What a great day! Thanks to all those who supported Joyce and me through your contributions to the American Heart Association.
Our faces say it all - it was FUN!
For the record, we are approximately 105 pounds down in this picture!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Sister - New Picture Needed, STAT!
Dear Sister:
I would like to point out to our tiny viewing membership that
the picture over there ------------------------------------------------------->>>>>>
is NOT how we look today! Holy fat rolls, Batman! We need an updated picture!
For the record, folks, we have now lost a combined total of 103 pounds!
I would like to point out to our tiny viewing membership that
the picture over there ------------------------------------------------------->>>>>>
is NOT how we look today! Holy fat rolls, Batman! We need an updated picture!
For the record, folks, we have now lost a combined total of 103 pounds!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Overeaters Anonymous
So, after our weekly WW meeting, my sister suggested that we attend our local Overeaters Anonymous meeting. I said, “Sure”. I had actually offered it as a suggestion in the past, thinking that it might be helpful given that we both have the tendency (though not much anymore, really) towards compulsive/binge eating.
We went. I won’t return.
First, let me say that I am open to all new ideas and I am certain that OA is a life-saving tool for many, many people. I just don’t think that I am a fit for the program. It follows the twelve steps of recovery utilized by Alcoholics Anonymous. Just replace the word “Alcoholics” with “Overeaters”, and the word “Alcohol” with “Food”. The literature is the same.
The program has been in existence since the 60’s with great success, I’m sure. The members in attendance at that particular meeting were very passionate about the program, and some even said that it saved their lives. I believe that, and I am happy for them. Truly.
The program asks you to give control to “God” or some other “Higher Power”, which is quite difficult for me to do. I am Catholic. I believe in God, but this came off as really creepy to me and I don’t know why. I was not comfortable with this part of the program, and it is the whole gist of the program. I worked long and hard to trust in myself, and to trust that I will make wise food choices. It was not easy. I still struggle, but I have worked very hard to leave my old habits in the past. This may not be a popular opinion, but I believe that you have to be weak-minded to give complete control over any part of your life to anyone else, be they living, divine or otherwise. I understand that this can and does happen, that some people are truly powerless over food and they need this kind of peace in their lives. It’s just not for me. I find the ultimate peace in my own strengths. "Opiate of the masses" springs to mind at this moment...
Now, back to the meeting experience. There is light “praying” that goes on as well. People grabbed my hands for this bit and that put me off. I’m not antisocial by any stretch of the word, but I was not prepared for the level of personal contact at the meeting. I just met these people, after all. My advice? Give the newbie a chance to learn the program before you invite her to the sacrifice.
There is the whole matter of a sponsor as well. You are asked to choose a sponsor that you will call, and who will call you, to check in with regarding your food plan for the day and anything else that may enter your mind that you wish to share. Again, I keep track of my food with Weight Watchers, so there are similarities, but I am not one to share personal matters with a total stranger. I need a minute (or two), for crying out loud!
It was said more than once that most new people never return after the first meeting. I could help them with that issue. The whole experience is very different and personal, and it would be helpful if the new folks were greeted at something other than a usual meeting. They should schedule special meetings for “newcomers” to explain how things work, instead of scaring the bejesus out of them on the first day. You couldn’t get me out of that room fast enough, and when I finally did leave, I felt as though I had just been through something very naughty. I wanted to run and hide in my room under the covers. I couldn’t even look at my sister. I just ran for my car and skedaddled.
I called her later, of course, to discuss my feelings, and that gave me a chance to decompress and to think about what I had just been through. I came to the following conclusion.
I have made great strides with regard to my compulsive/binge eating habits, and I am well on my way to completely changing my bad behaviors. Listen, there will always be buffets, and they will always be evil, in my honest opinion. I realize now that the feeling of being stuffed after an enormous meal is very uncomfortable, downright painful, actually, and it makes me sick to my stomach. I like the way I look now. I’m “normal”. Not fat, not a model, not hideously disfigured. Just normal. I used to pray for normal and normal has found me. I trust in myself. I am who matters. If I let myself down, the healing begins with me once again. I forgive myself and move on. I will never give complete control over any part of my life to some "higher power".
I'm the one with the power. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.
We went. I won’t return.
