Has Maxine Lost Her MoJo?

Sliding down the slippery slope is easy.  Picking yourself up and getting back on the road is a lot more difficult. Several people have asked me why I haven’t been writing the blog lately.  First the good news. No, I haven’t gained back all the weight I lost. I haven’t been soothing myself with cheesecake and chocolate and ice cream ( although that really sounds good). I haven’t forgotten entirely about my exercise regime (although that sounds good, too).

Now the bad news. I did gain a few pounds during the holidays. Now the really bad news.  I never anticipated just how difficult it would be to get back on track.  Afterall, I was feeling great! I loved going shopping to buy new clothes in a smaller size.  My health was improving, my energy level was improving and my looks were improving.  Why wouldn’t I want to get right back there???

I have wonderful friends who have been helping me think up excuses for my lack of will.  “It has been so cold.  You are craving comfort food to keep you warm.” Since I live in Florida the cold has not been as awful as it has been in other areas around the country. Still, it is difficult to keep the house warm. I lost electricity for 2 days and couldn’t even drink a cup of hot tea at home! According to the “cold-weather” hypothesis I will snap right back on track as soon as the sunny and warm Florida weather returns.

Other friends have offered the “you need a break” theory.  “You can’t be good all the time.  Sometimes you need a break from perfection to be human and live a little.” This theory suggests that restricting my diet and forcing myself to exercise is just too rigid a regime to last for very long. Such an oppressive regime must be toppled.  Mission accomplished! Now all I have to do is set up a more humane, yet effective regime. 

It took me 18 weeks to lose 16 pounds.  That was a struggle. It took me one week to gain two pounds. That was easy. For the pst six weeks I have plateaued.  I have not gained.  I have not lost. Have I lost my mojo?  Have I lost my willpower?  Have I lost my motivation?  Have I lost  sight of my goal?

Why haven’t I been posting on this blog? The reason is that I have been afraid to answer these questions.

A new year, a new beginning

There is something about starting a new year that makes us feel that we have the potential to be who we want to be and to do what we want to do. Every year I feel compelled to make a list of New Years Resolutions. Number One each year is “lose weight!” Also high on the list is “exercise more.” Some years I am not as specific about my intentions and simply write, “take better care of myself.”

So after so many years of making promises to myself at the beginning of the year only to end the year feeling that I have not accomlshed my goal, why do I keep doing it? Why do I start each year with a list of things that I want to accomplish, attain, achieve? Is it because I am forever the optimist? Is it just the result of a compulsive habit? Well, I admit to being optimistic and compulsive at times, but I think there is more to it than that.

When I was a practicing psychologist I noticed that there was an important difference between my patients who were able to make important and healthy changes to their lives and those who said that they wanted to make changes but never seemed to be able to get there. The difference was something we can call INTENTION. I realized that when people said that they hoped things would get better, it rarely happened. I noticed that when people said they would try to make things better in their lives, I would often get a lot of reasons (excuses?) why they were not as uccessful as they wanted to be.  But when someone told me that they intended to do what was neccessary to change their life, I knew they meant business and that they were likely to accomplish something.

I know that I cannot accomplish everything that I intend to accomplish. Many challanges are more difficult or more complicated than we understand at first. And that brings me to the 20 lb struggle. I am proud of what I have accomplished so far but also a little disappointed that I haven’t done even better. For me, my biggest obstacle to weight loss and fitness seems to be that I get distracted, lose focus, and act unconsciously. I also get tired, lose enthusiasm, and take the easy way rather than the healthy way.

Chefs de France at Epcot

But sometimes I make a conscious choice to be impulsive  and to indulge myself, if only for  limited amount of  time. So from December 22 to January 6 I have been feasting and enjoying, knowing full well that there would be  price to pay when life got back to “normal.”

My daughter, Amy and I spent a full day at Disney’s Epcot Theme Park. We had been there many years ago and were looking forward to the exhibits,but most of all the food in the the International Village.  We made reservations for lunch in France at “Chefs de France.”   A tip for travelers: It is a good idea to make reservations for Disney restaurants in advance. We saw hundreds of people being turned away because they thought they could just stop by at the spur of the moment.

The French restaurant more than met our expectations as we enjoyed our onion soup, rosemary chicken and, of course dessert (crème puffs fills with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with a heavenly chocolate sauce). We also  made reservations for dinner in Morocco.

Dessert at Chefs d France

The Moroccan restaurant was a total disappointment.  The menu seemed more Middle-Eastern oriented than Moroccan and the falafel was so hard that even the waiter had to admit that “they are like stones, aren’t they?” A tip for travelers: AVOID Restaurant Marrakesh at the Morocco Pavillion.

