How much does attitude affect your weight results?
I really think that my attitude has a lot to do with my success. Right now, this moment, I have a great attitude. Notice I said this moment. My attitude can certainly change at any moment.
I went up .8 pounds on the scale this past Wednesday. I'm perfectly okay with that. I had no problem with it from the moment I stepped up on the scale until now. I know why and I know what I can do differently. I now have to decide how it's going to affect me. Will I let it bother me or will I learn from it?
I feel good about myself right now too. I am feeling in control. So I still make mistakes? Certainly! It's amazing how different I am now than I was just a few years ago though. I have grown (I'm speaking of my habits, not of waist;)
I can decide to control my attitude just as much as my eating habits. I make better decisions when my attitude is a good one as well. When I get down on myself and beat myself up then I often make poor choices.
This doesn't mean that I am not going to keep trying to better myself and lose the last 4 pounds, but it does mean that I will have a smile on my face while I try.
Have a great day!
Corinna
"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." -Philippians 2:1-2
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Overdid it:(
Wow, it was a busy weekend! Friday morning and afternoon were pretty normal. We attended Friday morning Mass and then worked on school work for the rest of the day. I started dinner too late. By the time I had it ready to go into the oven, it was too late. I put in the refrigerator and told the kids to get in the car. My husband, Bryan, and my son, Jason, had already left so I just had to feed and wrangle the others.
We went through McDonald's drive-thru on the way to church. Fish sandwiches and small fries for everyone! I knew it wasn't the best choice but it was a no meat Friday for us so that's the direction I went. We went to church for the dress rehearsal. Bryan was directing "We Were There." It's a presentation of the living Stations of the Cross. Jason was in the play as Jesus. (This is huge for my normally shy teenage boy.) I was singing in the choir so the rest of the kids came too. I tracked my McDonald's when I got home that night. It put me over for the day and just a little over the rest of my Weekly PointsPlus Allowance. No, it's not good to be over at all, but I'll take just a few points over.
Saturday started as normal too. Bryan had some business for church so he was gone all morning. I took Gabriella to dance in the morning/afternoon. I ate normally. Then we all left the house at 2:30 to get to church. I had to get the food ready for Bryan to feed his cast that evening. When the food was ready we went to Mass. After Mass it was time to fee the cast and crew (and myself of course) and get ready for the play. Although I played a part in preparing the meal, the main course was not my choice. Pizza was delivered. I knew this ahead of time so when we stopped at the store on the way there for me to get the ingredients for punch I was sure to get some fruits and veggies to help my cause. I tracked every bite when I got home that night and was happy with the results. I actually didn't even use all of the points for the day. I was completely exhausted though so as soon as Samuel was in bed I crashed. I didn't need to eat my last 6 points.
Sunday started normal too but normal is busy. I work in the nursery in my church on Sunday mornings. (Have you gotten the idea that we spend a lot of time at church?) Bryan has work to do so he left at 6am. That left me to get the 5 kids up and ready to leave by 7:45am.....and we're off. We worked in the nursery until noon. As my kids and I were packing up to leave the nursery Bryan came up and said, "Let's go get some lunch." I had just planned on eating leftovers that we had left in the church refrigerator. His response was, "I just need to get out of this building for an hour." I agreed wholeheartedly. We love our church but we had spent a lot of time there and knew that we would be back a lot.
We only had a little over an hour before we had to be back. Bryan asked my opinion for lunch.....Chili's, burger joint or Cracker Barrell?? Hmmmm....Chili's I guess. Wait!!!! There's Applebee's. They have a WW menu. Can we go there? Bryan was happy to accommodate. Whew! I could just choose a WW labeled meal and it would be easy. It was easy.........except for those fries I took off of my son's plate. What!?! He said he was full. Not a good choice. When I got back to church I took out my laptop and tracked my lunch. It was a lot but I still had 7 points left for the day. I can do this.
