The Me I Want to Be--Week of December 15

[Jessica]

Good Morning and Good Monday...

As the year draws to its close, many of us will be making resolutions for 2004: eat more veggies, lose weight, dust off the gym membership. I thought it might be nice to take a minute and recap the past year. Which healthy living accomplishment makes you the most proud? What tiny or giant step have you taken to improve your life? Any tips for others?

For me, this is the year when portion sizes finally clicked. I was doing a lot of the right things but I had to cut down on my volume and I finally developed the tools to do that. I still have my weaknesses, but in general I eat less and I have the weight loss to prove it.

My only tip is to keep trying. I would fall off the wagon and then get back on and start eating smaller plates of food and partial entrees at restaurants. I paid attention to how much I ate and how that made me feel. I read Geneen Roth. I measured to see what a "real" portion looked like. Now, even if I do eat a larger portion, I am conscious of that fact and ask myself why I felt it was necessary.

I know from reading this thread that every last person has made some achievement toward a healthier lifestyle. I can't wait to hear about it...

[pbutterfly]

Great topic! :)

The biggest change, and the one that I am most proud of, this year for me has been finally getting exercise to be a regular, routine, valued part of my life. For years, exercise has been one of the things that I knew I should do more of/better and made resolutions about and tried things... but it hadn't clicked. This year, it did. I think that's largely due to JeAnne and her lifestyle - seeing not only the changes it's brought to her body but also the vibrancy and glow she has from working out is inspiring. Learning to look at my workouts as "me time" and to really appreciate my body and what it can do (and how that evolves!) rather than looking at workouts as something that needs to be somehow soldiered through, was also a big step.

I never saw myself as a 'gym person'. I'm still not hardcore, but I have a membership that I use at least 3 times a week. That's huge.

My tip is similar to Jessica's - don't give up! I did the Self Challenge in 2001 in an attempt to make exercise a routine part of my life. I succeeded for the 3 months of the challenge and about 1 additional month. I tried again and again... and something finally clicked this year. I can't pinpoint when it was or why this time is different, it just is. Success is just around the corner (you just have to find the right corner!).

:)
lynne

[Kayaksoup]

Great question!

I would have to say that the biggest thing I did this year was to admit that I could not be what I wanted to be without taking a more active approach. I started running last February. I started keeping track of what I ate, waking myself up to portion control. AND I joined the BB in April, lurking on this thraed for months before working up the courage to join... I would say that I am most proud of the running. It makes me feel stronger and healthier than I have ever been.
Tips for others: I guess I would have to say, Don't try to do it alone. Build yourself a support system that will be there to steady you if you falter, help pick you up if you fall...

My most exciting moment. I went shopping because all my pants were held up with string. And I have dropped almost 6 sizes! I fit into the 14, but it gave me that horrible bulging belly thing, so i went with the 15.

Have a happy and productive week
Linda

[greysangel]

Great question!

My biggest change has been mindset. It has it's positives and negatives, but it's mostly positive. I have had to be a little more patient and more accepting of slow results. I have had to learn to be happy with the health and the body I have today. With me not being as obsessed about it, I think I may have lost some of my fire which I believe is essential to lose. I'm hoping that I can get back some of the fire without bringing back the obsession. I would like to be smaller and healthier...I'm just not willing to beat myself up constantly to get there. If that means I'll be the healthiest chubby girl, than so be it :D

JeAnne

[nixmom]

Interesting question! :)

The first change I made this year was to quit smoking last February. Health-wise it is ultimately the most important change I will make, I think.

The next change came much later in the year, and it wasn't so much a change as a re-realization that I HAD to do something about my weight. I was using quitting smoking as an excuse for re-gaining almost all the weight I had lost a couple of years ago, but it really started long before. As JeAnne said, I had lost my fire. I went from running every day without fail to no exercise at all. I moved from sea level to the Sierra Nevada mountains and used the change in altitude as an excuse to stop running. It DID make it more difficult, but I could have worked through it.

I am trying to get back to a place where exercise is a regular and DESIRABLE part of my life rather than a chore, but I learned that once you fall off the workout wagon it is extremely difficult to get back on. I'm still working on that, and on finding my fire again.

I joined WW in November and am learning how to do this right. I wasn't able to maintain before because the manner in which I lost the weight didn't teach me anything about lifestyle changes. I'm learning to be more mindful about the things I eat, and to cook more healthfully. I'm learning portion control, though at times it frustrates me. The most significant change I have made so far is to be concious of my snacking. My clothes are fitting better and even getting loose! :D What a morale booster!

