DO YOURSELF A FAVOR

Just visit this site...I love the Pioneer Woman...I love her Marlboro Man...and her kids who suffer from Low Blood Sugar Crabby Pants Disorder! No, she doesn't diet...or knit...her blog just makes me smile and appreciate my own family.

HOW OUR HOBBIES HELP OUR WEIGHT LOSS

In a comment to Noelle the other day, I noted that I've moved my knitting to a new site on Blogger and am also copying this blog there, as well, to make it easier for my Blogger friends. I had some ideas for my knitting that would have taken up too much space on this site and frankly, I recognize that not everyone is into my latest creations and are visiting this blog for whatever inspiration I may be able to give for losing weight and keeping it off for a lifetime.

I have no problem with not mentioning weight loss when I'm working on my knitting blog, but it is impossible for me not to incorporate some knitting references into this one...I am a knitter. It is such a huge part of my life that not mentioning it would be like ignoring the fact that I have a family. And I think a lot of people feel that way about their hobbies...Hubby certainly does about his fishing. Anyone who knows him for more than a few moments will know that he is a grandpa and a fisherman.

The truth is that I have learned a lot about how to deal with life while knitting...or, perhaps, my knitting just reflects how I deal with life. And they both are reflected in how I deal with weight loss.

• You must have guidelines, but they are only that and those guidelines will and should be adjusted as necessary in order for your finished product to "fit" you. I follow this rule in my knitting as well as my weight loss program. Following a pattern rigidly may produce a beautiful sweater that would fit someone...but not you. A great weight loss program is one that can be adjusted to fit your likes and dislikes and your lifestyle...if it isn't, you will not feel comfortable enough with it to "wear" it for a long time. I remember, back in my 30's, I joined a weight loss group with rigid guidelines for eating only three meals a day...nothing in between...no products with white flour or sugar...and limited portions. If you missed a permitted food such as your fruit at the meal, you were not permitted to eat it later or add it to the next meal. I lived with that "diet" for over a year and lost tons of weight. I suffered through spells of low blood sugar and honest to goodness hunger, but I did it. I went to visit my sister in New Jersey, home to pizza that is way good. We had traveled all day and arrived at dinner time. I wasn't worried about going for pizza because in Indiana pizza restaurants had salads, diet drinks, foods that I could play with enough to fit them into my limited food plan. This was not the case in this Mom and Pop operation. Pie on white crust...no salads...canned pop...no diets...no iced tea...no water. I had to sit there without even something to sip on while everyone else ate. I was miserable but tried my best not to show it...my family was miserable for me. I had a nice impromptu meal once we reached their house, but the visit was spoiled by our having to be alert to eating where Kathy could eat. I hated it. It wasn't long before I finally had to break the rules one day and then the whole experience went to pot. I regained the weight, immediately went back to my old eating style, and all that pain was for nothing. Never again.
• You must be patient when you knit. There are some speed knitters out there who are more than happy to rush through a project to get to the end. That has never been my style. I enjoy the process of knitting and seldom make myself rush to the end. I enjoy the ribbing and the decreases. I marvel at how short-rows will make the fabric cup. I also strive to enjoy the process of weight loss. I know I could cut back a little more and lose faster, but I enjoy my "treats" and they make my daily life so much more pleasant. Sometimes I actually forget that I'm supposed to be losing pounds on this plan. I love the food I eat...I love eating several times a day...I love the way I feel. I'm enjoying the process.
• Sometimes you make a mistake and have to rip out that part of the knitting. No matter how careful you are, you will sometimes make an error. Some people go on and leave them...I can't. I made my younger daughter Meg Swanson's Phoenix sweater about 10 years ago. It has hundreds of charted rows with different color yarns forming the phoenix across the back and front of the sweater. I can't remember how many times I ripped back hundreds of rows because the gauge wasn't working and then I would skip a row of the pattern or the like. It took weeks of careful knitting to create that sweater, but it is beautiful and one of her prized possessions. It was worth the effort and I am proud of the finished product. And just as there are no knitters who don't have to fix an error in their knitting on occasion, there are no dieters who don't have to step back and look at their work and inspect it for errors periodically. Weight loss blogs are full of introspection and examination of food plans...people looking at their journals to see where their food plan needs to be adjusted. People who indulged a little over the weekend who are ready to remedy that bump in the road on Monday and keep on doing what needs to be done to get healthy.
• I take pride in my knitting projects. I know that I have taken quality materials and lovingly turned them into beautiful and useful objects that can be used for years to come. Ditto with my weight loss project. I work very hard to plan my food, prepare it well, make it taste good, eat it according to my plan and then I can be proud of the healthier me that is a result of all that careful work.

