Progress Is Made When. . .

June 15, 2010 By

No matter where you are in your journey, you have already made progress. If you have been working on getting healthier for just one week you have made some progress. You may not have lost any weight yet, but you’ve made progress just by taking the first step towards working on your health.

I worked with a woman once who needed to lose over 200 pounds. She turned to me because her doctor kept recommending gastric bypass surgery for her and that wasn’t a choice she wanted to make. So she and I met on a regular basis and we worked on her eating and lifestyle habits one at a time. I still remember when she lost her first 50 pounds. She was thrilled beyond words, but she couldn’t tell she had lost any weight, and quite honestly, neither could I.

To keep her from getting frustrated we sat down at made a list of all the progress she had made that other people could not see. I think it’s important to think of our progress not solely in terms of the number on the scale, but in relation to where we used to be. On my own personal journey to go from weight loss failure to weight loss success, I often wrote down all the different areas in which I had progressed. I could see that I was losing weight, but I also knew in my heart that I was changing from the inside out.

Here are three things I vividly remember from my weight loss days:

1. I knew I was making progress when I was able to say no to a dessert at a friend’s house and not feel sad afterwards.

2. I knew I was making progress when I could fit in a chair and get out without bringing the chair up still attached to my behind.

3. I knew I was making progress when I could walk around my neighborhood streets without feeling like I needed to call 911 to get home.

I want to encourage you to look for all those ways that you are making progress. It doesn’t matter if you are at the beginning, middle or end of your journey. We are always changing, evolving and growing. How do you finish this sentence?

I know I’m making progress when. . .         Diane

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

Is There Really Bad Food?

June 14, 2010 By

I’ll just go ahead and say “yes” to this one. I think there are bad foods. There are foods that I will not eat. When I was 305 pounds, I didn’t feel that any food was bad. If I wanted to eat an entire half gallon carton of full-fat ice cream with Oreos sprinkled in it for good measure, I would. If I wanted two triple cheeseburger sandwiches complete with fries and a coke then I’d eat them.  I knew that those kinds of foods weren’t good for me, but I convinced myself that it didn’t really matter what I ate. 

My reasoning was that I was so big anyway, that there was no way I’d ever be able to lose 150 pounds, so I might as well enjoy all the food I desired. I did feel guilty sometimes after I ate “bad” foods all day long , but the guilt wasn’t enough to stop me from eating those foods. When I was writing this post, part of me wanted to say no food is “bad, because I do believe in moderation. But even within moderation, there are quite a few foods I do not eat.

I think it would be interesting to see if there are foods on your “no” list. Here’s a few things, with my reasons for not eating them, that I don’t eat anymore.

Movie theatre popcorn – Did you know there are between 1000 and 1200 calories, and 60 grams of saturated fat in a large tub of movie popcorn? Not to mention the sodium. I just can’t do it! (Source: WebMd)

Chicken Pot Pie I don’t make – Marie Callendar’s chicken pot pie has 1040 calories and 24 grams of fat. Other brands are similiar, and restaurant pies are too.

Most canned soups – The sodium counts on most of these makes these a no on my list.

Beef and pork – I know there is nothing inherently wrong with these. It all started when I got ecoli food poisoning and was in the hospital for four days. I had eaten a restaurant hamburger that wasn’t completely done. That crossed beef off my list, and pork soon followed.

Soft drinks – I stopped drinking these a long time ago. The calories are high (240 for 20 oz), and most of the diet drinks have artifical sweeteners, which I try to avoid.

My list has changed over the years, but these are the foods currently on my ”bad” list. 

Do you have anything that’s a “no” for you?  Diane

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

This! In a Hospital!

June 8, 2010 By

I was in a new section of our hospital recently. While I was waiting, I noticed that the chair across from me was a strange size. It wasn’t like the regular sized chair I was sitting on and it wasn’t a traditional bench size that would easily fit two average sized adults. No, it looked like this. I took this with my phone.

I turned to John and said, “Hey, look at that weird sized chair. You don’t think that’s because so many people are overweight and they can’t fit into these chairs comfortably do you?” He looked at it and agreed with me. It was most likely for our new SuperSized Americans. There wasn’t just one of those chairs – they were interspersed among the waiting room.

Honestly, I don’t know what I think about this. Is this a sign that our hospitals are being more accomodating of us in general, or is it a sign that even hospitals have kind of “given up” on fighting the trend of our country’s growing girth?

