Day 44: The Bane of Week Two

Well, today was more discouraging than I was hoping it would be. Here are some stats to make my point:

Days remaining: 179
Pounds remaining: 144.5
Inches lost/gained: -1.25
Pounds lost/gained: -1.00
Percentage weight lost: 0.33%

I guess the dread of Week Two is legitimate. In theory, according to Bob and Jillian of the Biggest Loser, contestants lose the least weight - some even gain weight - during the second week of the contest, no matter how hard or how faithfully they dieted.

All this past week, I was watching the scale as I weighed in almost every morning. I watched as the pounds dropped away at a rate of almost one pound per day. I was SO excited! Something I had thought would be fun to do would be to compare my percentage of weight lost to the percentage of weight lost by the Biggest Loser contestants each week.

In order to stay above that yellow line of elimination this weigh-in, I would have had to have lost 4.5 pounds. To be the top scorer, I would have had to lose 7.5 pounds. Watching that scale, I felt for certain I would weigh in above the yellow line. Four pounds had dropped and I just needed that extra half pound... very doable in the two days I had remaining.

Imagine my horror when I stepped on the scale the next morning to realize I had gained 6.5 pounds!!! Now, I had gone to bed fairly late which caused some serious water retention, so I decided to get extra sleep the next night and drink lots of water during the day.

This morning, I awoke still with water retention, but at least the scale showed I had dropped a pound overall (7.5 pounds from my attempted weigh-in yesterday). I'm sure my inches suffered as well, yet I still lost one and a quarter inches overall!

So... Below the yellow line? Yup. Very discouraging? Absolutely. Am I giving up? Tempted, but probably not.

I still have 179 days in which to shed these unwanted pounds and I choose to believe that I have been a victim of the evil Week Two re-balancing act and that I will lose far more weight and inches this coming week - it's also an interesting statistic that you will follow a low-loss week with a higher-loss week.

Later, my favorite carbon units! Tomorrow morning will find me dark and early, jiggling away those extra pounds!

Day 42: The Answer to Life, the Look You Want, and Everything

Never had a bed felt so good before! Sitting on the edge of the mattress, she glanced down at the clock on the bedside stand. Two o'clock in the morning?! How could it possibly be that late... or early? What kind of person went to bed at two every morning?

Fuzzy thoughts stumbled through her brain as she tried to focus for just another minute and twenty-seven seconds - just long enough to set the alarm for 5:30 AM. With eyelids that refused to obey even the simplest of commands, she blearily checked that the alarm was, in fact, set for three and one-half hours later and rolled floppily onto the bed.

Her aching feet wearily reveled in the lack of weight above them and her exhausted frame slowly relaxed from the pressures of the day. Ahhh... she sank blissfully into the soft pillow and pulled the down comforter up around her neck, wriggling just a bit as sleep...

Suddenly her eyes flew open with the foggy realization that the alarm was going off. Noooo. It couldn't possibly be time yet! She had just fallen asleep. Must be some mistake. But a groggy inspection of the nasty little alarm clock revealed the truth; it was 5:30.

Two and one-half hours had disappeared as if they had never existed.

You know the feeling. One minute, you're anticipating the nice, deep sleep you're about to get and the next (or so it seems), that horrible alarm is going off or, worse yet, some family member dares to disturb your slumbers.

I would venture to say that all of us have dealt with inadequate sleep at some point in our lives. Sometimes, it is a function of our own poor choices; other times, we really don't have a choice and are called from our peaceful slumbers by necessity (be it our own or that of others).

The average American gets about 6.5 hours of sleep each night; one hour less than 20 to 30 years ago. That may not seem so terrible until you realize the average adult needs between seven and eight hours each night! Sleep just doesn't seem that important anymore: not with cool late-night TV shows, places to hang out, extra work, increasing insomnia, etc.

The price we are paying for decreasing our sleep is intense. According to surveys, an this cultural lack of sleep is costing fifteen billion dollars in health care expenses and an estimated fifty billion in lost productivity costs - and this is for the U.S. One in five adults experience daytime sleepiness and fifty percent of those say it affects their work performance! Caffeine consumption is up as are the sales of insomnia medications.

The market and economy are not the only areas affected by lack of sleep. Health is seriously affected by insufficient sleep: lowered immune systems, increased stress levels, mood changes, cognitive ability, appetite, and even weight gain.

Ghrelin and leptin are two amazing complementary hormones that can help or hurt your life. Ghrelin not only increases appetite, but also may prevent weight loss. Leptin is a made mostly in fat cells and its amount in your blood is proportional to your amount of body fat. It is thought to suppress appetite, yet obesity is a leptin-resistant state; you ignore signals to stop eating. Through regular lack of sleep, ghrelin production increases (and leptin decreases), making you feel like eating all the time - especially foods high in carbohydrates and increased night-time snacking.

In 2006, a the largest study to track the sleep/weight connection was released. It included close to 70,000 middle-aged women and ran the course of 16 years. The results were shocking. Sleeping five or fewer hours per night yielded women who were 32% more likely to gain 33+ pounds and 15% more likely to become obese over the women who slept seven hours each night. Even sleeping six hours a night still resulted in a 12% likelihood of major weight gain and 6% likelihood of becoming obese when compared to the seven-hour-per-night women.