QUARTERLY REPORT

Well, we can begin with numbers today...a change for me. I don't like dwelling on them, usually, but since I had my quarterly weigh-in at the doctor's office last evening, I'll play that game for a moment. Comparing apples to apples...doctor's numbers to doctor's numbers rather than what I weighed the last time I weighed at WW early morning with not a drop of water or food in me as compared to doctor visits when I go in late in the day having eaten normal meals...here goes. I lost 15 pounds in the past three months, a total of 27 since January, and a grand total of 69 since I began this journey. Yeah, me!!!

I know that would be an incredibly slow rate of loss for you young girls out there, but it suits me just fine. It is a gentle loss that my body and my mind can cope with and I'm happy for that. I'm hoping the slower changes will keep my body from sending out those"I'm starving...EAT...EAT...EAT signals that I've experienced in the past with more rapid loss. And I like the idea of looking in a mirror and recognizing the person looking back at me...believe me, it plays terrible tricks with your psyche when you don't know that person. I've been there and I never want to go there again. It happened to me back in my 30's when I lost a lot of weight in a very short time and was totally unprepared for how to handle it. I put that weight back on so fast it made my head swim, but I knew that heavier person...I could deal with her. That thinner chick...not so much.

There's a lot I still don't know about myself even though I've been around for awhile, but I have tucked away some useful information about what works for me and what doesn't. I've found that I'm much more comfortable as a walker than I am as a sprinter.

Oh...as well as losing 15 pounds...I've lost another point to play with every day. There goes that darn apple!

i calculate that i will be able to reach my personal goal of losing another 24 pounds this year...that makes me feel good.

AND NOW...A MOMENT OF SOLITUDE

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy long periods of solitude? After long weekends and vacations and sometimes even after a day of too much togetherness, I long for Monday to roll around...or Tuesday, as is the case today. Don't get me wrong...I love Hubby and love spending time with him, but we could not have more polar views of what should be on the television or even whether or not the television should be on. After many years of working in a noisy environment, Hubby has "ringing in the ears" to the point he really has a hard time with silence...he keeps a radio playing all night...so most any time he's sitting down, the television is on. And he goes from Sci-fi to the History Channel back to Sci-fi...and this past weekend, Turner Classics was celebrating what would have been John Wayne's 100th birthday and played John Wayne movies all weekend. So, except for Sunday afternoon when we overdosed on racing...my bad...we had wall-to-wall Jaws movies interspersed with John Wayne military and western movies. Even Hubby had to admit last night that he had seen enough of John Wayne for awhile!

So, Hubby is back to work today and the house is silent again...phew!

Things went well points-wise over the weekend. Gotta go to the doctor this afternoon for my quarterly check-up and will see if the scale is showing what my clothes are indicating...that I have continued to lose over the past three months.

So, today, it is back to my routine. Coffee and an Alternative bagel with peanut butter for breakfast. There are lots of vegetables cut up and ready to be tossed in salads and lots of fresh fruit to snack on. Our strawberries are ripening in greater numbers now...enough for us and some left over for the birds. I'm going to take a deep breath and recharge my batteries today...it's only four days until another weekend begins...oh, my!

1000 MILES LATER

Well...more or less...since the Indy 500 was rain-shortened...I am now down to the third day of the long weekend.

