Weight Loss Weekly

A breakthrough, Hooray!

Weight loss weekly is a weekly collaboration between me and two other bloggers who are also trying to lose weight.  Join us every Monday as we discuss tips and strategies and well as our highs and lows on our weight loss journeys.

A few weeks ago, the girls and I decided to take Weight Loss Weekly in a slightly different direction by setting weekly goals for ourselves as a way to hold ourselves more accountable.  We decided to focus for the first month or so on exercise.  For the first two weeks, I was STRUGGLING to meet my exercise goals (I did it, but it was solely because I knew I had to post my results.  There was lots and lots of grumbling each exercise day)  However, this week, I finally had a breakthrough.  Hooray!

My goal was to walk for 20 minutes, 4 times this week, do 10 modified push-ups on walking days and also to start the first week of the 200 sit-ups program.  Let me tell you, I was a little intimidated setting my goal last week.  Mainly I was afraid of the sit-ups and muscle soreness.  However, I persevered and not only met my goals, but exceeded them!

I walked 6 mornings this week!  Three 20 minute walks, and three 30 minute walks.  I exceeded my push-up goal as well doing 2 sets of 10 modified push-ups on two of the walking days.  I also completed week 1 of the 200 sit-ups program.  I did indeed have muscle soreness in my abs, but by the end of the week, it didn't seem so bad!  I did it, and without too much morning grumbling.  A breakthrough!  Hooray!

This week, I plan on increasing my workout goals by walking for 30 minutes 4 days this week.  I also plan on doing 2 sets of 10 push-ups  three days this week.  As for my sit-ups, I plan on repeating Week 1 of the 200 sit-ups program as I don't feel comfortable moving on and I think I started on a level that was too high for me.  I can feel myself getting stronger, but I am not ready to increase the repetitions yet.  Are you up for joining me?  Just e-mail me at joiecancook(at)gmail(dot)com and we can walk virtually together!

Sunny is out of town this week (hopefully keeping up with her exercise goals!) so it is just Bernie and me.  Check out what Bernie has to say, then pop over to her site to give her some encouragement!

"This week was definitely harder, and it's got me wondering if every day exercise is too much?" read more at Yo-yo No More

Weight Loss Weekly

Weight Loss Weekly is a weekly collaboration between me and three other bloggers trying to lose weight.  Join us every Monday as we discuss tips and strategies as well as our successes and pitfalls on our crazy weight loss journeys.

This week's question is asked by yours truly!  I ask:

"How do your family and friends support you or hinder you in your weight loss efforts? Do they adapt easily to your changing habits and help you along, or do they confront your new habits with skepticism?"

This question obviously stemmed from a specific event.  Let me paint a picture for you.  The place? Applebees. The dessert? Cheesecake shooter...eew. After a bite, I put my fork down not wanting to waste the calories. My friends (well, not so much anymore) look over at me and sneer, "Oh, is this the new thing you're doing now?" Fortunately, the comment makes me think about our friendship rather than my weight loss goals and efforts, but there is always that nagging doubt...."is this my next new thing or am I truly committed to making a lifestyle change?"  This incident happened to me about eight weeks into my weight loss journey.  At the time, I was down about 13lbs. and was comfortably wearing a pair of jeans that had previously been so tight, I could only wear them for 30 minutes on laundry day while my others were in the wash.  

There I was so proud of myself and my accomplishment, not wanting to ruin it by retreating to an old habit and eating a disgusting dessert, and they were trying to negate my great feelings in one snide comment.  Well, like I said, they are not really my friends any more.  There are no hard feelings, we still say hi and chat if we run into each other, but I realized how toxic "friends" like that can be to a lifestyle change.

My husband, on the other hand, is extremely supportive of my weight loss efforts.  He cheers me on by loving every healthy meal I make and is excited by new clothes I have to buy (minus the money part) because my old clothes are getting frumpy and baggy.  This makes all the difference in the world to a lifestyle change.  You definitely need your life partner to support you in a life style change, and mine does that for me.  As for my old friends, they are still stuck in their old way of life.  I do not judge them, but as I said, there is no love lost on my part.  I prefer to hang out with people now who are like my husband, supportive and enthusiastic for me.  That is much healthier for the new healthier me.

Let's here what the other three have to say on this topic:

Bernie from Yo-yo No More says:

"I think the most amazing way in which my friends and family support me is by loving me no matter what. I can be in "crazed diet" mode or in "don't give a stuff" mode and they just accept me for me, and carry on being the best family and friends a girl could ask for." Read more at Yo-yonomore.