What happens when you don't get enough sleep (with respect to weight)? The sleep deficit will interfere with your body's ability to deal with and process carbohydrates, stress management, and hormonal balance. In just one sleep-deprived week, you'll have significant decrease in glucose processing abilities and insulin levels can rise to a pre-diabetic level.

So it would seem that ensuring seven to eight hours of sleep per night can have dramatic health, mental, and weight benefits. One Stanford researcher was quoted as saying, "[After increasing hours of sleep per night] Some of the improvements in performance, in mood, in cognitive ability, and in energy were really dramatic, almost superhuman."

Think you don't have enough time to sleep an extra hour or fraction thereof? Think again. Something as simple as turning off the television or not watching that movie could help you get to bed earlier. How about minimal caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol right before bed. Try not eating for three hours before you go to bed and then make sure you sleep in the dark - no night lights. Keep your work and projects out of the bedroom and let it be a place where you can relax - keep it clean and tidy. Instead of taking that medication to fall asleep, try exercising during the day and taking some calcium right before going to bed.

And yes, I am aware of the irony of this post as I sit here, 36 minutes before midnight, pontificating on the benefits of sleep and knowing full well I shall have to awaken around five o'clock, not only to feed the baby, but also to get to the gym!

Let's try an experiment this week: try getting at least seven hours of sleep each night. It might mean giving up some personal quiet time or cutting some entertainment from the schedule... but think what worlds might open if all you needed to lose that last five pounds was an extra hour of sleep?!

I, for one, need all the help I can get!

(photo courtesy of Joseph Miller Photography)

Day 39: Mid-second Week Musings

Calories:
1570

Exercises:
Missed the Y today; ignored alarm clock and had no opportunity later during the day (went visiting).

Emotional Pulse:
Disappointed in missing workout; busy and tired most of the day and didn't pay much attention to four-hour intervals between meals.

Well, as you can see from the calorie count, I really wasn't keeping on top of my diet, exercise, or much of anything else. ::sigh:: Oh, well! At least a lot of laundry got done.

According to the scale, I seem to have dropped another pound; and that measurement taken at the end of the day as well! I am refraining from breaking out the tape measure mid-week to see if I've lost any more inches (though I'm fairly sure I have).

If you've ever watched the Biggest Loser, you'll most likely have heard of the "second week curse" and its effects on the participants. Usually, during the first week, contestants lose a huge amount of weight - I've seen up to 7% of their total body weight!! The second week generally returns less-than-satisfactory results with most of the contestants losing pathetically low numbers, staying the same weight, or actually gaining weight - all this with super extra working out.

Second week results tend to be lower because of the body's plateauing and beginning to adjust to lower calories and increased exercise. It is not uncommon, also, to have a large-number weight loss in one week followed by a lower-number weight loss the next, only to be followed the next week by a larger loss.

I have been wondering what my second week results hold for me and I'm waiting with bated breath until I take those documentable measurements Tuesday morning! Until then, I have been encouraged by my results to continue to adhere to my diet and exercise plans, though I need to work a bit harder at getting in my three meals and snack at appropriate intervals throughout the day.

Day 38: In Search of MUFAs - The Flat Belly Diet Experience

Calories:
1838

Exercise:
Calorie Torch 30-minute interval walk (Flat Belly) with Wittle Waist move during high-speed sections.

Emotional Pulse:
Doing well; not bored, therefore not desiring to gobble; excited by weight loss and increasing endurance, in home and in gym.

I thought I'd start doing something new with each post.

As you know, my goal is to lose a total of 150 pounds by 25 July through the combined efforts of dieting, exercise, and improved living. To this end, I post a weekly status report showing my pound and inch losses and gains over the week that has just ended.

This evening, as I was returning home from the Y (::pat on back, pat on back::), it occurred to me that I could add another level of accountability to my attempts to post daily - especially in light of the fact that I've had a couple of rough days comprised of strong desires to blow the diet and eat everything in sight, then go out and buy some more to eat.

I will post each day how many calories I have eaten that day, my goal being 1800-2000 calories per day (a bit higher than the suggested 1600 per day because I am still nursing a baby). I will also post what my exercising activities were and a general emotional summary of the day. I imagine this will also help in curtailing various impulses to gorge on dried fruit... which is better than Krispy Kreme, I have to say!

Today marks the unveiling of what exactly is this diet I'm currently following.

At Jason's urgent request, we decided to follow the Flat Belly Diet! Though I didn't know it at the time, it turns out this diet is the hottest thing around right now. We bought the bright yellow book with friendly black lettering at CostCo for about $8.97 and it has changed our lives in eleven short days (though some certainly felt longer than others).

