Day 1

Well...hmmm...I did work out(burning 500+ calories according to my heart rate monitor) and I got in about 4 glasses of water. However...snacking was in full steam. I reviewed my food journal and I took in 1526 calories (326 more than my goal...see where the snacking got me?). I'm pretty stressed. We still do not have a tenant for our rental place and of course it's the first of the month and the mortgage is due. It's no small sum either. It was on my mind all day and rather than journal about it or do a distracting activity...I ate a snack bag of pretzels and 2 sugar cookies. Somehow that didn't solve my issues with the money though. Anyways...acknowledgment is the first step right? So...dusting myself. Going to the gym this am, drinking my water, trying not to snack . I went through my workbook for day 1 and 2, creating an environment for success and committing to the diet plan. Also I made out a list of reasons why I want to lose weight. Dr. B. recommends that you do that and make several copies and post them all over...when you feel like slacking off you take out the list and it should remind you of your goals. Also...meal planning. She recommends you plan out the night before what you're going to eat for the next day. That seems counterintuitive to me since it entails me to constantly think, think, think about food...but I guess it's the not thinking that got me where I'm at, right?

Me and Dr. Beck

People eat for various reasons and I know that some people are lucky enough to have a naturally thin genetic makeup. As you may have guessed, I'm not one of those people. I've been on many, many diets before. But, I've come to realize that losing isn't really the issue. I can lose weight without too much difficulty. It's the maintaining I have trouble with...it's making lasting changes and not picking up old habits. I realize that it's my mind and my way of the thinking that I need to change more than anything. After a bit of research and a recommendation from a friend I've picked up the following book and the companion workbook, The Beck Diet Solution. How this differs I think is that it's a cognitive approach to weight loss. It's a way to retrain my brain using the psychological approach of cognitive therapy. I'm in...I mean I've tried every other approach and when it comes down to it most of the reasons I eat have nothing to do with real physical hunger...it really is all in my head.
So, I'm starting this 6 week plan to train my brain to think like a thin person. At least that's what she says will happen. I've read the first 4 chapters in my workbook and I'm ready to begin. Unlike other books she doesn't have you jump right in. You spend the first two weeks mentally preparing yourself to make lifestyle changes. In the first week I will be working on creating a foundation for success. She has the week divided into daily task. She does say that you can go as fast or as slow as you need to...but you also need to complete each task. So today I'll be reviewing why I want to change my diet and lifestyle and committing to a diet plan. For me my eating plan came from the nutritionist I saw this summer. For others you might want to do a commercial plan such as Atkins or Weight Watchers, whatever works for you. Okay...so I'm off. I'm going to gym to do a spin class this morning and I will be sure to drink my water and journal my intake and activity. Let's get started!

A new year...a new blog

So, for Christmas I got the wii fit and it got me to thinking about a few things. Namely my struggle with my weight. I didn't grow up overweight, but I became so in my late 20's and lived that way for a decade. I didn't realize it for a long time and it honestly kind of snuck up on me. I'm not going to lie, I love food and I think eating is one of the greatest pleasures in life. But...food was killing me and I definitely don't want to die from an obesity related illness. So about 18 mos ago I started to make some real changes. I was going to be forty and I wanted to live to see my kids grow up. I realized for me that obesity is a disease. A disease that I have to manage like any other disease for the rest of my life. I probably will never be cured. I will always need to be aware of what I eat, why I eat, when I eat and how I eat...forever and for the rest of my life. I will always need to exercise to help me manage my weight and eating. So, as I was thinking, I thought I would give myself a gift. I'm giving myself the gift of time to take care of my health. I will take time each and everyday to promote my health and well being. I'm also issuing myself a challenge for 2009. A challenge to adopt a healthier and consistent lifestyle. I say consistent because I will go along really well for awhile and then something will happen and I will drop off on some important area. I'm very good about exercising at least three times a week, but I've been awful about keeping a food journal and drinking enough water. I've plateaued with my weight loss for the last three months and I suspect that keeping a food journal will have me pinpoint some areas I need to work on and get a better handle on things. So, what's my plan you ask?
1. Exercise a minimum of five times a week.
2. Eat five servings of vegetables/fruits a day
3. Drink eight 8oz. glasses of water daily
4. Give up something that's preventing loss...for me there are 2 items I know are not good. Occasional fast food & sweets. I'm going to start with giving up fast food and begin eliminating the sweets until they are no longer a part of my diet.
5. Stop eating 2 hours before bedtime.
6. Keep a food & activity journal daily. This can be paper, daily plate or sparkspeople.
7. Work on Dr. Beck's workbook, doing one step each week for the 6 weeks.
8. Maintain a calorie intake of 1200 calories/day
Here's how I think that will break down
Breakfast -200
snack-100
Lunch-300
dinner-500
snack-100
I can eat back 25% of calories burned from exercising.