MC Day #12
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MARCH WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE - DAY #12
Totals: Thursday, March 12, 2009
beerab………….
brseay…………..
delitaagain…….
eileen2blean….
feathers………..
goodlife………..
grabthebull…….
hveeck………….
inkheartmeg….
janthea………….
jaxie……………..
joy………………..
photogirljen….
whitters…………
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1 green star = 10 gold stars
If you’re new here and wondering what this challenge is click here.
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Eileen - Day #249 - Thursday
Starting weight: 285.2 Daily intake goals:: 20-35g carbs / 64+ oz. water
Weight Last Entry: 237.0 Weight Today: 237.2
Change today:: +0.2 lbs. Loss-so-far: -48.0 lbs.
Total net carb grams on Thursday: 23.7
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Only one star for me today. I got caught up in some stuff at work and didn’t stop until after 11pm. Hubby gets home from work at about 11:30 so I went right to the kitchen and made him some peanut butter cookies (the only kind of cookies he really likes). What torture that was, ha! At over 10g carbs each, I couldn’t even have a single cookie. I took one tiny taste off the empty mixing bowl, probably the equivalent of a half a carb, lol.
Shoulda seen the smile on his face, though, when he saw I’d baked him cookies. Totally worth it.
I was leaving a comment earlier today on beerab’s blog and it made me think. Sometimes you do everything you’re supposed to do - you stay on plan with your food, you drink a truckload of water, and you sweat your ass off working out - and still the scale won’t budge. It’s okay for a short period of time but it has the POTENTIAL of being disheartening if it goes on too long. Okay so this is what got me thinking…
I have no real control over what the scale says. The PHYSICS of human metabolism (calories in, calories out), those physics are real, but regardless of one’s level of understanding of those physics, our body, the machine we live in - is so complex, its systems so intertwined, that the outcomes are extremely hard to predict. And hard to accept or understand. Sometimes. Most of the time.
So if we truly have no control over the extent of the earth’s gravitational pull on the solid mass of our body - why do we stress so much about our own culpability - our own blame - our own guilt - for not having a particular desired effect or control of it?!? Because it is a simply-obtained measure of our own health, fitness, and yes - outer appearance.
Instead of focusing on the unpredictable, uncontrollable measure of those things (weight), I would much rather focus on those things I can control. I can control my eating. I can control the amount of time I devote to exercise. I wrote this in my blog entry the day I decided to host this March Challenge:
“… the nitty-gritty of “weight loss” isn’t what the scale says, it’s the day-to-day commitment to do two things: 1) eat right and 2) exercise. So that’s what I made my contest about. Not about losing weight, but about doing what it takes.”
Now if I can just de-program myself from my reliance on the scale! I have never been able to NOT weigh in every day - it’s a compulsion, an obsession! But if I’m truly going to focus on what I can control, I need to stop being so obsessed about that number and whether it moved up or down two-tenths of a pound from the day before. So I’m gonna give it a shot, gonna practice what I really, truly believe.
Gonna skip the daily weigh-in, try to go for weekly!
11739
OMG I’m already panicking, LOL!
Eileen, this is great. This really is what it is all about. I learned a long time ago not to focus on a weight loss goal but focus on doing the helpful behaviors, that that is what will eventually make or break me. I believe you just came to the same conclusion. My take is that if we do the right things enough of the time, eventually it will all straighten itself out. Funny that we both have been plagued with disappearing losses right at this time and GREAT that we have this competition to inspire us and encourage us to pass up that one… whatever. Thanks again so much for doing it! Delita
wow! you must be cringing in physical pain. not being able to weight urself or rather not letting urself check your weight. there was a time i hated weighing myself- this is during those many years when i was in complete denial of my obesity. and now i just have to weigh in everyday. like u said i’s a compulsion, an obsession. i would go as far as calling it an ocd. sometimes i weight myself multiple no. of times. its a good thing that i don’t carry my weighing scales to office or i would be weighing in every hr or so.
anyways, ur absolutlely right abt sticking to the plan. everything else is just icing on the cake.
my stars for march 12th: 2 and a half. one for food. and one and half for exercise. yay! (this is the first time i’ve got more than two stars)
cheers
delita - sometimes it takes me a while for things to sink in, ha! I know if I keep “doing what it takes,” eventually it WILL result in a weight loss!
goodlife - yes! “cringing in physical pain” - you DO know how I feel!!! =D WOOOOHOOOO CONGRATULATIONS on earning TWO-AND-A-HALF STARS in ONE DAY!!!!