It was a wonderful day. We got home around 6. Bryan took care of making dinner. I ate my fruit and planned on only eating one chicken sausage and bun. That should work. It would have worked just perfectly but they were so good that I helped myself to a second. Then the kids were having dessert and I decided to join them. It was time to wind down from a busy but wonderful weekend I had apparently decided that the way to wind down was to eat. After the kids and Bryan went to bed I even pulled out the chips. Hey, they were baked so how bad could they be?! I went to bed feeling full. I never like going to bed feeling full. It doesn't usually mean I will have a good night's sleep. What did I do?! Why did I do it?
Here's the sad truth. I'm going to come clean and tell you that I went over my Weekly points by 51. That's not good. That's terrible. What can I do about it now though? I can forgive myself and move on. I can realize that it's over and I don't have to continue that behavior for the rest of the week. I can learn from my mistakes.
It's a new day. It will be another busy one. It's a pretty normal Monday except that we have our last performance tonight. That will mean another late night. I will not let this night get like last night. I will make good choices. I may not lose weight this week. I may gain. I may stay the same. That's a slight disappointment after having a 2.6 loss last week and 2.2 the week before. I wont let it derail me though. I'll let you know how it goes.
If you are free tonight and would like to come see a beautiful presentation. My family will be at our last performance at 7pm at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Menomonee Falls.
Have a great day!
Corinna
"It is better to forgive and love one another than to always be right, for 'knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." -Corinthians 8:1
We went through McDonald's drive-thru on the way to church. Fish sandwiches and small fries for everyone! I knew it wasn't the best choice but it was a no meat Friday for us so that's the direction I went. We went to church for the dress rehearsal. Bryan was directing "We Were There." It's a presentation of the living Stations of the Cross. Jason was in the play as Jesus. (This is huge for my normally shy teenage boy.) I was singing in the choir so the rest of the kids came too. I tracked my McDonald's when I got home that night. It put me over for the day and just a little over the rest of my Weekly PointsPlus Allowance. No, it's not good to be over at all, but I'll take just a few points over.
Saturday started as normal too. Bryan had some business for church so he was gone all morning. I took Gabriella to dance in the morning/afternoon. I ate normally. Then we all left the house at 2:30 to get to church. I had to get the food ready for Bryan to feed his cast that evening. When the food was ready we went to Mass. After Mass it was time to fee the cast and crew (and myself of course) and get ready for the play. Although I played a part in preparing the meal, the main course was not my choice. Pizza was delivered. I knew this ahead of time so when we stopped at the store on the way there for me to get the ingredients for punch I was sure to get some fruits and veggies to help my cause. I tracked every bite when I got home that night and was happy with the results. I actually didn't even use all of the points for the day. I was completely exhausted though so as soon as Samuel was in bed I crashed. I didn't need to eat my last 6 points.
Sunday started normal too but normal is busy. I work in the nursery in my church on Sunday mornings. (Have you gotten the idea that we spend a lot of time at church?) Bryan has work to do so he left at 6am. That left me to get the 5 kids up and ready to leave by 7:45am.....and we're off. We worked in the nursery until noon. As my kids and I were packing up to leave the nursery Bryan came up and said, "Let's go get some lunch." I had just planned on eating leftovers that we had left in the church refrigerator. His response was, "I just need to get out of this building for an hour." I agreed wholeheartedly. We love our church but we had spent a lot of time there and knew that we would be back a lot.
We only had a little over an hour before we had to be back. Bryan asked my opinion for lunch.....Chili's, burger joint or Cracker Barrell?? Hmmmm....Chili's I guess. Wait!!!! There's Applebee's. They have a WW menu. Can we go there? Bryan was happy to accommodate. Whew! I could just choose a WW labeled meal and it would be easy. It was easy.........except for those fries I took off of my son's plate. What!?! He said he was full. Not a good choice. When I got back to church I took out my laptop and tracked my lunch. It was a lot but I still had 7 points left for the day. I can do this.
