No Resolutions and No Fads For Me

Happy New (calendar) Year!  It may be a new decade but some things, like the onslaught of January commercials for diets, weight loss products, and gyms, are not new.  I watched a little TV over the holidays and chuckled to see that there is a woman who lost a bunch of weight eating at her favorite taco chain, just like the man who became famous for losing many pounds eating submarine sandwhiches 3 times a day.  Good for both of them, certainly, but how many of you resolve every January 1st that this is the year you’ll lose 10 pounds or get in shape?  I also see that the phrase “diet tips” in one of the top searches on Dogpile today.

Do resolutions work or not?  While doing a little research for this post, I found that the experts do not agree.  I found articles on both sides in the same publication (why they don’t stick and how they can work).  If you’ve made some, I hope that you will do the work to make them stick.  And, make resolutions that you control.  In other words, don’t resolve to lose 10 pounds; do resolve to exercise vigorously 5-6 hours each week or to eat 4 pieces of fruit a day.

For me, fall is the time to start over, not January 1st.  I do feel a sense of “now that the holidays are over I can get back to normal life stuff” but not a starting over feeling.  Just a readjustment feeling.

Also, by having started my lifestyle changes in the fall, I’m feeling pretty solid now about the changes I’ve made that continue to be solidly in place – namely almost daily, vigorous exercise, and eating more fruits and veggies.  I also have a start on incorporating yoga, mindfulness and meditation, and more sleep into my life.  Those pieces aren’t firmly in place but they’re coming.  I recently started marking all of my daily activities on my calendar.  That should help me stay realistic about what I can fit into a day and to make sure that the important stuff, the taking care of me stuff, actually gets my attention each day.

So no resolutions and no fads for me.  I’m working on a sustainable and healthy lifestyle.

Next…the virtue of a day off.

Here are my current stats:
Starting weight: 164 lbs 
Current weight:  159 lbs
Goal weight: 147
End of Week:  #17
Weight loss this week:  gained 1 lb 
Total weight loss to date:  5 lbs

How I did today:
1.  Sleep -  8.5 hours last night
2.  Exercise - 60 minutes Jazzercise, 30 minutes hiking
3.  Strength training - part of Jazzercise
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 25 minutes before bed
6.  Food – 3 fruits, a pile of kale along with other veggies, 1 serving of chocolate

How I did during week #17:
1.  Sleep – average of 7.7 hours (goal is average 8.5 hours) 
2.  Exercise - 6.25 hours (goal is now 10.5) 
3.  Strength training – 4x w/Jazzercise (goal is 3 times per week) 
4.  Yoga – 0 (goal is twice a week)
5.  Meditation – 60 minutes (goal is 10 minutes a day)
6.  Food – more holiday celebrations, ugh!

The Other Eating Habit That Has To Change

I don’t know if I’m quite up for it.  It is the middle of winter afterall.  And I live in the Northeast, where winter sun is scarce unless it’s nose-numbing cold.  There are no warm breezes, no stretches of green, and no water warm enough to wade in.  The pleasures of winter here are mostly those had indoors, with friends and family (okay, friends) – soup, slippers, flannel jammies, and chocolate!

Chocolate.  Hot chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate brownies, chocolate chips, chocolate anything.  Eating chocolate is a source of pleasure – pleasure for my mouth when I’m savoring it’s dark, rich creaminess and pleasure for my brain and body when all of those feel good chemicals start coursing through my veins.  Woo hoo!

I am addicted.  And that needs to change.  I suspect that it won’t be easy.  Chocolate is a pretty powerful drug.  In The Pleasure Instinct, Gene Wallenstein writes:  “It is easy to see why the depressed and stressed among us self-medicate with chocolate.  It quenches the pleasure instinct by activating three key brain transmitter systems that are involved in reward…”  Not one system, but three.  I wonder if I stand a chance?!

