Accountability

I'm very thankful for the group of ladies that I weigh in with at work.  They hold me accountable and I really appreciate it.  Another thing I do that has been really helpful is keeping a page tacked up in my bathroom as home.  I keep a copy of my "Why should I lose weight?" list (posted HERE), and a weigh in chart.  This year I added something to my chart- in light writing (that I'll be able to write over easily) I included milestones that I might want to keep in mind when it comes to weight loss- beach trip, new school year, family photos, etc.  I think this might help.  :)  I hope everyone has a great week- I already set my alarm for super early (to exercise)- and I'm hoping that this will start my week off right.  :)

Update 01.19

So, I've been logging my nutrition on sparkpeople.com (you can view my food/fitness log here: http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_tracker.asp?id=TINAMARIEWELCH&dte=1%2F19%2F2012 ) and weighing in at home and at school for our biggest loser contest.  My goal was to lose at least a pound a week and so far I'm above that- I know not to expect that every week, but the jump start was appreciated.  I lost 1% each of the two weeks I've weighed in.  :)  I've also decreased my coke zeros and upped my water intake greatly.  Doing pretty good, I think.

The one thing that I just don't know how to fix is that urge to stuff my face when I'm upset.  Seriously, last night I wanted to take all the leftover pasta and eat it from the pot.  Or handfuls of trail mix.  Not because I was hungry or even because it tasted so good- but because I had that urge to stuff my mouth.  :(  The only thing I can compare it to is an addiction- how someone else might have "needed a drink" or whatever their vice is- I was driven to eat.  I know this is an emotional/psychological issue that I need to work through.  I think OA (overeaters annonymous) would be a good choice for me, except that I don't like/agree with/accept the religious aspect...  *sigh* 

Trudging along...

Two Thousand Twelve.

It is a new year. 

2011 was a pretty good year around here, all things considered.

One of the areas where I still need work, however, is my health.  I lost about 20 pounds this year (well, really nearly 30, but then gained some back). I'm glad to lose.  It's a step in the right direction.  But I need to do more.  I know I'm not on Biggest Loser, and I don't expect to lose like they do- but if some of those folks can lose 20 pounds in a week, then I damn well can lose more than that in a year.  I need to get my butt in gear.

I'm going to make a commitment to myself here.  I know every week may not show a loss.  I know that- I must be realistic.  But at year end, I want to net an average of at least a pound a week.  That would be 52+ pounds gone at the end of the year.  That is a modest goal.  Totally reachable.  I can do this.

I go back to work tomorrow, and will be back on plan.  I'm going to be logging on sparkpeople and exercising at home using a gazelle, aerobics videos (on demand and DVD) and the Wii. 


I can do this!

Feeling Good. Really. :)

Lately, I've been putting a lot of thought into leading a more healthy lifestyle.

I'd say about a third of my "mental energy" goes towards thoughts of wanting to be healthy for ME. The future- I don't want to experience all the health issues my mom and grandma have. I want to live to be a funny old lady. For now, I want to be able to walk up the stairs or chase my kids without getting winded. I want to be able to plan things without wondering if I CAN - building something... hiking somewhere... fit in the seat on planes or roller coasters... etc. I want to LIVE life, not just watch it pass me by.

Another third goes to wanting this for Chas, too. I want him to be healthy, to live for a long time, to be able to DO without worrying, to LIVE LIFE.

And the last third... or maybe more than a third- this part may take from the other two at times- goes to my kids. I want them to have healthy role models. I did not see healthy living as a kid. Seems like it was either feast or famine at my house. Celebrations centered around food, then diets would be all too common and obvious. There was no activity for the sake of moving, having fun, and feeling good- there was only exercise as a means for weight loss. I know that these things impacted my outlook - I became them! I do not want this for my children. I want them to know how to live a healthy life- to know because they see a positive example: their parents doing so. I do not want my son to be "the big boy", but even more I don't want my daughter to have worse-than-average body issues because of what I've done or how *I* look. More than anything, I want her to grow up and remain the HEALTHY, HAPPY girl she is now, know what I mean?

Through this reflection, and some life experience, I have come to the realization that I have a food addiction. I came across a list of questions online that tell if you might be a "Food Addict"... Yeah, 16 out of 20 for me. Scary and sad to think of what I've done. I think it also bears noting because this is how I am. It's not just "Geez, Tina, then don't buy oreos"... It's much deeper than that. I don't think that Overeater's Annonymous or Food Addicts Annonymous are for me- they both have a religious base, and it would take much MORE work for me to get to "that place", I think. So, for the time being, I'm working through it on my own.

I'm using SparkPeople.com to track my calories in and out. It helps me track my progress and even tells me where I "should" be. Makes that part much easier. I love it. My name on there is "TinaMarieWelch"- I'd love more people to help keep me accountable. :) I've even gone in and started entering the SPECIFIC nutrition content for items I eat often- food from the school cafeteria, soups I make from recipes, etc. Before I would choose something "close" and I realized today that my entry of "Pizza Hut Veggie Lovers Pizza, 1 slice" was ONE HUNDRED calories less than the actual pizza I ate! OOPS! No more! I'm going to be as specific as I can. In this vain, I also got out my new "kitchen scale" last night. It was an eye opening experience to see how small that 3 oz portion of chicken was. Wow. Portion size is my downfall- even when eating healthy foods, I just eat TOO MUCH of them! No more guestimating or eyeballing portions- real measurement from here on out.

To top it off, I started the year with two exercise games for the Wii- Wii Fit Plus and Wii Active. I like them both, but made excuses every night after work. Truly, by the end of the day, I'm exhausted. The only minutes I've had without the kids are the time I'm physically AT work and the 3 minutes it takes to drive from Abby's school to mine in the morning. It's draining! Exercise isn't the first thing on my mind when they fall asleep at night, to be honest. SO- I started a group at work! A group of ladies is staying after school three days a week to exercise together! Mondays and Thursdays, we meet in my classroom and do an aerobics DVD with the projector and the big screen (it's cool, really! LOL). Wednesdays we are going to walk on the track. I did three days of REAL workouts this week (not the lazy kind I can get away with when I'm alone at home!) and it feels GREAT!