first made it I just throw it together to taste - no recipe
Texas Caviar
2 can black beans, 15oz size, drained
1 can kernel corn, also 15oz, drained
3-4 green onions/scallions, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/4c chopped cilantro
zest & juice from one lime
1/2 - 1c italian dressing (I use Kraft Free Zesty Italian)
Now, I also actually use frozen corn, since I dont buy can corn, and just fill the empty black bean can to almost full and rinse it in cold water to "knock the frost off it" :)
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and enjoy. I typically make this the night before or morning of a get together to let it sit in the fridge and give the flavors time to combine. I also serve it with baked scoops and have been known to use it at room temperature atop a grilled chicken breast.
I can't wait to see others recipes.
What is my Non Scale Victory you ask? Well, after lunch yesterday I got a call that we were to go to Olive Garden for dinner to meet my brother in law. He was in town from out of state and would only be here a couple of days before returning hm and soon being deployed overseas. Typically this would have been a Woo Hoo Breadsticks moment - not this time. I immediately wished I could get out of dinner and have my already planned teriakyi pork chops, baked potato and green beans. What to do? You are faced with a challenge - a special event - what do you do? I used the tools sitting right of me and went to the website and sought out nutrional information (NI). I checked which entree would be my best option and even had an alternate incase they didnt have my first choice. I did the homework on what a breadstick would "put me back" and went into the meal with a plan! *gasp* Me? A Plan!? Who woulda ever thought it.
I ate minestrone while others ate the salad which deceptively has very high calorie/fat dressing and indulged in a single breadstick before my herb-grilled salmon arrived. Ahhh. The satisfaction of not allowing myself to derail was wonderful.
Now this isn't always the way we can make a plan...I mean, is there a NI website available for your close friends BBQ spread? NO..so what can you do to be better prepared to stay on your plan? Here are a few ideas: 1) eat before you go (I was going to say this before I read Lucrecia's blog I swear) if you are already full or close to full before you go you are less likely to over indulge. 2) know your weakness and bring a healthy alternative - if you love dips/appetizers bring a healthier version of a favorite and stick to it, if you are a dessert person bring something sweet that you know exactly what went into it so that you aren't guessing at what you are consuming. 3) Keep water in hand or gum in mouth. Sometimes the simpliest of things can keep us from mindless eating. I have successfully thwarted overdoing it at a party myself by keeping a fresh piece of gum in my mouth all night.
As for a healthy alternative recipe. Here is one I got from a fellow online Weight Watcher that I've seen since with various names as well as several recipe variations but every single time I've made it I've gotten rave reviews and it has dissappeared so here goes:
*forgive this, I now can't find a recipe w/ the ingredients I use and since I first made it I just throw it together to taste - no recipe
Texas Caviar
2 can black beans, 15oz size, drained
1 can kernel corn, also 15oz, drained
3-4 green onions/scallions, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/4c chopped cilantro
zest & juice from one lime
1/2 - 1c italian dressing (I use Kraft Free Zesty Italian)
Now, I also actually use frozen corn, since I dont buy can corn, and just fill the empty black bean can to almost full and rinse it in cold water to "knock the frost off it" :)
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and enjoy. I typically make this the night before or morning of a get together to let it sit in the fridge and give the flavors time to combine. I also serve it with baked scoops and have been known to use it at room temperature atop a grilled chicken breast.
I can't wait to see others recipes.
Tuesday, September 1
GAG Day 1 Body Shots
Ok, so I decided to use my workout pants and a snug T-shirt because I saw such great differences when I did this at the beginning of the year yet, to me, I look just as big now as I did 30lbs ago! Ugh. I know its different clothes and to go back to snug fitting makes a difference but its frustrating none the less.
Brush it off...I will look just as different in these same clothes in 16wks from now as I did from Jan 1st compared to 16wks into the year.
Here they are:
There is always Tomorrow....
Wow, has it really been almost an entire months since I last blogged? I kept meaning to do it....tomorrow. Why do we seem to put off everything, to justify our "cheats" by saying we can always start again tomorrow? I know that I am guilty of this. Heck, all of my diet days would be perfect diets days if only they stopped just after breakfast!
