Changing my stress response

I'm not hungry... just bored!

One of the biggest challenges any overweight person must face is how to deal with stress. We all have stress; it's hardly a unique trait. How we respond to it, however, can make or break your journey to healthy living.

What I used to do was sneak around and eat. I'd make a trip to Burger King for the family, and eat an extra biscuit on the way home, and throw the wrapper in the trash on the way in. Or I'd sneak off to Waffle House for a 1200 calorie meal.

I'd throw myself into a double helping of spaghetti, or constantly stand in front of the refrigerator, desperately seeking something to take my mind off the stress. I like to think I'm a laid back person, but really what I am is a person who has trained herself to pretend there is no problem.

So over the last year or so, I've been trying to  adjust my stress response.  Instead of heading to the kitchen when I'm bored, I'll open a game of Bejeweled. If the tension in the house is too much, I'll try and go for a walk, instead.

If I DO turn to boredom or stress eating, I'm trying to make healthier choices, instead of just simple, heavy carbs. I haven't willingly eaten a chip in over a month. They just don't interest me anymore.

If I catch myself having trouble resisting a particularly tasty treat, I make less of it, or not have it so often. (I'm looking at you, tiny tasty ham sandwiches.)

Over time, this has added up to big changes.

This week, I resolved to STOP my late night snacking. That was what was sabotaging my efforts. I'd do so well all day, but then my husband would break out his crackers and cheese, or he'd make something I love, and bam, nom nom nom over my calorie range.

But the last two days, I've stopped doing that. If I DO have a snack, it's a very small one, like a slice of cheese or a string cheese stick. (What? I like cheese.)

But more importantly, when I do snack during the day, or make a meal, I've been trying to be healthier. That turkey stroganoff I made last night was just as good as my usual, but half the calories... just by substituting the meat.

I'm slowly trying to change my way of thinking. The last three weeks have been one of the most  hellishly stressful I've experienced in a very long time, but I have NOT turned to food for solace. Not only have I not gained weight like I usually do, I've lost.

The first time my husband was hospitalized,  I spend the time I had alone going to restaurants, dining on fried cheese sticks, wings, anything to make me feel better.

I don't know when that shift happened, but I like it.

I like it a lot.

Oh, and that 187 came back this morning. If it's still there tomorrow, I'm counting it, baby.

Photo courtesy of Buzzfarmers

Head Games...

Head games, it's you and me baby 
Head games, and I can't take it anymore 
Head games, I don't wanna play the... 
Head games 


Yeah, so I have Foreigner in my head this morning.

I'm psyching myself out again. I've been on this plateau for so long (okay, it's not a plateau, it's maintenance, be honest with yourself, Heather!) that an actual loss doesn't feel real.

So I lost a pound last week, and recorded it on my official weigh in day. 190.6

Well, only four days later, I'm reading 187.

Wait... what?

Okay, I know all the mantras... fluid loss, takes time, don't weigh every day, yadda yadda. I'm not the sort to be married to the scale, but I've had a hard time with sodium lately, so I'm using the scale as sort of a sodium reaction meter.

I've been very inactive; I've been to the gym once, and I have thrown in a little weight lifting here and there with my husband at home, we're talking less than 10 minutes, with some squats and bicep curls just to keep moving.

I'm going to assume this is a fluid loss, since I've been maintaining for months so it's a little like starting out anew.

I still don't trust it, though. I don't want to record it, and then have to change it when I hit another spike.

So I'll continue to monitor this, and if it averages out all week... I'll count it.

But man, I hate these head games. ;)

I will report that my anniversary dinner went well last night. I chose a 9 oz filet mignon (OMG GOOD), broccoli, a smidge of pasta, and a side of oysters. I stayed more or less in my calorie range! Even with snacks, I didn't go over. Well, not by much. Usually I OD on special occasions, with gleeful abandon.

Now, my real weight loss happened in my wallet. Maybe that 3 lb loss is actually the loss of a $100 meal from my pocket. ;) Ah well, it was worth it.

Photo courtesy of Calgary Reviews

My new goals, and my latest successes

This has been an incredible week. I've really been motivated, and I've been absolutely successful at meeting my nutrition goals. My Sparkpeople Nutrition Tracker helps me track my calories, and I've been sticking with the program. I've been working out regularly, and have started a 10 minute fitness challenge. Not for during the week, really, because I have no real trouble getting to the gym anymore (except when my daughter's not in school, but that's another blog post entirely) and I work my ass off in those classes. The 10 minute fitness challenge is for the weekends, because I tend to sit on my butt all weekend in front of the computer. So my goal is to consistently get a minimum of 10 minutes of activity a day... no exceptions. Even on the weekends!

Saturday was fantastic. My whole family got up and went out in the street to play! The girls rode their scooters, my husband bought a new skateboard, and I walked the dog! It was just plain fun.

I ate well (which is a major accomplishment) and did so without denial. I even pigged out on grilled ribs.

Last night was a real dietary accomplishment. My family adores Old El Paso enchiladas. You can get a dinner kit, and they eat the heck out of them. Problem is... they're TERRIBLE. 1 serving is almost 400 calories, and that's without all the extras I like, sour cream, extra cheese, etc.

Well, I got to looking, and realized a LOT of the calorie oomph is from the flour tortillas. If I dump those... that cuts the count in HALF.

Holy cow.