Sunny from That Extra 20 Pounds says:

"My husband has been really good. Like when I was first trying to change my eating habits and was cranky and starving, ready to give up and chow down on a whole bag of potato chips..." keep reading at www.ThatExtra20Pounds.blogspot.com

Nurit from 1 Family. Friendly. Food is taking a week off from Weight Loss Weekly to participate in the United Way's Hunger Action Week.  She and other bloggers have committed to feeding their families, or just themselves, for the week, on the budget allotted to a family of equivalent size on food stamps.  For Nurit's family of four, she is allotted only $22 a day to feed them.  Please pop over to her blog to cheer her on as she brings awareness to the struggles families on food stamps face feeding their families nutritious meals.

Weight Loss Weekly

Weight loss weekly is a weekly collaboration between me and three other bloggers who are trying to lose weight.  Join us as we discuss tips, tricks, strategies, as well as our successes and failures on our weight loss journeys.

Weight loss weekly has a new collaborator!  Bernie from Yo-yo No More has joined us in our weekly column and I am so excited.  Bernie is so insightful about herself and her weight loss journey.  She is a no holds barred type of writer and just lays all of her emotions on the line.  I really respect her honesty and can see so much of myself and what I struggle with in her.  Hop on over to her lovely blog and welcome her!

Today, Nurit from 1 Family. Friendly. Food asks:

You’re trying to lose weight and eat good food, but there is a type of food or drink that you love so much. It could be junk food, it could be loaded with calories but you just got to have it. You might be able to avoid it in the short-term for the sake of your diet, but not all your life. It’s your weak-spot-food. What is it and why do you love it or crave it so much?

Here is what the other three have to say:

Bernie says:
"In this, my attempt at weight loss #982 736 001, I am determined to succeed like never before. Gone are the days of fad diets, restrictive food lists, obsessive weighing and the torturous feelings of deprivation and despair...... Read more at Yo-yonomore

Nurit says:
“There are a few weak spots for me, but I can narrow it down to two, heavy cream and baked goods. Since I can remember myself, I was fascinated by heavy cream... Read more at 1 family. friendly. food.

Sunny says:
"I'm still not sure the right way to deal with all my favorite bad-for-you foods. Should I limit myself to eating some of my favorite things only 1 day a week? Like an "eat whatever you want day"?" keep reading at www.ThatExtra20Pounds.blogspot.com

I say:

Weaknesses? Yeah, I can name a few dozen. Weaknesses can be shored up, however the irrational frenzy I feel when around a pepperoni pizza is another thing entirely! Oh pizza, why do you torment me so?

This is a photo of one of my very first blog posts Pizza Margherita

There is just something about pizza...the saltiness (Pepperoni is my favorite), the dough, the tomato sauce, the cheese...I know this is not a typical Weight Loss Weekly post for me, but if we are talking about weaknesses, I need to show you the extent of my obsession.

Homemade thyme foccacia, I believe this does count as a pizza

In the past 11 months, I have blogged 5 different pizza posts. Pizza alone is not necessarily bad for one who is dieting, it is the overeating of pizza that is bad. For some reason beyond me, I have the best of intentions when I begin eating pizza. I'll drink a glass or two of water, I'll serve one piece of pizza on a small plate and put the rest of the pizza in the oven to stay warm, I'll fill up my plate with vegetables, I'll mentally rehearse eating just one slice...yeah, I've tried them all, but pizza is just something that once I start, all reason goes out the window and I become frenzied!

Uncle Scott's Pizza

I have tried experimenting with crusts using whole wheat in an attempt to fill up my tummy, this does work a little, but I don't stick with the whole wheat.

No Knead Pizza Dough

After looking at all of these photos, I wonder if I am a little masochistic!  I obviously love pizza, but I always feel guilty after eating 4 or 5 slices (oh, yes I do eat 4-5 slices)  Perhaps the answer for me is to try to stay away from pepperoni pizza as much as possible and just realize that it is a weakness.  Perhaps my problem is thinking I can control my obsession and that is where the guilty feeling is stemming from, because I can't control it.  Perhaps my best bet is pepperoni pizza abstinence and when I do occasionally indulge, just realize that this food is my weakest spot, indulge and enjoy, and just realize that the amount I consume cannot warrant having it more than once every month or two.  Actually, just typing those words gave me some sort of freedom from the frenzy.  

Indulge my inner monologue for a moment, will you?  I went to Chuck E. Cheese with the kiddos a few days ago and had 5 pieces of pepperoni pizza.  Okay, I felt enormously guilty afterwards, but let me just change this inner dialogue.  So I had 5 pieces of pizza, and they were good.  Wow, that was a lot of pizza and it did derail my diet this week, but, it happens, I'm human.  I need to get right back on the healthy eating train and just forgive myself.  Should I eat pizza every week?  Not if I want to continue on my new lifestyle.  Can I forgive myself for overindulging in pizza every couple of months?  Yes, I think I can make peace with that.

