Last week I wrote about how unhealthy I was and how I needed to do something about it because my body was more sick than I wanted to admit. And so I decided to get to work. For the first time instead of trying to just lose weight because I want to look better in my clothes I have decided to lose weight for the health of my body. All of me - not just the parts that you see.
And so with the help of Gordon* (the name I decided to give my generic fitbit) and some good food & portion choices (thanks to these colorful food measuring cups I am using) I lost some weight and am already beginning to feel better.
What did I do this week to accomplish my goals to get healthy? Take a look:
Exercise: 5 days of the past week I walked more than 10,000 steps. Two of the days, one intentionally planned and one not, I did not meet that goal. Until I change my plan, I have decided to take one day off from trying to meet my goal. I need that mental break from checking Gordon to see how many steps I have taken and planning out what I need to do for the remainder of the day to meet my daily goal. On a high note - I ended up reaching 21000 steps one day this week after spending the day at the beach with the kids walking along the shore. That was a cool feeling although my legs were super sore the next day.
Food: Last summer I saw these colorful portion control cups online. I was trying to lose weight and knew that one of my biggest issues was portion control. (The other huge obstacle I have is damn carbs. God, I love those things.) I thought that these color coded measuring cups (which is essentially what they are even though they are all square) would help me to get my portions under control. Wow! They certainly did. Lo and behold, these cups are actually part of a program. I took a look at the program and knew it wasn't for me, and so I use these cups in my own way.
I also have decided to go vegan again (kinda). This week I had dairy twice. Going vegan (again) will be a work in progress. To some, this lifestyle choice is a bit extreme, but to me it makes the most sense for me. I feel better when I am eating a vegan diet both emotionally and physically. There are plenty of vegan sources of protein out there, and I plan on using those to make up for what I am not getting through animal sources.
So, what worked and what do I still have to work on in the coming weeks?
Successes:
1.) There were three times when I was having an emotional issues (I was feeling sad or angry or bored or stressed) and I did NOT turn to food. Instead two of those times I walked instead and the third time I talked myself out of eating anything and facing my feelings head on.
2.) Getting through those first few days of carb withdrawal without caving in to the pressure to gorge on carbs. (Yes, this is a very real struggle for me mentally and physically.)
3.) Some days I did a great job planning out my meals in advance.
4.) Realizing that it is okay to feel hungry sometimes. Feeling hungry is not going to kill me. (On the day that we went to the beach, the kids and I packed our lunches. I left mine at home on accident and instead of eating the kids food - of which there were chips and some cold pizza - I just talked to myself about how I could have my food when I got home and it would be okay. I wouldn't die from feeling hunger this one time.)
5.) I made time for exercise. There were a couple of days where I just wasn't feeling it, but I went ahead and went on my walks anyway because I really wanted to hit my 10,000 steps for the day. Normally, I would have talked myself out of exercising, but having Gordon on my arm is helping to motivate me in the beginning of this journey toward health when the weight loss is not yet visible.
Struggles:
1.) Not being organized every day with my food choices. This was a big obstacle. I didn't end up cheating, but I cannot say that I won't ever cheat when I am not food organized. It is vital to the success of this health campaign that I make food prep and organization a priority.
2.) Withdrawing from carbs is painful for me. It is really hard for me to do. I am overweight not because I love sweets and chips, but because I love carbs. ALL carbs and lots of them. Portion control and limiting carbs has been very hard.
3.) Feeling hungry at night. So...as you can imagine I am not used to feeling a prolonged sense of hunger. A sense of being stuffed, yes, but hunger? No, not really. I made a choice to not eat after a certain hour and I am really trying to stick to that time so that my body can have 12+ hours of fasting time from early evening until I wake up the next morning. Those belly rumbles as I am finishing up watching the Olympics with Bob and the kids or right before I get into bed are hard for me to deal with.
So, you may be wondering what the actual number of pounds I lost this week were...
And the answer is 5.5.
So, this week's results: -5.5 lbs. Total weight loss: -5.5
Now on to week 2!
*I wanted to come up with a name for my generic fitbit instead of always referring to it as 'generic fitbit'. I was going to name it Frank because that name seemed like a no nonsense name, but decided that Gordon would be a much better name. Gordon is my dad's name. If any of you know my dad, he is a man of very few words. And the words he does speak are cut and dry. There is no nonsense in his words. He means business and doesn't deal well with drama. (So, of course, we got along great while I was growing up because my middle name is drama.) That is exactly what I need from my fitbit personality (because don't we all give inanimate objects human traits?) - no nonsense, shit or get off the pot, type of a mentality. That's my dad. And now that's also my fitbit personality.
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