It was a wonderful day. We got home around 6. Bryan took care of making dinner. I ate my fruit and planned on only eating one chicken sausage and bun. That should work. It would have worked just perfectly but they were so good that I helped myself to a second. Then the kids were having dessert and I decided to join them. It was time to wind down from a busy but wonderful weekend I had apparently decided that the way to wind down was to eat. After the kids and Bryan went to bed I even pulled out the chips. Hey, they were baked so how bad could they be?! I went to bed feeling full. I never like going to bed feeling full. It doesn't usually mean I will have a good night's sleep. What did I do?! Why did I do it?
Here's the sad truth. I'm going to come clean and tell you that I went over my Weekly points by 51. That's not good. That's terrible. What can I do about it now though? I can forgive myself and move on. I can realize that it's over and I don't have to continue that behavior for the rest of the week. I can learn from my mistakes.
It's a new day. It will be another busy one. It's a pretty normal Monday except that we have our last performance tonight. That will mean another late night. I will not let this night get like last night. I will make good choices. I may not lose weight this week. I may gain. I may stay the same. That's a slight disappointment after having a 2.6 loss last week and 2.2 the week before. I wont let it derail me though. I'll let you know how it goes.
If you are free tonight and would like to come see a beautiful presentation. My family will be at our last performance at 7pm at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Menomonee Falls.
Have a great day!
Corinna
"It is better to forgive and love one another than to always be right, for 'knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." -Corinthians 8:1
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
It's not easy
Today in my WW meeting we talked about motivation and determination. Motivation is what gets you in the door to start something new but determination is what keeps you doing it. (That's the gist of what I remember anyway.)
As I went about my day after my meeting I saw how this was true in my own life. Motivation is what got me to begin losing weight years ago. I was motivated to do something about the condition of my body. I was motivated to do the WW program to feel like I could keep up with life and be comfortable with the size I was wearing.
As I continued to try living the WW life I had successes and setbacks. I had losses and gains. Eventually, I got to my goal but it wasn't without a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Okay, maybe not blood unless you count giving birth to a few kids.:) From my highest weight in 2003 I have lost a total of 63.8 pounds.....and that highest weight does NOT include being pregnant with any of children. I was even higher during Gabriella's pregnancy.
I am proud to say that I have lost a total of 63.8 pounds and when most people look at me they probably would never know that I had that weight on my at one time. They also don't know how hard I have worked to get it off (more than once) and keep it off (more than once). It's not an easy process.
In a conversation with my mom today we were talking about the difficulties of losing weight. I was telling her how I understand her woes. I was sharing with her how I am tempted by all of the junk too......and so is my husband, Bryan. She made a comment that surprised me. She said I was different. Hmmmmmm...... How am I different? I didn't get it. I have the same struggles as anyone with a weight problem.
Later, over dinner, I was sharing with Bryan her comment and he agreed with her. He said it was because I was disciplined. Again, I was shocked. These are the two most supportive people in my life as far as my weight loss. These two people have asked about my weigh-ins over the years and cheered me on every step of the way, but now I was different. Now I was seen as someone who doesn't struggle. Why? Because I got to my goal? Because I kept the weight off?
I'll be honest. I'm trying not to be offended by either comment because I know that neither of them meant it offensively at all, but it's a bit unsettling to me for some reason. I am no different from anyone else. I am no different from any one of you who read this blog, anyone else who attends Weight Watchers meetings or anyone else who has a weight problem.
So I guess what I want to point out to all of you is that it doesn't matter who you are!! It doesn't matter how you are wired. It doesn't matter how disciplined, motivated or determined you are. It's going to be hard to lose the weight. I'm not going to lie. It's going to hard to lose it and then hard to maintain the weight loss. You will learn small tricks, tips and ideas to help you along the way and those things will be tremendous tools for you to lean on. You will eventually learn habits that will help you keep your head above water when things get rough. It's not easy for anyone!! BUT you will never regret it!! I have NEVER looked back and regretted saying no to extra helpings or dessert and you wont either. Don't focus on how hard it is. Focus on what you want to feel when you lose that 2, 5, 50 or 100 pounds. That's what is going to make it all worth it. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. _________(insert your name here) CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!! Believe it!