Have a great week everyone :)
Lisa

[hannah_phi]

I guess the biggest thing for me this year has been increasing my knowledge and also starting the habit of menu planning. Now this is not to say that I always put the knowledge into play, or follow my menu plan, but I'm working toward getting there. The other thing is that I realized the value of orginization in the whole process. In the past I would always get sidetracked by the mess in my kitchen, then end up ordering pizza. Now even if I don't cook exactly what is on my plan I still cook something. I also keep my gym bag packed by the door, in case I want to go to the pool. So I guess I've been putting together a tool bag. Now I'm learning how to use all my tools.

I don't really have much in the way of advice for others, but I will say that any steps you take, no matter how small and timid will take you closer to your goal. I have really only lost a few pounds in the past year, but I've stabilized and I've learned so much that I'm sure next year I will get even closer to my goal.

Hannah

[JanetJ]

Fantastic topic!

The biggest change of this year was making exercise a vital part of my daily existence. I haven't been this in shape in my life (including high school when I played sports). This is the year when no matter how badly I was eating or how badly I was feeling about myself, I still exercised. I've been in a solid, solid routine for about six months and it feels great. Incorporating strength training for the first time ever has also been a big change. Who knew I had shoulder/arm muscles??

My tip is, like others, don't give up. I've lost 80 lbs over the last 3 1/2 years. It has been a long journey, very slow at times, sometimes frustrating, and will never be over. Dieting is easy, making a change in the way you live your life and how you approach food and your own self-image is hard. This is the single best thing I've ever done for myself and every struggle has taught me more and more about myself and how strong I really am.

[Gracie]

Great topic!

My biggest changes/accomplishments were getting a handle on portion control, menu planning and learning to take things one day at a time, or at least looking at the smaller picture. I never eat dinner on a dinner-sized plate anymore. It looks odd when DH fixes me a plate and puts it on a dinner plate. Menu planning has helped with the grocery budget as well as the calorie budget. It has helped my outlook and resolve to realize that I really only need to lose a pound/week. I am a black-and-white, all-or-nothing Weight Watcher and setting that 1 pound/week goal relaxes me into a doable goal without giving myself too much leeway.

I have also come back to journaling recently and it really makes me feel accountable. I'd forgotten just how much.

My tip to others is to really take it one day at a time. It is really overwhelming when you realize that your weight loss journey will never be "over" or that you will never be "done" with Weight Watchers (or whatever your weight loss plan is). The best way to cope with that is to be on plan for today. Then tomorrow you can be on plan for today again.

Loren

[badunnin]

Originally posted by Gracie
My tip to others is to really take it one day at a time. It is really overwhelming when you realize that your weight loss journey will never be "over" or that you will never be "done" with Weight Watchers (or whatever your weight loss plan is). The best way to cope with that is to be on plan for today. Then tomorrow you can be on plan for today again.

Loren

Amen to that! I lost 35 lbs a few years back (almost 7 now!) and I still fluctuate with it and have to work to keep it off!

This year has been a hard one for me. I learned that sometimes just making it to tomorrow is the best I can hope for, and that's fine. I've learned that I hate the gym! But I've also learned that there are alternatives. I've learned that the gym was great for my hockey, but now that I'm not playing as competitively as I was a year ago, that going to the gym is not worth they dread and the yucky feeling. On the other hand, I've learned that if I ever want to be competitive again, there is no substitute for the gym!

[badunnin]

Oh, I've also learned that if I feel fat for a day, don't get on the scale. It's probably going to show, and that doesn't mean that I am fat, and it will just make me feel worse.

[nixmom]

Can I just say that having holiday food in the office sucks? :( It would be ok if it was home made things that people were bringing in to share with everyone, but today at the front desk (that I walk by at least 20 times a day!) there was a giant container of pistachios, one of those king-sized tins of shortbread cookies (yum!), a 2 pound box of See's candy, and a box of truffels!!! :eek:

Except for the home made toffee brought in by a friend yesterday, I have managed to resist so far but I can hear the pistachios calling to me from my office. The receptionist was even walking around the office today offering everyone candy from the See's box. I will be so glad when this week is over!

Thanks for letting me vent!

Lisa

[badunnin]

Yay! My scale showed today that I have reached my goal! However, the jeans don't fit right, so I'm going to hazard a guess and say that some of it is water weight. Still, I must be getting close!

[Kayaksoup]

Congrats on reaching the goal, Bethany. And I am sure the fit of the jeans can't be far behind.

I have been avoiding this thread. I am, like Lisa, just counting the days till the seasons over and temptation is out of the way. Plus, I have been SO busy and tired, I have slipped up quite a bit. Skipping meals and making them up with on the go, junky food... Not a good thing.
Good luck and happy holidays to all.
Linda

[nixmom]

Congratulations Bethany!!! That is so awesome! :D :D

[pattiarl]

Congratulations, Bethany. That is great news. I am sure the snugness of the jeans will lessen.

Patti

[JanetJ]

Congrats, Bethany!! :)