Staying Focussed, WI (UPDATE)

I have, in my long life, tried to lose weight "for ever" countless times.  Every single time, whether I got to within two or three pounds of my goal weight or whether my "diet" lasted only until breakfast of the first day, I have ultimately been side tracked by something and regained the pounds.  I got pregnant (and gained  60 pounds).  My best friend moved away and I was very sad.  I wrenched my ankle and couldn't run. My husband was away on deployment and I was lonely.  I had a very stressful situation at work and my co-worker kept open containers of cashews and Lindt truffles on her desk.  My mother died.

The last time I decided to lose weight, I decided it would be forever.  I chose my plan.  Weight Watchers.  I enlisted my DH to join with me.  I promised myself I would not give up.  Ever.  That was in March 2008.  I lost 50 pounds by December.  On the day I reached minus 50 pounds, my Dad had a massive stroke.  I was the point person (the only child within 3 states). I had to make all the decisions, medical and financial.  It was very hard.  I tried to hold the line on my weight.  I weighed myself every morning.  I tried to keep up my exercise routine.  My weight started creeping up.  I regained 40 pounds by the next December.  I kept going to WW.  I kept running (although much more slowly as the pounds piled on).  I tried to get my momentum restarted in January.  It worked for a month and then we had a monster snow storm and I couldn't leave the house (to shop or exercise) for more than a week.  I backslid and regained the several pounds I'd re-lost.  I never did regain the final 10 pounds and that was important to me.  I kept up the exercise.  I kept going to WW.  Finally in May I got my momentum back.  I restarted the C25K.  I re-read my WW materials.  I started this blog.  I got intentional about the details.  Drinking water.  Measuring portions. Doing both cardio and strength exercises. Eating more slowly.  Eating "clean."  Eating more fish.  Limiting starchy carbs to one a day. I started losing.  I've lost just about 30 pounds since the beginning of May.  The rate is slowing down a bit.  But I think I've found my way.  I'm staying focussed.  For LIFE.

Here are some tools I use to help me stay focussed.

         1.  I keep a journal.  I record my weight, morning and evening.  Every day.  I KNOW that if I don't record these, I gain.  I will do this for ever.  When I reach my goal, it will help me see when I need to work so I don't exceed my "scream weight."  I like knowing my patterns (I always gain after Thai food, I gain after popcorn, those gains go away after two days). I also use it to record my measurements, my daily exercise, and to record notes or thoughts I have about the process.

  

         2.  I log my daily weight on physics diet.  This is new to me, but I love it.  It averages my weight       over the past several days so that small ups and downs don't have such prominence.  It's a realistic visual of "how I'm doing." This is especially nice during the losing phase, I'm not sure if I'll continue when I reach my ultimate goal.

3. I track my running on Nike+, using my ipod.  I like visuals and love seeing the miles pile up.

4.  I log my official WI weights on the WW site.  It has a good graphic that shows me where I am in relation to when I first started, 2 1/2 years ago.

UPDATE:  Oh and don't forget this fun one which is the automatic update from my gym:

These are my main tools for staying focussed.  I need to do this to keep myself going.  At my WI today, I stayed the same.  Not the worst news, but not what I really wanted either.  My tools, though, show me that I'm doing well. I had my lowest morning weight in well over a year this morning.  I reached a new green low on my physics diet chart and the trend is still definitely down.  I'm keeping up with my running.  And I'm slowly but surely approaching my low of two years ago on my WW chart.  

All those kinds of pesky things that got in my way before might still happen (except, praise God,  getting pregnant!), but this time, they're not going to derail my progress.  

How do you keep yourself focussed when things go astray?

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Wordless Wednesday

Well, not totally wordless . . .  I've been quiet a few days.  Lots happening here--Tippy Toe's visit, closing on our rental house, a real cast for DH's arm, and a two day visit from some dear friends.  I ate well this week, exercised 6/7 and stayed mostly green on my chart.  At noon today, when I usually go to my WI, I was on a wonderful "Behind the Scenes" tour of the National Cathedral--totally worth it.  I'll pop in tomorrow and get the official WI for this week.  I'm hoping to say adios to a stick or two of butter.

On the Town with TIppy Toe

Yes!  Cammy from Tippy Toe Diet  was in town today and we got together for dinner.  What fun.  She's every bit as smart and funny and charming as I'd known she would be from the first time I read her blog.  We hit it off right away and talked and laughed our way through dinner.  It's great to be able to carry on a real conversation instead of conversing through blog comments.  She's got a hundred stories and she even had the waiters laughing. We're already thinking about the next time!

What's Happening

Another fly by sort of post.  Sorry.

