Cam's New Lease on Life Journal (comments welcome!)

[geetey]

Hi Cam!
I wanted to stop by and see how you are doing. I just read your journal, and as a fellow WWer, may I make a suggestion? You should start eating those AP points if you aren't touching your Flex points. You probably aren't eating enough and that's why the scale isn't moving. I know it doesn't make logical sense, but with your great exercise routine, you are falling below the minimum points you should have each day. Like I said, it doesn't make logical sense, but I had fallen into the same trap and another WISH WWer pointed it out to me and they were right! Good luck! You are doing great!

 

[keenercam]

Hi, everyone! I am feeling so much better today about everything. I agree that I have to stop allowing the scale to impact my mood. Of course knowing I walked 3 miles again last night and had enough points for 2 taco bell tacos for dinner surely improved my mood!
Liz -- Unfortunately, Howard is as bad as I am, stepping on the scale every morning, stepping off, stepping back on . . . We are a pair. The difference is he has so little to lose!
Beth -- Thank you so much for your encouragement and positive reinforcement about the movies -- we go very often and it is important for me to figure out how I am going to handle that situation going forward. The popcorn was delicious, and I could have even eaten less of it and still have been satisfied. I brought a pria bar with me, but didn't eat that. I also brought a tootsie pop with me and was sucking on that after the popcorn was done. I think that was a sound strategy and will plan to do that in the future, too. There is something about the movies that requires food, UGH!!!

Sarahsmom -- that "DUMACRAT" remark is outrageously funny coming from a little one! You must crack up whenever she says that!

Doreen -- Wow! You are so sweet! I am so impressed that you walked the half. You must be so incredibly proud of yourself. And having just done that, it would be so easy for you to slack off and rest on that accomplishment and you aren't doing that. You must be so disciplined! Congratulations!!!

I wish I could say that I have that addiction to exercise that some people do, but alas, I don't. I am such an ugly exerciser that I have to force myself to be out there and am very uncomfortable about running in public on the TM at the Y. I am forcing myself to do it because I know that only by doing it will I become better at it. And seeing results in the way my clothes fit is such a motivator for me. Even though the pounds aren't droppping off, I know I will see my hips and thighs taking up less and less room in a seat or my clothes and that will keep me going. Putting on my pantsuit for court this week after not fitting in it for a year was HUGE for me (excuse the pun). I just have to record these moments and these memories so that I can find motivation here when my passion dissipates.

Terry -- Thank you so much for the advice about eating enough points. I hadn't really thought about the fact that my body may have gone into that starvation mode that you sometimes hear about. I think I will try to eat more points in the next week all in healthy foods and see if it makes a difference. I am glad to hear it worked for you. It's funny that even having a splurge last night was within points. Gosh, I really, really LOVE WW. Don't you?

 

[Strings]

Hi Cam,

I have said many times that I will take inches over pounds anytime. You are definately losing inches. Congrats on the suit fitting. That is a great motivator.. I really don't like exercising in public either, so I have to force myself at the Y sometimes too. You are definately not alone on that one.

Have a great day,
Beth

 

[keenercam]

Thanks, Beth. Howard got me to sign up for the latest exercise challenge at our Y last night, so I think that will help keep me on track. He is so loving and supportive that I love being with him there. He usually gets on a cross trainer near my treadmill and we can make eye contact pretty frequently. He looks at me so lovingly and always seems proud of me, rather than embarassed. It is remarkable, really, especially if you saw him. He is gorgeous and fit, and I'm, uhm, well, let's just say, I'm not.
Thank you so much for your support. I come here as frequently as I can and just soak up all the positive vibes. I can't believe I have been cheat free for 16 days and that I have walked 20.6 miles since January 20. I would never be this far along without the support and kindness and generosity of people here like you.
I hope you have a fabulous evening.

 

[keenercam]

Stayed within points yesterday, including a couple of the activity points I earned doing 3 miles on the TM. The 5K is a month away and I'd like to know I could walk it in well under 1 hour, even if the actual time isn't that great since I'll be walking with 2 other people who may not want to walk that fast. Time was a bit slower last night at 55:50 and I was pretty bummed, but Howard, knowing I was disappointed, said, "Yeah, but is it easier?" I told him it is and he said "Well, that's good." I have to put the "That's good" in my head and be glad. What a guy.
Shouldn't have eaten pretzels as late as I did last night, but I did have the points. Really want to get back to not eating for 3 hours before bed. Geez, I may have to start staying up a heck of a lot later!