The Flat Belly Diet is fairly simple and has three basic rules:

1. Never go more than four hours without eating (I'm still working on that one).
2. Keep each of the three meals and single snack at about 400 calories (for the average woman).
3. Include one MUFA at each meal, including snack

So, what is a MUFA?! MUFA stands for MonoUnsaturated Fatty Acid and it is found in the following five items and/or groups:

1. Nuts and nut oils - some are higher in MUFA counts than others; macadamias are the highest
2. Olives - any type
3. Olive oil
4. Avocado - Hass are the best, with higher MUFA than California avocados
5. Dark chocolate - this HAS to be my absolute favorite and the saving grace of this diet!

So... it's a very simple diet plan and one that's not hard to stick to - and this is coming from one who absolutely HATES diets. I rarely feel hungry despite the smaller portions, and that is due to the inclusion of MUFAs. The fatty acids help you feel full longer... which is a wonderful thing!

Someone asked me what the difference was between this and WeightWatchers so I began thinking. I would say the greatest difference lies in the unshakable rule of including MUFAs with each meal. True, WeightWatchers does say you must include your fats and oils, yet these are the very things which are so commonly discarded because they contain SO many calories and because they have so much fat.

The other primary difference (as pointed out by my mom) lies in the lack of artificial sweeteners. If you're going to have something sweet, it should be the real thing. Artificial sweeteners do the body NO favors whatsoever; leaving you craving more sweet things and bloating that abdomen even more.

Although they are not explicitly forbidden (except in the first four days' Anti-Bloat Diet), it is highly encouraged that you cut back severely on caffeine (dehydrates and stresses the body), salt (aids and abets water retention), gassy foods (broccoli, cabbage, etc.), and gum chewing (extra air gets inside your gut).

This diet assures that each dieter will actually lose weight and inches off the belly, as promised, and will enjoy a lighter emotional feel - due to the increased happiness of your body.

Why are MUFAs so special? This particular fatty acid targets and aids in the dissolution of visceral body fat; this is the fat that congregates around your internal organs and increases your likelihood of disease and assorted other bad things happening.

Even very skinny people can have too much visceral fat; even though they have hardly any subcutaneous fat (the blubber which is normally referred to as 'fat'). You can be the perfect weight and BMI, yet still be woefully unhealthy. Amazing!

Just as a quick testimonial to the power of MUFAs, the week before we actually started the Flat Belly Diet, we added a MUFA to each meal. Didn't really change the way we were eating, just recorded everything and added a MUFA each meal. At the end of the week, I had lost 2.25 inches... and was eating an average of 3000 calories per day!!

Now, we are about to begin Day 12 of this diet. Jason is down about 12 pounds and I have bid farewell to at least 7.5 pounds AND 4.5 inches!! If that doesn't encourage you, feel free to communicate with me... I'd love to encourage you.

For those who can't wait to lose weight yourself, click HERE to purchase your own copy of the Flat Belly Diet (via my brand-new I-think-I'll-try-this Amazon.com Associate link).

As I mentioned before, I HATE diets. Yet this is one I am absolutely loving. Yes, I have my rough patches, but overall, I'm excited to see the weight coming off. I'm enjoying feeling my clothes fit looser. I'm reveling in the increased endurance I have to deal with every-day challenges.

I am not perfect and don't always have happy days with this diet, but I am learning - for perhaps the very first time in my life - how to control my passion for eating.

Day 37: I Belly Survived Wipe-out Wednesday!

If Malevolent Mondays are a thing to be dreaded and Tortuous Tuesdays cannot be avoided, what can possibly be done to weather Wipe-out Wednesdays?! Since today marks the half-way point of my second week of diligently working out (weight training and cardio) and the second week of the Flat Belly Diet, I thought it only fitting you should get a glimpse into my middle-of-the-week Hump-day (as Jason calls it).

Today was very nearly a complete disaster! My sweet little boy caught something nasty somewhere and, in the process of tending to his little (often whiny) needs, his germs felt they should play war with my white blood cells - thus the feeling icky this week, particularly today.

And yet, in the face of such adverse conditions, I've managed to haul my reluctant body to the gym each day. My ultimate goal is to work out five days a week (in the early morning), alternating weight training with cardio exercises AND doing at least a 30-minute walk each day. Last week, I got in four days and walked quite a bit on the fifth day while doing errands.

So... what factors force me to leave my lovely home into the unfriendly atmosphere of the gym? First, I know somewhere in the anklebone of my heart that I will feel better after having exercised. Second, the blog creates such a burden of responsibility on me, I feel obligated to go. Third, I have an amazing husband who is dedicated to my pursuit of weight loss and it is he who frequently encourages and gently kicks me out the door to do the thing I know I must. Lastly, I am still in awe of the reader(s) who paid for our YMCA membership... I owe you and, so far, the only way I can repay you is by constant dedication to working out regularly.

Food? You know, with this diet, I have become painfully aware that most, if not all, of my eating happens from non-hunger influences. I like to eat when I'm bored, upset, stressed, exhausted, depressed, celebratory... the list goes on. Even though my diet has a snack available, I am still amazed at how much I want to eat - not need to eat; want to eat.

