Cam's New Lease on Life Journal (comments welcome!)

[keenercam]

Thank you Jen and Beth!

I am really frustrated though I am not letting it impact on my forward progress. I realized recently, after the WW meeting on triggers, that my stress is often either frustration or anxiety or both. And I have often allowed my frustration at lack of progress on the scale trigger bad food choices. So, I am working on being very cognizant of these tendencies and to overcome those behaviors. Right now, my frustration at a total lack of movement on the scale is enough that I might make bad food choices. Instead, I am trying to muddle through this plateau and continue to make good choices DESPITE my frustration, rather than bad choices as a result of my frustration. I am resigning myself to the fact that I just might not see a loss on the scale at WW this week, notwithstanding that my rings are loose on my fingers and my clothes feel a little less constricting. Just going to "keep on swimming" as my old WISH friend Jen used to say. I miss that girl!

Food today:
B (pre-gym) -- lite multigrain EM with 1 slice fat free cheese & ICBINB spray; coffee w/skim milk
post-gym -- apple & coffee w/skim milk
L: green salad; regular english muffin w/grilled chicken; 100 calorie peanut butter granola bar
S: lite popcorn
D: tilapia; brown rice; italian green beans; 1 lite hot dog
dessert: lean cuisine chicken enchilada suiza; 3 chocolate cookies


Activity today (thank God for my DIS friend Patty who is the best workout buddy in the world! ):
30 minutes elliptical -- 300 calories -- 2.18 miles
40 minutes cross-training -- lower body, abs, core

 

[traceycooper]

Hi Cam
looking at your food & exercise that scale has just gotta move down soon!!!
keep it up you have the right attitude & good motivation - a recipe for success - keep smiling

 

[keenercam]

Thanks, Tracey. It is getting truly absurd! My three friends and many people at my meetings who do NOT exercise EVER are all losing 1-2 pounds a week. Consistently. That totally stinks.

 

[deekaypee]

I know I keep repeating myself, but you're doing just great! You're paying attention to your eating and how it needs to change (i.e. eating something substantial every meal), keeping track of things, exercising, paying attention to your triggers (and you have a LOT to be stressed and/or anxious about).

I totally understand your frustration about the weight loss. You're doing all these good things, and you're not seeing the scale move. And although you are seeing how your body responds--with the rings and clothing--it's small comfort when you see others weigh in who are losing weight but not working as hard as you are. (In terms of exercise, at least.) Remember, though, that you're an athlete; your body is much more efficient than theirs, more toned. (You may not believe it some days, but it's true.)

You just keep doing the good things you're doing, making those healthy choices every day, and soon the scale won't be able to resist your efforts & willpower!

 

[keenercam]

Debra -- Thanks. Well, I think you are probably right, since I have been getting unprovoked compliments left and right about how I am losing so much again so fast. And yet -- the scale was UP .5 this morning! How ridiculous, right? I really do appreciate the encouraging words.

Last night, I decided to use all my daily points and 3 out of 4 of my activity points, just to see if a high-point day (26) might shake up my body a bit. Apparently, it made no difference other than that the scale was up .5 probably from eating the last bits at close to 10 pm. I'll get over it.

Food today:
B: coffee w/skim milk; sesame bagel with scrape of cream cheese (this is something I have been wanting and had been avoiding, but figured one time this week of a heavy-point breakfast after an hour at the gym is no big sin, especially since it won't be a problem to stay within points today)

L: green salad;small grilled chicken breast; english muffin; weight watchers 2 pt pretzel crisps; peanut butter granola bar
S: lite popcorn
D: brown rice w/shrimp & chicken & diced tomatoes (DARN! this did not taste enough like jambalaya! ); whole wheat pasta w/diced tomatoes & fat free ricotta; tastes of "imposter"/free cole slaw

Activity today:
30 minutes elliptical -- 2.42 miles -- 321 calories
30 minutes bike -- 5.56 miles -- 169 calories

 

[kimwim8]

Hey Cam! Your workouts and food have been AWESOME!! I too am stumped as to why the scale wouldn't be moving. I'm predicting a really nice weigh in coming soon! It's gotta catch up at some point. But hey, the compliments and the loose rings/clothes are a wonderful thing too!

Keep up the GREAT work and the pounds will slip right off.

 

[goldcupmom]

Wow, Cam! I swear we must be sisters separated at birth!! I totally understand the scale not moving. Happens to me way too often & seems like the more I exercise, the more I gain!!

Hope things improve soon! For BOTH of us!! Any news on the Minnie yet?

Have a good rest of the week (in case I dont' get back here)

 

[MIdanceMom]

Hey Cam,

I think the gain was related to sodium. You had a lc and hot dog at dinner. You were probably retaining some water. It will just be that much extra that comes off in the next week. Have you tried the WW cream cheese. THey are in a box of 6 or 8, and individual portions. It is enough for a bagel, and is pretty darn good. Bonus is they are portable.

