Rabbit: Well, goodbye, if you're sure you won't have any more.
Winnie the Pooh: [turns to leave then stops] *Is* there any more?
Rabbit: No, there isn't.
Winnie the Pooh: I thought not.
Winnie the Pooh: [tries to climb out the front door but is stuck] Oh, oh, help and bother! I'm stuck.
Rabbit: Oh, dear. Oh, gracious. Oh. Well, it all comes from eating too much.
Winnie the Pooh: It all comes from not having front doors big enough!
========================================================
I went to the gym today for my monthly weigh-in and measurements. I am the exact same weight I was one month ago. My waist measurement is somehow up .5" (one half inch.) My hips are down .5" (one half inch) but everything else is basically the same.
A tiny part of me feels like throwing in the the towel and gorging myself on every wretched thing imaginable. That's the emotional and shame-based part of me. Fortunately, the thinking/knowing/reasoning part of me knows I would suffer from that kind of choice miserably and it would accomplish nothing. It would take me further from my goals. It's not an option.
So where do I go from here? I examine what I am doing or not doing and make adjustments.
For starters, I somehow slowed way down on my treadmill activity at home. (to like once a week, twice tops - and for 20 to 30 minutes instead of 30 to 45. Big differences, really.) I also stopped recording my workouts. I don't even know when I stopped. It wasn't deliberate, it just kind of fell away. Recording works for me. I can see what I'm doing and track my progress (or lack thereof). To me, accountability is a big problem.
My trainer also told me that the elliptical I have been using for a few months is probably doing me a disservice. It's working my hips and legs, but I'm not burning the kind of fat I could be burning by doing intervals on the treadmill. Okay...treadmill it shall be for a while.
I am so thankful I haven't had any net gains since last month. Because I haven't been paying close attention to the details, they got away from me. Well, back to business. I don't have to do everything perfectly, but I DO have to actually DO everything! (Eat well, exercise, get on the scale, record my progress, etc.)
I don't feel too badly right now (though I felt so upset this morning.) I have had a lot going on in my physical and emotional worlds and managed to not gain weight this month. I'll take that. But I can do better, and so better I shall do. I only have one more month with the trainer and by golly, I'm going to go out with a bang.
It's a plateau ... they suck, for some of us they happen more then others. Making small changes can mean a world of difference. Just the stress that you are going through right now can cause your body to plateau. Hang in there, you're doing all the right things, don't stop now!
ReplyDeleteSandy
I read this blog post right after re-reading something you wrote on QuitNet: “Strength vs. Surrender.” I know sometimes that readers of my blog send me reminders of things I’ve written in the past to help uplift me when I’m going through rough roads, so hopefully you won’t mind me doing the same. For me, anyway, I might be able to blow off everybody else’s opinions, but it’s not as easy to tell myself I’m wrong.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure when you wrote this, except it was on day 202 of your Quit. Since it inspired me so much in my current non-smoking-ness-of-being, I quote:
“Make up your mind that your ONLY goal is riding out each craving without smoking. Period. That's it. Get your head wrapped around the fact that you truly want to quit MORE than you want to smoke, which means ALL your actions are in line with wanting to quit.”
… I learned this at around day 2 and life got supremely easier. I also realized that NOT smoking was easier than smoking. To NOT smoke, I didn't have to DO anything, just sit here like a slug. that's it. Just sit here and I was not smoking. To SMOKE, I'd have to get up, get out, go buy 'em, get a lighter, figure out where to smoke, smoke it, get rid of the evidence and smoke smell, beat myself up a few times, throw them out, hate myself, hate myself so much I'd have to smoke to feel better, go buy more, you know the drill.
Nope, to NOT smoke all I had to do was just sit, veg out, stare blankly at my computer monitor and let success wash over me.
All without having to move a muscle.”
Wonderful, wise writing, Carly, and even though your primary focus is your weight now, in some ways the same principles apply. So just keep taking your own advice and keep making those next right choices! I so admire your determination and inspiration and just wanted you to know and be encouraged.
Malia
Sometimes even when you are doing everything right, being honest accounting for your food intake and your exercise, it seems your body can just rebel.
ReplyDeleteIt may not be anything you are doing wrong. It could just be a plateau. Something that I hear people say on CK goes against what you think you need to do and that is to actually increase your food for a little while. I don't mean pig out. Just up the calories slightly for a short time. Seems it can work to kick your metabolism back in to gear.
It's been a while now, how is it going? Did you get past the plateau?
ReplyDeleteThe treadmill is soooo boring :( . Did the switch work?
Carly..Noticed you on The 'Q'...Check out my site..I don't go to the gym anymore..I kick my own ass at home...:)
ReplyDeleteGary
http://elitefitnessandnutrition.net/