Just realized it's been a MONTHOLA since my last post. Sorry. Where did that month go? Beats me! Mostly cooking I think. I spend a lot more time cooking now than I have in my life. It's good though; I'm experimenting, making new recipes, adapting ones. The diet (Weight Watchers Core Plan) has taken over my life & brain... and seems to be working. This is cool. Inordinant amount of time in front of the stove is a bit aggravating, but I feel that eventually I will get it all sorted out (like cooking crap ahead & freezing it.)
Recipe books that have helped me since I signed up at WW Nov 4th include: Harrowsmith Cookbooks 1 & 2, The Green Door Restaurant Cookbook, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks At Home, Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favourites & Looney Spoons. The vegetarian books offer great ideas for what to do with kasha, millet, couscous, bulghur, cornmeal and the like. This is great if you're trying to incorporate more whole grains into your life (like I am!)
Saturday's weigh in was 26.5 lbs. I got my 25 lbs. fridge magnet, with applause, and supportive cheers from the group. Yay Sue! I'm barely 12 lbs. away from my 10% goal, which'll probably happen in the new year sometime. The program is going well. It puts me in mind of two credos: "You can't possibly fail if you don't quit." (Of course, in some cases it means just ramming your head against a wall multiple times.) But in my case, I hope that it means perseverance will eventually win out. The second line was from wayy back at an OA meeting: "Keep coming back, it works if you work it."
Working it means drinking LOTS of water. Lots. Like... eventually you will find a little well-worn path leading from your office to the bathroom & back. Wheee! I drink an average of 2 L of H20 a day (that's about 64 oz.!)
Working it means.. hitting the Gym! Sue has been hitting it.. thanks to support from friends who've been coming with & encouraging me. The buddy system works! What else? Really *thinking* about food when you prepare, sit down and eat & finish. Consider the meal, be mindful while you eat. It's important to enjoy the textures & flavours and to take the time to just be there for it. It's the opposite mindset of a bingeing compulsive over-eater & it's taking a lot of time to relearn the whole thing.
Working it on Core means stopping when you've had enough. This is novel. Up until recently, I had no clue when I'd "had enough." I didn't have any signals telling me anything until I just plumb couldn't eat anymore. So.. slowly we learn to listen to the body and go; hey.. maybe I could stop now and that would be ok..!
What else? Making healthy choices MOST of the time. I don't say "all of the time" cause you'd have to be gunning for Saint-hood to pull it off. Most of time is, well, every day at work someone offers me cookies, or candy, or chocolate. Saying "no" 90% of the time means you aren't getting 90% of those empty calories. Yes, I would love a shortbread made of pure butter. But it's not worth it to me. The 10% I say "yes" to is when it *is* worth it; it is something I really want, and will truly enjoy.
Working it means kicking the sh*t out of Guilt. I don't feel guilty if I've had a bad day. I don't feel guilty if I miss the gym. I feel proud that I'm doing this, and I'm committed to being in it for a damned long run. If the wheels occasionally fall off, it isn't the end of the world.. it's just the end of that day. And, as we all know.. tomorrow is another day.
That being said, getting a 2nd-hand weight set was a good idea, so I could work out at home if I missed getting to the gym at work!
Doing this thang has required strength and will-power that I didn't know I had; didn't realize existed in me. I keep wondering when it's going to fail me, when I'm going to throw the hands in the air and say "I give up". But I'm still here. Still trying and haven't stopped... 7 weeks later.
YAY! Thanks to everyone who is helping me: Family, Friends, & my Gym & WW Buddies. You gals (& guys) are the ones who make it keep on keeping on. Without you I would be back to my old crappy habits, and I would be enjoying a one-way ticket to gallbladder failure, probably heart-failure and diabetes. So THANK YOU.
For fun, I have some images to show my progress....!
A few weeks ago, when I'd lost 14 lbs., I put this collage together:
For a comparison, the folowing items weigh approximately 25 lbs!
Stay tooned for more!
Cheers
Suzanne.
7 comments:
Well, it's about bloody time you updated, lady! Twenty six pounds, huh? That's some turkey!
Now, tell me what I can cook - or not cook - for NYE that won't blow your progress completely. Grains. And more grains. Look! behind that mushroom! some grain!
Bobbie.
Sue! That is so great! We are here for you as always.
MMmmm Turkey.... :-D Good to hear from you both! Thanks Rob; knowing you guys are there helps a lot! Now if you could come HERE and cook for me, that would be cool *grin*.
Let's see.. I thought we were handing all the NYE cooking reins to Keith this year? :-)
Everything is good food-wise, as long as it is fairly simple and not covered in anything that tastes really good (like chocolate, butter, sprinkles etc.) So, we can sort out who will cook what; I could make a rice dish, or fresh veggies or something... What is on your menu plan? Maybe we can work on it together :-D Thanks for all the support Boo!! Hugs :-))
HooRay 4 Sue! Keep going Grrl!
If ya need help with those dumbells, I'm yer gal!
Love,
BDD
P.S. Merry....I mean Mewwy Christmas!
BDD
Thanks BDD!! That means so much; thanks for being behind me 100% :-D Yesterday wasn't too bad.. didn't drink any gravy, so that's good. Made tasty cornmeal pancakes for brekky.. deelish :-)
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