My March Plateau

This is on the wall at my Cardiologist's office - so nice, to read and confirm I am following through on it all!

March has been a plateau month for me and I’m oddly OK with that. My stagnation has forced even more reflection as I assess my progress, or lack thereof, my past and the reasons behind my obesity.  Wow! Two scary words already: plateau and obesity. Technically my BMI puts me in the Obese range (there, I even typed it with a capital.) 

Eating my Colors everyday for Heart health

I lost 0.8 lb. in March. My total loss since Oct. 1 is 22.2 lbs. Here’s why I’m OK with this and motivated to continue with zest:

1.       I probably gave about 65% effort this month. Between a blizzard that blocked my walk/run path for days and 3 children’s consecutive spring breaks to stress my mind I just wasn’t giving my all.

2.       A plateau is NOT a gain.  I’ve been told by several people (some who went to med school) that by losing weight slowly I greatly increase my chances of keeping it off. 

3.       My “Procedure” which I probably stressed for subconsciously all month.  On Tuesday I had a Novasure Ablasion. (TMI coming!) This is a one day surgery that scrapes and cauterizes the lining of the uterus.  I had it for menorrhagia.  I hope that I will be like the 80% of women who have this and never have a visit from Aunt Flo again.  I also hope the bloating, sugar craving time before Aunt Flo doesn’t happen anymore either.

Revelation: When my older children are at college, I don’t worry much about them, but when they are home, my mental “mom” link revs up with constant worrying that causes stress which causes me to try to soothe myself with food. I can now recognize that raising four children with an intentional mind set caused that higher level of stress over the years and thus stuck me with a spare tire or two around the middle. The “intentional” parent is one who has a reason for every decision. I need alternatives that are not food related.  For now, everyone is back at school – my household only has 2 children and seems quiet and peaceful.  This quote from Riding in Cars with Boys sums up motherhood and I will devote another blog post to it in the future:

“Sometimes we love people so much that we have to be numb to it. Because if we actually felt how much we love them, it would kill us. That doesn't make you a bad person. It just means your heart's too big.” (She’s talking about her child)

Sometimes you need some chocolate

Make The Healthy Choice! It's My New Mantra

When I’m at a diner considering a cheeseburger or chicken kebab with Caesar salad: MAKE THE HEALTHY CHOICE! The chicken kebab was in a thin wrap loaded w/fresh lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots. The accompanying Greek salad was surprisingly fresh and yummy. And I’m NEVER going to be a woman who can order only a salad for lunch and survive until dinner.

When I pull into a large parking lot on a cold, windy day, do I look for a close space or just park way at the end? I MAKE THE HEALTHY CHOICE and park at the end. Every step is another chance to get my body moving and my heart pumping. I gave up going to drive-thru’s last year and have no complaints. Last week I went into the bank at 8:59am and the friendly teller who unlocked the door told me the drive-thru opens at 8.  I told her my resolution about that.

Since my turn towards a heart healthy lifestyle I distinctly feel the metamorphosis happening. I’m leaving behind a lifetime of too many unhealthy choices and slowly evolving to become a person who clearly cares about their own health. In my late teens I had a workout buddy who, like me, found that our new womanly bodies brought some extra cushioning and decided to implement exercise into our lives. Our problem was we were raised in the 70’s/80’s on Doritos, M&M’s and Soda.  We would exercise, and then reward ourselves with an ice cream Sundae. We would go swimming and then sit around the pool smoking cigarettes.  In college, after a bad bout of mononucleosis, I was in my best shape ever!  I had a pair of Guess jeans with black and white vertical stripes, they were probably a size 9 (a 1985 size 9 which is smaller than today’s 9).  I looked great but also loved to indulge with my friends in “DC & DC” which stood for Diet Coke and David’s Cookies! David’s cookies were the forerunner of Mrs. Fields (at least on my radar, in NYC). They were huge chewy cookies containing not only chocolate chips, but chocolate CHUNKS and lots of them!

