Jun 25

Weekend Weight Loss Plan for the last June weekend

Plan 13 Comments »

Better weekends equal better weight loss

Last Friday I had a few comments on my weekend plan post that made me realize this could be a really effective way for ALL of us to have a better weigh in.

So my challenge to you : comment here

It’s simple : think about what you’re facing this weekend & comment on how you’ll handle it and balance the fun stuff with the weight loss goals.

Of all the days of the week, most of us struggle the most with the weekends - less structure, more temptations, more special events & unplanned stops. A bit of thinking ahead can do wonders for all kinds of situations.

Sometimes it’s about just letting go & enjoying, sometimes a weekend can be a great time to get in a longer workout.

My weekend outlook :

As you know, I am VERY focused on losing that one stinking pound to get to 189, kick the 190s to the curb, and grab that purse that’s been taunting me for months. So I’m planning to be pretty focused this weekend, and probably exercise will play a big part in my plans (plus I’ve been under some Work Stress, and need to blow that steam off a bit too). I’m also going to keep the food/pleasure journal, which will be a first for a weekend.

Friday : dinner at a favorite Michelin starred restaurant that is soon closing it’s doors (this place, actually). I will enjoy it, probably a tasting menu or at the very least all my favorites, and then it’s back on plan for the rest of the weekend. Maybe I’ll take a picture to share. I will also make sure to get in a workout during the day. Would be great if I can get to the market Friday morning, but not sure that will work out with my flight…

Saturday : nothing unusual planned, will get in a good workout

Sunday : Outdoor market, stock up & prep veggies & other healthy foods for the week (low travel next week, woo-hoo!). Dinner at my mother-in-law’s for the 90th birthday bash of my husband’s grandma. My MIL is not a great cook and certainly not a diet one. I’ll pick politely. I’ll eat before I go & have a healthy snack at home after if need be.

Now you : leave a comment on how your weekend will go

What are you facing this weekend? What are the challenges, how will you deal with them, and will you balance your weekend & your weight goals?

Jun 21

Weekly Plan for the week of June 21st

Plan 9 Comments »

Assessment of the past week:

I had a better week last week in general.  Less stress, less travel, a little less uncertainty on the “next job” situation (although still not completely resolved).

I’m starting to think about what else I might do to get my weight down more. That in itself if a huge step forward, considering that 6 weeks ago I couldn’t even make it through 3 straight days of being even remotely on plan.  I haven’t made any firm decisions in what to do next, but I’m even considering counting calories again, and that’s a Big Step for me.  But it won’t be this week, just something simmering on the backburner.

How did I do on my goals this past week?

1) Keep a simple paper food journal : done on the road. Once again I did the pairing of food + pleasures and that seems to work really well for me.  Like last week I dropped it as soon as I got home, and now I’m wondering if that was such a good idea.  I suspect I’d do well to pay as much attention to both when I’m home.

2) Keep a pleasure journal : Again, done on the road. As mentioned above, I’d like to move doing this to 7 days a week for a while to see what it adds.

3) Four exercise sessions this week : I rock! This was a bit of a stretch objective because I either had to be in 100% attendance over the weekend (hard when I’m worn out from travel) or fit in more than one on-the-road session.  I was smart, I got two sessions in during the week.  Even though on Friday I planned to get to the gym each day this weekend, Saturday was busy with “must do’s” and in my limited time I could have done this I just didn’t feel like it.  Nevertheless, I met my goal for the week!

And the weigh-in for the week?

-190 : Another -1 bites the dust! It’s actually pretty rare that I follow a -2 pound drop with another drop of any kind, so losing one pound last week is great.  It also means that there is an excellent chance I will have used Spring Focus to bid farewell FOREVER to the 190s.  Hopefully next week I’ll reach that 189 goal and earn that new purse.

A look at the upcoming week :

This week is what is for me a pretty “average” one.  Some travel, some home.  It should be only 2 nights away, but there is a call for a national strike on the day I’m supposed to fly home, and that is usually such a logistical nightmare that I’ll likely extend my stay one more day to avoid the hassle (and guarantee me one gym session that day).

