You decided to take some steps to improve your health, that’s something to celebrate. If you’re watching your diet, moving more, getting preventive visits in with your doctor, taking vitamins, buying organic, or just taking a daily supplement it all counts! Time is a real bully when it comes to establishing healthy habits because the ultimate goal may seem far off – for real. But… it’s the work we do today that brings it closer to tomorrow and that’s for real too. Time goes by either way so what are you going to do? Listen to that negative self-talk? Don’t do it. Listen to me instead, and I’m telling you, you’re amazing! Whatever you’re up to today, keep this verve going. Stoke it like a burning fire that motivates you to keep making the choices that will serve you and your goals. You got this.
Happy New Year readers! The holidays have come and gone, and looking back it seems I’ve been collecting unpublished blog posts in my Drafts Folder. This one is different. It is different because this post is inspired by friendship…
Here is the story, I began a conversation in a group text of friends to complete a challenge: let’s share one positive thing we have done for ourselves or for others for the first two weeks of 2024. Christening the new year with shared positivity felt like it would manifest even more of it for the coming year. My friends agreed, and soon after we all started sharing photos and accomplishments to cheer each other on.
Today, my friend Keri suggested that we make three lists: What will you leave in 2023? What will you take with you from 2023? What will you start in 2024? I love this idea, so I figured I would share my lists, and gift my friend’s idea to any of you who might want to use these questions as a way to reflect on your lives.
What will you leave in 2023?
Trying to please everyone
Overthinking possible outcomes
Expending too much energy on negative people
Picking apart my physical appearance
Procrastinating
Avoiding hard conversations
What will you take with you from 2023?
Spending time with my sister
Daily weigh-ins
Drinking 64 ounces of water each day
Food tracking
Exercising every day
Meal planning
Mindful eating
Attending Weight Watcher meetings
Reading for pleasure
Writing blogs
Decluttering
Walking Sadie with Dave
My sense of humor
What will you start in 2024?
Keep to a weekly budget
Get up earlier during the workweek
Practice active listening every day
Strength training
What will this year bring? That is the mystery that has yet to unfold. So in the meantime, I want to spend my time focusing on loving my friends and family and continuing to strive for personal growth, knowing that this life is a gift.
It’s the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and today was my last day of teaching for the week. It’s 8:40 pm and I’m in pajamas. On TV, a newish holiday movie is playing that is attempting to kindle that old Hollywood charm but is (sadly) missing the mark. Instead of watching the show, I find myself thinking about my weight loss journey instead. It’s been a long stretch between posts, so here are some things that are going well:
I’m on a 277-day streak for food journaling
I’m also on a 41-week streak of working out every day.
Every day I drink 64 ounces of water and take vitamins.
My gratitude journal is almost completely full.
I have really garnered some momentum on my journey and that makes me feel pretty great. Now that the holidays are here I am reflecting on what I want to achieve. At my last Weight Watcher meeting, we discussed having a strategy for Thanksgiving. At first, I thought I’d pre-track everything that I plan on eating, but now I don’t think that’s the way to go. I’m going to treat it like any other day. I’m going to eat what I want, track it all. What I’m doing now is working so I think I’ll just keep doing this.
To anyone taking the time to read this post, I say, let’s take on that attitude of gratitude, as we lift our glasses, and say,” Cheers to us!” as we keep becoming the best versions of ourselves.
Yesterday began with a hearty breakfast after my Saturday morning Weight Watchers meeting. We discussed how important it is to make our healthy lifestyle choices be sustainable. If we want to live the rest of our lives eating healthy, then we have to learn how to eat what we want but within limits. Feeling inspired, and thinking about the Belgam Waffles in my freezer as featured in yesterday’s social media post to my group:
I was satisfied, and really felt proud of myself, go me! I can eat what I love and still lose weight. Later in the day, I was feeling hungry again – I did a quick body check and it was legitimate internal hunger:
I walked into the kitchen and there on the toaster were the bakery cookies that were left over from my son’s birthday party Thursday night. I stood there thinking, “You’re going out to dinner with friends later. If you eat a cookie that means you are going to have to balance it out with a lighter dinner choice. You are going to see a show too – which means you may want a fancy cocktail…” Even after all that thinking, I was reminded by the meeting – “if this is going to be sustainable (for the rest of your life) if you want cookies you need to be able to work them in.” I tracked and ate four bakery cookies.
Of course, that wasn’t a strategic choice, it was an emotional choice. I was watching a Halloween show, and I wanted the cookies. I wanted that sense of sweetness and Halloween at that moment. I knew what I was doing and I was alright with my choice.