I hope there weren't too many exclamation points today!;) I'm just feeling like I need to exclaim my message tonight.
Take care of yourself,
Corinna
"And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you according to your faith." And the servant was healed in that hour." -Matthew 8:13
Sunday, March 18, 2012
It's in the pants
Over the past few months I occasionally get a comment from someone that goes something like..."You look great. You've lost all of your baby weight already!" Then I have to respond, "Thanks. I'm working on it but I'm not quite there yet. I'll get there."
This is incredibly flattering and I appreciate it wholeheartedly. In fact it's so flattering that it makes me wonder if I should just call it done. Maybe I should just give up on that goal that I have of getting every last pound back off. If I look good enough to people that they truly think that I am back to my pre-Samuel weight then why I am I working so hard to keep losing weight? I'll tell you why. It's the pants!!
Since Samuel was born just 9 months ago I have had to keep changing my wardrobe. For the first couple of months I continued to wear maternity clothes. I know that this is necessary for most women. Then when he was about 2 months old I had lost enough weight to start fitting in to some of my regular clothes. They weren't the same clothes I was wearing before Sammy's pregnancy but they were regular clothes nonetheless. They were the clothes that I still had in my daughter's closet just in case I got pregnant again. They were 2-3 sizes bigger than the size I was wearing when I got pregnant with Samuel.
Every couple of months since then I have been able to pack up one size to squeeze into the next smaller size. For the past 3 months I have been wearing the same size that I was wearing before Sammy's pregnancy. That was a milestone that I enjoyed immensely but all of the clothes have not been comfortable. I have also had 2 pairs of pants that I haven't been able to wear at all. My wardrobe has been very limited and I refuse to buy new clothes until I am back to my personal goal weight.
Every week or two I try one of those pairs of pants on just to see if they fit yet. Each time I am sorely disappointed. Last week I tried one of them on after my weight loss and found that they finally buttoned. Wooohooo! But since I value breathing while wearing my pants, I unbuttoned them and took them back off. Back into the closet they went yet again. I'll try again over the next week or two. Trying them on too often is depressing so I always wait at least a week.
So, as I said, it's in the pants. I am losing every last ounce no matter how good I may feel in my yoga pants and no matter how many people tell me how good I look. I have to do what is best for me and it's never good to be uncomfortable in your clothes or in your own skin.
Have a great day!
Corinna
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." -John 3:16-17
This is incredibly flattering and I appreciate it wholeheartedly. In fact it's so flattering that it makes me wonder if I should just call it done. Maybe I should just give up on that goal that I have of getting every last pound back off. If I look good enough to people that they truly think that I am back to my pre-Samuel weight then why I am I working so hard to keep losing weight? I'll tell you why. It's the pants!!
Since Samuel was born just 9 months ago I have had to keep changing my wardrobe. For the first couple of months I continued to wear maternity clothes. I know that this is necessary for most women. Then when he was about 2 months old I had lost enough weight to start fitting in to some of my regular clothes. They weren't the same clothes I was wearing before Sammy's pregnancy but they were regular clothes nonetheless. They were the clothes that I still had in my daughter's closet just in case I got pregnant again. They were 2-3 sizes bigger than the size I was wearing when I got pregnant with Samuel.
Every couple of months since then I have been able to pack up one size to squeeze into the next smaller size. For the past 3 months I have been wearing the same size that I was wearing before Sammy's pregnancy. That was a milestone that I enjoyed immensely but all of the clothes have not been comfortable. I have also had 2 pairs of pants that I haven't been able to wear at all. My wardrobe has been very limited and I refuse to buy new clothes until I am back to my personal goal weight.
