May 2009

• I wanted to eat a “fun size” candy bar.. there are tons around at work. But, I realized that it was 5:30, with half an hour left until I went home, and I really just wanted to go home! Yes, I was hungry, but it’s normal to be hungry for a while before you actually eat. It’s not worth it, especially when eating one seems to make it so much easier to eat a second, and then a third. So, test passed.
• The team went out for lunch, but I had committed to a small number of calories for the day, and I stuck to it. I went home and had a turkey sandwich and sparkling water. Bonus: I avoided unnecessary expense.
• When I felt the urge to snack, I got up and made some tea to have something to do and enjoy.
• I had a leftover roll with dinner. It was an extra 220 calories, but even with it I ended the day almost 300 below my quota. I avoided the temptation to NOT eat it, which would be taking this diet too far.

Ok, I know I can “do right” — eat less, exercise, whatever — but I’ll create change if I reinforce these behaviors by reflecting on how I succeeded and on things I regret from the last day or two.

One thing I learned from IOWL (inside-out weight loss) is that we all self-correct. Yo-yo dieting is self-correcting, just not sustainable. Letting myself go for a year then getting back on the wagon is self-correcting, too, but awfully slow. I will have greater success and create change when I self-correct in a shorter window: take only a day off the diet, not a week, or have only a couple extra bites, not the rest of a plate that I don’t really need.

So, 3 things I did right or self-corrected:

• I was tempted to order a pizza, but didn’t! I’m not going to get anywhere if I say “screw it” too easily. I’ll have the pizza sometime, but I’m going to wait for some occasion, not just being tired and not wanting to cook.
• I got on the treadmill while playing WoW and forgot I was on it for over 2 hours. I had started out on the couch, and could have easily just stayed there, but I knew that I wouldn’t succeed with that behavior. I’m not going to avoid the couch, because each time I get up from it in the future, I will be demonstrating my self-control and making it stronger with exercise.
• I ate my calorie limit by early afternoon, but resisted eating more, even though I was hungry. I knew I’d had enough, and the feeling soon subsided. One thing I did wrong, to put myself over my limit so early, was to eat a “pre-meal snack” because I was impatient for lunch to be ready. I didn’t eat less lunch because of it, it was just extra calories! So, next time I am inclined to eat something handy because I don’t want to wait 10-15 minutes for a meal, I’ll get up and make some tea or something, just to kill the time and get past the impulse. It’s ok to be hungry for a few minutes!

Hi all!  After not exercising for nearly a year, I’ve gained back about 12 of the 28 pounds lost, so have run headlong into an easy “away” motivation to get back into fitness. That is, I am motivated to escape (get away from) wearing the same few clothes I still feel ok in, instead of the nice stuff — so am back to exercising, counting calories, and blogging.

Surfshelf!

The hard part, as always, is hanging on to my “toward” motivation — the thing to work toward once I escape the proximate, unwanted thing (clothes too tight). So with this post, I want to quickly say “hi, sorry I was away” (check), suggest some “toward” motivations that might actually stick, and tell you about a product I got that might be helping me.

THRILLING OUTCOMES OF WEIGHING 16 LBS LESS, NOT 6 LBS LESS:

1. Being in GOOD shape for adventure travel — kayaking, hiking in the mountains, multi-day rafting trips. This is the person I want to be, and can be, on vacation. Not just “up for it”, but in shape for it. Not holding anyone back, doing what I want.
2. Feeling really good in my nicer clothes, not just wearing them!  I’ve never in my life felt like I dressed all that well, but that’s really not true: last year, I did. It was NOT HARD, it just took daily effort. Really capturing a turnaround in my self-image would be great for my career, relationship, and all-around life. These two ideas are too broad and distant, though: a “toward” motivation is supposed to carry some of the “I want that!!” feeling of an impulse, just an impulse that does you good. So, I will try to be more impulsive with 3, and picture a scene or a thing I want, that I can have or do at 180, but not at 196, in just three months.
3. I want to run a 10K easily, finish in the middle, and have my girlfriend there at the start, middle, and end, cheering me on.

Ok! That I can do! Of course, my relationship is LD, but she’ll be living here by then, and never in my life have I lived the 80’s movie plot of getting the girl and having an athletic achievement.

Helping me on my way to this is the surfshelf. a laptop tray that attaches to my treadmill. I’m actually writing this blog entry while walking 1.5mph, an easy typing pace.  Last night, I was working at it, and watching some tv on my laptop while walking. I’ve also played World of Warcraft while on it, though maybe at more like 1.0mph, since it takes more attention.  WoWarcraft is a great time-sink.. if you’re exercising at the same time!

So, right now I am celebrating overcoming the inertia of getting started again, and checking in with my brothers at FatBloggers at least weekly!