2 Weeks in a Row?

You have GOT to be kidding?

Sadly, I weigh the same for the second week in a row. There was virtually no scale fluctuation this week - six of seven days I weighed exactly the same. All I can do is stick with it. I keep telling myself there's a big week coming!

Activity is where I'm lacking. That must change.

I'm going to make a schedule today.

Only one pound to go!

17 times.

I have to take this one pound at a time. When I look at the big picture, it is completely overwhelming.

One meal, one day, one pound at a time.

Stress

This week has been stressful and it's only Wednesday!

Our Marina (Gray cat on the right in this picture from '01) was lethargic over the weekend.

A trip to the vet - and nearly $500 later - and she's feeling much better. She's a Core cat now, though - high fiber food and pumpkin everyday!

Ian woke up last night and threw up all over - he missed his bed, but hit the floor, the hall floor, the bathroom floor. Midnight laundry and floor mopping. Not fun, but all part of the job. I camped in his room the rest of the night, so that Sean could sleep. He's feeling much better this morning, so perhaps it's just something he ate.

The good news is - I'm OP, and that's not going to change. The bad news is, I'm not sure there's a nap in my future today.

I stayed the same?

One week of tracking.

I was really careful of what I ate - tracked my WPA - met my GHG's.

Didn't walk as much as I should have.

Stayed the same.

The gameplan?

Keep journaling

Walk - no excuses

You know this works.

Journaling?

Why is journaling making a difference? Judging by my morning weights this week, I will be down on Monday morning. What's the difference? Only the fact that I've been journaling. But why does that help? I guess because if you commit to writing everything you bite, then you think more before you eat? I always tracked the GHG's and my WPA. I didn't keep a food journal. I am now, and for now, at least, it seems to be helping. At the very least it's saving me from the dreaded WPA Amnesia*.

I'm not tracking amounts - just indicating what I've eaten. I'm not tracking my hunger scale, but I always keep that in mind (or try to!) Whatever, it seems to be helping. And, honestly? whatever works.

*WPA Amnesia - a common, but rarely acknowledged side-effect of over-indulgence syndrome.

I love the satisfied feeling...

....even though I get satisfied before I'm ready.

I just enjoyed a lovely meal with good conversation at a fine restaurant. And I don't feel stuffed. I really like not feeling stuffed.

NTS - remember this - satisfied feels good, stuffed feels ick.

Owning the Middle Number

My weight is up. Not much, but I've been in denial. I left my middle number alone, thinking I'd get back there. Problem is - I need to own the problem, and not putting it out there didn't help me. The failure wasn't that I gained - the failure was that I tried to pretend it wasn't there.

So, what's the plan?

1. Journal - I've been doing that for 2 weeks, and I believe it has helped.

2. Increase my activity.

3. Really pay attention to my comfort zone. I'm discovering that it doesn't take much to satisfy me.

Blah.

Will I ever be happy with my body?

This morning, while I was getting dressed I was not displeased when I looked in the mirror. Even naked I look so-o-o-o much better than before.

Fast forward to this evening - Ian wanted to go to the pool. Mind you - I didn't put on my suit, I just didn't feel like dealing with it. So, I'm sitting in the shade in a pool chair, and I look down and my tummy is all poochy. And I get self-conscious and I'm hating my tummy. Now, I think everybody's tummy is poochy when they're sitting, so why does it bother me?

But there I sat - full of negative self-talk. I did talk my way out of it, but it bothers me that it was there - lurking - waiting to come out.

It probably didn't help that dinner was blah. Tasteless spaghetti with meatsauce. I ate enough to make it through the pool excursion and we threw the rest away. I came home and made a bowl of oatmeal and that helped. The boys shared a pizza.

Advance Planning

Weight Watchers calls it 'mental rehearsing'.

It's a powerful tool. The difference between success and failure.

Today my mother-in-law and I are taking my son and my nephew to Galveston overnight. I have a plan in mind for our meals - and I know what I'm ordering depending upon which restaurants we choose. It makes the menu less tempting if I decide - in advance, when I'm not hungry - before we sit down.

I have a plan. Now I need to execute it!

But, I don't want to be satisfied yet!

When I'm really paying attention I am satisfied with disappointingly little.

But, it's hard when everything tastes so good and I don't want to be finished.....I had an epiphany the other night at dinner. I served myself 3 (small) potatoes, salad and 1/2 of a chopped steak patty. I needed a little more, so I got more salad. Not so long ago I would have eaten 1 1/2 of the same patties. The thing is - that dinner satisfied me - I wasn't hunting snacks all night.

I need to pay much closer attention to my satisfaction levels. And to make sure every bite is worth it. If I'm going to be satisfied with only a little, then the little had better be really worth it!

My mother used to work with someone who could eat half a cookie and stop! Someone once asked her why she stopped? "Well, I know what it tastes like now." I want to be like that, instead of being the one who wants half a PLATE of cookies.

Trying to add a photo

and introduce my boys! This is a photo of my husband and son. It's almost 2 years old, but it's a good picture of them. We were touring Natural Bridge Caverns north of San Antonio, TX.

Something that has helped me a lot

Something that has help me a lot along the way is to evaluate how my week was BEFORE I WI.

Did I meet the GHG's?
Did I move?
Did I do the best I could?
Was I OP?

The scale is just one tool along the way - and it doesn't always give me the answers I want. I've had to use other measures. Honestly, this plateau has been endless, but I still feel successful.

I measure success by the things I CAN control (my actions) - and NOT by the things that I can't control (my biology).

I suppose it's time

I guess it's time to give the blog thing a shot.

I've been following WWCore for 2 1/2 years and can honestly say it has changed my life.