Saturday 21 January 2017

Weight Mindgames



That really is me. I finally got the willpower to get away from sugar (I could easily say I was addicted). I had frozen all the rest of the Christmas chocolates and treats, but even that didn't stop me. I still chewed on frozen chocolate. I eventually had to bag it all up and give it to my son to take to a party he was going to. I figured a bunch of teenagers could lay waste to it in no time flat.

With this kind of addictive personality it's a good thing I never got into smoking, or doing drugs! We won't mention wine.

This is not about a new year's resolution, it just happens to fall at this time of year - post Christmas excess and a goal of going on a vacation to the south in March. It also falls on the heels of basically eating what I've wanted and being inactive for the last two (?) years. It doesn't help that the fifty year old female body likes to redeposit and add to fat stores in places that were never your "trouble zone". What the hell happened to my waist??? I used to have one. Really.

Anyhoo.... the thing that has always worked for me is writing down my food. I do love to write things down. So I dug out my little spiral bound notebook that I had been keeping track of my eating in a while ago, opened it up again and started. I was very successful several years ago with clean eating. I'm sure I don't need to explain the whole thing, but it involved about 5 small meals a day with protein and complex carbs in every meal and just good non-factory-processed food. I also was successful 15 years ago with weight watchers.

This time around I applied a combo-pack of the above strategies and got to work. I also started increasing my activity. THEN I FOUND MYFITNESSPAL!! I am likely the last person on earth to discover this app, but it is so cool! I'm not a phone person. I really only text my children on it, for the most part and I don't sit about looking up things on the internet because I live in fear of going over my data minutes and paying $5000.00 on my next bill.

The groovy little feature on myfitnesspal that I quite enjoy is the barcode reader. You just point your phone at the barcode of the food you are eating, it scans it, and determines the calories per serving. You can adjust it if you are having a half a serving, or two servings for example. Yes, there are bar codes on things like blueberries or slivered almonds.

Along with the whole keeping track of food and moving more, I also weigh myself. I know you aren't supposed to weigh yourself every day, but I do. And here is how I do it. I am going to bet that this strategy is not unknown to some of you out there. I only ever weigh myself first thing in the morning, naked, after going to the bathroom. Not a sock or an earring need be part of the read-out on the scale! I have even anguished while watching weight loss shows where people get weighed with clothes and shoes on. Come on, people! Get rid of those running shoes! They must be at least a pound!!

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O.K., spill the beans people. How many of you do the old "I didn't eat after supper, so I should be a pound lighter tomorrow" thing? "I went to the gym, so I should be able to see my biceps now." Let us all share in our weight loss lunacy.

22 comments:

  1. I don't even weigh myself with wet hair! Smaller portions (including wine!) and cycling are my foolproof tricks for losing weight. Chocolate only on a Saturday. Yay, it's Saturday!

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    1. Oh no, NEVER with wet hair. And heaven forbid you should have your hair wound up in a damp towel!!!

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  2. Yup! I didn't even eat supper, ha ha. We share the same weigh in routine :-). Never in the evening. Two years ago my waist reappeared. It's gone again. The only way I can not eat something is if I don't bring it in the house.

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    1. Exactly! If it is in the house, it softly calls my name until I succumb.

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  3. I don't own a scale! We took it out to the shed to weigh a piece of wood (I kid you not!) last fall, so we could calculate our "weight lifting" exercises! It got left out in the rain, yada yada....decided we didn't need one anyway. I can judge weight loss best by my clothing. Yes, I know this sometimes doesn't work if I've eaten something with wheat and bloat, but for the most part it's great. My favorite thing is to bring the jeans out of the BACK of the cupboard and see if they will come over my hips yet. (They do but can't zip them yet. Can't wait for the day when the elastic waist jeans go to the back!

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  4. Putting chocolate in the freezer makes it so nice and chewy damn it. I buy when my grandchildren are visiting and if I'm lucky manage to salvage a piece or two.....anything sweet. Too bad if they don't turn up

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  5. Oh! Right there with you!!! I finally gave up the sugar and white flour demon a right after the first of the year. I feel so much better without sugar in my system. It truly is my drug of choice! I could live on sweets so for me it is an all or nothing thing. I can't have JUST A LITTLE SUGAR because pretty soon I have swallowed the sugar plus the container it was in. lol

    I don't use My Fitness Pal either! I will have to look it up. I am like you- I don't internet surf on my phone and use it mainly for the kids. Thanks for the tip.