First, let me say that I am open to all new ideas and I am certain that OA is a life-saving tool for many, many people. I just don’t think that I am a fit for the program. It follows the twelve steps of recovery utilized by Alcoholics Anonymous. Just replace the word “Alcoholics” with “Overeaters”, and the word “Alcohol” with “Food”. The literature is the same.
The program has been in existence since the 60’s with great success, I’m sure. The members in attendance at that particular meeting were very passionate about the program, and some even said that it saved their lives. I believe that, and I am happy for them. Truly.
The program asks you to give control to “God” or some other “Higher Power”, which is quite difficult for me to do. I am Catholic. I believe in God, but this came off as really creepy to me and I don’t know why. I was not comfortable with this part of the program, and it is the whole gist of the program. I worked long and hard to trust in myself, and to trust that I will make wise food choices. It was not easy. I still struggle, but I have worked very hard to leave my old habits in the past. This may not be a popular opinion, but I believe that you have to be weak-minded to give complete control over any part of your life to anyone else, be they living, divine or otherwise. I understand that this can and does happen, that some people are truly powerless over food and they need this kind of peace in their lives. It’s just not for me. I find the ultimate peace in my own strengths. "Opiate of the masses" springs to mind at this moment...
Now, back to the meeting experience. There is light “praying” that goes on as well. People grabbed my hands for this bit and that put me off. I’m not antisocial by any stretch of the word, but I was not prepared for the level of personal contact at the meeting. I just met these people, after all. My advice? Give the newbie a chance to learn the program before you invite her to the sacrifice.
There is the whole matter of a sponsor as well. You are asked to choose a sponsor that you will call, and who will call you, to check in with regarding your food plan for the day and anything else that may enter your mind that you wish to share. Again, I keep track of my food with Weight Watchers, so there are similarities, but I am not one to share personal matters with a total stranger. I need a minute (or two), for crying out loud!
It was said more than once that most new people never return after the first meeting. I could help them with that issue. The whole experience is very different and personal, and it would be helpful if the new folks were greeted at something other than a usual meeting. They should schedule special meetings for “newcomers” to explain how things work, instead of scaring the bejesus out of them on the first day. You couldn’t get me out of that room fast enough, and when I finally did leave, I felt as though I had just been through something very naughty. I wanted to run and hide in my room under the covers. I couldn’t even look at my sister. I just ran for my car and skedaddled.
I called her later, of course, to discuss my feelings, and that gave me a chance to decompress and to think about what I had just been through. I came to the following conclusion.
I have made great strides with regard to my compulsive/binge eating habits, and I am well on my way to completely changing my bad behaviors. Listen, there will always be buffets, and they will always be evil, in my honest opinion. I realize now that the feeling of being stuffed after an enormous meal is very uncomfortable, downright painful, actually, and it makes me sick to my stomach. I like the way I look now. I’m “normal”. Not fat, not a model, not hideously disfigured. Just normal. I used to pray for normal and normal has found me. I trust in myself. I am who matters. If I let myself down, the healing begins with me once again. I forgive myself and move on. I will never give complete control over any part of my life to some "higher power".
I'm the one with the power. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.
Salmon, Chocolate and "The Crag"
The scale was very good to me this week – I lost 4.6 pounds! Wow!
I celebrated my 18th wedding anniversary on September 16, 2007 at Davinci’s Eatery, and the food was delicious. My sister described the lovely salmon we ate as “heaven on a plank of cedar”, and it was just that – heaven. In fact, I raced to the market the next day to purchase food-grade planks of cedar, salmon, capers, lemons, etc. I’m sure I will never prepare the fish in the same, delicate way, but I don’t care. I loved the taste!
Of course, I had a points-sucking piece of dessert as well. Some kind of chocolate peanut butter concoction that was sure to foil whatever hopes I had at the scale this week, but it didn’t. I counted the points and moved on. It was good, but I didn’t need the entire dessert. It was way too filling for my now smaller-sized stomach.
I did some quality exercise this past week, to include a 2-hour hike with my sister at Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary. This place is a natural gem in the middle of our busy city. We were wringing wet with sweat in no time, and I loved every minute of our hike. I should note that the hills are much easier to climb when I have my darling dog, Ginger, hauling my ass up via leash tow. I did not take Ginger with me for that very reason. I needed to face the ‘crag’ on my own, and I did just that!
