Jenn's Losing It

Feedback from family and friends can make or break you. Support carries far, but sometimes the non-support takes up residence in your brain (squashing down that support you do receive). My closest friends are always supportive. They’ve tailored meals served at an event for me, they continuously cheer me on while I struggle my way through this weight loss journey and don’t let me give up. But Family, oh family. Those folks can be the most challenging. Most of the time the people in my house are supportive. They eat the meals I cook for myself so I don’t have to cook multiple meals. They know that Friday’s and Saturday’s I am super strict with myself. However sometimes my family that doesn’t live here, they dismiss my efforts. The best example and why it’s so fresh is a dinner with my parents this weekend. They really just don’t understand my weight loss struggle. They don’t understand why I can’t lose the weight quicker and keep it off. Why I can’t stop overindulging in fo...

What keeps you going?  Knowing your motivation for losing weight can help you reach your goals. For most people it is more than just a number.  It's about a positive intention-what do you intend to do?  How do you intend to live?  to find your why, dig deep, to the heart of your motivation.  The more specific you are about your why, the more powerful it is!  Find pictures of what your why looks like and make a vison board or paste them to a board and keep them in your office.  Make a screensaver for your phone with a collage of all the photos that represent your why! Weight Watcher's Weekly helps us, by asking some important questions to help us find our 'why": 1. Answer quickly - WHY DO YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT? 2. Go into detail - WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE TO YOU? WHAT COULD BE DIFFERENT? 3. Now make it yours! Answer again - WHY DO YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT? Here's my "WHY"..... Almost seven years ago I began this journey and hit my Lifetime ...

Boost your everyday joy - it can help you live healthier and lose weight.   Let's face it when we're happy everyday tasks seem easier, the day seems brighter, our loved ones seem awesome, all is right with the world, right? It gets better! Happiness not only affects how we feel but what we do, who knew right?! Studies have shown that Happy people make better choices overall. That means better food choices and getting out there to move more. You have more energy. You engage socially. You are more likely to perform more "good for you actions", like eating more nutritious food and getting more rest-because of more activity! "Happy is as Happy does". Although half of our tendency towards happiness is genetic, another 10% from our environment and the remaining 40% is determined by what we do. You can choose to do things that make you happy. Small things can make a big difference. Even taking a moment to take in that sunrise or sunset whi...

Knowing the truth about common beliefs can help you succeed. Weight loss myths, everyone's heard them, everyone's tried a few and some of us truly believe a few are true!  I know I've fell into some of the weight loss myths myself and the fallout is usually not pretty. They've been around since the beginning of people working to lose weight. These myths "masquerade as truths". "Some of them are passed through generations such as don't eat after 8pm while others linger on from outdated science (fat free craze of the 80's). And still others offer that magic bullet that promises to shed those pounds effortlessly". "Believing and following myths can hold you back. And it's not always easy to separate fact from fiction. But remember the golden rule - if it sounds too good to be true it probably is." Here are some of the most common "tall tales" of weight loss and the "simple truth" behind them....

So I missed the last two week's Sunday Vibes because I was  in vacation mode. I'm back at it this week and I also need to get back to tracking again. I didn't track all vacation and although according to my home scale I stayed about the same, I still have goals to lose weight. In order to get back on track my plan for today is to meal plan for the upcoming week. Get back in the meeting room and also begin walking during the weekdays. I'm officially cleared to swim and lift over 10lbs as of September 1st. I hit the meeting room yesterday morning for the first time since August 6th and was up .8. I'm not stressing because I have a plan. I've also got some business goals for myself this fall. I'm dabbling with an Etsy shop for my crafts-such as the rock painting hobby I took up while on vacation and the jewelry stamping I've been making as personal gifts the last few months.  The shop is up and running with a handful of listings a...

Choose physical activity that you enjoy- It can help you succeed at weight loss! In the meeting room during the last week of July we talked about focusing on fun. Making your movement goals by doing things you enjoy rather than by doing what you think you should do. My leader gave a great example of how to have fun while earning fit points, she had us all stand up and we did the hokey pokey! It proved that just having fun or doing something silly still counts as earning activity points. We all traded stories about the last time we "had fun" or "played". For some it was gardening, furniture restoration or another hobby. For others like myself, it was doing things with our children. I gave the example of a family hike or walk and playing with James (my youngest) in the sprinkler. The Weight Watchers Weekly on this topic reminds you to "Move the way you love! Swapping an it's good for me mentality for an it feels good to me mentality...

So as I take a look back at my week, overall I had a good one. I ate when I was hungry and made mindful choices. I tracked each and everyday using both the Weight Watchers app and My Fitness Pal. What's kind of crazy is how on days that were out of sight for points on Weight Watchers weren't bad calorie/nutrient wise on My Fitness Pal. I haven't been drinking enough water. That I do know. I have a personal goal of 120oz per day and I've been averaging about half of that so I'd like to step it up on that end. Not eating sweets has been an intermittent problem for me over this past week. However I was able to satisfy the cravings with some mini marshmallows.  One thing I've noticed this week is I'm feeling a little down, emotionally. I've been recovering remarkably well from my gallbladder surgery and I am thankful for that. Right now I'm only taking Tylenol and Motrin as needed, which is rarely. I am able to move around fairly wel...