Goals for this week :

1) For SEVEN days, keep a simple paper food journal : adding this in for days when I don’t travel too

2) For SEVEN days, Keep a Relaxing journal : again, adding this in for all days of the week, regardless of travel

3) Exercise at least 4 times this week : That “at least” means I’d like it to be more, the main reason to push myself a bit harder so that I drop another pound this week.  I’m pretty confident I can hit 4 sessions even with the travel, but 5 will be a stretch.

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Spring Focus update :

Reporting is open until Monday midnight, and  I’ll report on group progress on Tuesday or Wednesday.

TWO WEEKS LEFT!

There are still 2 full weeks left!  That’s enough time to knock off a pound or two, and enough time to “get started” if you’ve been thinking about getting serious again this summer you could use these two weeks as a way to get yourself going.  Even if you haven’t been part of our group to date, you can still  join us by leaving a comment and see how accountability helps you.

Jun 18

Weekend Plan for June 18-20th

Plan 9 Comments »

Well, I’m actually home for 4 days in a row and couldn’t be happier about it!  Unlike last weekend I’m not arriving home exhausted late on a Friday, nor taking a super-early flight on Monday, so I can actually relax and enjoy myself.

I’m also anxious to get my new purse so I want to keep going on weight loss so I’m thinking specifically about the weekend’s plans. 

This weekend is not particularly challenging - aside from my stepson’s theatre group performance (snack afterward) there aren’t too many social obligations, and I can manage the food well as long as I buy some (fridge is pretty bare this morning!)

My goals for this weekend :

  • Stock up on lots of fresh foods, especially the organic veggies, berries & other lovely things at the local outdoor market.  This I will do today and repeat on Sunday.
  • Cook!  Haven’t done much of this lately, and I miss it.  Also my cooking will mean reducing temptations of eating out.
  • Exercise each day : Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday!  Finally ready for a multi-day exercise committment, woo-hoo!  Also have the time to do it for a change.
  • Do not work this weekend (I’m behind on several things, but I need BALANCE)

How about you?

What things are you planning to do this weekend to keep your weight loss goals in balance with other things happening in your life?

Jun 14

Weekly Plan for the Week of June 14th

Plan 8 Comments »

Assessment of the past week:

Well, it was a really hard week work-wise, travel-wise, stress-wise but amazingly not diet-wise.  I’d spent enough weeks getting back on track that a big week of difficulty was able to be dealt with successfully & I feel great about that.

I had decided to suck it up & keep a food journal for the first time in ages (I’ve been resisting doing this) but I did add a twist & for me it was a brilliant one.  In addition to the typical section of food (writing down each thing I eat) I made the facing page about the Pleasures in my day & that worked really well.  From being a drag, pulling out my bright little green notebook became something I was looking forward to, as was thinking back on the various small things I’d done that I had enjoyed during the day.  The podcasts I listened to, the teas I drank, the baths I’d enjoyed.

How did I do on my goals this past week?

1) Keep a simple paper food journal : YES! I did this, it worked great, no stress, and just really helpful.  I had associated it with the travel & so I didn’t do it over the weekend (although I stayed really engaged & on track).  The next few weeks continue to be travel-heavy and so I’ll be repeating this again.

2) Exercise 3 times this week : Done, but not easy. To accomplish this goal I had to wake up early, take a walk instead of a nap when I was really tired & push myself to the gym when I would have loved to sleep in or go to the market, but it worked.

3) Focus on Relaxing again : Done. As mentioned above, I found a great way to marry the tracking of food & tracking of pleasure & it worked great for both items.

And the weigh-in for the week?

- 2!!! I honestly had a challenging enough week that just maintaining was a reasonable goal, but I actually managed to lose 2 pounds!  That new purse is just around the corner.  I knew last week I should have dropped one but the scale showed no change, so this week 2 pounds is really a pound a week for the past 2 weeks, which is what my “faster” pace of weight loss is (I’m a slow loser).

