Weigh-in this morning revealed that I had lost 1.8 pounds since last Friday. This brings me to a total of 10.6 pounds lost since the beginning of the Biggest Loser contest at work.
If I’m still down at least 10 pounds next Friday, I get a new book! I haven’t decided what book yet, but I have one in mind. I’ll let you know.
A couple of weeks ago when I said I was going to blog daily about my fitness journey, I didn’t really mean it.
I did mean it, really, but now I realize how boring it will be to everyone – including me – if that’s all I ever talk about. I still want to try to write at least a little something each day, but I won’t continue to bore you to tears about how much I’ve eaten, how fast (or slowly) I ran or how much I weigh.
I am not giving up those things – I’m just giving us a break from it for a little while. That starts tomorrow. Tonight I’m going to do what I said I was going to do, and that’s to tell you what I ate today, because I weigh in tomorrow morning.
Breakfast:
Midmorning:
Lunch (with Kristi, at Morningside Coffee House):
Midafternoon:
Dinner:
I do need to continue reporting my daily food intake until it becomes such a habit for me to make the healthy choice. I know we will all be bored to tears before that day comes, but I hope you’ll bear with me.
I promise I will write about more interesting things. I have lots of topics in mind. But for now, I gotta get that first 10 pounds off. Which reminds me … I set a couple of goals this week, for my 10- and 20-pound milestones.
That’s as far as I’ve gotten on the goals. Once I reach the first one, I’ll set the next one. Here’s the catch: I’ve been up and down so much, losing 2 pounds and gaining 1, losing 1 pound and gaining 2, that I have to maintain the particular goal weight for a week before it’s official (and before I get my reward). That oughta keep me motivated.
So there you have it. I’ll let you know tomorrow night how I did on the scale at work in the morning.
Share your tips with me by posting a comment.
Today was another birthday celebration at work. Why we had another, separate one after having the big April blowout two weeks ago is beyond me, but at least there was less food this time. A little less.
I had forgotten about the e-mail that went out yesterday (“Tomorrow is Stephanie’s birthday. We’re getting a cake. If anyone wants to bring other snacks …”), so I walked in unawares this morning. The snacks immediately tried to strike up a conversation: Surprise! Lots of food here! Calling your name! Your specific name, specifically and loudly!
But I was strong. I went straight through the department, past The Cake, the tortilla chips, cheese dip, salsa (at least it wasn’t Karen’s homemade salsa this time), the brownie bites and on and on … and into my office. I turned on my computer while telling myself and my officemate, “I’m not going to eat any of that today, especially after all I ate two weeks ago.”
Then I went back out to go to the bathroom. More food had appeared. That’s when I saw (cue the Jaws music, or the Psycho music) … the fudge-filled Oreos.
I had never seen, much less tasted, a fudge-filled Oreo. And, oh, if you knew how much I loooove Oreos. Well, you can probably imagine. And these were FILLED WITH FUDGE. Fudge. Filled. Oreos.
But I walked past them and never looked back (well, I think I looked, maybe one more time, at the Oreos – in their lovely little blue package. Filled with fudge). I used the facilities, returned to my office and ignored the junk food – all day.
Aren’t we proud of me?
Here’s what I did eat today:
Breakfast:
Midmorning:
Lunch:
Midafternoon:
Dinner:
At 12:30 p.m., about an hour before I left for my lunch break, I wrote this: “IT’S OK TO BE HUNGRY!” This was in response to the bounty of junk food outside my door and to the rumbly in my tumbly (as Tigger would say). But I didn’t give in.
The trick, I have discovered over the years – even though I haven’t been successful at convincing my stomach of it – is that it’s all in your head. Well, it’s mostly in your head. Hunger pangs are often legitimate, but much of the time, for a food addict, they are a figment of the imagination. That’s one reason I think diet drugs will never be successful. For many of us, we don’t eat because we’re hungry; we eat to fill another kind of void: loneliness, sadness, anger, fatigue, depression – a hole that only God can fill.
Tomorrow I will run for the first time in nine days. For various reasons (fighting off the insanity pod being one of them), I haven’t been with the running clinic since last Tuesday. I look forward to being out there tomorrow, humidity pods aside (Oh, Lord, can’t you just put the humidity pods aside this summer?).
Did I just say I’m looking forward to running in the humidity tomorrow? This, in itself, is a sign of insanity.
Hey, chefs: Do you have a good recipe that disguises the taste of cooked spinach? If so, please share.