Looking at those bigger than normal chairs brought up some sad feelings I had about myself when I was morbidly obese. I remember giving up on myself in terms of my clothing choices, my appearance and my food intake. I just quit trying and quit reaching for that seemingly elusive goal of getting to a healthy weight.  I tried to give up on myself and it wasn’t a good feeling.

It wasn’t a good feeling to see those chairs and think that parts of our society may be giving up and just accepting obesity as part of life. I know there is a difference between accommodating and giving up! I agree that airline seats are too small for most people, even people of an average weight. BUT, the hospital chair I was sitting in would have accommodated me at 300 pounds. It would have been tight but I could have fit.

And sitting in that tight chair in a hospital would have made me think again about my weight and that might have been a good thing. I know that every time I sat in a tight chair during my 10 year fight with obesity I thought about the fact that I really needed to do something about my weight. I’d look around and compare my fit in the chair with someone smaller and notice that their stomach didn’t stick out above the arms of the chair and that they had room around them.

I never felt that the chairs should have been bigger. I felt I should have been smaller.

So where do you stand on this issue? Should hospitals add chairs big enough for one and a half people when they remodel? By the way, John and I tried to sit in that chair-thing together and we fit, but barely.

Yes, to accommodating chairs in a hospital, or just stick with the regular sized chairs and benches? Diane

Filed Under: obesity Tagged With: , ,

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: , ,

One Of The Big Three In My Journey

May 17, 2010 By

If you missed my weekend post: Is This Okay? (Mini-Rant) please read it! Not really for what I wrote, but for all the interesting, insightful comments you all left!

Today I wanted to focus on one aspect of my weight loss journey that is vitally important – Portion Control.

Portion control was one of my “Big Three” when I was losing weight. I watched portions, controlled the fat percentage in my overall diet, and exercised. Of those three, portion size was the easiest to deceive myself over. It was easy to watch the fat content in foods, exercise was either a “did” or “didn’t,” but portions could be tricky.

I would often try and justify having a second or third piece of bread because I didn’t put butter on it.

I would take a couple of extra crackers, instead of stopping at the 5 per the serving size.

I would dish out a bit more casserole than I knew was the right amount.

If I ate baked chips, instead of counting out the correct amount I’d just reach my hand in a few times in a row.

I would eat more pasta even though I knew what a serving looked like because I had measured it before.

I’d eat 3 pieces of diet whole wheat bread because it was diet, and had less calories.

Along my weight loss year I stopped fooling myself over portion sizes, and made myself be honest about what a portion really was and wasn’t. Sometimes it was hard because sometimes I wanted more of something, but I knew I had had enough. Here are seven tips that might help you when dealing with the temptation to eat a little bigger portion than you really intend.

Seven Tips for Portion Control

1. Per Dr. Oz - Use a smaller plate, bowl, or cup. I do this all the time and it really helps – both now in maintenance, and during my weight loss. If I ever eat ice cream I use one of those tiny custard cups and just put a small spoonful in. It’s not a lot of ice cream, but it is enough.

2. Learn what the proper portions of food are. Here’s a great resource. For example, a baked potato shouldn’t be bigger than your computer mouse. In other words, it shouldn’t be as big as your head like you see in some restaurants!

3. Read the serving size on the package. Sometimes you may be surprised at how small a serving really is. Crackers anyone? How about stopping at five.

4. Think before you eat. Really think about what you are about to eat, and resolve to enjoy each bite.

5. Stick with one helping of the main dish. If you are still hungry, fill up on veggies or salad and leave the entree alone.

6. Don’t be a member of the Clean Plate Club. It’s okay to leave things on your plate. For me, it’s the rare meal where I eat everything on my plate. Ask John!

7. When in doubt – measure. The value of measuring and weighing your food is proven. Do you want to measure forever? No – and you don’t have to. But if you aren’t sure or aren’t confident in your ability to use visual cues, then measure.

Portion control really is the key to weight loss and weight maintenance. You can exercise, you can eat healthy food, but without eating the right AMOUNT of food, you will have a hard time achieving your goals!!

Question: I’d love to hear your thoughts on portions and how you control them!  Diane

Filed Under: Choices, cooking Tagged With: , ,

Share What You Know!

