Cold

I got sick. It sucks, I got a very bad cold and was out of it for most of the week. I am feeling better, but still not 100%. Anyway, you can guess that I haven't joined the YMCA yet. I plan on it this Sunday or Monday. I have not done any Christmas shopping yet either. I really can't believe it that it is the middle of December already.

Challenges

My plans for the YMCA were changed when the person bailed on me to go with a guest pass. You have to have a member with you for that. So I went anyway and inquired and toured the facilities. I think I was expecting it to be a little nicer, but it isn't a new building. They have a nice one downtown here, but it is out of my way. Maybe I can go to that one occasionally. It is nice you can go to any of them.

I thought it over and it is a financial commitment because you have to pay every month. It is $64 a month and I do think that is a little steep for 1 person but I am going to join anyway. I so need to just go and exercise after work and get it done with. When I go home there are too many distractions and I just never can get myself going anymore. This wasn't a problem before, I had way more motivation.

We have a lot of eating opportunities coming up and if I am exercising I would feel better and maybe be able to resist the temptation to keep pigging out. I have no idea, but the holidays really make it challenging to eat better.

Hiatus

So I haven't been around much. I had a lot going on in my life. My bf was very sick and we could not find out what was wrong with him, but finally we did. He got his gallbladder out 2 weeks ago. He is feeling a ton better and all is well. I also had some adjustment to my new work department. Anyway, I am freshly back after thanksgiving and would like to resume my blog. I have gained about 3 pounds but plan on getting it off asap! I haven't stopped exercising, but haven't been as diligent. So my plan now is to join a gym.

Tonight..with the help of my bf's sister, I plan on being a guest at our local YMCA. It is expensive to join to me, but it has a good variety of group classes that I would love to do to get my exercising mojo back. I hope I get to go...I may anyway if she bails on me..and just join. I have about 2 weeks off from work in December and I would love to make going to the gym a priority during that time. I so want to reach my goals of weight loss! My goal is just 10 pounds right now, so wish me luck!

Dissatisfaction

I read another article from Judith Beck dealing with eating satisfation. I think it has some good tips that I need to remember more often!

Remind yourself:
• I’m probably just feeling unsatisfied, which is not a reason to overeat.
• Even if this IS true hunger, there’s no emergency here. I’ll be eating again in x hours.
• I deserve a lot of credit for eating only what I planned. (“It’s actually great that I’m stopping now.”)
• Stopping now means I’ll still be able to wear smaller-sized clothes, cross my legs, not feel like people are judging me because of my weight, feel comfortable meeting new people, etc.”
• The more I label and accept dissatisfaction, the easier it will become. The more I struggle against not being able to eat whatever I want, the worse I’ll be in the short-run and long-run.”
• Every instance of accepting dissatisfaction (“Oh, well”) is important and I deserve credit for accepting it.
• There’s nothing wrong with feeling dissatisfied. It’s nothing you need to “fix.”

And you’re not alone. Millions of people feel dissatisfied every time they go shopping because they’d like to buy things that they can’t. Maybe you do, too. They usually adopt an “Oh, well,” attitude. “Oh, well, I’d like to buy that bigger television but I don’t have enough money.” They accept the fact, and move on.

It’s the same with food. “Oh, well. I’d like to eat more but I can’t, not if my goal is permanent weight loss. I might as well accept that fact, and move on.” In the long run, to avoid chronic dissatisfaction, you may need to learn how to appreciate what you do have, especially non-tangible things such as family, friends, work, health, spirituality, fun, and so on. After reminding yourself of these things, immediately get busy doing an activity or task you’ve planned in advance to engage your attention elsewhere.

Never give up

I have been a slacker on posting, but I read a great article on the ups and downs of weight loss and here is some things to tell yourself when you weigh-in:

If I've Been Following My Plan

•It will be nice if my weight is down today but it's fine if it's up.
•Look where I am today compared to where I started!
•If it's up, it doesn't necessarily mean I did anything wrong and if I keep following my plan, it will come down again, until I hit maintenance.
•History has shown me that the number definitely goes up and down.
•I don't need to worry unless my weight goes up and continues to go up for several days in a row.

If I Haven't Been Following My Plan

•Okay, my weight will probably be up today and I will probably feel disappointed.
•I need to make this an "Oh, well," experience. "Oh, well, I don't like the fact that my weight is up but I need to accept it-without criticizing myself-and get problem-solving oriented."
•It's impossible to lose weight without making some mistakes along the way.
•Let me figure out what led to my going off plan-especially the sabotaging thoughts that got in the way-so I can avoid the situation in the future.
•If I get right back on track now, following my eating plan and using all my Diet Solution skills, I'll lose weight again.
•If I use this weight gain as an excuse to give up, I may never achieve the advantages of weight loss-feeling better, being healthier, etc.

(Now go read my list of reasons to lose weight and ask myself how important each one is to me.)

Muscle cars

So everything is going much better. I got a newer car and I think my bf is on the road to recovery. I didn't weigh myself for 2 weeks, mainly because I didn't want another thing to stress me out or put me in a bad mood. I am glad I didn't because my weight stayed basically the same. I wonder when I am going to trust myself and realize that as long as I keep exercising that I can keep my weight stable. I have been consistent with trying to at least do the bare minimum (3 x a week) with exercises. I also started a resistance/weight routine which I try to do 2 to 3 times a week. I need to add some muscle, and I know that takes time. I read that most women with consistent weight training can gain at maximum, 2 pounds of muscle every 6 months. I think that is great, and even 1 pound of muscle I would be grateful for.

Life good or bad

I haven't posted in a while. I have had some personal issues that have kept me from posting....and stress contributed to it. I have to say I haven't really been watching what I eat or exercising as much as I think I should. I have really slipped and need to get back on the horse again. I think that stress is hard for me personally to deal with. I actually don't know that I am stressed sometimes until I notice that my eating gets out of control. This is what has happened.

I have to say this week feels a bit less stressful already. I hope that I can get myself to stay stress free for at least this week, if not month. I am actually able to pay off one of my credit cards this month..so I think that deserves some congratulations to myself. Bravo..good job, your awesome!