Things to try » Talking It Off

Hormones & Weight Loss

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Nov 162009

It’s hormone week in Millie World. My first clue was how much and how often I’ve wanted to eat over the past 48 hours.

This is week it seems easiest just to give in, take a break and face the scales philosophically next Saturday. But this journey is about doing something other than what I’d normally do.

So I’m going to question the long-held personal wisdom that I need to feed fluctuating hormones. Instead I’m going to feed my body and try my best to ignore the raging need for carbs. No – I won’t ignore them – I’ll acknowledge them and write about what I’m feeling. I’m going to try to be really honest here and I know this might not be a great week for losing weight. But I need to do something other than stuff my body full of excess calories for one week out of four.

I’ll check in each morning to see how it’s going.

Is it a Wall or a Milestone?

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Nov 122009

Onederland

Stone Zone

I’m bilingual when it comes to weight. I’m also aware that everyone seems to have a Wall Weight – that number that is particularly difficult to get past.

For North Americans it tends to be a number ending in zero or 5.

For the UK weight watchers it’s a number divisible by 14 or 7. (Go here for an explanation of that one if you are a non-UK weights and measures nerd)

Why is that? Given the cultural differences, it must be a psychological wall rather than a physiological one. Regardless, it seems that it’s possible to sit on the heavier side of one of those numbers for ages and finally think – “I can’t do this any more.” It’s really quite bizarre how I can imagine 140 flashing up on the scale but not 139. I can imagine 10 stone even but not 9 stone anything.

I don’t know if this is at all useful but, for the rest of this journey, instead of looking at a wall looming in my way, I’m going to see a landmark about to be passed by on my way to where I want to be. I’m not sure of my destination yet but I won’t let it be at a weight wall.

I’m trying something new

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Nov 012009

I’m starting a journal today. I’m going to try to write something every day and I’m going to try to make note of my feelings. An honest note of my feelings. That’s why I’m going to keep my journal to myself, if I post it out somewhere then there will be too much temptation to edit it for other people.

When I was posting on the Fab 40s Remedial site this summer, I was logging my food faithfully and staying on program. I’ve had to face the fact that maybe all those people who talk about journalling their feelings might be onto something. I’ve always kind of dismissed that, not for others but for myself. I didn’t think I was an emotional eater. Well, maybe I was just fooling myself. I guess I’ll find out. However, I think it will be good for me, even if it doesn’t help with controlling my food intake.

Unsettled-ness & Eating

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Oct 192009

The past 13 months of my life have been the least settled of my life. With Mom’s accident in September, Dad’s death in January then the consequent disrupted life of a couple of months here in the UK and a few weeks there in Canada, I feel completely unsettled. Add into the mix, the husband’s many weeks away this autumn and it’s the perfect setting for a melt-down.

Having established that I’m better at fighting fires (reactive) than making phone calls (proactive), I’ve decided to push myself into the unknown and make a plan. Now I make plans all the time – but I don’t actually do anything about them because that would require being proactive. This time, however, I’m going to give it a try.

Actually, the “plan” is simply to notice what’s up with my body and my hunger and my emotions. I need a shake-up if I’m ever going to break through this last wall so I’m going to attempt something different. Last night I dug out an old notebook and am simply pausing every half hour or so to comment on how I’m feeling and what I’m doing. It’s just a matter of recording what’s going on in my head and heart with the goal of naming rather than eating that particular thought or emotion.

I imagine that I won’t be able to keep this up for more than a few days but I’m going to try it and see where it leads.

Commit…commit…commit

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Oct 102009

I definitely feel like I’m back in boot camp – a newbie struggling to sort it all out and maintain a rather rigid schedule. I made a few commitments to myself this week, and I’m going to make an HONEST effort to keep them.

1) Exercise (with a capital “E”) – that was the key to my success before, and that is that ONLY way I will maintain and get more weight off. I have to face it – I can’t do it by diet alone. It has NEVER worked for me in the past.

Exercise is my friend.

2) Journaling. I have come to the conclusion that journaling and weighing/measuring are there for one purpose – and that is to serve as a “stop-gap” for the brain. I crave = I eat vs. I crave = I journal/weigh/measure (think!) = I don’t eat/I eat sensibly.

3) Sleep/relax. When work gets to much, I owe it to myself to take a time out and relax. And no matter how much work I have, it is NEVER productive for me to sleep less than 7-8 hours (preferably 8).

4) Keep up with my hobbies. A happy person is a healthy person. When I am so caught up with work and stress that I neglect the fun little things like sewing, reading and gardening, then I lose the ability to stay happy and focused. Instead, I begin drifting and become aimless. That’s not good for me and not good for my body.

