Back..again..How do you work through the Bumps in Life?
I posted here a while ago and was really doing well. The main thing I was proud of was that I was working out at least 5 days a week. So, although I was still overweight, I felt good because I was moving. I was losing as well.
Then I got sick with bronchitis. If I walked, I'd start hacking. Then we bought a home. The move was close, but time consuming.
Now, here I am. Fatter than ever. I have serious foot pain that has been bothering me for almost 2 months, there are Christmas sweets in the kitchen and I have PMS. Oh and I'm turning 40 on New Years Eve. That's not completely awful, for at least I'm alive. Barely. : ) I had heart palpitations last night. I've had them before, but it was going on for a while. That's not good.
So, let me be realistic. We have company starting on Friday until January 2. I know I can't eat like it's the last meal for the next several weeks, but I don't know if I can count calories like I need to either. I know I need to get my foot healed in order to work out (I have a gym membership).
Original question: How do you work through the distractions (even illness) in life and stay on track with your diet? How do I get through the next few weeks?
Answer. It's very hard. You have to decide how important loosing weight right now is.
First, There is no compromise on your health. You MUST take care of your body and give it time to heal even if it means you don't lose weight until that happens...
The rest is up to you. This is certainly one of the hardest times to lose weight but it can be done with strong motivation and/or determination.
If you can't walk past those treats without mibbling...You just don't have them in the house. You serve your guests and then destroy the leftovers and take the trash out. You come to 3fc when you feel weak. There are lots of ways...First you just have to decide that this is what you want to do and that you want to do it now.
Good Luck!
Planning is key. This isn't the time to wing it with food. You have guests, terrific. Make sure you have healthy foods for you on hand. (Maybe they would appreciate them too, we all complain about all the fattening unhealthy stuff, they might appreciate healthy as well.)
You actually don't need to get your foot healed in order to work out! You can do lots of things, just not the running/walking things. I'm not sure if a stationary bike or rowing machine would work, but you can press weights, you can do lots of the machines which call for upper body rather than lower body. You have a gym membership, terrific! Treat yourself to an hour of time with a trainer, explain your limitations and have him/her work with you to design a plan for this period. There is also a great website, Active at any size http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/active.htm
which has all sorts of physical activity suggestions for larger folks. I found it helpful when I sprained my ankle, not because I had size issues, but because it assumes you have limited mobility. (One of their suggestions is water exercises which are not weight bearing, great when your foot prevents other exercise.)
PMS...well that one you may just have to tough out. What I'm finding though is that at every point in time there is a reason to go off plan. Several times in the past few months I've said to myself...I need to get through the next few weeks etc. I can't do this now.
Sometimes I have made my goal maintenance for a week or two. But long run, there are always guests, life is always busy, we are always celebrating something. If this is a way of life, then each of us has to work these things into our plan. Otherwise we spend all our time trying to lose what the previous celebration or stress has caused us to gain!
So...if you were "normal weight" what would you be eating? How do you plan to eat for the rest of your life? I go back to the beginning...planning is key. If your only goal is to maintain for the next two weeks that is reasonable, but if you say "I can't do this"...you will be right, and on January 2nd you will be larger yet.
If your ticker is accurate you are still two pounds down. That may not seem like much...but you would be thrilled to lose two pounds in a week!
I have a silly answer really but it's been working for me. The good 'ole "One day at a time" works for me. I can do anything for just one day! I'm brand new at this and sometimes, honestly, "One day at a time" seems like it's too hard to do, so I try to do it for half a day or a few hours. The half days, few hours, etc....add up to lifestyle change. I used to eat without thinking, driving through McDonald's because I hadn't planned ahead...I haven't been to McDonald's in WEEKS and that started with "Today, I won't go to McDonald's".
Any change for the positive is better than doing nothing. You've already made the decision to get healthier, that's the first major hurdle. Just keep working with the changes you've made and your hard work will add up!
One of the other ladies said to, to keep coming back here. I echo that wholeheartedly...this place has been invaluable in my journey.
Answer. It's very hard. You have to decide how important losing weight right now is.