I really started thinking about this when I saw a recent episode of LA Ink (yes, the show about tattoos) I don't normally watch the show but found myself stopped on it when an overweight female comedian asked the star of the show to design a tatoo for her that was an oldtime pocketwatch set to 13 o'clock. It was her explanation of the meaning of this tatoo that struck me. She stated that so many times in her life she thought, "Oh, I'll do that when..." or "Someday/one day I will.." but those some days and one days never came. Kinda like 13 o'clock . . . it was the time that would never come. She felt it was time for her to start living her life, doing the things she has always wanted to do and stop waiting for 13 o'clock.
Maybe you had to see the episode to truly get it like I did ...but maybe not. Why do we wait for tomorrow to start stuff? To do things? I mean isn't there a country song that says "If tomorrow never comes?" Not only will we never lose the weight we will miss out on so many other things.
One flip side to my tomorrows is that today is always my LAST day of eating poorly so I seem to be in a perpetual binge of things I won't be able to have again for a long time when I start . . . you guessed it, Tomorrow!
Well, today is my tomorrow to find the strength and determination to get out of neutral and start driving (haha- that pun was not intentional) ... start driving that number on the scale down again.
Over the Summer I saw 212.6 on that all too truthful scale and sadly, today just 7 short weeks later, this is what I looked down at:
I really started thinking about this when I saw a recent episode of LA Ink (yes, the show about tattoos) I don't normally watch the show but found myself stopped on it when an overweight female comedian asked the star of the show to design a tatoo for her that was an oldtime pocketwatch set to 13 o'clock. It was her explanation of the meaning of this tatoo that struck me. She stated that so many times in her life she thought, "Oh, I'll do that when..." or "Someday/one day I will.." but those some days and one days never came. Kinda like 13 o'clock . . . it was the time that would never come. She felt it was time for her to start living her life, doing the things she has always wanted to do and stop waiting for 13 o'clock.
Maybe you had to see the episode to truly get it like I did ...but maybe not. Why do we wait for tomorrow to start stuff? To do things? I mean isn't there a country song that says "If tomorrow never comes?" Not only will we never lose the weight we will miss out on so many other things.
One flip side to my tomorrows is that today is always my LAST day of eating poorly so I seem to be in a perpetual binge of things I won't be able to have again for a long time when I start . . . you guessed it, Tomorrow!
Well, today is my tomorrow to find the strength and determination to get out of neutral and start driving (haha- that pun was not intentional) ... start driving that number on the scale down again.
Over the Summer I saw 212.6 on that all too truthful scale and sadly, today just 7 short weeks later, this is what I looked down at:
*feel free to tilt your head to the left to view my weight as I have tried a dozen times to get the picture to load correctly and it just won't . . . no, my pic isnt saved with this orientation. It views correctly on my drive and turning it then loading it only had it load w/ my turn...very bizzare.
I had truly hoped to be nearing ONEderland by the end of the Summer and instead I'm going to have to re-lose 13lbs before I start seeing new low numbers on that darned scale. But that's ok, because I have maintained a 30lbs loss. I have stopped putting off until tomorrow and I'm back on track! (I will post profile pics when I get home and take them in my workout clothes . . . sans the oversized shirt they typically hide under)
Thank you Shiela for starting the Give yourself A Gift challenge. I look forward to making new friendships and seeing just how hefty a gift we each can give ourselves in the next 16wks!
What have you been putting off until tomorrow that you will do today!?
Wednesday, August 5
Week 31 ~ Weigh In
This morning the number on the scale shocked me back into submission...err, I mean reality. :)
I have wasted the last 3 wks going UP the scale instead of down. I am up 8lbs and am actually a little heavier than I was at the end of May which means I have basically wasted the Summer as far as weight loss progress goes. It is not as if I am surprised by the gain. I know exactly what I have been doing that caused it. I have been starting most every day with a new resolve and doing really well the majority of every day until I get home and am sitting alone in the dark watching TV late in the evening. It is then that my mind wanders .... into the pantry and wonders "What can I eat?". Unfortunately my mind is quite creative in the snack making category because its not like I stock chips or ice cream etc but I have still found things to gorge on and tonight is the first night I have bothered to resist. Honestly, tonight I have not even been tempted. I wish it hadn't taken a complete Summer backslide to get me back on track but I believe from here on it will be easier. I have new resolve and despite the fact that my problem staying on track has nothing to do with at work tempations I now have two more people in my office who are watching what they eat. My assistant recently started on WW and a co-worker is in Phase 1 of South Beach. I think the additional surrounding support will be helpful.