All would have worked out except, when I did go to dinner later, the food was not good, so I really ate very little. I went to the show Beautiful (it was so great if you have not seen this musical and you love Carol King, do see it). Once there, I did get a lovely seasonal cocktail with a fancy apple slice and Tito’s vodka that also went into my tracker. But, by the time I got home hours later, I was very hungry! And because I was so hungry, I did not handle that situation as well as I could have. I ate a bowl of cereal with skim milk, two enlightened bars, and 2 bags of Utz Halloween Pretzels with 3 thin slices of smoked gouda cheese. In the end, I felt a bit defeated and went to bed.
This honest reflection of my day and real awareness is the thing I want to celebrate this morning. In the past that could have been way worse. Worse, because I would have had a blind spot to what I was doing, and I would have most certainly eaten more. That would have been followed by a great deal of shame for being so weak. Now I see that it’s not weakness it was genuine unchecked hunger.
I have one more thing to share. Many years ago I read Geneen Roth’s book, Women, Food, and God, her Eating Guidelines were a game changer for me:
“The Eating Guidelines 1. Eat when you are hungry. 2. Eat sitting down in a calm environment. This does not include the car. 3. Eat without distractions. Distractions include radio, television, newspapers, books, intense or anxiety-producing conversations or music. 4. Eat what your body wants. 5. Eat until you are satisfied. 6. Eat (with the intention of being) in full view of others. 7. Eat with enjoyment, gusto, and pleasure.”
If you have a curious mind, you may want to try eating mindfully today. If your experience is like mine, you may find it’s easier to tell when you’ve eaten enough. You may also be more aware of the physical sensations of what you’re eating feeling more present during the experience.
Lisa, my Weight Watcher coach, enlightened me about the importance of eating happy. In other words, eating the foods that I love, and in a just right portion for me. Eating happy… is what sustains a person when losing weight, and (I think) is especially important while on a long weight-loss journey. On the surface, it seems so obvious – like duh eat foods you love. In practice, however, it is really sage advice.
A Day in the Life of a Weight Watcher
My sister and I did our Saturday morning ritual. We take turns driving and picking up (Dunkin’ Donuts) coffee for our Saturday morning meeting, and this week it was my turn. Occasionally after the meeting, we take a quick trip up to Trader Joe’s as we did today. I bought a bunch of hard-to-find items and left with two bags of groceries.
By the time I got home, I was pretty hungry and this is what I ate,
5 SmartPoints: 3 for the crumpet – 2 for the guacamole – 0 for the Greek Yogurt & Fruit
I enjoyed both, the food and the atmosphere in my dining room. I am happiest when I eat a variety of foods and the presentation of the food is also important to me. I tried to be strategic, I love carbs so there is the crumpet, and it’s worth all 3 Smartpoints to me. The guacamole offers healthy fats as an alternative to butter and is only 2 Smartpoints. More importantly, I like the way it tastes; although in truth, I wanted fresh avocado but none were ripe enough yet. The non-fat Greek Yogurt was full of protein, and (as we discussed in our meeting today) is sure to keep me from getting hungry again for a while. The pomegranate seeds are the variety and add a nice texture when mixed together with the blueberries.
As I write to you now reflecting on this small part of my day, I realize there is another layer to eating happy, gratitude. Food has been something I have taken for granted over the years, and now I see it as something to be deeply valued. Eating happy is another expression of self-care and a vehicle for the betterment of my health. So I will pass on Lisa’s phrase to all of you readers, do yourself a favor, eat happy.
A good teacher shows her students where to look, but not what to see. Watching is essential to learning but it does not work in a silo it needs to be coupled with three other attributes for learning: intention, engagement, and reflection. I know about this because I’ve written (with my co-author and friend Jill DeRosa) a book for teachers, WIRE for Agency, WIRE is a metacognitive framework (Watch, Intention, Reflect, Engage) to use with students so they may know themselves as learners. If you identify how learning happens, you can have a greater sense of agency in your life. Which brings me to this post. My weight loss journey has been a great lesson in personal agency because it’s something difficult that I am making happen. I am making it happen because I know myself as a learner, and today I want to reflect on what is going well.
Eating happy – I love this flavorPaying attention to portion sizes
Reflecting on Gratitude
I don’t think anyone has ever done anything important all on their own. When doing hard things, I have skill sets I employ like developing habits, strategizing, and perseverance. But that’s not allthinking about my weight loss journey (because this is very important to me) I know that it is my community of family and friends who are making a profound impact on my success. This is not a new discovery, but I think it’s important to take a beat for gratitude.