A look at the upcoming week :

This week is another challenging one. Three cities in four days (Berlin, Zurich, Rome) and then back to Paris.  I am basically repeating the successful strategies from last week again.  Again I have the gym shoes with me, and this time I should have time in the hotel for a workout on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Goals for this week :

1) Keep a simple paper food journal :repeating from last week

2) Keep a Relaxing journal : repeating from last week - Keeping a list of the Relaxing/Pleasure activities & experiences I sneak into my day is the best way I know to balance out the “diet mania” mindset that can come to me when I keep a food journal.  I have a small notebook I will use for this tracking, with food on the left and relaxing on the right!  will put this into active focus this week.  As I mentioned last week, I do better with my weight and my overall life stress when I can link Pleasure & Relaxation to the process of losing weight.  I WILL add to my 100+ Things That Make Me Happy list this week too (I’ve promised this a few times without delivering on it - but this week I will)

3) Exercise at least 4 times this week : A stretch, but if I get one session this week at the gym, I can do 3 sessions Friday - Saturday - Sunday.  It’s a bit ambitious - but I want that 189 purse, so I need a little more oomph.

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Spring Focus update :

Reporting is open until Monday midnight, and  I’ll report on group progress on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Because I won’t be home there will be no graphic again this week.

Did you know there are still 3 full weeks left?  That’s enough time to knock off a few pounds - and more importantly enough time to make some good habits stick.  I’m going to get out of the 190s for GOOD, what is your goal?

If you haven’t yet you can still join us by leaving a comment here.

Jun 07

Weekly Plan for the Week of June 7th

Plan 5 Comments »

Assessment of the past week:

Despite a lot of travel & despite still being pretty sad about the recent miscarriage, I had a good week.  Not just in terms of weight loss, but also in the fundamental underlying healthy behaviors & more importantly in terms of feeling good & positive about my life in general.

I had a number of healthy behaviors that were solidly implanted in my daily life for months and months before the latest IVF in April.  It was shocking to see how fast those behaviors left me, and even more problematic to see how hard they were to get back.  The good news is that the fact that those behaviors had become HABITS has actually meant that they’ve been able to come back faster than I expected once I stopped expecting myself to go “fully on” and let myself “slowly build up” using babysteps to make good habits part of my life again.

The weight came piling back on at a frightening pace too, but that seems to be turning around - slowly, slowly, but in the right direction & now feeling kind of inevitable as long as I keep doing the right things.

How did I do on my goals this past week?

1) Eat healthy without writing things down : Ok, even with travel! I didn’t write anything down (even though I said I *might*.

2) Exercise 4 times this week : I did it! This goal was hard this week as it meant having to work out every day I was home (plus I count all the walking around I did with Ini in London - more on that later this week!).  I’m quite pleased with myself on the exercise front - and a little annoyed that this week & next exercise will be really tough with travel.

3) Focus on Relaxing again : Fail. Drat, I really like this goal but I lost sight of it.  It probably would have been a good idea too, because there is still a lot of sadness about the miscarriage & some stress about work in my life right now.

And the weigh-in for the week?

The scale today was taunting me.  It showed no change from last Monday even though I hopped on it over the weekend and saw a drop.  Normally with a number like this I’d take a do-over tomorrow morning, but since I’m out of town for the week, I’m just sucking it up & counting the Zero, and hoping next week will be a nice drop. 

A look at the upcoming week :

This week will not be easy.  I leave very early Monday, and am gone every night, coming home very late on Friday.  I will be in a different hotel every night.  I have a big meeting I’m running Thursday & Friday, so no way on earth I can squeeze in a workout then.

My big challenges will be food, stress & exercise.  I will come as prepared as possible with snacks & my iPhone loaded with some workout videos, plus I’m taking my walking shoes just in case. If I don’t have them with me I have 0% chance of going for a walk.  With them with me the chances aren’t so much higher, but anything is better than 0%, right?

Goals for this week :

1) Keep a simple paper food journal : I’ve been asking myself for 24 hours if I’m really ready to commit to this, and finally decided, yeah, it’ll be okay.  The week is going to be really challenging, and I know food journaling keeps me more focused on what I’m doing.   I’m doing it the lowest-pressure way I know how to do - just a list on paper, no serving sizes, no calories or counting of anything - just to keep myself aware & accountable.

