MyWeightLossForLife.com

Archive for June, 2008

Half of Me is a weight loss blog I ran across a few days ago. She’s also written a book, Half-Assed, about her weight loss struggles. Yep, you may have guessed it; she’s lost HALF her body weight.

Wow. I’m enjoying her blog because she’s a bit irreverent, and she’s honest about what a struggle it is to lose weight and keep it off. She’s in that second stage now, trying to not fall into the old habits and see the weight creep back on.

I highly recommend it for some fun and inspiring reading.

more cat pictures

I wanted to take a moment and update how my habit building for this month is going. My goal was to give up sweets while I’m at work AND to start weighing every day.

In the last two weeks, I’ve had sweets at work once. Not bad.

I’m weighing about every other day. I’m not sure why this one is tough since the scale is right there in the bathroom. I have to step over the darn thing a dozen times a day!

Here’s how I’ve managed to give up my sweet treats at work. I was in the habit of grabbing dessert with lunch. Unfortunately, there’s also a vending machine right outside my office that’s full of temptation.

First, dealing with desserts was relatively easy: I started packing lunch. I can pack healthier food and save money compared to the cafeteria fare. That removes me from one source of temptation with little problem.

I guess I could ask that the vending machine be moved, but somehow I doubt that’s going to happen. Instead, I plan for a healthy snack in the afternoon; if I get really tired or stressed, my willpower is almost nonexistent. I keep diet hot chocolate mix in my office (25 calories) and have that when I want something sweet or chocolatey. I keep fruit in case I get hungry. Those two tactics have helped me avoid the vending machine.

Also, I know that I’m a stress eater, so I have to find a better way to wind down. When things get rough, I shut my door and listen to some music or even a book on tabe while I work. It gives me a chance for some quiet time, and I can de-stress without munching.

You may have already read, but doctors have found that in one study, people who ate about half their calories for breakfast lost, and kept off, more weight than people who followed a more traditional low carb diet.

Here’s the gist of it…

• Participants ate around 1200 calories a day
• They ate around 600 calories for breakfast
• At breakfast, they ate carbs as well as protein and fat
• For the rest of the day, they stuck with a low carb diet

These participants lost more weight than people who followed a traditional low carb diet.

One problem I see with this is the practicality. I think it would be hard to get that many calories for breakfast in a healthy way (no, donuts don’t count.) I don’t normally have time to cook in the mornings, so I’d miss having a hot meal at least once a day. Since dinner is very low calorie, it’s not going to be easy to cook for that meal.

Has anyone tried anything like this? I don’t doubt that it works, but I just don’t think it work work into my lifestyle very well.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I wanted to work on two new habits: weighing every day and avoiding sweets at work.

While I haven’t been entirely successful, I have done better lately. I’m weighing more often, but I’m still not in the habit of doing it every day.

As for the sweets, I fell off the wagon once last week. That’s not bad, considering I had grown used to sweets almost every day. Unfortunately, our cafeteria always has a big selection of desserts, and it’s tough for me to resist those. Add to that the vending machine across the hall, and I have a lot of temptation to deal with.

One thing that helps is packing lunch. That helps me avoid the cafeteria, and the dessert bar. I also keep some diet hot chocolate mix in my office for a sweet treat for the afternoon. It’s not a candy bar or slice of pie, but it usually does the trick.

I think it’s important to work on habits for at least 2-3 weeks. It’s easy to fall into old habits during that first week or two, but I try not to beat myself up. I didn’t get the habit in a week, so it’s not likely that I’ll break it in a week either.

What habits are you trying to change?

This is a hearty soup good for summer or winter. Serve by itself or with salads or sandwiches. It goes particularly well with hush-puppies. This recipe uses dried beans, not the canned variety. It’s not much work since you use your crock pot, and it’s well worth it!

• One 16 ounce pack of white beans (northern or navy), pre-soaked or parboiled according to package directions.
• 1 ½ cups cubed ham
• 1 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes, with juice
• Half a stick of margarine
• Small diced onion
• One carrot, finely diced
• 6 cups of water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in your crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until beans are tender. If you prefer a thicker soup, transfer some or all of it to a pot and boil hard on the stovetop until it thickens – about five minutes. If the soup doesn’t appear to be thickening well, add about a teaspoon of sugar.

This soup reheats well; if fact, it probably tastes even better the second day. Make a big pot and take some for lunch or reheat for leftovers.

Asithi left an interesting comment to my recent post, Declutter Yourself, about keeping skinny clothes.

While you may think about whether you still like them, if they’re in style, how old they are, etc. I think there’s a more important question to consider.

How do you feel every time you open the closet and see clothes that don’t fit you? 

I’m guessing that doesn’t feel great. I know when I used to keep my smaller clothes (I never really had “skinny” clothes), I felt awful each time I looked at them. My favorite pants, that no longer button. That shirt I only wore a few times. Each item reminded me how I’d failed to keep my weight in check.

Why would you keep something that doesn’t fit you? You’re getting no more use from it than if it were torn or stained and unwearable for that reason. Yes, you’re trying to lose weight, and you very well may be able to fit into it again. I’m all for being frugal, but I think you have to weigh what you gain with what this kind of behavior costs.

You save some cash by not buying new clothes. That is, if you get back into those clothes. And if you still like them. And if they’re still in style. And if… you get my point.

In the meantime, each time you open your closet you’re reminded of your weight. Does that make you feel good? Does it encourage you to lose weight? I don’t think so. I believe that in order to lose weight, you have to feel good about yourself as you are now. Holding on to too-small clothes isn’t going to help you do that.

And here’s a final rant… Let these clothes do some good. Pack them up and give them to a charity where they’ll be used and appreciated. You’re doing yourself harm by keeping them, and you’re denying those in need as well.

When you’re finished cleaning out your closet, go buy yourself something nice that FITS and makes you feel good about yourself. You’ll be one step closer to a healthy weight.