May 10, 2010 By

I’ve done a lot of speaking on weight loss over the years, but it’s usually been to smallish groups of people. Of course I talk in front of people when I teach my class and have spoken to various other groups. So when an organization in my hometown called me and asked me to do a 10-minute motivational talk before their 3-mile wellness walk I said, “Sure.” Then the gentleman on the other end of the line then told me they usually had about 1,500 people in attendance. I gulped. “No problem,” I said.

I hung up and took a deep breath. It was only 10 minutes – surely I could do that. So over the course of the next week I wrote my speech and practiced every time I went walking or riding my bike. Fortunately I don’t run into anyone while I’m exercising so no one was there to laugh at me or wonder why I was quietly talking to myself!

Due to strong storms and flooding here in Tennessee the event was rescheduled twice. I thought for sure it would be cancelled altogether, but the weather cleared and the event was held this past Saturday.

I loved the purpose of the event – to promote wellness among the children and youth of our community. I believe this is so important, because childhood obesity is a very serious problem. It makes me so sad when I see overweight children who are already struggling with the emotional and physical side effects of obesity related diseases. It’s just wrong.

I hope that events like this will stir up the grassroots communities that made our country strong. I know the government wants to regulate fast food companies, food manufacturers, and more – but without the common every day moms and dads leading the way – all the regulations in the world will have a hard time changing individual choices on a daily basis.

The JumpStart Walk was led off by our mayor and school superintendent and then I did my talk.  As you can see from the picture the wind was very strong. I had my notes in my hand, but because of the wind I knew they’d fly right off the podium. So I did my talk from memory. And I didn’t forget any of my points, which made me very happy. And after I talked the crowd dispersed and headed off on their 3 mile walk!

I hope that you will take every opportunity you can to talk to people you know about healthy living. Rather it’s in front of a large crowd or simply speaking to friends at lunch, sharing your knowledge of nutrition and fitness can begin to make a difference in every life you touch. Even leading by example is a very effective way of showing people how to eat right. Your actions can be very inspiring to other people, even if you don’t say a word.

Question:  Have you ever had a chance to share what you know? How did it feel? Diane

Filed Under: Choices, 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: , ,

Healthy Food and Weight Gain

April 30, 2010 By

I love the fact that I see so many people trying to eat healthier. On your blogs and on my friend’s tables, I see lots of fresh vegetables, yummy salads, fabulous main dishes, and desserts in tiny portions. Sometimes I’ve noticed that some people who are eating really healthy foods are having trouble seeing the scale move.

I think it can be tempting to equate healthy foods with automatic weight loss. I believe that’s a myth. Just because you are eating foods that are good for you, not overly processed, and as close to nature as possible, doesn’t automatically mean you will lose weight.

Agree or disagree?

Foods that are better for your body undoubtedly have a positive impact on your health. Avoiding sodium, added sugars, and all the chemicals processed foods contain is a good idea. I know I still feel like my nutritional status is a work in progress. It has evolved and changed over the years. But while you are watching all those things I previously mentioned it’s really important to not forget one thing:

PORTIONS

Portion control has been one of the three keys to weight maintenance for me. I am always aware of my portion sizes, whether I’m eating a piece of birthday cake or a piece of grilled chicken and vegetables. It’s very easy to overeat either, but most of us realize that eating too much cake isn’t a great idea while trying to lose weight whereas eating chicken is good. And it is good to eat lean protein, you just can’t eat too much of it!

I’ve been out to dinner with friends who boast that they are picking a healthy entree. But when the entree comes out and there is enough food on the plate for three people, I am always interested to see what they will do. Most of the time they eat the entire thing. I’ve seen it happen not only in restaurants, but in my own house. We will have someone over for dinner and I’ll make a healthy meal as usual. Even if my friend is trying to lose weight she will load up her plate and eat it all.

It’s almost like the healthy food trap. I think it’s important to remember that portion control is for 99% of the foods we eat. As you are working through your journey there may be a time where you find the scale stalling. You know you are eating healthy foods, you are exercising, and are annoyed! The first thing I’d look at if I were you is your portions. It’s so easy to let extra food creep into our diets – believe me I know!

Question: Are you always aware of your portion sizes no matter what food you are eating?  Have you ever noticed the tendency to let extra healthy food creep in?  Diane

Filed Under: cooking, Eating Out, Weight Loss Tagged With: , ,

What Do You Drink?

