Halfway Through 2011

By July 1, many people find that the success they’d hoped for when setting New Year resolutions isn’t reality. Rather than dwell on setbacks or, even worse, wait until next New Year, just keep on keeping on.

I had really hoped that after two and half years on this weight loss journey, I’d be down to 199 lbs. and a size 12.  But the past six months I’ve battled with the same 3 to 4 lbs., going up and down, up and down, and staying around the 223 lb. mark.  It’s frustrating, yes, but am I disappointed? Not one bit.  I’ve still managed to keep off 50 lbs. and I work out at least twice a week, maybe more.  That, my friends, is still progress.  I’m healthier and happier than I have ever been, and I live healthy and happy (with a few screw ups, heartbreaks and indulgences here and there. ).

I think all too often, people try to do it all.  They want to eat perfectly, exercise regularly, stop smoking, work hard at work, go to church and make sure the house is clean from top to bottom every waking moment.  Or at least that’s how I wish my life would go.  But a recent article in Weight Watchers magazine snapped me back into reality.  Nobody’s perfect!

The article, featured in the Jan/Feb 2011 issue and titled Little Miss Perfect, starts with a quote from Molly Woundtightly.  Here goes:

“If I’m not going to give something my all, there’s no point in trying.  Three weeks ago, I swore off sweets and eating out, and I started waking up early to get to the gym.  I lost three pounds the first week – but barely any since.  I’m ready to throw in the towel and dive into a pint of ice cream. Help!”

As I was reading this, I was nodding my head.  Yes, yes, this is what I do and yes, yes, I’m about to give up.  Why is dieting so stinking hard?

What the expert, author Debbie Koenig, said :

As a former perfectionist who now helps others accept their imperfect selves, allow me to offer some expert advice.  First, put down the spoon.  Now, pick it back up again – after you’ve measured out a reasonable portion.  When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s generally the quantities that are problematic, not food itself.

You’re taking a perfectionist’s approach to weight loss.  That’s fine if all you’re after is a quick fix.  But going to such extremes won’t cut it if you’re in this for the long haul.  For example, when a patient tells me she wants to drop six dress sizes in a few months, I liken her to someone who’s never gotten off the couch saying she’d like to run a marathon: It’s not realistic.  

Instead of sprinting to the finish line in January, try taking baby steps by setting attainable goals, such as, “Today, I’ll take a walk during my lunch hour,” or “I’m going to eat one less processed snack.”  Focus on that one healthy change a day rather than the numbers on the scale.  Remember, your weight is just ONE measure of the healthy changes you’re making.  

Adopt an 80/20 eating strategy.  Eighty percent should be the good stuff: whole grains, fruits and veggies, lean meats, and healthy fats.  The other 20 percent can-and should-be the fun stuff.  So if you have nonfat yogurt with fruit and slivered almonds for breakfast, and for lunch you have a salad with chicken breast, go ahead and have a handful of fries with dinner-and savor them without remorse.

There’s a name for what happens when you’re too rigid with dieting. I call it the “What the heck?” effect.  You’re meticulously good for three weeks, and then you eat a brownie and think,”What the heck? I’ll finish the entire tray!” This behavior leads to a sense of self-loathing that makes it hard  to get back on track.  I’d rather see you eat one cookie a day (and enjoy it) than give up sweets “for life.”

Oh, and one last thing.  Enjoy the act of eating.  Focusing on the sumptuous flavor of dinner rather than the calories it contains will make mealtime a lot more pleasurable.    

When I first started Weight Watchers, I was losing weight but I felt so restricted. I never ate out, I was too scared to eat high calorie foods and I struggled for a really long time to ‘adopt’ my healthy lifestyle.  I found myself saying way too many times, “Man I can’t wait to lose all this weight so I don’t have to do this all the time!”

HAHAHA!  What was I thinking?  I’m going to lose 76 lbs. and then eat whatever I want and expect the weight to just magically never reappear? Not likely.

I enjoy food everyday, I probably even eat chocolate or something sweet at least once a day, and I don’t feel any guilt about treating myself anymore.  Well, I feel guilty sometimes, but only when I really, really fall off the wagon and I have to guilty myself to get back on!   I’ve been trying to accomplish this for a very long time now.  Living a healthy lifestyle most of the time, but not stressing about doing it all perfectly, and having a life that includes drinks with friends, sweets and eating out.

Last Saturday, Jillian and I made a trip to Red Mango.  As I ate my raspberry/chocolate frozen yogurt goodness with chocolate chips, cereal and a bunch of other crap on it, I didn’t feel even the slightest bit of guilt.  Why? Because I tracked all week and I knew I had the points for it.  It wasn’t about me sneaking in something I shouldn’t be eating, because as all Weight Watchers know, nothing is off limits.  Nothing at all.  And even after eating that, I weighed in Monday with a 1.4 lb. loss.   Go me!   The trick is to track and measure ALL of it…the good, the bad and the just plain ugly.

