saef re daily weighing - it drove me nuts! But I found once a week wasn't enough to keep me reasonably on track. So I opted for Mon, Wed., and Fri. weigh-ins and that seems to be working for me.
I have to weigh daily or I start to fall back into my old way of thinking (i.e. deluding myself). I went off the rails in December (got fired, started a new job, it was cookie season) and seeing the number go up helped me get back on track. I almost skipped a couple of days, when I knew it would be bad, but I'm glad I didn't. Seeing that number every day takes away some of its negative power over me.
Megan, good luck with your 5K. I'm hoping to do one in the spring, so perhaps you can encourage me when I declare my intentions!
Shannon, I'm with you and Sheila on the stomach meter. I can feel every ounce of the weight I've gained there.
Jen and Michele, I too had a couple of very good days and gained a pound. Rude, indeed! I'm down almost 2 today, though. I only accept the wacky results when they're good.
I'm off to do some Pilates. I bought myself a new mat and little yoga socks, so I'm all excited!
I am another daily weigher, I get a little antsy if, for some reason I am not able to weigh. If the scale is going down I want to rejoice if it is going up I want to be able to take action right away.
When I first went on a diet I was obsessed with weighing , I would weigh several times a day, if I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom , I weighed. In order to break this obsession I locked my scale in the trunk of my car , this gave me the opportunity to think about it before getting on the scale for the umpteenth time in a day.
I think this forum is like that old fable about stone soup. Someone puts some water & a stone into a pot and declares she's making soup. But it's nothing until others come along, one by one, and contribute a carrot or a potato or a leek or a piece of chicken or whatever. And then at the end they all sit down together to a delicious bowl of soup, which they collectively made. That's how our forum comes together.
Love this! I swear, I feel like I'm the one throwing the first stone in.
I weigh-in daily, log it, and am trying to log my food the evening before to make sure my food plan is ballpark within my allotted calorie range. Sometimes I'm tempted to weigh in more often. I don't give in to that desire any more, and when I do I know I'm getting too obsessed. Multiple weigh-ins per day, usually coupled with really obsessive calorie counting and checking my log many times per day, presage a fall from plan. I have tried to weigh in/be less strict about counting, and I try to get away with things and trick myself. Everyone has to find what works for them, and drives them the least crazy.
Steph, thanks! You should definitely sign up for your 5K, I'll cheer you on!
Shannon, sorry you're sick. Get thee to the doctor! There's lots of sickness going around right now.
I'm also fighting another cold but it hasn't been bad enough to keep me from work or my regular routine. I gave it to BF also. We've been trying to eat our vitamin C and get to bed at reasonable times.
Michele, thanks for getting me up to speed. I remember the rest about your DD but somehow missed the weight gain aspect. I'm sure the stress alone she's been through would cause her body to hold onto some extra weight, let alone medication side effects. Let us know the results of the tests, and yes, how is she doing with her new companion? I assume he visited with her for the holidays.
Owen, my dd's service dog, is amazing. We are seeing such a change in her already. She is much more willing to go places and do things (at least until she got a horrible cold). He is at our house until they leave Saturday and she is planning on bringing him to my school tomorrow to visit for a bit. There are many teachers who helped support her in obtaining the dog (as well as many of you here!) and they will get a chance to meet him.
I've generated a sawtooth for the week as well - a 0.5. It doesn't drive me nuts, and I can't remember if I've ever tried weighing more than once a day. Mostly because that would be yet another variable, and would make things even more complicated than they already are ... and as I've said before, I'm awfully lazy.
Lots of illnesses around here too. Something's trying to "get" me - I just slam the vit C to it, and throw in an extra hour of sleep. For scratchy throat, I go straight to the whiskey/honey/lemon combo. It hasn't failed me for years. Strep, I recognize, is a whole different beast and needs the attention of great antibiotics. Hope you get 'em and have a swift recovery, Shannon!
Opportunity has come up. My employer has required us this year, in order to get the credits we put toward offsetting our health care costs, to do "challenges". We've all been mailed pedometers (quite nice ones, actually), and must complete 2 of 6 multi-week challenges. 1 of them is getting a flu shot, and thatain'tgonnahappen ... the other 5, well, I'm intrigued. We can work in teams or alone. It's kinda cool. Heading off to a meeting to learn more. The first challenge starts Monday, which is basically just committing to an online entry of exercise minutes and steps taken. Could this be my entry door?
