Working On Those Weighty Issues

(source)

What a difference a week makes!  Week two went so much better than week one.  Of course it helped that there was no traveling or eating out.  This was my focus this week:

1.  Eating breakfast or at least a piece of fruit or a serving of yogurt.  Something is better than nothing.
2.  Drinking more water and less diet Coke. 
3.  Cut back on sweets. 

I ate breakfast every morning.  After two weeks I can honestly say I am less hungry during the day and I didn't overeat at lunch or dinner.  I'm still not drinking more water than diet Coke, but it's probably half and half.  I'll get there.  I didn't make or buy any dessert or sweets.  I still indulged in my Hershey Kisses and Ghirardelli chocolate, but I was able to keep it to a minimum and be satisfied.  These changes led to a weight loss of 1.8 pounds!

As I mentioned in week one, I have type 2 diabetes.  My biggest accomplishment this week was keeping my blood sugar levels closer to normal.  It's always a struggle to do that.

This week I plan to begin exercising.  Back when I was going to physical therapy for my knee, they had me start each session on the stationary bike.  My knee felt so much better each time.  I had a treadmill, but I wasn't able to walk on it, so we invested in a recumbent stationary bike so I could work my knee at home.  I was using it pretty regularly until we went on vacation.  I'm sad to say, I haven't had a relationship with my bike since last August.  It's time for us to get reacquainted!  

What do you do for exercise?

xo Annette xo

Working On Those Weighty Issues

This was my first week on the plan and it wasn't so good.  I was going to work on three different things I wanted to change.

1.  Eating breakfast or at least a piece of fruit or a serving of yogurt.  Something is better than nothing.
2.  Drinking more water and less diet Coke. 
3.  Cut back on sweets. 

It was a hectic week with traveling in and out of town which meant eating out for several meals and grabbing food (usually junk food) on the go.  When I was at home I was too tired to even think about cooking or eating right.  Have you ever had one of those weeks?  

Instead of telling you everything I did wrong, I'll tell you what I did right.  I ate breakfast every morning.  Nothing major mind you, but a granola bar or a yogurt and I could tell a difference in how I felt throughout the day.  I still had something sweet everyday but only once or twice a day.  I really was being mindful of that.  And I did drink water...occasionally.  So while I didn't have a good result on the scale, I did have success. I knew I was starting off at a bad time, but is there really ever a good time?  

Eating out is a real challenge for me.  I know you can go to a restaurant and most menus have healthy options.  You can ask for your food to be prepared without fat, or have the sauces and dressings on the side,  and get something grilled not fried.  I know you can plan ahead by checking out the nutrition content online for most restaurants so you can make a healthy decision about your meal.   But here's the deal.  When I go out to eat, I don't want the same kind of food I fix at home.  I want the creamy crab dip, bbq ribs, loaded baked potato and chocolate lava cake kind of meal!  And giving in to that is one of the many reasons I am where I am today.  I will do better!

This coming week shouldn't involve traveling, but I will have my granddaughter for a few days which involves completely different challenges!  

TGIF y'all!!

xo Annette xo

Working On Those Weighty Issues

(source)

Last October I wrote this post about my weight struggles.  It was one of those posts that as soon as I hit publish, I wondered if I had done the right thing.  Fortunately, I haven't regretted it.  I was quickly reminded of how supportive my blog friends are.  Thank you all for that!  I've also made some new friends from that post, so I know I did the right thing.

It's time to get serious about it now.  I've spent time thinking about what is best for me and how I want to approach this journey.  Since I've spent most of my life dealing with this issue, I've learned a thing or two.  Obviously I haven't been doing what I learned or I wouldn't be where I am now!

This is what I know for me:
1.  Diet is a negative word, is temporary and leads to failure.
2.  Changing my bad habits into good habits equals success.
3.  Trying to change all those bad habits at once leads to failure and guilt.
4.  Depriving myself of a particular food drives me to overeat when I do have it.
5.  I lose weight slowly and that's okay.  I'm not in a race.
6.  Skipping breakfast causes me to graze or grab whatever during the afternoon and then overeat at dinner.

(source)

My get healthy plan starts today and this is what I will be focusing on:
1.  Eating breakfast or at least a piece of fruit or a serving of yogurt.  Something is better than nothing.
2.  Drinking more water and less diet Coke.
3.  Cut back on sweets.

It might not sound like much but it is a big deal for me.  This is going to be a long process and I have to start where I know I can see progress.

I would like to make this a weekly Friday post.  I will update you on my progress or lack thereof, and talk about specific weight issues.  Thank you again for your support.

xo Annette xo

The Weighty Things

(source)

Hi Friends,

This is a difficult subject for me to write about but one I feel most compelled to share.  I had even started a second blog two years ago to focus on my my struggles with weight, but it turns out I wasn't able to successfully maintain two blogs and keep them separate.  My daily life revolves around food, my weight, and diabetes. 

I was overweight as a child but was never teased or felt left out because of it.  I don't think I really even realized I had a problem until my mother told me I needed to lose weight.  From that point on I've always been on a diet and have had body image issues.  I've lost count of the number of times I've joined Weight Watchers and lost significant amounts of weight only to gain it all back and then some.   Now here I am at my heaviest.  I need to lose 120 pounds.

When it comes to my size and how I look, I'm miserable in every way.  Physically I'm tired all the time.  I don't have the energy and stamina I should still have at my age and every joint hurts.  Mentally it's pretty much on my mind all day and when I go to bed at night.  Emotionally I beat myself up, feel guilty all the time, and feel pretty hopeless about losing the weight.

I know there are those who believe people like me just need to exercise self control.  I wish it was that easy, but it's quite complicated.  First, I'm on insulin for type 2 diabetes.  Insulin causes weight gain which requires more insulin which causes more weight gain.  It's a vicious cycle.  Second, I've learned to use food to cope with loneliness, and depression, and disappointment. Food keeps me company and has become my best friend.  I know that's hard to understand if you've never had food issues.  Third, food addiction.  Sweets are my drug of choice.  I'm not making excuses, but trying to explain how I got here and why it's not as easy as some people might think to just "lose the weight".

The good news is I'm ready to tackle the problem.  It's not going to be an easy journey, nor will it be quick or pretty.  It's going to be the hardest thing I've ever done.  I'm not waiting until after Christmas to start.  I think by starting now I will have more self control during this "food season".

I know most women struggle with their weight.  Do you?  How do you deal with it?  I'd really like to know.

xo Annette xo