Why Are You Doing This?

June 4, 2010 By

Some of you have been on this journey for a long time, and others for a shorter time. I think no matter where you are in your journey it is helpful to take a moment and revisit why you are doing all this hard work. And let’s be honest – losing weight is hard work. Good work–yes, but hard at times.

It can be easy to lose sight of why and get caught up in the weigh-ins, the food, the exercise, the highs, the lows. I know I did. I started out losing weight solely to get out of the 300′s and be able to wear clothes I bought in a store and didn’t sew on my machine. I wanted to fit into chairs, quit feeling too big for the room and quit being tired all the time.

Over time though, I sometimes lost sight of some of those reasons and just got discouraged with how long it was taking.

I wanted to ask you if it’s time for you to remember why you started working on your health and fitness. And to help you I’ve put together three questions, and I hope you will share to help others on their journey.

1. One reason I am working on my health and weight is: ______

2. One thing I’d like to do when I get to the weight I want to be is: ______

3. The biggest obstacle that is standing in the way of me reaching my goal is: _____ and I can overcome that obstacle by: _______

I found in my weight loss classes that writing down our goals, objectives and obstacles helps us stay focused and encourages us when we get discouraged.

I hope you will share your answers. So often, what we learn from other people are the very things that help make everything  “click” for us in our minds and in our hearts. There were many things I heard and read during the 10 years I struggled with obesity that motivated me, and even though I didn’t act on the motivation right away, I never forgot what they were. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered their success stories, and knew that someday that could be me. Diane

Filed Under: Choices, excuses, Weight Loss Tagged With: , ,

Two Very Different Visits

May 6, 2010 By

stethescopeAfter my third child’s birth I lost my usual 15 pounds and was depressed to realize I would once again be gaining weight and heading further into the 300′s. I felt so out of control and incredibly unmotivated. In early ’97 I went to the doctor for a check-up. It was right after that visit that my desire met action and my weight loss efforts finally kicked in and I got started. It took me 14 months from that visit to lose 150 pounds.

Late the next spring I went back to the doctor for my annual exam. I hadn’t seen the doctor since my last embarrassment on the scale.

I walked up to the receptionist, signed the sheet and sat down. Only one other person was in the waiting room at the time, and he was soon called back. I waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, the door to the inner sanctum opened and the nurse stuck her head through the crack in the door. She looked at the chart, looked at me, glanced around the waiting room and shut the door. Confused, I looked anxiously at the door, wondering where she had gone. A few seconds later the door opened again and the same nurse called my name. As I was walking across the room towards her she said, “You are Diane aren’t you?” I nodded. She said, “I looked at the chart right before I came to get you and noticed the weight. When I opened the door and saw you sitting there I thought I had the wrong chart!”  I said, “I’ve lost some weight.”  “SOME WEIGHT!” she exclaimed, “I would say so.” This time, when I got on the scale I felt a feeling I had never felt before. I felt proud that I finally was the weight I should be. As we walked to the exam room, she told everyone she saw, “She lost 150 pounds!”  For a change, I didn’t mind that appointment!

The doctor just about fell off his chair when I told him I had lost weight using good old fashioned diet and exercise. He told me, “I honestly thought you would end up having to have some kind of surgical procedure, or just keep gaining weight.” Needless to say he was quite happy with me for a change.

Experiences like that help reinforce to me that weight lost and weight maintenance affect all the experiences we have in our lives. Although I didn’t put off going to the doctor because of my obesity, I do know people who do. I would encourage you to get regular check-ups, etc. Every time I visit the doctor these days I’m so thankful that despite any other problems I may have, obesity isn’t one of them. 

Question:  Have you ever avoided the doctor because of your weight?  Diane

Filed Under: Appearance, goal setting, self esteem, Weight Loss Tagged With: , ,

What Did You Try First?

March 22, 2010 By

I was talking to a friend the other day who struggles mightly with her weight. She has finally lost enough weight that she is able to move without being in constant pain. She is ready to do some exercise. She asked me what I recommended. I suggested walking or water exercising. She’s going to think about what she feels comfortable with. I’m excited for her and hope that she will be able to discover the love of exercise as I have.

I still remember the first day I woke up early after commiting to an exercise and weight loss regime. I put on my ugly homemade jumper and little white Ked tennis shoes and headed out into the dark neighborhood. After only ten minutes I was completely out of breath and huffing and puffing. I was sweaty and exhausted and I felt like I had just climbed Mt. Everest.