I think its a great idea to try to weigh weekly. Everyone is different, but for me…I’d much rather see a bigger difference weekly, than see the tiny fluctuations daily. That would drive me completely insane!!!! I totally understand the addiction to the scale though. sometimes i just want to step on so bad, then have to talk myself out of it. You are woman of steel to be able to bake those cookies and not eat one!! Not sure if I could do that.
Today 3-12-09 (thurs) I ate on plan, then did a 60min spin class followed by 60 min body pump, also because I wont be able to exercise tomorrow I did 25 minutes on the stair stepper. I know it sounds insane, but I have to work all weekend and wont get any cardio in for a couple days. so I guess that is 3.5 stars today, LOL
You are a superhero to have the ability to make cookies and not eat one! I have to make cupcakes tonight for my son’s party and I’m already sweating it!
Focusing on your behavior is very liberating b/c if the scale doesn’t cooperate one day you know it’s not due to something you did or didn’t do. That is why I started my workout goal last year and why I love your challenge. It’s not to say that I still don’t get affected by a poor number on the scale but it is less likely to ruin my day/week/month like it would have before.
Please add 2 stars to my name for yesterday, 1 for food and 1 for exercise
Oh yeah- another day of being on plan AND I worked out yesterday! I slept like a ROCK! Do rocks sleep? lol.
Oh yeah when I do something like bake a cake for my hubby he LOVES IT. Yesterday I budgeted my calories and we went to Taco bell he was so excited lol. I got a Mexican Pizza mmmm it was HEAVEN- thank goodness Taco bell still tastes good!
Oh btw it was easier with time to not step on the scale daily. Now I just weigh in on Sundays- but since TOM is here I’m debating not weighing in this weekend lol.
You Rock! All of you!
I step on the scale a few times a week, but I don’t count a loss unless I see it more than once–it has to be sustained loss, otherwise it’s normal flucuation.
You’re right - eating well (balancing food and nutrient types) and moving vigorously every day, more than once a day, is what I believe makes us healthy.
I’ve taken more time with snacks this week, making sure I have cut-up fruit and veggies handy at work, and it’s making a difference… no more trips to the vending machine to ponder what, if anything, is in the machines that I can fit into my plan.
I did an hour plus of vigorous walking yesterday and kept within my food goal. Another two stars! And it’s going to be a great weekend!
I jogged with the dog this AM, did pushups and lunges and whatnot in a nearby park at dawn, next to the river - nice sound effects - so I’m on my way to another star for today. Will let you know.
hveeck - WOW WOW WOW!!! THREE-POINT-FIVE-STARS IN ONE DAY!!! It doesn’t sound insane, it sounds AWESOME!! THIS is how ya lost 100 lbs!! =D
brseay - “Focusing on your behavior is very liberating…” YESSSS!! You just summed up my whole post in one sentence LOL! Now if I could just actually put it in PRACTICE!! I have to confess - this morning I totally caved! I got on the scale just to take a peek! OMG why is it that I can resist a cookie - but not a SCALE?!? LOL!
beerab - yes, I do believe rocks do sleep. Because I sleep like one most every night! =D mmmm Taco Bell, I love that I can have the meat (and cheese and sour cream) from there! I have my own low-carb tortillas at home so it’s awesome!! Congrats on another day with BOTH a food star AND an exercise star!!!
jaxie - I like that: “sustained loss” !! I’m still gonna TRY to not weigh myself but maybe if that doesn’t work out for me I could adopt something like what you do! WTG on TWO MORE stars!!
goodlife - oh yeah I forgot to say this last night.. yes, the compulsion to weigh only started when I started trying to lose weight. Back in the day when I was actively ignoring my weight I was mighty compulsive about AVOIDING the scale!!
Hopefully I can catch up on all of the posts and blogs in the next few days. just stopping in to say I haven’t forgotten the challenge LOL. No stars for me for the past two days. Somehow though, I only gained .2 lbs for the whole week! WHOO HOO… it’s good to be home.
Me too, inkheartmeg, I so enjoy reading all the comments but have nto kept up. Congrats on being home and only the .2 gain - that is GREAT! Hope to see more blogs, etc. this weekend. Today (Friday) 3 stars. Yay! Delita