 

[keenercam]

My rings are LOOSE!!! OMG, they are turning on my fingers. Now I KNOW I am losing, even if it doesn't show up on the scale. Our Easter trip to WDW is only 51 days away, and I know I am well on my way to fitting in all my clothes for that trip or maybe even needing a new pair of shorts or two. Thank God.

 

[Strings]

Congratulation Cam,

isn't it great to have something concrete to show you are losing weight!?! You are doing a great job. Shopping for new shorts is always good incentive to keep going too!

Have a great evening,
Beth

 

[keenercam]

Hey, Beth!
Yes, it is wonderful, even if it is a pain in the neck when I am typing. I hope things are going well for you, too. I have to catch up on journals -- didn't get to them yesterday.

Well, I walked 3 miles on the TM last night in 56 mins -- definitely not getting faster yet -- getting to a 15 min pace seems so far off. I have incredibly short legs and I have to wonder whether I may actually have to jog in order to do a 15 minute mile. I am not going to worry about it yet -- I have soooo far to go before I am at that issue. I am watching my "Walking My Way to Disney" chart filling up and am so proud that I have been able to sustain the enthusiasm and discipline this long. 18 days is such an achievement for me. I am disappointed to know that it will be hard to squeeze in any time to exercise this weekend. Tonight we are driving about an hour away to pick up our Godchildren who will spend the night with us and then up at 6:30 tomorrow a.m. to take our daughter to rehearsal before a competition, at her competition all day, home by midnight tomorrow night, and Sunday is the Polar Bear Plunge for Special Olympics! Guess this is the last year I can bow out of actually going in the water because of my heart condition, since I no longer HAVE a heart condition! I am thinking that I will try to at least do a mile on the TM if I can get away for 20 minutes, even if it means getting up earlier than everyone else to try to squeeze it in. The thought of making no little "x" s on my chart for three days is unbearable. Then again, I COULD walk the entire time my family is watching the SuperBowl! Okay, so that is a plan. Sticking to WW points will be a challenge this weekend, too, since we will be home so little.
So, here is the plan
1. Eat dinner tonight before meeting our friends at Friendly's and then only get coffee and something very light there, like a salad. If we are meeting them for dessert, I will stick to coffee (and bring my own flavored creamer!)

2. Pack food for tomorrow in my tote bag, so that I have good food and snacks to eat at an event where they will probably have subs, hot dogs, etc.

3. I WON"T EAT at the after plunge party on Sunday -- the food there is outrageously dangerous for me -- pizza, chili, cheese & crackers, and chocolate chip cookies. I'd rather stop at a restaurant and get a huge salad and have to pay for it.

4. TREADMILL instead of sitting in front of the tv while we watch the Eagles TROUNCE the Pats.

5. WALK/TREADMILL/WATP a total of at least 5 miles this weekend.

So, that's the plan. Let's see how I do. Wish me luck! Tough, tough weekend!

 

[keenercam]

All right, I am off to start my challenging weekend! Keeping my fingers crossed. So glad I have all those flex points in case I need a few. Hoping not to use them. Here's hoping all my WISH buddies have a great weekend too.

 

[geetey]

Cam, you have a GREAT plan in place and I bet you are going to have a fantastic weekend!! Good for you being so motivated to get your exercise in!! That's a sign of success! I know you can do it!

I don't think there is any way any one could get me to do a cold water plunge! Brrr!! I would probably fake an injury each year just to avoid it.

Have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

 

[sarahsmom73]

Awesome motivation! You are already a success!

 

[keenercam]

Sticking to WW points will be a challenge this weekend, too, since we will be home so little.
So, here is the plan
1. Eat dinner tonight before meeting our friends at Friendly's and then only get coffee and something very light there, like a salad. If we are meeting them for dessert, I will stick to coffee (and bring my own flavored creamer!)

2. Pack food for tomorrow in my tote bag, so that I have good food and snacks to eat at an event where they will probably have subs, hot dogs, etc.

3. I WON"T EAT at the after plunge party on Sunday -- the food there is outrageously dangerous for me -- pizza, chili, cheese & crackers, and chocolate chip cookies. I'd rather stop at a restaurant and get a huge salad and have to pay for it.

4. TREADMILL instead of sitting in front of the tv while we watch the Eagles TROUNCE the Pats.

5. WALK/TREADMILL/WATP a total of at least 5 miles this weekend.

So, that's the plan. Let's see how I do. Wish me luck! Tough, tough weekend!

