Tag: #wwfamily

Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.

On By TerriIn About Me, Mindset, Uncategorized3 Comments

Excuses.  Excuses.  Excuses.

I can come up with hundreds.  But none of those excuses will help me to get where I want to be.  None of those excuses will help me to reach my goals. 

The only thing excuses do, is keep me from becoming the me I want to be, the me I strive to be.  Excuses keep me stuck, unable to reach the goals I set.  And excuses keep me beating up myself.

Every day I step on the scale.  Dread fills me as I look at the number.  I know what it is going to say.  When I started this blog last April I was 26 lbs over my goal.  Now I am 29 lbs over my goal. 

And that frustrates me!

And then I justify my weight with a myriad of excuses.  Excuses that keep me from reaching my potential.  Excuses that fill my mind with negative thoughts and words.

I am working on changing those thoughts.  I am working on ending the excuses. 

Today I get real.  With myself.  And with you.  No more hiding behind the mask of excuses.  No more lying to myself.  No more “I’ll start tomorrow”, because guess what—tomorrow never comes! 

No more excuses.

I am where I am because I have not made me a priority.  Period.  And there is no excuse for that.  How can I be the best me, if I don’t make myself a priority?  And that doesn’t mean that I become selfish in the sense that I never do anything for anyone and only do what I want for me. 

Making me a priority means–I face my emotions instead of eating them.  I find time in my day to move more.  I find the time to spend on self-care.  I make time to fix healthy meals.  I make time to meal plan.  I get a good night’s sleep.  I spend time with my family.  I make time for walks with my husband.  I make time for date nights.  I spend a day in my pjs watching movies if that is what I need.  I write. 

Making me a priority means letting go of the stress, anger, and other emotions that I allow to make me eat.  And it means letting go of the things I cannot control.

Making me a priority means living my life to the fullest.  And it means loving myself, imperfections and all. 

No excuses.

So, today I start, right now…not tomorrow, today!  And I start now 29 lbs over my goal weight.  No beating myself up over this, because that won’t help and will lead me right back down the excuse lane.  Instead I will celebrate that I am getting real with myself.  I will celebrate that I did not gain the entire 72lbs back.  I will celebrate that I am alive and can now work on what needs to be done.

Because, after-all, I am worth it! 

I know it won’t be perfect, but who needs perfect?  I just need to keep moving, keep learning and keep growing!

Advertisement

OOPS!

On By TerriIn Food, Uncategorized1 Comment

Well….. I have been doing this a LONG time…. 13 years now, not counting all my previous attempts.  So, you would think I would remember… that I would know better…. But…..

Yes, I have been struggling, but I decided to start again with tracking, something I have not been consistent about for quite some time.  Yesterday was pretty good.  And this morning I had EVERY intention of having a great, stick-to-my-points, day. 

And then this happened. 

It is small…..really small…. The smallest ice cream cup a person can buy.  Only 3.6 oz.   Can’t hurt, right?  I had a great on point breakfast and then decided to have a tiny treat….

I ate it all, which wasn’t much!  And then I went to track it and wanted to check the points.  It is less than a ½ cup serving, so it had to be less than the 12 smartpoints I usually track for a ½ cup of this ice cream. (note to self, this ice cream ranges from 11-15 points per ½ cup and this particular flavor is 14 smartpoints per serving). 

WHAT was I thinking??? I know to ALWAYS look up the point values BEFORE eating.  Oh. My. Gosh.  How many times over the last 13 years have I talked about or heard about checking points before eating?  Yet, I thought I knew the points without looking, it was smaller than a normal serving size after all.  HA! 

This little, less than ½ cup serving of ice cream was…. Wait for it….. 13 smartpoints!!  13!!!  WHAT!! 

So, here I am.  The experienced Weight Watcher member and former coach and I figured I KNEW what the points would be without double checking.  Oops!  A lesson learned.  A reminder to check BEFORE eating. 

And a lesson in slips.  They happen.  We all slip.  We all hit that bump in the road.  We all have those “Oh my gosh” detours.  And even the experienced have those moments. 