2) Keep a Relaxing journal : Keeping a list of the Relaxing/Pleasure activities & experiences I sneak into my day is the best way I know to balance out the “diet mania” mindset that can come to me when I keep a food journal.  I have a small notebook I will use for this tracking, with food on the left and relaxing on the right!  will put this into active focus this week.  As I mentioned last week, I do better with my weight and my overall life stress when I can link Pleasure & Relaxation to the process of losing weight.  I’ll also try to add to my 100+ Things That Make Me Happy list this week too.

3) Exercise at least 3 times this week : Which will mean both being proactive this coming weekend (since I’ll likely be quite tired & we have a lot planned) but also needing to find at least once to get moving on the road.  It’s a stretch, to be sure.

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Spring Focus update :

Reporting is open until Monday midnight, and  I’ll report on group progress on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Because I won’t be home there will be no graphic this week.

Did you know there are 4 full weeks left?  That’s enough time to knock off a few pounds - and more importantly enough time to make some good habits stick.  So if you haven’t yet you can still join us by leaving a comment here.

May 31

Weekly plan for the week of May 31st

Plan 6 Comments »

Well, last week royally sucked with getting news of another miscarriage.

Despite that, on a weight loss front the week was pretty decent.  Not all straight and narrow, but the things that were not really on plan were mainly due to circumstances, not sadness. I guess that “Settling In” (which I will expand on in the future) came at a good time, because I was able to roll with life’s rotten punches without throwing my diet under a bus.  In fact, more than once I was able to turn to exercise as a stress-reliever, which is about as good as it gets.

Assessment of the week:

There were three phases to this week : before the miscarriage (2 days), aftermath of the News, and the Travel.

Before miscarriage : was only 2 days of the week, but they were two solidly good focus days, exercise both days, good eating, feeling good about my weight-loss life.

Aftermath days : I was in a kind of shell-shocked stupor and frankly was not thinking much and just living in basic “keep on keeping on” mode.  This is where the good habits of the past few weeks paid off - I just stuck with what I’d been doing.  So some exercise, decent diet, and some crying.

Travel : I left for a short trip on Thursday afternoon (after the gym, thank you very much) and managed all the meeting-related meals very well. Friday night I had dinner with friends at their house and they cooked stuff that I wouldn’t choose on my diet, but I just sucked it up and enjoyed it.  The only choices I felt badly about was the amount of wine (2, maybe 3 glasses spread all night from 7pm to midnight) and 3 cookies that I totally did not need but they were in front of me so…  I also made a stupid choice & didn’t eat breakfast before going to the airport and was starving & facing all the airport garbage, but had the presence of mind to dig into a stash of old nuts I had in a corner pocket of my suitcase & munched on those instead.  Still, a healthy breakfast would have been much smarter.

1) Eat healthy but not write things down.  Report all deviations in the blog. Not Done. I actually mainly ate healthy but I had a number of deviations and I was really not much in the blogging mood because I was sad and withdrawn for a few days after the miscarriage. (I’m still sad, but moving back to “life goes on” attitude).

2) Exercise four times this week.  I did 5, AGAIN!

3) Focus on relaxing again.  Not done. I actually did start this early in the week, and did make significant effort several times during the aftermath days to focus on things that bring me pleasure or help me to relax, but my mind was in the “licking the wounds” phase of a bad news event, so this wasn’t a focus that was adapted to the bad news in my life.

So, all in all behavior-wise it looks like not such a great week, but frankly given what I was dealing with I think I did really well.  I also lost 2 pounds, which I’m pleased with.  I have my eye on 189, which is now 4 pounds away.  I really want to get out of the 190s for good, because I feel like I’ve been playing with them much too long.

Goals for this week :

1) Eat healthy without writing things down : I might even write things down.  I have a lot of travel this week and every week for the month of June and I’m not sure that just “awareness” will be enough.  I’m starting the week without writing things down, but may re-evaluate.

2) Exercise 4 times this week : another stretch objective this week, as I’m out of town 3 of 5 weekdays.  Saturday will be a lot of walking & so 4 times would mean exercise on each of the days I’m home.  But since it’s both good for me & a good stress reliever, I’m keeping the goal this way.

