Progress Pics

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Making Some Changes

When I first started this journey I was doing an "Atkins" or "Caveman Diet" type of program and I gradually began adding carbs in -mainly because I was bored out of my mind.

Anywho, lately I feel like my weight loss has slowed down a bit. If you're a regular reader, you may be wondering how I know that my weight loss has slowed down, since I don't weigh myself.

I dunno, actually. It is hard to explain and may sound a bit weird or new agey to some folks but I can actually "feel" it when my body is actively losing weight. I don't know how I do this. I just do.

If I WERE weighing myself right now I bet I'd be going mental over a 1/2 pound to a pound loss per week for the past two weeks, at the most. Please don 't say I should be happy with that. I'm not. I have another 100 pounds or more to go and I don't want to be assing around here for the next 2-3 years trying to get it done. I'm traveling to South Dakota again this coming summer and I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit on an airplane with a 100 pound gut sitting on my lap and once again suffer all the discomforts and public humiliations of the morbidly obese traveler.

Not just no, but HELL NO.

Anyway, I decided yesterday to cut back on the carbs. Every day, for my mid-morning meal, I've been eating a double serving of wheat germ with fruit and either yogurt or non-fat milk. I cut the wheat germ in half and the fruit in half and I will no longer have starchy carbs with dinner.

I think that this change, coupled with a few enthusiastic cardio sessions this week should get things moving again. Ya know, in the past, when I made a pledge to "go on a diet," if what I was doing stopped working for me in any respect, I viewed making changes as a form of failure. I can't say why, it seems to be the "fat head" way of thinking.

Now I am just trying to see this as a process and accept that I'll probably have to make changes here and there as I go along to keep things moving in the direction that I want. Overall, in the long run, I think I am going to be one of those people who MUST stay away from processed foods and keep healthy carbs at the minimum, otherwise I will gain weight and feel like crap.

In addition to cutting back on the carbs, I also reduced my calories by about 200 per day. We'll see how things go. Soon, it'll be time for my monthly progress report and pics and I'm trying to get it together to have some really good pics for ya.

Yesterday, I was looking at the skirts I wore to South Dakota in July and I am positive that another person (and not a small one either) could wear one of these skirts with me, and I'm thinking that it would be a cool pic-- especially with another pic of me wearing the skirt myself back in July.

I have to see who ventures over to my house in the next week or two that I can convince to take part in this...........

Over the weekend and up until today, my exercise schedule really sucked ass. I was suffering a whopper of a headache on Friday so just barely went through the motions of exercise. Saturday is my optional day off and as I was still headachey, I took it and just putzed around the house doing chores and paperwork that I've put off for weeks. Sunday, DH and I planned on a long hike but it rained buckets all day. Then he got called into work which made going to the gym impossible.

Yeah, I could have talked myself into doing one of my cardio DVDs, but I didn't. My self-motivating abilities seemed on the weak side. I kept trying to give myself pep talks -- I didn't exercise, but I did smile at one point as all of the pep talk stuff gave me the image of my former 400 pound body wedged into a cheerleading outfit-- geeez, what an image. For the love of all that's holy, why do things like this come into our minds? LOL

Yesterday, I walked a half mile and did nothing else. But, I got myself back on track today with a long walk on the beach first thing this morning. I am doing the Chalean Extreme program this afternoon and going to the gym with Jeff tonight, so I am back in the swing of things.

Today, I don't have a headache for the first time since I can't remember when and I feel less hungry. The less carbs I eat, the less hungry I am and the easier it is for me to keep the portions where they need to be and avoid the snacking.

This is it for today......... be good to you and have a great day!

8 comments:

  1. Good that you know you are losing weight. Sorry it is slowing down.

    D cut a lot of rice out of our diet and upped fresh spinach. Usually I'm too lazy to cut up a cucumber so my "salad" is a bowl of spinach and some vinegar.

    Glad your headache is gone.

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  2. You go girl! Like I'm coming to realize, change doesn't mean failure -- QUITTING means failure! And we are not quitters! So change tactics and stay at it!

    Proud o' you! :)

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  3. It is said that small, rather than drastic changes, are what make up lifestyle changes and therefore permanent success. I'll be interested to hear how cutting out the 200 calories works. Honestly, it's not very much when you think about it, is it? Yet it will add up to 1/2 lb. a week. Huh.

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  4. I think flexibility is crucial. You plan to live this way, right? Circumstances change and so should your food and exercise.

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  5. I think its great that you are so proactive about your lifestyle changes! I also don't think its weird that you can feel it when you are losing weight, I feel like I can too.

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  6. Hey! I love that you are a solutions gal, and it's crazy how a person can become so in-tune with their bod after making it work so hard. Not new-agey at all! I just wanted to share this with you in the case that you hadn't already heard of the benefits of it: psyllium husks. After suffering through trips to the ER from my IBS issues, I "went hippy" and started taking this. I LOVE it, and it also helps control my blood sugar. Check out this link:

    http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-psyllium-husk.html

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  7. Nobody knows your body better than you, so you need to go with what you believe to be best for it. I'd be up the creek without a paddle if I couldn't have loads of carbs because I hate meat and fish! I know there are lots of protein-rich alternatives, but I'd go out of my mind if I had to live off those predominantly!

    However, I do know what you mean about being hungry soon after a high-carb meal. No one can understand how I can be REALLY hungry about half an hour after eating an enormous baked potato, but I am! I'm wondering if I should look into this low-GI for veggies to make my meals more sustaining. I tend to snack on fruit and raw veg, so that's not especially harmful to my weightloss unless I go beserk and eat a mixing bowl full of fruit salad!

    Glad the headaches are going... There's nothing worse than feeling you *have* to do something when you're feeling grotty, and if you had done worked out hard on those days, you could have done more harm than good! At least you're feeling better and back in the swing of it now!

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  8. I am a former Atkins Dieter myself, and honestly it worked extremely well for me. I am just not dedicated enough to do it right now. The South Beach Diet was a great alternative that allowed more foods, but still gives me the benefits I got from Atkins.

    I am glad the headaches are gone. That can be a real downer.

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