Keep up your great work.
Beth

 

[postesf]

Hey Cam! Sorry to hear about the weight frustrations! I know it's hard. Are you getting enough calcium? I hear that can make a difference.

Great job getting your workout in! you are speedy on the elliptical! I only did 1.4 miles in 20 min last night! Great job!!!

I really hope you can come the Minnie. I'm looking forward to meeting you!

Stacie

 

[keenercam]

Hey Cam! Your workouts and food have been AWESOME!! I too am stumped as to why the scale wouldn't be moving. I'm predicting a really nice weigh in coming soon! It's gotta catch up at some point. . .

Thanks, Kim! All I can think about is the days slipping by closer and closer to when I have to order my wedding gown and how I REALLY wanted to be a smaller size. Hopefully, progress will soon be noticeable to me!

Wow, Cam! I swear we must be sisters separated at birth!! I totally understand the scale not moving. Happens to me way too often & seems like the more I exercise, the more I gain!!

Hope things improve soon! For BOTH of us!! Any news on the Minnie yet?

. . . .

Julie - with all the running around you do, it's a wonder you aren't wasting away, but I have also read that lack of sleep impairs weight loss. SO, I think you need to work on that and I'll just be here cheering for you!

Hey Cam,

I think the gain was related to sodium. You had a lc and hot dog at dinner. You were probably retaining some water. It will just be that much extra that comes off in the next week. Have you tried the WW cream cheese. THey are in a box of 6 or 8, and individual portions. It is enough for a bagel, and is pretty darn good. Bonus is they are portable. . . .

Beth -- I hadn't seen nor heard of those yet! I'll have to look for it. Although the smart thing would be to buy some fat free cream cheese and keep it at work. But that is one of those things that just does NOT taste the same in the FF version. I'd rather use barely a scrape than to switch to FF. Though I don't anticipate eating it again anytime soon. It was such a nice treat!

Hey Cam! Sorry to hear about the weight frustrations! I know it's hard. Are you getting enough calcium? I hear that can make a difference.

Great job getting your workout in! you are speedy on the elliptical! I only did 1.4 miles in 20 min last night! Great job!!!

I really hope you can come the Minnie. I'm looking forward to meeting you!

Stacie

Thanks, Stacie -- I am pretty certain I am getting enough calcium with all the skim milk and fat free cheese I consume! On my good days, I even remember to take my vitamin! Thanks for the compliment on my elliptical progress. I actually felt kind of slow this morning, so I pushed the level up to 5 and then to 6 thinking that if I was going to spend half an hour on it, I might as well maximize calorie burn. I am hoping to know definitively next Tuesday. I am really hoping to be there to meet you and to see your medal at the finish line. Will you be at the WISH meet on Saturday?

 

[keenercam]

Started today with a very exciting discovery -- the scale was down a whole .7 pounds!!! Yippee!!! Just so funny. That is IT since I re-started WW on 3/27. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks. So, I am actually hoping that maybe my body will start to cooperate and the scale will budge.

Went to the gym this morning and did 30 minutes elliptical and 30 minutes bike. I pushed the elliptical level up to 6 the whole time so that even though my mileage wasn't as high as yesterday, the calorie burn wasn't too much less. I also put the bike level up to 7 and 8 so that the calorie burn was a bit better, too. I am still taking it kind of easy because of the lost toenail and bits of trapezoid pain. Trying to be very careful not to sustain any kind of injury or pain in the event I am able to get to the Minnie. Still hoping that I will know for sure next Tuesday. I'll do a long training session in the wee hours of this Saturday morning.

Food today:
B (pre-gym): coffee w/skim milk; lite multi-grain english muffin w/ICBINB spray & 1 slice FF cheese
B (post-gym): apple; more coffee w/skim milk
S: WW yogurt
L: green salad; 2 oz whole wheat pasta w/chopped tomatoes & red pepper & 1/4 c. fat free ricotta; WW cheddar twists; celery & 1 laughing cow light cheese wedge
S: WW peanut butter bliss bar
D: LC panini
S (at the theatre): WW chocolate crisp bar

Looking at the food plan,I see I definitely need more points, so I may add something to lunch so that I can keep things light later today in anticipation of weigh in tomorrow morning.