April 28, 2010 By

In case you are interested, here’s my latest blog post over at the Dr. Oz Blog. It’s called Exercise Matters.

And now onto today’s post about drinking. . .

My best friend, who sadly doesn’t live here, and I were talking on the phone the other day. She was sharing with me how she is working hard on kicking her habit of drinking diet drinks.

I didn’t tell her this because I didn’t want to discourage her in her attempt to kick her diet drink habit -  but while I was losing weight I didn’t drink nearly as much water as I should have. Confession time: I drank mostly diet drinks with a little water thrown in here and there. In my own sad defense, way back then, drinking water all the time wasn’t “in vogue.” There were no water bottles along side the diet drinks, and everyone I knew just drank tap water!

When I was morbidly obese, I drank not only diet drinks, but fruit punch, regular sodas, sweet tea, juices, and Kool-Aid. Once I decided to try losing weight again, I changed not only my eating habits but I also changed my drinking habits. I cut out all the other high calorie drinks but hung onto diet soda. The only exception was putting a splash of cranberry juice into my occasional glass of water to add a little flavor.

I had been to enough Weight Watcher’s meetings in my life to know that I shouldn’t be drinking very many of my calories. I learned this was a good tip very quickly when I went abruptly went from eating about 4000 -5000 calories a day to about 1500 – 1600 a day. Those 1500 calories didn’t  leave a lot of room for Kool-Aid!

It’s funny because once I lost all my weight I stopped drinking diet sodas altogether. Just like so many other parts of my weight loss journey evolved over time, so did my beverage choices. Sure, over the last twelve years I’ve had the occasional diet drink, or the occasional sip of John’s cherry Coke, but for the most part I just drink water throughout the day. Either plain or with a splash of juice.

I’ve gone back and forth with coffee. I’ve been pregnant so many times since I lost the weight that there were long periods of time that I drank no coffee. But when I wasn’t pregnant I would drink some coffee and enjoy it. Over the past year I have gradually cut back on my coffee consumption and have switched to green tea in the mornings. Sometimes I have caffeinated and sometimes decaffeinated. I worry about the chemicals they use to decaffeinate beverages so generally just have one cup of caffeinated green tea.

Question: I thought it would be a fun post today to find out what your drink of choice is these days and has it changed during your journey?   Diane

Filed Under: Meal Time, Weight Loss Tagged With: ,

When It Gets Hard

April 27, 2010 By

It’s is a hard journey isn’t it? Not all the time of course. I haven’t met a single person who has said that their journey to lose weight and get more healthy has always been easy. Of course there are varying degrees of ease with which people lose weight, but overall, the journey isn’t always a “walk in the park.”

It doesn’t matter how much weight you have to lose, there are inevitably hard times. I know there were for me. I struggled with:

♦emotional issues

♦times I didn’t feel like exercising

♦feeling left out when other people were pigging out

♦weight loss burnout

♦frustration over perceived expectations

♦complacency

Quite frankly there were several times during the 14 months that it took me to lose all my weight where I just wanted to say, “That’s it. I can’t do this anymore.” But I never gave up and am so glad that I persevered and finished up losing all my weight.

I remember one time in particular where John and I had been to a church dessert function. People in our church could make good desserts! I had lost about 100 pounds at this point and was feeling pretty good about how I looked in comparison to where I had started. At the dessert party I looked over the tables and didn’t see anything I had to have. I saw a lot of things I would have eaten in the past, but nothing I’d be sad to do without. At the same time though, I remember feeling a little frustrated that I couldn’t just fill my plate with cupcakes, brownies, and cake like everyone else seemed to be doing. NO, I had to stand here holding my water cup while other people wiped chocolate from their faces.

After we got home that night I thought about how I felt and realized that even though it was a little frustrating to not be stuffing my face with desserts, it was also a little bit of a victory. In the past I would have been the one going back to the tables for seconds or thirds. I would have had to be careful sitting in chairs so I didn’t break them. And I would have gone home feeling guilty.

When times get hard for you, and you feel like you are alone on this journey, I’d encourage you to remember where you came from. Remember all the little victories you have had over the course of your weight loss experience. And remember that you are worth every effort it takes to get healthy – no matter how hard it is.

Question: How do you keep going when you start to feel like it’s just too hard?  Diane

Filed Under: emotions, obesity Tagged With: ,
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