I have been busy lately, but less busy than a week ago. I have been stressed lately, but less stressed than a week ago. (Praise God.) Still, the schedule is busier than I would like.
School was effectively over for me last night after I made my oral presentation (with PowerPoint), a culmination of the paper I’ve been writing all semester and turning in 8-10 pages at a time. We still have one class period to go, but the hard work is over. And I don’t have to take my final(!) because I have an A average and he will use my lowest test score (96) in place of the final.
I’m still in recovery from the insanity pod that was noshing on my brain last week. That’s why today wasn’t so successful, foodwise, and how I now know for sure that I must tell you what I eat – every day – or the wheels will come off the bus. The train will jump the tracks. I will “jump the shark.” (If you don’t get that last one, you don’t watch enough 1970s TV. And it really doesn’t apply directly to this conversation; I just like the phrase. And for once I did not make it up. Click here for its origin.)
You may become bored reading my food diary every day (and I’m sure I’ll get bored reporting it), but in reading my “Going public” post of April 5, you became my accountability partner. (Didn’t you know that?) And I think reporting my food is going to be more important than reporting my weight, which this morning was 196 (or 198 on an accurate scale). That’s a half-pound up from yesterday. I’m not too worried about that because of the fluctuations that can occur regardless of what I eat. Nevertheless, I will be reporting my food from now on.
Here’s what I ate today:
Breakfast:
Midmorning snack:
Lunch:
Dinner:
Not terrible, in the grand scheme of things, but forgetting my sandwich is what sidetracked me today; at lunch I was in a hurry and just drove through Wendy’s instead of coming home to get my sandwich. I also had been planning to go to the grocery store at lunch (where almonds were on my list), but after pointing the car in that direction I decided to go to the park, sit in my car and read. So my little red Honda turned around and headed the other direction.
The insanity pod is losing its grip on my gray matter, but I feel as though I’m coming off a severe case of bronchitis, or the flu, or some debilitating illness from which it takes a bit of time before you feel your old self again.
And in the interests of rest and more reading pleasure, I’m going to sign off, crawl under the covers with my furbabies and read.
Please share your thoughts with me today. How do you overcome times of “weakness” regarding food choices?
A giant insanity pod has descended upon me and has taken up residence on top of my head. For the past few days, it’s been trying to make its way through my dense thicket of hair to creep into my cranium and wreak havoc with my internal circuitry. It threatens to annihilate me if something is not done to stop it.
What is an insanity pod, you say? You won’t find the precise definition in any dictionary, but an insanity pod is much like the humidity pods that descend upon Arkansas about this time of year and don’t leave until October or November. It’s a presence you dislike, but you learn to live with it, much like you learn to live with oily skin, or a husband who steals the covers. Until it’s time to cry out, “Enough is enough!” or “Out, out, darn pod!”
But, unlike with the humidity pods, you have some measure of control – within predetermined parameters – over an insanity pod. For instance, you can control how large it gets and how long it stays attached to your brain – or whether it makes it past your scalp in the first place.
In case you have never heard of insanity pods, we offer this helpful Q&A:
How do insanity pods form? No one knows for certain how the first pod came to be, but it grew and spawned other pods (much like Amish friendship bread). They approach the most vulnerable victim first (they can tell who you are). They begin by spotting someone with an overloaded schedule, too much stress from the challenges of life, a poor diet, the inability to sleep through the night and a merely compulsory reading of the Word. To that they pile on more stress, which leads to impulse eating, more insomnia, uncontrollable drooling, chocolate cravings and a worried mother (well, that last one is just a fact of everyday life, but it becomes more obvious as the insanity pod tightens its invisible tentacles around your nerve endings).
How do insanity pods manifest? The list of symptoms is exhaustive, but, among other things, the pods cause forgetfulness, crankiness, night blindness, a messy house and the Scary Mama Voice when the dogs misbehave (which means when they act like themselves).
Who suffers from insanity pods? As mentioned above, the pods attack the most vulnerable members of society first. The most likely victim is female, age 35-55, premenopausal, works full time, goes to school part time, volunteers at church and takes care of children, an aging parent, a chronically ill spouse or at least two pets – or all of the above. (We should mention that the sufferers include not only the victim, but relatives and members of the victim’s work and social circles.)
What can a loved one of an insanity-pod sufferer do to help? Just stay out of the way, baby.
How does one “stop the insanity”? As with an addiction to alcohol, food, shopping, gambling or Dancing with the Stars, the insanity-pod sufferer, or IPS, must admit her affliction. That is the first and most crucial step. (If the malady is caught early enough, there is no need for a formal 12-step program.) Then she must recite the insanity – er, serenity – prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and sufficient distance from sharp or heavy objects that can be used as weapons.
