So anyway, things are going well this week. I am still struggling with the "menu fatigue" business, but I am really focussed on exercise (last night I ran 2.5 miles / 4km without stopping once for a walking rest!) and it's definitely keeping me in the game.
Best news of the week
This morning someone at work asked if I'd lost weight. Wheeeeee!!!
Postscript for my mom: hi mom! My mother has technical issues that somehow preclude her from viewing the videos. So from now on, I will also provide a recap of how much weight I've lost. Bonus this week: screencaps showing before/after thus far.
This week's weight loss: .5 pounds
Total weight loss: 8.5 pounds
Current weight: 157
Posts
Okay, like a hundred things...
ReplyDeleteFirst, yay! Someone asked if you've lost weight! How awesome is that? Pretty damned awesome. Just yesterday James asked me if I was losing weight again and I had to stop myself from doing a little dance before I said yes. For the record I'm down to 189/190 (you know how the scale is) and it makes me so happy. 'Cuz ya know, it's a few pounds and because I have these weird numbers on the scale that I tend to get stuck at. And 190/191 is like forever hard for me to work through. My theory is I hold certain negative feelings at certain levels. Anyhoo...
My daughter made me a CD after Andy and I split and it had this lovely little ditty called Be Healthy on it by Dead Prez. Somehow I always think of you now when I hear it. It cracks me up because it's rap about eating and living healthy.
Okay, and one more thing... Do you like spinach? And what healthy foods do you enjoy? And hate.
Okay, just one last thing. I'm so excited, it was 37 this morning and that is sooo warm enough to go for a walk. Which sadly right now counts as exercise. There are a lot of hills though.
It is extremely awesome indeed to have someone notice the very small changes in my body. Especially the timing, as I had just done this video where I kind of took stock of before / after (or at least, during) to show that, yeah, 8.5 pounds doesn't sound like much, but it shows up. It's so great that James noticed your loss too.
ReplyDeleteInteresting theory about negative feelings attached to certain weights. I wonder if there are natural plateaus the body hits, or if a plateau has more to do with how long you've been cutting back calories and just signals that you need to find a new way to shake things up, metabolism-wise.
Hey, can you e-mail me that song? I would love to hear it! (Maybe I'll put a clip on an upcoming viddie and give you a special shout-out. How's that for bribery??)
March is so close. I'm so glad you're hitting walking weather. Here in the T-dot, it's currently a balmy 1°C and sunshiney. (That's 33°F in American.) What a waste to be stuck behind a desk in an office with no windows.
Almost forgot: spinach! You know, I kinda do like it, but I never think to buy it! I know it's one of nature's super-foods. If you have some spinach suggestions for me, bring 'em on. I'll do another foodblog soon, maybe share a recipe or two that serve me well.
Thanks for all your support T. And way to go, breaking free of that negative weight!
Yes, I second what Taarnagh said, that's great that someone asked if you've lost weight.....and if one person asked, then I bet a lot more are noticing.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your frustration about how "long" the weight loss seems to be taking, my thought is this: I wonder how falsely yet subtly we all are influenced by those ads, like the ones in that book we all get around to once in a while, that say things like, I lost 75 pounds in 3 days! And stuff like that, not mentioning the fact that they were doing amphetamines (or even sometimes-questionable herbal supplements that have the effects of uppers).
I think you are doing great, and now that I've upgraded my OS it seems like I can even watch your videos without the old iMac crashing. So keep up the good work! And hugs and scritches to Lola for me.
hugs to you too
D
xox
If you're running 2.5 miles now, 3.2 (5K) isn't that far off. Come spring (also not that far off), there must be some 5K races near you, maybe even ones that raise money for worthy causes. Were you to sign up for a 5K race, and seek a per-mile/kilometer donation, I'd SO sponsor you. Just saying ...
ReplyDeleteYou look marvelous! Kudos to your efforts and especially your results. Feeling so good is the best, but being noticed is the icing.
ReplyDeleteOne of my biggest stumbling blocks was energy - finding it at the end of the day so I could exercise. (My preference so I can burn off any extra calories of the day.) A friend suggested adding a tablespoon of black strap molasses to my diet daily. Loaded with iron and some other essential nutrients, few calories. I was skeptical at first, but after a week I feel it. But it has to say blackstrap on the label.
Congrats and continued success.
BP
Diane, that's awesome you can watch the viddies now! I will be sure to include Lola next week. As for unrealistic expectations, for sure, there is something to that; particularly if you watch shows like The Biggest Loser where they exercise something like 4-5 hours a day (I'm not kidding!) and they are disappointed if they lose "only" 3 pounds in a week. Cra-zay-zy.
ReplyDeleteMy impatience is also because I have been at this yo-yo game for many many years and in the past have been able to take weight off a lot faster. But such is life. I am exercising regularly and eating right and doing my best to keep a positive attitude, and that's pretty much all I can do, short of lipo or supplements or similar. Anyway, thanks for your words of encouragement, D. xo!
