On Jillian and other thought provoking things

Well, I watched the new Jillian show the other day, and I really had mixed feelings about it. She's really mean!!! But she did get results. My DH was watching it with me, and I commented on how negative I thought she was. His response was "maybe that would work for you." Yikes. Not the response I was hoping for. But in the spirit of trying to keep an open mind, it has been rolling around in my brain...does slow and steady really win the race? It seems like I have been "trying" for a long time without getting very far. Maybe a butt-kicking, negative approach would be more effective...I don't really know. It's not like I feel like I can be an expert on this topic, since I have spent my entire life in some state of being overweight. Somehow, in my heart of hearts, I feel like the American public has an insatiable appetite for watching overweight people chastised and humiliated, and this is not the best way to go. At least that's what I believe.

Another interesting development...DH had to go to the doctor this week for interpretation of his results. Generally, luckily, he's pretty healthy for being obese. He still wants to lose weight, however. He asked the Dr. what he should do, and mentioned the medifast approach. The dr's response--too extreme. He recommended cutting out fried foods and red meat and processed food. Interesting. We'll see what DH does with that information. I actually think that's pretty good advice, at least for DH. I probably could still maintain my ample self eating that way...still would need to practice portion control.

Finally, I read a post recently on Weightwatchers web site about overweight children. In short, it was about how upset the poster was about her mother and grandmothers' comments regarding her chubby child. Amazingly, there were 90 some comments on the post. Somehow, I found this comforting, that other people also worry about these things. Hopefully that does not make me neurotic. At any rate, what I gleaned from the poster and all the comments was to focus on HEALTH, and not on weight, especially when it comes to children. Glad we got that one straight.

Baby steps

I did finally get around to some exercise last night--not a lot, but some. I'm trying to alternate walking with a little jogging, to get my heart rate up. I did see some positive movement on the scale this morning, so hopefully this trend will continue. I also noticed that I had a lot more energy for my evening's chores, so that's all good. My eating continues to be fine--I had cold homemade whole wheat pizza with turkey pepperoni for bfast this morning. For lunch, I had grilled eel with vegetables and some rice. Very weird combos, but all good healthy stuff. Dinner? I have no idea, which reminds me to call DH to see if he will be joining us. I would love if the thunder would stay away long enough for us to go for a swim...I'm not quite ready for summer to be over yet! Have a great weekend everyone.

Busy days

Well, the crud seems to be gone now, which is good--phew. I need to figure out how to get some exercise in more regularly. I am eating more healthily these days, but not seeing any results on the scale. I can only conclude that it's because of my very sedentary life at a desk. I'm dreading the concept of setting my alarm earlier, but I think it's the only time that other things are not going to get in the way. I need to drum up some enthusiasm on this--inspiration anyone?

I guess it comes down to how badly I actually want this. I was talking with DH the other day, and he was bemoaning the fact that he's at his heaviest ever. He accused me of the same...until I reminded him that I am down from my highest a year ago. Now, I would love to be able to say I'm down a LOT from there, but unfortunately in a year's time it only amounts to 15 pounds lost.

I have been thinking lately it sure would be nice to say I'm down, I don't know, maybe 50 pounds by this time next year. Heck, I see blogs of folks who have lost over 100 pounds in a year. Like anything, it's a matter of focus.

In fact, this is a running theme in my own life, and one I've often advised others on--it's not so hard GETTING what you want--it's DECIDING WHAT you want. So hard some days to figure that out.

So what do I want? How badly do I want to see 50 pounds gone by next August? I really need to figure this out. I think we all know what to do to get there. It's just deciding, really deciding what we want.

Battling the crud

Well, I wish I was tearing things up here, but I've been fighting a cold since getting back. The virus is lurking in my body, gave me one cold sore already, and a scratchy sore throat. I've been beating it back with zinc and multivitamins, but I think it just has to run its course. I guess one good thing is that I haven't had much appetite. I'm really ready to start feeling good again soon! Hope the rest of you are feeling better than me today :)

Long time no see!

Well, I'm not sure if I've lost what readership I had, but I'm back from our month-long home leave in the US. It was pretty hectic, but lots of fun. I'm definitely happy to be back--and happy to say that for once I did not GAIN on a vacation. Big accomplishment for me :) I wish I could say the same for the rest of the fam...Dad gained, and my two youngest are still pretty pudgy. Well, one step at a time.

What did I do right this time? I'm writing it down so I can hopefully remember for the next time:

I was conscious of portions and tried to avoid sweets and fried foods.

I got a fair amount of exercise in, especially the last two weeks, while I was in training for work. I can't take much credit for this--I had to walk from the hotel to school, which involved about 80 stairs each morning. It was pretty ugly, but I did it.

What could I have improved on?

I didn't journal AT ALL. I was nervous the whole time that I would gain weight because I wasn't really tracking my intake.

I could have done more exercising at the hotels.

All in all, though, I'm pretty happy not to be ten pounds in the hole (the result of my last vaca in the US). Maybe my standards are too low?

Now what? I do realize that I need to be a leader for myself AND my family. I did plan a few dinners this week in spite of severe jet lag. We have some healthy dinners on the way, therefore. On restocking the house, I DID NOT purchase any junk. I'm realizing it's not doing me or the family any favors to have it in the house. I will keep making fruits, veggies, and whole grain products available for them.

I also decided that for the first couple of months the kids will be on school lunches. Better for them and me...I think their lunches are very good nutritionally, and even if they don't eat them, they'll have exposure to better choices. Eventually they'll get hungry and eat...right?

On the exercise side, I need to get back with the walk/jogging program. A good friend of mine has lost 20 pounds over the last few months exercising like a fiend. Her point, supported by watching the Biggest Loser a few thousand times, is that fat people CAN work out, and work out hard. We need to push ourselves to the next level, past our comfort zones. Sweat is our friend!

Anyway, some random, catchup thoughts here. I'm excited to be back and blogging again!