I hope this article helps somebody else too.  It really hit home with me and I’ll be passing this information onto one of the world’s most recent Weight Watchers members, my dad!!!  I couldn’t be more happy or more proud of my father right now.  Even though he claims to have fallen off the wagon, I have high hopes that he’ll get right back on.  If Weight Watchers was a gift I could wrap up really pretty (er, well have my sister wrap up really pretty for me) and give it to everyone in the world, I would.  Yes, I said everyone, not just the overweight.  Nothing in my life has made me understand my relationship with food and hunger than WW.  I’m so happy I get to see my dad’s journey.

In addition to not being perfect, I have a few tips that have helped with my success recently.

•  Chew gum.  Sometimes it takes all the power in the world for me to dig through my purse and shove a piece of gum in my mouth when my mind is trying to figure out the next item of food I can get my hands on.  My favorite flavor is currently Key Lime Pie.

•  When eating out, don’t give yourself unhealthy options.  The first thing I do when I get a menu is start figuring out the healthy combinations.  I might even write them down.  Then I use that list to make my decision.

•  Try new things.  This could include new foods, exercise and methods for making healthy choices.  I started doing Zumba in February.  I try different foods when I eat out or low calorie products I find while grocery shopping.  I’ve also started tracking my food online.  I used the paper tracker for more than two years and thought that since I didn’t have a fancy smancy phone, tracking it online wouldn’t work for me.  I was wrong.  Big time.  Not only is it easy (especially since it’s my homepage when I open Safari) it’s also made me more accountable.  Before, when I ate something, I would put down the number of points that I believed it was but I wasn’t always 100% sure.  Online, I can put in 24 crackers or 1/2 a serving and since that particular food is already calculated (and you can add your own) and stored in the system, I know I’m tracking the right points. WARNING:  TRACKING ONLINE CAN ALSO BE A REAL WAKE UP CALL!

• Don’t have time to write it down right away?  Snap a picture with your phone’s camera of the either the nutritional information or the actual meal.  That way you will have it on hand when you’re ready to calculate.

I recently covered Chick-fil-A Leadercast, a leadership conference a Southeast Community College, and one of the speakers said something that really struck a chord regarding changes.  This relates to us because we’re constantly making changes, to our habits, to our routine, and even to our wardrobe as we’re dropping the pounds!  The speakers name is Allison Levine and she is a mountaineer.  She has climbed the highest peak on every continent, served as the team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, and skied across the Arctic Circle to the geographic North Pole. In January 2008 she made history as the first American to complete a 600-mile traverse from west Antarctica to the South Pole following the route of legendary explorer Reinhold Messner.  Needless to say this woman has some strength and some hardcore willpower and has done some pretty amazing things.

In her presentation, she paralleled being a business leader to climbing Mt. Everest.  When you climb Mt. Everest, it’s quite a journey.  It takes a really long time to just get up the mountain because you have to keep starting over. On the first day, you climb only a short distance so you’re body can adjust to the changes in altitude.  On the second day, you get a little farther but have to go back down.  So on and so on.  She also talked about having to climb skinny, little bridges from one area to another, over deep dark ravines and having to watch out for avalanches.  Ok, admittedly, this is much much more scary than living a healthy lifestyle, but sometimes the journey is scary.  It’s scary to have to say no to your friends.  Will they think I suck for never hanging out with them?  It’s also scary to try new things.  Am I wasting my money on this new food?  What will my fat butt look like riding a tiny bike like that?

Levine said, “Fear is ok. Complacency is what will kill you.  You have to be able to react to the environment around you (bad food is everywhere). When you’re a leader (you’re the leader of your weight loss journey), you have to put a smile on your face. You can’t just ask anyone to do something you wouldn’t (no one can lose the weight for you).”

Changes? You have to keep your barrings and know at some point things will return to normal or work out.
Overwhelmed? Break it down into small steps.

It’s what you do with the lessons you learn while going forward on your journey. You have to weather storms. It’s not always about getting to the top of the mountain.”

I guess my point of this very long blog is that what works in the beginning, doesn’t work forever. Trying to be perfect and take it all on at once, probably not gonna work either.

“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.”  ~Mary Engelbreit

One more thing…

Since I’ve been MIA for a while, I haven’t shared my most recent athletic achievement.  I participated in my second 5k Walk it WW Challenge and I’m starting to feel definition in my arms from Zumbaing my booty off.  While the scale might not be changing, I’m definitely noticing a difference in my body.  Thank you Meagan and Melissa for accompanying me on the 5K.  Both women have been doing a superb job of eating better and exercising and are really starting to show it.  Keep it up!

Usher concert on May 22, 2011

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