Every week or two I try one of those pairs of pants on just to see if they fit yet. Each time I am sorely disappointed. Last week I tried one of them on after my weight loss and found that they finally buttoned. Wooohooo! But since I value breathing while wearing my pants, I unbuttoned them and took them back off. Back into the closet they went yet again. I'll try again over the next week or two. Trying them on too often is depressing so I always wait at least a week.
So, as I said, it's in the pants. I am losing every last ounce no matter how good I may feel in my yoga pants and no matter how many people tell me how good I look. I have to do what is best for me and it's never good to be uncomfortable in your clothes or in your own skin.
Have a great day!
Corinna
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." -John 3:16-17
Thursday, March 15, 2012
picture
I'm a bit sore!
As I am going about my day today I am noticing that my legs are a bit sore. It is reminding me of the great day I had with my family yesterday.
Bryan worked his full-time job in the morning but had off from his part-time job for the day so when he came home and crashed on the couch for a nap (he wakes up at 3am so he treasures a nap when he can get one) I asked him if we could wake him when we were ready to leave. It was a beautiful 75 degree day in Milwaukee in the middle of March. With weather that nice, I wanted to get the kids out to enjoy it. I pushed them all morning to get their school work done so we could get outside.
For Christmas my brother gave us a family pass to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. My kids have been there twice before for some home school classes and enjoyed it. They were really looking forward to going there as a family to show Mom and Dad the sights and see whatever they felt like instead of what they were studying in class.
We woke up Bryan and headed off for a hike. A few years back Bryan started taking us for hikes. He was getting more active in his life and wanted us to join him. Hiking has now become a favorite activity for the whole family. It's a wonderful thing! I love that, if given the choice, my kids would go on a hike over watching TV any day.
After a tiring day of home schooling 4 kids and taking care of an infant sometimes I'm not very energized to get out but I have never regretted it. With the weather so beautiful I was plenty energized to go.
We hiked the trails. Some of them were paved. Some of them were grass. Some of them were woodchips. Some of them were soupy mud. We came home wet, muddy and tired. We came home happy and refreshed at the same time. We saw some beautiful sights. The Schlitz Audubon is on the lakefront so we even hiked down to the beach. The kids found a wooden structure to hide in and I had to take some pictures. It was a steep hike down and an even steeper hike back up from the lake.
There was also a lookout to climb. We climbed several flights of stairs to see the beautiful sights of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At first I told Bryan and the kids to go without me. I was going to stay down with Samuel in the stroller. Then I realized that I could take him out of the stroller and bring him with me;) I'm not sure why I didn't think of that immediately. Can we say lazy? I blamed it on my bad knees.
About a month and a half ago I started having pains in both of my knees. It started with my daily DVD workouts and then moved into my daily life. I had to talk myself into stopping my workouts because I felt I was just damaging my knees even more. Now I am sad to report that I don't workout daily. It's disappointing and at first I beat myself up for it. I felt like a failure and I kept eating as though I was working out. If I'm not earning the Activity Points, I can't eat them.
I haven't figured out what I am going to do about exercise in my life. I'm hoping my knees will heal and I will be able to go back to my DVD's. My brother has had bad knees for years and my mom had had knee surgery. Maybe I'm destined to have them too. I'm sure there is something that I will find to do that wont hurt my knees but I told myself recently that even though I may not be able to control my bad knees, I can control what I put in my mouth. That is where my focus is.
Although that is where my focus is, it sure felt good to get that activity in yesterday and it feels good to be sore today.
Get out and enjoy the early Spring!
Corinna
"For now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." -Song of Solomon 2:11-12
Bryan worked his full-time job in the morning but had off from his part-time job for the day so when he came home and crashed on the couch for a nap (he wakes up at 3am so he treasures a nap when he can get one) I asked him if we could wake him when we were ready to leave. It was a beautiful 75 degree day in Milwaukee in the middle of March. With weather that nice, I wanted to get the kids out to enjoy it. I pushed them all morning to get their school work done so we could get outside.
