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KASEYCOFF's Recent Blog Entries
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Monday, May 12, 2008
I haven't quite worked out this reward thing yet: new glasses, maybe. A haircut should be on the list. But for now my focus is on treats - specifically, ONE treat.
If there's one food you just wouldn't want to give up, wouldn't want to part with, what would it be? For me, that's easy. It's ice cream. Especially good when the weather gets hot, but I'll eat ice cream in the depths of winter. I'm not picky about the flavor either. Oh, I don't like those frozen chunks of dried fruit in there, but other than that, most any kind will do.
I can bypass cake, pie, cookies, even chocolate fudge, but I just have to have one treat each week. I found a soy-based ice "cream" that tastes delicious, and even tho it's not sugar-free or fat-free, I have 70 grams of it each weekend.
Now, that's not a lot, and it may not seem like much of a treat, but I've found that I can say "NO!" to lots of other things throughout the week, knowing I will have that one small indulgence at the weekend. What a difference a little joy can make, lol...
Thursday, May 08, 2008
In the 19th century, wind-driven ships were sometimes becalmed - they were said to be "in the doldrums." We tend to use the phrase when we are blue, or down in the dumps. I would suggest when weight-loss plateaus happen (and if you've been dieting any length of time, you know what I mean), we are in the doldrums.
Discouraging? Yeh. I'm still plugging away, and I know the scale will start to move again - eventually - but during the doldrums, ain't it the pits? I need some wind in my sails!
Monday, May 05, 2008
They say - the ubiquitous "they" - that it takes 21 days to develop a new habit. Today makes 21 days since I began getting up at 6 AM and walking for at least 30 minutes before breakfast.
I didn't get a driver's license until I was forty; since often I couldn't get a lift, and there was no public transportation in the town where I was living, I walked everywhere. There were no school buses, so when the kids started school, WE walked everywhere. Dance lessons, YMCA, scouts - we walked.
Until fairly recently - maybe five years ago - a 20-minute mile was a norm for me. If push came to shove, I could sometimes clear a mile in 15 minutes. Now, I do just a bit over a mile in half-an-hour. If I'm walking outside (as opposed to on the treadmill) hills just about kill me. One set of steps, and I'm panting like Bannister after the four-minute mile.
But today, for the first time, my ankle isn't hurting. And I've found it's easier to get up in the mornings, and not even (well, seriously) consider skipping my walk.
All of which tells me... I'm getting there.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Another Sparker and I emailed about mini-goals. When I started on this little adventure, I realized I wanted to lose a grand total of 150 pounds. Yowzer. That was a mountain that seemed insurmountable. I mulled it over for a few days, and thought I would try the mini-goal approach.
Now, I take no credit for this: I've read about mini-goals before, about taking any obstacle (or project, for that matter) and chipping away at it a chunk at a time. Small bits seem doable, whereas tackling the "whole" seems too daunting.
I've recently been diagnosed with Type II diabetes, and one of the pamphlets I was given suggested losing 10% of your body weight (if you're overweight) to see if that makes a difference. It will often (said the source) substantially improve blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, all kinds of health problems.
I roughed out 10% to be 30 pounds. (Yes, I know, I started at less than 300, but certainly closer than I've been before!) So I've set this first scale-ticker from Start 276 to Goal 246.
I look at 246 and think - gah! I've got such a L-O-N-G way to go. But I discovered that the ticker moves pretty fast. Now, if I was going from 276 to 125 in one fell swoop, it would barely creep along. I really feel as tho I'm accomplishing my goal when I see the scale is more than halfway to my first mini-goal.
Dunno that mini-goals will work for everyone, but I think it's another tool in the toolbox that works for me. ;-)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
...so what does that mean? The person who says "Oh, I'm so out of shape, I don't think I could even jog around the block." I think in terms of, can I get to my feet to trim my toenails?
I once worked in a furniture factory where we made upholstered furniture. I used to lift 80-to-100 pound bolts of fabric, all day, five days a week. Nothing to it. (Okay, I was 22, but even so.) I'm 55 and I have trouble lifting a 10-pound sack of potatoes.
I've started walking. I'm up, 6 AM, every morning (yes, every morning, even the weekends) - if it's not raining, I'm outside; if it's miserable out, I'm on the treadmill (thanx to DH, who is supportive in more ways than one). Why do I walk so early? Because I'm only half-awake, and if I have time to think about it I won't get started, let alone walk 30 minutes.
I've been doing this for a month now - I started walking about two months ago, but not every morning and only about 10 or 15 minutes. I worked my way up to this gradually, but now I notice my legs ache... my hips ache... one ankle is giving me trouble, as is one knee.
Is it down to weight - and presumably will improve as I lose more? Is it down to arthritis or something - which I'll just have to take painkillers and adjust? Is it down to age - and we all know there's only one alternative to aging! Or am I just out of shape?
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