Two Thumbs Down for Chris

That’s the lingo for sharing on our blog how our weight journey is going.

None of us want to put the numbers out there in cyberspace; you know how that works, once it’s out there it’s out there for good. Just ask Paris Hilton. That would be too much stress and also go against our ideal that it’s not a specific number we’re chasing but an overall downward turn in weight coupled with an upward turn toward better health. For me, this week’s “two thumbs down” means I did manage to lose a little excess poundage and I can only assume that’s better for my overall health.

So if you are a member, add a short (or not so short) blog entry with the title “Two Thumbs Down (or up, it’s going to happen) for “your name here”. This is how we will be able to know what’s going on with each other. Perhaps someone is struggling or is not yet motivated to start making the necessary changes But by reading about someone who has and is already seeing positive results, this might be all they need to move forward themselves.

And if you are making positive changes, share with us what they are. This is the purpose of the blog, to keep each other motivated and encouraged between meetings and activities. I’ll start with some changes I made this week. The thing that really blows my mind is how minute they are, I’ve still not stepped on the treadmill or God-forbid walked through those gym doors. These simple “baby-steps” have already made a small difference.

1) Never being a breakfast person, I now start each day off with a slice of whole grain toast, a smear of Smart Balance (PB) and a drizzle of honey, or a bowl of oatmeal. (Steel oats with walnuts if Mikey makes a batch ahead of time for the week!)

2) Accountability. I keep a simple journal of what I’ve eaten throughout the day. If at 3p.m. I realize I’ve been “living large” all day, or screwed up one particular meal; it’s time to stop for the day. Do that once or twice and you learn the lesson of moderation real quick!

3) No hooch. This is not forever; hell my goal is the month of January! But it’s important to start off right, my new best friend Bob (Greene) says to do it, so I’m doing it. Not happy.

4) Never one to snack healthy, I have cut-up veggies and low fat dressing available at all times. I think I’ve identified my single worst habit…I live on processed foods. In the past, a low-fat, high fiber granola type bar would be a healthy snack in my book. Or a 100 calorie snack pack was really going to get me that bookmark. But I think I finally realize that although those things are ok once in a while, I need fresh, natural foods in my diet to lose weight, but even more so to improve my health. Living on Lean Cuisines will eventually bring that scale down to where you want it, but processed foods have so many bad things in them that we must counter them when we can with fresh fruits and veggies. It's about our health. Again, I’m not thrilled, it does not come easily to me but it’s not as hard as I thought either. And I love cauliflower florets and snap peas…who knew!

5) And speaking of snacks, I am eating them. I’ve always followed the “less is more” plan of eating. Sometimes I wonder exactly what fuels my metabolism. It has nothing, nothing, nothing (but massive amounts of coffee) and then at 1 or 2 in the afternoon when I realize I’m ravenously hungry, I make a really poor choice and send my poor body into shock, forcing it to store everything as fat for fear I will starve it again soon. Which I do. So instead of “less is more”, I’m trying to adopt the habit “more of less”. Fuel the machine in a consistent, healthy way.

6) Bob tells us to close our mouths for good at 7:30 at night. In all honesty, when I read that I didn’t even think that pertained to me. Unless I’m out for the evening, I rarely eat that late… or so I thought. Now that I’m conscious of it however, I find myself reaching for just one handful of this or one bite of that late at night. I’m quite surprised by this discovery. But now that I’ve identified it as yet another bad habit, it’s one I can easily change.

Quite honestly, I can’t think of much else I’ve done differently this week. The initial STF meeting catapulted me into a great mindset and fired me up. But that can only take me so far. What I’ve done now is set more goals for this week coming up; maybe I can move from baby steps all the way up to a toddler. Here are my goals for this week.

1) Activity. For those of you in the group and at the meeting, you know that I confessed to being almost paralyzed when it comes to starting back on an exercise routine. We discussed it, you all shared great suggestions with me, many offered to do it with me… but here I sit almost a week later and have still not done one thing to increase my activity level. That all changes this week. And that statement IS in cyberspace forever!!!

2) I am going to be more aggressive at reading Bob Greene’s “The Best Life Diet” book. This book was the catalyst for our group and this blog. It is chock full of sensible knowledge. I just learned today for instance that a healthy calcium-rich snack is a 12oz. fat-free milk latte’ and 8 almonds. Not only is that doable… I’m excited about it. Bob Greene is our new best friend ladies… he just doesn’t know it yet!

3) Hydration. I am a very poor water drinker. Coffee and wine, no problem. I’ve already cut the fruit of the vine out of my diet (temporarily!), I plan to cut down the Joe and force myself to drink the water. This I admit will be a tough one for me.

4) Stay away from the scale. Bob is adamant that we should only weigh once a month. He understands our bodies makeup and how much we fluctuate intra-day, day to day and even he says, week to week. Now I have to admit, in past diets I have become a slave to the scale. I brought OCD to a whole new level. This time I intend to be different. Now I can’t go 4 weeks, holy crap that’s just crazy talk… but I will make it a goal to weigh only once a week. I did take all my measurements on that fateful day I finally stepped back on the scale. I think it is reasonable to re-take those once a month, which will be my plan.

5) The Sisterhood of the Traveling Fatties blog. I see how many of you have joined as contributors, but only one (Thanks Kathy) has posted thus far. I am an experienced blogger; it comes easily to me after several years of a learning curve. I encourage you to try it, its very user friendly. The purpose of this blog is for us to help each other during times we are not available face to face. It’s a place we can share tips and encouragement, recipes and fitness tips. It’s what we make it. Let’s make it great!