And to me I had. I had done something that I previously thought only fit, thin people did. I had exercised and I was proud of myself. And the best part? I kept it up and continue it to this day.

I was wondering what the first exercise experience felt like to you? Were you exhausted or elated? And did you keep it up consistently, or have you taken breaks along the way?  Diane

That’s not my street but I wish it were!

Filed Under: Exercise, goal setting Tagged With: ,

Why Do We Run to Food?

March 5, 2010 By

Food was a struggle for me. Why then, was food my first choice in times of stress, boredom, anger, unhappiness, happiness or nervousness? At the end of a long day I’d hold an opened carton of Breyer’s ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other, shoveling the ice cream in right from the carton. One time, John caught me standing in our dining room, reaching my hand into the recesses of the buffet drawer, pulling out my secret stash of Dove chocolate. He said, “I was looking for you.” I said, “Want a chocolate?”

Why did I want a chocolate, or ice cream, or chips in the first place if my weight was such a source of anguish for me? You would think that I would have shunned fattening food rather than welcoming it like an old friend. Logically that makes sense doesn’t it? If something in your life causes you pain, don’t you normally take steps to avoid the pain? For example, if your old car continually breaks down, don’t you begin the process of replacing the old clunker with something more reliable? If your best friend betrays you time after time do you still beg her to be your friend? I wouldn’t think so.  Yet we who struggle with the love and addiction of food do that very thing. We turn to food as a soother for any emotion we feel, thus adding to our weight problem.

I have yet to speak with someone who struggles with their weight who doesn’t experience this phenomena. Time after time I talk to people who express their frustration over their inability to stop using food to sooth emotions. I hear the frustration in their voices because I too felt that frustration. Learning to break the cycle of running to food wasn’t easy, but it was a key component to my success.

During the year that I lost 158 pounds, I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I didn’t just love food, I craved food. I realized I treated food in a way that was similar to the way alcoholics treat alcohol. The difference with food is however, is that we need food. As hard as breaking an alcohol addiction is, at least you don’t need alcohol to survive. Food is essential, vital,  and necessary for life.  There were three things I did to help me break my bad food habits.

Preparation – I knew food was a problem for me, so when I started following my Fit to the Finish plan, I prepared for the inevitable times of running to food. I got rid of all the “happy, fattening” food in the house. Gone were the chips, high fat crackers, secret chocolate stashes and full fat ice cream. In their place came crunchy veggies, baked chips, frozen yogurt, hard candy, gum (lots of gum), and hot drinks. I liken it to a breakup of a relationship. Before I was married, and would part ways with a boyfriend, I rid my life of any reminder of him. Even if I still cared emotionally for that person, I knew that part of my life was over and got rid of any reminders. That’s what I did with food too, I broke up with food. I still loved food, but I knew that certain types of food weren’t good for me, so I replaced the bad food with good. That took preparation.

Practice- It didn’t always work to be prepared. There was still the issue of overeating good food. After all, even a whole bag of baked chips has a lot of calories, and will definitely cause a weight gain if the whole bag is eaten on a daily basis. So I practiced making right choices by consciously choosing better, healthier foods. Portions were measured and memorized, and when I made a mistake I tried to figure out what had gone wrong, and moved on to the next opportunity to make a better choice. Over time the mistakes became less frequent, and the results became more visible.

Persistence- Sometimes its easy to get complacent once you have seen some success on the scale. It took about 50 pounds for me to really be able to tell that my body was starting to change. In the past, it would have been at this point (or sooner) that I would have said, “Oh, I’ve got this eating plan down. I can relax now.” NO. Don’t relax, don’t let down your guard, instead persist and persevere and point your mind towards your final goal, not the intermediate ones. By doing this I was able to keep the weight loss going through the ups and downs of life’s challenges, and ultimately reach my goal weight.

Do you feel frustrated sometimes when you run to the very thing that caused your weight issues? How do you handle this?  Diane

Filed Under: Choices, self esteem, Weight Loss Tagged With: , ,

How Much Weight Should I Lose?

