MyWeightLossForLife.com

Archive for April, 2008

As you all know, exercise is a real struggle for me and my husband. Where we work we have a gym available for our use, for about $500/year for both of us.

I’ve toyed with the idea of joining for some time now. I’m hoping that it’s just the extra push we need to start exercising. I’m hoping two things.

1. That joining (and paying for) a gym membership will help motivate us to exercise.

2. That I’ll enjoy exercise more when there are so many different options available.

I’m curious though, does anyone have any thoughts on it?  Have you joined a gym and had good results, or bad ones?

Oddly enough, I’ve dropped about a few pounds in the last month. That brings my total to 32 pounds since last summer, I believe.

That’s how it usually goes for me. I hit a plateau and stay there for a while. In this case, I’ve been more or less stuck for almost two months. Then poof, I drop a few pounds in just a week or two.

It’s important for me to remind myself of this; it’s all too easy to get discouraged when I’m stuck. I track my weight in a spreadsheet, and it helps to go back and look at how my progress has slowed, stopped, and picked back up again. Although we might like to plan to average a pound or two a week, it rarely happens that way.

Another trick I have for not getting discouraged is how often I weigh. I tend to weigh almost daily, except for when I’ve been on a plateau for a while. Since it’s discouraging to see the same weight day after day, when I’m stuck I return to a weekly weigh-in routine. Then, when I finally drop some weight, it’s a pleasant surprise.

What techniques do you use to keep your spirits up when the scale won’t budge?

Here are some popular posts from the last few weeks, in case you missed any of them.

Take Charge of your Medical Care

Thinking You Can 

Low Carb Enchilada Recipe

Eating When You’re Sick 

I sometimes read and participate in weight loss forums. I think it can be helpful to get feedback and support when trying to lose weight. Goodness knows, sticking with it can be tough.

Surprisingly, I also think that those same forums can be the very thing to trip you up and cause you to lose motivation.

Why is that?

People tend to get carried away on forums and set bigger and bigger goals. Setting unrealistic goals sets you up for disappointment and failure.

On one forum, the goal is to set exercise time limits per day and meet those. You get “points” for each ten minutes of exercise. Instead of setting something reasonable, it’s not uncommon to see people setting goals for an hour, even an hour and a half, of exercise per day.

Does that sound reasonable for most people? Can you find the time to do that? Would you stick with it long term? For every person who can stick with that type of grueling schedule, there are several who can’t.

Weight loss goals are even worse. We don’t like to admit it, but we really have no control over how much or how quickly we lose weight. You’ve probably had the same types of experiences I have; I do everything “right” and don’t lose anything. After a weekend of splurging, I hop on the scale, and I’ve dropped a pound.

Setting specific weight loss goals like losing a pound or two a week sets you up for disappointment. You’ll hit the inevitable plateau and become frustrated when your weight loss stalls despite your continuing to work hard at it.

Save yourself the hassle and heartache.

• Set small goals. Aim to lose two or three pounds, not ten or twenty.
• Begin with goals that you know you can meet. That may mean exercising for ten minutes a day to begin with, but sticking with ten minutes a day is better than failing to do an hour a day.
• Avoid time limits. Even saying that you’ll lose a pound a week sets you up for disappointment if it doesn’t happen. Set a goal to lose a few pounds, and leave the time limit off.
• Reward yourself. When you lose the few pounds you wanted, do something nice for yourself. Spend equal time exercising and doing something else you enjoy. Be creative and “bribe” yourself if you have to.

I set small weight loss goals, five pounds or less. If I’m stuck on a plateau, then I set a goal of only one or two pounds. Staying positive is a great first step to staying on track with your weight loss.

With summer coming on, it’s getting to be ice cream season again. If you’re watching your carbs and/or your sugar, then there are some nice selections out there for you.

Breyers does a low carb ice cream that’s very good. Unfortunately, there are only a few flavors. I’ve seen vanilla, chocolate, butter pecan, and rocky road.

There are also lots of no sugar added ice creams. These may or may not be low carb as well, so you’ll need to read the package. I’ve tried Blue Bunny and Skinny Cow and have found both to be good.

Calculating Carbs

• Note the serving size. Usually it’s for half a cup, but double-check just in case.
• Start with total carbs and subtract any fiber and sugar alcohols listed. The result is the net carbs.

Breyers is around 4 net carbs. I’ve found some Blue Bunny that’s only 3. However, some of the low /no-sugar ice creams can still be pretty high in carbs, so read the label.

Does anyone have any suggestions for other low carb desserts?

With warm weather coming, you may be wondering how to dress to avoid showing your problem areas but still be comfortable and fashionable.

Shirts

• If your upper arms are a problem, choose t-shirts instead of tank tops.
• Or, try a sheer or light shirt worn as a jacket over your tank top.
• Unless you have 6-pack abs, skip the shirts that bare your stomach.
• While you may be tempted to choose something baggy to cover up, don’t. It will just make you look heavier. You don’t have to go form-fitting, but the shirt should fit.
• Make sure your shirts aren’t too long. Having them hit around halfway between your waist and hips is a good option for most women.

Shorts

• If your thighs are an issue, pick shorts that come down below your thighs.
• Pleats can make your stomach look even bigger. Flat front pants are a better choice.
• Stretch jeans and pants are good if you tend to have a “bulge.” They’ll also give you more wear time if you’re losing weight.
• Capri pants are a good option if shorts don’t do it for you.

Colors / Patterns 

• Dark colors make you look thinner. If you’re bottom heavy, choose dark shorts or pants.
• Vertical stripes are thinning; horizontal stripes tend to add weight.
• Large patterns (flowers, etc.) tend to add pounds.
• Bright or shiny fabrics will tend to add pounds.

Tan 

• Having a tan will tend to make you look thinner. No, I’m not telling you to risk sun cancer; try one of the sunless tanners instead.

Anyone have more tips on how to look thinner in summer clothes?

This recipe makes great use of pasta, particularly whole wheat pasta. I have an article on whole wheat pasta, if your still hesitant to try it.

This is a great, easy dish. It gets even better if you let it sit a day in the fridge. It’s also a good way to use up extra cooked spaghetti. I know I almost always cook too much.

The amounts are estimates. Stir it up, taste it, and tweak it to your liking.

• 2 cups cooked spaghetti (or any pasta)
• 1 diced cucumber
• 1 diced tomato
• 2  tablespoons of salad supreme seasoning
• 1 quarter cup parmesan cheese
• Italian dressing

Mix everything and then begin adding the italian dressing. We like ours with quite a lot (maybe a quarter of a bottle), but you may like less. This is one of those dishes I literally throw together, taste, add a little of this and that, taste…. You get the point.

If tomatoes or cucumbers don’t do it for you, try celery, sweet peppers, etc. I’m sure it would turn out tasty with lots of different combinations.

Broccolini over whole wheat pasta

Originally uploaded by MontageMan
If you’re like me, you’ve heard (and read) that whole wheat pasta tastes awful, is hard to get used to, etc. I’m here to tell you that it isn’t so.

Since my husband found out he was diabetic almost a year ago, we’ve been changing a lot of our eating habits. White bread got replaced by high fiber wheat. Potatoes are a rarity. Pasta fell in that category too for a long time.

We bought Dreamfields pasta, which is white, for a while. It didn’t affect his blood sugar, (more…)