For Christmas my brother gave us a family pass to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. My kids have been there twice before for some home school classes and enjoyed it. They were really looking forward to going there as a family to show Mom and Dad the sights and see whatever they felt like instead of what they were studying in class.
We woke up Bryan and headed off for a hike. A few years back Bryan started taking us for hikes. He was getting more active in his life and wanted us to join him. Hiking has now become a favorite activity for the whole family. It's a wonderful thing! I love that, if given the choice, my kids would go on a hike over watching TV any day.
After a tiring day of home schooling 4 kids and taking care of an infant sometimes I'm not very energized to get out but I have never regretted it. With the weather so beautiful I was plenty energized to go.
We hiked the trails. Some of them were paved. Some of them were grass. Some of them were woodchips. Some of them were soupy mud. We came home wet, muddy and tired. We came home happy and refreshed at the same time. We saw some beautiful sights. The Schlitz Audubon is on the lakefront so we even hiked down to the beach. The kids found a wooden structure to hide in and I had to take some pictures. It was a steep hike down and an even steeper hike back up from the lake.
There was also a lookout to climb. We climbed several flights of stairs to see the beautiful sights of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At first I told Bryan and the kids to go without me. I was going to stay down with Samuel in the stroller. Then I realized that I could take him out of the stroller and bring him with me;) I'm not sure why I didn't think of that immediately. Can we say lazy? I blamed it on my bad knees.
About a month and a half ago I started having pains in both of my knees. It started with my daily DVD workouts and then moved into my daily life. I had to talk myself into stopping my workouts because I felt I was just damaging my knees even more. Now I am sad to report that I don't workout daily. It's disappointing and at first I beat myself up for it. I felt like a failure and I kept eating as though I was working out. If I'm not earning the Activity Points, I can't eat them.
I haven't figured out what I am going to do about exercise in my life. I'm hoping my knees will heal and I will be able to go back to my DVD's. My brother has had bad knees for years and my mom had had knee surgery. Maybe I'm destined to have them too. I'm sure there is something that I will find to do that wont hurt my knees but I told myself recently that even though I may not be able to control my bad knees, I can control what I put in my mouth. That is where my focus is.
Although that is where my focus is, it sure felt good to get that activity in yesterday and it feels good to be sore today.
Get out and enjoy the early Spring!
Corinna
"For now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." -Song of Solomon 2:11-12
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Weigh in Wednesday
Today was my WW meeting. I was looking forward to going for a couple of reasons. First of all, my life has been busy the past couple of months so I have had to miss a few meetings from time to time. I still have been able to attend at least 2 meetings per month but I like to attend more when I can. My Weight Watchers meeting energizes me to continue to my weight-loss journey. It gives me the energy I need to get started well on the next week.
Second of all, I was really hoping for a great weigh-in. I tracked every bite this week and only went over my points budget by 5 for the week. I did not track any of my activity points so I figure I probably earned those points that I went over in activity so it would even out. It did even out. I lost 2.2 pounds this week!!
I was due for a good weight loss. I have noticed a pattern in my weight. It goes kind of like this: good weight loss, stay the same or lose a tiny, stay the same or lose a tiny, weight gain, and then it starts over. It's nice to notice that pattern so I don't have to get too frustrated when the scale isn't in my favor. It's not just the scale either, it's my motivation.
I'm interested in breaking the pattern this week. It would be nice to keep up my motivation and perseverance to see a nice weight loss again next week. It's also nice to see that after the cycle comes around I am still losing in the long run. Each time I have a good weight loss I am reaching another milestone. That milestone is always a little bit lower than my last lowest weight since Sammy.
You know with the ups and downs I didn't even realize just how close I was to making my personal goal. It looks like I have only about 6 pounds to go!! When people comment on how good I look and how I must be at my goal now I keep telling them that I still have about 10 pounds to lose. After looking at all of the numbers today I see that I'm wrong. I'm closer than I thought.
