We're getting the tail-end of hurricane francis here today and it's pouring outside. Took me almost 45 minutes longer to get to work!! Anyhoo I am glad I am at least at work today and not picketing today due to the rain. Rumour has it I'll be picketing tomorrow though... I gotta get my hair done and look for a part time job.
It's so quiet again, come out and play, September is a great time to start anew or maybe amass motivation for January 1st.
Hi there my dear Ali!! It's crap weather here too and in N. Alberta it snowed 25 cm yesterday!! GAH!!! I feel your pain.
I don't know if its all the school but I find fall a "new start" too. I like to have this mid-year fresh start. And I LOVE autumn, which is why I chose a fall wedding...the leaves are not changing here yet which is good - hopefully my wedding day has beautiful leaves.
Here's a good skinnypost for us!
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Backsliding
Losing lots of weight and maintaining a big weight loss are alike in many, many ways. Particularly in this way: It can be so incredibly boring. Boring for the people around us, boring for the ceaseless sameness of the inner conversations and cajoling we do as we work to recreate our lives in a way that supports our health.
It just gets dull.
For me, boredom leads to loss of focus, and loss of focus means a little backsliding into less mindful eating, more sedentary habits. Weight gain. Backslide.
In the middle of my third year after losing 100 lbs, I’m noticing 6-month cycles of progression and regression. I’ll go along feeling strong and easy in my exercise and new diet, and then round some curve when all I want to do is eat empty calories and sleep long. Meanwhile my mid-40s-female body keeps changing and shifting in sometimes delightful and sometimes alarming ways. I would like to find the cause of these cycles of focus. Is it the seasons? The path of the moon or sun? Is it triggered by clients or coworkers? Is it somehow all my husband’s fault?
Truth is a backslide can be triggered by anything, any change, any challenge, as well as through sheer boredom. As satisfying as it would be to have a clear cause in mind, understanding the cause is not what I need so much as a method for recognizing and managing a backslide when it happens.
The National Weight Control Registry is a study of people who have lost a significant amount of weight and then maintained it for a year or more. Some of the participants in the study have maintained their weight loss for many years’ running. The study looks for common traits, habits, techniques used by the successful maintainers. One thing seems clear. Successful maintainers set a limit for weight gain. That is, they have a “trigger weight.” When they reach that trigger weight, they immediately return to the weight loss method of their choice to drop the weight off again. Many set their trigger weight at just five pounds over their ideal or goal weight.
Let me restate. They use these small weight gains as a trigger for, usually, increasing their exercise and/or decreasing their calories so that they can return to their goal weight immediately. They do it whether they want to or not.
Five pounds doesn’t seem like much, but at a healthy weight, it’s the difference between a pair of jeans fitting well or binding. It’s a difference that shows up in waistbands.
So you’re losing weight or maintaining it, and you’ve eased up a bit on your diet and exercise and gained five pounds. Now what?
Well, if you’re bored with your current plan, then change it. The habits you’re developing are aimed at eating well and exercising more. If you’re eating the same foods all the time or exercising in exactly the same way, then shake it up. Try a different method of exercise, a different scene or setting, a different sport, class, video, speed, or route. Eating the same foods all the time? That’s very easy to fix. Buy new cookbooks, and try out some new recipes. Nobody’s diet ever has to be dull for weight loss to work. Try a veggie you’ve never eaten. Try a fruit whose name you can’t pronounce.
Reward yourself. Break your goals down into little manageable hunks, and figure out a reward system for each hunk. Earn points for making all your workout classes this week, more points for eating five servings of vegetables per day. Earn points for stretching before your workouts, and points for doing your deep breathing exercises. When you’ve earned enough points, get yourself a nice gift.
Write in your body log. Try a dialogue with your boredom as if boredom were not a feeling but a character in a novel, a foe you need to conquer. Use your wit to bring boredom down.
Recognize backsliding for what it is, a natural event, as common as rain, and only a problem when it takes over completely. You don’t have to let that happen. Gently shore yourself up, beat boredom down, and keep going.
Good post by Ju ju,I learned the hard way that yup, 5lbs does make the difference in jeans when you're at a healthy weight. When I was obese I could gain 10 without much difference.
Belle: Eek, we're getting 10cms of rain over the next two days, if that were snow it would be a metre!! I would love to get married in the fall. Id on't see it happening though due to my BF's huge love for NFL. BTW I am trying core this week, it's refreshing, I can see myself bouncing between programs... I am now getting all my milk in!
Hi again Ali!! Congrats on your loss again! Woo hoo I am rooting for you on the BBC!!
so I went to SArah Maclachlan last night - woo hoo - I LOVE her. I thought it was well done and definately worth $50. DF was blown away by her amazing voice. She didn't miss one cue, one note, one moment. She was awesome!
Her reviews stank. They compared her to oprah. But you know, that is her style. She is melancholy and reflective and that's part of why we love her. They were both men that wrote, would have been interesting to see a woman's point of view...
Well, I can't WI today either as I have to go to campus at lunch and get my books. I hate being so busy sometimes. I am out of town tomorrow, Mon-Thursday so I'll be MIA (back only for a few hours next Friday). I'll try to post on the weekend though! I am going for field trips.
COME OUT AND PLAY!!! September is here and it's time to re-commit, even if you're off the bandwagon, stop lurking and start posting. It's good for your health.
Hi everyone-I am here-just have no time to post. I did pretty well on my brother's two week challenge and lost about 5 pounds...then I fell off the bandwagon for about 4 days, but am back on track as of today....I did well eating wise-made a shrimp and scallop salad for dinner from cooking light-it was really easy and came out tasty...the only thing is, I didn't make it to the gym today. my brother gave me a great workout which I really like-it only takes 1/2 hour...then I run on alternate days....
Haven't been running b/c I did something to my foot-I had the podiatrist I work with take a peek today and he said I've strained a nerve and have a compression syndrome and need physical therapy-that's a real bummer-it never fails-I get my eating on track and I can't exersize, or vice versa!!!
Downpouring Thursday
