I was excited recently to see anotherdemocrat's diary reviving the Weight Loss Kos tag. I have been hoping/planning to do something about my weight for quite a while but that magic push--whatever it is inside that leads us to make a commitment and stick to it--never materialized. I'd followed WLK diaries before and I thought AD's diary might be the impetus I needed.
And then another week passed.
Have you experienced procrastination when you know you need and want to lose weight? What has helped you to break through that? And what has kept you on course? Walk right past that delicious orange croissant and let's talk about it.
My track record with New Year's resolutions is not great so I've largely given up the practice. That doesn't stop me from thinking about things I could change when the wheel of the year turns around. This year, like many others, I thought I might start a diet.
Not, of course, on New Year's Day. That's still holiday mode! And while my daughter was off school, I wanted to take her out for lunch. We had planned a get-together with friends the weekend after New Year's to get the drop on those post-holiday blues and that would be a pitch-in, lots of good stuff to sample. Once the kidster went back to school, I started work again and there seemed to be no time for meal planning. When, oh, when would be the right time to start a diet?
Last Sunday night, I thought about the possibility of another Weight Loss Kos diary appearing on the list and I thought about how bad I'd feel that another week had passed and I'd done nothing. I suppose last minute deadlines inspire me because I leaped into action.
I remembered some good links listed in the previous diary and comments so I read through it again and looked for the things I'd found inspiring. I have dieted in the past, had a lot of success with Weight Watchers, some success with South Beach, and even ate lots and lots of cabbage soup one fateful week. I wanted to follow an easy plan, though, one that I could live with. I didn't want to learn a new system (Was WW on Points last time I did it?) and I didn't want to change my diet drastically. I eat very healthily in general. I'm a vegetarian so get lots of vegetables and I usually choose whole grains. Olive oil is my oil of choice. I do buy a lot of junk food, though. I love potato chips! And chocolate! Frequently, I exceed the ideal portion size with these yummies. Still, I know the rules of dieting, I just need a method to keep me on the straight and narrow.
Someone in the previous diary recced My Fitness Pal and I decided to try that because I could eat what I want and the website and app would help me track the calories. I had to recharge the batteries in my Wii board so I could use that scale (the button battery in the bathroom scale being long dead), but I got an account set up on their attractive website and I was looking forward to using it. Next, I planned a short menu for the beginning of the week so I could shop in the morning. In addition to meals, I put some healthy snacks on my grocery list as well.
I wanted to get started right away Monday morning, but the cupboard was rather bare. I ended up having tea and faux baloney slices for breakfast. At least it was a nice boost of protein to start the day. I remembered I had a morning meeting so I couldn't get out to the grocery but I found some nuts--1 ounce, a decent serving size--for a mid-morning snack. Rummaging around in the cabinets later, I found a relatively low calorie prepared soup for lunch and afterwards, I headed out to get my groceries. Dinner was much better after that. The hubster was out to a meeting so I made mushroom-swiss (he hates mushrooms) veggie burgers for us along with thin-sliced, oven fried potatoes (yay, chips!) and cole slaw. Some of this stuff wasn't the best choice, but I weighed and measured everything and then logged it all. I stayed within my calorie range for the day and was pretty pleased about that.
My Fitness Pal also reminds me to drink water and I got eight glasses in. Several times during the day when I thought I wanted to snack, I drank instead.
It's been a week and it's still working. I do have things to prep to smooth my road ahead. I need to keep a big bowl of salad washed and chopped so it's easier to have that on the spur of the moment. I have yet to clean and chop veggies (carrots and celery) into snacking sticks for peckish moments which would be a nice alternative to the compulsive water drinking. A couple desperate times, I ate the carrot whole when sticks seemed like too much of a nicety for my hunger! I want to look up some restaurant calorie counts for when I'm out and about, too, though I've been finding most things already in the database on the MFP website. Hey, sometimes a girl just needs a 12 oz. skim latte from Starbucks to make her day better and stop her thinking about worse options!
I'm excited to have got through a week. MFP is really easy and that has helped keep me going. Personal desire is high. Fingers are crossed.
So, what has worked to motivate you or what do you find is a stumbling block? Have you taken action to get more fit and lose weight? Please share!