I won’t be attempting to quit entirely, as I don’t think it’s really sustainable  or desireable to make any food forbidden.  But with 150 out of 220 calories coming from fat and 10 grams of saturated fat in a serving (10 pieces), it’s time to cut down.  Many days, I eat not one, but two servings.  Yikes!  16 servings total about 3500 calories or one pound of body weight.  Quitting cold turkey could mean losing almost a pound a week just from this one change.  Cutting back to not more than one serving could mean a half a pound of weight loss per week. 

In addition to the extra weight, all of that saturated fat isn’t doing my body any good either.  Heart disease, here I come!

So this eating habit needs to change, too.  1.  Slow down when eating.  2.  Cut down (on chocolate).  I’m sure there is at least a third habit that could use cleaning up but, those two give me plenty to do for now.

How I did today:
1.  Sleep -  7 hours last night
2.  Exercise - 60 minutes Jazzercise, 30 minutes cross-country skiing, 15 minutes brisk walk
3.  Strength training - part of Jazzercise
4.  Yoga – not today
5.  Meditation – 10 minutes this morning
6.  Food – 2 fruits, holiday leftovers (twice), and a little more than one serving of chocolate

What’s The Rush?

What’s the rush?  It’s a question that I’ve asked myself a couple of times in the last week.

The first time was when we had our household’s holiday feast,  a few days ago.  I spent hours shopping, cooking, and cleaning up.  Something like most of 6 hours in the kitchen making turkey, potatoes, stuffing, squash, gravy, corn bread, punch, and a few other foods.  When it was dinner time, I didn’t even really feel very hungry honestly.  Still, I was determined to eat.  I’d spent all day cooking and I was going to enjoy it!  (Silly me.)

Besides ignoring my relative lack of hunger, I also noticed myself eating quickly.  I even noticed the thought, “If I hurry up, I can have seconds before I notice that I’m full.  I don’t eat most of these foods very often and I really want to enjoy them.”  It’s embarassing to admit those thoughts but I share them in case they resonate with you.  I was so invested in enjoying my efforts and the holiday foods themselves that I ate more than my body needed.  Ugh!  That doesn’t help change my body now, does it?

The second time that I noticed the feeling and thought of “If I eat quickly, I can have seconds without knowing that I’m full” was yesterday.  I had made masoor dahl. Yum!  I really enjoy eating this food and…well, I already told you.

Where do these thoughts come from, I wonder?  Is there some childhood wounding around food?  Did I starve in a past life or never eat pleasureable foods?  I don’t yet know the answer to these questions but I have been sitting with them and will continue to do so until an answer comes.

Luckily, these thoughts have arisen from my ego in my consciousness, my awareness.  Shining the light on them has already made them less powerful.  Even though I do not know their source, I now see their falseness, their trap.  Eating more than I need will never serve my body; never help me be fit and healthy.  And I am blessed to (currently) have a life where food is abundant.  Next time the thought comes, I will greet it differently.  “Yes,” I will say to it.  “I could eat quickly and have seconds.  However, that does not serve me.  Instead, I will enjoy leftovers or eating it another day.”

Or, I could always have a tiny serving and then still have seconds!  (Never taking my thoughts or myself too seriously.)

Next time…The other eating habit that has to change!

How I did today:
1.  Sleep -  7.5 hours last night
2.  Exercise - 60 minutes Jazzercise, 30 minutes brisk walk
3.  Strength training - part of Jazzercise
4.  Yoga – not today
5.  Meditation – 10 minutes before bed
6.  Food – 3 fruits, lots of veggies and legumes, a little more than one serving of chocolate

How Great Would That Feel?

When I look at my goal weight for this point in my program (148 lbs, not my present 158), all I can think is “How great would that feel?!”  I can remember how light I felt previously when at that weight.  At this point, I don’t know how I would catch up to my goal but I’m not changing it.  It’s okay.  As I’ve written before, fitness is a far more important goal than any number on the scale.  And, I’m not afraid of “failure.”  Posting that I’m behind in my goal makes me human and real.  To persist, I believe, is inspiring.

