Monday, January 14, 2013

Backing away from the cliff...

116.8 at the meeting...week 31 of maintenance!
112.8 clean weight at home

Week 6 of the Winter Challenge...half-way there!! But the toughest time will be this last half...

Did you think I'd gone over the cliff when I didn't post an update on time??? Noooo...just had a very busy weekend! It's been on my to-do list since Friday  = )

I knew earlier that I'd been able to quickly, within a couple of days, get my weight back into the "good" zone but I wasn't sure it would work this time...being cold, gray, winter and the nature of the foods I overate...fatty, sugary foods compared to just bigger portions of less-fatty, less-sugary foods.

I gave myself some positive self-talk that we learned about in an earlier Weight Watchers meeting. "Ok, Pony-girl, you cannot control the weather each day...what can you control?"  

"Well, Head, I can control...

- drink water
- drink green tea (as long as Betsy is agreeable)
- do at least SOME exercise
- take St Johns Wort
- stay active - up and moving, minimize sitting, even when I have to stay inside all day!
- eat filler foods that I really look forward to, enjoy and are satisfying
        - fruit and yogurt
        - popcorn
        - apples and caramel
        - applesauce and oats
        - soup

So, I wrote this all down on the bookmark that moves each day in my paper planner. I also got some dedicated water bottles from Costco...made by our favorite coffee/tea/water to-go mugs...Contigo. I LOVE the new water bottles! They hold 24 oz. and are transparent (in pretty colors!) so I can see at a glance how I'm doing on my water intake.

That's another thing someone shared at my WW meeting...sometimes just drinking more water makes ALL the difference when you're REALLY struggling. Sometimes that's ALL you have to do...just drink more water than you did the day before...don't try to summon up the motivation to eat healthy or the discipline to not eat unhealthy...just drink water! So it's at the top of the list  = )

I've also been using my light therapy table and it does seem to help but it's been more subtle. I do make a point to be outside exercising as much as I can when we do get a sunny day. 

Speaking of exercise...on our last warm-ish sunny day I went out for a run by myself. When I go with Petey, we do a run/walk thing or take the dog or whatever. This time was going to just be a straight run, with breaks for water if I needed it.

I took my iPhone so I didn't wear the watch to keep track of my pace all the time...just got spoken mile splits. TOTALLY shocked to see the final results...4.2 miles at an average 8:56 pace! Never expected to do that after just doing treadmill running and outside run/walking for over 10 days. It felt good to be outside, in the sunshine, so I ran what I felt like instead of aiming for anything.

I still haven't gotten my bead for my Pandora bracelet...need to find that catalog and decide what to get! It's fun thinking about it though, so I don't mind waiting...builds the anticipation  = )

That's all for this week...a much more encouraging blog update from a much more encouraged person!