Well, it's SUnday night and the worst of it is over and I am home, safe and sound where I can control my food availability. All in all, things went pretty well.
1. On Friday night, I ate at home before we ended up at Cracker Barrel with our friends for dessert. I had coffee there and 1 scoop of sugar free ice cream of which I took 4 bites -- my Goddaughter ate the rest! Thanks, Magpie!

2. For Saturday, I packed 2 lite string cheese, 2 pria bars, and a fat free tuna salad and crackers pack -- all I ate at the competition from the cafeteria was 1/2 soft pretzel. For lunch, we went to our friends' house -- everyone else ate pizza and sausage sandwiches. I ate a delicious salad from the pizza place with great garlic croutons. YUM!! When we got home at about midnight, I was still really hungry, so I had healthy choice ham on a whole wheat tortilla. Ended up with points to spare, even though my best friend got me some of those 3 color italian cookies I love -- ate 3 total and counted the points. Yeah!

3. We did not go to the after-plunge party. Stopped at applebee's instead where I had weight watchers onion soup and grilled chicken with peppers & onions. Delicious and all for 10 points plus the 2 I charged myself for tasting the nachos and a couple of fries.

4. Now the plan is to change into work out clothes and do WATP 1 mile to warm up and then 4-5 miles on the TM during the Eagles game.

5. If I walk for the first half I will probably meet this goal.

Here we go. Off to the basement.

 

[sarahsmom73]

Great Job Cam!!! You did awesome this weekend!

 

[keenercam]

Thanks, everyone!
Wow! It's Monday morning and I am starting my 4th week of my new healthy lifestyle. There is so much to be thankful for this morning. I thank God for giving me strength to get through this weekend in such a way that I am not beating myself up this morning. It used to be that every morning I was overwhelmed with regret about how I had eaten the day before and that another day had gone by with me living an unhealthy lifestyle.
This morning I am so grateful that I had the strength to stay on plan all weekend, and walk 5 miles last night -- 1 mile WATP and 4 miles TM. I cannot even believe I did that. Feels good. And I did NOT step on the scale this morning. Okay, okay, it is only one day, but I have to modify that behavior as well. I have to weigh in one morning a week, and not step on the scale the other days. It fluctuates too much from day to day, and I found I was letting what the scale said influence how I felt about myself. No more of that.
5 MILES!!! Gee, who would have thought? Here's hoping for a fabulous week, for me and for all my WISH friends.

 

[keenercam]

Feeling a bit discouraged today and I know I have to get over it. That damn scale is going to drive me nuts! I can't believe how little weight is dropping. How can that possibly be with all that I have been disciplined? I have exercised nearly every single day and have been watching every bite I put in my mouth and I am furious that I haven't lost a considerable number of pounds. I have scheduled an appointment with a personal trainer for next Wednesday night, to get an orientation to our Y fitness center. So far, I have only been using the treadmill there and at home. I have told myself it is a good way to transition to exercise and to get used to walking to train for the 1/2 marathon. I also thought it would help me to build up endurance. Of course, I thought the natural side benefit of all of that walking would be that I would see the pounds drop off in gobs! Instead, I have only lost a couple of lousy pounds. I have been doing WW since 1/17 and have been absolutely cheat free. And I have been treadmilling since 1/20 and have walked a total of 33.6 miles in less than 3 weeks! So, why the heck am I NOT losing weight. I mean, if I were to take those weight charts seriously, I have about 85 pounds to lose -- I KNOW my body will never cooperate with that, and I have set a much more reasonable goal of about 45-50 pounds with the hopes that I might get there and still have some motivation and discipline and enthusiasm left in me and keep going. But it is so darn discouraging to be working this hard and not see results on the scale. I know all the things that I would say to someone in my position, and I have to remind myself:
1. don't rely on the scale. think about how you feel and how your clothes fit
2. you're building muscle
3. you have to eat all your ww points and all the activity points
4. shake things up a bit -- eat different kinds of food
5. don't eat late at night
6. keep up the exercise
7. strive to be fit, not for a particular weight

Yeah, so I have reminded myself. Gotta get over it. Recognize the achievements
1. stayed OP yesterday, even though I got home at 8:45 pm and was so tempted to eat something quick and easy and not OP for dinner

2. walked 2 miles last night even though I had no energy, even less desire

3. Have been cheat free for 22 days; have been exercising since 1/20 (13 times in 18 days)

So, here we go -- my plan for today:
1. stay on plan and eat all my points
2. go to the Y tonight and do 3 miles on TM
3. go to the grocery store and pick up a few of my 0 point favorites -- cauliflower, cabbage, and canned green beans
4. make a chart reviewing how many points I have eaten each day and how much I have exercised and printing out my journals to review the points I have been eating, to see if there is something I should change about the types of food I am eating
5. plan a night when I can go out for chinese buffet, saving points throughout the day to do that and eating activity points or flex points if I want/need to-- when I go I will eat nothing battered or fried except one eggroll and will load up on vegetables. Something to look forward to.

