I have lots of excuses. Would you like to hear them?
1) I've had a pretty bad cold for a couple weeks now.
2) My knee cap has been popping in and out of place. Two weeks ago at the gym it dislocated for a number of seconds and I fell to the ground. My knee was super sore for a couple days.
3) School is keeping me busy--tons of homework and not enough time.
4) Kevin was out of town last weekend and I was a single parent for four days.
5) Bad news about the unexpected death of a friend.
6) Despite my commitment to working out and eating right, the weight on the scale continued to creep up day-after-day.
About two weeks ago, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. I was sick, tired and sad. Although I'd been following "the plan," I had gained four pounds. Remember the 10 pounds of baby weight I was trying to lose? It was now 12. I don't know enough about weight training to know if this is expected, so I was concerned. I found comfort in Pretzel M&Ms. Obviously, in retrospect, this was not the best way to handle what was happening, but I don't always handle stress well.
After a couple days of Pretzel M&Ms, I realized I had a problem when I moved onto the bag of Peanut Butter M&Ms. Higher if fat and calories, the Peanut Butter M&Ms were my rock bottom. Halfway through the bag, I knew that I needed to get back on the wagon. The best part of living with eight teenage boys is their ability to make junk food disappear. I put the Peanut Butter M&Ms in a dish on the table after school and they were devoured within minutes.
I also decided to seek some help...from a personal trainer at the gym. I have to be able to gain muscle and lose weight at the same time. They do it all the time on the Biggest Loser! Stacy, at Prairie Life, was more than willing to help me reach my goals. I'm going to meet with her and take her group weightlifting class for the next couple months. I feel better about our plan and I'm looking forward to learning a lot over the next eight weeks.
Oh, and of course, all that concern was for nothing. The four pounds I thought I'd gained mysteriously disappeared the next week. Tobias' birthday is in just three weeks and I'm still eight pounds away from my goal. It's not going to happen, but I think I'm on the right path. We all have excuses, but I'm tired of using them. Are YOU ready to buck up?
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Measuring Success with a New Ruler
I was torn this week. Torn because I really didn't want to blog about my results this week, but I wanted to be open and honest about my struggles. So, the big bummer is that I actually gained a pound this week. I have no idea how or why, but that's what the scale said this morning--and apparently scales don't lie. I ate pretty well this week--staying well within my WW "points"--but I probably could have made some healthier choices. I also had a great week at the gym. Two days of weightlifting and two days of cardio. I'm sure there is a good reason why the scale was tipped this week, but Bob and Jillian aren't here to help me figure it out. I've decided to not make any changes and continue what I'm doing for a couple more weeks. Maybe all of this will balance out.
My bigger issue is trying to stay positive. How do you celebrate success when you are unsuccessful? If losing weight is my only measuring stick, then I may be disappointed often. Instead, I can decide to celebrate the fact that I started a weightlifting program and I ran for 18 minutes instead of 15. Isn't that the way it is with many things in life? Yes, we all have goals, but sometimes it is unrealistic to wait until we reach the finish line to start celebrating.
For example...Adelaide is potty-training and she is definitely charting a new course. She is awesome at staying dry. She even gets up in the middle of the night to go potty and is still dry in the morning. She has it mastered...until you get to the dreaded #2. The girl refuses to go poopy on the toilet. We've tried a chart, we've tried prizes, we've tried keeping her naked all day. Nothing works. She just waits until you finally put underwear back on her, hides in her room while you are busy, and does her business in her undies. We are all getting pretty frustrated and it seems like we will never be "successful." This morning, though, she tried something new. She'd been running around naked all morning and I was hoping she'd eventually have to go. I was in the office for a little while when Adelaide came in and told me her pull-up was dirty. The girl had crawled up onto her dresser, found a pull-up and put it on so she could do her thing. No, this is not where we eventually want to be, but I was actually quite proud of her. I didn't have to wash any underwear and she had solved the problem for herself. Instead of getting upset, I praised her for being so resourceful.
So, I'm going to do the same this week. I didn't #2 on the toilet, but I did make some really positive choices for my health. I committed to working out and I followed through. I didn't always make the BEST choices with my diet, but I didn't give up or give in. This week was a success--perhaps not on the scale, but in a much larger sense.
My bigger issue is trying to stay positive. How do you celebrate success when you are unsuccessful? If losing weight is my only measuring stick, then I may be disappointed often. Instead, I can decide to celebrate the fact that I started a weightlifting program and I ran for 18 minutes instead of 15. Isn't that the way it is with many things in life? Yes, we all have goals, but sometimes it is unrealistic to wait until we reach the finish line to start celebrating.
For example...Adelaide is potty-training and she is definitely charting a new course. She is awesome at staying dry. She even gets up in the middle of the night to go potty and is still dry in the morning. She has it mastered...until you get to the dreaded #2. The girl refuses to go poopy on the toilet. We've tried a chart, we've tried prizes, we've tried keeping her naked all day. Nothing works. She just waits until you finally put underwear back on her, hides in her room while you are busy, and does her business in her undies. We are all getting pretty frustrated and it seems like we will never be "successful." This morning, though, she tried something new. She'd been running around naked all morning and I was hoping she'd eventually have to go. I was in the office for a little while when Adelaide came in and told me her pull-up was dirty. The girl had crawled up onto her dresser, found a pull-up and put it on so she could do her thing. No, this is not where we eventually want to be, but I was actually quite proud of her. I didn't have to wash any underwear and she had solved the problem for herself. Instead of getting upset, I praised her for being so resourceful.
So, I'm going to do the same this week. I didn't #2 on the toilet, but I did make some really positive choices for my health. I committed to working out and I followed through. I didn't always make the BEST choices with my diet, but I didn't give up or give in. This week was a success--perhaps not on the scale, but in a much larger sense.
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