Something interesting happened last night. I was thinking about dessert, a snack, etc. and was logging all my food from dinner (which was kind of a hodgepodge of different stuff I wanted to use up). I realized I only had one point left for the day and suddenly, my appetite for anything else just disappeared. Seeing it all laid out in my journal, and writing it all in, and doing the point subtraction flipped some switch in my brain, like "okay, Cam, you had as much food as you were entitled to and you aren't hungry, so why put another single point in your mouth? You can just stop now and know that you were in control and won't that feel better than anything you'd eat?" Yes, my mind actually thinks that way! So, I didn't eat anything else. And I was up for about another 3 hours. Wow! 3 WHOLE HOURS without food. Aren't I just the cat's meow? Seriously, every once in a while you need to feel totally in control.

I am thinking it's about 6 weeks until wedding gown ordering time. I really want to show up at that appointment knowing I am in better shape and a smaller size than I have ever been in my entire life (I am already the smallest size I've been since middle school; now it's time to be the size I am supposed to be!)

 

[keenercam]

CROSS-POSTED FROM THE MINNIE THREAD:

OMG!! I just got word. I AM GOING TO MINNIE WEEKEND!!!!
I just can't imagine missing an opportunity to be with my WISH teammates. I have been so SAD!!!
My trial has been postponed!!
I'm so excited!!!!

 

[postesf]

CROSS-POSTED FROM THE MINNIE THREAD:

OMG!! I just got word. I AM GOING TO MINNIE WEEKEND!!!!
I just can't imagine missing an opportunity to be with my WISH teammates. I have been so SAD!!!
My trial has been postponed!!
I'm so excited!!!!

OMG!!!! This is fantastic!!! Yay!!! Can't wait to see you!



Stacie

 

[keenercam]

OMG!!!! This is fantastic!!! Yay!!! Can't wait to see you!



Stacie

Thank you, Stacie!! I am really, really looking forward to seeing you!!! Can't wait to give you a huge congratulatory hug in person!!!! For now --

 

[deekaypee]

Cam, What great news! You deserve it with all the work and stress that have taken over your life. And I just know everyone at the Minnie will be delighted to see you! I'm so happy for you!!!

 

[MIdanceMom]

Congratulations Cam!!!

I know how much going to the Minnie means to you. I think it is fantastic that you get to go.

I am so impressed with you and your control. 3 hours not eating IS an accomplishment. Don't sell yourself short. You are in control.

Have a good one,
Beth

 

[keenercam]

Thank you so much, Debra & Beth. I know that you guys understand how hard this is, and your support and encouragement really helps me so much to stay focused.

Well, the scale finally moved!! Down 2 whole pounds at WI this morning. The meeting was great, too. It was all about activity and it looks as if the leader and I were the only ones in the meeting who exercise pretty consistently. When I looked at my journal, I had one hour of exercise 5 days this week and another day of significant amounts of walking.

My goals for the week:
1. Use only daily points and activity points each day -- we don't have anything on the calendar that I can anticipate will present a points challenge, so I think I should be able to do this.
2. Take the stairs in the garage each morning
3. Exercise at least 6 days -- I am promising myself that if I do 8 miles Saturday morning, I will allow myself to have a small jambalaya for lunch and a small gumbo for dinner. These are my cravings every single weekend since I found a restaurant at our farmers market called Cajun Kate's, where the food is so outrageously flavorful and satisfying. Instead of doing a medium jambalaya and a small gumbo for lunch (like I have done previously), I will still allow myself both, in small portions, on a day when I will have earned about 8 activity points. Very do-able.

Food today:
B: coffee w/skim milk; regular english muffin w/half ham steak
L: garden salad w/grilled chicken & croutons (lunch out with a friend); cut fruit
S: garden salad w/half ham steak; pretzel crisps; lite popcorn
D: 2 oz whole wheat pasta w/asparagus, tomatoes & onions -- DELICIOUS!
dessert: WW 2pt bar


Activity -- 45 minutes on the bike while DS was at boy scouts. 9.2 miles -- 290 calories

 

[postesf]

Yay Cam! Congrats on the 2lbs!!! Fantastic! You can totally stick to your goals this week.

Good luck on your 8 miler! Whew! That is a long ways!!!

Stacie

 

[traceycooper]

wow Cam theres so much to congratulate you for!!!
well done on the 2lb loss - your hard work is finally paying off
Fantastic news that you can go to the Minnie lucky you to be able to meet some of the lovely wish friends you have made!
& you should be soooo proud being in control of your eating now That is a big hurdle & you've got over it
may all the good things continue for you cam - you deserve it

 

[toystoryduo]

CROSS-POSTED FROM THE MINNIE THREAD:

OMG!! I just got word. I AM GOING TO MINNIE WEEKEND!!!!
I just can't imagine missing an opportunity to be with my WISH teammates. I have been so SAD!!!
My trial has been postponed!!
I'm so excited!!!!

That is the BEST news I have heard all day today!!!!!! I am so super excited for you, Cam!!!!!

That's great that the scale is cooperating too. Lots to celebrate today!!

Have a wonderful evening!