After our visit to Epcot Amy and I joined up with the rest of the family and we all enjoyed a very special New Year’s Eve on New Smyrna Beach.

It was wonderful and now it is time to get back on track.  The 20 lb struggle continues.

Snickers wishes all of you a happy and healthy new year!

The holiday struggle

After 19 weeks of the 20 lb struggle eating healthy is becoming a way of  life. So hooray for me! But I’m not all the way there quite yet.  I still have 4 lbs. to go.  I have been able to navigate through the dangerous waters of X-mas parties, family gatherings and going out with friends. I accomplished my goal for the week.  I held my own and didn’t let my eating get out of control.  I haven’t lost any weight this week, but then, I didn’t really expect to.  The good news is that I didn’t GAIN any.

With  X-mas safely behind me I now face the daunting challenge of New Year’s Eve! It’s going to be more difficult than you think.  Tomorrow I will be going to Orlando to meet my daughter, Amy, at Gaylord Palms Hotel. We will spend two nights in luxury in the hotel  and a full day at Disney’s Epcot where we look forward to dining at Chefs de France, a casual restaurant nestled under the Eiffel Tower in the France Pavilion. Yum!  I hope all the walking around the theme park will help us to work off the calories that will be comsumed there.

Then we will travel about 40 minutes northeast to stay with my daughter, Laura, and her family until January 3rd. If you are a regular reader of this blog you probably already know about Laura. She is a professional party planner who is somehow able to make every meal and occassion sparkle with creativity and deliciousness. No matter how much I try, the magic that she cooks up is just about impossible to resist.

Whenever I visit them, my grandchildren insist that I go on Wii Fit which is a Nintendo game that uses a balance board to calculate your weight and body mass index. The first time I used it about a year ago, I was shocked and dismayed to see that the game placed me smack in the middle of the “overweight” category, just below “obese.” The last time I visited them I showed vast improvement. I was still in the  ”overweight” category, but only three pounds from “normal weight.”

If you think that weighing in at Weight Watchers is stressful, you should see me when I have to weigh in with Wii Fit. I usually try to weigh in as soon as I get there, before the effects of all the good cooking by Laura and Rick can be felt. Five days of temptation will clearly test my will-power. So I have a back-up plan, just in case.  Just like millions of others who want to start the New Year on the right foot, I plan to reinvigorate my diet and exercise regimes.

For everything there is a season.  There is a time to enjoy good food and family.  There is a time to get serious and get in shape. I intend to do both, just not at the same time.

Taking the edge off hunger

You wouldn’t know it from reading this blog recently, but I have actually been working every day towards my goal to lose 20 lbs. Eating choices that were difficult at first are becoming “second nature.” Consistenly making good and healthy food choices is really making a difference in my life and my weight chart is just part of the proof.

In 18 weeks I have gone from a size 12 to a size 6 jean.  I actually had thrown away jeans in size six because it didn’t seem as if there would be any way that I could ever wear them again. So now I am buying lots of new clothes — but I don’t mind.

This is a difficult time of year for diets with holiday parties and lots of dinners with family and friends. So I am really excited that I am continuing to lose weight, even though it is at a very slow pace.  What is that they say about the tortoise and the hare?  Oh, yes.  Slow and steady wins the race!

I have made a change in my eating habits that I haven’t written about yet.  I don’t know about you, but I always seem to get hungry about 4pm. But if I am at work or doing errands I just keep going.  I tell myself, “It’s ok. I’ll just wait until I get home to eat dinner.”  The problem has been that by the time I get home I am so hungry that I make fast, and often poor food choices.  I also tend to be so hungry that I eat and eat and eat and eat. Until I feel full. Then a little while later I am uncomfortable.

So now I have a new way of doing things. I have given myself permission to indulge in “tea-time” every day at around 4 pm. If I am at work. I take a break, make myself a cup of tea and nibble on a rice cake with jam. I keep rice cakes and jam in my office for this purpose. It only takes about 6 or 7 minutes but it makes a big difference in the way I feel when I get home.  No more starving assaults on the refrigerator and pantry! Now when I come home I can take my time preparing a healthy meal for myself.

When I am not working I make sure to be home at 4pm so I can make tea. Sometimes I will have a bit of fruit or another low-cal treat. Then I go out and do whatever needs to be done feeling energized and satisfied.  This new pattern means that I usually end up eating dinner later than I had been. I used to eat about 5:30 or 6 pm.  But now I am not really ready to eat until after 7.  This has the benefit of cutting down on late night snacking since I am still full of food from dinner by the time I go to bed at 10 pm.

