Motivation

 

Date: 12/11/2017

Starting weight: 132 lbs

Current weight: 128 lbs

Day 4! Have I had some bumps in the road already? Of course I have, but this hasn’t changed my determination.

Motivation is defined as ” a desire to do; interest or drive”.  Some synonyms include “catalyst”, “encouragement” and “desire”.

A major part of weight loss is motivation. Why? Why do all of this? Wouldn’t it be easier just to sit back on my couch and eat endless amounts of delicious and tasty junk food, that not only ruins your body, but your wallet too! Yes, it would be very easy for me just to be OK with my status quo right now, but would easy be  bettering my self, both mind and body? NO!

What is your motivation?

My biggest motivation, like a lot of women, is to fit into that “special” dress. Gals, you know what I mean. The glorious wedding dress that we have dreamed of since we were little girls. I have a certain someone special in my life, who I would love to see in my dream dress.

When I saw this dress, I knew that this is what I wanted to wear on that special day. As you can see, the dress is rather fitted and slimming, so I wanted to look and feel the best I could when I walk down the aisle to the love of my life.

We all want to feel beautiful, inside and out. Part of our mental health is also physical health. We don’t all have to be a size 0, but the most important is to feel beautiful and healthy in your body.  People come in all shapes and sizes, but its how you feel in your shape and size that is the most important part of this process.

Is your goal obtainable?

My current goal is to meet my half way goal before I go on a cruise this March. That means I would like to weight about 115 to 120 when we leave.

As of this morning, I weigh 128 lbs. If I wanted to lose 15 lbs before my cruise, that means I need to lose 13 lbs before March 24, 2017, when we leave. I have 20 weeks to obtain my goal. That is totally do-able. The important part of goals is realism.  Most dietitians and nutritional specialists recommend that you lose about 1 pound a week. Now does that mean that you will ONLY lose 1 pound a week, or that you HAVE TO lose 1 pound a week? No! Some weeks, you might lose 2 to 3 pounds and others, you might not lose anything. Don’t get discouraged when this happens. The body goes through peaks and canyons, during weight loss. Some weeks, you will be down several pounds, and have never done anything different. Some weeks, you will try your best, work out as often as you can, drink all your water, eat on track, and yet, nothing. Thats ok! Don’t give up! Remind yourself of your ultimate goal.

How do you plan on getting to your goal?

When I sit back and think “Man, this is too difficult. I can’t do this anymore” I just remember these things, that keeps me on track. Maybe creating a motivation board is what you need. A motivation board is a visual reminder of goals we have in our life, ways to achieve, them, and some also include rewards once those goals have been achieved. and then remind yourself often of your goals. Visual Motivation Boards

This is a good example of a weight loss motivation board. The best part about these boards is you can  customize them for any goal you have.

(And the best part) What is your reward once your achieve it? 

What are you going to do to reward yourself? Are you going to go out and buy that special dress? Or maybe, your reward is a vacation? Whatever your reward is, make sure that you feel good about obtaining your goal! You earned it!

Keep your goals in mind and remind yourself often of those goals and anything is possible!

 

Day one or one day, you decide

Don’t you just love some sappy inspirational Facebook quote to get your blog post started?

Date: 12/06/2017

Starting Weight: 132 lbs

Weight Today: 132 lbs

Day #1

Ok, day 1. Here we go. I woke up in the right mentality, which is always good. I got a good night of sleep, which is a good step in the right direction. I am ready! I have a plan and I am going to stick to that plan. I am going to dedicate myself to making myself a better person, inside and out.

Yesterday, after having that moment of realization that something needed to be done about my weight, I signed up for weight watchers. I wanted a plan that didn’t require me to purchase any special meals, shakes or vitamins. I have had several friends who are on the program who have had great success, while eating everyday foods, and using their point system. I chose the online program, which costs about $20 a month and is only online, no meetings included. I am allowed 23 points a day, plus 28 “flex” points a week. If I exercise, I get work out points, which I can use towards food. I am using their phone app to keep track of my daily points.

Weight Watchers US

First step, breakfast. The meal I dread. Why you ask? Pressure. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. How many times have you heard that? “Start your day off with a good breakfast.” They make it sound so easy.  My morning usually consist of me, being a crazy person, following after 3 kids, fix and have the kids eat a healthy, nutritionally balanced breakfast, get dressed, get their teeth brushed, get their stuff all ready to go and be out the door, so I’m not late for my job. Sounds easy peasy, right?

