Round

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?

Well, my new food journal & pleasure log combo is still working for me & thought I’d update you with some of the pleasures of the last few days.

Food wise there is not much exciting to report - you know your diet is going really well when the worst thing you can report is that you ate half an apple after dinner because you were kind of bored & it was there but you realized you weren’t really hungry (which is why it was only half an apple).

Pleasures this week :

• Podcasts, especially New Yorker Out Loud & The Moth
• Finishing a novel!  I’m back to reading - doing the A-Z author challenge
• Bringing my own good-quality teas with me & enjoying them instead of the cheap hotel teas (although I always taste the hotel ones first)
• Nice dinner in a proper restaurant for once, instead of all the room-service or quick-food compromises
• Not having to get up before 7 one day this week
• Time for a nice breakfast that became brunch
• Due to a schedule mix-up having time to go to the gym (and having packed so that I had gym stuff with me!)
• Getting my work inbox under control again finally
• The club lounge at the hotel that has free drinks (even if I’m just grabbing the sparkling water with lime)
• Getting caught up on blogs
• Free hotel shampoo called “Happy”
• My lovely verbena hand cream.  I’ll be sad when it’s gone.
• Teakettles in the hotel room & my stash of Celestial Seasonings restaurant pack bags for relaxing evening rituals
• Taking a nice hot bath & soaking while reading a novel

Beautiful Blogger Award

Another nice treat this week was Tish giving me a blogging award! That was so sweet to discover this weekend, but I wanted to find the time to reply properly (or semi-properly at least)

So another week done - only 3 left to go in Spring Focus.

I’ve been trying to catch up with the posts.  The whole group is 24 people, although there are some who have kind of dropped out (and one who officially did).

I think we’re kind of in two camps : Group One : On Track Success

Those who are glad to be on track right now & are going into the summer with good habits now in place but no dramatic losses (I’m in this group, and it’s frankly the personal outcome I was hoping for)

Siobhan is like me - playing with the same pounds (actually the SAME pounds, we’re both struggling to get out of the 190s right now) but is making some great progress in hiking.

I think we’re kind of in two camps : Group Two : Phenomenal Success

And there are those who used Spring Focus to buckle down & get some serious movement going on the scale.

There are actually several great stories in this group (always more dramatic than the real life keep on keeping on of those of us in Group 1)

Audri’s weekly weigh in post was amazing.  She reported zero loss for the week but look at what she’s doing - wearing pants she hasn’t worn in years, zipping up size 16s, getting below a milestone number that’s been taunting her for a long, long time.

Emma has been making great progress on all of her goals. I’m most impressed with her running 3 miles (her goal was 2!)

Did you know that some people are really  making great progress?

There are three people who’ve lost over 10 pounds (one of those is actually over 18!) and several in the 6-9 pound range too.

There are those of us who are really on-track again & making progress despite challenges & life’s ups & downs & even though the scale isn’t showing too much momentum really feel we’re on a roll (ok, I confess, this applies to me, but there are others who this applies too as well!)

Another good week for the group

85% are making some or substantial progress on their goals

Weekly weight loss reported was almost 17 pounds, but we’re missing several people’s report-ins who have been consistent losers and they also affect the group total weight loss to date (currently at 82 pounds, which is only one more pound than last week, largely because we have fewer people reporting in).  Next week I’ll calculate an average per report-in or something .

How are you feeling about Spring Focus?

In the next week or so I’ll make a quick survey to capture how people feel about it, what they’d like to see in future Focus editions, and test your appetite for future Focus endeavors.  Of course, you can also leave thoughts in the comments.

Long overdue, it’s time for another installment of my 100+ Things That Make Me Happy list

31. Buying a gift for a new baby

There are so many very cute things for new babies, and someone having a new baby is such a hopeful statement to the world.  I love buying gifts for new babies – I usually hit babyGap if it’s a French baby, and Petit Bateau for American babies.  Gymboree is my backup for French babies, because sometimes Gap has nothing nice.

32. The circus

I actually don’t know if this would still make me happy – I haven’t been to a circus in 20 years, but I loved it as a kid & would like to go again to see if I still like it.  The majesty, the multiple rings, the clowns, the trapeze artists!