3) Focus on Relaxing again : I will put this into active focus this week.  As I mentioned last week, I do better with my weight and my overall life stress when I can link Pleasure & Relaxation to the process of losing weight.  This is particularly true when other sucky stuff is going on in my life, so it’s a good thing to put into rotation right now.  I’ll report in on at least 3 Pleasures or Relax items per day, and I’ll try to add to my 100+ Things That Make Me Happy list this week too.

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Spring Focus update :

Due to Memorial Day, I’m keeping the reporting open until Tuesday midnight, and  I’ll report on group progress on Wednesday.

Want to join?  You know we still have people joining us - there is the whole month of June left to go in Spring Focus.  Actually there are 5 whole weeks left.   That’s a good amount of time to get yourself focused on your health & weight & doing some of the right things before summer is really here - plus enough to torch a few pounds.  Join us by leaving a comment here.

May 25

Weight Loss Weekly Plan for May 25th

Plan 7 Comments »

This past week had one major significant diet event, and it wasn’t my weight loss.  It was the feeling of “settling in” to dieting life which came peacefully over me.  Welcome back, is all I can say to that!

Strangely enough, this occurred as the scale went up, not down.  I’m up 2 1/2 pounds this week for what is probably a mix between TOM bloating, heat & a little bit of overeating.  I’m not stressed about it, because I don’t think the weight increase is a good reflection of what’s been going on.

Assessment of the weekend :

This long holiday weekend I didn’t get in any exercise but I did eat on plan 90% of the time.  Of course we all know in dieting 90% ‘on’ and 10% ‘off’ can be insufficient to actually lose.  We went out to one really nice dinner on Saturday night, but actually almost all the choices were healthy (but again that word ‘almost’).  And Sunday evening we were invited to a friend’s house and most of the meal was manageable for me but one thing was not, and I turned down dessert (that & cheese are the only things you can politely refuse in France).

Still, despite the scale (which I can explain a few different ways) I feel good about my efforts on diet & exercise & I’m pretty confident that I’m on the right track.  I struggled a lot to get back on track for a few weeks after my extended break, so being back to this way of living being my “routine” feels good, no matter what the stupid little square wants to say.

Assessment of last week :

I do think it would be really nice to see the scale drop again this week, and that’s going to be a bit of a challenge, as I have travels & a short week.

1) Eat healthy but not write things down.  Report all deviations in the blog.   Sort Of. I didn’t report all deviations of the weekend on the blog. Want to hear them? 1/2 a caramel, about 8 bites of dessert, some zucchini tian casserole,

2) Weigh in daily. OK. But I didn’t like it

3) Exercise three times this week.  I did 5!!!

Goals for this week :

1) Eat healthy without writing things down : I’m doing this minimal level of food awareness one more week.  I’m guessing next week I’ll increase the awareness by switching over to writing things down, but I’m willing to give this approach one more go.

2) Exercise 4 times this week : a stretch objective for sure - it will require me working out every day that I’m home plus one of the days I’m coming or going.

3) Focus on Relaxing again : I do better with my weight and my overall life stress when I can link Pleasure & Relaxation to the process of losing weight.  I’ll report in on at least 3 Pleasures or Relax items per day, and I’ll try to add to my 100+ Things That Make Me Happy list this week too.

Gone are the daily weigh-ins, by the way.  It’s strange because at times it’s been really helpful to weigh in daily, but right now it has felt like a burden.  I’m back to weekly weigh-ins for a while.

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Spring Focus update :

Being away for a few days to our place in the South of France also meant a few days away from the internet.  I wasn’t posting or reading email and unfortunately I didn’t get it together to send out the reporting form for the week before I left (I did send it last night).  I’ll report on group progress on Wednesday.

Since next week is a long weekend in the US we’ll be on the same schedule next week (although I’ll send the email on Sunday night or Monday) so reporting in through Tuesday, group results Wednesday.

May 21

Long holiday weekend, take two

Plan 8 Comments »

We are off on another holiday weekend tomorrow.  A good friend is joining our little family trip to the South of France.  We have Monday off as a national holiday, and we all took Friday afternoon as well so we can travel slightly ahead of the crowds.