Today, I had a plan! I was prepared (insert mighty trumpet music here)! I was going to have avocado toast!

Avocado toast:

1 piece of whole wheat, whole grain bread (3 weight watchers points)

1/2 ripe avocado (5 weight watchers points)

1 egg, poached (0 weight watchers points)

Toast bread (if desired), mash 1/2 an avocado (I sometimes add a little bit of lime juice to add a little zing) and spread mash on toast,  and then poach egg to desired consistency and put on top.

BAM! Avocado toast! (Total of 8 weight watchers points)

Only downside, 8 weight watchers points! That is 1/3 of my daily points allowed. I gobbled up my avocado toast and prayed it held me until lunch.  Its almost lunch time now, and I’m still good, which surprises me.

Second step, water. Lots and lots of water. Then when I think I’ve had a enough water, MORE WATER! Most professionals recommend that you take your weight, divide it by half and drink that much water, in ounces. If I weigh 132 lbs, that means I should be drinking no less than 66 ounces of water a day. My goal is to eventually start drinking a gallon of water a day (128 ounces), but for right now, while I get into the swing of things, I’ll use 66 ounces as a starting point. (Of course, there are special recommendations for those with health issues and those women who are pregnant and breastfeeding. Please refer to your family doctors for water recommendations if you have any questions or concerns.) The thought of drinking 66 ounces of water seems a little daunting, but when I thought about it, I was drinking 4 to 6 12 ounce cans of soda, A DAY, which means I was drinking between 48 and 72 ounces a day! If I can do that, water should be no problem.

How much water should you drink?

Lunch is quickly approaching and I am not worried! I knew, before I even walked out the door this morning, that my breakfast was going to use 1/3 of my daily points, so I planned for a protein shake for lunch. My usual lunch consisted of local fast food, mostly burgers and fries, which was usually served cold and gross, because a 30 minute lunch break at work doesn’t allow a lot of time to sit down at a restaurant and enjoy my food. This was not only a waste of calories, but a waste of money! I would order based on pictures on a menu (which always look amazing)  My favorite shakes are premier protein. I am a choco-holic. I absolutely love chocolate. This helps with the hunger for a couple of hours and gives me the chocolate sweetness that I crave during the day.

Premier Protein on Amazon

I’m only 1/2 way through my day today, and still feeling confident that this is doable. I don’t have cravings for my usual foods, which is good. That is always my greatest concern, because for those who know me, I have very little, if no, self control.

The next step for me will be to add in exercise. This will probably be the most difficult aspect for me. Not because I hate exercising, I love it, but when will I have the time? I work an 8-5 job and then I have 3 kids to fix and serve a  healthy and nutritious dinner for, do homework with, shower and get in bed, all by 8:30 at night. When 8:30 pm rolls around, and I get everyone settled in bed, all I want to do is flop. I just want to put my comfy sweats on and flop in bed, falling asleep the instant my head hits the pillow. My goal is to fit at least 30 minutes of exercise in a day, 5 days a week. I work in a call center during the day, so its about as sedentary as sedentary gets. I get 2 15 minute breaks, plus a 30 minute lunch a day. My plan is to go for a walk every chance I get. If I can get 1 mile of walking in a day, I’ll be a happy gal. I am using a fitbit charge 2 to track my steps, heart rate, water intake and sleep.

 Fitbit Charge 2

The fit bit part itself has its own app, which is great, because it tracks exercise, sleep, heart rate, water intake, food and weight, but once it has all of that information, it doesn’t really do much other than store it. It doesn’t tell you to increase your water intake, or exercise more. It just says you walked “x” amount of steps yesterday and drank “x” amount of water (which you have to add manually). Once the fitbit app connects to the weight watchers app, then it puts all of the information together and gives you a plan. Weight waters app doesn’t have any input for water intake, so the fitbit app would be a good way to go if you are interested in tracking that.

So for me, its day 1. I’m making the change TODAY! I am making the change for a better, healthier life, where I feel good about myself, both inside and out!

