Welcome back to State of the Weight Wednesday!
For those tuning in for the first time, this is my journey to live a healthier life, only one part of which is my weight, and I’m inviting all of you to be a part of it. Strength in numbers and all that.
State of the Weight Wednesday is about making small, steady changes that we can live with.
So, that’s last week’s photo up there, but this morning I wasn’t at last week’s numbers.
This week I gained 2 pounds.
In the spirit of complete honesty (and let’s be real, I’m putting actual pictures of my actual weight on the internet so honesty is kind of what I’m doing here) I’ve been resting on my laurels a little too much. I was seeing losses each week despite not sticking to my goals and drinking water and tracking my intake and making sure I got in regular exercise and it caught up to me. I knew this was coming.
There have been lots of successes on this journey so far. But now I’m in the thick of it. The do-or-die, keep going or throw in the towel portion of the journey.
I’m trudging up a hill. Probably a small hill, maybe. But still, a hill.
I’m still down 18 pounds from where I was when this started and that’s definitely something I’m proud of. My clothes are getting too big and my endurance is increasing. I feel guilty when I don’t go to the gym. Making exercise something I want to do has happened.
The #1 contributor to the weight gain, aside from not exercising as often as I would have liked or should have (thanks, sickness, a little depression, and then beautiful weather that pulled me to the pool instead of the elliptical) was snacking. Snacking and making the right choices is my nemesis time after time.
When we go to the pool, I pack snacks for the kids. And then I end up snacking on those snacks with the kids. And I don’t keep up with how many or how much I eat while I’m snacking during safety break. I sort of do, but not really.
I try to tell myself that I’m working them off with all that swimming, but let’s face it. I’m not swimming so much as I’m chasing kids who can’t swim yet.
Recording every bite of food that goes into my mouth gets annoying after a while and so I slack off on it and then this happens. It works because it’s definite accountability, but I don’t really like it. But I’ll do it. Again. Like I’m supposed to.
I’ve also stocked the pantry with healthier snacks for me: apples, dried fruit, nuts. I’m trying to find things that are low calorie, high protein so that I can eat less and feel full longer, but those things don’t seem to exist so it’s hard to make the choice.
Do I go for low-calorie, low-protein which means I can have MORE or higher-calorie, high-protein which means I can have LESS?
Less should mean more, but I’m not quite to the point where eating less but high-protein leaves me feeling full and sustained, but the low-calorie, low-protein options are gone in no time because they’re carb-heavy which leads to me overeating.
Basically, I feel like I’m almost always hungry except at meals.
HOWEVER, even more honesty here, I’ve also been terrible at keeping up with my water intake so it’s not like that’s helping me at all either.
So many things to work on and it’s time to refocus a little bit.
I met a woman last night at yoga who has lost 100 pounds over the past 3 years. No fad diets. No surgeries. No crazy, hard-core workout regimens. She just started making better choices.
That’s how I want to do this. That’s what this is about. I don’t have 100 pounds to lose, but I do have better choices to make.
Weekly Goal: Get refocused.
Weight Goal: 30 pounds total lost; 12 pounds to go.
Be sure to leave your link if you’re participating in State of the Weight, or talk about your successes and setbacks in the comments! Support is key to success!
John (Daddy Runs a Lot)
Monday 24th of June 2013
Oh, and I do FAR better eating little bits of high-calorie/high-protein rather than low-calorie anything. A hard-boiled egg will work off afternoon hunger pangs until dinner.
John (Daddy Runs a Lot)
Monday 24th of June 2013
So I'm late to the party here.
There is so much to say.
First, it looks like you're shrugging off the added weight, which is right - a setback is but a mere blip on the road to being healthier.
Drink your water -- if nothing else, it helps you really take inventory to how hungry you are.
I don't know where it started, but I've actually grown addicted to tracking my food. A few weeks ago, I was at my cousin's wedding. As it was a wedding, I decided that the weekend would be what the weekend was . . . only, on the drive back home, I re-lived my time at the reception & logged everything. While feeling guilty about not going to the gym doesn't do much good, aside from getting you to be better about making sure you fit it in the next time, the guilt about not logging can usually be rectified in retrospect.
I, personally, haven't been "feeling it" like normal. I used to pull off workouts for several thousand calories without really batting an eyelash . . . I'm still working out, and working out a lot, but I'm far more focused - I enter the gym with a set plan in mind, and I go about doing it. I'm in & out within 45 minutes. It just took me the better part of 3 years to feel comfortable enough around the free-weight section to be able to do it.
ashley h
Wednesday 19th of June 2013
Thank you for posting this...I am busting tush at exercise....but I keep nibbling here, sneaking an extra cracker from myself and not drinking enough...so im retaining all this water, and i'm frustrated with the scale...but the non scale victories???? amazing :) keep up the good work and take stock of those non scale victories.....i feel that we'll both feel better :)
Jennifer @ Also Known As...the Wife
Wednesday 19th of June 2013
Don't beat yourself up too much about a weight gain. I don't think anyone who's had successful weight loss has a 100% track record. I like the idea of "refocusing" instead of "starting again" because a weight gain doesn't mean you've failed.
I share the same dilemma about snacking, do I want more of a low calorie food or a smaller portion of a high calorie food. I've been trying to avoid high calorie snacks in general because I don't trust my will power to have the small portion. I also try not to snack with Sophia all together again because I don't trust that I want eat the entire barrel of animal crackers.
Jenn@Fox in the City
Wednesday 19th of June 2013
Hum, what about freezing fruit into ice cubes and putting those into your water to make it more appetizing? Would that help with the water? Also you are doing great! Changing habits and lifestyles is tough stuff. My most favourite snack is an apple cut into slices and dipped in all natural peanut butter. So tasty and very filling as the peanut butter is a good source of protein.