Of course, I have been weighing every day (and logging it) since June, but today was a good one. I am finally less than two pounds above my lowest (pre-NYC trip). I want to lose at least those 2 pounds (and maybe more...but that will be hard) before Christmas so I feel like I have a little leeway.
This week has been frustrating with the scale because I was being perfect and not seeing results, but I actually appreciate it so much. Since I've been logging my weight these past few years, I can always go back and look at where I was at this time last year and the year before. With all my fluctuations, this really helps (I'm sure you all think I'm on a rollercoaster -- really not -- just ups and downs on the SLOW way DOWN). While not HUGELY different, I am down 15 pounds from last year at this time and I feel it. :-) And I have lost all my Thanksgiving weight and a little more.
What have I learned from scale time this week? That it takes about 2 weeks to "recover" from not eating perfectly on plan (like at Thanksgiving -- when I gained 8 lbs). Two weeks to recover from 4 days. THAT is something to really think about. And I wasn't even really bad over Thanksgiving!! Just ate a couple of pieces of pie (in 4 days) and maybe an extra slice of bread each day.
This program has taught me that my body is very sensitive to what I put in it. It shows on the scale. It shows in my digestive system. It shows in how hungry I am and when. I am COMPLETELY convinced that carbs are addictive. Eating just a little sets off cravings big time for me. When I'm perfectly (or almost perfectly) on-program, I absolutely do NOT have those cravings!! It's kind of magic, really. I can't believe how rarely I crave food after dinner anymore. :-)
I've been keeping up with my yoga too...until this morning, I was thinking that maybe THAT was keeping me from losing (I am definitely getting more muscley). But I didn't (and don't) think that's it. While I feel myself getting longer and leaner even after such a short time back at yoga, I don't feel it really is impacting on my actual weight. It does impact on my disposition though and that DOES impact my weight. I feel SO GOOD being back at yoga. I look forward to going...and I never EVER looked forward to going to the gym.
This weekend is packed with Christmas festivities -- at my mom's place tomorrow for lunch, a friend's tomorrow night, the Venice canals Christmas boat parade on Sunday morning and another friend's open house Sunday evening. Then I have other holiday get-togethers next Tuesday, Thursday and Friday! Fun, but I get a little tired sometimes thinking about it...
I've been fighting a cold this week (DB got one)...this morning I thought that I had it beat, but the sore throat is kicking back in a little this afternoon. It's cold and rainy here...very very Christmasy, but makes me just want to cuddle up in bed in my Christmas jammies!
My knee problem from last weekend seems to be almost gone. My yoga teachers have helped a lot this week and I've been wearing a brace every day and icing and taking ibuprofen. Hopefully tomorrow I can try to go brace-less. The pain has been gone for about three days and now it just feels swollen...yay!
4 comments:
it absolutely is so wonderful to hear you articulate all of this.
And I am glad that you are getting a bit ahead going into Christmas. You can see why my friend does the -5 before the holidays so that she has a little leeway and then ends right back at her maintenance number each year.
science experiment, facts, numbers, reality.
think how many people get SO UPSET with themselves and the scale when they let the quality/quantity of the food impact them personally. It does such major physiological things to their body and also does a real number on their minds - how they feel about themselves. And it is such a vicious circle of both. And I hear you on GI track. It also impacts my asthma and my migraines.
I believe you when you say it takes 2 weeks (of solid effort) to undo a long weekend. And I can see the big picture of what happens with that and the average person that doesn’t understand about quality/quantity. There are a lot of people out there that just track calories.
And I think that might be okay in the beginning – higher weights.
But I think – from reading a lot of maintainers- that we all have to have balance at the lower levels.
The women that figure out how to put a gallon of ice cream into their points – are not going to do well – even if their calories are okay. Or the women that are eating low calorie NON-food are cheating their bodies. And I think that is DIET thinking - vs - food plan thinking that bites them in the butt in the end.
Eating nutritionally is a BIG issue (IMO).
And I believe you when you talk about the chemical impact of carbs. Impact on the wants and night time eating. Do you specifically mean processed carbs? Does something like plain baked sweet potatoes or plain baked squash hit you the same way?
I am eating my carbs early in the day – and that makes a big difference. I still have not quite figured out how exactly I am eating from this point forward. . .
glad your knee is on the mend. And very glad you found a yoga studio that works for your location and schedule! have fun at your christmas stuff. it does sound like a lot to me (tiring) but you are used to a lot faster pace than I am. . .tell your mom HI and happy holidays.
(delete was me - had to fix two words that made NO sense)
I like what you wrote too. It must be frustrating to be eating perfectly and seeing the results but you know your history (thanks to your record keeping).
Keep up the good work with the yoga and gym! I know this is a difficult season for you with all of the parties. (But lucky you having so many friends!)
I mailed you card and pics - did they arrive?
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