The awkward beginning

“Wait, what? Is that really me?” As I thought to myself as I passed in front of the dreaded full length mirror. Even worse, I was naked. I was getting in the shower and I just happened to walk in front of the mirror and I quickly glanced at myself. “Eww” was the only word I could use to describe my body.  A quick flood of embarrassment rushed over me, and I ran into the shower. I couldn’t stand there anymore and pick apart every inch of my body. I needed to go before I started crying. And at that moment, that exact moment in time, I decided that something needed to be done.

I was the young, sporty, small framed girl that never had a problem with weight, ever. When I was in high school, I was always involved in several different sport programs, working out before school, after school, weekends and school breaks. I loved being active and energetic. When I was 21 years old, I had my first son. Even through pregnancy, I had people telling me “you need to gain weight!” I tried and tried, ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it, and yet, never a pound gained. My heaviest with being pregnant was around 160 and only 2 weeks postpartum, I weighed 110, and then quickly back to around 100 a few months later. I stayed that way through pregnancies two and three. As my mother likes to say I was the “poster child for weight loss after pregnancy”.

I was incredibly lucky. For like the first 30 years of my life, I ate and drank whatever I wanted without an ounce of change weight wise.

And then, life changed. Not a little bit, but a lot. My husband of 9 years and I decided to divorce. We were both unhappy for years, and it wasn’t ever going to get better. And while this blog isn’t about that, it was because of that, my journey started.

I was now a single mom to three kids, an 8 year old, a 6 year old and a 2 year old. I also worked a “more than” full time job, being a local 911 dispatcher. I worked the usually 8 hour days, 5 days a week, but was also subjected to “mandatory overtime”, meaning I could be forced to work as many as 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless if I had a baby sitter at home or not. My mom was generous enough to move in with me, 3 states away from her home, for 6 months to allow me to continue working, while she was a home with the kids, providing their every need. While I was at this job, working 16 hour days, that meant me sitting all day, everyday, doing very little, if no, physical activity. When it came time to eat, we always ate fast food and snacks. We worked through our lunches, so the availability of finding fresh, healthy food, wasn’t really an option unless you prepared it and brought it from home.  Again, it didn’t really bother me because I was the girl that never thought about her weight. I just continued eating and drinking whatever I wanted (chips, candy, copious amounts of soda), never considering that maybe, one day, this might take an effect on me.

This sudden change to my life had a much more dramatic effect than I expected. I always felt like a strong, confident, independent woman and suddenly, I had nothing. I had no one. I mean I had my kids, but I couldn’t confide in them with what was going on in my life. My “friends” suddenly weren’t my friends. I was lost. I was lost in my own head. I had so many thoughts, feelings, issues, concerns and I had no one to talk to about this. It became too much for me. After realizing that it was too much for me, I spoke to my general doctor and was put on an antidepressant. I have no shame about having to take medication for issues I knew weren’t healthy. Once I started the medication, I noticed, not little by little, but lot by lot, I was now gaining weight. Once I started noticing the quick weight gain, about 3 months after I started taking the medication, and my doctor and I agreed to wean off the medication, but the damage had already been done. My metabolism had changed, and it wasn’t “snapping back” like it had before. My usually 100 pound frame, was now 105…110… 115… 120… 125, and then finally, yesterday, after having put it off, I stepped on that scale and saw the number…132. Wait, WHAT?!? I have NEVER weighed this amount. It wasn’t like I put on 32 lbs over night. I noticed, month after month, that number on the scale going up. I noticed my clothes being too tight. I noticed my favorite pair of pants I couldn’t wear anymore because I couldn’t button them, but I always thought “I’ll just snap right back like I have previously.”

So when I stood there, trying not to look at my naked body, I knew that something had to be done. I decided right there, right then, I was no longer going to allow this.  I was no longer going to be ashamed of getting dressed in the morning. I was no longer going to allow the weight gain to continue. I was going to take back my body, my mind and my weight, and be the person, both inside and out, that I wanted to be.

So here is my journey, from the beginning. Today is day 1. Am I saying that this is going to be an easy road? Nope. I know it isn’t going to be. I watched for years, my family struggle with their weight. But am I saying that when I cross my finish line, will I be a stronger, healthier person for it? Of course! There are going to be road bumps, and complete derails, but hopefully, I have the mindset to stick to the goal and continue through.