So I made up a recipe here on sparkrecipes (here, if you're interested) and realized that with this, a serving is under 200 calories! That INCLUDES my cheese! This also means I can add other toppings like sour cream and olives guilt-free.

To top it all off, the real icing on the cake, today I weighed in... and I've lost THREE POUNDS. I've gone from 196.4 to 193.6. That is phenomenal! I'm so proud of myself, especially after my recent 8 lb setback. I hit 190, then ballooned back up to 198 because I got lazy. I'm so proud of myself. The best part of all of this is I'm making a lifestyle change. I'm changing how I think of food. Yesterday I got a vanilla coke from the fridge for my daily caffeine fix. I drank half of the can, and just plain decided I wanted water more. IT didn't taste right, and I was craving water. Today, I did it again.. only this time, I grabbed the coke, wrinkled my nose at it, and put it BACK in the fridge... I've been drinking water since.

I can't believe it. It's really, truly happening.

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

The truth is... there is no ugly in this post. There's not even that much bad!

Over the holidays, I totally failed at my fitness goals. I went to the gym once, didn't exercise at home, and frankly, the only thing I did to exercise was I walked with my nieces for a couple of miles over Christmas.

Still though... I watched what I ate, made a lot of healthy choices, and only had two "naughty" days of eating... out of two weeks! I'm very proud of that. And those naughty days were totally earned. I had a trip to Outback Steakhouse, and one Waffle House morning breakfast that I allow myself to enjoy occasionally. AT least I don't go three or four times a week like I was doing!

I got a new digital scale at home for Christmas, so I've been using that... it seems to match up closely with the one at the gym. So I did what I haven't been able to... I weighed myself for real, naked. See, at the gym, I have to stand outside of the locker room fully clothed to weigh myself. So Monday, I got on my home scale when I woke up, stripped down, and decided to see what I REALLY weigh.

190.

ONE HUNDRED NINETY POUNDS. I even weighed myself again after zeroing the scale to make sure.

That means I've lost over 20 lbs.

That makes me SOO, so happy. And I had my very first comment Sunday morning about losing weight. The nursery lady asked me if I'd lost weight, and I was able to finally smile and say yes!

That is a good, good feeling!

OUCH my hamstrings

I've been taking a lot of classes at the gym, and I'm loving it so much. I'm not losing tons of weight like I was at the beginning;I've plateaued a bit. I'm losing about a lb a week, though, although this week I gained half a pound in spite of my best efforts.

My running training is way off... I took up a couple of new aerobics classes -one known only as "Heart Pumpin'". What she should call the stupid thing is "Heart Explodin"

It's left me too sort to run. I don't mind. :) I'm getting a great workout, and I figure I'll start running when I get used to this level of exercise. I am working on an informal interval training thing when the other classes don't leave me so wiped out I can't function. Last week's was so bad Monday that after Monday's THIRTY MINUTE session, I didn't walk right until Thursday. It hurts So good. This trainer really knows what she's doing, and she knows what I can do... and she makes me DO it. I love it.

The only thing I don't like is when we go outside and it's cold. Getting your heartrate up that high in the cold HURTS your lungs.

Right now, after her class, my hamstrings and my butt hurts. I think abs might have given me some soreness, too. I picked up another great class Friday by another trainer. This one's for an hour, and it's a whole-body workout, including weight training and aerobics, core and everything. I love it! it's only once a week, though. Most of the whole-body stuff is in the evenings, and it's just so hard for me to get to the gym in the evenings, plus it's more crowded.

so even though I gained a half pound, this week, I still feel great. Noticed during a staff meeting last week that my neck looks thinner. I haven't measured anything since my first month back; I need to do that!

Weekly Weigh-in

I dropped another 3.4 lbs this week! That's probably a little faster than is strictly necessary, but I'm overweight enough that I feel comfortable with it. It's not like I'm dropping 10 lbs in a week. ;)

So I'm down to 204.6. That's just... awesome. The gym membership is really paying off. I've been seriously watching my caloric intake, which is keeping me from losing progress to inactivity.

I did an ab class today, a half hour and man, she's good. I have trouble doing some of the exercises, mostly because she's got a narrow little trainer's behind, and mine is... not. It's a good bit larger. ;) So my hips often scream at the stress. I worked up a GOOD sweat today. Walked for 37 minutes (30 minutes on the 5k your way plan, then a 7 minute cooldown walk after the ab class. I'm planning on going to the kickboxing class tomorrow night.

I feel so good right now. I really am seeing measurable results, and that's just awesome.

My nemesis: The scale

My first weigh-in at the gym was... not what I wanted to do. I walked in, stared at the scale, and walked right by into the bathroom. After that, I took a deep breath, stepped up, flicked the little doohickeys around and found:

I've lost 3 lbs!

Progress! Real, measurable progress. We won't even talk about non-measurable ones. I have more energy, am breathing better, and just plain feel better about myself. My mental health has improved, too. Having that time in the morning to myself is helping, a lot.

So YAY ME!

I also walked 1.75 miles this morning in my 5k Walking plan. I didn't do an incline today, and I probably won't do any cross training; while walking around in Atlanta during Dragon*Con Saturday, not only did I clock 6 miles of nonstop walking (up hills, stairs, etc), I turned my ankle a bit on a curb.

I don't want to risk a serious injury, so I'm taking is semi-easy. I'm not skipping any workouts, but I'm being careful not to hurt myself.