The next step is to begin removing obstacles to sanity, starting with items (even seemingly important ones) on her social, business and volunteer calendars, even if others don’t understand why this is happening. Would they rather find out about it in the newspaper or on the 10 o’clock news? (“Disgruntled worker takes out 23 colleagues, then turns the staple gun on herself – coming up after the break!”)
Relief can be immediate, much like when an Alka-Seltzer grants the first gut-relieving belch. In fact, when the first one or two items fall off the calendar, the IPS begins feeling lighter and the furrowed brow begins smoothing out. Then recovery can begin in earnest.
Within weeks (or perhaps days, depending the sufferer’s commitment to the program) a balance has been struck – the schedule is more manageable, school is out for the summer, the sufferer’s mother and the dogs are speaking to her again, the husband has stopped sleeping on the sofa. At this point, it is probably safe to approach, but proceed with caution. There could be a relapse. It is best to monitor the IPS from a distance for a few days to be sure equilibrium has, indeed, been restored.
How can you tell when the insanity pod has left for good? As there is no immunization at this time, there is no way to permanently remove the threat of insanity pods. But you can minimize the risk by remaining vigilant. The sufferer should get adequate sleep and exercise, stay hydrated, restrict caffeine, take long baths, play with the dogs, spend time with her husband, immerse herself in a few pieces of quality literature (no, we’re not talking about People magazine), work/play in the garden, write in her blog, eat 1-2 ounces of dark chocolate daily, watch Saturday morning Food Network and/or HGTV, listen to music, visit her mother more often (this should go without saying), pray and read Scripture regularly, and start reading the Sunday funny pages again.
This way, when the fall semester begins and the cycle threatens to repeat itself, the insanity pod will be less likely to try to park its ugly head on top of this particular victim’s. It will simply move on to the next unsuspecting forty-something woman and try to suck out her brain.
Help researchers find a cure for insanity pods! Contribute your suggestions by leaving a comment below. Or just send me a check.
I had a shock today when I received this group e-mail from my co-worker who is leading our 12-week Biggest Loser competition:
Happy Hump Day! This Friday will be week 9 of our biggest loser. Suzy is in the lead with 4.26% weight loss. Go, Suzy! We still have three weeks to go. Sisters, a lot can be done in three weeks, so don’t give up! I look forward to seeing you Friday morning. Final weigh-in is Friday, May 6.
It was a pleasant surprise to discover that I was in the lead, but it made me sad for all 10 of us. Why? (You probably think it’s because I’m insane.)
It’s because I know how much I have struggled on the roller coaster these past several weeks (years, really, but we’re talking about contest weeks here). And if I – who yo-yoed up and down, up and down for two months – am in the lead, it means everyone else has been struggling to stick with the program, too. On the other hand, there are people who are bigger than I, and because the contest is based on percentage (not pounds) lost, I may be leading only percentagewise and not poundwise. But still.
Our little group of losers has a weekly weigh-in but is not really a support group with meetings or any other type of interaction. I think that is why I have struggled; there is no accountability factor except the scale. I think it’s why others have struggled, too. Friday I ran into another participant when we happened to go downstairs at the same time to weigh in (there is no set time to weigh, as long as it’s on Friday). She admitted struggling, too, and I have to believe she and I are not the only ones.
I didn’t even know who the other participants were until recently. There’s nothing formal about the plan except for the weigh-ins, which are recorded by the leader and not really reported to the group (except for the first week, and today).
Nothing against our leader; she’s doing a great job under our time constraints. We’re all busy, we’re doing this on our employer’s time, and there’s not a lot you can coordinate under those circumstances. It takes up about 5 minutes of my time (going from the third floor to the first, weighing, then turning around and going back upstairs) and maybe a half hour a week for the leader (I’m just guessing). But I, for one, would be willing to stay 30 minutes late for a weekly meeting to interact with the other participants and get support and encouragement. I just know that the personal contact is what works for me.
Left to my own devices, I will go nuts, veer off course and be right back where I started, if not worse off. Now that I have gone public with my struggle, revealed my weight and committed to blogging daily about my journey to fitness (click here to read my “Going public” post), I have the blog (and you, my support panel of readers) to keep me on track, but the rest of the group will have the same routines to go back to after the contest unless something changes.