As I reflect on my past and how I never really got back into those Guess jeans I wore in college, I realize I’m peeling back layers.  As an adult most weight loss programs I tried (or even talk shows I listened to) wanted me to find out WHY I overate. They insisted there must be some feeling I was drowning with food or an unresolved childhood trauma. I could never come up with anything because that’s not how I became overweight.  I was predestined as my mother’s seventh child I was born with more fat cells than my older siblings because my mother weighed more when she became pregnant with me. But plenty of overweight women have healthy children who remain at a healthy weight through life; it would be futile to place any blame on my birth.  Especially since I have inflicted my youngest similarly.  Thankfully all of my children are healthy weights – I’m smart enough to apply solidly proven healthy eating habits when it comes to my children. For myself I had a lifetime of bad choices and influences. My life continued with food being used for happy occasions and sad ones. I never felt rebuked and readily tried the newest food to appear on store shelves.  Now I know that food companies have been trying to make us eat more by formulating delectable combinations of salt, sugar and fat.  I was right there, literally eating it up.

I’m being kind with myself and slowly reforming. There’s a popular “fake it ‘til you make it” mantra that assists in life changes. I toyed with that mantra but I just couldn’t really own it. So instead I shout in my head: MAKE THE HEALTHY CHOICE! So far, it’s working.  I’m not always perfect but I’m pretty proud of myself for choosing Raisin Bran with milk and banana slices when I visited the hot breakfast buffet at Hampton Inn on Tuesday. Our ride home from Vermont included a stop at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory – my loudspeaker in my head malfunctioned.  But, that’s OK!  I had the ice cream, a very light dinner and have moved forward to the next day. 

Statistics: I’ve been staying the same weight this month. I still have lots to lose but I’m OK with a couple weeks of plateau living and refuse to feel negative when I know I’m making healthy choices and am definitely in this for life!

February Already? Time for a Goals/Accomplishments Update

Click here to learn how!

Having a Fabulous February already, are you? I started my day at the gym where I did 40 minutes on the Elliptical and then some arm & shoulder machines.  On the Elliptical I select the “Variety” or “Weight Loss” workout and change the default time to 35 minutes.  Then I press “Options” and input my weight and age.  The machine adds a 5 minute cool down. After a few machines (the twisty one for my muffin top, one that had “shoulder” in the name and another one) I felt a little light headed so decided it was time to come home for breakfast.

My Favorite Breakfast Staples

Breakfast is either Quick Steel Cut Oatmeal (with 1 diced apple, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, 1/8 c. slivered almonds & 1 T Chia seeds) or Eggs & toast (or Protein English Muffin) with 1 T butter.  A few weeks ago I decided the oatmeal breakfast sticks with me longer, but today I went for the eggs & toast since it’s been about a week since I had that and I think the shot of protein in the eggs was needed this a.m.

My dilemma is finding a small snack to eat pre-breakfast on the days I want to go to the gym.  I have tried ½ c. grapefruit slices (in Extra Light syrup, drained) + ¼ c. cottage cheese.  This works, but I still get very hungry while exercising. I’d love suggestions. 

How did I do on those January Goals?

        Goals for January:

•          Two exercise events on the same day  3x/week (Balance Board, Running, Gym)
•          30 mins. HR exercise 6x/week
•          Track food 5 days/week or more
•          Keep calorie count near target of 1850/day
•          Continue to forgive lapses and forge ahead, showing kindness to myself as I would to others.

I accomplished these goals and lost 4 pounds!  Yay!  After a tough time getting on track week 1 and a cold during week 3 I certainly had time to apply my final goal of the month.  I’m somewhat conflicted about the weight loss.  Happy that now that I’m sticking to about 1850 calories/day the weight loss has increased from ½ lb./wk to a full lb./wk.  However it’s still a little discouraging to realize how long it will take me to lose all the weight I want and to hear results of others who seem to drop 10 lbs. their first week on a new program. But I don’t wallow for long.  I’ve never believed in a quick fix or magic pill weight loss method for optimum health.  I know that what I am doing is healthy and allows my body to build muscle while reducing fat.  I know that I can work within my structure and LIVE this way – not just temporarily.  

Here’s a post I put on the #GoRedGetFit group on Facebook.  It had a lot of responses and I want to make sure I keep it handy for reference:

Here's my motivational thought this morning while on the Elliptical at the gym. I'm 51 years old. If I deduct my first 20 years as childhood/growing. I've had 30 great years: career, raising a family, travel, activity (skiing, hiking, adventures), another career. Now I have 30 more years ahead of me: should I be slowing down? NO! Should I weigh this much and just take pleasure in crafts, books & TV? NO! I want to actively make an impact and accomplish just as much in the next 30 years as the past 30! .... This is a high motivation day for me....I hope I can look back on this post when I need it...I hope someone who is low on motivation can feel inspired by this! Let's really LIVE life to the fullest!