33. Hugging a friend

In France, people give those little cheek kisses, but hugging is reserved for intimacy.  I love hugging my husband and he knows I miss hugs in general, so he indulges me in extra hugs when I need it, but there is somehow no real way to make up for hugs from friends.

34. A big pile of magazines

Oprah, ReadyMade, Real Simple, Self, the New Yorker, plus an art magazine or two.  And sometimes trashy celebrity magazines like US, People & InStyle.  I’ve given up on fashion magazines and women’s magazines – they just make me feel rotten about myself or pitch buying stuff that I don’t need.  Any magazine that makes it seem “normal” to have plastic surgery or to spend a month’s salary on shoes is a deforming influence on society…

35. My list of favorite quotes

I have a list of favorite quotes that goes back about 15 years.  I add to it only when I find something really meaningful to me, and reading back through the whole document is always emotional, because the types of quotes that speak to me vary with other things going on in my life, so I relive ups and downs in my life as I re-read the quotes.

36. Taking a nap in the afternoon

There are lots of nice ways to pass a few hours in the afternoon, but sometimes the best thing is nothing. Not nothing exactly, but a wonderful dip into sleep, be it the short 20 minute power nap variety, or a longer snooze.

37. Writing with a nice pen

Even though I now do most of my writing on computers or gadgets, I still love the feel of a nice pen in my hand. I’m pretty picky - ink must be blue, but not blue-black. The pen should have heft, but not be too thick. Here’s and example of a pen my husband gave me that I really enjoy

38. I hate to admit it, but eating sunflower seeds

It’s gross to see someone sucking on, cracking open & spitting out sunflower seeds so this is strictly a solo activity. But I love salt and I love crunch and I love sunflower seeds. They can keep my mouth and hands happy for quite a while. When I first moved to France I struggled to find them and ended up bringing big bags of David’s with me, but two years ago I found a local brand which is the best I’ve ever tasted - nutty, almost burnt, less salty then American brands.

39. That feeling when you take off your bra after wearing it for many hours

Needs no explanation, does it?

40. My iPhone

All the educational, mind-enriching, connected content. All the fun games and gadgets. Having several worlds of audio and video on demand, with me everywhere.

What makes you happy?

If you start the 100+ Things List I’ll link to your post (or page) if you let me know

———————–

Spring Focus Update

I’ll post the weekly group results tomorrow so any of you that haven’t yet submitted your results via the email I sent out yesterday morning can still get in on the group reporting

My next weight loss goal is 189.

It’s hard to write that number as a Goal because a few months ago I was safely below that and reaching for 183 (my wedding weight).  But the truth is, I’ve been hanging out in the 190s for over 2 months and I can’t wish that fact away.  I can only accept where I am and deal with it from here.  So the next goal is 189, last Monday I weighed in at 193 so it’s probably a few weeks away.

I want to pass to 189 and never pass back over the 190 mark again.

Do you reward yourself for weight loss?

Years ago I gave myself a reward every single week that I stuck to my diet.  Over the course of 18 months I think I didn’t reward myself 3 times.  The rewards were based on the right behaviors, not on the scale.  And even then, I was focused on “PROGRESS, not Perfection”.  I sometimes also added bigger rewards for weight milestones.  I bought my first iPod for that kind of reward, for example.   The weekly process rewards were usually a CD, or something else that cost around $15.  I figured I’d be willing to spend that much at Weight Watchers, so why not spend it directly on myself?  That thinking worked for me for a good long time.

In the years since I’ve been living in France I’ve not been using weekly rewards.  I’ve tried a few times but it hasn’t motivated me much.  One thing I have done a few times is to link something I want to a bigger milestone reward.  A few years ago I had a nifty spring Green purse that I bought myself as one of those rewards - and I felt guilty that Spring because I hit my target & then promptly regained 10 pounds. Still, I remembered that it helped me strive to get some pounds off.