Thanks for joining me on my journey. How are you doing on your journey?
Corinna
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." -1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Second of all, I was really hoping for a great weigh-in. I tracked every bite this week and only went over my points budget by 5 for the week. I did not track any of my activity points so I figure I probably earned those points that I went over in activity so it would even out. It did even out. I lost 2.2 pounds this week!!
I was due for a good weight loss. I have noticed a pattern in my weight. It goes kind of like this: good weight loss, stay the same or lose a tiny, stay the same or lose a tiny, weight gain, and then it starts over. It's nice to notice that pattern so I don't have to get too frustrated when the scale isn't in my favor. It's not just the scale either, it's my motivation.
I'm interested in breaking the pattern this week. It would be nice to keep up my motivation and perseverance to see a nice weight loss again next week. It's also nice to see that after the cycle comes around I am still losing in the long run. Each time I have a good weight loss I am reaching another milestone. That milestone is always a little bit lower than my last lowest weight since Sammy.
You know with the ups and downs I didn't even realize just how close I was to making my personal goal. It looks like I have only about 6 pounds to go!! When people comment on how good I look and how I must be at my goal now I keep telling them that I still have about 10 pounds to lose. After looking at all of the numbers today I see that I'm wrong. I'm closer than I thought.
Thanks for joining me on my journey. How are you doing on your journey?
Corinna
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." -1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Sleep.....zzzzzzzzzzz
I've been thinking a lot about sleep lately. Maybe thinking isn't the right word. Dreaming is probably more accurate;)
Samuel is 9 months old now. He's an absolute joy. He's a beautiful boy and has added so much to our family. My only complaint is that he doesn't seem to need much sleep. This is causing me to dream of the day when I will get to sleep again. This is a switch for me. My other children all slept through the night by the time they were 3 months old so I'm confused by my 5th child deciding to sleep for no more than a couple of hours at time.
This has caused me to evaluate just how much sleep or lack of sleep makes a difference in my life. I haven't had a full night's sleep in over 9 months so I am a bit tired. Do you think this could affect my weight loss? I'm realizing that indeed it can.
It's interesting that I have heard that lack of sleep can negatively affect your weight loss efforts but haven't really heard much in the Weight Watchers meeting rooms discussing this. So I decided to do a little research of my own. I checked out the Weight Watchers website. They have a ton of articles that are based on research. I found one on sleep that reinforced my thoughts.
It mentioned that fact that we don't make good choices when we are tired. When we are tired we are often stressed and distracted so that makes it harder for us to pay attention to our food choices. It also makes it hard for us to get a good workout when we are too tired to put in a good effort.
I have noticed over the years that when I don't get enough sleep I often "feel hungry". I don't think that this is true hunger but it sure feels like it. I have to be REALLY aware of my choices because I am feeling so hungry. Since I have this confusion due to my tiredness I have decided that asking myself if this is truly hunger may not really matter. Just because I am "hungry" doesn't mean I need to eat. Instead I have realized that I need to eat only what I am budgeted for the day and pay close attention to my Good Health Guidelines. If I am getting all of my Points in for the day as well as meeting my GHG's I need to ignore that hunger and get over it.
I don't know when Samuel is going to allow me to get 8 hours of sleep again (I would be happy with even 6), but I do know that while I am waiting for him to be ready I am not going to let my weight loss efforts blow away.
Hope you are sleeping well.
Corinna
"I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety." -Psalm 4:8
Samuel is 9 months old now. He's an absolute joy. He's a beautiful boy and has added so much to our family. My only complaint is that he doesn't seem to need much sleep. This is causing me to dream of the day when I will get to sleep again. This is a switch for me. My other children all slept through the night by the time they were 3 months old so I'm confused by my 5th child deciding to sleep for no more than a couple of hours at time.
