Out in the Cold

As winter draws closer, it brings several serious challenges for those of us trying to lose weight and maintain a healthy life style.  In addition to all the other challenges that come with the holidays season, those of us living in areas with cold winters must deal with the challenge of staying active during the cold winter months.  It’s much easier to get motivated to go out for a jog or walk on a beautiful Spring day, not so much on a cold January morning.

Staying active during the winter season is especially important as we get older, because our joints and tendons naturally become tighter in colder temperatures.  This can lead to an increased risk of injury and increased pain for individuals with joint or muscle ailments.

Here are some tips with you that will help you stay active and feeling great even during the cold winter months:

1.  Stretch each morning.  This is a great way to wake yourself up in the morning and start your day with a little extra energy.  It can also be especially helpful on cold winter mornings to help wake up your system and loosen up cold stiff muscles.

 
2.  Join a gym or sign up to participate in some indoor activities.  Most areas have a local Recreational Center that offers a variety of indoor activities.  This might be an opportunity to not only stay active during the winter, but also meet new people while learning something new.

3.  Find an indoor form of exercise that you can do regardless of the weather.  One option is to purchase a high quality workout, yoga, palates, etc. DVD.  Normally these are pretty inexpensive and don’t take up much time out of the day.  A more expensive option is purchasing a piece of exercise equipment.  While these cost more, they can also provide the chance to multitask as well as some extra motivation to work out.  For many people it’s easier to fit exercise into their schedule when they have the convenience of a piece of equipment in their own home.

4.  Walk a much as possible when indoors.  Most of us try to avoid long walks in the cold as much as possible.  To make up for it, take every opportunity to walk when you are indoors.  If you normally take the elevator, take the stairs.  Try to do indoor activities that involve walking, for example, going to the mall, visiting a local museum, or simply walking up and down your steps at home a few extra times each day.  

We hope these tips help you to stay active and healthy this winter, and for those of us living in the Mid-Atlantic area, lets hope that we used up all the snow during our never ending blizzards last year!

Day 77: Halfway There!

Day 77

Weight Loss: 26 pounds

Goal:  50 pounds

I kept to my week of no cheats and daily affirmations and had a successful week.  I reached my halfway mark and blew past it!  I have been striving to get the the 25 pound loss that would indicate that I am half way to my goal, and am so excited to reach it!  I feel a great sense of encouragement and a renewed sense of purpose.  

But the major impact of the No Cheat week was to regain control and stop drift.  It just happened to occur over Halloween, of course.  I had been slipping up with more frequency and less guilt.  I would make my son some pasta and "just taste a bite" or a pinch of some cheese I was going to sprinkle on their pizza ended up in my mouth-- "just a bite."  Then there were the bigger cheats like wine dinners and cocktail parties, after all it was "just one night."

The "just this" and "just that" exceptions added up and impeded my successful weight loss.  There will be plenty of opportunities to take a night off once I reach my goal.  I relearned the ability to "just say no" this week.  On Halloween, I did not even have "just one."  Instead, I saved a Capitol Hill Fudge Graham Snack bar for the evening and it was delicious and on program.  By the time I finished, I was full and had my chocolate craving fulfilled.  Another rainy day I wanted to go to Starbucks and "just have a skinny vanilla latte; it's not too bad," but I reminded myself that I can do anything for seven days and I resisted.

When you break your goals down to small steps, it is easier to deal with then focusing on several months.  The daily affirmations have been helpful, too.  I intend to continue that practice and to change my mental image of myself.  "I am a beautiful, healthy, thin woman, and I look awesome in a bikini!"

The next two weeks before Thanksgiving and my 28th wedding anniversary, I am going to stay focused and work hard to stay on Program and lose as much weight as possible.  The Holiday season is always a challenge and many people decide to take two months off, since they are going to cheat, anyway.  I know I can do a whole lot more damage in two months then I can by just giving myself the three or four days of holidays off.  I intend to develop a plan not to just survive the holiday, but to thrive.  I am going to bring in the New Year 40 pounds lighter than I started the year!  And I am going to do it by sticking to the Capitol Hill Cookie Diet and by just saying "NO!"

Day 70: Plateaus

Day 70

Weight Loss: 23.5 pounds

Goal:  50 pounds

You always hear people talk about weight loss plateaus occurring after you have been on a diet for a while like it is a mysterious force fighting your body and your desire to get to your goal.  It is a great excuse to stop trying because clearly the diet "isn't working anymore".  Unfortunately for me, I have committed to keeping a daily journal of my activities and cannot get off so easily.

My weight loss has slowed and become less consistent since I started but so has my adherence to the Program.   I believe the dreaded Plateau is actually in my mind.  I am much happier with my weight and body since I have lost over 10% of my body weight.  I move around with less pain and have more energy.  I fit into clothes that used to be too tight.  In other words, some of my motivation for starting the journey has waned as I have made significant progress.  

Although I have developed new healthy eating habits, the novelty has worn off and I find myself drifting back to old habits.  It is so tempting to say that I can have that pizza now because I am doing so good, but I need to fight the impulse to stop my forward progress and revert to old behaviors.  There will be a time and place to bring back treats in moderation, but that is after I get to my goal weight.  And even then, I know that I must still use moderation and weekly weight tracking or I'll end up back where I started.  

There is some truth to your body wanting to revert to it's old weight, but I believe there is a mental component, as well.  I have been overweight for so long that I think of myself as a fat person and, when I lose weight, it doesn't change my mental self-image.  There is a conflict with what I believe myself to be and what I am becoming.  I think that I sometimes sabotage my own progress to bring my body condition back into line with my body self-image.

I am going to use a daily affirmation every morning and every night stating that "I am a healthy, thin person and I love my body."  I am going to do it twice a day for the next seven days and visualize myself in a bathing suit on my planned February vacation.

There is a famous weight loss program that allows you to take the weekends off, and I think that can be very harmful for several reasons. To begin with, we need to establish healthy new eating habits and that takes 21 days of strict adherence.  If you are having 5 days on and 2 days off each week, you will never develop new improved habits.  Plus, it will slow your weight loss down so much that you will lose your motivation.

I started off this week with a great weight loss and then attended a wine dinner and gained 3/4 pound back.  It took me a couple of days to lose that and get back to my low for the week.  I then went out to another dinner and gained a 1/2 pound, leaving me at a total loss for the week of two pounds.  If I had stuck to the Program for the entire week, I would have lost three to four pounds.

Therefore, my second goal for this week is to make a seven day pledge to strict adherence to the Capitol Hill Cookie Diet Program.  No going off program, even the smallest bit, for seven days.  I can do anything for one week.  Hopefully, the combination of daily affirmations and a one week behavior pledge will end my plateau once and for all and allow me to keep moving to my goal.