Thursday, February 18, 2010

We're losing it...together

I had to write a separate post as a follow-up to Weigh-In Wednesday because, well, I was just so thrilled and humbled that all of you (some new!) decided to join in with encouragement, support and your stories.

Den, I saw some recent pics of you (and then saw your current weight) and uhmmmm...I immediately thought to myself, "What is SHE doing here?" But as you pointed out and very rightfully so, it's about how you feel about you, not how others perceive you. It's about health and feeling and being "fit".

And I sooooooo get you about eating slower. My Dad grew up in a family of 15 and he literally had to fight for his food, wolfing it down so he could get seconds. You should SEE that man polish off a plate. If there was an Olympic sport in speed eating, he'd take home the Gold. I too, have inherited this from him and you just reminded me that I really need to watch the speed too. My Dad has actually been forced to slow down as he has developed a problem with his esophogus where he literally gets into these almost choking fits with food getting stuck. Undergoing tests right now for it.

I find social gatherings extremely challenging where sticking to a diet is concerned. For two reasons: 1. You feel so shitty if you don't touch what the host has so laboriously (sp?) prepared, especially in some of the old world countries where the hostess will literally stand by you and do everything but shovel it into your mouth 2. Food is always a reason for a celebration. Standing by the snack table with a glass of wine is the best place to make friends and eat and eat and eat...

Soooo...I am trying (again) to treat all social gatherings as an excuse to socialize. I will not wonder what's on the menu. I will not scope out the food table as I'm taking off my shoes. I will not stealthily make my way over. I will not eat mindlessly and chat between mouthfuls.

Whether we're a Den and trying to transform ourselves from horse to bird (with some crunches thrown in for good measure), using Game On! to get our weight off like YoungMama, implementing a combination of cardio and strength training a la Hyacynth or starting off by banning bad carbs like me, we all have a common thread in our journey: We want to feel great about ourselves. And WEIGHT/BODY IMAGE is NOT the end-all-be-all but it's a big part of it, for us anyway.

For me personally, I've been there. I loved it there. And this time, I want to be more than just a tourist. I want permanent citizenship.

5 comments:

Gamma-ray said...

Im gonna start this as soon as possible. i have ALOT to work on. A LOT. and I'm so glad i have someone else with me!! :)

Unknown said...

I'm going to be unconventional as well...
I'm going to try to fill my life with wonderfulness. So I will feel so fulfilled that I won't turn to food to do it for me.

Have no idea what I weight, scales haven't worked in over a year. Although I know it's misleading looking at numbers. Have you considered measuring Jenn? It's much more accurate. Losing weight can mean losing muscle as well as fat.

I'm not going to do anything, because I want to move away from that mindset. I need to. Just will try to be happy and turn less to food, and when I do turn to food be more mindful and suggest to myself to go for the healthier option rather than another biscuit/cookie.
When the weather improves I'll start walking more, when I can.

Go Jenn! Go us!

Hyacynth said...

Mon is totally right about scales being misleading. When you diet conventionally and just do cardio and cutting calories, you're actually shooting yourself in the foot in the long run. Here's why ...
When you do cardio alone, you're actually shrinking your muscles up to 30 percent ... which makes you weigh less obviously. But more significantly, when you shrink your muscle you're actually shrinking your metabolism because muscle is metabolism. Every 5 pounds of muscle burns 250 calories at rest. That's why strength training combined with cardio is so important for losing weight. When strength training, you're building your muscle and burning fat by building it and while resting.
OK, as for diet -- when you cut calories long term you crash your metabolism. You have to have a week of metabolic recovery after 30 days of dieting, meaning increasing your calories for a week or two. That will jumpstart any weight-loss plateaus.
Wow, that's totally a novel. Sorry. I'm just passionate about helping women, so I hope it does help someone a litte. :)

septembermom said...

Social gatherings are so tough when it comes to food. Lately, I've been lucky because my 4 year old daughter likes to hide far away from food. She's super picky. She keeps me from picking at the food too that way. I think you have a good plan Jenn. I need to stop late night snacking. Hyacynth, I learned a lot from your comment. Thanks to both of you :)

SwedishJenn said...

@Hyacynth. I love having an expert participate along with us. Thanks so much for the great advice. Weights it is! You had asked me what my "plan was" Hyacynth. Right now, I'm going back to my diet and once this move is over and we're settled into our new home, I will seriously start a fitness regime.

@Mon: Measuring sounds like a good plan! And way to go...starting with the mental health to achieve the physical health.

@Lost: Welcome!

@Septembermom: Funny how are little ones influence our food choices/eating habits just as much as we have an effect on theirs. I was thinking the other day that another trigger was when the little man started eating more solids and favouring certain foods. I never had the temptation of toast or pasta before he started eating these things. But part of this journey for me will involve righting some of the wrongs I've caused in my son's eating habits.