The20 lbs struggle has changed my life.  I hope it has changed my life for good.

Weight loss gets noticed at holiday parties

Well.  People are beginning to notice. Holiday parties are a great place to meet people who haven’t seen me for a while. Now that I have lost 15.5 lbs  I am beginning to get comments. And I like it.

Unfortunately holiday parties are also very challenging. I’m still struggling to lose 20 lbs and the last few pounds seem to be highly resistant. I have no one to blame but myself. 

Yesterday I went to a lovely event.  Every year a group of volunteers get together to fill cigar-box sized cartons with all sorts of toys and small books for young children. Then we wrap the boxes in Christmas paper. These gifts are distributed to needy children in South Florida, many of whom would otherwise get NOTHING for Christmas.

The Treasure Box Project was organized by my friend, Suzy Hammer.  It has grown from a small effort to help needy children into a major success.  It feels so good to spend a few hours knowing that it will bring happiness to a child.  It is also fun to meet with old friends and acquaintances. Did I mention that I got noticed? Some of these folks haven’t seen me for a year. They couldn’t have been more complimentary.

So what could be bad about something so good? Hmmm. Let me count the ways. Did I mention that sandwiches, pizza, dips, snacks and lots of yummy desserts were out in abundance to help motivate the workers?

(1) Despite the fact that I had eaten a sandwich before I came to the event, nevertheless, I succumbed the moment I saw pizza.  It has been soooo long since I have even allowed myself to look at a slice. My hand reached out even before my mind realized what was happening. The pizza’s deliciousness filled my mouth as all thoughts left my brain. And in that moment of pure taste sensation there was nothing else but pizza! When consciouness returned I was holding a piece of crust in my hand. At first I looked at it as if I couldn’t quite identify what it was.  Then I recoilded in horror as I understood what I had done! I quickly grabbed a Diet Coke, threw the remaining evidence of my sinfullness into the trash, and hurried back to wrap some more gifts.

(2) When I finished my can of soda I got up to throw it into the recycle bin. Where was the recycle bin? Next to the table laden with cookies, pies, cake and other desserts. My eyes came to rest on a box of small chocolate covered cookies, no bigger than a pinky finger. Surely one taste wouldn’t hurt. The first cookie melted in my mouth with such pleasure that another one was demanded.  Then another. And another. And another. I don’t know how many disappeared as I stood there telling myself that I really shouldn’t be doing this.

Luckily I had weighed my self BEFORE I went. I was so proud that I had lost a half a pound this week! But now I feel as if I have blown it. I know my weight is up, but I am afraid to look at the scale. My plan is to be really, really good for the rest of the week so that by next Saturday my weight will at least be the same.

The struggle continues………

Slow but steady weight loss leads to success

Life gets hectic, especially around this time of year. Parties,  out-of-town guests, family dinners, holiday shopping, etc., etc.,  etc. With so many distractions how do you find time to exercise? How do you stay focused on eating healthy as you rush through the food court at the mall? And for those of you who have lost weight and are now shopping for clothes in a smaller size, how do look in the mirror and not tell yourself that you look so “mahvelous, dahling!” that a little cheating won’t really matter?

This is why weight loss is so challenging to me. Wish I could tell you that I have simple and easy answers to the questions above, but the sad truth is that, just like you, I am having a hard time of it. It is a struggle.

And so it is with great surprise that I am able to report that I lost one pound this week.

Below are some pictures that I took at my daughter Laura’s home over Thanksgiving. You can tell at a glance why dieting in this envirnoment is a challenge. Everything was made from scratch and delicious.  My son-in-law, Rick made the pumpkin pie and the mini-apple-pies and the mini-brownies.  My daughters made the rolls and the croissants.  I made the cranberry sauce and the roasted sweet potatoes. Laura made turkey breast, stuffing, sweet potato souffle.  We also had brussels sprouts and a green bean casserole.

Cathy and Emma enjoying Thanksgiving meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what I ate: 2 slices turkey breast, a dollop of cranberry sauce, roasted sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts.

Holiday diet-saver: Shape magazine

Thanksgiving Day. Just when my motivation was idling in neutral and my weight loss was stalled, Shape magazine came to the the rescue with a plan! After a morning filled with cooking and cleaning and preparing for Thanksgiving dinner we were sitting around the kitchen table when my daughter, Amy said, “Eat what you want and still lose weight!” She was reading from Shape’s December issue. I was intrigued.  “Tell me more,” I replied.