Weight Loss Weekly

Weight Loss Weekly is a weekly collaboration between me and two other bloggers trying to lose weight.  Join us as we discuss tips, strategies our successes and failures along our weight loss journeys.

This week, Sunny from That Extra 20 Pounds asks:

A lot of people drink diet sodas or drinks with artificial sweeteners when they are trying to lose weight. Do you drink these kind of things? What are some of your favorite things to drink when you're watching your weight?

I don't drink sodas period.  Last year, when I first found the book French Women Don't Get Fat, the author encourages you to eliminate soda of all kinds from your diet and instead opt for water or perhaps some sparkling water with a splash of juice in it if plain water is too boring.  At the time, I was drinking one Coke-a-cola a day (full sugar variety).  I actually found it EXTREMELY difficult giving that one Coke a day up.  I was surprised at how difficult it was really.  In the afternoon, I would just seem to lag and crave that sugar hit.  Also, I was craving the bubbles.  I was able to break the soda habit through perseverance really, but also by buying large packs of Perrier from Costco.  I would go though 4-6 20 oz. bottles of Perrier a day, but I felt good knowing that I was giving up the sugar hit of the Coke.  Without realizing it, I slowly replaced the fizzy Perrier with still water to the point now I am drinking one Perrier a week.  

Just giving up that one Coke a day, I am saving myself 980 calories a week!  Over the course of the year, that translates to about 15 lbs.  Not only am I giving up the calories though, I have broken that sugar hit dependence.  I feel when you substitute diet sodas for the full sugar ones, you may be saving yourself the calories, but you are never breaking your dependence on the sugary sensation (even if it's not real sugar).  This causes more cravings, and more cravings, and more cravings....It's when you BREAK the dependence on the sugary flavors that you can truly get over the cravings and it is not such of a daily battle.

Now, my main drinks are water, tea and coffee, milk and occasionally a tiny amount of juice.  It's no longer an issue and I don't crave the soda at all anymore.  In fact, the last time I had a soda, it was so cloyingly sweet, I only had a sip.  I never noticed that before I broke the sweet cycle.

Check out what my fellow weight loss weekly bloggers have to say:

Sunny says:

"Last time I dieted I bought a big pack of Diet Dr. Pepper to "help" with my sugar cravings. I thought it would help but it did NOT!!" keep reading at www.ThatExtra20pounds.blogspot.com

Check out what Nurit has to say at Family Friendly Food

Weight Loss Weekly

Weight Loss Weekly is a weekly collaboration between me and three other bloggers trying to lose weight.  Join us weekly as we discuss tips and strategies that are helping us lose weight, as well as our successes and failures.

This week's question was posed by yours truly!  I ask:

"Afternoon is a LOW point in my day. I always fight the urge to snack,
snack, snack. Do you have a LOW point in your day? How do you fight the
cravings or what are the snacks you choose to snack on to get you through
your LOW point?"

Last year, when I first started losing weight using the principles found in French Women Don't Get Fat, I happened to concurrently read the book The Ultimate Tea Diet by Mark Urka.  It is filled with little gems and tidbits about tea, but I'll summarize what worked for me from this book.  Most of the time when we're hungry, we're not really hungry.  We are either trying to fill some sort of emotional void, we're bored, we're thirsty, etc.  Tea is a no calorie drink that can fill that void.  There is something about the warmth of tea also that just seems to fill me from the soul up.  Also, the caffeine in tea helps give me a little boost to get through the afternoon.

There is something soothing also about the ritual of making a cup of tea.  Boiling the water, rinsing the pot, adding the leaves, it just takes my mind away from my stomach and puts me completely in the moment of making tea.

I have been trying not to give in to the urge to snack relying instead upon tea and water.  I am finding if I tend to snack, I can't seem to stop snacking and I eat the same amount of dinner regardless.

Do you have any tricks to help you get through the low points in your day?  Please share!

Here is what my fellow Weight Loss Weekly participants have to say:

Nurit says:

“I usually am a good girl from the morning and until the afternoon but then…” keep reading at 1 family. friendly. food.

Sunny says:

"My afternoon snack is an important part of my weight loss plan. Since there's no way I can skip it, here's what I do..." keep reading at www.ThatExtra20Pounds.blogspot.com

Weight Loss Weekly

Weight loss weekly is a weekly collaboration between me and three other bloggers who are trying to lose weight.  Join us every Monday as we discuss our strategies, successes and failures on our journeys to lose weight.

