The End of a Good Day

It is close enough to the end of my day (7:45 pm) that I am calling it a "win."  My calories stayed under 1300 calories.  I did a two mile walk and I did the Power Half Hour Arms workout.  I planned just enough ahead to keep from binging.

For breakfast I had a slim fast, mid morning snack was cottage cheese and nectarine. Lunch was a ham sandwich on low cal/hi fiber bread with lettuce and tomato and one ounce of tortilla chips with salsa.  Mid afternoon snack was a South Beach Diet Cereal Bar.  Dinner was a Turkey Burger with lettuce, tomato and a half cup of baked beans. Water was all I drank today.

One day down, 20 days to go before I leave for Phoenix.

Get Good Information

I wish I could say I had a successful week.  Well, I could say that, but it wouldn't exactly be truth.  Not even close to the truth.  Last week was one long excuse not to get back on the program and make some forward progress.  In fact, last week was such a long excuse that my weigh in this morning is 216.1.  Yeup... I'm up two pounds from last week.  Not exactly a stellar performance.

So now it's time for me to re group and come out slugging. FAT BE GONE!!!  I'm working on putting together some good information.  One of my goals for the next 3 weeks is to put together a diet plan with menus to follow while I am at my mother's.  Some basic guidelines that will keep me closer to "on target" than if I just went unprepared. 

This morning has started on the right track so far.  It's still early.  I had a slim fast when I first got up.  3 points on the WW plan.  A light taste, so that I can still jump up and do my exercises as soon as a moment presents itself, but enough so that I can hold out before I have breakfast.  I'll report back at the end of the day with my food points and my exercise points.

Not so focused

Not as focused as I hoped to be yesterday.  In fact, I'd have to call yesterday a bust. No exercise, no watching the food intake.   I'm not making too much better of a start today. <sigh>

Focus on the Process

FOCUS ON THE PROCESS, NOT THE OUTCOME.  All you can control is what you do today; for instance, what you have for lunch and how much you exercise.  You can't control whether you lose two pounds this week or not.  People who focus on the process have a higher chance of attaining their goal.  Those who focus too much on the outcome ("I have to be a size 6 before the class reunion") generally fail.  Plus, be focusing on the process of reaching your goal, you create a way of life.

Weight: 212.9

I'm prepared to slowly work through things, to stay focused on the process.  I think that is where so many of us tend to stumble.  It's so easy to feel overwhelmed, even when making progress, by the number of pounds still left to be lost.  I know I am guilty of thinking beyond the moment.  "I want to lose X pounds by end of the month"  And I keep thinking that way even after a week where I haven't lost enough, or when I've gained.. so there I am with an even bigger amount to lose "by the end of the month."

I'm going to try this time to stay focused on today, this moment.  What can I do today to improve my health? Let's see how this works for me.

 

The Right Attitude.

Quick update before I go into my usual stuff.  My father in law has been diagnosed with cancer.  I do not know the severity of it, nor the treatment plan at this point in time.  -E

I've decided to give myself the rest of this weekend to regroup and I'm going to head back into the plan tomorrow morning. I think I'm going to use the Power Half Hour for the next 4 weeks as my strength training, along with Leslie Sansone as my "aerobics."

  The kids and I will be in Phoenix, AZ from June 13 until Aug. 15.  I haven't heard much else from Paul's parents at this point.  But Paul was able to re-arrange his R & R leave so that he can be in Phoenix about mid-July as well. I'm pretty excited, but that means I'll be seeing him in about 8 weeks and I was so hoping to be farther along on this weight loss journey than I am. Okay.. the first thing I have to 'fess up to is my starting weight for this new plan of mine.  I weighed in this morning at 214.1.  That is 22 lbs over my low weight of 192.3 from November.  I am SOOOO not happy about that.  But more importantly.. I am ready to do something about that. I would like to lose at least that by the time I see Paul.. and should the diet gods care to smile upon me, I'd really like to lose closer to 30 lbs... We'll see how all that goes..   I found an article in the May 31, 2005 edition of Woman's Day.  About "How to stay on your Game."  If you all don't mind, I'm going to share it with you here.  

