Smaller Portions

We parked in the thrift store parking lot to drop off three bags of stuff we collected from our continual thinning out. It seems counter-productive to go inside and look for a few things, but, with some specifics in mind, we went through the door. Chair? No. Lamp? No. Shorts for the boys? Yes, because they were on sale that day, although they hadn't been on the "look-for" list. (I completely avoided the book wall). Small bowl? Yes.

As a visual reminder of portion control, I  wanted to find some small bowls, about one cup size. Won't be tempting to fill the bowl more than I should, whether it is cereal, lunch leftovers heated up, or rice or soup. This pair, for three dollars, is bright and cheery. They will be pleasant to pull out of the cupboard with a gentle reminder to watch the quantities, eat less food but more often, keeping the balance and making progress in my weight loss goals.
I fall into the trap of thinking I am doing good if I miss a meal. It happens, over and over - I get busy, time goes by and I forget to eat. Then, I get so hungry I snack on something with the quantities way out of proportion or eat too much at meal time, especially dinner. Not eating is really undermining my efforts to lose weight. Go figure. Instead, it is better to eat a little, knowing I can eat again in two or three hours. This way, my body doesn't go in to starvation mode and throw my system out of whack.
The times I eat like this, small but more often, consistently, I have lost more weight, faster. Somehow, I had forgotten this method and had fallen back into the eat nothing/eat way too much pattern. With, of course, no weight loss.

Measuring my food each time is tough - maybe I'm just lazy. Having these little bowls will help me visualize my portions and limit my intake. Added with exercise, I should see results.
How do you manage portion control?

June 2nd, One Year

This post has been harder to write than I thought it would be.  One year ago today, I began a serious program of weight loss and exercise.  For the effort, I have lost 42 pounds and dropped four sizes and twenty-three and one half inches overall.

Why is it hard to write?  Because I wish I had more to show, had done more, had worked harder, had been more consistent, had bigger results - the Perfection Monster rears it's ugly head!  Argh!  Must remind myself, this is a mile-marker along the way, I am not "there" yet.  On our recent six hour drive to Arizona, we could tick off the miles watching the mile markers as we neared the state border.  Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven.  Which is what I'll be doing on the scale as I count off the last thirty pounds.  And, if it takes me another year, well, there will be thirty pounds less of me to cart around.

This date reminds me to re-commit and confirm my goals. It is an expression of gratitude to the Lord to care for the body He has given me.  This daily effort is not for vanity, but for strength and health and to be well-equipped to do my job as home-builder, mom, wife, writer, grammie, and any other hats I wear.

My nutritional goal is to eat for nutrition.  That sounds redundant, but it takes my focus off what I "feel" like eating, what sounds yummy, comfort food, emotional eating, or bored, restless eating.  Instead, I evaluate if this food I am putting in my mouth will build health, strength, energy and leanness. Sometimes, more often than it should be, the answer is no, but it is a direction, a goal.  Note: fortunately, chocolate is a nutritious, acceptable snack - occasionally.

These are the products we have used ( with our daughters) over the last year:
Shakeology, a powder mix for shakes (with fruit), once a day
Recovery Drink, a powder mix for replenishment after a tough, sweaty, intense work-out

Turbo Jam,  intense cardio kick boxing and strength building work-out DVDs
ChaleanExtreme, a program of weight lifting and cardio workout DVDs
TurboFire, a workout program of HIIT (high intensity interval training) DVDs.

I continue to do the modified version, just to be gentle on myself because of my age (OK, yes, I admit it) and because of weak abs, weak back and I want to be sure to build enough strength without injury.  It is still a good, sweaty, workout.
Also, walking almost every day, and an additional ab workout a couple times a week (AbJam from the Turbo Jam series).
All the above are from beachbody.com; if you have interest in any of it check out: beachbodycoach.com/travelighter

Losing weight and building fitness is work. I get sidetracked, out of balance, out of focus.  Often.  I am grateful for our daughters who have worked with me, one also losing forty pounds (click here for her link), the other working for strength and fitness.  The camaraderie is encouraging on the days I really don't feel like getting up at four-thirty.  Worth it?  Absolutely!  Still a long way to go?  Yes, but without looking back.

More Means Less

Strange thing.  I lose more weight when I eat more, rather than less.  And, of course, I don't mean more ice cream, more sweets, or more helpings. But I do mean more:

• more often (every two to three hours, five times a day, 300 calories or so each time)
• more vegetables
• more fruits
• more protein (for me this has to be balanced with some carbohydrates or I get kind of "nutso")
• more exercise (two times daily)
• more water (one gallon daily, eight of these red glasses)

Lately, I hadn't been losing much, maybe a pound every week.  Still losing, but not enough.  I noticed that on the days I'd be too busy or not really hungry, I'd go too long without eating. Then I'd make bad choices and overeat or feel out-of-whack.  There seems to be an art, a trial-and-error to finding the balance point within my system, what works for me.

It's true - diets don't work.  You work.  And work hard.  It's a long, hard, day-in-day-out job, full of lots of little choices and lots of physical and mental and emotional effort to learn your body's point of balance and learn to not be overweight.  It's how I've lived for a long time, the overweight part, and it is a skill to learn to not be overweight any more.  The payoff for all the work?  Better health, energy, strength, and the confidence of knowing I can accomplish a tough, challenging task.
Brian Tracy, author of excellent motivational books like Eat That Frog! and Goals! says that,

"Persistence is self-discipline in action."

Once I realized that eating more would help me lose more, it gave me the motivation to continue attacking this weight goal loss head-on again and know that the seemingly little choices I make all day long will have the long term effects I want. Persistence.
More means more lost, traveling lighter.
*note: some people do very well on a high protein, low carb; I'm not demeaning that - the skill is finding what works to establish balance and health in your body system.

Focused

When I am discouraged with the weight loss, I get mad. For three weeks of January, I didn't lose any weight, even though we were exercising every day and I was eating carefully. It made me more determined than ever to make this work, to fight through this struggle, to not give up, and to win.  Which, in this case, actually means lose! And now, because I persisted, I am winning by losing.

By "mad," I don't mean angry. When I looked up "mad" in the dictionary, it didn't fit what I meant, so I looked up similar words.  What I mean is "grit your teeth, undistracted, focused and intense."  In the dictionary, grit is defined as stubborn courage, perseverance, or to clench the teeth in anger or determination.
After dinner, our dog gets a piece of bread.  In the routine, which she looks forward to, Dad holds the bread above her nose while she has to sit and wait until he says, "OK."  She makes such funny faces, trying not to look at the bread, while focusing on it all the time.

"I won't look, I won't look."  That's what I mean by undistracted, focused.  One thought, one effort, "I will do this thing."


Or, our daughter as she is drawing and is completely absorbed in her creative effort, completely "right brain focused."

Or, the intense effort of a runner, eyes ahead on the finish line, pushing one step at a time across the course.

That is what this task of weight loss takes.  A mad, firm, focused determination of tough grit.
When winning is losing, I will win, little by little, step by step.