Friday, May 09, 2008

Weigh-In Day!

It’s Friday and quite frankly I am very excited!  I woke up feeling “thinner” LOL.  Do you ever have those days that you just wake up knowing that you have lost weight?  Somehow you feel less bloated and you just KNOW your clothes are going to fit well?  I just love those days.  In fact, I was so excited that I waited until I started writing this post to go and weight myself, so if you will hold on just one second I will go do that right this second…

Okay, well not as much as I had hoped - but not bad!  1.2 pounds down.  Better than nothing And also better than the gain I thought I would have earlier in the week when I was eating myself out of house and home.  This week I was having a hard time again.  I think it is because we didn’t have that many groceries in the house and I kept finding reasons not to go grocery shopping which for me only means one thing - eating out!  I was always just “too busy” but yesterday I finally got my butt up and went grocery shopping! 

I bought all sorts of healthy things too - and nothing that would qualify as “junk food” which is always nice.  Although truth be told, I am not a junk food person.  If I am at a party or something or a friends house and they put out the cheese puffs or cookies then I will certainly indulge, but I rarely buy the stuff myself.  The most “junk food” that I will get are the light lays chips which have only 75 calories per every 15 chips.  That is what I eat with my sandwich that I am making for the day.  But sometimes I’ll even skip that and just put fruit and yogurt on the side.  I’m not a chocolate eater either - I know it must kill you for those of you who are.  For me, I can see a big chocolate cake or brownie and simply walk buy it without even looking twice.  It’s a sin I know, but that’s just who I am.  The only time I get a chocolate craving is over Halloween and that is because you see so much of the candy that you did when you were a kid which for me totally brings back memories.  But other than that I can’t think of one time during the year that I ever go and buy a candy bar or even eat when when available.  Weird huh?

What is your favorite “junk food”?  Are you a chocoholic?  Are Cheeto’s your thing?  Or are you more of an ice cream person?  What is it that really gets you to break your diet?

Also, don’t forget to weigh-in and tell us how you are doing this week with your weight loss journey!!

Today is the last day of our contest and by my calculations I have these people registered for the contest:

Amy Blu
Brigitte
Patti
Candace
Millie
Mary_Freebies
Gypsie

That’s it people… this is your last chance.  I’m stunned that even with 40+ members that is all that entered.  I had a couple of people ask me if they are eligible if they are from Canada but then never wrote back to enter themselves in officially.  YES you are eligible.  We also had people ask us if they were eligible if they didn’t have a blog and I wrote back YES and yet you didn’t enter (Gypsie, lol)… so get the entries in today - I’m picking the winner and announcing them on Monday.  And Shelah and I took our names out since there was an uproar over that, lol.  Hey, I understand… although I did think that there was a certain level of trust here among our members but again, I can totally understand why you were as upset as you were.  We didn’t realize it and didn’t want to make a big thing, but we are NOT going to put our names in the hat.  So, TODAY IS YOUR LAST DAY!  Currently there is a 1 in 6 chance of winning, so if you want to get in on the good odds just post a comment here saying you want to be entered.  Simple huh?  For full details on the contest check out our little contest box on the right.  If I have forgotten anyone just let me know. 

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Not to be confused with PHAT

It is no secret that obesity in America has been on the rise for years. Fast food places have increased their meal sizes by over 50% in the last 10 years. We are all getting fatter. The FDA has increased the acceptable daily caloric intake from 1200 to 1500 - 1800 per day. And we are still getting fatter.  Airlines have increased their seat size to accommodate larger people because god forbid, people realize that they are getting fat. Between 1995 and 2002, the number of calories Americans swigged each day more than doubled--and those from sugary quenchers like soda, fruit drinks, and alcohol quadrupled.  How much bigger do we have to get before people realize what is happening?

It really is no wonder how we are all struggling each day with our weight. It shouldn’t shock us that companies that claim to have the miracle pill or quick fix are making millions. We are fat and lazy people. We want stuff handed to us and we hate to work for anything that makes us break a sweat, right? I mean really, who can honestly say that they enjoyed their first trek on the treadmill? Not me. All I could think of was that if I tripped or stumbled, I was going to be launched into my wall like a rocket. Then I wouldn’t just be fat, I would also be bruised and quite possibly broken.

Sometimes, even now, I forget that exercise and hard work makes me feel good. Somedays, I am just content to be lazy. The only difference is that I no longer keep my junk cupboard stocked with Twinkies and I get to kick things a few times per week.

We have an excuse thread in the forum here. It is a place to just go post your excuse for the day/week/month and get it out of your system. Now, you guys need to use it. Let’s get our excuses out of the way and get moving forward again. I don’t want to be part of the “new” trend. I want to have room for two in that seat on the airplane. How about you guys? 

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Making Yourself a Priority

It’s funny - this post is late for exactly the reason that I am going to talk about… making weight loss a priority.  This morning I had to do so much stuff - go to kindergarten orientation (AAK!), bring in some dry cleaning for a suit that I am going to lend out to a friend, pick up a prescription for a neighbor who can’t drive, as well as basically cart my son to and from school, make lunch, do some work, and wait for the air conditioning guy.  Yeah, hello - was I making myself a priority today?  Of course not!  Did I get to walk this morning?  Of course not!  Will I have time to do it later?  Most likely not!  Why?  Because I am a people pleaser… if someone asks me to take on more work I will do it even if I don’t have time, if people ask me to run an errand for them because I “work from home” and seemingly have all the time in the world, I will do it - even at the expense of screwing up my exercise routine, or skipping lunch and therefore propelling me to McDonald’s because I am so hungry. 

That is why it is important to learn how saying no can actually help you lose weight. You have to make yourself a priority in your own life.  A common personality trait among overweight women is that they are people pleaser’s. People pleaser’s tend to gain weight because they have trouble saying no. Whenever they area asked to do anything, they say yes, without regard to their own personal needs and wants.  People pleaser’s gain weight by putting their own health and fitness aside to do things for others (especially if they have kids!) People pleaser’s consistently sacrifice their own happiness to see others happy.

The problem with people pleaser’s is that even when they are determined to lose weight they will put exercise and their dietary needs aside without a second thought to please others. People pleaser’s would rather eat dessert to make a friend happy than turn it down and risk hurting the friend’s feelings.  The people pleaser in all of us will also take on one project after another, regardless of how busy they are. Saying yes to ever favor asked, every job that needs to be done and volunteer project becomes automatic and it can become a stressful situation when your to-do list is a mile long.

The good news is that people pleaser’s can lose weight with some simple changes:

Learn to say no

Prioritize things in your, making fitness and health a top priority

Explain your goal to friends and family and ask for their support

Schedule daily exercise. Write it down and keep the appointment.

Be able to step back and let other people pitch in

Minimize stress by eating right, exercising and not over-scheduling yourself

Making yourself a priority, especially if you are used to being the caretaker or volunteer extraordinaire, can be a big adjustment for people who take on too much.  If taking care of others had made you gain weight you need to make the choice to put yourself first.  Saying no may take some practice, but it is necessary for people pleaser’s to lose weight.  You’ll reduce your stress level and have more time to take care of your health and fitness needs.