Just 4 Today, I’ll drink my fiber supplement twice, drink 2 liters of water, weigh myself, and NOT eat between meals and NOT take seconds.
I think this blogging break has helped.
But I’m ready to get back in my routine. Are you ready?
Just 4 Today, I’ll drink my fiber supplement twice, drink 2 liters of water, weigh myself, and NOT eat between meals and NOT take seconds.
I think this blogging break has helped.
But I’m ready to get back in my routine. Are you ready?
Woohoo!
I am SO glad you’re back! I’ve been checking in every day with much trepidation.
Guess what? I am 2.5 scale pounds away from my goal weight! (And 3.9 pounds away as far as moving average goes). My goal was to hit the weight on the scale by New Year’s, but I was derailed by a two week flu (and plateau) where I could not go running. Being 2.5 lbs away three days before is still pretty damn good! I’ve lost a total of 28 lbs since I began.
PS In answer to your question about using the cell phone calculator, I just tally it a couple times during the day, and remember it, but there is no reason you can’t create a cell in the address book – name it something inconspicuous, and re-save your calories under a fake name – if you wanted to be really covert! : )
JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL:
1. Relax and get into the groove while working.
2. Not let other people’s idiocy or negativity affect me.
3. Not dread going to the eye doctor.
4. Go for a five mile run before dinner.
5. Put in three hours of work after dinner.
6. Count my calories as usual.
7. Not have little stress related binges.
{{Bombshell}} — it’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you very much.
I totally agree that you’re progress is wonderful. I’m sorry that flu held you back a bit. (I HATE the flu) Pretty damn good? I think it’s GREAT!
I think that idea for posting the calories in a cell of the phone is a great idea. (now do I HAVE to start counting calories again?)
xxoo
It’s good to be back!
(I like #7 especially) (running off to get dressed for work — oops! I leave in 15 minutes & I’m still in pajamas!)
Hi!
I’m glad you’re back, katiebird! And I am too! I’ve only lost 5 of my 10 pounds, but at least I’m down some for the New Year. And I aready did my walking this morning.
Bombshell, I love your list, and I’m totally impressed with number 4. I wish could run my whole 5 miles!
CabinGirl!! I’m so glad you’re back. Really.
And I’m pleased that you’ve lost 5 of the 10 pounds. You know that since most people GAIN 5 pounds during the holidays, a 5 pound loss is really a 10 pound loss. Isn’t it?
Wow, it’s good to see you!
I love your rationalization for my 5 pound loss…think I’ll use it!
I’m glad to be back too. CB the elder has been giving me a ‘run for my money’ as they say, and that has taken up a lot of my time and energy. He’s heading off to Outward Bound in about 10 days, and that will definitely lighten up my work load here, so I should be able to get back into the swing of things with walking/running and yoga again.
How are you doing with your goal? Did you have a nice holiday?
My goal ended up being to get through the year without actually getting bronchitis. And I failed at that. And in fact, in spite of spending 10 days on an expensive antibiotic, I’m still coughing as much as ever.
But I think the break did help. I don’t feel like I’m on the verge of a total collapse anymore.
I had a very good holiday. It was very restful and there weren’t any dramatic family moments.
I’m sorry about your ‘run for the money’ — I’ve been through that often enough to totally understand what it means. That Outward Bound idea sounds effective.
Did it totally wreck your holiday?
Ugh, bronchitis is awful. You keep taking it easy, because it takes a while to get over that completely. Are you taking anything like echinacea to help boost your immune system?
We actually had a really nice holiday; it was just in the lead up to it and the immediate aftermath that someone has been driving us all crazy. And in the scheme of things, what’s going on could be a whole lot worse than just being immature and having an oppositional attitude about everything. Hopefully the month away and the experience will give him such much-needed maturity and a new perspective on things.
And can I confess to how much I am looking forward to a break from battling with a 14-year-old boy on a regular basis without being an awful mother?
You don’t sound horrible at all. You sound thoughtful to me. When I was a kid everyone I was related to lived in the same county. And my cousins and siblings and me were constantly being traded between the families. My mom and aunts said that switching just one kid per family changed the dynamics and made everyone happier.