But that slip is NOT failure.  The bump does NOT derail everything.  It is a just a moment in time.  A moment on the journey that allows for feedback.  It is an opportunity to learn.  To realize what works and what doesn’t.  An opportunity to see that sometimes on this journey we slide a little, sometimes even a lot, but it doesn’t mean we have failed and cannot succeed.  We learn and we can get back on track.  We move on, rerouting the journey so that we keep moving forward…. One-slip-at-a-time….. One-step-at-a-time….

That slip is just another steppingstone on the path to success!! 

So, I tracked that little bit of ice cream.  And combined with my breakfast, I am almost out of points for the day.  The day is just starting.  Good thing I have those 0 point foods to rely on today!  And those extra points for the week.  I have my plan for the rest of the day and this slip WILL NOT derail my progress!

This is proof that I am really on a perfectly imperfect journey!  And all is still right with the world!

Positive Body Image…. Getting There

On By TerriIn Mindset2 Comments

This week’s topic in WW Workshops is on Body Image. A hard topic for many of us. And it does not matter if you are old or young. It does not matter if you are male or female. It does not matter if you are overweight or thin. Many of us struggle with those negative body images.  Some of those thoughts have been ingrained in our minds for years, said by others to us, or just said to us by us.  And it doesn’t help that we are bombarded, daily, by images on social media and on TV that show us the “perfect” bodies.  The struggle is real for so many of us. 

Do you struggle with finding positive things to say or think about your body? I do. 

Do you find yourself speaking negatively about your body?  I do. 

Maybe it is your arms, or your neck, or your legs or your stomach or ???

This week, WW helps us to identify the negative things we think and/or say about our bodies and then gives us tools to help us change the way we think. Techniques that help us turn the negative to a positive. A shift in mindset.  And one that is HARD.  It requires awareness and honesty with ourselves.  And it requires INTENTIONALLY focusing on something positive rather than ALLOWING the negative to define us. 

As I sat in a workshop yesterday morning, I heard the negative things I have said and what I still say about my body. I do not like my arms, those who attended my workshops knew that.  I have shared it in workshops when we had body image discussions.  And I have been working on changing that mindset.  I am finding it a little easier and sometimes even automatic to say a positive about my arms now, but it took me time to get to this place.  I look for the good my arms can do now, rather than focusing on the jiggling loose skin on my arms.  The more I have practiced saying the positives and focusing on the positives, the more it has become automatic.  I am starting to like my arms.  I am wearing sleeveless shirts at home now, but not yet ready to venture out into the world….. almost there. 

But yesterday morning in that workshop I heard other negative things about my body. Ugh! Too many.  When did this happen?  Have I always been so negative?  I never noticed before because it was ingrained in me and automatic…. Said and thought without noticing what was happening.  Like being on autopilot….it just happens. 

Hearing those thoughts hit me.  Hard!  I wasn’t aware before, but I am now aware.  And awareness is the first step in making a shift in my thoughts, the first step in changing. 

So, this week, thanks to the workshop, I am working on shifting how I see just one body part.  Just one.  That I CAN do.  I am focusing on how I see my stomach/abs. I do not like my stomach/abs. Period!  NEVER have!  Loose skin sucks— a negative thought.  Stretch marks are incredibly ugly—another negative thought.  Look at those rolls…. Ugh— another negative.  I look pregnant from the side in this shirt—negative!  And even more negatives run through my head, especially when I look in the mirror—with or without clothes, it really doesn’t matter.

The leader asked us to come up with something positive, something that part of our body can do for us.  Hmmm….. I struggled with this.  My first thought was- “Really?  What can this do?  Nothing.”  But then I really started to think.  And I came up with something—

–-My stomach is strong enough to help hold my spine steady, keeping me from throwing my back out and landing in the hospital.  Okay—positive.

And…. Well….. nothing else comes to mind, just yet.  So, one positive right now.  And that one positive is better than none.

Now, to do an old activity from a WW Workshop in the past—this week, every day I will stand in front of my mirror and look at my stomach (THAT is going to be hard, but CHANGE is HARD!) and I am going to think about the positive, the one positive I have come up with (and I will try to come up with another).  By practicing saying and thinking about the positive, then it will become easier and eventually will replace the negative.  Eventually…..

What ONE body part are you negative about?  What ONE body part can you focus on this week?  What positive thing can your body part do for you, right now?  Once you pick the body part and find the positive(s), then practice saying them while looking in the mirror….or, if you cannot look in the mirror, then practice saying the positive while visualizing your body part.  The more you say it, the more you will believe it.  And that is how we shift our negative thoughts to positive!