In the article, Sharon Liao comes up with 9 strategies that can help you to celebrate the holidays without feeling deprived OR gaining weight! There are also suggestions for smart food choices and information about the calories in favorite holiday foods. I will personally test these strategies and report my findings to you in this blog.

Strategy #1: Spoil your supper – don’t skip lunch. Eat a light protein-filled lunch.  About an hour before you plan to eat have a bit of cheese, a few crackers, or my personal favorite, an apple.

Strategy #2: Chew while you chop – instead of sampling everything as you prepare it, chew gum to keep your mouth busy. A little this and a little that can add up to a whole lot of calories.

Strategy #3: Be a picky eater – allow your eyes to feast on every holiday dish and delight, but choose only your favorite special items to sample., It is also a good idea to chat for about 20 minutes before getting up to get seconds. (See “Channeling my inner thin.”)

Strategy #4: Take dainty bites – people who take smaller bites end up eating less. Who knew? Liao advises taking teaspoon-size bites intead of tablespoon-sized ones. She also suggests using small utensils and the smallest plate available.

Strategy#5: Think before you eat – with so much good food around it is easy for the hand to just reach out and pop some into your mouth before you even think about it. RESIST!  Mindless eating is a good way to add calories and not even get any enjoyment from it. Watch your hand and be aware of what it is doing.

Strategy #6: Stay on the move – exercise whenever you can and if you can’t exercise as often as usual tack on an extra few minutes each time.

Strategy #7: Start skinny sipping – a five-ounce glass of wine has only 123 calories and is a calorie bargain compared with other alcoholic beverages.

Strategy#8: Keep your focus – this is similar to tip #5, think before you eat. When you are preoccupied, you don’t fully tast or appreciate the food you are eating. Spend more time concentrating on your converstation OR focus on your food.  This is NOT a good time for multi-tasking. An interesting side note: women tend to consume less calories when they are in the presence of a man.  So sit next to an interesting male at the table and let nature take it course.

Strategy #9: Seize some zzzz’s – studies show that sleep deprivation actually can increase your appetite! So work out, sleep plenty and eat light.

Celebrating weight loss during the holiday season

Week 14 of the 20lb struggle: I’m holding on. I’ve lost 14 pounds! And despite the fact that I haven’t lost any additional weight in the last few weeks I have lost the two pounds I gained during my Halloween visit to Orlando. AND. I am happy to report that I am eating healthier, feeling better, and am much more aware of my eating choices.

I know the next few weeks will be even more difficult with Thanksgiving, family gatherings and holiday parties almost every other day. What is a dieter to do?

I plan to celebrate my weight loss. Even though I have lost 14 lbs I have still been wearing my old clothes. Yes, the pants are baggy and the shirts look over-sized, but I kept saying to myself, “I can’t buy anything in a new size until I lose the WHOLE 20 POUNDS.”

But now as a special gift for myself I will go shopping today. I will try on pants in a size 6. I will buy more stylish clothes that show off my figure instead of hiding it. I will allow myself to accept myself as a thinner person. . . . . and. . . . . I will celebrate my accomplishment.

If you are a regular reader then you know that hitting the weight loss plateau has been more like hitting a wall for me. I have allowed myself to feel battered by the experience. But now I have a new attitude.

I know it is unrealistic to think that I can keep on losing weight with so many holiday temptations to deal with. BUT. I can stay focused on my goal. I may succumb to some pumpkin pie, I may savor a dollop of cranberry sauce, but I can avoid the whipped cream topping and the stuffing. Once I have my new wardrobe it will remind me of where I have been and where I am going. My new clothes will talk to me.  They will say,”See how great you feel. Look in the mirror and allow yourself to feel pleasure in what you see.  Hold on.  Hold on. Eat.  Enjoy. BUT. Don’t over-indulge. Watch your portions.  Make good food selections. THINK about what you are eating with every bite.”

I have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. I have made a lot of personal progress. I am no longer bummed out by my weight loss plateau. Instead, I intend to use it as a platform to launch my re-energized efforts in the New Year! For now, all I have to do is maintain the status quo and enjoy where I am.

The right time to diet?

Day 90 of the 20 lb struggle

Has this ever happened to you?

There is somewhere you want to get to and you are so excited that you can’t wait to get there.  So you start your car and start driving. Each mile along the way you imagine getting to your destination and you feel great as you get closer. Then when you are about 65% of the way there you get stuck in traffic! The lane in front of you is blocked.  The lane to right of you is blocked.  The lane to the left of you is blocked.

