madermouse's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5/14/03 As part of my �getting back on track� mode, I�ve been searching through weight loss journals again for inspiration. It�s been cool to see how some people have progressed and I�ve been sad when many of the links were deleted. What really sucked though is to go back to old journals and find that they�ve taken me off of their �link� page. I know its not supposed to hurt my feelings�but it does. It�s that quiet declaration that I am no longer an inspiration to them, that I�ve failed them somehow. I�m not stupid�I get it. I do totally get it. When I was at my peak of weight loss, I never wanted to read the whiny journals of those who never seemed to get their shit together, who lost one week and gained back the next over and over. (I�m confessing this only if you promise not to think I�m a terrible person�.misguided and ignorant, yes, but not terrible) You see I had the Fred mentality. (onephatman.com) I thought that if people just got off their butt and worked hard they would see results � end of story. It So yes, I get it. I�m not inspiration to some anymore because now I am one of those whiny, excuse-making, strugglers. I fell off the wagon due to the dreaded plateau and I�ve never quite gotten back up on it again�at least not in all that glory. Now I�m the one who can�t seem to get her shit together, who gains one week and loses the next. Now I�m the person who binges on pizza and ice cream when I�m feeling blue only to declare that Monday is the day for new beginnings!! Blah blah blah.. Ya, I get it. But knowing that I�ve turned into �one of them� and then having other people acknowledge it still hurt my feelings. It was an unwelcome and unexpected reality check. Damn. Speaking of feelings, I�ve been feeling compelled to eat in the middle of the night again. This is of course, an old issue that rears its ugly head whenever I�m watching my calories. Of course, when I�m eating like a pig and eating whatever I want, the middle of the night eating thing pretty much goes away. Anyway, I�m getting sick of doing �perfect� during my waking hours only to completely blow it every night by consuming large quantities of anything I have on hand. (yes even stupid stuff like saltines, pickles, honey on bread, peanut butter, graham crackers, fat free cool whip by the spoonful.) Doing this is such self-sabotage and I honestly am fed up with my daily efforts going down the toilet every night! So, I now have a plan (thanks to my crafty friend Valerie) to stop my midnight excursions to the kitchen. I am tonight before bed, going to put up my �before� pictures on the fridge and on the cupboard. I�m going to set out my snack (if I so choose to have one) out on the counter. I�m going to plan for it in my daily total and its going to be something light and healthy like half a banana or a handful of nuts or something. Perhaps seeing those pictures glaring back at me will give me the reinforcements I need to stop this cycle. I�ll let you know how it goes� In the meantime, I�ve ordered two books on the advice of a friend. They are both pertaining to the Low-Glycemic diet and I think this might be just what I need to help get me moving forward again. I do have bad reactions to heavy carbs like spaghetti and cake and sugar. They make me high first, then I get drowsy and crash and feel like total shit for a couple of hours. Because of this, I had been tossing the idea of Atkins around. But truly, without a gallbladder and with my GERD, I know that consuming fatty foods isn�t going to make my body very happy. And my mind � well � a life without carbs is no life worth living as far as I�m concerned. So, I�m thinking that perhaps I need to simply control the kind of carbs I consume, and pair them with protein whenever I choose to eat them. I think this goes along with the Zone plan and the Low-Glycemic plan. I�m going to read the books and decide from there. I�d like to give a plug to those of you who have an aversion to weight lifting and the time it takes to do it. Try Kathy Smith�s �Timesaver Lift Weights to Lose Weight� tape. It�s fantastic for those of who want to work every muscle in our bodies, but don�t want to spend hours doing it. The upper body workout focuses on the chest, back, bicep, triceps and shoulders and lasts 20 minutes. It incorporates easy moves like bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, push-ups etc. The lower body focuses on the butt, hamstrings, inner and outer thigh, calves, and quads. Can you say SQUATS?? Well � if you can�t say it now, you will after this video. The squats are killers, especially if they are performed correctly. The lower body is also 20 minutes but can feel much longer. I�m usually total jelly by the end of it. Then there is a miniscule stretching section (like 2-3 minutes) and a 7-minute ab section. I think at the end of the tape there is some diet advice and other junk but honestly I�ve never stuck around and watched it. One of the benefits of this tape is that there are two �tracks� to each workout�one with heavier weights and one with lighter weights. You can perform the lighter weights as a beginner and go to the heavier track as you get stronger. This is a benefit because you can always progress by using more weight when you max out at the current weight. Okay, now that I�ve praised the tape � let me give you the cons. First of all, you really need to warm up to avoid injury and this tape doesn�t provide a warm up. When I�ve been pressed for time and skipped warming up on my own, I�ve pulled my hamstring and put my calves into a spasm. Not fun. So, be sure to go for a short walk before you start or do the warm up from another workout tape that you have. You may want to also do some light stretching. And speaking of stretching, you need to stretch longer after your workout than the measly 3 minutes this tape provides. Thirdly, really watch your form when you�re doing the isometric (I think that�s the name) exercises for the legs. It�s a good way to hurt your lower back, but if you�re consistently good with your form there shouldn�t be any problems. Finally, I must mention that my husband warned me against not resting between reps, which you don�t do on this tape�hence, the �time saver� part. He said it turns and aerobic exercise into an anaerobic exercise, which (he says) isn�t as good for the body. Truthfully, I know nothing about this but I thought I�d throw it out there. 2:55 p.m. - 5/14/03 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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