I am excited to have lost several inches in the last four months.  My clothes fit better and I see a difference when I look in the mirror.  (Check out my “About” page to see if you can see a difference from my monthly photos.)  It pleases me and increases my sense of well-being.  (Whether it “should” or not is another topic.  Check out this interesting book:  “A Waist Is A Terrible Thing To Mind“)

Another way that the changes I’m experiencing please me is that I am experiencing a higher level of fitness.  Hiking up Indian Hill has gotten much easier for me.  I can feel the difference between now and when I first started in September -less breathlessness, greater ease up that first, steep incline.  The last few days, I’ve started to fantasize about hiking bigger mountains.  And I feel a thrill of excitement rush through my body when I think about doing that.  That tells me it’s the right thing for me to do.  I think I’ll be spending even more time in the Adirondacks next summer.

Still, it would feel really great to experience the lightness of my body at 148, instead of 158.  I just picked up 2-5 pound dumbbells to see what 10 pounds feels like.  Boy would that additional weight loss take a load off my joints.  That inspires me to do better with eating.  And I’ve been noticing something about my eating habits that needs to change (okay, two somethings but one at a time!).

Next…What’s The Rush?

Here are my current stats (the original ones show as a strikethrough):
Starting weight: 164 lbs 
Current weight:  158 lbs
Goal weight: 148
End of Week:  #16
Weight loss this week:  1 lb (had gained one back last week)
Total weight loss to date:  6 lbs

Measurements:  (6.5 total inches shed so far)
bust 41.25″ 41.5″ (are the exercises uplifting?)
waist 37.5″ 36″
belly 40″  39.25″
hips 41.75″ 40.25″
right thigh 26.5″ 25″

How I did today:
1.  Sleep -  8 hours last night
2.  Exercise - 60 minutes Jazzercise, 20 minutes shoveling snow
3.  Strength training - part of Jazzercise
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 10 minutes before bed
6.  Food – 3 fruits, lots of veggies and legumes, 2 servings of chocolate

How I did during week #16:
1.  Sleep – average of 7.8 hours (goal is average 8.5 hours) 
2.  Exercise - 8.5 hours (goal is now 10.5) 
3.  Strength training – 3x w/Jazzercise (goal is 3 times per week) 
4.  Yoga – 0 (goal is twice a week)
5.  Meditation – 0 minutes (goal is 10 minutes a day)
6.  Food – 3 holiday celebrations

Really?

No matter what the results were, I believed I would be surprised when I stepped onto the scale this morning.  I was.  Well, a little.  I weighed in at 159 this morning, not my previous 158.  It is a little surprising that only 2 days of feasting can add up that fast.

However, it’s likely not just the feasting that put another pound back on my body.  In reviewing my weekly totals, I see that my sleep was really inadequate.  For the week, I am 9.5 hours short.  That’s a whole night’s worth of sleep.  As I’ve written before, sleep deprivation = equals extra pounds, even with the same number of calories taken in. 

Also, I was about 4 hours short of my exercise goal.  That’s at least 1200-1600 calories not burned, or nearly half a pound.

So:  feasting + sleep deprivation + not meeting exercise goal = gaining a pound.  Makes sense even if it doesn’t make me happy.

Now that my holiday celebrations are over, the extra errands of shopping and wrapping and extra activities are behind me for another year, I can get refocused and get back to heading toward a healthier, fitter, thinner me.

A real woman having a real journey though sometimes the journey is two steps forward and one step back.  This woman is persisting.

Next…How Great Would That Feel?!

Here are my current stats (the original ones show as a strikethrough):
Weight 164 lbs  159 lbs (goal for this week is 149)

How I did today:
1.  Sleep -  8.25 hours last night
2.  Exercise - 30 minute brisk walk
3.  Strength training - 0
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 0
6.  Food – less chocolate (yay!) but chicken wings (and broccoli) for lunch

How I did during week #15:
1.  Sleep – average of 7.14 hours (goal is average 8.5 hours) 
2.  Exercise - 6.75 hours (goal is now 10.5) 
3.  Strength training – 4x w/Jazzercise (goal is 3 times per week) 
4.  Yoga – 0 (goal is twice a week)
5.  Meditation – 0 minutes (goal is 10 minutes a day)
6.  Food – a real roller coaster, most of a day of fasting, two holidays

The Morning After

I kind of blew today’s post.  Forgetting that it was sort of a Monday, even though it was Tuesday, I got up and did my Tuesday routine.  (How would you like to have a different rhythm for each week day?)