February 10, 2010 By

How much weight do you want to lose?  10 pounds?  20 pounds? 30, 40, 50 or more?  When I was so overweight, the thought of losing over 150 pounds was absolutely daunting.  I honestly could not see how it would be possible to lose over half of my body weight.  If you are not overweight by such a large amount, it still may seem impossible for you to lose the amount of weight you desire.  Your 20 pounds may seem as unattainable to you as my 150 pounds did to me.  For me, as time marched by and my weight didn’t budge I tried to stop thinking about how much I needed to lose, and for a while I stopped trying to lose weight. 

But the day finally came when I got serious and committedto weight loss.  If you ever listen to Dave Ramsey, you will recall he often tells people to focus on their debt with gazelle like intensity.  That’s what I did.  I focused on myself and my health with the intensity of a gazelle.  For once I didn’t let myself get distracted by the amount of weight I should lose and give up.  Like the gazelle, who uses intense visual awareness of its surroundings to stay alive in their habitat, I used intense mental focus to stay on course.  In my weight loss attempts, one big distraction for me had always been the amount of weight I had to lose.  Let’s be real here – 150 pounds is an average size woman.  My neighbor at the time probably weighed about 150 pounds.  I needed to lose her. 

As I started to have success, and people could finally tell I was losing weight, I was bombarded with questions like, “How much weight are you going to lose? When will you stop? How do you know when you’ve lost the right amount?”  I vaguely answered these queries.  You see, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to weigh, because it had been so long since I had been a normal weight.  I had determined that I wouldn’t focus on the number of pounds lost, but rather on how I was feeling about myself.  The first time I saw 199 on the scale was a day of rejoicing.  Hallelujah!  But I wasn’t done yet.  I didn’t feel done.  I hadn’t quite reached the point of satisfaction with my physical abilities and my appearance. 

From there, as the scale crept slowly down, I would often assess where I was. 

  • Clothing size
  • Activity level
  • Self-esteem
  • Energy level
  • Blood pressure 
  • Appearance 

I realized that for me, the number on the scale had become less important to me than how I felt about myself.  At almost 5′10″ did it really matter physically if I was 170 or 150 pounds?  No.  But as I started to get closer to an appropriate weight for my height, I could tell I was almost done losing weight.  When I reached the point where I felt confident and energetic  I knew I was finished.  I had reached all the goals I set for myself.  I could finally run without thinking I was dying.  I could shop in a regular sized store.  I didn’t waddle when I walked.  People had stopped asking me if I was pregnant.  My blood pressure was great.  I was done. 

I learned a lot about myself during those 14 months.  One thing I learned was it’s not always about the number on the scale.  There are a lot of mitigating circumstances surrounding weight and each person, preferably with their doctor’s input, should examine where they desire to be.  And then try.  Try again, because if you don’t try again, how will you ever know if today would have been the day for you?  Diane

Today is the last day to enter the Gym In A Bag Giveaway! I will close comments at midnight CST! Thanks to everyone who entered. You will love, love, love it!

  

Filed Under: goal setting, Weight Loss Tagged With: ,

Are You Prepared For The Long Trip?

February 2, 2010 By

gearshiftWhen I first started gaining weight on my honeymoon I was frustrated. The first three years of our marriage saw the scale move up about 45 pounds. Fortunately for me I’m just shy of 5’10″ so I can “carry” a little more weight than someone who is 5’3″. Nonetheless, the weight wasn’t flattering nor healthy. And then when I went from merely overweight to morbidly obese after my first pregnancy, well, I was frustrated.

I was also in a hurry. I was in a hurry to lose the extra weight I had so willingly piled on and get “on with my life.” And being in a hurry, I tried numerous diet plans with very little success. Every diet plan promised results, and most of them were fine and decent plans. But no diet plan promised the quick results I wanted. And thus, I didn’t stick with any of those plans long enough to lose more than 20 pounds. And when you need to lose 150 pounds, 20 pounds isn’t much. Especially considering that I promptly gained that 20 pounds back and usually added a few to go with it.

My problem? Well – there were many. But one problem I had was that I was in a hurry and wanted immediate and steady results. As we all know, weight loss doesn’t cooperate by falling down in a steady, slow line. Rather it zigs and zags, hops around, and sometimes stagnates like an ugly green pond full of algae.

And who wants to sit in the same ugly place? I certainly didn’t.  So I would quit when things got hard, or I got bored, or my weight loss stalled.

It’s funny because although I couldn’t tolerate a slow diet plan, I tolerated being morbidly obese for years and years and years. That makes no sense to me at all.