Today was very nearly a disaster because of that. I wasn't feeling great, had been listening to kids whine all day, didn't get the stuff done I'd hoped for, and just wanted to sit around and do nothing. Would you believe it? The one bottom-line factor that kept me from indulging in an extra handful of chocolate and more breakfast bars (or worse) was the knowledge that I would have to post at the end of the day... and I, as sure as all that is yummy, did not want to post a failure.

When you get tempted to eat more food; run away and refocus. This whole self-control thing is NOT fun anymore!

Oh. And one more cool little fact: I lost 2.48% of my weight this past week. Unfortunately, had I been on Week 1 of The Biggest Loser, I would have fallen below the yellow line - the lowest was 4.75%.

Day 36: It Works! It Really Works!

This marks the first status update I've actually been excited to share! Here are my stats comparing last week with today's measurements:

Days remaining: 185
Pounds remaining: 145.5
Inches lost/gained: -4.50 (!)
Pounds lost/gained: -7.50 (!!)

That's right! This past week, I really did lose 7.5 pounds and 4.5 inches... and that was measuring after only a couple hours of sleep and noticeable water retention!

My January goal still stands - to lose enough weight to be able to wear my wedding rings again - and progress has been made in that area. I have now gone from being able to wear them above the ring finger knuckle to being able to wear them both below that same knuckle. In fact, they fit so much lower that I can consistently wear both rings and do daily activities simultaneously (not doable previously).

As far as exercise, the wonderful anonymous donor is a constant motivating force to get out the door and work out at the YMCA gym. I feel guilty if I miss a day and went four days last week. The fifth day, I still got in cardio, but it was in the real world... outdoors... with my tiny monkeys.

My diet has immensely improved as Jason and I have undertaken to follow the Flat Belly Diet. It really does work and, yes, you really can eat chocolate while on this diet. I usually end up eating around half a cup of Ghirardelli dark chocolate baking chips every single day!!! I never feel hungry or deprived despite the small portion sizes... I shall disclose more next time!

Thank you for reading, for believing, for supporting... you truly motivate and inspire me! I'm on a roll now!

Week 6: Running Amok with [Insert Temptation Here]

Glancing at the aunts behind her, the eleven-year-old girl pushed on the exit door of the Old Country Buffet. The odors of warm and inviting food gave way to the crisp, invigorating scents of fall air and the brisk liveliness of the outdoors.

Pronouncements of satisfaction and delight filled the air as the two older women relived their recent dessert experience and lovingly patted those body parts where those extra calories would soon gather.

"A moment on the lips; a lifetime on the hips."

This foreign adage fell on the little girl's ear and, after learning the meaning of that phrase, solemnly announced to the amused aunts that she didn't gain weight down there. Despite their comments to the contrary ("Just wait until you get older"), the little girl was quite positive she never would.

And the aunts laughed.

Well... that day was about... hmm... yes, well... a while back. And that little girl was I. I saw what older women looked like and where they put on extra poundage. After eleven years of deep experience and minimal weight gain, I was also equally sure I would NEVER look like that nor accumulate weight in my hips and derriere; NEVER!

Alas. As the years have passed, not only has the surplus of emergency reserve clung to my hips, it has also padded that which I sit upon, increased the circumference of my arms, added to my jawline, filled out my stomach, obscured my waist, and hidden the natural contours of my legs. To my chagrin, the aunts were right. Thus, from a childhood memory, a hackneyed phrase, and something I'd recently read, an insight was born.

How many times has the following happened to you? You're either on a diet, or have been doing SO well, and one day you mess up. How often do you throw the entire plan out the window? Become depressed? Despondent? What do you do when in the depths of dietary despair? Cry? Eat? Watch depressing chick flicks? Eat? Whine to your friends? Eat? Make new resolutions? Eat? Re-write your entire diet plan from the beginning? Eat?

Personally, my "excuse" to end any diet has always been to mess up just once, give up in despair, eat every yummy thing in sight, and sink into massive depression as I scroll through my mental slide-show of Svelte Me; tears streaming because I don't look like what I think I should look like... and never will. ::sigh::

Been there? I'm sure most of of us have been at this point at least once in our lives; at least once.

Okay. So you ate that Hershey's Kiss. Oops. You didn't work out at the gym today(!). Gasp. You ate the WHOLE cheesecake?! And what do you mean, there are 48 servings in that sheet of gooey carrot cake?! Are these reasons to give up on your weight-loss or fitness goal? Is any one of these a sufficient reason to get depressed and go on a week-long eating binge? Which of the above is the unpardonable sin that will forever separate you from thin bliss?

News flash. Just one mess-up is NOT going to ruin your life. And at the risk of puncturing self-pity bubbles and dismembering personal food fest plans, I shall state this again (this time in bold): Just one mistake is NOT going to ruin your life.

Switch your focus from the small to the large picture. Don't look at the mistake and fall into a vicious cycle of self-condemnation and self-loathing. Don't take your tear-stained cheeks to IHOP. Don't try to end all your good intentions by stuffing your head in the nearest cookie jar. Instead, admit you made a mistake, ask yourself (and whomever else) for forgiveness, and get right back on track.

