Getting Started Is the Hardest Part

Yes, getting started is the hardest part of any battle. Fortunately, I did not have to start this battle alone. My journey of one has now turned into a journey of four. We are the Fantastic Four! I am leading the group, leading helps me dig in and be totally focused because I know they are counting on me (find what works for you), and we have been using this week to get used to documenting our intake of food, drinking more water, getting our mind sharp and ready for battle, and identifying our food triggers.

We have set our schedule, and our weigh in day will be Monday mornings. We will be measuring two ways, 1-by scale (using the same scale, the same time of the day each time we weigh), and a snug fitting outfit. We will be documenting how that outfit FEELS on our body as we go. This is for those times when the scale may not show a decrease, but it’s obvious that there was a decrease. Some may use a measuring tape, but I just wanted to keep it simple. Not too much to have to keep up with.

The results so far this week have been good. I’ve seen several photos of meals taken at lunch or supper that were really great decisions. The goal of our plan is to try to make better decisions one at a time. We don’t want to over think anything. Just what is best for us and our body. We scheduled a cheat treat on Saturday this week and planned to eat light, no carbonated drinks and light salt on Sunday in preparation for weigh in.

We are hoping to have some good results. Because we all have at least 100 lbs to lose (each), I explained that no weight loss will not be seen as a negative. We will celebrate the loss of visceral fat from the inside and know that the scale will catch up eventually.

We are also tackling some nasty negative self-talk and emotional hangups. This will definitely be an ongoing battle. Fortunately, my BS is in Behavior Analysis, so I am prepared to help with plans to work through these obstacles.

We really appreciate your support, and hope you will be there for us tomorrow when we post our results. It’s a very vulnerable time, and we really need to know that we have the support of those who may be inspired by our journey. Please leave us comments to let us know you are reading and wishing the best for us.

Ding, ding, Weigh-in Day

Today is weigh-in day.

I lost 1.5 lbs this week.

New BMI 57.3.

My new weight is 313.1.

My goal was to lose 2 lbs per week, so I have 2.4 lbs to lose for next week to be on goal. I am not going to obsess over that. I will continue doing what I am doing because apparently, I am doing something right.

Ding, Ding…Weigh-in Day

There will be two posts today. This weight reveal and the earlier post. Please be sure to read it. It is a very informative post that could change your life. I believe it is going to change mine.

The exact weight that I started with was

316.8               BMI 58

After my Wii weigh-in this morning, my weight is

314.6               BMI 57.5

A LOSS OF 2.2 LBS! (I hear Kermit the Frog shouting “YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY”).

Since the creation of this blog, I have been gathering information. I have started making small changes. No big changes have been made yet. Just with the very small changes, I have lost 2.2 lbs. The changes made so far have been writing daily blog posts, following a group of those like me on FB who have 100+ pounds to lose, reading or watching lots of research on better eating, and that’s about it.

I would say that I have made changes in my eating, but really, I haven’t made any significant changes yet except to be more mindful of what I am eating. I will start this week making changes in that area.

Hungry for Change

To say I am hungry for change is an understatement. I have been hungry for change for a long time. Change isn’t always easy though, especially when it will mean changing behaviors that have become bad habits over the course of time.

Habits such as:

Not eating breakfast

Not drinking enough water (or not drinking much of anything)

Eating mindlessly

Not following a schedule for eating

Not planning meals which results in last minute fast food pickups

Not saying “No” enough

Thinking about exercise but never doing it.

Eating while watching television or while otherwise distracted (which causes mindless eating)

This is the type of thing that could potentially derail me. I see this list, and I know that each of these behaviors should be addressed. I am bad to attempt to tackle a number of them at once. I can’t do that. I need to push away from this article and look at the list targeting the one behavior that would have the greatest impact and work on it first.

In looking over the list, I think that meal planning would probably yield the greatest results. If I plan my meals, then I would most likely follow a schedule, eat breakfast, drink water, and not eat out. Is that cheating? Is that choosing one that impacts many and in impacting many will that be too much change at once? What do you think?

I watched a WONDERFUL video on Hulu.com (I think, or Netflix) called “Hungry for Change.” The video is about three overweight guys (some who you’ve seen in other videos like the guy who juiced for 90 days in Fat, Tired and Nearly Dead), who had each (through different means) taken control of their health without pills and gimmicks. They joined forces to gather research on becoming healthy without having to buy anything different than you would grocery shopping. THIS IS WHY I LOVED THIS FILM. They weren’t trying to sell you anything. No lapband infommercial. Although they discuss juicing, it wasn’t like a juicer commercial.

The moral of their film is to make changes slowly. Even in changing your eating. I loved what one of them said. He said something to the effect of, “Don’t go through your house and throw everything away and go buy up the store in healthy foods. Just start adding healthy foods to what you are eating now. When you go shopping again, start making healthier choices. Don’t try to do it all at once. Your body will begin to crave more and more change, and when it does, give it the healthy options that it’s craving.” It was THE MOST REASONABLE way to look at a healthy eating plan.

Today, I added sweet peppers as a snack and were they good!! I love sweet peppers. We had pizza today, but instead of our typical all the way, we choose an awesome veggie pizza with lots of peppers. It was SO DELICIOUS! Warning, they are a bit watery that way because of the water from the veggies, so they tend to be a little messier.

Are you hungry for change? Do you think you can start adding healthy items to your eating now to make changes slowly? I think it could work for me if I keep my mind on the prize.