The Diet Naked Blog

Um, hello . . .

Is it possible that I've already said everything there is to say about losing weight? 

And not losing weight?

I don't know, but I will continue to post here, hopefully more regularly than I've been doing. 

Here's how things are at the moment.

I am not being as strict as I was when I first started losing weight back in 2006.  Maybe it's just not realistic to cut out every speck of sugar and white flour and white potatoes and white rice.  I don't know but I can't seem to be perfect, a problem which has plagued me my whole imperfect life.

I have, however, been going to the YMCA regularly since the beginning of the year and I have to say that I feel so much better physically.  My wonky tendon has even stopped its continual aching.  I have enjoyed the various cardio machines and two or three times a week, I do weight machines.  

My weight loss is holding steady at 7 pounds, which sadly enough, almost brings me to my initial starting weight when I began this blog in April 2006. 

Anyway, I'll be around.  Hope you will be, too.

Except for you spammers.  You can go away.

I am so tired!

We have a new puppy who hasn't let me get a solid night of sleep since December 17 . . . and that was the week I traveled to New York and slept a total of 9 hours over three days.

Will I ever sleep again?

In other news, I have been working out at the YMCA almost every day.  Today I was trained to use the Fitlinxx tool which keeps track of my program on the weight machines.  (It's pretty cool, really--it's like having a personal trainer without the personal part.) And then tonight I went back with my teenagers for some cardio (treadmill and then exercise bike).

And . . . I lost 6.4 pounds.  Which, of course, is to be expected the first week but still!  A weight loss is gratifying after working hard to change my direction.

I'm like a gigantic ship which takes a long, long, long time to actually steer in a huge circle until I'm heading the opposite direction. 

That's how it feels anyway.

I have to go sleep now.  I hope my farting puppy will sleep until dawn. 

Look, she's cute, which is why I don't cook her in butter and eat her.

Avoid the scale

This first week is so important.  If I don't see results, will I falter?  Will I give up? 

I'm staying off the scale until Monday morning.  While I appreciate feedback, if I get on the scale too early to see results, I will feel discouraged. 

How often do you weigh yourself?

I am worried about weighing myself again on Monday, even though I am eating what I am supposed to andn getting exercise.  (Yesterday, I didn't have time to go to the YMCA, so I rode my exercise bike at home. Tonight, I'll be heading back to the YMCA, though.)

I'm heading in the right direction so I just need to keep moving.

It's fun to play at the YMCA

We've had a membership at the local YMCA for a few months now, but I've never worked out there.  I'm not exactly a gym person, though I like the idea of strength training using convenient exercise machines.  (I've worked out at gyms before, so I do know what I'm missing.) 

This afternoon, I took my four kids to the YMCA.  We endured the Orientation, my kids got their ID tags and my daughter swam in the (outdoor!) pool.  After the hour-long Orientation, my boys and I worked out on the elliptical machines for twenty minutes. (That's all we had time for since the Orientation took so long.)

Not much, but a good start.  Plus, now I know the next step to take so I can get trained to use the strength training machines.  They have a cool computerized system that helps you work out and stay on track and improve and all that good stuff.

Here's what I ate today:

Big, big salad at Souplanation
Turkey noodle soup (whole wheat noodles!) at Souplanation

Lots of chopped up vegetables cooked with eggs.  Sort of an omelette, really.

98% fat-free popcorn

That doesn't sound like very much--the problem was that I am totally out of practice at eating breakfast.  I need to try to eat earlier in the day tomorrow so my blood sugar stays stable and all that.

And now, I'm heading to bed . . . after I make my son's school lunch.

Step one: Preparation

I focused today on preparation.  I went to a good produce store and bought fresh vegetables and fruit. 

When I got home, I cleaned lettuce, chopped it and added some other vegetables to the salad.  Now I am prepared for the week's lunches.

When I have the appropriate foods in the house, I am setting myself up for success.

What have you done to prepare for success?

Why am I so afraid?

I've realized that I am terrified. 

What if I choose the wrong diet?

What if the diet doesn't work?

What if I stay fat forever?

I can't figure out why I am so afraid.  I have done this before.  I've picked a plan that seemed appropriate for me (a middle-aged woman with insulin-resistance who is an "apple").

Fear won't stop me, though.  And really, any diet that reduces calories and increases activity will work.  So, I don't have to be afraid of failure.  

Anyone else afraid of this whole dieting thing?  

Good days, bad days and fear

You guys.  I'm having good days, followed by really bad days.  You know Geneen Roth says every diet is followed an a binge . . . inevitably. 

I don't want to believe that is true but maybe it is.  It explains why a person who has successfully lost weight would gain that weight back.  It's just maintaining balance in the universe. 

I intend to write here but once again I've had a jam-packed day and now I need to get to bed.  It's 1:21 a.m. and tomorrow will be a really busy day (again). 

Today was a bad day in terms of eating.  I won't even detail it.  (It's for your own good.)

Yesterday was bad, too.  Saturday . . . bad.  Until then, I was doing great, eating only what I was supposed to eat . . . sigh.

Okay, so back to basics tomorrow.  I'm beginning to fear that I will never actually lose weight. 

The best of times and the worst of times

So, I had one fantastic week!  Lost five pounds.  Then along came Halloween.

It was like an avalanche of mini-candy bars buried me.  It was bad, very, very bad. 

I gained those five pounds back.

Today, though, I am 100% committed to myself and my weight loss plan because I just found out that once again, I am flying to New York in December for the office Christmas party.

So I am deterrmined to use this as the impetus I need to get serious and get some weight off! 

Today I ate a 'clean' diet.  For breakfast, old-fashioned oatmeal.  Lunch was a big salad at Souplantation.  Dinner was green beans and some barbecued chicken breast.  Snack tonight was a Granny Smith apple and some fat-free popcorn.

Earlier in the day, I laced up my sneakers and went on a two mile walk with my 9-year old daughter.  I used the RunKeeper app on my iPhone.  I loved having the feedback about our time, distance and speed. 

I'm thinking I'll ride my exercise bike tomorrow, then on Wednesday, go to the YMCA to get a lesson in using the equipment there.  (We joined recently but I haven't yet actually exercised there.)

Wish me luck!  I'm going to try to lose as much as I can in the nearly six weeks I have before my trip to NYC!

Still having a good week . . . couldn't resist, so I weighed myself and found I've lost 5 pounds already. It's always fast and easy the first week.

Have a nice weekend!

Plugging along

I'm here.  Plugging along.  Avoiding sugar and its cousin, white flour.  For the most part, anyway.

For instance, tonight, I cooked pancakes and bacon for my family . . . and fried eggs for a couple of them.  Then I made myself some mushrooms, zucchini and egg whites. 

I'm looking forward to a weigh-in on Monday because at this stage in the game, I always worry that none of this will make any difference whatsoever.

Next week, I am also going to start exercising.  My daughter's soccer season and my son's football season are drawing to a close, so that will free up my schedule somewhat.  Right now I am so crazy busy that it's somewhat depressing.

For now, though, I must sleep.  It's 1:23 a.m. and I have to go make a school lunch.  (I hate making school lunches.)