A few months ago I tentatively suggested we ask our CEO if we could have a Weight Watchers chapter at work after hours. I approached a marketing person because I know her better than I know the HR people and she has been at the bank since the beginning. She told me it was really a human-resources matter and that she would pass along my suggestion. I didn’t follow up because then the Biggest Loser contest was starting.
Emboldened by a recent round-table luncheon hosted by our CEO and COO (it was called a “thank-you lunch,” but our leaders invited feedback and questions), I’m thinking of skipping the Weight Watchers idea sent through channels and going directly to the CEO with an even bigger proposal. I’d like to see some type of initiative in our workplace that challenges employees to give up unhealthy habits. Lots of companies offer incentives to its employees for losing weight, quitting smoking and other positive lifestyle changes. Money motivates people, and even if it doesn’t motivate all of us to make permanent changes, it will do so for some. And if I could see one person quit smoking or lose unhealthy poundage – maybe even head off diabetes or heart disease – it would be worth it to me (and, I hope, to my employer, who is so generously involved in community service it astounds me sometimes).
Once I get up the nerve, I’m going to approach Mr. CEO with a deal: If he’ll put some cash behind the initiative, I’ll do the research and find out what has worked for other companies, coupled with statistics on how these programs improve lives and cut employer costs, then I’ll present the options.
Our company gives a lot of money and effort to this community and, I have to say, to its employees, so I think my idea will be received graciously even if the answer is no.
And if he doesn’t bite, I’ll know I tried and I won’t hold a grudge. And then I’ll bring it up again next year. 🙂
Please post a comment and give me your ideas for a program that could work for my company of 200 employees.
Tonight the women’s running clinic did its monthly Miracle Mile. Most Tuesdays and Thursdays we’re in a scenic neighborhood (or cemetery), and on Saturdays we run at the BHS track. Once a month, though, we run or walk a timed mile at the Southside High School track.
A month ago, I ran my mile in 11:47. Tonight I shaved 41 seconds off my time – I ran it in 11:06!
Sometimes it’s hard to know whether you’re making progress, but the timed mile puts it in perspective. Bottom line: I am getting better (more fit).
When I got home tonight, I was so hungry and really wanted to go to Sonic for a grilled chicken wrap and a Route 44 iced tea, but Bruce had taken the car to church, so I had to make do with what was in the fridge.
I had just enough spring mix left to make one more salad, so I just dumped everything into the container it came in. I had almost all the ingredients I usually put into my all-time-favorite big salad. Here’s what I use (no amounts listed – I just keep adding until the bowl is loaded with veggies):
Suzy’s Spring Mix Salad
Tonight I added a boiled egg, but I don’t often have those already prepared, so it was a bonus.
I usually put everything but the cheese and the dressing into the bowl, then chop everything again with my hand-held chopper. (It’s not as messy to eat when the greens are in tiny pieces, and the flavors just seem to blend better.) Then sprinkle on some cheese and drizzle on the dressing.
Delicious! My friend Betsy makes a similar salad, and maybe she’ll share her recipe with us.
This salad is fairly low in fat (depending on how much cheese, turkey and dressing you use) and has a good amount of protein, not to mention all the vitamins and other goodies in the veggies.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Please post a comment sharing your favorite salad or fresh-veggie dish.
When this semester is over, Sundays will be more restful. Meanwhile, I want to clarify that when I said I was committing to post every day about my journey to health and fitness, I didn’t necessarily means Sundays.
I truly believe Sunday (or whatever day you choose) should be a day reserved for worshiping the Lord and for resting as much as possible. In this modern society, “as much as possible” often means none at all, but over the past few years it has been a goal of mine to make it a priority. I’m not always good at it, especially when my life is as overloaded with activity as it is right now, but it is something I keep in mind every weekend.
So I’m not posting tonight. Really. This doesn’t count.
I do want to share a verse that I recently taped to my bathroom mirror because, for me, food has become an idol:
“Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you — they are totally useless!” – 1 Samuel 12:21 (New Living Translation)
I hope this verse encourages you to think prayerfully about any area of your life that might have become like an idol to you. Then ask God to help you honor Him above that thing, whatever it is.
Have a wonderful week, and I’ll talk to you Monday night!
Please post a comment sharing your struggles or a word of encouragement for others.
I’m posting first thing this morning because this is going to be a busy day and I’ll probably be too tired to post when I get home tonight.
In a few minutes, Bruce and I will leave for the women’s running clinic. I’m eating an apple rather than my typical Saturday morning big mug of coffee and bowl of bran flakes to minimize the peepee problem I mentioned in my April 5 post. I try not to consume any liquid for several hours before running. Argh! (I typically prefer to eat a banana before running, but I let the last banana get too ripe and Bruce ate it. I prefer green bananas!)