 

[pettyone]

Yeah, so I have reminded myself. Gotta get over it. Recognize the achievements
1. stayed OP yesterday, even though I got home at 8:45 pm and was so tempted to eat something quick and easy and not OP for dinner

2. walked 2 miles last night even though I had no energy, even less desire

3. Have been cheat free for 22 days; have been exercising since 1/20 (13 times in 18 days)

I understand how frustrated you are...wish I could help!! I strongly believe that effort=payoff, it's just soooooo hard to wait to see results...but they're coming!!

YOU ARE DOING GREAT!! Keep plugging away!

 

[keenercam]

Thanks, Tracy! If I didn't have SO MUCH to lose, I would understand that it takes longer. But I have such a long way to go that the simple math of eating less calories than you burn should have me dropping pounds like crazy. UGH! I will keep plugging along, thanks to the support of my fellow WISHers and the accountability I feel here.

 

[Strings]

Hi Cam,

You are doing an amazing job. You were so determined this weekend. I am so proud of you.

I just have a couple of suggestions for you.
MEASURE!!!! When the scale doesn't cooperate, you are probably be losing inches. Take weekly or monthly measurements. It can really help keep you motivated to see a concrete number of inches disappear.

Go to the Y orientation and start weight training. Have them orient you to the circuit. Muscle will help increase your resting metabolic rate. You'll burn more calories at rest with an increase muscle mass. Don't worry about adding bulk. You won't. You will tone your muscle.

Check out fitday.com. Your charts are great. Fitday is free. You can input all food and exercise. It will spit out an analysis of your nutrition, graphs of calories burned/intake. It really does help.

Mix up your exercise a bit. Your body gets used to walking on the treadmill. Try adjusting the incline, or try the arc-trainer or bike.

Cam. I know it is frustrating not to be dropping the weight, but it is healthiest to lose only 1-2 pounds a week. All the fat we lose goes through the liver. Raapid weight loss can lead to a syndrome called fatty liver disease. You literally have fat deposits on your liver and it can interfere with it's function. That is only one possibility of adverse affects of rapid loss.

I know it is frustrating to not see the results you have want. I had a plateau that lasted over 2.5 months. I promise you that the weight will come off.

Keep up the great work ,
Beth

 

[sarahsmom73]

Yes!!! The measuring thing works!!!! I understand about the scale not moving.. It finally started to move again for me .. It was over 2 weeks of staying the same!!! I think we need to do some scale bashing!!!

 

[keenercam]

This is all really great advice. I just have to internalize it. Always in the past I have just done WW and always lost 3-6 pounds the first week. That has barely happened in 3 weeks with intense exercise, so I have had to constantly force myself to keep at it. Beth, I know you and sarahsmom are right about measuring, but I haven't gotten up the nerve to do that. I can tell you that I am wearing a suit today that was comfortable for all day and Court that I couldn't even zipper a few weeks ago. So, intellectually, I am fully aware of progress. I am trying to stay off the scale, though I am not ready to do a challenge to that effect. I will weigh in again next Tuesday a.m. for my weekly WW on-line entry, but will try to stay off the scale between now and then.
I will be seeing 2 cardiologists the first week of March (the one who did my surgery and the one that I have been treating with for 10 years). I always have to weigh in at the office of the second one, so hopefully, by then there will be cause for celebration. The one who did the surgery will just be thrilled to see me on my feet, functioning, and to hear that I am exercising nearly every day and training for the half-marathon.
I am going to add new types of exercise to my regimen, starting today. I have been so hung up on walking (checking off those mile boxes on my chart) and improving that time and endurance that I have to mentally re-orient myself and encourage myself to do other types of exercise too. I may look around tonight for a new DVD or two and try to shake up my routine a bit.
Thanks again for the encouragement.

sarahsmom73 -- I am so glad to hear you broke your plateau -- that must be such a relief. Congratulations on staying strong throughout your battle with the scale. Onward and downward, right?