 

People who succeed in transforming their bodies need, above all, the right attitude.  According to Todd M. Kays, a psychologist specializing in sports and performance and director of the Athletic Mind Institute in Columbus, Ohio, all of us can apply these tips to help stick with a fitness plan and achieve our personal best: GET GOOD INFORMATION.  Consult an expert, such as a reputable dietitian or trainer.  Be sure this person is as committed to your goal as you are. FOCUS ON THE PROCESS, NOT THE OUTCOME.  All you can control is what you do today; for instance, what you have for lunch and how much you exercise.  You can't control whether you lose two pounds this week or not.  People who focus on the process have a higher chance of attaining their goal.  Those who focus too much on the outcome ("I have to be a size 6 before the class reunion") generally fail.  Plus, be focusing on the process of reaching your goal, you create a way of life. EXPECT SETBACKS.  They happen, so plan on them.  One week you may be faithful to your diet and still gain two pounds, or maybe you were able to jog three miles last week, but this week you can't get past two.  That's part of the journey.  Cut yourself some slack.  The greatest athletes aren't those who have never had a setback, but those who persist through adversity. PUSH THROUGH PLATEAUS.  When progress stops, and you can't seem to gain fitness or lose weight, ask two questions: Are my goals realistic, or am I expecting too much too soon?   Do I need to change my program?  Athletes, for example, often over train.  Building in more recovery time could get you over the next hurdle. FIGHT HEAD GAMES WITH HONESTY. When people start to give up, the rationalize: "I'm fine the way I am.  This is just how my body is meant to be.  I can't run a marathon.  What was I thinking?" Such self-talk buffers disappointment, but it doesn't get the job done.  Take your emotions out of the picture.  Be brutally objective and tell yourself the truth:"I'd be healthier if I lost 20 pounds." Or, "I'd increase my chanced of living longer if I worked out consistently." When you define your issues objectively, they become a problem to solve, not a criticism of your self-worth. DO IT FOR YOURSELF.  Don't try to improve your body simply to please another person.  You can never control another person's view of you.  While getting your dream body may, in fact, please others in your life, you have to do this for yourself.

Pet Peeves

Weigh in: 212

Considering how quickly my week went downhill, that is not too bad.   Not the direction I wish to be heading in, but not too bad.

So.. my pet peeve this morning is simply this.  I wake up at 6 am to wake the kids to get ready for school.  The girls have to catch a bus at 730 and Mac walks two blocks to his school at 7:45. None of them take their showers in the morning, so technically they only need about 45 minutes to get dressed and eat in a leisurely manner.  My PEEVE is that I get up early because that is when they WANT to get up, but what really happens is that I spend the next 45 minutes to an hour telling them to get up.  I could be sleeping for that brief period of time, but no.. I have to keep going to the rooms and tweaking covers or toes to get them moving.

Anyway, Mother's Day was a pretty good one.  The kids and I went to Cinnabon for breakfast where I had a minibon and chocolate milk. We did some shopping at the "big PX" and then did a bit of commissary shopping and then had lunch at Burger King. I had a Whopper Jr and a med. fry.  I also splurged and had real Dr. Pepper. YUMMY! 

Kimberly, my middle child, made dinner last night of waffles and she made a lemon cake for dessert.  All very tasty.

This morning it's back to the point watching.  It's also "Post clean up day" which means I'll have an opportunity to burn a lot of calories raking, weeding, sweeping, etc outside our building.

I've mixed up my eating plan a bit, using some of the Jorge Cruise thought process and I'm planning meals every 3 hours.  Last week doing this seemed to really help.  BUT.. I also allow for the idea that I might not need every snack I plan.  I make a plan, but I allow hunger level to rule if I truly need the sustenance or not.

New at the commissary this weekend: Post Carb Well High Protein Cereal Bars Cranberry Almond. 140 calories, 5 g fat, 3 g fiber. 3 pts.  Nice taste, very satisfying.

Also new: South Beach Diet High Protein Cereal Bar Chocolate by Kraft. 140 calories, 5 g fat, 3 g fiber. 3 pts.  Haven't tasted them yet.

I'm going for "easy" right now on this diet.  I want to have as little time to THINK about what I'm going to eat as possible.  The way for me to accomplish this is to have quick snacks to grab once in a while.

Weekly Weigh In

The kids have headed off to school and I am here just catching up a few things.  As soon as I finish here, I'm going to begin my workout.   Weigh in this morning: 211.3

I'm finally getting out of my slump and heading into new territory.  Getting back to exercising has really helped my depression.  I think talking in IM with Paul more regularly is helping too.

News from home has not been great.  I'm waiting to hear the results of some tests my inlaws have taken to detemine whether the kids and I should head to Phoenix for the summer.

Oh.. I went to the PSTA Bingo game Saturday night with some of the other spouses from our unit.  I had one bingo, and I won a very nice "americana" pottery piece.   It's a lasagne dish.  Polish pottery is all the rage among the military spouse at the moment.  I'm not sure exactly why.  It's nice, but ... not like we don't have such things in the states.  Unless it's the patterns.  Which I've seen a few I like, but nothing that I can't live without. 

 

Still, this pottery dish will look nice for pot lucks.