Posted by Trish Milburn Feb 7 2012, 12:01 am in exercise, food diary, health tips, portion control, Trish Milburn, weight loss
My husband and I were talking at dinner the other night about how long it takes investments to increase in value and how quickly a market downturn can take all that increase away in a blink of an eye. Well, weight loss and gain behaves in the exact opposite way, as I can attest to.
On Feb. 1 of last year, I weighed my highest weight ever. I got serious about tracking my calories and exercising. I lost 7 pounds that first month, and over the next nine months I gradually lost 11 more. I was only 2 pounds away from hitting the halfway point to my goal.
And then I fell off the danged wagon. It’s no one’s fault but my own, but as I sit here and write this there’s a part of me that feels like kicking myself in the butt. But that won’t do me any good. I need to use what has happened over the past couple of months as inspiration instead of a reason to feel bad about myself. See, I allowed the combination of the holidays, deadlines, and general laziness torpedo a large part of my hard work. It’s embarrassing to admit this, but I gained 10 pounds back during only the past two months. That’s nearly what it took me 9 months to lose. How did this happen?
* I didn’t track my calories, and I know there were way more high-calorie days than low-calorie ones.
* I ate way too many sweets. I was under a lot of stress and long hours with my deadlines, so I ate cookies, chips, ice cream. Sigh.
* I didn’t exercise nearly enough on the days I did and many days not at all. That saying about missing a day leading to it being easier to miss two and so on is so right.
So what am I doing about it?
* As of yesterday, I cut out sweets that contain refined sugar. I’m going to stick to fruit for my sweet-tooth fix.
* I’m back to exercising. I’m combining walking on the treadmill and riding the recumbent bike with reading entries for the RITA contest; using my step block or lifting weights while watching TV; and listening to educational podcasts while walking around the neighborhood. I’m going to be adding in some yard work soon since weeds are already popping up in my flowerbeds in early February. I plan to mix up my exercise every day to keep things from getting boring or my body getting used to any one routine. I’m shooting for 1 1/2 to 2 hours of exercise each day. Right now, I’m sitting at 82 minutes for today (Monday) so I need at least 8 more minutes. I’m thinking 8 minutes of dance aerobics sound about right.
* I am writing down every single thing I eat and how many calories it has. I’m keeping the tally below 1,500 each day.
* I’m getting caught up on lots of odds and ends so that when my next set of deadlines come around, I’m not stressed out of my mind.
I’m hoping these changes will kick-start a big weight loss this month like it did last February. At least I’m not starting from that high point all over again. And my new motto is the one they’re using on The Biggest Loser this season — No Excuses!
How is your February going health- and fitness-wise so far? What are your goals for the rest of the month? How can you make sure you achieve them?
Posted by Michelle Butler Jan 29 2012, 9:25 pm in eating healthy, Emotional Eating, exercise, fitness, food diary, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, stress, weight loss
I’m hoping that last week’s post about my struggles with motivation, and the responses to it, are the start of a turn around in my health and fitness efforts. I have tried to do better this week. It wasn’t always pretty. I skipped Weight Watchers because I just could not face a bad weigh in. [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Jan 22 2012, 10:00 pm in bad habits, eating healthy, exercise, fitness, food diary, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation
I can’t seem to find my motivation. I know what I should be doing to pursue my health and fitness goals, but I just can’t seem to do them. To make things worse, baked goods (half the time baked by me!) and other not-wise-food choices keep calling my name, and I answer their cry. I [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Jul 10 2011, 7:38 pm in exercise, food, food diary, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, portion control, small changes, weight loss
I walked into my Weight Watchers weigh-in and meeting last Tuesday totally at peace with whatever the results would be. It was the day after a three-day holiday weekend, and I had set out to enjoy myself over those three days and really celebrate the 4th of July. It was also a week during which [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Jun 12 2011, 8:31 pm in calories, exercise, Expectations, food diary, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, weight loss
I’ve been following the healthy living path for two-and-a-half years now. I know that there are ups and downs, times when it is difficult and even times when it is easy. Struggles and stress in any part of my life can make me struggle with food faster than you can say portion control problems. Right [...]
Posted by Trish Milburn Jun 7 2011, 12:01 am in bad habits, calories, eating healthy, exercise, food diary, Trish Milburn
Over the past couple of months, I’ve been on several deadlines and I’m going to admit right here and now that I’ve backslid on my health and fitness goals. I wasn’t tracking calories and wasn’t getting in my two hours of exercise each day, and consequently my weight has crept up a few pounds. The [...]
Posted by Trish Milburn May 10 2011, 12:01 am in bad habits, calories, exercise, food, food diary, goals, Trish Milburn, weight loss
We’re five months into this year, so now is a good time to assess how we’re doing in our Healthy Writer journeys. Here are five questions to ponder. I look forward to seeing your answers. 1. What resolution/goal have you kept up without fail this year? I gave up Coca-Cola at the end of last [...]
Posted by Trish Milburn Mar 22 2011, 8:34 am in bad habits, calories, eating healthy, exercise, food diary, Trish Milburn, weight loss
Last month, I had a good bit of success with my weight-loss goals by being diligent about tracking my calories and keeping them within a certain range and by two hours of daily exercise. This month has been less successful so far because I haven’t been as diligent. It’s been more of an up-and-down month. [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Mar 13 2011, 8:20 pm in Emotional Eating, exercise, food, food diary, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, portion control, stress
The February 1, 2011, Weight Watchers meeting was all about motivation. For some people, the new year’s resolution boost was over, and the group leader was trying to encourage them to dig deeper and find a way to keep going. Halfway through the meeting, he asked, “Does anyone need a pep talk?” After several seconds, [...]
Posted by Trish Milburn Mar 1 2011, 12:01 am in calories, exercise, food diary, goals, inspiration, motivation, Trish Milburn, weight loss
There is little more exciting than seeing visible progress being made toward goals. For 17 days out of the 28 in February, I stepped onto the scale and saw a weight loss from the day before. Yes, that means there were 11 days where the number went up, but I tried not to let that [...]
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