No matter what the scale says! Well then! What's funny to me is the timing of this post.  This was the meeting room topic at Weight Watchers for May 28-June 3, HOWEVER , I need this today!  I am taking this mornings weigh in to heart and I'm taking it hard.  I know that if I go back and have a good look at what went down last week with food I would be able to recognize it right away.  I've been hiding under the belief that you can run from the scale (working out, then validating your food) and I also know deep down that you cant do that. Last week I posted on my Facebook page a video of two friends reading their lists of horrible things they have said to themselves about their body and body image.  These friend then had to read each the lists out loud and direct them to each other.  It was hard to watch because I know how guilty I am of this.   We all know we are our own worst enemies when it comes to the way we perceive ourselves.  Some ...

Oh boy....My name is Jenn and I am an all or none thinker! So I missed this topic in the meeting room, but was able to pick up the weekly reader the following week. I am so glad I did because this hits home in a big way for me. I am notorious for this. I take this so seriously - this all or none thinking that not only will I discount a whole day, but if my "major screw-up" with food happens mid to end of week, I count out the entire week calling it a loss and chalk it up to a start over on Sunday.  I know, I know it's a horrible mindset and I am working on breaking it. The Weight Watchers Weekly on this topic reminds us that so many of our thoughts are automatic and that over time those automatic thoughts that don't help can turn into a thinking style that trips us up.  "All of none" is a common thinking style.  With "all or none" thinking it turns everything into good/bad, failure/success.  It's an unhelpful thinking style that doesn't...

"Overeating happens to all of us.   Here's how to bounce back when it happens." Overeating.  It happens to all of us, no one is immune.  Luckily so can recovery.  Use the overeating episode as a chance to learn why it happened and how to return to plan - not a failure.  One of the most important things that I can share is make sure you track the "episode".  Track the food, as horrible as it feels.  It helps you have something to look back at, something to learn from.  It also could also turn out to not as bad as you think.  "Journaling about what happened can help you avoid it next time". Here are some tips from the weekly magazine - Get rid of the problem food.   Throw it out.  Put it down the disposal.  Walk it to a neighbor.  Just remove it from your environment. Track it .  Treat this food as you do all meals and snacks. Track it and move on.You might be surprised that it adds up to fewer SmartPoin...

My biggest reflection from week nine is that I was over confident.  This is a rabbit hole I fall into quite often while trying to lose weight.  I have a really good week for weight loss like I did on week eight, then in a true self sabotaging action I get lax on my "food rules".  This week it was some Peeps Oreos on Sunday and Monday, extra biscuit (or 2) with dinner on Sunday, a box of mini Charleston Chews on Tuesday and a whole pint of frozen yogurt on Wednesday.  Thankfully my brain snapped back after that pint of froyo.  I stood in my kitchen and actually said out loud "WHAT IS YOUR DEAL?" The Oreos and biscuits were foods that were brought into the house by someone else, but I chose to eat them and I chose to not track them.  The other items I purposefully went out and purchased, I tracked them, but then tried to starve myself out to "make-up" for the points.  We all know that is the worst thing you can do to your body.  I know it's hor...

"Decluttering your spaces can help you feel more in control and less stressed, which can help you lose" At this weeks meeting we discussed how clutter in our everyday life can give us the excuse to slip up on our plan.  Sometimes when we have so much clutter we just don't know where to begin and how to solve it.  Some of it is physical clutter and some of it mental.  By changing the way we look at things it can change the "clutter" in our lives that are preventing us from getting healthier.  For instance - you need to do laundry and all your gym clothes are in there.  Instead of just blowing off the gym completely - switch your thinking and change your workout plan!  Go for a walk - no workout clothes required there.  You can do it on your lunch break.  

Yup. This morning was a let down. I really expected to see some sort of a loss. Any kind of loss. But I do recognize where I could make changes for this week.  1. Carbs. After doing my cleanse I learned that I am carb intolerant. Yet I continue to keep breads in my diet. My bloating was far less when I didn't eat any breads,pastas and crackers.  2. Dairy. I also learned dairy is a trigger for me. I've eaten quite a bit of those spreadable cheeses this past week.  3. Exercise. I've done some walking, even some jogging. But 2 good days doesn't cover a whole week. I set a 10k step goal for myself and only met it 3 out of 7 days.  This week I'll make some changes and see where it takes me.  1. Omitting the foods I mentioned above.  2. Making sure I hit those step goals each day.  3. Fighting the negative talk in my head is always a huge challenge.  4. Remembering to put myself first. I am more than a stay at home mom.  I set some self empowerment...

Well. Here I am in that nasty cycle of lose 3 gain 2 the next. Grrrr. It's so frustrating. But, I know I didn't drink enough water this week. I'm hoping that was some of my problem. I are more points this week and moved less. SO, I'll just keep working as hard as I can and not let this get me down. I'm going to try not to pity eat today. I'm very guilty of being a self saboteur.  Here's to a fresh start. Follow my daily food journal on Facebook or Instagram (#lilyboxing). 

                               Today is my FRESH START FRIDAY.  I'm hitting the reset button and starting from the ground floor. No excuses. I'm making time for me and taking charge of my health and nutrition. Here's my 30 day short term goal: 1. Track my food. Everyday. No skipping, no lying on portion sizes. Write it down.  2. Move. Even if it means taking a walk around the block before going into work in the morning and before heading home. Those are times I'm kid free!! 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes are a good start.  3. Drink more water.  Sounds fairly reasonable, but it's time to make time for me.  I'll be posting my food diary on Instagram #lilyboxing, if you want to check in on me. I'll cross post the really good ones onto the Facebook page.  I want to get back to where I feel good enough to start running again and boxing. I love both of those things. I felt a...