Think objectively. If you suddenly snapped one late afternoon or evening and gobbled down a whole handful of chocolate or inhaled a slice of pizza or lost yourself in a glass of soda, yet everything else with your eating and exercise was fine - this was your only mistake - what would the damage be? Honestly, not that much!

From a physical/mathematical standpoint, what's the worst thing that just happened? Um... you ate an extra couple hundred calories. Do you realize that the average human burns 2000-2500 calories PER DAY; not including specific exercise! One larger-calorie meal in the midst of smaller meals will be treated by your body as an anomaly instead of the norm. Drink some extra water and maybe eat a little lighter the next meal... but don't give up and binge through the weekend.

Make sure your mistake doesn't turn a mistake of a few hundred calories into a several-thousand-calorie mistake! It's not worth it. By nipping your slip-up immediately, chances are you'll never see lasting side effects from your mistake.

The true price that tends to be paid with dieting "cheats" or "slip-ups" or mistakes is paid in emotions. The guilt we lay on ourselves is enormous; it does far more harm than we realize. Remember: the link between guilty depression and comfort eating is a fairly reliable one. So be prepared to fight.

Do yourself (and others) a favor - take a little responsibility and catch your mistakes while they are yet small and do it in a be-kind-to-yourself way. In so doing, you will keep them from ruining your life and will help you maintain self-control.

After all, real life is not like a regimented diet. The more self-control and moderation practiced throughout the assigned diet period, the more likely you will be able to take those skills and apply them to normal eating and living.

Think life change; not diet.

(photo courtesy of www.babble.com)

Day 30: Donations, Epiphanies... And There Goes My Last Excuse

The word that springs to mind is, "WOW!!" And yet, the "wow" I feel goes SO far above and beyond that oft-used word. The "wow" I am experiencing is insufficiently described by words, transcends a basic level of jaw muscle control, and stimulates the lacrimal gland.

Let me tell you why.

All throughout the creation and somewhat-regular posting of this blog, there has remained in the back of my mind an "out." This "out" primarily consists of the notion that if things don't really go the way I hope they will, it's not a big deal... My readers would be disappointed, I'd be a failure, and what else would be new?

This lovely bubble of pre-planned failure popped less than a week ago.

An unbelievable donation was made to our YMCA membership account by an anonymous donor. This donor mention they were doing this as a direct result of reading this very blog! That's right! One of "you people" is that special donor! I still don't know who did this amazing thing, but whoever paid for our gym membership through June(!), know that I will never be able to thank you enough!

You have taken away my very last excuse and have shattered my secret "out."

How can I possibly fail you now?! How can I, in any good conscience, NOT go work out diligently? How can I not share the progress I am making... and because I don't know who you are, I must continue to use this forum. Giving up or quitting just became a non-option because I WILL NOT let you down and WILL NOT let your generous donation go to waste.

Thank you so much, wonderful anonymous donor, for the new life you have breathed into this Project and for the amazing gift you have provided to me and Jason through your donation! (I'm still in a bit of shock) It's amazing to find out that someone has been impacted to such a level by this smattering of my thoughts while losing weight!

You will be happy to know that upon learning of your donation, I made my way to the gym the very next week day and have continued to go faithfully. It is your thoughtfulness and participation in my Project that gets me out of bed at 5:30 in the morning, an hour after feeding the baby, and enervates me to get to the Y when it's still dark and cold.

If you choose, at some point, to reveal yourself, I would love it. But, as much as I'm aching to discover your identity, I will ask if you could remain anonymous until the end of the Project. I know the mystery behind your participation in this Project will only maintain my level of dedication to finishing what I have started.

Once again, thank you!

My epiphany came today as I was driving home from the gym, shivering in the not-yet-warm car (we live too close to the Y for the car to warm up).

Since Monday, Jason and I have been following the Flat Belly Diet; a diet which involves eating about 1200 non-bloating calories the first four days - more about this later. When my visionary husband first suggested we follow this diet, my initial response was, "No way! I HATE diets!"

Now I'm sure part of my response came from the fact that he suggested we begin the diet on Monday... when it was SUNDAY night! The other part of my response came from glancing at the meager portions listed in the daily food plans within the book; I was sure I would starve... and I'm currently nursing a two-month-old baby (i.e., I'm ALWAYS hungry).

Biting my tongue, I respectfully submitted that we not start cold turkey the next day, but instead spend a week dutifully recording how many calories we were eating and include a MUFA (Mono-Unsaturated Fatty Acid) with each meal as the Diet required. He agreed and I, inwardly dreading the week, found halfway through the week that I was ready to undertake the 32-day diet challenge.

More details will come in a following post, but here, on Day Three of our Flat Belly Diet, I was struck by this realization: I am called to be Jason's wife and therefore, obedient and submissive to his vision and guidance for our family... and he's come up with some interesting visions over the two years we've been married! ::smile::

As a married woman, I have reaped and continue to reap the benefits of submitting to my parents' authority leading up to my marriage and today, I realized I am reaping the rewards of submitting to my husband's authority.