So when I finally started losing weight by following my Fit to the Finish plan, I set out with a different mindset from the very beginning. I gave myself a little pep talk and reminded myself that I hadn’t gained all this weight in two months and I certainly wasn’t going to lose it in two months. So I tried to prepare myself for the long-term road that I knew was ahead of me.

Going into the process with that realization made me much more prepared for the inevitable periods of boredom and frustration that came during my 14 months of weight loss. And bored and frustrated I did get.

Quite frankly, it gets boring watching every bite that goes into our mouths, or at least it did for me. It was frustrating to feel like I was doing all the right things and either no one was noticing or the scale wasn’t moving.  But I was prepared for a long trip so I just buckled my seat belt and kept driving forward.

Because I knew that going backwards wasn’t an option. Because if I put myself in reverse then I would end up gaining the weight I had fought to lose and I knew I didn’t want to do that.

So as you face your journey head on and feel the urge to get frustrated and quit – remember that it’s a long trip. It’s okay to take a detour to “maintain” where you are for a while, but it is important to try and keep things either in neutral or drive. Because if you go into reverse you will most likely get frustrated with yourself and be tempted to permanently detour as I had done many, many times before.

What strategies do you use to prepare for the possibility of a long trip? How do you stay positive when things aren’t going the speed you want them to?  Diane

Filed Under: goal setting, obesity, Weight Loss Tagged With: , , ,

It’s Exciting

December 31, 2009 By

I’m so excited to see what 2010 has in store for all of us. Can you believe that it is December 31st? I feel as though this year has flown by for me. I never would have dreamed last January that so many exciting things would have taken place in my life.

Here’s a few of them:

March 2009 – I started this website and blog.

May 2009 – My oldest daughter graduated from high school

June 2009 – My son was finally potty trained

June 2009 - We got through tornado season without me losing my mind

July 2009 - We managed to go on a family vacation which is no easy feat with seven kids

August 2009 - I realized I had a college student, a high school student, a middle school student, two elementary school students, a preschooler, and a toddler all at one time! (That was actually a scary revelation.)

October 2009 – Had six kids who got the Swine Flu and recovered, thank the Lord.

November 2009 – Got to go to Dallas with Frito-Lay.

November 2009 – Ran a 5K

December 2009 – Managed to get Christmas done with minimal stress.

Sure, there were lots of other exciting things that happened along the way, but these were some that stuck out for me as I was writing this post.

One thing that makes me really excited is to realize how quickly things can change from one year to the next. Like I said in my video post last week, you can be in an entirely different place next year. In fact, someone emailed me after that post and asked if I’d put up a one year to the other picture side by side for them to see. I thought it was a great question, so here are the pictures from one Christmas to the next.

Christmas Bow

christmas0001

Isn’t it neat to see what a difference a year can make in our lives? I never would have dreamed at that fat Christmas that I’d have run a 5K and lost so much weight in a year, but I did. If you had asked me what I wanted to accomplish that next year, losing weight would have been on my list, but I don’t think I would have believed I would actually do it.

As you approach 2010, I hope that you are filled with excitement and anticipation over what life has to offer you. Perhaps you will be surprised to see what changes will come into your life over the next year. And perhaps you will have your own story in pictures to tell.

Is there something in particular that you are looking forward to in 2010?  Diane

Filed Under: goal setting, Holidays, Weight Loss Tagged With: , ,

An Unexpected Request

December 29, 2009 By

Good Tuesday after Christmas! I hope that everyone had a nice, relaxing holiday. We enjoyed all of our activities throughout the month of December, but the closer we got to Christmas the less we had to do. The last office party was December 22nd, and the food wasn’t fabulous so I didn’t have to worry about eating too much of that!

We just hung out together as a family and enjoyed exchanging gifts and having a laugh over some less than stellar selections. (There are always a few every year. . .)

One funny thing happened this Christmas season that I didn’t expect. I shared in a post last week that I picked three desserts this year to make: Sugar cookies, Cranberry Nut Pound Cake, and Cheesecake. And I did make those, and we all enjoyed them very much.

Imagine my surprise when John started wandering around the house on Thursday (Christmas Eve). He went into the pantry and came back out. He opened the refrigerator door and then closed it back. He walked through the living room and back into the kitchen. He looked lost. So I said, “What are you doing?” He looked at me, hesitated and said, “I think I need some cookies.” I looked at him and  asked him, “Do you really want me to make you cookies?” He shrugged his shoulders and said, “It kinda doesn’t feel like Christmas Eve without something sweet to munch on.” He then looked at me, trying to gauge my willingness and said, “Well, if you don’t mind. . .”