Can you do this one thing this week?

Will you do this one thing this week?

I can and I will!  I am traveling this imperfect journey and changing my body image along the way! 

To Weigh or Not to Weigh

On By TerriIn About Me, Mindset2 Comments

THAT is the question.

This has been on my mind a lot lately.  As someone on a losing—maintaining—losing–repeat journey, this question pops up a lot.  In Weight Watchers meetings one will hear the recommendation that we only weigh one time a week, at our meetings.  I have read recommendations that one should not get on the scale, but rather use how clothing fits as a guide instead.  There are a lot of different thoughts on the topic of how often to weigh, all aimed at making us less tied to the scale, giving the scale less power over us and how we view ourselves.

And I GET that!  I know people who get stressed when they step on the scale and seeing it go up, even just a little can send them reeling…. Giving the scale the power to tell us our worth. 

But that scale cannot tell us our worth. 

With this being said, I weigh myself every day.  Yes, you read that right!  I weigh Every. Single. Day. 

Oh, and I weigh not just every day, but twice a day.  WHAT??

Extreme?  Obsessive?  Maybe for some, but NOT for me.

I weigh in the morning before I eat.  And I weigh at night before I go to bed.

Why?

It keeps me on track and gives me feedback, information I need. 

Now our bodies fluctuate every day, up and down.  So many things can go into what that scale says our weight is.  I know that.  And it does not bother me to see those fluctuations.  It gives me information instead of stress.  I know that my body will be heavier at night than it was that morning.  It will be lighter in the morning than it was the previous night.  Salt, lack of water, weather, exercise, medications, how I am feeling, hormones…. Well they all play a roll in the normal fluctuations in my weight from day to day and moment to moment. 

So why then do I weigh every day, twice a day?  Because it gives me feedback.  It gives me information.  Knowledge about my body.  And knowledge IS power!

I began weighing twice a day during my fifth journey with weight watchers, on my way to my goal.  By stepping on the scale every day, I was able to see those normal fluctuations.  I learned that every 28 days my body weight went up, not a little but 5lbs or more.  Now if I had not been weighing every day THAT may have freaked me out, causing me to slip and eventually give up.  But because of the feedback I had been gathering, I knew it was normal for me and that the next week it would go right back down without me doing anything different.  It was a hormonal fluctuation.  I learned what salt did to my body and what happened if I didn’t drink enough water.  And it had to be water, because other fluids didn’t work like water did. 

I knew that my weekly weigh in would be down because during the week, the ups and downs and ups again showed that the ups were lower than the previous ups…. I WAS losing…. And learning how my body worked. 

One meeting during my journey to my goal, my leader talked about the scale and how we allow it to define us (she walked in with a “scale” tied to her leg, dragging it behind her…something I later did in my own meetings).  And that is when I shared that I weighed every day.  The gasps!  Oh my!  The others were quite shocked that I weighed other than at my weekly meeting.  My friend who attended with me only weighed at the meetings.  So, we all discussed what works and how to know if the scale was a stressor or an aide.  At that meeting my friend and I committed to doing the opposite of what we had been doing…. She would weigh every day for the week, and I would NOT step on the scale until the next meeting….. Oh man was that going to be hard!

And it WAS hard.  Turned out to be the most stressful week for both my friend and I.  Stepping on the scale for her was STRESS.  She didn’t like seeing the scale go up, even if it was normal part of the journey, a healthy weight fluctuation.  It made her want to eat.  And me, well NOT stepping on the scale was extremely stressful!  I had no idea how I was doing.  I had no idea if I needed to make adjustments.  I had no idea what was happening with my body weight and it really scared me, making me want to eat.  That stress showed up for both of us on the scale at our next meeting. 

And we both immediately went back to what worked for us.  I love that about Weight Watchers and meetings.  It is NOT a one-size-fits-all program.  In those meetings there are others on a similar journey, and we share ideas, successes, challenges, and what works for us.  We get ideas to try when things are not working for us.  And every single person gets to decide what works for them and what doesn’t. 

Knowing what works for us is a big part of making this journey a lifestyle and making it last.  What works for one person may not work for another.  And there in no ONE right way to do this. 