This week, Sunny from That Extra 20 Pounds asks:  "What are some secrets to staying on your diet while eating out?  What are your favorite restaurants to eat at when you're watching your weight that help you stay on track?"

My main order when I am eating out and trying to stay on track is soup.  A big bowl of steaming soup is usually inexpensive, lower in calories (than other offerings) and is probably higher in fiber.  Of COURSE sometimes there is just no getting around the lure of a hamburger, but if I order soup, it's easier for me to stay on track.  

I don't have a particular restaurant that I like to frequent, but I do tend to go for quieter restaurants.  When a restaurant is too bright or has loud music, I tend to eat faster and higher calorie things.  Hand in hand (it seems) with quiet restaurants are restaurants that are more expensive.  I tend to favor restaurants with a slightly higher price menu when I am dieting because the higher price tag means I am not going to wolf down my food.  Instead, I'm going to relax, enjoy each bite and enjoy the atmosphere.  Obviously I can't frequent restaurants that are more expensive, they are just easier for me to stay on track.

I also like ordering hot tea as my beverage in restaurants.  Restaurants will often serve hot tea in it's own little teapot.  The act of pouring the tea and keeping my cup full, keeps my hands busy and away from the bread basket!

Do you have any special tricks for eating out?  Please share!

My Weight Loss Weekly Collaborators are Nurit, Giyen and Sunny.  Check out the restaurant tips they have!

Nurit from Family. Friendly. Food.

Giyen from Bacon is My Enemy

Sunny from That Extra 20 Pounds

Weight Loss Weekly

Weight loss weekly is a weekly collaboration between me and three other bloggers trying to lose weight.  Join us as we discuss our strategies, successes and pitfalls on our weight loss journeys.

Giyen from Bacon is my enemy asks:  "What is the most ridiculous thing you've tried in the name of weight loss?"

I am fortunate that I have never been lured by anything risky.  I've never done the low carb, high carb, grapefruit, apple cider vinegar diets or anything like that.  To me, those always seemed too confusing.  Once, my neighbor gave me a book about eating something like 40% of your calories in carbohydrates, 30 % protein and 30% fat (something like that) but after reading two or three pages, I had to put the book down.  It was just WAY too confusing for me.  For me, eating should not be confusing.

The craziest thing I have ever done is to assume that eating the same way time and time again would not give me the same results.  I was slowly gaining weight year after year, but assuming that I wouldn't keep doing that even though I was changing nothing about the way I ate or moved.  Now that is either craziness, or complete ignorance!

I suppose when I looked at my own craziness, it somehow seemed insignificant to the craziness one must possess to believe that drinking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar before every meal would help burn more calories.  Perhaps I should have been more crazy, it might have helped me make the connection earlier that what I put in my mouth affects my weight.  Hmmm....

What is the craziest thing you have ever done in the name of weight loss?  (I promise I won't judge!)

My three collaborators in Weight Loss Weekly are:  (check out what they have to say on the topic!)

Sunny from That Extra 20 Pounds

"I guess the craziest thing I've done for weight loss was the Atkins Diet. Since when is it ok to eat large amounts of bacon, hot dogs, and steak, but fruit... no you can't eat any fruit... that will make you gain weight!!" keep reading at That Extra 20 Pounds

Giyen from Bacon is My Enemy

"I should have known better than to trust anything that is called "Suddenly Slimmer" ... keep reading more at Bacon Is My Enemy.

Nurit from Family. Friendly. Food.

" The craziest things I have done – which maybe are not really that crazy? – involve clothes. How shallow is that?!" read more at 1 family. friendly. food.

If you are interested in my other Weight Loss Weekly posts, click here!

Weight Loss Weekly

Weight Loss weekly, is a weekly collaboration between me and three other bloggers.  Join us as we discuss our successes, our failures, and the challenges in losing weight.  Every Monday, we blog about the same topic regarding our weight loss.  Please join us!

My fellow Weight Loss Weekly  bloggers are Giyen, Sunny, and Nurit.  Here is what they have to say about this week's topic, "Why this time is Different":

Giyen's response:

"This time is different because I am different. I spent a good many years thinking that life would be different if I looked different ..." Read more click here.

Sunny's response: 

"So first, do I think this time is different? Yes! Why? Well, I think I've finally learned what works and what doesn't work for me..." read more at www.ThatExtra20Pounds.blogspot.com

Nurit's response:  

 "Dinner time. I help myself to another serving of… whatever. “What about portion control?” my husband asks. “Well…”, I say as I take another scoop, “I said it’s still a challenge…”  Keep reading at 1 family. friendly. food.