Within three days, I have already lost six pounds and have no clue as to how many inches! Not only that, but the week before going on the Diet, I had lost over two inches! I feel great and am starting to see a change in that nasty mirror!

And so it was this morning, in the dark, icy car that I realized God is blessing my obedience to my husband. He is blessing me for honoring Jason's request to do the Flat Belly Diet and to exercise in the most wonderful way ever... progress along my weight-loss path!

Hang in there with me, "you people"; you truly inspire and re-dedicate me to the Project I have undertaken!

Day 29: Farewell, Jelly Belly

And so it has come, yet once again - that time of week where I publish my updated status.

Some numbers will be a little different as you may guess from yesterday's post. Honesty on the scale has set me back a bit in my ultimate goal and so the numbers are not as "whee-hee" as I had hoped... but they are honest. ::satisfied smile::

Days remaining: 193
Pounds remaining: 153.0
Inches lost/gained: -2.25 inches
Pounds lost/gained: +7.50 pounds

So, it would seem that in spite of the 7.5 pounds the evil little scale has generously added back to my frame (!), my overall size has diminished. I was certainly NOT expecting a loss of 2.25 inches over the past week! Only one area, my neck, increased. The other 11 areas lost inches or remained steady. God is so good!

This week, Jason and I have undertaken a new plan for losing weight. It involves an actual diet plan, working out, and some serious inch/weight loss. But more about that tomorrow.

For now, know that I am feeling more energetic, physically lighter, and clearer in thought. For the first time in the past 29 days, I actually have a scintilla of hope that I will be able to reach my ultimate goal.

Week Five: Mirror, Tape and Scale: A Triumvirate of Evil

It was late at night and yet there was one thing she had left - her daily Bible reading. As part of a ninety-day challenge, large portions of Scripture needed to be read every day... and she was behind.

It didn't seem to matter what changes were made throughout the week, the weekend always seemed to herald the crumbling of any resolutions or plans to get ahead with housework, laundry, planning, paper management, blogging, and now Bible reading.

The text scrolled endlessly in front of her. So many laws, so many details. God had been so particular with the Israelites about so many different issues. Suddenly, there it was, a Scriptural reason for her to return to Square One; a reason for confessing and beginning again.

"Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD you God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt."

-Leviticus 19:36

This scenario played out in my home just a few minutes ago. On Tuesday of the past week, my husband, Jason, returned to work after a two-month period of being laid off. While this was news extraordinaire and was met with much rejoicing, it did mark the end of a vacation-like period.

The week that followed, and that has now passed, proved to be challenging on several levels. This is the first time since the birth of my second son (two months ago) that I have been home with the two of them by myself.

Trying to keep up with my two precious morsels of manhood while maintaining the house, my part-time bookkeeping and tutoring jobs, two blogs, and a diet journal gave me much to be active about. Let us say nothing of the weekend we spent away from home!

Throughout this time, I have been dwelling on the necessary evil of scales, tape measures, and mirrors.

Mirrors, I find, are extremely necessary in the weight-loss process. Without them, it is so easy to fall into a less-than-real self image of yourself. I know I certainly have.

In my mind, I know I am a little overweight, but not extremely so. I am aware of a few bulges, but nothing that a nice shirt can't cover. I know my pants are a little snug, but they don't look terrible as I gaze down my front.

Then I pass a full-length mirror!!!

And the beautiful dream vanishes and shock sets in. The extra fold of skin on my neck becomes a double chin as I look down at myself. That nice shirt only covers the front few bulges and bunches up in the massive rolls behind. Those pants still look great... from the knee down.

I realized recently that I have not lived around a full-length mirror in over a year. As a result, I never see what I look like below the bust line. I can see my face becoming a bit more plump and can see that my arms don't fit as well in the sleeves. Entirely missing from the picture is the battle that has been lost beneath my waist.

A tape measure serves to confirm my hasty glances at my surprisingly large figure as it "darts" past full-length mirrors in other places. The temptation with a tape measure is to pull it very tightly, so as to "trick" yourself that you have lost inches. This does no favors to you. The lie will soon become evident.

My greatest confession comes to you in the area of scales. I have a delightful little scale. On it, I have discovered that by rocking back on my heels while weighing in, the pounds simply melt away - as many as six or eight pounds!

This week, I have been feeling guilty about how I use the scale, knowing deep in the ankle-bone of my heart that I do not weigh in reality what I write down every week.

It is now to you, my lovely readership, that I confess to using this tool improperly. Shakespeare's Hamlet has one of the most powerful lines; "To thine own self be true." The blatant truth of the matter is: I have not been honest with myself with respect to weight loss.

With that in mind, I have purposed to use these three tools - mirror, tape, and scale - honestly, no matter the data they convey to me.

Mirrors, I no longer pose in front of; seeking the best angle and holding in my stomach so I can give myself a better self-image before walking away. I will be purchasing a full-length mirror for the house. Not for any narcissistic purpose... for as Jackie Gleason once said, "It's hard to be a fat narcissist." Rather, I hope the mirror will help me live in a more realistic place; a place where I will not lie to myself about size and appearance.