For me, weighing every morning and every night works.  It just does.  I get the feedback I need.  And when I stop stepping on the scale every day, it also gives me feedback.  When I stop stepping on the scale that is when I am struggling…. Things aren’t going well…..  And then when I wrap my head back around this journey and what I need to do, I step back on the scale, taking the feedback it gives me and using it to make adjustments or to continue doing what I am doing because it is working.

Ask yourself how the scale is affecting your journey.  Are you getting on it every day?  Or only once a week?  Or not at all?  If getting on the scale everyday stresses you out…. If stepping on that metal box makes you cringe….. if seeing the number go up after doing everything right makes you want to quit…. Then DO NOT step on the scale until that weekly meeting…. Or use non-scale ways to measure your success on your journey.

But if, like me, stepping on the scale is just another means of feedback and aids you on your journey…. if staying off the scale is your stressor… then step on the scale when you need too. 

Find what works for you!  We each need to ask the question “to weigh or not to weigh” and then find the answer that works for us.  We need to find what takes the power from the scale and gives it back to us!  As long as you do not let that scale define who you are or what your worth is, you have got this!  You will be successful!

I have found what works for me and I continue to do it most of the time.  I am NOT perfect at this…. But I am NEVER giving up! 

That “E” Word

On By TerriIn Activity, Inspiration2 Comments

That “E” word.

 Exercise.

 I am not big on exercise.  I lost my weight originally without exercise.  Which kept me from developing a habit of exercising.  I just watched my food, tracked it all and really paid attention to portions and I lost the weight.  I was proof that exercise was NOT necessary to lose weight.  But I wish I had developed the exercise habit while losing weight.  It would be much easier to keep the weight off and to get back on track if I exercised, regularly. 

But I DON’T like to sweat!  So, therefore I don’t like to exercise.  I find exercise mundane, at times boring, difficult and mostly a chore.  It is hard to get going and hard to stick with it.  Though I have found ways to partake in some sort of exercise over the years and even found some I enjoyed… for a bit, I still have not been consistent.  And I need to be.

Exercise has many benefits.  There are health benefits, especially for my heart.  There is the mood boosting benefit.  If every time I was angry, hurt, worried, anxious, bored or lonely, I exercised… what a big impact that would have on my health and my journey to lose and keep weight off.  Not to mention my mood.  I would be a very happy person…. Maybe….. but I don’t like to sweat.

One way to begin to change how I view exercise is to approach it with a different mindset.  Instead of saying “exercise”, I am now saying “activity”.  Activity doesn’t sound as boring or difficult as exercise does and it elicits more positive feelings.  By changing just that one word, then I will change how I look at it.  The mind is a powerful thing.

But, I still don’t like to sweat…. have I mentioned this?  And that means that my activity is not as consistent as I would like it to be or as I need it to be.  I have spent some time this week thinking about the times when I have stuck with activity, the times when I have enjoyed it and I found that there was a “reward” associated with the activity, one that made it enjoyable and made the activity feel less like a chore.  A reward that made me ignore the sweat!

I know that to create a habit and make it stick, I need to get something from it, some sort of reward.  And I don’t mean a reward that is food related or monetary.  No, the reward for me needs to be impactful, meaningful and fun.  So, I started looking at my activity and how I can get something out of it that would motivate me.  And I found that there are a few rewards that keep me wanting to move and to be active–

–Bling!  Why do I do 5k’s or 10k’s?  The bling of course!  I love the bling!  So, yes, I will sign up for and walk (sometimes adding in a little jog) for a 5k race or a 10k race for the bling.  It makes it worth it!

–A goal!  I have set a few goals related to activity the past few years and those goals give me something to strive for.  A goal makes me focus and makes me get out and exercise.  The goal didn’t always get me to really commit to the training, but it did get me to go do that race or to keep swimming.  And achieving the goal, that is the REAL reward!  The PRIDE I feel when I realize that I DID IT is invaluable!  I set out to do something and I DID IT!  Yes, that pride in myself is a GREAT reward.  And so is seeing the pride in my husbands’ eyes when I finish my race.  THAT is PRICELESS!