My response:

To tell the truth, I'm not sure I will ever reach my "goal" weight, but this time IS different.  This time, I am not looking for the quick fix.  I obviously didn't gain the weight in three or six months, so why should I look to lose it that fast?  Yes, I realize I may not reach my "goal" weight, or if I do it will be years from now, but perhaps my goal now is not really to reach a certain weight.  Yes, that is a perk, and I am still excited at being able to fit into new clothes and amazed at my increased energy levels.  But I suppose what makes this time different is the definition of what my goal is.  My goal is really to feel comfortable in my own skin and to enjoy life and enjoy the pleasures of life.  Yes, the pleasures of life include enjoying food, but there is so much more of life to enjoy.  That is what makes this time different.

Please join me every Monday for another installment of Weight Loss Weekly.  If you are new to reading our Weight Loss Weekly posts, click here for past installments.

Weight Loss Weekly

Weight Loss Weekly is a collaboration between me and three other bloggers trying to lose weight.  Please join us for this weekly series as we discuss the challenges of losing weight, and our progress towards reaching our weight loss goals.

Our topic for this week is a discussion of the basic principles of the "diet" we are following.  Here is what the other three have to say.

Nurit's response:

“I don’t believe in diets. There’s always something new; eat this, don’t eat that, eat more of this, eat less of that. Fat-free, low-fat, sugar-free, gluten-free, no-carbs… South Beach, Atkins, Whatever… Enough already! Even the USDA can’t make up their minds about the “pyramid”…” To read more click 1 family. friendly. food.

Sunny's response:

"For our weight loss weekly bit we're discussing the main guidelines of the diet we're following which I already talked about last week. But I do have a few new things I'm going to be adding to my plan for my next 6 week challenge." Keep reading at That Extra 20 Pounds

Giyen's response:

Giyen is writing about a slightly different topic today, but you can read her blog at Bacon is My Enemy

My response:

I'm finding this a difficult question to answer because I am not following a "diet" in the sense that some diets are.  None of this 30, 20, 20 nonsense or carb restriction or all carbs, or only grapefruit on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays...yeah, I know you've heard of them.  Rather, I'm following the life approach Mireille Guiliano talks about in her book French Women Don't Get Fat.

I suppose the biggest changes I have made are to look at food and eating as an adventure in sensory awareness.  I pay attention to how foods look, how they are presented, how they smell, how the table is set, the lighting of the room, in addition to how the food tastes.  When you look at eating as more than a refueling stop and instead look at it in terms of taking care of yourself and pampering yourself, you naturally pay more attention to the quality and quantity of food you are eating and eat less.

I say this is a lifestyle approach because I have not only made dietary and meal time changes, but I've changed the way I live my life.  I dress better, I pay attention to accessories, I entertain in my home more, and I keep fresh flowers and plants in my house.  I engage people more and am trying to feel more comfortable in my own skin and with who I am.  I am so much more than how much I weigh or what I eat.

Yes, there are certain diet changes also.  I eat one to two servings of plain yogurt a day, I'm also eating more fruits and veggies, going for a daily walk, and I've also developed a love of prunes!  But it is the diet changes as well as the lifestyle changes that have changed me the most and helped me to become more comfortable in my own skin and to appreciate the little things around me.

If you would like to learn more about French Women Don't Get Fat, sign up to follow my blog as my whole blog is a testament to the changes I've made in my life since finding that book.  Also, tune in every Friday for my French Fridays series, as well as every Monday for another installment of Weight Loss Weekly.

Weight Loss Weekly

Weight loss weekly is a collaboration between me and three other bloggers where we ask ourselves questions relating to weight loss, and discuss our successes and failures. Join me every Monday to tune into this ongoing collaboration.  This week we are discussing our relationship with the scale.  This topic actually causes me a lot of anxiety and I am tempted to just say, "My relationship with the scale is tenuous at best.  The End.", but I think discussing WHY it is tenuous, will help me in my further weight loss journey, and that is where I will begin.

Before I begin, let me introduce the other three bloggers.  Check out snippets from their posts below.  They are:

Nurit from 1 Family. Friendly. Food

Sunny from That Extra 20 Pounds

Giyen from Bacon is my enemy

I think my relationship with the scale began about eight years ago when I started going to Weight Watcher meetings.  If you have never been to a meeting, each week you go, get weighed in, and then go to the meetings which are on various aspects of nutrition.  The first few months, I did fabulous.  I lost weight every week and the leader would remark, "Oh!  You had a good week!".  After about 4 months though, I hit a plateau.  It was so hard to go week after week and gain and lose the same 2 lbs.  The leader was always supportive, but in my head I would be thinking, "Ugh!  Bad week!"