I live in Indianapolis...the west side...spittin' distance of Speedway where the Indy track lies. So, even if you are not an open-wheel race fan, you kinda get caught up in the "30 days in May" thing that envelopes the area every year. The newspapers are full of it...the local TV news begins and ends with it...so it's hard to escape. And rain befell the area yesterday. It delayed the race for awhile. We knew the opening ceremonies had begun when the jets flew over our deck so low you felt you could touch them. Then soon after they had reached the half way point the rain fell in buckets, leading a few people to think the race would be called. But three hours later, they started all over again and the rain finally ended it again about an hour later. Ashley Judd's husband won...I wouldn't even begin to try and spell his name.

In the meantime, the Coca Cola 600 was set to begin in Charlotte at about 5:30, so I left Hubby to finish the 500 on the deck...we have to listen to it on the radio here since it is blocked out...and I went in to watch "some real racing". My NASCAR boys can't do it without Mama Smith's coaching. Five and a half hours later...Casey Mears won his first Cup race, Kyle Petty finished in third place...the first time he's been in the top 10 in 10 years...and Vickers came in fifth...the highest any Toyota has finished. A great day of racing!

I used up every available point yesterday...something I seldom do...and it happened because I decided to leave the croutons on my salad at lunch. I was watching Hubby scarf down breadsticks and I figured I "deserved" a few croutons to go with my lettuce...you understand!

So, today we will grill out but it will be at our house so I'll have control of what goes into the food...always a plus. Have a great Memorial Day and watch those "I deserve" bites...they may come back to bite you.

DAY ONE OF LONG WEEKEND...SO FAR-SO GOOD

Well, day 1 of the long Memorial Day weekend is almost over and the eating is under control...I even have enough points left for one of my favorite desserts...a cup of strawberries, topped with a 2-point ice cream sandwich and 2 tablespoons of sugar-free Cool-Whip...as good as Dairy Queen any day.

We didn't have any big plans today so we drove out of town to visit a yarn shop I enjoy and hit a few yard sales as we came across them. Tonight, I plan to knit on the second of a pair of socks. It's worked in worsted weight yarn and goes really quickly...good mindless knitting after a good supper and a nice day...what could be finer?

Supper was a take on Spanish Rice that went something like this:

1 chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 cup frozen corn

1 packet Uncle Ben's Ready Rice-Garden Vegetable

1 cup tomato juice

1/2 packet of Taco seasoning

Brown the chicken in a non-stick skillet. Add the vegetables and stir until crisp-tender. Add remaining ingredients and cover. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until all flavors have had a chance to blend. Serves 4

NOTE TO SELF

Note to self...DANGER! WILL ROBINSON!...Slippery Slope Ahead...Lo.o.o.o.ng Weekend of Food Around the Bend...Bells clanging...Whistles blowing...Arms coming down across the track before the locomotive comes barreling by...Beware the long holiday weekend...they can be dangerous to your health!

Deep breath...in...out...let the panic slowly diminish...OK.

Don't we all feel that way before those holiday weekends with all that food history built into their very fiber? If we don't, we should. If you don't believe me, go back and look in the archives for just about every weight loss blog posting following the Easter weekend...convinced now that people with weight issues also have issues with holiday weekends.

First comes the break in routine which can be so dangerous. A lot of us are comfortable enough with our programs to skim by on a daily basis. We know which foods to keep handy and when to eat them. We can pretty much set our eating to auto-pilot and carry on. But throw in a change to that daily pattern and we are out there free-falling with no parachute. (Trains in the first paragraph...planes in this one...oh, yeah...it's Memorial Weekend here in Indy...can automobiles be far behind?)

Then, many of us are thrown together with friends and family that we may have "issues" with or even have great "eating" histories with...you know...Sis's great potato salad...Aunt Ethel's chocolate pie...Grandma's fried chicken. Oh, my!

And then there is the fact that some of the control for what we are presented to eat is taken out of our hands...you don't always know what will be on the menu when you are invited to a picnic or party. Throw in some alcoholic beverages, and you have one steep slippery-slope to steer clear of.