Thanks for all your good wishes to DH.  He's off refereeing 2 soccer games this afternoon.  Both bones in his right forearm are broken at the wrist and he's sporting a molded splint thing, and his fingers are swollen and he can't do any fine motor tasks (I had to pull up his referee socks and tie his shoes as well as retie the bandaging on his splint for him).  Typical guy--he still wants to referee because he said he would, and he likes doing it,  and because his leg's not broken [YET!].

In the hubbub of the emergency room, closing on two houses and the rest of life during the past couple days, DH forget to remind me that he had invited a nice young couple he knows from doing pro bono legal work to dinner last night.  Thank goodness they called in mid-afternoon to get directions.  Lots of scurrying around picking up toys, a last minute grocery trip and a very contrite DH, but I managed to get a pretty decent dinner on the table by the time they arrived.  We had grilled salmon with apricot glaze, whole wheat couscous with dried apricots, mint, and toasted almonds, and peas.  For dessert, I removed WW frozen yogurt strawberry bars from their popsicle sticks and topped them with fresh cut strawberries and a dollop of ff cool whip.  We had a fun evening, and  I even got in a kettle bell session in the afternoon in lieu of the nice long bike ride I was planning.

Anyway.  I'm off in a bit to meet one of you guys for coffee!  You know who you are, but we'll tell the rest of you about it tonight.  I'm going to put my camera in the car right after I type this sentence so I don't forget it.  'Til tonight!

Fly By

This is going to be short.  DH broke his wrist today (while playing volleyball) and I've been playing nurse, chauffeur and jill-of-all trades around here.  Fortunately, I managed to get in a nice run, my Praise Moves, and a hair appointment before I got his phone message.  It's almost 8, we just got back from the hospital and dinner is just about ready.

He's feeling okay, but you know fellas--they like to be taken care of when things are hurting.

I hope to tuck him in with some tylenol/codeine and get back here to catch up on your doings later. :-)

Take care,

Hot100 Update--Week 1

Today is rainy and gray with a tropical storm dropping buckets of rain all up and down the east coast.  I'm going to insert the ultra bright Hot 100 logo to add a little warmth and color to my day.  Yesterday was the end of the first week of the challenge.  There are only 13 more weeks left in the year to reach my goals.

Okay here are my goals:

1. Reach my goal weight by Jan 1st by following the WW CORE plan, weigh & record my weight each morning, attend weekly WW meetings.
2. Exercise at least 6 out of 7 days with varied exercise including at least 2 strength workouts and 3 cardio workouts each week averaging 60 minutes per session.
3. Keep my house and my body chocolate free.  This includes dark chocolate, chocolate chips, chocolate candy bars and any baked goods that have chocolate in them.

Here's how I did this week:   (hint = :D )

1. I started with 17 pounds to lose.  I lost 1 pound at my WW meeting.  I followed my plan and tracked my weight each morning. Now I have 16 pounds to lose in 13 weeks. Doable, no?
2. I exercised every day this week if you include one 45 minute Wii tennis match (and I do).  I did 3 strength training sessions and 3 cardio sessions and my workouts averaged 60+ minutes.
3. Not that I wasn't tempted by the evil bakery ladies who purposely baked chocolate chip cookies while I was grocery shopping and fanned the air so that a very sinful, come-hither aroma wafted all over the store, but I remain chocolate free.

I'm going to post this early today (10 am).  My posts usually take several hours to appear to you all for some reason.  Don't miss yesterday's post, if you haven't seen it!  UPDATE:  Of course this one shows in the blog roll in just 45 minutes.  Go figure!

Take Care!   Good Luck in the week to come for all my fellow-travelers.

Numbers Game, WI

0       The number of days I've taken "off" from exercising in the past month

1       The number of bloggers on my blog roll that I will have met by the end of the week!

2       The number of strength workouts I do at the gym each week

3       The number of consecutive Turkish Get Ups I can do in my Kettle bell workout

4       The number of "sticks o' butter" I lost at today's WI

5       The number of months I've been blogging

7      The number of days since I've eaten any chocolate

7       The number of inches I've lost from my hips
8       The number of lemons I bought today
10     The number beginning to appear on the labels of my clothing
13     The number of weeks left in the Hot 100 Challenge
15     The number of days until I meet my 2nd blog roll friend!
16     The number of additional pounds I will lose to reach my WW goal
22     The number of weeks I've been seriously working on losing weight
29.2  The number of pounds I've lost since I got serious
32     The number of miles of my longest bike ride (yet)
39.2  The number of pounds I've lost since my highest known weight
41     The number of Followers to my blog.  Thank you, thank you!
59     The number of years since I was born
59.9  The number of miles I've run per month on avg for the past 4 months
62     The number of miles of an upcoming Bike Holiday ride, done over two days
93     The number of years my dear father has lived
179   The number of pounds I weighed at my WI today
1012 The number of miles I've run in the past 23 months

Yes, green is good!

Seven Successful Days in the Hot 100

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