I got pregnant soon after and went to monthly weigh in's at my obstetrician's office.  I regarded the scale with apathy since one is supposed to gain weight while pregnant.  After my son was born, I still regarded the scale with apathy since I assumed the weight would come off easily with breast feeding.  (It did not)

When my second son was 2, my relationship with the scale started again.  I knew my "baby weight" had not come off.  To top it off, I had a feeling I was slowly gaining weight as my size 18 pants were starting to get a little snug.  I decided to bite the bullet and buy a scale.

What I saw, I intuitively knew, but seeing that number was so disheartening.  "How could I ever lose that much weight?"  I asked myself.  It was during this time that I found the book French Women Don't Get Fat.  In it, the author Mireille Guiliano, recommends only occasional weigh ins as the way your clothes fit and feel make a much sexier approach to gauging weight loss.  While this was appealing, the American in me wanted concrete numbers and so I weighed myself weekly and lost 34 lbs. in about 6 months.  Then, I again hit a plateau.

All of a sudden, my weekly weigh ins weren't as fun anymore.  Of course, it was slightly different now as I could see that I was maintaining my 34 lb. weight loss and that is extremely commendable in my mind.  The weekly weigh in became less about patting myself on the back and more about maintaining peace of mind that I was not letting the weight creep back on.

With the start of Weight Loss Weekly though, I have been paying more attention to my diet, and have broken through my plateau.  I am again losing weight.  I knew intuitively that I was losing weight because my jeans that had become a tad snug over the holidays were suddenly feeling very loose.  Now, I wanted the pat on the back at the weekly weigh in.

This past Friday, I stepped on the scale and had lost two pounds.  I was disappointed.  Crazy huh?  But my clothes had been feeling so loose, I thought I had lost more.  Why did I focus on that instead of celebrating the two pounds lost?  I don't know.  I think for me, the scale distracts from my day to day, meal to meal resolve to eat healthier by reminding me of benchmarks rather than the journey.  I have a harder time finding an equilibrium when I step on the scale after say, a few pieces of pizza, and see I have gained water weight, rather than just realizing I overdid it with the pizza and compensate by eating lighter the next day.  The equilibrium isn't what I focus on achieving when I weigh myself, it's the failure of having the pizza.

To be frank, I don't know what my relationship with the scale is.  I know it does have it's place, but if it distracts me from my goals of eating healthier, perhaps I should take it out of my bathroom and hide it in the closet only to be used once a month?  Maybe never?  Could I give it up?  I'll let you know. 

Weight Loss Weekly appears every Monday on my site.  It is a collaboration between me and three other bloggers struggling to lose weight like me.  Snippets from their Weight Loss Weekly posts as well as links to their blogs are below.  Check them out!  We all discuss the same question so it's interesting to hear different perspectives.  

Joie de vivre's Weight Loss Weekly post from 1/26/09

My fellow Weight Loss Weekly bloggers are Nurit, Sunny and Giyen.  Check out their posts below!

Nurit from 1 family. friendly. food:

"Truth is I don’t have any special relationships with the scale. I don’t love it or hate it. I just don’t use it very often and I pretty much ignore it. I did take it out of the closet and moved it next to my side of the bed, but I rarely use it. Why is that?" Click 1family. friendly. food. to find out.

Giyen from Bacon is My Enemy:

"If bacon is my enemy, the scale is my nemesis." Read more here.

Sunny from That Extra 20 Pounds:

"I must say...I love the scale! Is that weird?"  more at That Extra 20 Pounds

Weight Loss Weekly

My motivation to be healthy

Weight loss weekly is a collaboration between me and three other bloggers where we ask ourselves questions relating to weight loss, and discuss our successes and failures.  Join me every Monday to tune into this ongoing collaboration.  This week's question is:  "Why do I want to lose weight and what I'm going to do about it".  Have you ever thought about it?

Have you ever asked yourself, "Why do I want to lose weight?".  In our culture, it's just assumed that most people could stand to lose a few pounds but have you ever asked yourself that question?  For me, I have tons of responses, most of which have to do with vanity (which aren't motivating in the long run believe it or not) and a few which really get to the core of why.  It is for this reason that this week, I've decided to separate my answers to "Why do I want to lose weight" into two parts, vanity reasons and real reasons.

Vanity reasons:

1.  I want to be the most smokin' hot wife at all of my husband's work parties.

2.  When my sons become teenagers, I would like one of their friends to gross them out by saying, "Dude, your mom is HOT!"