I will have to weigh in early next week as I am going to take my kids to visit my grandparents out of state. For anyone who's followed my blog for any length of time this means temptations like the homemade bread turned French Toast. Yum!
How many times will I have to struggle before I get to goal and can begin the struggle of maintenance?
I have wasted the last 3 wks going UP the scale instead of down. I am up 8lbs and am actually a little heavier than I was at the end of May which means I have basically wasted the Summer as far as weight loss progress goes. It is not as if I am surprised by the gain. I know exactly what I have been doing that caused it. I have been starting most every day with a new resolve and doing really well the majority of every day until I get home and am sitting alone in the dark watching TV late in the evening. It is then that my mind wanders .... into the pantry and wonders "What can I eat?". Unfortunately my mind is quite creative in the snack making category because its not like I stock chips or ice cream etc but I have still found things to gorge on and tonight is the first night I have bothered to resist. Honestly, tonight I have not even been tempted. I wish it hadn't taken a complete Summer backslide to get me back on track but I believe from here on it will be easier. I have new resolve and despite the fact that my problem staying on track has nothing to do with at work tempations I now have two more people in my office who are watching what they eat. My assistant recently started on WW and a co-worker is in Phase 1 of South Beach. I think the additional surrounding support will be helpful.
I will have to weigh in early next week as I am going to take my kids to visit my grandparents out of state. For anyone who's followed my blog for any length of time this means temptations like the homemade bread turned French Toast. Yum!
How many times will I have to struggle before I get to goal and can begin the struggle of maintenance?
Tuesday, July 28
Self-Sabotage
Self-Indulgent
Self-Pity...NO
Gluttonous & Guilty
One Month = 6lb lost
One Week = 6lbs gained
Why?
What does it matter...
Make a Plan
Take Action
Get Moving
Get back to Losing
Put it behind me
Week 30 may as well be Week 1
I'm still here
I haven't given up
I am strong
Self-Reliant
Self-Sufficient
I will persevere!
Self-Indulgent
Self-Pity...NO
Gluttonous & Guilty
One Month = 6lb lost
One Week = 6lbs gained
Why?
What does it matter...
Make a Plan
Take Action
Get Moving
Get back to Losing
Put it behind me
Week 30 may as well be Week 1
I'm still here
I haven't given up
I am strong
Self-Reliant
Self-Sufficient
I will persevere!
Friday, July 24
Week 29 Weigh In ~ Going the wrong way
UGH! 3lb gain this week. I did really well during the known challenges, birthday celebrations etc. Unscheduled night shift and then, probably in the wake of being tired and aggrevated on Monday I started down the slippery slope of bad choices. I ate too much or just plain "bad" things and sadly have not yet broken hold of this compulsion to eat and eat and eat.
It does seem a cycle with me every so many months to have a set back yet other than realizing I'm in one I have yet to figure out how to break free from it - or better yet, avoid it all together.
I guess I have many months and pounds to figure this out so that maybe, just maybe, when I get to maintenance I might not have to struggle to STOP overeating but be able to stop it before it begins.
I'm back to 40lbs lost and I am still proud of myself. I need to get my latest update pictures taken and posted. Definitely will be in a different shirt because I lost the one I had been using on a tube shut when floating a local river yesterday. Yes, I sat in a tube and floated a river for 4-5hrs yesterday and THAT wouldn't have happened 40lbs ago!
Anyone out there have any suggestions on how to stop a binge either before it starts or while in the throws of it?
It does seem a cycle with me every so many months to have a set back yet other than realizing I'm in one I have yet to figure out how to break free from it - or better yet, avoid it all together.
I guess I have many months and pounds to figure this out so that maybe, just maybe, when I get to maintenance I might not have to struggle to STOP overeating but be able to stop it before it begins.
I'm back to 40lbs lost and I am still proud of myself. I need to get my latest update pictures taken and posted. Definitely will be in a different shirt because I lost the one I had been using on a tube shut when floating a local river yesterday. Yes, I sat in a tube and floated a river for 4-5hrs yesterday and THAT wouldn't have happened 40lbs ago!
Anyone out there have any suggestions on how to stop a binge either before it starts or while in the throws of it?
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