The Plan for the Weekend

For my weight loss efforts I suspect the trip might prove challenging, so I’m doing a quick check in on my plans & goals for the weekend.

Food : will be generally healthy & on plan.

  • I’ll need to be careful on the train (down & back) as good choices are often hard to find onboard.
  • I will report back on transgressions
  • I will do the best I can in social situations
  • I will push my husband to get to the store early so that I have healthy choices available (we sometimes eat out & put off going to the store for several meals…)

Exercise :

  • I’m sure we’ll go on at least one long walk, as there is a very old chateau that’s an hour loop walking from the house that we’ll no doubt show our guest.  I’d like to do more, but we’ll see.

No weigh ins

  • No scale! ;-)

This week has gone smoothly, as expected

Being home without a whole lot on my agenda has been incredibly nice.  Even more so as I look into the coming 6 weeks which are just back to back travels.  I am doing my level best to limit myself to no more than 3 cities a week, and there are weeks where that’s proving difficult.  It’s going to be nuts for a while - I’m going to stick to healthy eating, blogging & trying to lose weight.  I’m not sure how much exercise I’ll be able to realistically fit in & that’s bugging me since my main Spring Focus goal is actually about fitness.  The busy period has one upside - it should be a good way to keep me distracted from worry as we go through the first trimester.

Progress on goals for the week :

  1. Eat healthy without tracking : Wednesday - done, Thursday - done.  Eating at home makes it easier.  We ate out Thursday night but good choices were available, no worries.
  2. Daily weigh ins : Thursday morning was up another pound to 194 but I suspect it was a combination of extra exercise & high sodium in the stir-fry I made.  Today was XXX.
  3. Exercise at least 3 times this week : The goal for the WHOLE WEEK is already met! I am really hoping we will go hiking again this weekend, but I didn’t want to count on it for my exercise goal (because we could potentially just decide to have a very lazy weekend instead).  The incredible enjoyment I had walking around town in the early part of this week has continued.

Here’s a picture from one of my walks :

One of my favorite things of Europe is the architecture.  The history of the buildings, and the details they contain. What I liked about this set of doors is the old, weathered wood, the symmetry and the multiple levels of carving.  The brass panels on the bottom are there to protect the wood from kicks & scratches.

May 17

Weekly Weight Loss Plan : Week of May 17th

Plan 13 Comments »

How did the week go?

I’m really pleased to have gotten through a solid week of being on-track.   I set my goals very small last week because just “jumping back in” had failed twice since I’d come back from the States. So last Monday I made a plan only through Wednesday, and then planned again Thursday approach to get through the weekend. Both worked out well & this week I can confidently commit to another week.  That’s the success of the babysteps approach - very small achievable goals that build on success.

Weigh-In

Down two pounds to 192.  That 189 goal is in sight now

Last week I had 3 goals :

1) Eat healthy but not write things down :  DONE. This approach worked well, as did the addition on Thursday to record & report transgressions, so I’m pulling that forward.  

2) Drink at least 10 glasses of water or herbal tea. DONE. This was an easy way to get an Achievable Goal on the list.  It was also a way to direct my attentions to something other than eating & deprivation - I love teas and most days I made at least 2 big pots of herbal teas to drink - which was a pleasure.  I don’t usually need to focus on being well-hydrated, it’s pretty second-nature, but when I’m off track, focusing on it can be a good babystep to get me back in the game.

3) Weigh in Daily. DONE. I did this to up the attention factor and not let myself lose track of where I am.  Still, I got a little freaked out on the days when the scale jumped up for no apparent reason, and while I’m willing to keep this focus a little while longer I suspect I’ll ditch daily weighing pretty soon.

The Coming Week : Challenges, solutions & focus opportunities :

  • Now that I’m back on track, I’m going back to my weekly planning routine.  So looking at the specifics of what this week holds.
  • I was expecting to be on the road all week but late last week the trip got canceled so I’m home (yeah!).  This weekend is another long weekend & we’re going to our summer place in the South of France with a friend.  It’s our place so I should be able to mainly find foods that suit me, but I’m sure there will be challenges along the way - there always are!
  • Since I think this ‘back on track’ thing is still pretty fragile I’m being careful to slowly ramp up my goals, so only one is going to change this week.