Reflecting on a New Habit
Daily weigh-ins are a relatively new habit for me that has made a very positive impact on my well-being. The data that this practice garners is helping me stay rational about the process. Today, was a little victory – the scale moved downward into a new… let’s call it a territory, and I know progress happening. Numbers don’t lie, they are concrete but it’s more than what the number is, it is understanding the context of their patterns. The scale is teaching me about myself. I am learning how my body responds to weight loss. I can see fairly predictable patterns and I know that if I stay the course, I will reach my goal. This has alleviated the emotional trigger that the scale used to provoke. Amazing.
Saturday’s Weight Watcher meeting focused on being aware of portion sizes. And, well, let’s face it, if you’re on a weight loss journey having a food scale in your backpack is as essential as a compass! You may lose your way without it. I credit a lot of my weight loss success to my kitchen scale, measuring cups, and spoons. So, here are three tips that you may find helpful…
Keep a kitchen scale visible make it easy to do this.
If you don’t want to spend the extra money on single servings, weigh out servings in grams and store them in snack bags. Sometimes I will put the snack bags inside the original box or bag so I can scan foods into my app more easily.
Try not to weigh and measure portions when you’re very hungry. Feeling hungry adds a level of stress that you just don’t need.
Is there anything special about being able to drop a perfect 28-gram serving of tortilla chips on a food scale? That is for you to decide. I can only tell you, that when that happens to me, I feel like I’m figuring out how to eat what I want and still lose weight. That feels like a win to me.
Who doesn’t love instant gratification? Getting what you want when you want it, is the best. This statement is more than an opinion, it reflects the true nature of the human brain. We have a genuine bias for getting an immediate reward. For many, bad habits thrive on instant gratification, and, over time, that can lead to a negative outcome. Dessert every night is appealing but (that will most assuredly) impact a weight loss journey. There is no joy in foregoing dessert but it will have a positive impact on the ultimate goal – losing weight. It all seems very unfair
Here is a tip to share that may remedy unhelpful habits. Making your day-to-day helpful habits pleasurable in some way. James Clear says, “Pleasure teaches your brain that a behavior is worth remembering and repeating.” (pg. 185 Atomic Habits) and I have to say, I have found this to be true…
This pill case is the cue to take my vitamins.
I like the colors of the pill case, and I enjoy unscrewing the top one and moving it to the bottom after taking my vitamins. This is an easy-to-do habit that gives me a little boost. I like the little pun on my lunchbox, it makes me smile. Closing the rings on my Apple Watch is very motivating to me, and I really like getting special badges. I enjoy spinning, and I like to join challenges on my Peloton. It makes me feel like I’m in a class, and the personal reward is to complete it.
All these small habits are defining who I am, and I am a person who lives a healthy lifestyle. I am not at goal (yet) but I’m already living the lifestyle. Making healthy habits both positive and visible is a game changer. Try it for yourself.
Yesterday, I met with my Kindergarten Team and we talked about teaching kids to say the word, “slug slowly” so they would hear all the discrete sounds embedded in words. This discussion ended with me, searching for videos of slugs (yuck, but the kids will like it). This got me thinking about where I’m at in my weight loss journey. Bet you couldn’t see that coming, wink wink.
Everything is going in the right direction, but my weight loss feels slow. That, and the challenge of feeling a bit hungrier lately, are making my journey feel like walking uphill. I’ve always prided myself on being an “uphill kind of girl.” When things get rough I put my head down, and… m o v e. In this case, the way to move past this phase of the journey is to take a closer look at my feelings.
When I start using words like, “feel” I know it’s time to look at my data to see if my feelings are in check with my reality. It turns out, they are not. My data shows I’m very consistent. Knowing this, and being able to prove it to myself is a relief. I’m so glad that I made friends with the scale because I know myself, I could have spun these “feelings” into a full-on why bother negative talk fest.
Beware self-sabotage when you’re on a weight loss journey. Sometimes you may feel like your moving, “slug slowly” but really, you’re doing the important work that needs to come first if you want to reach your goal. Keep it together, and just keep moving forward.
People are noticing my weight loss. It’s nice to know others think I’m looking good. Feeling more confident, and happy with my appearance is definitely part of this journey for me. I feel physically better like it’s easier to move, I feel stronger, and I have more energy. That is something I am very grateful for.
My habits are ticking along and require very little effort on my part. I’m in the zone and I can promise you that if you dedicate yourself to habits, that serve you well, the same will happen for you. How does that sound? In my mind, I imagine you shaking your head, yes, and I hear you say, “I’m ready to do this for keeps this time.” In my mind’s eye, I can feel your resolve to be the changemaker in your own life.
I’m cheering for you. We can all do this, it’s not easy but it’s also not always hard. Please remember, you are worth the effort! Come with me, do this with me, because it’s something you want for yourself.
Getting to Goal 