Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Neverending Battle

I need to recommit myself to losing weight.

It started with my birthday.  I took about four days off for various celebrations.  Then I got the Wii Fit from BJ, and it said I was about 15 pounds heavier than I thought I was.  Surely I wasn't THAT bad.  Must be a fluke, right?  Until the doctor's scale said the same thing.  Turns out, I wasn't that bad, but my scale was. 

I got a new scale, and sure 'nuff I'm back up to where I thought I was in late February.  Either that, or all the weight I thought I lost in March was actually my scale crapping out.  I'm not sure.  I lost 15 pounds in March, so it could be either.

And either way, it's like March never happened.  I find that very depressing.

So, the last couple of weeks I've been pretty frustrated.  There has been some other stuff going on too, that I'm working on addressing, and a bunch of Easter candy in the house that needs to go away, but the net result is that I need to recommit myself to losing weight.

Now, this is a huge revelation, because in the past I would have said, "To hell with it, I've been deceived by technology, I'm a giant failure, I can't do this, I suck, pass the cheesecake!" 

Not this time, folks.  Because either way, I've lost a lot of weight.  A crappy scale can't make my pants size go down, right?  I'm down from a 20 (nearing 22) to a 16 (nearing 14 - they zip but they make awful muffin top!!), and that is NOT nothin'.  So I am NOT going to let the scale beat me.  I am NOT going to sabotage myself because of the emotional burden I'm carrying right now.  I am NOT going to give up simply because I've had a small set back.  I am NOT going to fall back on my old friend food just because I'm hurting.  I am NEVER going to do that to my body again.  And if it takes me another month or two to lose the same 15 pounds I thought I'd already lost?  Fine.  Because that just means that I'll be able to say I lost 90 pounds instead of merely 75 when I'm done.

Or something... Math isn't my strong suit.

Here is my plan:
  1. Get back to drinking green tea every day.  I'm not sure how it works, but it seems to help.  When I'm consistent with drinking it, I seem to lose faster.  Whether this is science or a coincidence doesn't matter, because it's tasty (I get the blueberry flavored "Purple Antioxidants" green tea at Kroger) and it kind of helps me perk up a bit in the afternoon, too.
  2. Get back to "an apple a day."  Again, may be science, may be coincidence, but I notice better results when I'm eating apples frequently.  Lots of fiber, lots of sweet to curb cravings, 80 calories?  Sign me up.
  3. Gradually knock my calorie goal down to -2 pounds per week.  If I really started at 15 pounds heavier than I thought I was (yikes) that means that I was figuring my calories based on someone 15 pounds lighter than myself, which could be why my loss has stalled since I got the new scale a few days ago.  So, I am going to have to be stricter with the number of calories I allow myself in a day, unless I
  4. Get serious about exercise.  I did ok in January, but since then I haven't been even remotely consistent with exercise.  I'm more active than I was, but obviously that's not cutting it.
I am halfway there.  I'm not giving up now.  

Hold me to that, ok?

2 comments:

mwiesjahn said...

I am holding you to it because you deserve to feel really, really good about yourself! Don't worry I fall off the wagon all the time. It's a myth that people my size don't care. I have to care every single day (although if I was bad one day then I don't weigh myself the next :)! YOU CAN DO IT!!! You are already doing it. Don't forget how it feels to be 10, 20, 50 POUNDS lighter!! GO YOU! Soon we'll run a 5K together! Let's commit to a goal. Next Valentine's 5K or something sooner, what do you think???

P.S. I'm really proud of you. :)

Rob Monroe said...

Recommitting is good. I hate that scales can be so out of whack and we never know. I trust the WiiFit because it has matched my doctors scale, give or take a pound or two.

Re: Tea - is it that the tea is helping you avoid the more sugary drinks? I find that black tea is working for me in that manner, if I remember to make the tea and bring it to work with me. I have lost any possible ground that I was making when my office moved and we now have a deli in the basement with cheap soda and chips. Grr.

Paul and Sarahlynn have been losing weight too by picking up running. They take turns, or take the girls out in a stroller with them.

Anny has gotten the ultimatum from her endocrinologist that she needs to change her diet and exercise more. Not sure if the doc was like "to hell with being nice, she's moving and I won't have to deal with it" or if things have gotten worse for Anny, but it might be the last kick in the pants we need.

No excuses. None.

You can do it, Amy. Sorry for the long comment...