I also learned that I am much more active now, and my body needs FUEL in order to LOSE weight. Weird concept, I know, because this confirms that all of these starving models are wicked stupid. Yes, if they ate more perhaps they wouldn’t look so bloody pinch-faced all the time. No food makes for a pissy girl, I always say.
I had salmon and chocolate therefore I am smart. Oh, and smaller.
I’m a hangnail away from 45 pounds lost at this point (44.4), and I have 12 pounds left to lose to reach my goal of a healthy body mass index (BMI). The Promised Land is in sight.
I celebrated my 18th wedding anniversary on September 16, 2007 at Davinci’s Eatery, and the food was delicious. My sister described the lovely salmon we ate as “heaven on a plank of cedar”, and it was just that – heaven. In fact, I raced to the market the next day to purchase food-grade planks of cedar, salmon, capers, lemons, etc. I’m sure I will never prepare the fish in the same, delicate way, but I don’t care. I loved the taste!
Of course, I had a points-sucking piece of dessert as well. Some kind of chocolate peanut butter concoction that was sure to foil whatever hopes I had at the scale this week, but it didn’t. I counted the points and moved on. It was good, but I didn’t need the entire dessert. It was way too filling for my now smaller-sized stomach.
I did some quality exercise this past week, to include a 2-hour hike with my sister at Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary. This place is a natural gem in the middle of our busy city. We were wringing wet with sweat in no time, and I loved every minute of our hike. I should note that the hills are much easier to climb when I have my darling dog, Ginger, hauling my ass up via leash tow. I did not take Ginger with me for that very reason. I needed to face the ‘crag’ on my own, and I did just that!
I also learned that I am much more active now, and my body needs FUEL in order to LOSE weight. Weird concept, I know, because this confirms that all of these starving models are wicked stupid. Yes, if they ate more perhaps they wouldn’t look so bloody pinch-faced all the time. No food makes for a pissy girl, I always say.
I had salmon and chocolate therefore I am smart. Oh, and smaller.
I’m a hangnail away from 45 pounds lost at this point (44.4), and I have 12 pounds left to lose to reach my goal of a healthy body mass index (BMI). The Promised Land is in sight.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Scale Hoppin'
In the wonderful world of Weight Watchers, "scale hopping" is the term used to describe the action of weighing yourself at times other than your normal, weekly weigh in.
I am a big fan of this practice.
It is said that, when you reach your goal, you should weigh yourself each day so that you have firm control of your weight. Let’s face it – a week of bad eating will have a bigger effect than only a day. If the pants are starting to snug up and strangle your midsection, you should knock of the bratwurst for a bit, and do so immediately. I believe that we should all live our daily lives as though we are already at goal, so I weigh myself frequently.
Anyway, I “scale hopped” this morning and found that I had wooshed off some serious weight, about 5 pounds or so. Stand by….
YES, OOOOOHHHH, YES! YES! YES! (BANGS TABLE) YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!
Sorry, that had to be done. It’s been quite some time since I’ve lost any kind of notable weight, and I’m so bloody happy that my body is finally cooperating. Well, it could be that I am finally cooperating, but let’s not dwell on the negative.
I have two days left before weigh in and you can be sure that I will be working out like a muscle-bound freak on ‘roids. I so want to be done with the 170’s. I so want to be within 10 pounds of my goal weight. I so want to be at GOAL!!!
I am a big fan of this practice.
It is said that, when you reach your goal, you should weigh yourself each day so that you have firm control of your weight. Let’s face it – a week of bad eating will have a bigger effect than only a day. If the pants are starting to snug up and strangle your midsection, you should knock of the bratwurst for a bit, and do so immediately. I believe that we should all live our daily lives as though we are already at goal, so I weigh myself frequently.
Anyway, I “scale hopped” this morning and found that I had wooshed off some serious weight, about 5 pounds or so. Stand by….
YES, OOOOOHHHH, YES! YES! YES! (BANGS TABLE) YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!
Sorry, that had to be done. It’s been quite some time since I’ve lost any kind of notable weight, and I’m so bloody happy that my body is finally cooperating. Well, it could be that I am finally cooperating, but let’s not dwell on the negative.
I have two days left before weigh in and you can be sure that I will be working out like a muscle-bound freak on ‘roids. I so want to be done with the 170’s. I so want to be within 10 pounds of my goal weight. I so want to be at GOAL!!!
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