Tape measure fraud I have circumvented with my new technique of measuring. So often, I would compare the current measurement (while measuring) with a previous data point, naturally allowing for some small adjustment in tape tension to increase comparative circumference lost. Now, I take measurements without even so much as a glance at the last weeks' data points. In this way, I have no clue if the current measurements are better or worse than the previous week - thereby maintaining an honest measurement session.

Scale manipulation is perhaps the hardest to eliminate. My solution is to place the scale in exactly the same spot each time and to stand on the scale in exactly the same foot and body position each time. I stand in such a way that I cannot see the digital numbers changing on the scale display and I stand there without looking for a minute until the scale freezes with the final weight. In this way, I cannot shift my weight to cause a lower weight to appear on the display.

As Leviticus says, "Just balances... shall ye have." Accuracy and honesty in weights and measures were (and still are) important to God and should be to us. May each of us be blessed with a new freedom, as only honesty can give, as we choose to measure our lives with honest and true measures.

(picture courtesy of www.redbookmag.com)

Day 24: Go... Bathe in Espresso and be Forever Smooth!

I have received a couple comments that have to do with importance of drinking water while trying to lose weight. One of these comments had to do with the effect of caffeine on body cells while trying to lose weight... so I did some reading and found out something interesting.

Caffeine, it turns out, has a marvelous effect on the fat cells that make cellulite. It lessens the lumpiness, smooths out the bumps, and appears to get rid of some of that icky fat. Here's the catch... according to studies and testing, it is not the internalization of caffeine that brings about these changes. The great changes come from applying the caffeine EXTERNALLY!

It seems that creams which contain caffeine as the main ingredient, "work great to pull fluids out of the spaces between cells and induce lipolysis – fat burning in the layer just below the skin’s surface." This means fat cells will give up their fat particles, thereby shrinking in size.

Neat, huh?!

While the external application of caffeine is beneficial to decreasing fat, the internalization of caffeine has an opposite and negative effect. Drinking caffeine, while it does boost your metabolism a little bit, is also a diuretic which sucks and expels water from your body.

Great! You may be saying. I wanted all that extra water weight to go away! Here's the problem. Your body NEEDS water to burn fat. Without it, kidneys can't work properly so the liver lends a helping hepatocyte. While the liver is tied up helping the kidneys, it can't burn as much fat and because not as much fat is being burned, it gets stored for later.

How much water? It is now recommended that for each 25 pounds you are overweight, you add another eight-ounce glass of water to the daily eight eight-ounces you should be drinking. Another one I've heard is to take your weight in pounds, divide by two and drink that amount in ounces of water (i.e., a 100-pound person would drink 50 ounces of water each day). Personally, I find myself drinking anywhere between 1.5 and 4.5 liters each day.

Won't that mean you'll spend a huge portion of your life in the bathroom? Maybe for the first couple days, until your body realizes there is a constant, sufficient supply of water coming in. After the body releases all the extra water stored between the cells (for emergencies), you'll not only weigh a bit less, but your body will start to do neat things with the water as it repairs and rebuilds throughout your body - in addition to burning more fat. You will not be in the bathroom forever.

Other benefits to drinking sufficient water? How about improved muscle tone? Your muscles will contract with greater ease when you are properly hydrated, allowing a more effective workout. Your skin will plump out, filling wrinkles and flushing impurities, making the skin look younger. Besides, you want nice skin covering those now-plump muscles!

So drink more water and less caffeine... and remember caffeine is in tea, coffee, and cola sodas, even the diet ones. Spread your water drinking out over the course of the day; too much at a time can be harmful, flushing valuable electrolytes and salts from your body. Lastly, drink before you become thirsty. Thirst is a sign you are becoming dehydrated. Oh, and if you don't like water, try adding some lemon or lime or a splash of some other flavoring... it adds just enough to help you get past the whole "drinking water" obstacle.

And with this post, my plans to increase my Starbucks intake have been foiled yet again. Grr... Oh, well... when I am svelte and awesomely toned in body, I shall take my gorgeous self to Starbucks and order a drink of my choice, smallest size mind you, in celebration of the moment.

Day 23: CARBS!

I had such high expectations today, but found I met none of them... aside from keeping my two tiny morsels from running amok. Most of the day, I felt lethargic and the pain in my head did nothing to lift that... plus, I had a firm desire to eat EVERYTHING in the house, especially nummy treats.

What is it with feeling depressed and eating carbohydrates anyway?!

I did a little reading and thinking on that subject and found that the desire for carbs in the late afternoon is a very normal part of being human. Okay. The human body needs carbs around that time to day to raise blood sugar levels and give a boost in energy to help us make it until dinner.

The problem is that many people either overdo their carb fix or use unhealthy carbs to get an energy boost. The danger lies in using carbs to constantly pick you up. Feeling low? Grab a Snickers. Feel great almost instantly. Enjoy a time of better mood and higher energy. Feeling low again? Go for a brownie and Starbucks frappuccino. Feel on top of the world once again. But for how long?

Carbs plus lack of self-discipline plus sedentary lifestyle equal extra weight and a dependency on carbs for improved mood and energy levels.