This has caused me to evaluate just how much sleep or lack of sleep makes a difference in my life. I haven't had a full night's sleep in over 9 months so I am a bit tired. Do you think this could affect my weight loss? I'm realizing that indeed it can.
It's interesting that I have heard that lack of sleep can negatively affect your weight loss efforts but haven't really heard much in the Weight Watchers meeting rooms discussing this. So I decided to do a little research of my own. I checked out the Weight Watchers website. They have a ton of articles that are based on research. I found one on sleep that reinforced my thoughts.
It mentioned that fact that we don't make good choices when we are tired. When we are tired we are often stressed and distracted so that makes it harder for us to pay attention to our food choices. It also makes it hard for us to get a good workout when we are too tired to put in a good effort.
I have noticed over the years that when I don't get enough sleep I often "feel hungry". I don't think that this is true hunger but it sure feels like it. I have to be REALLY aware of my choices because I am feeling so hungry. Since I have this confusion due to my tiredness I have decided that asking myself if this is truly hunger may not really matter. Just because I am "hungry" doesn't mean I need to eat. Instead I have realized that I need to eat only what I am budgeted for the day and pay close attention to my Good Health Guidelines. If I am getting all of my Points in for the day as well as meeting my GHG's I need to ignore that hunger and get over it.
I don't know when Samuel is going to allow me to get 8 hours of sleep again (I would be happy with even 6), but I do know that while I am waiting for him to be ready I am not going to let my weight loss efforts blow away.
Hope you are sleeping well.
Corinna
"I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety." -Psalm 4:8
Monday, March 5, 2012
Snacks
I'm struggling with my weight loss journey.
I know what my Daily Points Target should be for me to lose weight but I'm having a hard time staying to that Target. I eat all of my Daily Target, all of my Weekly PointsPlus Allowance and all of my Activity PointsPlus also. With that I also get a Nursing PointsPlus Daily Allowance that I use too. About a month ago I had to take one of those Nursing Points away for each day to get back on the losing track. It worked so I now know exactly how many points it takes for me to lose weight. With that knowledge I should be able to lose those last pounds that are nagging me. Should is of course the important word here.
Why aren't I losing? Why am I at a standstill? Why am I sabotaging myself instead of sticking to my budget? It's frustrating me so instead of continuing on in this frustration I've decided to dive into these questions.
Why aren't I losing? I'm using too many PointsPlus Value in a week. So.....why am I using too many PointsPlus Values in a week. I can't say that it's pure hunger. Sometimes I am hungry and sometimes I am just eating for various reasons. What it gets down to is that I know many people who can lose weight who don't get extra nursing points and who don't even use their weekly points. How do they do it? Well, obviously they eat a lot less than I do.
So....how can I eat less? I've been thinking about what I eat in a given week and day. I eat a ton of snacks. What is happening frequently is that I snack all day plus eat 3 meals. Then, when I get to my last meal of the day I have very little left for a good dinner. This is causing my to go over my PointsPlus Budget when I eat a normal dinner. This is a problem that I should be able to fix.
Here's the plan. I need to cut back on some of those snacks. I realized this on Friday but didn't start doing anything about it until today. I let myself eat waaaaaaay too much this weekend as I looked deeper into my eating habits. As a Catholic I do not eat meat, snacks or desserts on Fridays during Lent. I realized that this past Friday I could get by with eating less and live a perfectly good life. It even gives me a little bit more time in my day since I am not spending so much of it finding and eating food.
Today I started my new plan of eating one snack in between each meal. I was accustomed to eating 2 to 3 snacks in between each meal. This is just not necessary. This is something that I want to try. I need to try it for a whole week and to see the results. My main concern is that I will be too hungry between meals that I will overdo it for the meal but I know that I have to try something I really think that this will help me tremendously if I stick to it.
So now you all know my plan. Please feel free to check on me. Comment on my blog and ask me how it's going. I need all the accountability that I can get.
Until later,
Corinna
"Therefore prepare your minds for action, discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance." -1Peter 13-14
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