Goals for this week :

1) Eat healthy but not write things down.  Report all deviations in the blog.

2) Weigh in daily.

3) Exercise three times this week. Yes, I’m ready to go back to exercise!  I’ve actually missed it a lot & yesterday writing my goals & realizing that the biggest goal is around being fit for our summer vacation in Alaska meant that this goal has to get moving.  I actually started exercising last week without it being a goal, so I’m comfortable I can do this. Mainly I want to be walking - Springtime in Paris is magical & as long as it’s not raining it should be fun.  I’ll probably also go to the gym (elliptical) at least once.

What’s your plan for the week?

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Spring Focus Announcements :

As mentioned above, it’s not to late for you to join (someone else joined yesterday) - just comment here.

Weekly Success Tracking (more than weight by popular demand) will be collected on today via a form which I will email you.  If you don’t receive it please check your spam filters & then leave me a comment.

Disclaimer : This form is an experiment so if it doesn’t work we’ll figure out something else.

Your Weekly Goals : let’s have everyone keep their WEEKLY goals on their own blog.  I posted yesterday about the overarching goals we each have for Spring Focus (if you don’t see yours, leave a comment!).

May 10

Very very small babysteps back on track

Plan 10 Comments »

I am struggling.

I was off in eating-it-all land for too long for it to be easy to slip back into control. I have been off exercise even longer, and it’s appearing even harder than getting diet under control. I seriously frustrated myself this weekend - after 4 really good days while I was traveling, I let one bad decision lead to another and another and another until yesterday (Sunday) looked pretty much like a disaster. Not a Complete Disaster - I did have a healthy salad for lunch, a bunch of strawberries for dessert & I avoided a lot of stuff I easily could have eaten… but I still left lots of room to eat stuff I shouldn’t, and I never made it to the gym.

Stress

The truth is that I am really nervous about how the ultrasound with our gestational carrier / surrogate will go on Friday, and I’m completely preoccupied by that. I feel bad for not being there. I so want everything to be okay, yet I am very much protecting myself from another huge disappointment & so trying to keep my hopes in check. If you’re new to my story, you can read about our infertility saga here, but basically we are using a surrogate & she’s newly pregnant & the first ultrasound is this coming Friday.

My mind has been full of all these timelines for losing weight - how much I can lose by our summer vacation, by the time the baby is born, etc. But a few days of off eating & my weight is as high as when I got off the plane 10 days ago & I feel overwhelmed by the task.

So I’m starting really slow.

3 goals only, and only until Thursday. We have a long weekend here Thursday-Sunday and may or may not be going out of town, so I’ll need a new plan for the weekend. And I have a lot of worry between now and Friday evening so I need to be realisitic about how much I can take on - since I really want to keep my stress to a minimum.

Here are the goals for the next 4 days :

1) Eat healthy, balanced, foods but not write anything down
2) Drink at least 10 glasses of water or herbal tea
3) Weigh myself daily

I go back and forth on how often to get on the scale, but some of the smartest scale advice I ever heard was “if you’re stuck, whatever you’re doing currently with the scale, do the opposite”, so that’s why I’m moving to daily weigh-ins. I’ve been doing weekly only for the past few months, so to switch it up it’s daily for now.

I still think about summer vacation & how hard it will probably be to keep losing weight with a new baby, but the truth is that it will be even harder if I don’t get a little under control, so I’m much better off with the slow start than no start at all…. and since in the past 10 days I tried twice to have a “real” start (and failed both times), I think a soft-start is probably a good choice right now. Plus it’s lower-stress, and you know I’m all about ‘low stress weight loss’. Never mind that my husband gently teased me yesterday that I was doing pretty well on the “low stress” side but not so great on the “weight loss”….

Spring Focus Peer Group

We’re getting organized & growing as a group!  If you want to join, please go to this post & leave a comment (you’re very welcome!)

Thanks to Billie for finding the problem with the grab code - I’m working on changing it now but having trouble, so once I get it working I’ll update this post.

And the special blogroll is going up right now - plus I’m going to come around to visit!

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