My latest insight. Maybe some of you in here can relate. When I was eating bad....I would eat the same things over and over again and never got tired of my food choices. Blueberry Ego Waffles with Peanut Butter and Butter....three times a day (at least). Spaghetti, Shepard's Pie, Chilli, Roast Beef with Gravy & Carrotts, Mashed Potatoes, M&M's, Doritos with Salsa and Sour Cream....you get the picture. So....I thought to myself...self...why is it you don't tire of the bad foods, even though you eat the same thing over and over again? Well, this is my theory. If I find something I really like, I tend to like it for a very long time! So...if I find healthy foods I really like, I should be able to continue to eat those and not feel deprived. So far these are the foods I have discovered I just look forward to eating every day. Oatmeal with blueberries and hemp seeds. Yum! Lettuce wraps for lunch, with hummus, purple onion and cranberry mustard. Spinach salad with balsamic vinegar, feta cheese, cranberries and walnuts. One night I had two spinach salads (I was very hungry...LOL). So my life changing goal is to find the healthy foods I can LOVE to eat and eat those. I hope it works.....I'm just taking one day at a time like all of you. Everyone is doing so well. I find such courage in your posts, all of you have so much hope and have become really strong people....even when things get rough. I am grateful to be a member of this group. I thank all of you for sharing your stories and your moments (good and bad) with me and all of us who are striving to make permanent changes in our lives. I hope the things I have been sharing are helping too. God Bless.
YOU CAN DO THIS! It does become more of a HABIT to crave the good stuff..... truly! I think you really can begin to appreciate that you can ENJOY and really LOVE the healthy stuff and ALSO LOVE staying at a healthy weight/BMI. Are there times I would maybe rather have a big swiss mushroom burger rather than a grilled chicken breast or lowfat veggie burger? Sure..... but would I LOVE the beef burger enough to want to it stuck to my waistline (and arteries!) for the next 2-3 weeks? NO WAY! I have learned to LOVE the leaner foods and LOVE that I enjoy them and still maintain my weight loss. They taste like SUCCESS!! Plus I am a volume eater and I can appreciate eating a larger amount of a healthier food (a HUGE bowl of brown bag microwave popcorn with just a spritz of oil and salt versus a tiny portion of Doritos or real potato chips.... or a HUGE BOWL of veggie stir-fry with a few ounces of lean chicken versus a much smaller portion of macaroni and cheese.... you get the idea). I've always believed that one of the KEYS to weight loss and long-term weight maintenance is finding healthier foods that you really LOVE and truly look forward to eating!
BTW, your positivity is absolutely INFECTIOUS! I smile every time I read your posts!! And I use hemp seed on my yogurt.... never thought of it on my oatmeal! Have to try it!
Does anyone else have scale apprehension when they need to do their weigh-in? I feel this at every weigh-in and I know that I shouldn't be nervous about what I will see since I have been on a losing-streak since I started. But perhaps it's the notion that I am nervous for how much I have lost. I see, feel, and experience the results of the loss in my daily routine, from having easier times walking, smaller clothing sizes, and smaller food portions because I'm not so hungry.
But for some reason the scale intimidates me and I worry each time I am about to step on. I hope I am not alone in this notion. It's silly really - but it's a validator for how hard we've all worked during the week.
Yup..... hold my breath every single time. Always so afraid that my week of hard work won't show up..... or that my week of overindulgence will look worse than expected. So it is important to find other ways to measure your success! Like keeping up with an exercise plan..... or finding new healthy recipes to love..... or measuring with actual MEASUREMENTS rather than a scale number! Look for those NSVs (non-scale victories) every week!
QOTW - September 26/27
I can't believe we've already reached the last weekend of September! I want to do the QOTW in two parts. First, is
@courtneybeth 's question about scale apprehension.
Answered above.
Second, we all give the scale a lot of power. It is almost impossible to avoid. But for this weekend, I want to know what you LOVE about yourself. Big brown eyes? Arms and chest that can lift your body weight? Legs that run for miles? An infectious sense of humor? A shoulder big enough for everyone? This weekend I want you to brag!
I'll brag about my energy and overall health because that is what came to mind first. I am one of the ONLY PEOPLE I KNOW that has hit 50 (and beyond) without being on a long term prescription medication and without chronic pain/illnesses. Sure, some of it is s**t luck and some of it is good genes.... but some of it is also taking CARE of myself! Even though I feel like I am being sluggish sometimes, I do realize that my overall energy level is VERY HIGH..... and it was higher when I was running regularly.... probably should get back to that!
Thanks for the questions....I love the prompts....keeps me thinking! I love that I love life....I'm always positive and live to be happy. I love that I'm a planner and organize vacations for me and my family. I am beginning to love my new body....I actually look in the mirror and think I look nice. I feel I'm a kind person and I am very supportive and encouraging to others.
And it is a JOY to be "around" a person that is so positive! Thank you for sharing that with us!
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Hey all! Glad I held out for another peek at the scale because it was at least a little improvement. Not as much as I was hoping for, but better than nothing. I honestly cannot remember if my goal for September was 4 or 5 pounds.... I'll have to look back and see. And since I am going to call this weekend's weigh-in my final number for the month, I'll have to do the math to see how much I lost/what % I lost.
Had a lousy night's sleep Friday night.... for some reason I was VERY nauseous from about 2-5 am..... but never got sick. Felt better when I got up, but ate lightly to start the day. Hit the grocery store for produce and dairy (things we need every week it seems) and then worked outside with DH from about 1-6 pm. I was pretty tired when all was said and done (due to lack of sleep and light eating), but it felt good to get so much done (cutting trees and limbs, running the chipper, weeding). Probably will head out there again in a bit. Running the "laundry factory" non-stop today as well..... load two is going out on the line when I am done here.
Meal planning for the start of the week is done.... need to decide on the remainder of the week..... but I didn't have the men's schedule so I couldn't go forward yesterday. But I've got enough in the house to work with.
I may say NO if they call me to work maintenance at the middle school again this week. The money is nice, but we haven't had a dinner together in a long time it seems! Maybe I'll work 2 four hour nights instead of 3 three hours nights... see how I feel when/if they call.
Off to get the laundry moving along! So glad to have the warm sun today to dry it quickly! BTW, anyone else excited about seeing the LUNAR ECLIPSE tonight??..................P
I'm so glad that you are enjoying coaching. One of the best things I learned this year from one of my coaches is that WW is a pass/fail course -- you don't have to get an A.
That has gone a long way to helping me appreciate all the things that I do right instead of dwelling on not reaching my unrealistic expectations. Keep up the good work!
SO PROUD of you for going into it with a PLAN!! Yup.... cruise the buffet a few times, figure out what looks AMAZING and take a TINY portion of that stuff.... and if it is NOT amazing don't feel bad about leaving it on your plate!!! I am such a stresser about WASTING food..... but honestly..... why WAIST it rather than WASTE it..... make the smarter choice!! The hardest thing I ever left behind on a plate was a chocolate "Mickey ears" dessert I took from the buffet at Chef Mickey's...... it looked amazing and adorable and delicious and was the perfect center for the picture I took of my dessert selection.... but tasted icky!...
So I decided to leave it behind.... and I still remember it now because it was hard. But glad I didn't consume calories that I didn't enjoy!