Becky - the health challenges are a neat idea. A lot of insurance companies are doing that kid of thing. DH's company is doing a biggest loser challenge for credit with the insurance company for the next six weeks. Definitely take advantage of the push to exercise!
Megan - i have been known to weigh more than once a day. It is a sign that I'm starting to lose it, I think. You stay healthy down there! There is a lot of flu in Florida.
Michele - I'm so glad Owen is doing so well!
My strep has been confirmed. DH just made me a tray with some soup and hot tea to take my antibiotics. Woo.
In the spirit of trying to be more accepting of what life throws at me, when BF told me yesterday at 4:15 that he forgot about a surprise party for 2 friends we should be ready for at 6:00, I cheerfully acquiesed and agreed to put away the slow cooker meal that had been simmering all day that we'll eat tonight now, cut my exercise with the dog short, and tried to go be social with his friends. I had a few awkward moments but with all the noise etc I doubt anyone noticed. I did eat off plan foods but didn't overeat, and skipped the cake, logged it when I got home. 2300 cals for the day. Right back OP food-wise today and will compensate with some extra mileage on today's dog wog. I knew when he told me where the party was there would be few healthy/good options, so I tried to accept that this would be a higher calorie occasion (rather than let it upset me more), and told myself I'd be right back OP today. I'm 1# up today, but we'll see if my attempt at a more laid-back attitude helps or hinders on the scale long-term. That is my high cal day of the week, though, so now I really need to stay OP over the weekend and get my exercise in.
Michele, that is so great that DD is doing so well with Owen!
Becky, I kind of like this health credit idea. And sometimes things come at us at certain times for a reason.
Shannon, I hope those antibiotics kick in and you start to feel better quickly. I think I'm on the upswing with this cold but there are so many people sick around me.
Megan, I think getting in a practice session in flexibility is worth that one pound, the way a yoga session in which you practiced flexibility would be worth one pound of retained fluids in sore muscles. As someone who is lousy at spontaneity and would've balked in the same situation & wanted to stay home, as planned, I recognize what it probably took for you to accompany your boyfriend. Here is one small action that is affirming your earlier resolution. I say good on you.
As for me, my changeup of my exercise routine has left me sore in uncounted places this morning. I'm about a pound & a half higher on the scale than I was last Friday. This is probably partly from sore muscles but the more likely culprit is handfuls of unsalted but oily peanuts that I've snacked on at my desk while concentrating on a stressful, two-hour deadline rewrite and also on incessant desk visits and instant messages pinging through from the new trainee with whom I've been working on his first document.
Oh, this trainee. He's driving me to the can of peanuts, rather than to drink. (Rather, I am letting him do this ... ) He has just two settings: arrogant and abjectly frightened. When he got lost on this assignment he refused to ask for directions, just like the old cliche about men, & said he was fine when I checked in with him, & he just kept doing stuff all on his own. Unfortunately, it was the wrong stuff. Alas, this ruggedly individualistic, I-can-figure-it-out-myself is not a good attitude to have when you're being trained. Particularly when you have only been on a job for two weeks.
This attitude surfaced during his interview and I brought it up with my manager, and we discussed it thoroughly. But she wanted to hire someone before the new year took away our headcount. So she hired him anyway. And so naturally he's been time-consuming to train. But I am learning from him. The most difficult trainees in the past have been the ones who lacked confidence and needed constant pep talks and were afraid to make a move or write an email without checking in with me first or asking for my help in composing the email. But this guy is the total opposite of that. I am almost glad he keeps screwing up, as I hope this instills a little humility in him.
As for me, I am so annoyed at that pound & a half. I'm going to try out weighing more frequently. Maybe it will help me figure out earlier when I am going the wrong way. Or at least give more context than a once-a-week weigh-in offers.
Dd wants to go to a movie tonight before she leaves tomorrow and she is grumbling that I still want to squeeze yoga in before. I checked the movie times and locations to find a movie we both wanted to see at a time that works. It will mean my dinner will be a snack at the movie (healthy and brought by me) but maybe that will help my weigh in tomorrow morning as the scale is still being quite rude.
Saef-- I like Dagmar's idea of weighing a few times a week. Maybe try that and see if it works better for you? I admit to weighing twice a day (sometimes more) and I know I need to cut it out.