Sometimes I need a nudge to focus on weight

I generally put my focus on living a life that I enjoy.  I have a long-term goal to lose weight, but an even bigger goal to do it in a way that is Low Stress, and for me that means that I accept a slower rate of loss than some people (I also have a body that hates to give up weight, so part of that acceptance is just pragmatic).  That does mean that I focus on the process - the good behaviors I want to reinforce, the less-good ones I want to change.  But I don’t put dates to weight goals - I’ve learned that that is diametrically opposed to Low Stress Weight Loss for me.

Sometimes I just want to hit a number

But sometimes I just want to hit a number, and that’s where rewards can play a role for me.

Look at my (future) new purse

This will be mine at 189! It’s actually already in my house - my husband bought it for me (isn’t that nice) but I won’t let myself use it until I hit 189, because that is motivating me.  I want the purse.  I want some more weight gone.  I put these together & focus.

Do you give yourself rewards?  For the process or for the numbers or some mix of the two?

I seriously think I may have hit on something with this way of tracking my food alongside my daily pleasures.  It makes me look forward to pulling out the little notebook throughout the day.  I don’t feel like I’m policing myself or living with the drudgery of a food journal (although I am, on both counts) - I feel like I’m enjoying my life more.

Some of my pleasures for the past two days :

• Berries at breakfast
• Efficient German airports where you just speed through each step
• The sound of water in a fountain
• Reading on the airplane during takeoff & landing
• A short nap on the plane (needed that!)
• A beautiful sunny day and a little spare time to actually be out & enjoy it
• Having lunch at an outdoor café on the side of the lake
• Swans!
• Squeezing in time for an exercise walk during a busy day
• This American Life on podcast
• Taking a bath
• Dinner with a friend
• Having a nice mug of good green tea

On the diet front, not many off-track moments.  Yesterday & today I had 2 squares of 85% cocoa chocolate that I brought from home, which is hardly a deviation since I plan some chocolate into my diet.  Lunch yesterday was a bit of a challenge as it was one of those terrible appetizer-type things with lots of choices of little nibbles none of which were very healthy & almost all of which were not very diet-friendly. The chicken skewers were the best choice by far - and what I filled up on, but I still needed to leave some for others.

All in all, feeling really pleased about the week from both a diet & stress-management perspective!

Now into the home stretch of this big project - by Friday evening it’s history.

Wow!

We are doing great as a Spring Focus group!

I’m proud to be a part of the group, thrilled to be gently pushed towards my goals, and a little in was of all that the group has accomplished.

95% are made progress on some or all of their goals this past week!

Since I threw down the PROGRESS, not Perfection challenge last week, all but one person said they had either fully or partially met their behavioral goals - the highest percentage yet (and with one odd NO to remind us that imperfect is quite okay).

Perfect weigh ins!

Nobody gained! Everyone either lost nor stayed the same (I don’t consider 0.2 pounds a gain, I consider it within the range of inaccuracy of a scale, so the one person who is pretty tough with herself and reported +0.2 got that converted to 0 by me!)

Group weight loss to date? 81 whopping pounds!!!

I counted it up several times because I was (am still) so impressed! I wish I was adding more than 2 measly pounds to that number, but the truth is that EVERYONE is helping, even those onus with very small numbers, those with none, and those who aren’t weighing in. We’re committed to two months of focus and two months of support and frankly that’s helping all of us move towards our goals no matter what the scale says.

—————————

Spring Focus

There are still several weeks left in Spring Focus - we started May 4th and are ending July 5th, and it’s a great way to be in good shape with healthy habits (and lose a few pounds) by summer. You can still join, someone else did last week.

Bravo to everyone for all the great work (and support) to date!

Well, yesterday I tracked my food - and my Pleasures.

Diet tracking was easier than I’d expected and the idea I came up with to put it face to face with tracking my pleasures/relaxation made it more fun and less tedious.

Pleasures for the day :

• The Moth podcast
• Reading a book on the plane
• New Yorker Out Loud podcast
• Free wifi at the airport
• Having my own good-quality green tea instead of garbage cheap stuff at the meeting
• Looking at my jewelery that reminds me of what it signified (anniversary, birthday, wedding, etc)
• Colored pens
• Talking to a friend on the phone
• Skipping a group dinner to have room service
• 30 minutes catching up w blogs
• A candle I brought with me
• Herbal tea
• Reading for 10 minutes before sleep