Luckily for us, we all totally loved being at each others houses and remember that time as an almost utopian experience. It all came to an end when my family moved to Kansas though.
His Outward Bound experience sounds like it might do the same sort of thing for everyone. I wish I’d thought of it when our boy was 14. It might have saved a lot of grief and stress.
It was inevitable ~ you started posting again right AFTER the last time I checked to see if you were posting again !
Glad you’re back, hope you get completely over the bronichitis soon. I know how draining that is.
While you were gone I managed to get rid of another 2.4 lbs. It’s an almost daily struggle, though– whether it’s points or calories, or however you figure it, it’s constant discipline. And why do people think a bag of chocolate is what I need for Christmas ? (So far, I haven’t touched it.) Everybody with eyes and a brain knows I’ve been working on my weight for months !
While I am not making the 60 by the end of the year, I think 50 is close enough for the moment. The main thing is that the trend is downward, steadily downward, in spite of the day to day struggle.
I figured out that there’s another 30 lbs. to get rid of, though, and that at the present rate we’re talking the end of next summer. So… kb, I’ll be around for awhile– hope you are, too !
{{catdog!!}}
You’ve done so well — I’m really thrilled for you. I think 50 pounds is a great milestone. It’s what I’ve sort of settled at too.
And like you, I’ve got another 30 pounds I’d like to lose. But I have a feeling it’ll take me through 2007 to do it. Although I guess I could get on a roll and do it by summer sometime.
That Christmas thing happened to me last year. My mom gave me a bunch of chocolate & cookies. And I’m not only struggling with weight, but I’m diabetic!
So, yes — I’ll be around for a long time — even after I lose all I want, I’ll have that struggle to keep it off. And that’ll go on forever.
(is that a good thing, or a bad thing?)
Oh, I didn’t tell you how much I missed you while I was gone. I’m really glad to be back!
Down And Dirty Weapons in the War Against Binging
Katie Bird, thanks a million for your positive words of encouragement. I only have 2.5 more pounds to go but I can assure all of you, I will be staying around on this website long past that point. Here is why: just because I have reached my goal weight, doesn’t mean I have conquered my weakness of using food as a crutch.
Cabin Girl, thanks so much for giving me props for my five mile run. Its something I’m very proud of, because I’ve worked very hard to be able to do it, despite having asthma. Today I ran eight miles at a very fast, steady clip, without stopping. I learned some of my training secrets from former marines, which I will share with you in a post soon, if you are interested.
But for now, I’d like to share my most down and dirty battle secrets against binging. These are tactics that I have never shared with anyone – tactics that I am in all honesty embarrassed of, because they are so deeply personal. And no – they do not involve purging/barfing. I can honestly say I have never done that in my life. My curse throughout life has been that I binge under stress… and just let the food make me gain weight. But now, here are my never before revealed most personal secret weapons.
“When you achieve a victory, proceed as if you had not achieved any victory” – The Art of War
Secret Weapons
1. Lysol
2. OTC headache medicine
3. Anger
Please keep in mind that these weapons and the tactics that accompany them should be used only for emergencies. I have used each of these weapons maybe two or three times a year.
Lysol
There have been certain occasions when I feel so powerless against a certain food that I cannot control myself. I know, with complete awareness, that I am about to devour the said food item. I know that no matter how hard I try to resist, I will devour it. I know that if I just throw it in the trash, I will eventually fish it out of the trash and eat it. It is in these moments that I whip out the Lysol. To me, Lysol is the nastiest smelling, most unappetizing substance on earth. It is also lethally poisonous. This is why I use it to mercilessly douse the said food item. Is this wasteful? Yes. Does it reek of hubris? Yes. Is it shockingly irresponsible? Yes. Is it indulgently narcissistic? Yes. But that is why I do it. The shock resulting from wasting good food jars me out of my binge-inducing stupor. The violence of the action brings me back to reality. And then I no longer want to binge.
OTC Headache Medicine
When you are operating at a 500 calorie a day deficit, you will sometimes feel pain. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.
Hunger is the worst feeling on earth. It sucks. It hurts. OTC headache medicine does not discriminate between headaches an other pains. Therefore, it can stop the pain that hunger causes.
Very dirty secret. I only use this in emergencies.