Jazz!! God-damn you are awesome! As a matter of fact, I have set a goal of running a 5 k in the spring and have been pushing myself to up the distance a little more each week with this goal in mind. I hadn't thought about doing it to raise money or to honour anyone (other than myself!) but maybe I will. If I do, I'll be sure to post about it and give people here a link to where they can go to pledge me. (Regardless of whether I do it as a fundraiser or just a personal goal, I will obviously blog about it!)
Thanks so much for your support and encouragement. It means a lot.
BeeP, black strap molasses??? Wild, never heard of it. I mean, I've heard of molasses, but not as a source of energy. In January, a good friend of mine suggested Vitamin B Complex, which I've been taking for around 6 weeks. Hard to say if it's a placebo effect, or maybe a result of healthier eating, or if it really does work (likely some combination of the three) but I definitely feel more energetic as a result.
I exercise at night too. Either right after work (when I go to the gym) or around 8 or 9, about an hour after I've had my dinner. I used to get up 10 minutes early and do a 10 minute abs video every day, but I cannot break through that mental block of getting out bed earlier than necessary, especially if it's to exercise.
Thanks for the kudos. Keep on keepin on. (Whatever that means... good thoughts, I guess.)
Congrats being asked if you've lost weight! Having recently had the same experience I can attest to its awesome power. Keep up the good fight!
ReplyDeleteSo this is a ridiculously easy thing to do with spinach, that I love. Just pop it in a pan on low heat and cover it, stirring it up occasionally so it gets warmed evenly. It really only takes 2-5 minutes to get it cooked and then I use a little pesto (my favorite is a lemon, artichoke pesto) mix it all in together and top with a itty bit of feta.
ReplyDeleteLovely side dish. You want to make it right before you are ready to eat as it cools quickly and is not as tasty then.
I will try and email you the song in the next few days. I'm notoriously bad at that kind of thing.
Another dish I like is bok choy and mustard greens stir fried with a little soy sauce. Sometimes I add zuchinni, or mushrooms or leeks but the start of my stir fry is bok choy and mustard greens. Another one that you want to be careful of not overcooking as the vegetables are not tasty when too soft.
Right on!
ReplyDeleteI think slow weight loss indicates a lifestyle change, and fast weight loss indicates a diet, that won't be sustainable.
Ok. I just measured myself and I'll but it down here, but can't remember my last stats so have to go back and check. I don't think anything has changed. My jeans feel looser, but I haven't been as successful with my eating habit changes until more recently and I haven't been as consistent with exercise as I would like to be.
I'm gonna keep trying though! The last two weeks I've had huge salads and a whole grain tortilla with hummus for lunch every day and I'm not sick of it yet! But I have also had chocolate almost daily. :oP
I'm trying again to eat without animal products...I know that as a vegan a decade ago I just ate crap mostly. Now, I feel better, was able to kick a cold/virus, am needing less sleep, feeling more motivated and alive to attend to my professional growth....so it's all feeling good even if the physical changes are minuscule.
So:
The Rack: 45"
Waist: 38"
Belly: 45"
Hips: 41.5"
Thigh: 23"
BUT, I'm down to 178, which is six lbs less than the last time I got on a scale. I think...but who knows cuz maybe it's doing that weird scale thing.
WOOOOT!!!
ReplyDeleteWell, just checked what I posted when I started, and I am down two whole inches in my waist, half an inch in both my hips and thigh, and...up half an inch in my boobs? WTF??? Oh well, perhaps a flukey mistake of measurement. I'll take it for the loss of inches in the other places!
I'm smiling now, cuz I wasn't sure anything was happening in my body at all...
Bring on the veggies!
Chico my friend! How excellent of you to stop by, and how excellent of you to look so good. Thanks for the encouragement and congrats on having such a hot ass.
ReplyDeleteTaar, I bought some spinach! I forgot to buy pesto though. I was at the supermarket on the weekend and I was trying to remember what you suggested. I did want to ask - when heating up the spinach, do you have a bit of oil on the pan too? That seems like a really stupid question but I feel I need to ask.
Also, this is a reminder to send me the song. I will continue to remind you, plague you, in fact, until you send it. (In a friendly, irresistibly cuddly sort of way of course.)
Dylan, rock the EFF on, sister! I love it! I am due for measurements tomorrow, so I hope to have similarly positive news to share. That's so great, way to go.
Like I said in the viddie, whatever little things any of us are doing are good things. It's the all or nothing mentality that messes me up every time. If you're not ready to give up chocolate, don't do it. I still eat ice cream every night (right now it's gelato, actually; I don't know if that's better for me, just that it has way fewer calories).
Anyway, congrats on your success. I know this is a stressful time for you, so the fact you are making these healthy changes in your lifestyle is even more admirable. Way to go babe.
No oil in the pan, you just want to warm it until it makes a warm dish instead of a salad. Besides pesto has a bunch of oil in it. And actually the cold oil of the pesto is better for you than heated oil anyways.
ReplyDeleteSong request heard. Will comply.
Someday. heh.
Okay, yeah, that's kinda what I thought. Ooooh, I'm gonna pick up some pesto! I love pesto! Thanks for the reco. I am still going to do a recipe exchange blog soon.
ReplyDelete