Monday, January 11, 2016

Week One

It's been a week. On day two I was ready to quit. A week seemed so far away. Months were forever. But now that I've made it this far, I know I've got to keep trying. I'm pushing myself, but that's to be expected. My comfort zone was back there in The Land Where You Eat Everything. This is a new place. The rules have changed...but they say the living is eventually so much better.

I'm not an expert. Not on food, diets or people. I'm just a person that refuses to resort to elastic waist bands, flowery Grandma sweatshirts and orthopedic shoes.
I'm tired of crawling in bed at night and realizing my belly is the size of a small puppy, that my heartburn is causing this insomnia and that I'm stressing about what I'm going to wear to that spring wedding.
I'm tired of having to crawl over to a piece of furniture to stand upright after playing with the grandkids on the floor, of not being invited to the zoo or parks because they know I'll get tired and winded, and breathing hard after climbing a short set of stairs.
I'm sick of looking into the mirror and seeing a tired woman. With double chins and bulldog cheeks and a stomach that resembles a python - that wraps and wraps and wraps itself around my middle- and absolutely refuses to hide under a tee shirt or even a nice hoodie.
So, well...anyway...we all have our reasons. Those are some of mine. But whatever it takes to motivate you and keep you focused, do it. Do it now. Do it tomorrow. Do it till you know you are the best you that you can be. And then, keep doing it.

I started walking in the treadmill this week. I forgot how hard that can be. I watch the clock and wonder how only six minutes have passed! I'm ready to quit at twelve minutes. I'm sweating, hacking, using my Lamaze breathing techniques to keep from passing out. But I've set my goal at thirty minutes so I push through. I try to imagine the future. I pretend I'm walking toward it and it's going to be amazing.

We are all on individual diets, but I wanted to share some things that help me in some way through this journey.
The sausage is delicious and the farro is like a thick textured oatmeal. I liked it but my husband did not. I put a little brown sugar on it and found it was very filling. I found both those items at Aldis.




The Sytha 6 is a protein powder found at GNC and Amazon and I've found its the best tasting protein drink I've had. 
Fruit, of course, but not too much. Grab a banana instead of a hot dog, or an orange instead of a donut.
pB2 is a powdered peanut butter that is a lot better for you than regular peanut butter. Mix with water and you have a better tasting celery stick!
I don't think rice cakes are real nutritious, but I like having them on hand when I crave a salty crunch. They are also good piled with tuna or chopped seasoned chicken.
My scale: see where it's not set on zero? Well, I set it that way so that my dinner plate will fit on top and bring the weight to zero before filling it. I weigh my dinner on it usually, staying around 5 oz. of meat. I take it off the scale and then add my vegetables. This works for me, but you do whatever works for you. 

I'm planning to weigh in today. That's always a scary thing. If I weigh too much, I get discouraged, if I lose a lot, I find myself allowing little extras that only add up to more pounds later.
No matter what that scale says, you just keep looking forward!
Wish me luck. And may the odds be ever in your favor!
See you soon!




























2 comments:

  1. Thanks, again, for doing this, Rae; it really helps to be part of a team. I can tell a difference in core strength after only a week, though I've lost only a couple pounds. My downfall: swiss cheese and O'Charley's rolls. I'm going to try to mostly stay on track, though, because my problem is I sit too much of the time. Strategies that seem to help: (1) aim for a balanced meals daily, (2) measure (or roughly measure) servings of each food, (3) pack meals, for about 5 days at a time, in plastic grocery bags and stick them in the fridge for quick heat-and-eat lunch & dinner; I bought several 1/4-cup and 1/2-cup storage containers for this purpose,(4) eat a daily breakfast that includes milk, eggs, oatmeal, and fruit (so I don't get hungry prior to lunch time.) (5) do workouts early in the day, while I'm still motivated. (At night, it's probably not going to happen.) Good luck and have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Sandra and congrats on your weight loss! I haven't weighed yet, but plan to in a bit. I agree that planning meals ahead helps me from splurging on something not so healthy. I do weigh almost everything- except raw vegetables. I even try to enter my meals in FitnessPal ahead of time so I'm not tempted to deter from the path! Lol.
    Thanks for tuning in. I appreciate all the suggestions, advice and comments you can give. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete