HLSG: Week of 4/28/02.

[lindrusso]

Anyone out there? :D

My weekend guests departed today, so it's back to the daily routine. We enjoyed a lot of good food and good wine, but it will be nice to get back to the swing of things.

I seem to have reached my second goal, but I'm doubting the scale after my weekend of indulgences. I'm wondering of I was just dehydrated! In any case, I'm holding steady for the moment, but I have a night in Chicago with my friends coming up, so that means more indulgences! I decided that there is enough body fat left to lower my goal weight another 5 pounds. If I make it, great, if not, I'm very happy with my current weight and would just continue to focus on strengthening and toning if it doesn't look like losing another 5 is to be. It's the saddle bags and lumpy butt that motivate me to keep going! :p

My goals for this week are to make it to the gym or to work out at home for 4 days this week before my trip to Chicago and to stay on point every day until Saturday (at which point party mode kicks in and anything goes - we're talking 4 SAHMs hitting the town without kids, so watch out! :D).

Have a great week everyone. Can't wait to hear from you! :)

[KelLeg]

I had a big weekend too. I went to a New Orleans-style shrimp boil (like in CL, but shrimp instead of crawfish). It was great. Some friends hosted it and they are great cooks (especially him!). We also went to a baby shower on Sunday that was catered and the food was really good and I even had a piece of cake, which I don't always do (it wasn't even that good). I need to watch my dessert consumption! On the upside, someone asked my DH if I had lost weight. Women love to hear that.

Goals:
limit sweets
workout 5 times (actually, 6 b/c I'm doing MS Walk on Sat)
more water (this is one every week!)

[AZLorena]

I had a big weekend too. Sunday was my birthday so hubby and I decided to have a major slurge night out for Mexican food. I don't think that I have eaten as much cheese as I had on Sunday in the past whole year. That and a couple of grande margaritas later, I realized that I just can't do that like I used to. I felt like I had eaten a ton of bricks. Oh well, I guess I won't be doing that again anytime soon. That, in addition to my TOM, makes me look like I am a couple of pounds up. I am not too worried about it because I know that my weight fluctuates during my TOM.

I have not been great with exercise this week. I am really busy at work putting together the school Talent Show. Tonight is the show, so everything should be back on track by tomorrow afternoon. Wahoo!. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Some good news. This past Saturday DH and I volunteered at a wildlife fundraiser. (we do this every year) Mostly, it is the same people who work this fundraiser every year. This year, a couple of people went up to my MIL and FIL and asked if that was me with my DH because they didn't recognize me because I looked so different then last year. I thought that was pretty cool.

This week's topic is .......
Motivation. How do you keep yourself going on a regular basis? A healthy lifestyle, as we have all figured out, takes commitment and planning to maintain. What keeps you going to the gym every week? What keeps you from eating that piece of cheesecake on a regular basis?

Anyway, I will type in my answer later. I have to get some stuff ready before school this morning.

Lorena

[lindrusso]

Kelly - Isn't it great when others start to notice??? Some people feel that if they say anything, they might offend you, but I love it when people notice! Yeah for you! :)

Lorena - Ditto! That must have felt great! :)

Originally posted by AZLorena
This week's topic is .......
Motivation. How do you keep yourself going on a regular basis? A healthy lifestyle, as we have all figured out, takes commitment and planning to maintain. What keeps you going to the gym every week? What keeps you from eating that piece of cheesecake on a regular basis?

Great question!

Shaking things up. One thing that keeps me motivated is changing my routine every so often to keep things interesting. Joining WW Online got me to journal again. I like gadgets, so using the online journal was like playing with a new toy! I dread the day when this might lose interest for me - many things do - but so far it's been almost 4 months and I still like tracking my points and logging my weight every week. Same with exercise - I need to change what I'm doing every few months to keep it interesting. I recently changed to a circuit training routine that I LOVE. It really keeps you from getting bored because you're changing what you're doing every few minutes!

Weight Loss is NOT the only goal. Another thing that keeps me going is reminding myself that even when I hit plateaus and am not seeing any progress, what I am doing is good for my health. That got me through MUCH of last year :D when I wasn't seeing any progress. I still kept at it - that's a first for me. In the past, I would have given up and gone back to my bad habits.

It's not a temporary program, it's a lifestyle change. I've been really good about exercising for well over a year now (maybe even 2???) - another first. I have weeks where I don't get much done, but I almost ALWAYS get in at least ONE day. I used to have that all or nothing attitude (with my eating habits too) - if I missed one or two days, I would just blow the rest of the week off. I don't do that anymore. I'm motivated to keep going because it's just what I do now - it's a part of my life, part of my daily routine - forever.

As for what keeps me from eating things like cheesecake on a regular basis, I think it's two things. One, I don't deny myself indulgences. I get them out of my system and move on. Two, I surround myself with healthy things that I really love. I have to have food that I truly enjoy - I can't eat things just because they are good for me. If I don't truly enjoy what I'm eating, I am much more likely to seek out the cheesecake.

Thanks for getting that started Lorena! :)

[aggie94]

Things are going OK, not great. As it turns out, the guys in my new office go out to lunch EVERY DAY. I'm still a newbie and don't yet want to be dubbed "the one that never wants to go out to eat with us," so I'm still saying yes most of the time. Calorie and money-wise, though, it's adding up. I try to make reasonable choices when I go, but my choices are never as good as the lunch I had brought, which is usually leftovers from dinner the night before. I'm hoping to taper this off soon and limit myself to one, at most two, lunches out a week. I figure since I hardly ever go out to dinner anymore (it's no fun to eat out by yourself), it will even out.

Exercise is going OK too. I'm getting home from work later these days and finding more excuses not to go work out. At the beginning of the year, I made a resolution this year to work out more days a week than not every month. So far I've stuck to that resolution, but the year started off really well, so even though I'm still working out more days a month than not, I'm not working out as many days a month as I did in Jan and Feb. I see the numbers of exercise days falling and I immediately think I'm slacking off, even though I'm still really doing pretty good.

As for motivation, there's nothing keeping me from eating cheesecake on a regular basis, but that's OK because of some of the things lindrusso mentioned. I'm in this FOREVER. I don't deny myself indulgences either, so if I want cheesecake on a regular basis, I'll have cheesecake on a regular basis. But it's not like I'm having a whole cheesecake or even a piece every single day. When I go out to eat, I'll order dessert. If I feel like ice cream every night, I'll have a few bites. When you don't spare yourself the indulgences, you tend not to crave them as much.

Goals really keep me motivated. I'm a very competitive person, especially with myself, so if I have things to work towards, that helps keep me motivated. Races are great for me for that reason. Even though I'm doing it alone and no one but me really knows or cares if I go through with it, once I sign up for one, I'm committed and will work hard to try to do well.

[Gina O]

Hey all! Sounds like everyone is enjoying some successes!!! Glad to hear it. I am back after a couple weeks off... first a trip to Mexico, then a ton of stress kept me from posting here.

Mexico was good, wanted to run twice while I was there, but only did once. I did my push ups and sit ups twice though. I ate myself silly, but really only gained a pound or two by virtue of the 3 days of intestinal distress :rolleyes: that greeted me the day after I arrived home.

Last week was tough, some serious and unexpected news about my current job that hit me hard. Only made it to the gym once, didn't run at all. Eating was okay, pretty much too stressed to feel very hungry.

This week, things have been going pretty well so far. I joined a new gym and worked out there yesterday. I also worked out at my old gym yesterday. I need to get back into running, that is on the agenda for today.

Police job update: I did my polygraph and first interview today. The interview went fabulous, the polygraph... who knows, but it seemed horrible to me.

Motivation: hmmm, after last week, I have a hard time answering this one.... although, a lot of my motivation comes from the mirror and the scale, and pictures of myself at a size 20. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that if I do not keep at this constantly, I will be at 20 again someday, and I promised myself that would never happen. So, when the scale goes up a bit, or the jeans fit too tight, I know I have to do something about it and it must be done NOW!
That really helps me keep my eating in check. Goals help keep me exercising: races, time, distance, the # of pushups, ect.

Speaking of goals:

Eat out minimally (my SO will be home, so I will be tempted more)
Water! (me and my flowers)
Run x3
Lift x4
Maybe give the yoga class at the gym a try
Relax.... I need to let go of a whole lot of stress right now

[Molli526]

Hi Everyone!

Things are going pretty good here. Yay! I am enjoying Body For Life. It is actually quite easy. Saturday was the splurge day and well, I had a tummy ache part of the day. DH wanted a Big Mac so I thought I would get one too. Hadn't had one in I don't even know. I also had the last one for the rest of my life. It wasn't even good. Yuck! My tummy was in knots when we got home from McDonalds.

I had been lifting some before I started BFL so I am starting to see results in my arms, which I love. I also wore a couple of suit skirts this week that I hadn't worn since fall and they fit great, so I am at least where I was last fall pre-wedding. Yay!

I am really liking lifting. I just feel so good after. That is motivation.

My other motivation. I want to be a healthy person. This is my lifestyle. It makes me feel good to work out. It makes me feel great to look good in clothes. I also want to be healthy when I have kids so I can be a role model for my kids- McDonalds will not be a part of their lifestyle! Right now though, my real motivation is to see how well the BFL can work, and if I cheat, I am only cheating myself. It is not so much the scale, but how much muscle I can get and how tone I will be :)

[desertdaisy]

Hi All!! I really meant to post again last week, especially to answer Lorena's question - great idea!! Unfortunately I flipped out a bit at the end of last week and I needed a little time to regain composure!!

I think I mentioned that I set the date for my breast reduction surgery. All of the sudden last week it really hit me what I am about to do. In my heart I know it is the right thing to do, but all of the sudden my mind was flooded with doubt...I have struggled with body image for a really long time. Just recently I was able to really accept my body the way it is now (a necessary step for me before trying to change it by losing weight), and now I am about to significantly change the way I look. These breasts have been a part of my life since I started developing in the 4th grade. I don't know how to be an adult without them. I don't know how to be sexual without them. I am very scared about what my body will look like without them. I think I have hidden behind them and let them keep people at a distance. I talked to my therapist about it and that really helped a lot. I know that I will feel so much better when it is done, I am just filled with anxiety for now.

That being said, my motivation is to get healthy for my upcoming surgery! I am concentrating on that instead of being afraid. I need to take care of my body so that it can heal quickly and well!! My next goal is to make my butt as small as my new breats will be. I'm balanced now, so when my breasts get smaller I fear I'll be falling over backward a lot!! :) We can't have that!! I want to feel good about my body again. I just bought a bicycle - I haven't owned one in 15 years. I LOVE riding it!! I love being outside!! (To answer Lorena's question from last week, wanting to be outside is something that is new and exciting for me. I used to hide inside, under my clothes.) I also bought some of The Firm tapes from ebay. I am loving them!! They combine weights with aerobics in a really fun way!! Wanting to be "thin" when I move next year is something else that motivates me. My latest motivational goal is to enter a triathlon in 2 years with my friend Elaine. We decided that 2 years should be plenty of time to get ready. I like this goal because it isn't related to weight or clothing size. When I think about not wanting to ride my bike or work out, I think about how I'll never be able to ride the 25Km part of the race. Even though it is really far off, I still feel that it motivates me.

My best source (and favorite source) of motivation is Lorena!! I am extremely lucky because I can see her in person!! Whenever I feel low or need a boost I just spend a weekend with Lorena (and sometimes her wonderful husband) and I get back on track!! It is truly like Canyon Ranch!! She teaches me about cooking, she shares her little secrets, we exercise, and for some reason I sleep better in her guest room than I do in my own bed - maybe it is because I get to leave all my troubles here when I go!! I am very excited to visit "Lorena Ranch" very soon as they have just purchased a brand new hot tub!!!!!! Just one more thing to make "Lorena Ranch" the perfect weekend get-away for relaxation and renewed motivation!!! She is the best!! (Thanks Lorena!! :) )

My goals for this week are to start the healing diet I got from my plastic surgeon to really get my body ready for surgery - I also want ot look into eating for my blood type - has anyone tried this??, to exercise at least 3 times this week, to drink LOTS of water, and to journal both about food and about all my blessings!!

Thanks for listening!!

Judy

Oh, congrats to you guys who are meeting goals!! Hearing about how well others are doing is also inspiring!! I would love to hear more about Body for Life - my cousin did it and swears by it!! Does anyone know anything about eating for your blood type?? I borrowed the book from a friend and I must say from first impression it looks helpful!! I really fit the descriptions of a person with my blood type!!

[Gina O]

Judy-

I am sure others will have thoughtful and inspired responses.... my reaction is WOW. Thank you so much for sharing all your thoughts and inspriration. You have such a fabulous outlook and the triathlon goal is awesome.

Best wishes, and lots of warm thoughts and hugs on remaining comfortable with the surgery decision. I could not even begin to imagine how difficult that must be. Take care, Gina

[KelLeg]

Congrats to all with successes. Lorena, how great that people noticed your changes. Judy, I cannot understand your fears b/c I have the opposite problem (see my breast enhancing thread!). But, I know that I have thought about how I would feel if I decided to get breast implants (which I don't think I will ever do), and I always think how weird it would be to have such a permanent change in my body. The two people I know who have had breast reductions were thrilled. I know that you will be too. I bet it will feel like it does when you lose weight. Most of us aren't sorry to part with parts of our thighs or butts. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but my guess is that your breasts won't be tiny after surgery. I would think they will be proportional. Good luck.

As for motivation, that is an interesting one. And, I'm really thinking about how I stay motivated. I made a huge lifestyle change after college and have become more disciplined over the years (10+). I think part of what motivates me is just habit. I am so used to exercising and watching what I eat, that it is just habit. I still have to motivate myself to watch my desserts, drink more water, etc. but some things are already there. For instance, I never eat McDonald's. My kids do, but I don't. I also never order fries from anywhere. I just don't even like them anymore. It is habit for me to scan the menu and automatically veto items in a cream sauce. So, I guess my tip is the longer you live a "healthy lifestyle," the easier it will get--sort of!!!!!

[Molli526]

Originally posted by desertdaisy
Does anyone know anything about eating for your blood type?? I borrowed the book from a friend and I must say from first impression it looks helpful!!

I remember reading an article about eating for your blood type in Self I think. I don't think it got a very high grade b/c certain blood types were not supposed to eat certain foods, and their RD said everyone needs carbs etc.

I am really loving Body For Life. Granted this is only week 2, but I will say my cravings have started to subside- and this is my PMS week! It is a lot of food, but good food. I am now into a rhythm of when I eat etc.

Here is the website- it is OK for info. If you get to the bookstore, check it out there. What I like best, is it is real food and not some crazy fad type thing- well no chocolate 6 days a week :rolleyes: :p ;)

Body For Life (http://www.bodyforlife.com)