3.  I love to shop.  Ever since losing the initial 34 lbs, I am now able to shop at so many stores I couldn't shop at before.

4.  I like being able to fit into a standard airplane seat.

5.  I just bought THE CUTEST spring dress on super clearance (4 sizes too small) and I want to fit into it before mother's day.

6.  I'd love for my husband's clothes to be a little big on me.

Real reasons:

1. The risk of developing all cancers increases dramatically the more overweight one is.

2.  The risk of developing Type 2 diabetes increases dramatically the more overweight one is.

3.  I want to be healthy enough and have enough energy to play with my sons.  

4.  I have one life to lead, when I go to heaven, I want God to tell me, "Well done, good and faithful servant."  Not to look aghast at me and say, "What have you done to yourself?"

I want to live a healthy, active life and to be around to watch my children and grandchildren grow up.  Yes, the vain reasons are perks of losing weight, but surprisingly have little motivation over me in the long run.  In the short run, the vain perks can help me get through a meal or a day, but when I think of the real reasons, they are enough to take me through the long haul.  

Have you ever thought about it?  What are your reasons?

Now that you've decided WHY you want to lose weight, what exactly are you going to do about it?  I was at my low point (or perhaps high point) last January when I came across the book French Women Don't Get Fat.  The simple approach to looking at eating and life has helped me to lose 34 lbs. so far.  For information about the book, check out my French Friday posts, but I will summarize the points from the book that I have incorporated into my life that have helped me to lose weight and to live healthier.  These changes are not profound, but for me, they were the biggest changes I had to make on the road to weight loss and what I still struggle with.

My secrets to weight loss and my plan for continuing weight loss:

1.  I drink at least 8 pints of water a day.  I drink a pint of water before every meal and another one with it.  I drink in between meals and I drink a pint of water before bed.  Staying hydrated helps me to feel full and keeps me from confusing hunger with thirst.

2.  I eat smaller portions of many things rather than one big portion of one thing.  I consciously think about variety, therefore I plan my meals better and am eating more fruits and veggies.

3.  I eat one to two 8 oz. servings of plain yogurt a day.  This is helping to keep my digestive system happy, gives me extra calcium, and helps my stomach feel full.

4.  I incorporate some activity into most every day.  My choice of activity is a daily walk, but I also try to park farthest away at the grocery store, am aware of bending over to pick up kids toys, and do housework daily.  Basically, I try to move and limit the time I spend on my duff doing nothing.  I may not have time to go to the gym daily, but I do have time to vacuum, do the laundry, dust and go for a walk.

5.  I chew my food thoroughly.  This is new for me but is really helping me to slow down while I'm eating.  Slowing down gives my stomach a chance to catch up with my consumption.  How thorough is thorough?  I chew until it's liquified.  Gross, but effective.

6.  I eat my main meal at lunch.  Eating my main meal at lunch enables me to eat a small dinner without having screaming hunger.  Since dinner is when I often make the most high fat/high calorie foods of the day, not being too hungry for dinner saves me tons of calories.  Also, I know I have finished digesting by the time I go to bed.

7.  I wind down in the evenings with a glass of water, a cup of herbal tea, or hot water with a tablespoon of lemon juice squeezed in it.  I used to be a nightly dessert eater.  Not only am I saving calories now, I sleep better since I'm not hopped up on sugar.

8.  I journal my food intake.  You can follow my food journal on Twitter.  This has really helped me avoid the snacking temptations knowing that I have to write it down.  Also, if I have a bad day where I have eaten way too much and have eaten mindlessly, having to write down what I've eaten helps me to be aware of foods that I habitually overeat and the act of writing down a bad day forces me to recommit to a healthier lifestyle.

These are not hard habits to adopt.  I am not depriving myself of anything, yet making these simple changes allowed me to lose 34 lbs. and is helping me to lose the rest of what I need to.  If you are interested in following my French Friday posts where I review French Women Don't Get Fat, or reading last week's "Weight Loss Weekly" the links are below.  Also, don't forget to check out the other "Weight Loss Weekly" posts from my fellow "weight losers"!

French Friday #1

French Friday #2

French Friday #3

French Friday #4

Weight Loss Weekly for 1/19/09

My Fellow "Weight Loss Weekly" bloggers are Sunny, Nurit and Giyen.  Check out their posts below!