Anger
Very often, my binges are caused by work related stress. Thanks to very hard work I have done, I am in a very high level position for my age and therefore often deal with people who are jealous of my position and want to undermine me. Often, if a person does something to try and sabotage my work, my instinct is to binge – binging causes a feeling of numbness and buffets any fear or pain associated with others trying to hurt me. A powerful tool against this is anger: me saying to myself – “WHAT?! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU ARE ALLOWING THAT LITTLE @#$#@$ TO STRESS YOU OUT ENOUGH TO BINGE!!! HE ISN’T EVEN WORTH A LOW FAT POPSICLE!” Of course this tool only will work if your binges are work/stress related.
I hope you all enjoy these tactics and do not think I am crazy.
Bombshell
Running Tips for Cabin Girl
Here are the tips which I learned from the former marines. These tips should enable you to run for longer distances. They sound simple, but they work miracles.
1. When running, all air taken IN should come through the nose, and all air going OUT should go out the mouth. This maximizes the amount of oxygen pumping through your veins and gives you more stamina, regardless of how in shape you are.
2. Do not run every day. Running every day is the worst thing you can do. Let one or two days go by in between runs. The more time your muscles have to repair, the bigger and stronger they will be the next time you run, which means you will be able to run longer.
3. If you feel winded, it is much better to downgrade from running to jogging that it is to downgrade from running to walking. If you downgrade from running to jogging and force yourself to jog for as long as possible, you are actually slowly training yourself for running and will be able to run more next time.
4. (Most important) My hand-to-hand combat teacher told me that if you are a woman, running is the NUMBER ONE thing you can do for self defense. Why? Because your attacker will always be stronger than you, so fighting or calling for help could be very ineffective. But… most people cannot run very far without getting out of breath, therefore, if you CAN run very far and fast, that is your best chance of escape. This has proved true for me once in my life when I was assaulted by two large men and managed to escape unscathed. All of this is further motivation when doing regular runs – even if one is not currently being chased.
Bombshell
Katiebird: It sounds like your childhood in CA was idyllic. I wish I had the cousin trading option available to me!
Bombshell: Thanks for the running tips. I have asthma too, so I am doubly impressed by your 8 miles! Last summer, when I started using advair, I was able to run for a full mile for the first time in my life (and it was something I had always wished I could breathe well enough to do!). Now I want to do more.
I’m going to try your tips and see if I can get myself up to running more than a mile and a half out of my 5 mile loop. I think that might be my goal for the New Year…
Took a big load of big clothes this morning to the local thrift shop whose income goes to provide healthcare for people living with AIDS/HIV.
14 dresses, 2 jackets, 3 sweaters, a nice pair of wool size 18 pants I don’t know if I ever wore, a nearly new pair of jeans that fall off me now, a skirt, a top. Now I have room in my closet for some new things that will likewise be transitory. By the end of next summer, I should have another load of stuff for the thrift shop.
Biggest problem right now– I need new bras ! My goal for 2007 is to continue the disappearing act, but I remember one friend who quit trying to get rid of the excess weight because her chest was going flat. Seriously, she gave up. And the last time I saw her it was really sad. She had ballooned to about 300 lbs. Resolved: that ain’t gonna be me !
Hey ! Forgot to ask if we’re doing the book !
Wow — Hi everyone!
Bombshell, I love your lists (would you be interested in reposting them as posts?) And I indentify with your mixed feelings. Still, I think I’ll steal your Lysol idea. It sounds too effective to ignore.
CabinGirl, it was idyllic — no question about it. Everyone of us who lived through it remembers those days with pure pleasure. I took it totally for granted at the time.
catdog, That’s a commitment, I know because I did virtually the same thing last summer. And I got new bras too! I had them measured by a genius and am wearing bras the fit, really fit for the first time. I think it’s really helped me stay focused. I can’t afford to that weight back — I got rid of all my ‘fat’ clothes. Even some ‘chubby’ clothes.
And Yes — I’m planning my first book post tomorrow
I’m sorry to sound so fragmented. I’ve had this window open and have been working on this comment since 11pm last night. Which probably proves that not posting anything original this weekend was a good idea.
Still, I’m very glad we’re all back — It’s great to see everyone again!