For those of you playing along at home, yesterday was Winter Solstice.  In my home, that’s the big winter holiday (think Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.).  Woo hoo!  The amount of daylight stops getting shorter and slowly begins getting a little longer each day.   We had a great day of welcoming the sun, exchanging gifts, feasting, and sitting around the fire(place). 

I did get out for a 30 minute walk but you likely get the picture – lots of sitting and lots of eating.  Lots of calories and lots of expecting that the scale would measure a little bit higher this morning.  The world will never know.  (Remember the Tootsie Roll commercial?)  I ate breakfast and then remembered that I was supposed to weigh in.  Well, there was no way (pun intended) that I was going to do that!  Yikes!  So the weigh in will have to take place tomorrow.

It did feel good to get back on track today with healthy eating, Jazzercise, and a generally more active day.  I’m so grateful that being a couch potato, even for a day, feels unnatural and undesirable.

Next time…Really?

How I did today:
1.  Sleep -  8.5 hours last night
2.  Exercise - 60 minutes of Jazzercise, 30 minute brisk walk
3.  Strength training - part of Jazzercise
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 0
6.  Food – lots of veggies and fruit, plus more than one serving of chocolate

How I did yesterday:
1.  Sleep -  7 hours previous night
2.  Exercise - 30 minute brisk walk 
3.  Strength training - none
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 0
6.  Food – feasting on dark food to celebrate the longest night

Happy Solstice!

Happy Solstice, Folks!  I’m celebrating the holiday with my family today and tomorrow.

Next time…The Morning After!

A Fast Fast

Well, it didn’t quite work out the way that I planned.  My quarterly fast that is. 

Let me explain.  I have a past tradition of fasting for three days at each Solstice and Equinox.  It’s a way of rebalancing my body, getting reconnected with what real hunger feels like, and spending some time living a little more quietly and introspectively.  (If you’ve ever fasted, you know that racing around town whether on foot or in a car just doesn’t work for long.)  I also write that it’s a past tradition because I haven’t kept it up steadily for the last couple of years.   I believe my last attempt was last Winter Solstice.

So I got mentally geared up, cleared up much (but not enough) of my calendar and started the process two days ago.  I was already behind the eight ball as I forgot that I was supposed to start the herbs two days before I actually began fasting.   Oops! 

Then disaster struck.  Well, it wasn’t really a disaster.  Just a nearly sleepless night.  I was awoken after 2 hours of deep sleep by a chirping smoke detector with a dying battery at 1:30 a.m.  Since the chirps were intermittent, it took several minutes to figure out which smoke detector it was, then to take care of it.  Back to bed I went, determined to sleep.  Several minutes later, still awake, I heard the sound of an auto driving back and forth near my bedroom window.  Had someone slid off the icy road and gotten stuck in my front yard?  No, it was just the first time that the snow plow contractor was plowing driveways in my neighborhood.  Who knew that would happen at 2:15 a.m.?

So I got up and stayed up until 6 a.m.  Yikes!  I dragged myself out of bed at 8:30 a.m. on the morning of the first day of the fast with a whopping 4 hours of sleep under my belt.  Definitely not a good start to any day, let alone one without the comfort of yummy, healthy food.

I tried.  I might have endured (I have several times) but the inevitable energy crash came about 5 p.m. and I just didn’t feel up to continuing.  So I made the decision to eat.  Will I try again after the holidays (Solstice in my house)?  I’m not sure.  I am going to sit with it and see what feels right.