Did you know doing any activity vigorously for as little as thirty seconds can improve your metabolism and enhance your body's ability to process sugars? Not to mention, a brief burst of energy can really wake you up. Try it. I'm going to.

Next time I feel sluggish and strongly desire to turn to the chocolate or beloved Starbucks frappuccino for energy, I purpose to engage in thirty seconds of vigorous activity... and let you know how that works.

Day 22: Disappointment

Well... here's the status report for the past week:

Days remaining: 201
Pounds remaining: 145.5
Inches lost/gained: +0.50 inches
Pounds lost/gained: +3.25 pounds

I guess the holiday goodies finally caught up with me! Though I'm still trying to reconcile how one beautiful little biscotti could possibly contain 170 calories!! And there's just NO way that sweet little lemon-cranberry mini loaf could have anywhere near 537 calories!!

Perhaps I shall blame the pizza and Pepsi Jason and I had last night to celebrate his new job (he's been laid off for two months)!! When I took measurements this morning, almost every single measuring point had gained +0.25 inches AND I had gained +0.5 pounds!! Why do I feel so much smaller and have this happen? Very discouraging, I can tell you.

Oh, well. I did get to the gym three times in the past week and have been drinking much more water than usual. Soda is almost non-existent in the house and I've done better about picking better drinks if I must have a caloried drink.

The going is slow... too slow. Need to kick it up a notch (or two).

Week Four: 2010: The Year We Make Contact

In the darkness, a stirring was felt. A dry breeze created a tiny flurry of dust; dissolving the creation as fast as it had been made. Soft rustling gave evidence to the slight unease felt by the sleeping group occupying the nearby cave.

A hint of promise and premonition tinged the golden rays of the rising sun as they caressed the harsh, black outlines of the mysterious monolith as it stood, alone and foreboding in the clearing outside the cave.

Full of curiosity and wonder, one now-awakened member moved slowly toward the impressive monument. Taking in the awe-inspiring sight, he hesitantly moved one outstretched finger toward the shiny, non-reflective surface stretching before him, ground to sky.

As the cold blackness of the surface enveloped the inquisitive finger, his primitive brain exploded with a flood of new, unheard of data! The possibilities were endless; prospects were larger and capabilities and talents had expanded beyond all possible belief. What a wonderful new world! What potential and what newness lay ahead!

If you read this to the stirring tones of Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra, I'm sure many of you would recognize this hypothetical meeting between earth-bound ape and alien-planted monolith as originally imagined by Arthur C. Clarke and forever immortalized by Stanley Kubrick in his 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey."

In that movie, the enormous black monolith, appearing suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, represents a tool which first spans the evolutionary gap between ape and man, later the gap between man and space travel, and ultimately, the gap between man in space and man transcending human form. Each of these scenarios presented in the movie showed humans, by mere contact with the monolith, ascending to the next level in their evolution.

Now, I do not hold with these evolutionary theories nor do I believe that we began as lowly apes who can one day aspire to shed their human form and evolve ever upward. No.

This whole metaphor is being used for an illustration of the relationship between us and our potential. Within each human, I believe, lie the seeds of greatness and unfathomable tenacity; the ability to do great things - "something wonderful."

As this new year begins, I am disturbingly aware of the millions of New Year resolutions that have been made throughout the world - resolutions, the majority of which will never rejoice in the light of completion. Hundreds of thousands of people will soon feel the sting and degradation of promises to self that will be broken; four out of every five (according to NYTimes.com). Approximately one-third of New Year resolutions will fail before the end of January.

In 1984, Peter Hyams' award-winning movie based on Arthur C. Clarke's, "2010: The Year We Make Contact" emerged. The whole point of this film was to move the "human evolution" motif forward, bringing the humans into contact with the alien monolith presence (thereby ensuring their ever-upward evolution), while clarifying questions unanswered by "2001."

It being 2010, it was hard to refuse a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to capitalize on this well-known science fiction work. This year is 2010... a year to make contact with your goals, to deal with them head on, and to grapple with previously unresolved issues in your life.

My question to you is, "What is your monolith?"

What will it take to move you from your present state of being to the next level? What will shake you from your comfort zone and transport you to worlds never before imagined? What hopes and dreams are yours to embrace on the other side of your personal barricade?

I know I keep waiting for "something wonderful" to happen; that somehow I will touch the wondrous monolith of weight loss and I shall suddenly morph into a svelte, perfectly-toned woman with not a spare ounce of fat anywhere. Ahhhh... yes.

I have a nagging suspicion that my personal monolith is named Self-Discipline and that it is smoothly shellac-ed with a coat of Self-Control. I'm reaching so desperately for that monolith and I know to touch it is to become heir to the wonders it will unlock in my life... I also know I will never touch this monolith without help from God; it's just too far away and I've been reaching for years.

How desperately are you reaching? How great is your desire to change?

Join me in this year, 2010, and let it be the year we do indeed make contact with true goal success and accomplishment. Find your monolith. Reach beyond your boundaries. Abandon your comfort zone.