    We can DO this, you know!!!! I want to go to FL skinnier this year. Years ago I got within five pounds of a goal that WW had SET FOR ME and I stayed there for several weeks. They would NOT adjust the goal so I gave up and, eventually, all the weight came back on plus a few pounds. I also did really well on a high protein food plan and kept it off for several years and then....SUGAR called my name....Just like a dog to a bone....I followed the call. Not good. I am determined to get the weight off this time and keep it off. Amen!

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  6. I am on Day 165 tracking with Fitness Pal. I'm down 25.2. I am doing low carbs, high fiber.

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  7. I wrote a comment but it is gone. Meh
    I am on day 165 using Fitness Pal. Down 25.2. Low carbs, high fiber. I want to lose at least 15 more.

    Here. https://www.facebook.com/codyjohnsUSA/videos/1306559256068538/

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  8. I have finally reached the age where I don't worry about how I look. I eat what I want, I drink what I want, and I smoke what I want when I can get it. No self reproach. I don't necessarily want to ignore health; but I want to strike a balance between what I enjoy in the time I have left - in moderation - without all out disregard for health.
    the Ol'Buzzard

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  9. I have resolved not to buy any liquor until Easter. However, that doesn't mean I can't drink what's in the house - the beer is gone but I still have to finish the numerous gifts of wine, two bottles of my favourite sherry and something delicious called Chantilly Cream that I received as gifts. Until they are all gone I can't expect to lose any weight. I did lose 10 lbs. in the Fall by cutting back on carbs but that's nearly all come back!

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  10. I stopped weighing myself about 18 months ago. I couldn't stand doing it anymore. It had me on edge and stressed me out. Now I just try to eat healthy and keep some type of reasonable exercise routine going. And if my clothes still fit the way they did the month before, I'm good! I do shop carefully (reading ingredients lists and checking nutritional information) and resist bringing home crap.

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  11. I don't even have a scale at home. So I'm not quite sure what I weigh

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  12. I need to keep my weight down because of arthritis in my ankle, which makes walking difficult. We eat our main meal at lunch time and our afternoon tea at 5pm and then nothing apart from bedtime drink until breakfast. This keeps my weight stable and I never talk about it = too boring for folk to listen.

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  13. Oh the sad stories I could share about weight, diet, scales, too dreary a day for more dreary tales. Good luck. I am another one that cannot have the "bad" foods in the house - resistance is futile, especially to jube jubes - darn Costco & their large bags.

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  14. That first picture is very me too. MyFitnessPal has been helping me for years! We've been clean-eating here for 5 days, and it feels like 5 months. I haven't been tempted by desserts, but cutting out wine is *killing* me!

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  15. I'm starting Whole30 today, which means no more sugar or flour (or wine, sad to say) for a month. Sugar isn't the problem for me it used to be, but bread, chips, etc.? Hard to resist!

    I have a scale, and I know the best time of day to weigh myself (right before lunch), but I'm going to weigh myself until February 23rd. Fingers crossed I'll have lost a few pounds in the meantime!

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  16. Since you asked, I honestly don't weigh myself or think about weight and food together. I eat pretty darn clean so it's not an issue. But .. I love, love, love, love that last picture. Try without the socks. I have a friend who will love that too, so I'm sending it to her now. Thanks!

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  17. At home, it's first thing in the morning, nary a scrap of clothing, and dry hair. At the doc, even in the middle of winter I am wearing the lightest clothes I own and yes, the shoes are off. And who am I fooling? It fits or it doesn't. I shrink back in stunned embarrassment at a photo taken from the wrong angle. And I'm fine till I start. And then all bets are off. Frozen chocolate? Been there. Done that! Good luck, though -- this is a wonderful post!

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  18. Guilty! And also guilty of eating frozen chocolate. I'm going to check out the My Fitness Pal app. Thanks!

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