Sunny's post:

"One of the biggest reasons I want to lose weight is because I just turned 30 in November. And that makes me mad..."  Keep reading at www.ThatExtra20Pounds.blogspot.com

Nurit's post:

"I'll tell you the truth.  If I lived in a time and place where being roundish was an object of beauty waiting to be captured by the most talented painters and then admired by millions of people, I might have re-evaluated the situation.  But you know..."  To read more, click 1 family. friendly. food.

Giyen's post:

"I think I've talked about why I wanted to lose weight ad nauseum, let's get to the "how"...read more at Bacon is my enemy

Weight Loss Weekly

This is a current shot of me

This was me December 2007, 34lbs. heavier than today

This post is part of a weekly series of posts titled "Weight Loss Weekly".  Weight loss weekly is part of a collaboration with 3 other bloggers who, like me, are trying to lose weight.  Join us as we share our struggles and victories in our personal battles to lose weight.  You will find introductions to the other three bloggers as well as snippets from their blog posts below.

With the start of each new year, comes a slew of new year's resolutions.  I would bet that the majority of resolutions in America have something to do with losing weight.  I started gaining weight when I went away to college (as a lot of people do).  I have a weakness for buffets, and eating at a buffet three meals a day for a year can do anyone in!  I probably gained 25 lbs. my freshman year and kept that weight on through college.  After college, I started working as a teacher.  I was living on my own for the first time in my life, was exhausted from teaching all day, and got in the habit of picking up Chinese food 3-4 nights of the week at a supermarket on the way home.  I gained a few more pounds.  After teaching for a year, I got married.  I was (still am) blissfully happy, had a husband who was cooking for me, and started putting on weight again.  It was after a year of marriage that I realized, something had to change.  I was unhappy and unhealthy.

The question this week is "How did I get overweight in the first place?"  I think for me, it is more helpful to look at the habits I possess that contributed to my weight gain and talk about what I am doing to change them.

1.  I eat way too fast.

I am often the first one finished at the table.  Eating quickly does not give my stomach a chance to tell my brain that it is full which means that I'm often the first one getting seconds!  I need to start putting my utensils down between every bite, sipping water between every bite and try to be the last to finish.

2.  I eat "just whatever" way too often

This was my problem in college and when I first started teaching.  I took no ownership of what I was eating and just ate whatever was fast and easy.  When you take ownership of what you eat, plan it, shop for it, cook it, you take more pride in what is going into your body hence eating better things.

3.  I eat "wherever" way too often

How many times a week do you eat in your car?  How many times a week do you eat while you are typing at your computer, watching T.V., standing at the counter?  Meal times are sacred times.  Of course there are days when I have to go through the drive through at McD's, but I don't want to have this be a habit or to happen more than once a week.  

4.  I eat like I don't know where my next meal is coming from

Because I eat too fast, I eat until I am overly full rather than content.  I need to slow down so that my stomach can tell my brain "I am content" rather than, "Stop!"

Last January, I found the book French Women Don't Get Fat.  With this book, I realized what my bad eating habits were and why I had gained weight.  Slowly, I have worked to change these habits and have so far lost 34 lbs.  The changes I made were not radical.  They were simple changes of slowing down, enjoying my food, and eating consistently, yet because my bad habits are so ingrained in me, they are so hard to change and stay with consistently.  I want to pass good eating habits onto my children however, so I must continue to fight to change my bad habits.  To keep myself accountable, I have started an online food journal which you can follow on Twitter.

This post is part of a series of posts that will be coming out every Monday titled "Weight Loss Weekly".  The posts will be designed not only inspire you on your own weight loss journey, but to help me and the authors of these posts stay motivated and inspired as well.  There are three other bloggers that are participating in this series with me.  Below are their names and introductions to their "Weight Loss Weekly" posts.  

They are:

Nurit from 1 Family. Friendly. Food

Nurit says:

"Once upon a time there was a little girl.  She didn't like to eat, her mom didn't like to cook, and her dad lived in the land of far far away so he wasn't around to do any cooking.  (Oh, well, it wasn't "IN" for men to cook those days anyway).  The little girl never ate breakfast and she rarely ate the food in her school lunchbox.  Her mom was annoyed when she returned her lunchbox back with all the food, so she got rid of the evidence in the trash before she got home."  To read more, click 1 family. friendly. food

Sunny from That Extra 20 Pounds

Sunny's post:

"I don't think it would be fair to blame the whole 20 pound weight gain on Chicken Biscuits.  (More like just the last 5 lbs, hehe!)  I actually think I could blame the majority of the weight I gained on dieting.  Here's why"...www.ThatExtra20Pounds.blogspot.com

Giyen from Bacon is my enemy

Giyen's post:

"I can give you a million excuses about why I am overweight, but the real reason is"...find out why here.