I have to say that I was surprised. I thought we had a lot of sweets already, but he didn’t. And, if you’ve ever been in a relationship you know there are certain signals that are easily readable. John rarely asks for anything, so his comment of “Well, if you don’t mind. . .” let me know that he really did want some cookies for Christmas Eve.

So, being the generally good wife that I am, I asked him what kind of cookies would make Christmas Eve complete, and he chose oatmeal chocolate chip. So I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies. I have to say that although the cookies were an unexpected addition to our food plan, they weren’t completely unwelcome. All the kids love that recipe as do I. When I was a little girl my mom would make the same recipe and freeze them in anticipation of the upcoming holiday. Unfortunately for me, I discovered that I loved those cookies frozen and would eat and eat them right out of the freezer!

So we all had a few cookies and enjoyed them on Christmas Eve. I’m glad I made them as they brought back memories for all of us. I’m glad also that I can control myself around those cookies whereas in the past I would have pinched a few every time I walked by the plate. It’s so encouraging to me when I read your blogs and find that you are learning the same thing that I did along my journey. You can have the occasional (or unexpected) treat and still achieve and maintain your goals. It’s very freeing isn’t it?

As this holiday season winds up and the New Year approaches I was wondering how you are feeling with regards to unexpected food offerings. Are you feeling more in control of your choices and happier with your level of “resistence.” Or is this an area where you still struggle?  Diane

Filed Under: Holidays, obesity, Weight Loss Tagged With: , ,

Return to Life

December 27, 2009 By

It’s interesting how Christmas and other major holidays thrown our lives out of whack. Regardless of how you celebrate the holidays, it seemss hard to stay focused on our life’s goals. I know it can be for me.

John, the kids and I had a great Christmas. I completely unplugged until this evening, and although I enjoyed the break I did have some curiosity about what everyone else was doing.

Our Christmas was just the nine of us, and the kids had a great time opening their presents. I got some clothes (that I picked out) some handmade jewelry, and some kitchen accessories. It was all fabulous.

As nice as the holiday celebration was, I was almost relieved to get up this morning and not have to think about wrapping, cooking special foods, and whether or not I had managed to mail all my Christmas cards. It was nice to get up and walk, hit some early bird specials with John, come home, and get the house straightened up.

Do you ever wish that the holidays weren’t so much about the food? Even after all these years of maintenance I still find myself thinking about the Christmas meals, the desserts, the cookie exchanges, etc. Wouldn’t it be easier if it were just about the giving of gifts and the time spent with family and friends? In my mind it would be easier, but then it probably wouldn’t feel like Christmas. The food just comes with it, but after the food, life returns.

I used to feel that if holidays didn’t happen my weight loss journey would be easier. After all, I almost always put off trying to begin yet another diet because of upcoming holiday, rather it was Valentine’s Day or Memorial Day! Holidays got in the way of my weight loss. But as I finally lost the 150 pounds I realized I was wrong. Holidays didn’t get in the way of my weight loss, because holidays were real life. They continually happen year after year after year. And I needed to learn to deal with them as part of real life.

Real life isn’t always August (with no holiday), instead real life includes all the many celebrations of life. As I lost my weight I carefully thought about each holiday and planned accordingly. I didn’t always lose a pound or two over the holiday, but I generally didn’t gain. I tried to keep doing what I had been doing, but allowed myself the special indulgence. That’s real life.

Now, 12 years later, although holidays may be easier without the food, real life includes the food. And I love it! Weight loss journeys are practice for real life. Wherever you are in your journey, don’t get discouraged over the past holiday, or upcoming holidays. Instead just think of it as a practice session for real life maintenance. Because after all, that’s what all this hard work is all about! Real life.  Are you looking forward to the rest of your “real life?”  Diane

Filed Under: emotions, Holidays, obesity Tagged With: , ,

A Year Can Make a Difference

December 25, 2009 By

Merry Christmas from my house to yours! I hope you had a beautiful Christmas filled with wonderful memories that you will treasure for a lifetime. This video is entitled, “The Difference a Year Can Make.” I hope you enjoy.   Diane

Filed Under: Holidays Tagged With: ,
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