What will you be journaling on Tuesday morning? Will it be that you made it through because you planned ahead and had your coping skills on hand to assist you through the tough times? Was your food plan flexible enough to allow you to maneuver through the dangerous situations you faced? Were you able to take a deep breath and enjoy the other aspects of the weekend...family, tradition, country...and let your mind drift away from food for awhile? Or will you be doing the Alka-Seltzer "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!" commercial?

I want to wake up Tuesday and be proud of the choices I made over the weekend. I want to be at peace with myself. I want to be able to say my plan is so good and so personal that I can face any eating situation and come out on the other side a winner. Good luck to all of you...take some time to plan ahead...do it today, so Tuesday will be a good day.

AM I A WEIGHT WATCHER? NOT SO MUCH!

I posted a comment yesterday on a blog I read every day, that I had been on Weight Watchers since December of 2005, but once I had completed the post, I got to wondering if that statement was really very accurate. I’ve been dancing with WW and its ever-changing food plans since 1969. I remember joining soon after I became an RN and married Hubby. It was my introduction to the organization and the very restrictive diet that was in place at the time…fish 5 times a week…liver once…beef only once or twice…no flex…no mercy!!! I lasted probably two or three weeks.

I don’t know how many times I re-joined in the years between then and my current relationship with them, but it was frequently enough that I am familiar with all the various stages the food plan has gone through. And when I “joined” this time, back in December of ‘05, I did attend meetings faithfully for the first full year. The food plan made perfect sense to me…there was enough flexibility built into it to satisfy me for the long-haul…and I stored away a lot of very useful information. But those darn weigh-ins were just the death of me…I dreaded them whether or not I lost or not…I resented them because I knew it was WW’s way of getting a weekly sum of money from me…and I wanted to take the emphasis off that darn scale and put it where it belonged…on my eating habits and nutrition.

So, when I got back on the computer at the beginning of this year, I made the decision to join WW on-line and quit going to the meetings…and that has worked extremely well for me. The on-line community and the accessibility of recipes and tips have been a great resource. I’ve combined that with this blog, where I can journal about day-to-day concerns and victories, to give me the support I’ve needed to have a very successful year thus far.

But I suffer a little guilt when I refer to myself as a “Weight Watcher” because, deep-down, I don’t really think I am. I certainly could not be a spokesperson…I bend too many of their rules to suit myself. A more accurate statement might be that I have morphed the Weight Watcher point system into a plan that works for me. I think it was a great starting point and basis for what I do now.

I have my own set of “rules” and guidelines that I live by as well. For instance: last night we had a great stir-fry with a little rice and shrimp along with loads of vegetables and there was enough for a third portion which I will have for my lunch today. But last night, I enjoyed that dinner portion so much that I was sorely tempted to have seconds…but, I didn’t. That was a victory and it happened because I have made this rule for myself…if you are still “hungry” after you’ve eaten your alloted portion, you may have more to eat…but it must be another food…no seconds of what you’ve just eaten! I recognize that most of the times I’ve overeaten at a meal, it has been because I want to experience the taste of whatever food I’ve been eating for a longer time…I’m not hungry…I just want more of that tasty food. I never want another food…and by following this rule…the eating experience ends and so does the desire to keep eating.

I also practice the 20 minute rule…if I’m really thinking strongly about eating a particular food, I tell myself I can have it, but I have to wait 20 minutes and I must get up and go do something active during that 20 minutes. It works. Nine times out of ten, I can pass it up and I’m fine.

I think an eating plan has to be very personal to be effective for the long-haul and no organization is ready to sell a plan that is that individualized. The best we can hope for is to latch on to a set of guidelines that are based on a sound eating plan and then make them our own.

So am I a Weight Watcher…hmmm…probably not in the official sense. I don’t even know if I am a weight watcher since I don’t weigh except at the doctor’s office four times a year. I’m probably more of a “am I doing everything I can do today to eat better” watcher…trying to follow the plan I’ve created for myself and steering wide of those “slippery slopes”.