Self portrait? Why certainly!Of course it is!
Would I lie?
To you?
Oh, come now...*
Okay, so I've been doing Weight Watchers for a month now. Lost just under 5 pounds, which is much lower than should be the case -- usually when you start writing down everything you eat, you lose a lot of weight early on. If I were typical, I would've lost closer to 2 pounds a week this month. But then again, the people who do best on Weight Watchers always have the blurb "results not typical" next to their pictures.
[If you're keeping track, which I seriously doubt, I have also lost 2 inches off my waist, and 1 off my hips. My pants fit a lot better, and I feel better. But the scale reflecteth this not.]
What I have not been doing is restricting my caloric intake at all. I've merely been recording it. I wanted to get an idea of how I eat normally before I tried to change anything. One thing about the WW e-tools, it is fairly easy to look back and see the patterns in your regular eating habits.
What I'm doing wrong:
- Eating too much in the evening
Cure: eat something hefty at about 4 pm, so I'm not starving by the time I get home. Go British and have a tea time meal. Jolly good idea.
- Not planning ahead for things like parties
Solution: at the start of the week, review the social calendar. Also prepare food for the week, like baked salmon or something filling & tasty of that ilk.
What I'm doing right:
- Bringing food from home. I love my little Mr. Bento Japanese food-in-a-nifty-thermos lunch jar. The thing is so darned cute! The lower two compartments keep the food warm, and the upper two are good for vegetables and fruit. I originally balked at the price, but it paid for itself very quickly. I love it so much, it doesn't occur to me to go out for lunch. (If I go out during lunchtime, it's to walk, not to eat.)
- Planning the day's meal ahead of time. Packing Mr. Bento is a way of looking ahead for that particular day, which helps me keep on the straight and narrow. I don't always put the best protein into the containers -- there was That Episode with the Pizza, and a Fried Chicken Incident, but let's not talk about that here, this is the section for what I did right. At least I brought them from home. With vegetables and fruit.
- Exercising. That, I give myself credit for. The inner slug has not been ruling the roost. That one time when I skipped exercising for two days in a row? I found myself getting very nervous, almost antsy, at the thought. The slug is down, but not out. I don't want to give him any reason to try to make a comeback.
1-1/4 hours of yoga*Yeah, I didn't think you'd buy that story. Photo is actually courtesy of flickr:
10 comments:
So let's see, you've been exercising, haven't really changed your eating much, and lost 5 pounds plus inches in the past month, and most important you're feeling better! That's that's terrific!!! And sustainable!!!
The scale, it is not everything. But if you want to make yourself feel better about the scale number, go lug around a 5 lb bag of sugar or flour the next time you go grocery shopping.
Oh, and I a totally envious of the new man in your life, Mr. Bento.
No, the scale does not reflect the whole story, we all tend to forget that.
One weight loss doctor, who wrote books and struggled with her own weight and openly discussed her own situations, tried no dieting, just consistent exercise for a full year. She did not lose any weight that year, but neither did she gain any. She also trimmed her hips considerably, her pants fit much better, her skin glowed, and she would no longer huff and puff if she has to run to catch a bus or plane. Her overall health also improved.
The idea that you should have lost x amount at the beginning of a weight loss program is great, if you have not been dieting before beginning this particular program. Since you have been at least watching what you eat and exercising before starting WW, it's not surprising that you didn't lose the water/muscle that goes into that first big drop and gives us the impetus to keep going. It means you were doing pretty well before, anyway. (That's my take on your situation, and I'm sticking to it!)
Oh, dear. I followed the Mr. Bento link, and then looked at everything Zojirushi offers.... I was quite satisfied with my freezer-to-microwave containers. Now what have you done to me?
Mary Anne in Kentucky
Sounds good to me!
For me, planning and packing my lunch sets my entire day for eating, and I tend to be much more aware of any extraneous food that might float my direction...and your Mr. Bento is too cool, I must add.
Nice work not "dieting" and yet still managing to lose 5 pounds - you may have discovered a new system!
Sounds like you're doing a lot more Right than Wrong! And congrats on the progress. Especially during the holidays!
It sounds like you are doing A LOT right. But we like to see those numbers and the more obvious, and recordable, differences. Human nature.
hafarot - better than fully rotted.
Gigi,
Congrats on a loss during the holidays. I have been on WW for 14 weeks now. Lost 10 lbs the first 5 weeks and have hit the wall. Plateau way too soon in my opinion. My commitment this week is to track everything and have my leader look it over and to drink water. I struggle BIG TIME with that. Be proud of your success. Someone recently told me that the average adult gains a min of 5 pounds each year... You have reversed the stats! Me too! I am down a total of 13 lbs since New Years day last year. That's something.........
Don't be too discouraged by not losing as much as expected. I, for one, learned to go with it this past year.
I, too, am a WW member.. and this entire year has been so high-stress that I've been playing the game of gain two, lose three... all year - it is no fun... and I'm glad 2009 has shaped up to be more peaceful in the end.
The best of luck to you in your efforts!!
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