That pretty much sums it up. I have a lot of support with my family and we have just made the decision not to have the food in the house. Now, is everything banned? No, that would not be fair. However, out of sight is out of mind. We usually have chocolates, nuts, cookies sitting out on a table that you walk by when you enter the house. My mom has cut back on the treats this year due to the fact that I can not have them.
Christmas Eve is usually where we cook up hot hors d'oevres (not a big mess). Every year, we have WAY too much. This year, we have decided that we each pick one and only one hot selection (I am picking chicken skewers which I can have). We are making it more about family instead of food-easy to say-hard to follow. I don't look at it as depriving myself. I look at it that it is short term pain for long term gain. What is a few minutes of pleasure to the days of guilt if I do over indulge. I have worked too long and too hard to blow it now. I have treated myself to new clothes and have given away all my old clothes. I want to feel good about myself after the holidays.
It is tough this time of year with all the temptations, but I just look at it as it is only one day (possibly a couple if you factor in Christmas and New Year's parties). But now, the rush for me is not having the "forbidden" treats, it is the compliments that people give me on my weight loss. It is the new person that I see in the mirror that I am so proud of. It is this board of inspirational people.
I don't have a good answer for you except for taking it one day at a time and not beating yourself up! If we could just figure out a solid answer to your question, we'd have it made!
Everyone else has said exactly what I'd say - and I"ll echo the bit about you have to decide how important this is to you.
One thing really stuck out to me from your post. You said:
Quote:
I don't know if I can count calories like I need to either.
If you don't believe you can, then you won't. You'll make it an easy excuse - oh I have family here and it's just too hard to keep count when family is here.
Keep in mind that ALL OF US are dealing with the same thing. Maybe not the exact same things you are - an injured foot, a move, and family. But I'm dealing with owning a business that's suffering because of the economy, living with my separated husband and all the emotional stress that goes with that, and having to visit my soon-to-be-ex-inlaws over the holidays. Other people here have family visiting or are visiting family. All of us are dealing with holiday treats and sweets and parties. Some of us have colds or winter flu. Some of us have illnesses.
Every one of us has stresses that we have to deal with on a day to day basis. And we still count calories and watch our food over the holidays. Some of us better than others (*grin*) but we all do it *IF IT'S IMPORTANT ENOUGH*.
Yes, it's hard to count calories when your family is eating like there's no tomorrow. It's hard when your MIL or your brother or whoever keeps saying "oh just have one - it won't hurt!" Believe me - I know.
And it sucks to have to say "no" to holiday treats. It does. But what I do is I allow myself the one day - Christmas Day - to eat the treats and stuff, and the rest of the time I stick within my calorie limits.
And you do have a little bit of a benefit in that you get to be in YOUR house, so you have quite a bit of control over what's served. You get to set out healthy veggies and dip, rather than chips. You get to serve apple slices and fruit rather than boxes of candy. You get to cook dinner and make sure that there are lots of veggies and healthy grains. So plan now .. think about what you're going to serve, what you're going to eat, if you're going to eat out, and what "treats" you'll put out that you can enjoy w/out sabotaging yourself.
Instead of feeling helpless and feeling like "I can't" - TAKE CONTROL. You can do this if you really want to!
One thing I've been doing is, when I am confronted with forbidden foods (like yesterday at our building Christmas party), I go off somewhere quiet for a minute (usually, the ladies room) and tell myself that I love myself more than I love _______ (cake, punch, whatever). And then when I see the food again, I just give myself a gentle reminder. Because, for the first time since I can remember, I *do* love myself more than I love food. So far, it's working.
Wow...Thank you all for the in-depth responses. Yes, I know I need a plan. I always have veggie trays sitting around when company visits, so I need to focus on those. I suppose I could swim at the gym until this foot heals.
Yes, I know I CAN do it..it's just going to take a lot of effort.
I need a diet coach to shadow me for the next few weeks. : ) I'll be back here for sure.
DCHound...I love what you said. I get caught in that vicious cycle of not liking how I look, that I don't think I'm worth more. Then I figure, why not eat? That's so wrong.
Thanks again everyone. Because you have all struggled with this, you know how much your support means.
Back..again..How do you work through the Bumps in Life?
You'll make it an easy excuse - oh I have family here and it's just too hard to keep count when family is here.
