SH*T my Brain Says

Friday had all of the elements of an awesome day. The weather was perfect for a road trip to celebrate my daughter's 20th birthday.  Aforementioned daughter was already home from college and excited to spend time with me. (!)

I was in terrific spirits.  Until I hit a brain drain. 
 
what is wrong with me?
why do I even try?
I am gaining it all back
I can't do this
I don't deserve to buy any new clothes
Now I can't enjoy myself
Everyone but me knows the truth
I have been fat
I will be fat
fat
fat
FAT


I "weighed in" at weight watchers. It wasn't good news.

The number on the scale unleashed a barrage of flying monkeys.  My stinking thinking was relentless and unkind. It was as if we brought along a mean girl on our road trip.  She even said the "F** word."

After three and a half hours of straining to listen to my daughter over the voices in my head, the hotel receptionist handed us two steaming hot chocolate chip cookies. 

"Stupid cookie" I said and ate it quickly before I could change my mind.

The stupid cookie wasn't even good.

This week I am planning to "move more, eat healthy" as per my weight watcher leader and equally important "silence the stinking thinking."
  
What triggers your inner mean girl?

How to Win at Losing (Part 1)

In 2013 "The Biggest Loser" television show has committed to raise awareness about childhood obesity.  According to the Center for Disease Control more than one third of all adults 17% (12.5 million!) children aged 2-19 are obese in the United States. This statistic does not include overweight children and teens. In fact, physicians are raising the concern that this generation of young people may be outlived by their parents.  If you have never watched "The Biggest Loser" in the past, consider watching at least one episode this season. In addition to the typical antics of making adult contestants do unusual challenges to win a grand prize, they have included three overweight children and their families participating from home to become healthier.

So what does it take to "win" at losing weight?
If you've ever tried to lose weight you know the answer is complicatedly simple: eat less, move more.

Part One:  Changing your food lifestyle

According to 30 years of research, psychologist Dr. Leonard Epstein has concluded "it all starts with the family." Rather than focusing on what NOT to eat, the best interventions are educational and involve life style change.  In other words.  Kids don't do diets.  If you look closely at the research on adult obesity.  Parents don't do diets well either.

Lifestyle change involves an important shift away from "diet" mentality and embracing the concept of thinking "healthy."  Some healthy habits to start (or continue):

1. Parents need to educate themselves on good nutrition. Do a thorough google search to find a website where the information is delivered in a way that you can digest (ha!). Consider joining weight watchers or seeing a nutritionist if you or your family have special needs or if you prefer face to face information. 
2. It takes time to create a good refrigerator stocked with easy access to cut vegetables and fresh fruits.  But when it comes to kids: if you prepare it they will eat!  Okay, maybe not the first time . . .  or so.  Just don't give up!
3. Clear the clutter: Remove the alternative high sugar, high calorie foods.  Will your child be eager to eat over at their friends house for awhile?  Absolutely.  But ultimately your household will have more influence on your child's eating habits over the long term.
4. Remember you can't call something a "treat" if you eat it every day.  Reverse the pattern of what is eaten as a habit, and "treat" your family once in awhile with a special dessert.

The challenge in my weight watcher 360 meeting last week was to do a refrigerator make-over. We took before pictures to increase our awareness of what we were facing each time we opened the door.  Then we were encouraged to invest in some clear containers and "have fun" preparing fresh fruits and vegetables that would be easy access and pleasing to view when it was time to search for a snack.  Here is my before and after:

The carrots were always there- who knew?

Do you want to start winning at losing?
Commit to one small shift in your food lifestyle, either in thoughts or deeds, and share in the comments!

I think I will, I think I will, I think I will. . . .

Last friday I returned to Weight Watchers (WW).  Psychologically speaking it is not easy returning to a program.  I thought about it for two months before setting the date in my head that I would go back.   It was important that I properly psych myself up because it is a journey of a thousand steps (make that 10 thousand on Spiffy). 

In 2002 I made "Life Time."  This is the Biggest Loser equivalent in WW world.  It means essentially that I successfully completed the program.  I worked it-- and it worked.  I learned nutritional information that was new to me and I met some really nice people.  Slowly, over the next ten years I changed habits and some of the weight returned. It occured to me periodically to go back and relearn some things, but then I would have some success and think "I can do this on my own!"

So as my landmark birthday approached I made a deadline for myself.  I had a healthy goal weight in mind and decided that if I wasn't successful by my birthday I would go back to WW.  The first month I did a modified WW protocol.  I kept track of my food on index cards in my purse, watched my portions, and weighed in once a week.  Over four weeks I made jagged, irregular progress whereby I lost and gained the same 1.5 pounds.  I blamed my hormones (or lack thereof), genetics, metabolism, only recognizing my stinking thinking when I started blaming my height. Denial is a compelling process.

The second month I got serious.  I increased my work out intensity, ate more lettuce, and stopped eating by 8:00 every night.  I lost a total of 1/2 pounds and kept it off. 

I chose to celebrate this success as clear evidence that I needed help. 

But wait, before I returned to WW I explored a different system.  Without shaming or naming I will just say that the experience was enlightening.  Even though I was clearly struggling with putting my desire into action, my past weight loss journey made me more informed than the representative of this alternative program. In addition, she was unprepared for questions about preservatives in their food which was ridiculously expensive.  I was promised a call back--still waiting.  When I left the appointment we both knew we would not speak again. Like my Banana Republic jeans, we were not a good fit.

The next week  I finally returned to WW.  The group leader literally said "Welcome back!" People smiled.  I was allowed to readjust my goal weight to reflect my new age and weighed in on their private scale.  The group meeting was encouraging and energizing. After the meeting I got a small group instruction on the improvements that have been made in 10 years. 

I found out my scale at home is off by 4 lbs.-- HEAVIER!  Thats right, I lost 4 pounds just by joining up-- the learning continues.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can . . .

What action are you psyching up for in your life?