–Companionship!  For me this one is HUGE!  What got me to go to spin classes regularly for a period of time?  A friend to go with.  What got me to do my first 5k’s?  My husband doing them with me and my friend doing my first big 5k with me at Disney World.  What got me out walking, even on hot, muggy Louisiana days?  A friend to walk with.  That time was therapy!  What gets me out hiking?  My husband and friends that I hike with (and my camera.. I do love photography!)  And what has got me signing up for and completing 5k’s and greater distances this past year?  Friends!  A group of ladies who make walking fun and keep me accountable.  Better together could not be truer when it comes to being active!  Any activity is better with others and being with others makes me tolerate the sweat!

–Inner peace!  This one is why I swim.  It is my “me” time.  It is a time when I can shut out the world around me and just be.  The water is calming.  The solitude is calming.  The inner peace is necessary.

Now, realizing what rewards motivate me and keep me going, I can find ways to keep moving.  I have always said that awareness is the first step to change.  Being aware of what works for me to get me moving is the first step in making real change, in creating new habits.  Knowing the rewards means I can find ways to be active and find things I enjoy. And enjoying activity is important.  If I don’t enjoy it, then no reward will work. 

To get me going and to help me stay motivated I created this board— My activity motivation board.

On this board are quotes that help motivate me.  The bling from my races hang on the board as reminders of what I can do and have done.  The map from the Amerithon Virtual challenge is on this board because I am continuing, on my own, after my team of 8 finished the race—3521 miles across the USA.  And I have a goal to finish all 3521 miles no matter how long it take me!

All of this will help to motivate me as I prepare for my next activity goal—to finish the She Power 5k in January with my fastest 5k time, EVER!  My goal is to beat my Disney World 5k time of 40:26 from 2009.  I have a goal to strive for…. a reminder to keep me focus.  And with my bling, my family and friends, and a change in mindset, I WILL reach my goal and be more active while doing it.

All while not liking to sweat!  I will work on that another day! 

Do Something Different

On By TerriIn About Me, Inspiration, MindsetLeave a comment

I missed my workshop yesterday, just couldn’t get there.  Sometimes things happen and plans need to change.  Life happens.  Or your husband needs the car at the same time as you need to go to your workshop, so of course you let your husband take the car. 

And I missed my workshop. 

In the past when I missed a workshop, I skipped the week.  That was my workshop and if I couldn’t get there then I would just decide to go the next week.  Well…..

Skipping a week did not usually go well for me.  Skipping the week usually gave me a mindset of skipping everything.  I would then go off-track, not just the day I missed, but the next day and the next and before I knew it, the week was gone and all plans to make it a GREAT two weeks had long flown out the window. 

And these past couple of years I missed more workshops than I made it too.  Another sign of how things were going for me. 

I heard from another member of WW that this time she was not giving up, because she knew what that felt like and this time she wanted to see what would happen if she didn’t give up.  WOW!  She inspired me and others when she shared this in a workshop. 

I committed when I started this blog and when I bought that monthly pass, to go to my weekly weigh-in and weekly workshop.  And I committed to myself to keep going until I was back at goal and then to keep going in order to stay at goal.  I know what NOT going looks like and feels like and I know what going feels and looks like, which I would much rather feel! 

So, I went this morning.  I couldn’t go yesterday but I could go today.  A different mindset is taking over. 

To see change, to reach goals and to be successful, I HAVE to do something different than I was doing.  As my leader/coach said many years ago in a workshop—“If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you always got!”  So, do something different.  Get the results you want by not giving up, by not quitting. 

And today, instead of doing what I have done often in the past when I missed my workshop, I went to a workshop.  Changing what I do.  Doing something different.  Taking care of me!

I went to a workshop!

I showed up!  I stepped on the scale and had a loss of 1.4 lbs!!  Woohoo!!  And that was after a week where I did not track every day.  Where I wasn’t perfect.  And I still saw success.  Proof that this journey does not need to be perfect to be effective!  I just had to change something, just one thing, and I did that by doing those three things this past week instead of eating my stress.  Doing something different.  Changing what I do. 

Now imagine what would happen if I really tracked this week!   Hmmm….. I think there is some accountability here and that is the one thing I will work on this week (as I continue to do my three things instead of eating that stress).  One thing at a time.  One change at a time.  One step at a time. 

Doing something different will get me where I want to go!