Christy: Week 11

This past week got me thinking about the dedication & commitment it takes to embark on and follow through on this journey to lose weight.  I'm not suggesting I have all the answers because truly, every one's journey is radically different from others as evidence of Case of the Wednesday bloggers.

However, it is possible that someone reading this tonight might be inspired to take the steps that will ultimately become their weight loss journey.

There was a time when I felt "lucky" if I could make it to the gym for 1 day/week. It just felt like an impossible & daunting endeavor to go work out. And what was I going to accomplish in one day? It didn't seem worth it so I didn't do it.  I kept putting it off and finding a ton of excuses that supported this decision. 

The day finally came though, when I was more-tired-of-feeling-"blah" about myself, than I was tired about the thought of dragging myself to the gym. And so, I made a plan. (and I realized that the "blah" feeling about myself wasn't going to go away unless I did something about it).

Anyone who is interested in losing weight can begin this journey long before they introduce exercise into their daily life. My plan began with counting my daily calories. I did not change what I was eating, I just took the time to learn the calorie count of what I was putting in my body. This learning process in turn began to shape my food choices. Then I set little goals. One goal was to not eat after 8pm. Once I mastered that (about a month) then I decided I would not eat after dinner. Your goals do not have to be the same. Perhaps it is reducing soda intake or measuring your cereal/milk in the morning into 1 Cup, then later 1/2 Cups. ANYONE can do these things and it does not cost any money and does not take away time from your other responsibilities. There are no excuses not to be more responsible in terms of your food/beverage intake. You have to WANT to do it though.

Once you've tinkered around with your calorie intake and learned a few things to avoid and perhaps some things you can splurge more on than you previously thought, you will want to incorporate some sort of exercise into your daily life.  Ahhh....but where and when, much less how?

What I'm about to say next may feel uncomfortable at first...but if you are serious about making a commitment to losing weight...tell everyone! Include the people in your life, your significant other, your folks, your friends, your kids. You might be thinking "who cares about me losing weight?" or maybe you don't want to come off as pretending to be something you aren't (or haven't been yet or once were??)...however, you have no idea how much support you have waiting for you on your journey! There are tons of people who are intimidated about going on this journey, afraid to fail, afraid to succeed...and there are tons more who are actually on the weight loss journey right now-who would love to support you!...but you have to WANT it!

When you are ready, really ready...have a talk with your spouse/partner about what this means. Is he/she on board? How can that person support you? Spell out the details if necessary about what you need from them on this journey. For instance, I asked my husband if for 1 week, I could work out each night after he got home. This meant he had to attend to the kids for up to 1 hour in the evening (get them their snack, play with them, set up a TV show for them, get them in jammies). He was willing to commit for one week and agreed to reassess after that week.  Earlier in my journey I talked with him about having less "dessert" foods in the house because I was trying to reduce my temptations. He agreed too and we've since been bringing those foods back because I'm conquered being tempted at this point!

If getting to the gym seems too difficult to juggle...maybe ask a neighbor to watch your kid(s) for an hour, or go in before everyone wakes up -which means you may need to go to bed by 9pm, which means some things around the house won't get done (but that's ok because you are working on you now!). Most gyms have child care. Perhaps your child doesn't like it there. Will they tolerate 15 minutes? Go every day for 15 minutes and try to increase it by 5 minutes when possible. Do not give up! If these aren't your issues, write me and I'll help brainstorm ways to support your efforts!

The gym isn't your thing? There is always the outdoors. The weather IS getting warmer and if it's all you got, bundle up and get going! The same suggestions apply above...wake up earlier, wait til spouse gets home, have a neighbor/grandparent watch your kid(s)...we are talking 30minutes! Tell me you don't have a DVD player of some sort? The library has workout videos. Find one that interests you and commit to 1 week, doing the video every day. Then reassess. I know none of this sounds glamourous. This is just one reason why losing weight is hard. You have to WANT it.

Now, get real with yourself and determine how many days you will dedicate time to exercise and for how long (30 minutes, an hour?). Then, approach your work out with the attitude of "you're here, make the most of it!"  You haven't committed this precious time to just walk. This is the time to dig deep and work up a sweat. The best way to do this is to run. Yes, you read correctly, run. When I started I could hardly run a 1/2 mile without stopping. For me, it was a goal to run a whole mile without stopping and in time that distance increased. For the first week...run, walk, run, walk, run, walk...but RUN! ok, it can be a jog. But do more jogging than walking! and do this for at least 30 minutes. Then spend the other 30 minutes focusing on exercises that target whatever areas of your body you are most concerned about. If it's your tummy, do sit ups. If it's your butt, do squats & lunges. If it's your arms, do arms. And do this same routine every day of the week...for a month(or whatever your goal is)! You will see over time that you can mix things up, increase the distance, increase the number of sit ups, and so on. But you have to WANT it.

Once you incorporate exercise into your daily life you can log in your calories burned along side your calories consumed...and the pieces to the weight loss journey will be on their way to falling into place. I am a FIRM believer that if you burn more calories than you take in, then you will lose weight. It is possible that this will be impacted if you have a medical condition. However, this truth does not lie.

While some diets have their health benefits, I don't follow any. I eat doughnuts, I eat chic-fil-a, I drink an occasional soda, I eat breads, I drink alcohol. It has been important to me to still be able to eat whatever I want. However, I have learned to say "no" and to be mindful of whether or not I have the extra calories to eat some of the above mentioned foods. I drink mostly water or tea so as to save my calories for food. I plan ahead to burn additional calories in my exercise routine to compensate for having had indulged. I use the free on-line site www.myfitnesspal.com to log calories and get support. You will need to make changes but you have to WANT it.

This week, I worked out on Sunday(a first but I knew I wouldn't be working out Easter weekend), I ended up doing my "2 a days" for 3 of the 4 days I had intended for a total of 8 workout sessions this week. I was also extra diligent with calorie counting and making sure I was always under my calorie goal (aka burning more calories than consumed). I was in bed by 10pm each night too, took my multi-vitam, and ate a ton of veggies! Oh, and no alcohol was consumed this week.

I feel great! I am now 149 which is 4 lbs from my ultimate goal. I am now at the point where I'm focusing on pushing myself for sake of knowing that I can do it...verses for the sake of trying to lose more weight. I have "wanted it" for so long, pushing myself so hard, for so long that my mind frame has actually changed.  I am on the edge of wanting more.  Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled with where I am at. However, I have this momentum built up and I am curious how much more I can do without compromising other aspects of my life.

This next week will be a challenge in that my routine will be compromised having the kids home for spring break. It may be a nice break for my body to be active in other ways!