The scale, the mirror, and the tape measure

When starting a new diet plan, we are usually encouraged to keep a food journal and take our measurements. Keep the food journal so we can refer to it and detect patterns that may be sabotaging our efforts, and to also see what IS working. Track our measurements because the scale doesn't always show the weight loss even if our bodies are changing.

For YEARS I ignored this advice....or at least I would start and then, because of pure laziness and all-or-nothing thinking, I would give up. Then I'd get fired up again, buy a new food journal, take some measurements, and then by the end of the week I'd have "cheated" on my eating plan (I don't like "going on a diet" because that implies that there is a starting and end point, and to be successful in the long run, we have to make a permanent lifestyle change), and I'd be discouraged again, and again, and again, ad nauseum.

This time is different! and I'm so glad I am following through with keeping track of these things! When I created this blog 10 days ago, I weighed 188 lbs (as shown in the bathing suit pictures). This morning the scale is only down one pound, BUT, my waist is an inch smaller, and my clothes are much looser! A one pound weight loss in 10 days may have discouraged me before, but seeing my body change is incentive to keep going! I will be posting updated pictures in the middle of March....that will be one month since I started this blog. That thought is both exciting and scary! Will I be able to see the difference? I sure hope so!

Heart health

I had my yearly GYN exam yesterday and found out my blood pressure has crept up even tho my weight is going down. It was around 135/85 when it used to be as low as 90s/60s with the average being 115/75. I don't know how much of that was b/c of the white coat syndrome, but I want to keep an eye on it anyway. I just took it and it read 123/82, heart rate, 75. It's around 8:30 and I've had 2 cups of coffee. That's not too bad, if it's accurate. But I want better.

Now 135/85 is still better than around 3 yrs ago when it could be 165/100, but the fact is that when it was averaging 115/75, and even dipping into the 90s/60s, I had started an exercise program of walking 2-3 miles three to 5 times a week, and I was also working out with a personal trainer with weights. See what a difference exercise can make?

Today I will begin tracking my exercise, HR, and BP along with my weight.

What Your Blood Pressure Reading Means

If your blood pressure is less than 120/80:

Your blood pressure is normal
If your blood pressure is between 120/80 and 140/90:

You are considered “prehypertensive” and are at risk for high blood pressure. Lifestyle modifications are important and should be recommended by your doctor or healthcare professional
If your blood pressure is:

140/90 and above
or
130/80 and above
AND
you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease:

Your blood pressure is high. Lifestyle modifications and high blood pressure medication are important and should be recommended by your doctor

Kaizen

I learned a new word today...kaizen.
Kaizen is a Japanese word that means: continuous improvement in all aspects of your life. It’s a strategy for making change based on tiny, continuous improvements. And, they mean tiny. Want to build a habit of exercise? A kaizen practitioner would recommend you start by marching in place for one minute a day.

Change your eating habits; change your grocery list, try new recipes, reduce your unhealthy intake of food or beverage.
Change your sedentary life; change your shoes and go for a walk, walk around the block, smile to a few people along the way.
Change your overly busy schedule, change your allocated time for TV by 30 min less. Go to bed earlier (it will give you more energy and your mind will not be as cluttered thus you will do more during the day.)
Change your negative attitude; change your thoughts, catch yourself and rephrase it in a more positive way.
Granted that it will not always be easy, but continuous small changes will impact your life, it will improve your life. You will be on your way to continual improvement, for the better.

I like this philosophy and have actually been doing it without knowing it with this latest effort and changing my health. So many times we overwhelm ourselves with "all or nothing" thinking and we end up sabotaging ourselves before we even get started!

Here's to baby steps!

Let's talk about weight...

I used to exercise 3 to 6 times a week.  I'd go to the gym, do resistance training, the stair machine, the treadmill, aerobic step classes, all kinds of stuff.  I'd spend about 2 hours there every time I went.  I used to go jogging.  I got in decent shape after having my 3 kids and getting a divorce.  Then I met Mike...the love of my life.  But my lifestyle changed, and after we got married, the move caused me to spend the time I used to be at the gym to time spent commuting to and from work.  And of course, we liked to eat and drink.  :-)  Here we are happily cutting into a huge sub sandwich we made.  Sooo...

Pre-marriage (2003)

Here I am years later, having eaten myself into near oblivion.  My lack of exercise, new desk job, and eating habits got me into the obese range.  Yes, obese.  I was shocked!!  Still, I could not stick with my  the changes I wanted to make to become healthier and more attractive.  

Summer 2009, around 206 lbs

And here I am, probably at my heaviest... a few months before the picture above (Fall 2009).  Fork in hand, happily shoveling it in and making myself miserable.  I didn't like myself much.  Yuck.

At my heaviest.  ~217lbs

In desperation, I thought self humiliation would motivate me to change, so I got my hubby to take a picture of me....you know, I was gonna have a huge weight loss now!   Right.  Nothing changed.

The wall of shame
Summer 2009, ~206lbs

And so it went.  And that brings us to today's lovely pictures of me in a bathing suit.  Will THIS make a difference?  I don't know if the pics will make a difference, but I'm hoping tracking my progress and making myself accountable will make this kind of like a game.  A little more fun, and if I can make progress and maybe help someone along the way, so much the better!

February 2011
188 lbs

February 14, 2011
 188 lbs

So, enough is enough.  Today is February 14, 2011.  I've  re-committed to losing weight and thought blogging about it might help.  I've lost about 15 pounds since the beginning of the year.  I weighed 204 then, and today I'm at 188 as shown in the humiliating bathing suit pictures. I got this idea from the from reading another blog from a girl named Krys.  Her story and pictures were so empowering, I figured I'd follow suit (no pun intended).   :-)I'll blog about other things....changes I have made, or things I would like to change.  I'll be 54 in March and I want to reinvent my life.  Here we go.....  my first post.