How I did today:
1.  Sleep -  8 hours last night
2.  Exercise - 60 minutes of Jazzercise, 60 minutes brisk walk
3.  Strength training - part of Jazzercise
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 0
6.  Food – lots of veggies and fruit, plus more than one serving of chocolate

How I did yesterday:
1.  Sleep -  4 hours previous night
2.  Exercise - 0 minutes 
3.  Strength training - none
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 0
6.  Food – fasting until dinner, then healthy Thai food (yum!)

It’s More Fun With A Friend

Exercise is just more fun with a friend.  (What did you think I was referring to?)

When I started going to Jazzercise at the beginning of November, the plan was to go pretty often with a friend who was signing up, too.  Well, life happened and it hasn’t worked for her to be there…until today. 

It was such a joy to travel the whole 1.5 miles there with her, work our butts off (literally, we hope), and then journey back to my house.  It made the experience entirely different for me. 

I’ve been pretty dedicated at getting to class 3-5 times a week, even when I’ve had to crawl out of bed before the winter sun rises.  Still, it was so much easier to go today, even though we waited for the 4:30 class.  We had both been yawning not too long before that.  If she wasn’t here to go with me, I might have easily skipped it.

And, I’m glad that I didn’t.  I got my first star today for attending 25 classes.  Yes, it’s even gold!  What a great feeling that was on top of my “sharing exercise with a friend” good feeling.

Ahhhhh, a friend to workout with and a star for a prize.  Oh, and I snuck in a middle of the week weigh in.  The scale was back down a pound.  Woo hoo!  It was a good day.

How I did today:
1.  Sleep -  8.5 hours last night
2.  Exercise - 60 minutes of Jazzercise
3.  Strength training - part of Jazzercise
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 0
6.  Food – lots of veggies and fruit, plus more than one serving of chocolate

How I did yesterday:
1.  Sleep -  7 hours previous night
2.  Exercise - 60 minutes of Jazzercise
3.  Strength training - part of Jazzercise
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 0
6.  Food – lots of veggies and fruit, plus more than one serving of chocolate

Which Weighs More: A Pound Lost or A Pound Gained?

Which Weighs More:  A Pound Lost or A Pound Gained?  Definitely a pound gained.

I could feel it coming on last week.  In addition to my awareness that I was nowhere near my exercise goal all week, I felt heavy.  Big and slow and heavy.  My husband asked if I was surprised.  No I wasn’t.  I’m sure my eating habits last week weren’t helping the feeling of heaviness and they definitely contributed to the weight gain.  Not enough veggies, too many breads and meats.

I can’t blame it on holiday parties either.  I haven’t been to one yet.

As the daylight nears reaching its shortest span, the first snows arrive, and the thick gray early winter clouds finally made their way into Rochester during the last week, I feel it in my body.  The body that now begs to stay in bed in the morning.  “Just a little longer, pleeeeeaaaase,” it pleads. 

My Determination is stronger so far and up I get.  And out the door to Jazzercise.  Whew!  That day’s battle is won.  (Well, for three days last week anyway.)

Thank goodness for this public commitment to achieving fitness.  Otherwise, I might stuff myself with even more chocolate and then go back to bed.  For a month!

Here are my current stats (the original ones show as a strikethrough):
Weight 164 lbs  159 lbs (goal for this week is 150)

How I did today:
1.  Sleep -  hours last night
2.  Exercise - 60 minutes of Jazzercise
3.  Strength training - part of Jazzercise
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 0
6.  Food – lots of veggies and fruit, plus more than one serving of chocolate

How I did during week #14:
1.  Sleep – average of 7.9 hours (goal is average 8.5 hours) 
2.  Exercise - 4.75 hours (goal is now 10.5) 
3.  Strength training – 4x w/Jazzercise (goal is 3 times per week) 
4.  Yoga – 0 (goal is twice a week)
5.  Meditation – 0 minutes (goal is 10 minutes a day)
6.  Food – fries, eating on the run, not enough fruits and veggies, still too much chocolate, meat, and bread