Okay, that’s enough deep thoughts for the day – how’s everyone doing out there?

Nutracheck – online food journal

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Oct 072009

Nutracheck is now an old friend and indispensable tool for getting weight off by tracking calories and exercise.

I love how you can set your weight loss from half to two pounds per week and your calorie and exercise goals change accordingly. There are so many options that it takes a while to find your way around, but after a few days you’ve got a fantastic tool. The only thing you supply is the honesty.

Here are my favourite features:

free mobile version is fantastic for those who travel for business
5 a Day (fruit and veg) and units of alcohol trackers. Those are two areas where my “guestimates” are frequently “wishful-thinking-imates”.
The “Week View” setting. This has helped me get over the “I blew today” feeling that often attends dieting. Instead, you see how to develop healthy patterns of living over the longer term.
I also love the fact that I can ignore the site for a few weeks but everything is there when I choose to go back.
Affordable. Nutracheck isn’t free but, having taken advantage of numerous special deals, I’m now paying only £4.99 a month which is almost free in my not-very-frugal mind.

It’s specifically British which will disappoint many. Maybe my other comrades can help me by reviewing the North American options.

Thanks Nutracheck!

Bootcamp Buddies

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Oct 062009

Besides Weight Watchers, this is the group that has got me further towards food sanity than any other. Why? Because they will lovingly tell you to suck it up if you fail on your Weight Watchers journey. It’s not that they don’t tolerate weakness – everyone on that board admits to weakness – it’s just that they don’t tolerate failure that doesn’t lead somewhere positive.

So you ate 7,000 calories at your cousin’s wedding? Tell us what you’re going to do next time. Even better, if social gatherings are your weakness, come here before each and every party and tell us your plan for the event.

The accountability is second to none.

And there’s a place for everyone – even non-American peacenicks like me who, frankly, aren’t very comfortable with the military imagery.

Anyway, last year a few of us decided that “just doing it” could get the weight off but not keep it off and we started a special thread to work through the stuff that gets in our way. And that is the basis for this blog. I’ve only moved it away from BCB because I want this to speak to people who aren’t necessarily following Weight Watchers.

Cheers Buddies. Forgive the cliché, but I couldn’t have done it without you.

Weight Watchers

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Oct 062009

Ah WW.

I have joined and left WW at least twelve times in thirty years. We have a relationship akin to a very rocky marriage. My most recent return was in the middle of grieving the death of my dad and I realised I needed some “non-cyber” support for a bit. I was pleasantly surprised by what and who I found there.

Downside:

I hate spending money in order for someone to tell me to do what I already know I should be doing.
I’m not keen on marketing in general, so I just never buy WW food products on principle.
Good WW leaders are like gold dust. It has taken me 30 years to find one that I really want to listen to.
Scale insanity – my problem, not theirs – and fodder for another post altogether.

However, there’s the love side too.

WW has given me good eating habits when I otherwise wouldn’t have figured them out for myself. I didn’t know spaghetti didn’t have to come out of a tin until I was twenty years old.
They will always take me back. I know that when I need some structure that I can’t provide for myself, I can walk through that door with no guilt, even after years away.
The meetings can be helpful. After thirty years, I’ve found one worth going to! I never thought it would happen.
It works and it doesn’t harm your health in the process.

The only bit of WW that I don’t use is the journalling. I have found a journalling tool that works better for me than WW and I use it. I realized some time ago that my personality demands to know “WHY?” and I never quite trusted the points thing – either for food or exercise. My life became a game against WW to see what I could get away with and still lose weight. That road does not lead to a sane and healthy relationship with food.

But that topic will be another post, probably entitled “Why I always have to be the boss”. Or, if written by my mother, “You can’t tell her anything.”

But the principles of WW will always be with me. They are sound and healthy and good. And I would recommend WW to anyone who needs to lose weight.

The Wagon or Not

Starting Again Again, Things to try 4 Responses »

Oct 042009

I’ve decided to ban the phrase “fall off the wagon”. It’s too all or nothing: you’re on or you’re off, succeeding or failing.

I like to think of this as a game of catch like we used to play as kids. Each catch “counted” towards the all-time record. When you drop the ball, you just start again at one and head for the record again. How depressing it would have been if we’d berated and criticized each other with every drop.

So from now on I’m thinking of “dropping the ball” rather than “falling off the wagon”. I hate the wagon. I can’t stay on the wagon. But I can play a game of catch – enjoy the process, chat with a friend and head for the all-time record.

So what constitutes a “catch” day?

For me, it means:

eating well to relieve hunger rather than emotion
staying within my calorie range for the day
moving somehow, some way
a day of appreciating what I have and working hard towards what I envision for myself

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