What do you do in a situation like this? 

Many people freak out. Some experience road rage. I have even seen some cars driving off on the right shoulder hoping to find a way through only to be given a ticket for blocking an emergency route.

I’ll tell you what I do.

“I’m stuck in traffic but I will get there as fast as I can,” I tell them when I call on my cell phone. Then I breathe deeply and do some relaxation exercises so that my freed up time is used productively instead of eaten up by anxiety and stress. I think about where I am going and how good it will be to get there. I imagine what I will do when I get there.

I once heard someone say that “timing is everything in life.” I was just a teenager and couldn’t figure out what that meant. Now that I am older and have some perspective I understand that sometimes it feels like the whole universe is on your side making it easier for you to get to where you want to go and to accomplish your goal. BUT. There are other times when nothing you do seems to work and nothing seems to work in your favor.

Riding the wave of good fortune is easy. Navigating your way through difficult times is not. Sometimes it is just better to sit and wait for things to change before trying to move forward.  If you try to push forward when it is not the right time you run the risk of “banging your head against a wall” and frustrating yourself to the point where you begin to believe that further effort is useless. 

Taking a break is NOT the same thing as quitting. Several friends have asked me what is happening to the 20 lb struggle. My answer? I’m just sitting in traffic waiting for the road to clear so I can start moving forward again.  Not too sure how long that will take.

 In the meantime I’m relaxing and staying mindful of my goal.

My Weight Loss Plan

Reaching a weight loss plateau:  Day 84

How hard can it be to lose 20 lbs? Well, that all depends. For many who are grossly overweight they can drop that much in a week or two.  For me it is a daunting challenge. After 3 months of the 20 lb struggle I have lost 10% of my total body weight (13 lbs). But there has been no change in the past few weeks.  I am in the Dieter’s Twilight Zone, that space between success and failure, between “good enough” and “looking great.”  I am at the weight loss plateau!

Today I will review the past 3 months and share some lessons learned.

• Enthusiasm is a great way to kick start a weight loss plan, but it is difficult to maintain through the long haul.

• Having a weight loss plan is important.  Sticking with the weight loss plan even when you don’t feel like it is even more important.

• Looking for simple answers is easy. Learning that hard work and persistence are required for true success is difficult.

• Everyone is different. It is ALWAYS important to be in tune with your body and to make consistently healthy choices.

• Creating healthy eating habits that you repeat regularly helps to keep you on track. For example, I try to have my meals at the same time each day. I always have a piece of fruit or a Breakstone’s Cottage Double when I get home from work to take the edge off my hunger.

• Don’t worry about being perfect. Nobody is.

• A simple, yet flexible, weight loss diet can help provide structure and support during the difficult times.

• The diet I use is easy to follow, healthy, and effective for consistent weight loss.  I was pleased to learn that a diet similar to the one I use was endorsed on a recent TV showing of The Doctors. They called it a Common Sense High Protein Weight Loss Diet.  Here it is in a nutshell:
  • Avoid sugars, starches, bread, pasta and fatty foods.
  • Have a portion of lean protein at least twice a day.
  • Drink coffee and/or caffeinated drinks only before 12 noon.
  • Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
  • Eat plenty of fresh vegetables.
  • Eat fresh fruit in moderation.
  • Use dairy products in moderation (low or non-fat only).
  • Exercise whenever possible.  If you can get into a regular routine of 30-40 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 or 4 times a week you get a GOLD STAR! 

With Thanksgiving, family gatherings, and the holiday season looming ahead it is probably unrealistic to think that I will be making much progress any time soon.

My Plan:

1. Stick with the program whenever possible.
2. DO NOT give in to the temptation to say “The Hell with it.  I’ll just eat whatever I want.”
3. Remain mindful of my eating behavior and my eating choices.

I’ve also hit a plateau in terms of writing this blog. At the beginning I couldn’t wait to write about my experiences.  I felt like I was talking to a friend and sharing what was going on in my life. I loved when I got comments.  I sent out e-mails to everyone on my mailing list and told them to check out the blog. Everyone was very encouraging.

But over time I started hearing things like, “How is that blog thing going?  I haven’t had time to look at it.” The blog traffic statistics also started to dip to lower and lower levels. So that got me to thinking.

Who is the blog for? Is it to help me to lose weight? Is it for readers to be entertained/educated/helped?

I don’t know.  Maybe no one cares about my 20 lb struggle but me. 

I’m not giving up, though.  Even if I am the only one left reading this blog at least I’ll know that there is, at the minimum, one person getting something positive out of this.