After the running clinic, we’ll come home and clean up, then leave for the Arkansas Scottish Festival at Lyon College. I love the festival, and Bruce indulges me by going with me when we can. He likes it, too, but I love it!
Then we’ll come home, and I hope I can get a little rest before the next event. I worked hard on my school project last night, from the time I got home from work until just before bedtime, so I wouldn’t have that hanging over my head all weekend. It’s due a week from Monday, but I’ll be out of town next weekend.
Tonight, my friend Lynn is coming to town to attend the Batesville High School production of the musical Camelot, my all-time-favorite stage production. Lynn and I have happy, happy memories of Camelot, which we saw together three times when the Batesville Community Theatre staged it in 1981. Our other best friend, “Rebecky,” was in the orchestra. I saw Camelot a fourth time when I lived in Southern California. There were bigger stars that time, but the Batesville production was the most memorable.
I try to make Sundays a day of rest, but sometimes I end up doing schoolwork. This weekend I won’t have to worry about that, praise God! I really didn’t think I could finish writing my paper last night because I thought I would get sleepy, but God gave me the energy to persevere. The paper itself is finished, but in the coming week I have to turn it into an oral presentation with visual aids, flashing lights and dancing bears (just kidding about the last two).
I’m very tired this morning, and thinking about the next few days makes me even more tired, so it’s good that I’ll be getting in a good workout this morning.
It’s time to lace up my running shoes! See you in the next chapter.
Post a comment and share your challenges.
On this Indulge Friday (the day I weigh in at work and then spend the rest of the day not worrying about what I eat), here is the bulk of an e-mail I sent in reply to my sweet friend who wants to hold my hand during my journey to health and fitness. Names have been changed to protect the innocent, and sections have been edited to protect me from others who might take offense at the reason I stopped sharing my breakfast! (I hope he’s not reading this):
“You’re so sweet to want to help [me]. It really is about a journey, and if we can’t help each other we might as well not be on the planet sucking up other people’s oxygen.
“One way for you to help is to keep asking me how I’m doing (hold my feet to the fire). I think I’m going to start blogging what I eat so I won’t be tempted to overdo, even on my Indulge Fridays. For instance, when the Biggest Loser weigh-ins [at work] started in March, I started going by McDonald’s on Fridays because I didn’t want to eat breakfast at home before weighing in. It started with two Sausage and Egg McMuffins (or whatever was 2 for $2.50 at the time – a marketing tool that makes people fat!). When I would do that before, I would give one McMuffin to ‘Joe,’ but eventually I stopped … sharing.
“I stopped sharing but didn’t stop ordering the 2 for $2.50, so I started eating both items, and about three weeks ago I started throwing half of the second one away. Today, I ate one and a half McMuffins and was full until lunchtime (not just satisfied, but full). This leads me to think my body is already adjusting to less food.
“I’ve tried a lot of the healthy foods and methods you use, but lately I have veered off the path toward convenience, and convenience will get you every time. This week I’ve been bringing a turkey sandwich from home, and that has helped me not overdo with fast foods or at restaurants.
“[As you observed,] I do think I’m more serious about it than most people – finally. I toyed with the idea of ‘going public’ for over a year. That’s when I had Bruce take my ‘before’ picture, but I have been too chicken to post it. I was at the same weight then as I was a month ago, but I look bigger in the pic because I was wearing stretch pants and a tank top. I can hide the weight pretty well most of the time.
“Anyway, maybe we can continue this conversation over the weekend. Feel free to post comments on my blog (even ones that challenge me to do better). One thing I’ve learned over the years is that I need good mentors to hold me accountable, and I’m now able to be open about my shortcomings (at least most of them).”
My friend had gingerly told me she wanted to help, but she had been rebuffed in the past (by someone else who originally said she wanted her help), and she was afraid to step on my toes. But, hey, I think my toes need stepping on – at least for a while – don’t you? Just be sure to wear your ballerina shoes and not your army boots.
My big victory today was that I broke through the 200-pound barrier for the first time in so long I can’t remember: I weighed in at 197.6!
(I guess I should have mentioned that exciting news at the beginning. As we would say in the journalism biz, I “buried the lead.”)
Thank you, my nameless friend, for boldly offering yourself as my fitness mentor. And thank you, my other friends, for reading along and being bold enough to take steps toward your own mental, physical and spiritual fitness.
Please post a comment letting me know what challenges you face in your journey to healthy living.