Saturday, April 26, 2008

Bit of a confession...

The following is all about me. Feel free to skip.

I have been doing Weight Watchers for 6 months now. I have lost a whopping total of.....9 lbs.

I don't like to exercise and I've haven't had much motivation lately in the countdown to DD's heart surgery. I'm afraid that being in the hospital I will either 1. forget to eat until I am ravenous and then grab the first unhealthy thing I see, or 2. not be able to find good food choices from the get-go. I am not crazy about cookies, cake or candy. I am crazy about ice cream, high-quality chocolate, breads, British-style scones, and pastas. I am positively addicted to Japanese rice crackers

I don't know how I will find time to exercise or what I will do. I am packing yarn to keep my hands busy. I plan on taking the stairs everywhere in the hospital (I'll be taking Mr. Wonderful's Cookie-Approved pedometer that he hasn't not opened since he received it for Christmas). I used to like exercise in college. I danced 6 hours a day (which was torture as everyone was compared to everyone and I was the only one w/out any previous dance experience, but the energy result was fantastic). At night I would run up to the temple and back. Exercise was easy when I was a cute, skinny, young thing.

Not anymore. Not skinny. Not young. Not feeling cute on a daily basis. I guess I don't like exercise because is not easy like it was way back when.

Since I won't be able to go to meetings for a while I am contacting the main WW office for my area to find out what kind of excuse note I need. I will miss the meetings. I want to hit goal by my 40th birthday which means I have 6 months to lose 30 lbs. I am not going to be close at the rate I am going unless I change my routine.

Help me out here. I need comments, advice, rah-rahs with cyber pom-poms, something....

7 comments:

Michelle Johnson said...

I am trying not to eat junk, and eat slowly when I am eating. The slower you eat, the less food you eat before you feel full, since that is a delayed reaction. I'm trying to leave food on my plate. And not eat when I'm stressed or bored. I've lost 11 lbs so far.

Good for you losing 9. You can do it! :) Just imagine yourself that skinny chick again with all that energy. That will help you eat better, which will help you take better care of DD.

Tammy and Parker said...

Boy, can I relate to this! I'm down 18 pounds as of Thursday. I won't even tell you how many more I have to go. so, so, so sad.......yikes!

I've been doing WW online and it has worked really well.

Plus the time is going to pass by anyway.....it might as well pass with me getting smaller and healthier, right?

I've been planning what to do when up there in May for Parker's surgery. I think I'll be packing a bunch of veggies, etc. from home. The cafe there isn't really known for it's great or super healthy food.

They do have great fruit cups. An okay salad bar. And great oatmeal in the mornings.

They serve fish a few times a week. And sometimes just a plain chicken breast.

I have one of those little point figure outter thingies you are welcome to borrow while you are out there. :)

I'll have to stock you up on some fresh veggies when I come up to visit!

Anonymous said...

You can do this! I know you can. You just have to in a strange sense get selfish where food choices are concerned and make youself a daily priorty when it comes to food. This is a step by step choice everyday. You have to take care of you so that you can take care of precious DD! It is making the best choice that you can at every eating opportunity. You can't worry about tomorrow cause tomorrow may never come. You have to live in the moment doing the best you can. I want you to know that I am on my face praying for DD, you, DH, all the Dr.'s and nurses that will be a part of this successful journey. I will be lifting you up for calmness, focus and peace. I love you and I'm pulling for you.

Laura

Unknown said...

Put it in a different perspective... it's not about you and the choices you make, it's about the choices you make *FOR* DD. Is it going to be better for her if Mom is badly fed and down in the dumps, or if mom is also taking some effort to focus on her own well being and able to be more supportive?

You can bring some crackers and peanut butter or cheese with you, something you can whip out if you feel hunger coming on. Even some nice, single serving squares of high quality chocolate (aka, at my last job, "Stress Chocolate") where you can have one if you feel you need it (and one square of good chocolate leaves you a LOT more fulfilled than an entire bar of vending machine chocolate). Make it a point to bring a healthy snack to eat at some point(s) during the day. Need to get in exercise? Cheer up DD by doing silly dances around the room.

And don't be afraid to ask for help . If you know someone is coming by, it is not a burden to ask them to make a stop and pick you & anyone with you a healthy snack. People want to help, and it will make them happy to know they have done something for you guys.

Ginger Johnson said...

I haven't ever done WW, but I have started with the Daily Plate (http://www.thedailyplate.com/), to keep track of stuff. It's a bit of a motivator for me, as it tracks what you eat by calorie count as well as carb/protein/fat and also tracks exercise, deducting those calories from your overall count.

The other thing that I keep for snacks is dried fruit--the sweetness helps when I'm craving sweet stuff, and they're usually pretty filling. I've branched out from dried cranberries, apricots, and cherries to figs, dates (stuffed with a tiny bit of reduced fat cream cheese), and even prunes (only after my trip to Oxford where it was part of the breakfast menu--soaked in oj).

A few rah-rahs to you!

Anna said...

weight loss has been on my mind too. most of the people I know who have lost great amounts of weight (and some of them had been heavier for years and years) got addicted to running. I've always hated running, but I've decided to push through and learn to like it or at least appreciate the benefits. I know it'll be hard to find time to work out, but think of it this way---working it out gives you more energy, helps you lose weight, AND is a great stress allieviator.

Also, I'm a fan of letting myself eat anything as long as I watch the portions. Also it seems to help if I eat slowly and focus on my food. I get more enjoyment out of eat and so I need less to be satisfied (1 piece of savored chocolate vs 1/2 a bag mindlessly eaten)

Good luck, I know you can do it!

Soozcat said...

I am positively addicted to Japanese rice crackers

Never woulda guessed. ;)

I feel like I have nothing constructive to say at my current weight, but there are a few things I do know about this.

I know you can do this, Carrie. Right now it can't be on your front burner because of everything that's happening with DD, but you can eat healthy and get in a bit of exercise while she is on the mend. Maybe one of your wonderful neighbors would be willing to stop by and keep an eye on things long enough to let you walk the block a time or two?

I do understand reluctance to exercise. The more weight you have to lose, the worse daily exercise feels. But I saw the difference it made when I went back to college. I was just walking from my mom's house to BYU every other day, made absolutely no other changes to my diet, and lost 20 pounds (and a lot of inches). Stopped exercising, gained it all back. :(

Also, have you considered talking to your doctor or a dietitian? A specialist might be able to offer some insight that would help you lose the final 30.