Good morning! (224) I woke up at 5am, slept for a while longer, then got up at 5:30am. Why on earth?? Well, yesterday's aqua class, although not the greatest, was still vigorous and I joined Erin at Planet Fitness afterwards for 20 minutes on the treadmill, so I was pretty tired by the time I got home at 8pm. Putzed around, read in bed till 9:30 then turned off my light. So, it was a good night's sleep! I have a sink full of dishes I've been putting off doing, so will tackle that this AM too!
I finished my book "Passing For Thin"~ and then read/finished a little short one last night called "I Finally Understand!" by Deb Micinski. It was so cool to see that she lost and maintained her weight using many or the very practical tools and methods that Sylvia & I did. Here's an "aha!" moment that changed her way of dieting completely: "The constant failure to lose weight perpetuated a very poor self-image and lack of self-respect. The lack of self-respect triggered the binge eating. The binge eating caused me to gain even more weight. Gaining more weight deepened my feelings of worthlessness and depression. What a self-destructive cycle! This time, my goals were going to be different. This time my goal was to create a new healthy lifestyle! I vowed to never go on a restrictive diet again! I was going to respect my body and make a commitment to eat healthy and treat my body well from now on. I was also going to take steps to strengthen my mental/spiritual/health as well."
Here's her list of Tips:
1. Make a verbal commitment, "out loud" that you'll take steps to improve your overall health (mind, body & soul).
2. Take a daily vitamin.
3. One day at a time: set small, even daily goals to achieve.
4. It doesn't have to be all or nothing! Eating wrong (my words) doesn't mean you have to give up & have a total binge! STOP NOW! Forgive yourself for the weak moment and get back on track.
5. Concentrate on what you CAN eat instead of what you can't. Remember you can eat anything you want, but you're choosing to eat the good stuff!
6. Stay on track! Stay committed to your plan.
7. Keep busy! It'll help keep your mind off food.
8. Get plenty of rest. When you're tired, you're more likely to make wrong food choices and less likely to exercise.
9. Motivation: plan small trips or gatherings for something non-food related to look forward to!
10. Learn to listen to your body. Accept that during your period you're likely to gain a few extra pounds, but they're most likely water weight and will disappear in a few days.
11. Take lessons from thin people. Watch them, ask questions. and take action to incorporate some of their habits.
12. Visualization. Put up pictures of yourself when you were thinner, or cut out pics of an outfit, dress or swimsuit you'd like to wear.
13. Don't purchase larger clothes to compensate for weight gain. That's like giving yourself permission to keep the weight on.
14. Buy a cookbook w/ healthy, low-fat recipes and commit to trying out at least one recipe each week to keep your diet interesting and introduce yourself to new foods.
15. Always look for opportunities to exercise: park further away, take the stairs, etc.
16. Eat light, but more often.
17. Balance and portion control. Eat a variety of healthy foods and reduce portions.
18. Eat the majority of carbohydrates earlier in the day; limit or eliminate them at dinnertime for weight loss.
19. Prepare for mid-afternoon cravings by planning what you'll eat and having it on hand.
I know! It's all common sense, and we all know those are the right things to do! No big surprise or revelation here! But once we truly decide to commit to a change in our lifestyle, these are great reminders of resources to help us stick to the plan! I need to refresh my memory with these tips! Okay, here's one more quote from her book which reflects my choice of "dieting" method:
"Since my normal work week was fairly routine compared to weekends, I focused on eating healthy, watched portion sizes and exercised regularly during the week. On weekends however, I allowed myself to eat "extra's" as well as choose whether or not to exercise. That didn't mean I went crazy on weekends, lying around, and eating nothing but junk food; the key was to stay in control and continue to eat healthy otherwise. I didn't feel guilty or deprived and it made the difference in my permanent weight loss!"
Yesterday's Today's Eating:
AM: yogurt w/ flax/granola/coffee
Snack: celery w/ peanut butter
Lunch: ?? can't remember!! did I have any???
Snack: apple/coffee
Dinner: shrimp stirfry
Snack: more stirfry/4 triscuits/2 dried apricots (after all my exercise)
Exercise: 1 hour water aerobics/20 minutes on treadmill
Gotta scoot! Have a great day! :)
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