Holy Moley was I tired! Vacation Bible School was totally awesome - so awesome I wish more kids had come to experience it with us. We learned all about Noah, the flood and the Ark, the kids got to make all kinds of awesome crafts - including a 6 foot long replica of the actual ark, they learned lots of new songs, and I got to hear my own name called out, on average, 30 times a second. Now I know why Girl Scout Camp Counselors get nicknames for the summer - Anyone who has to hear their name called out that many times for that long will certainly file for a name change as soon as the summer is over. Seriously, how annoying is this: "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!""Laura!""Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura!"
If I weren't so tired it would have been hilarious! Okay... it was still hilarious.
Anyway, as VBS week is my busiest week of the year (counting out the weeks when I'm out of town for things like camp, mission trip and General Assembly) and I survived it WITH weight loss success to boot! Considering the fact that I ate pizza, cake, cookies and so forth this week, I count that as a HUGE success. My "fitnesspal" app is really helping. I was able to keep track of every calorie I ingested, even if it was Domino's pizza and cake. That way I could make sure that, though I was eating junk food, I was still staying within my calorie limit for the day. Super fun.
So, now that I've survived a difficult diet week, I am now staring down the barrel of another difficult week. I'm going to church camp. Now, I have eaten a LOT of camp food over the years. I've been going to camp since I was 8 and I know how bad camp food can be. But I have to say that the food at this particular camp is the worst I have ever eaten. Seriously, there is, at least, one fried food option at every meal - if not more - and I did not realize that you could actually over batter and over fry anything. But these camp "chefs" have managed to do just that. It really is unbelievable. I'm tempted to call Guinness and let them know they should come check out these camp chicken fingers. There is so much fried batter on them that it's debatable there's even any chicken in them at all.
I've talked to our camp director and have come up with a game plan to, you know, face this challenge head on. I've decided to go to the grocery store near the camp grounds and buy all my own food for the week. I've already made my shopping list because I have to be careful not to buy anything that has to be prepared and cooked in any way. So, that means lots of sandwiches, Lean Cuisine dinners, low fat hot dogs, raw veggies, fresh fruit, and so on. I will, I think, have access to a microwave while I'm there. Regardless of what I consume, it will be WAY better and probably tastier than what I would be eating if I depended on the whims of the grease crazy lunch ladies from church camp hell.
There are two other things I've decided to do differently this year. One is, I am going to take my bathing suit and actually swim in it instead of pretending that I forgot my suit and then just swim in my clothes. I figure that if I'm putting myself out there on the Internet like this then I should probably just put myself out there with people who know me and love me too. It stinks being fat and having to put on a bathing suit, but I think it's just one more step I can take to being realistic about who I am and what I look like today. No more trying to ignore it and pretend the problem isn't there.
The other thing I'm going to do differently this year is I will not make up an excuse not to hike to the cross. It's an Alabama camping tradition that I have never done in the 4 years I've been here. It's time and I'm looking forward to it. I have no idea how difficult the hike is - heck, it might not be that big of a deal at all. But I've built it up in my head as being something I can't do and I'm tired of being afraid. So, I will huff and I'll puff and I'll drag my big butt up to that landmark and I'll finally be able to say that I've been to the cross! But, I might go it alone so no one else has to see me turn all red in the face and stop every 3 steps to catch my breath ;-).
It's time for me to sign off for now. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers this next week and check in to see if I've posted. I've been told that there are computers I can use after hours and I will do my best to sneak away from the festivities long enough to let you all know how I'm doing.
So, for now, I'm gonna make like a tree and leave!
Laura
Me!
Working in a Soup Kitchen in Washington D.C.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
There's an App for that!!!
I have a new toy that is making this weight loss thing just a little bit more fun. You know how they say in the commercials, "There's an app for that?" Well, they are NOT kidding! I have a new app on my Droid called myfitnesspal and it helps me keep a log of everything I eat, all of the calories and nutrients I'm supposed to eat each day, and all of the exercise I do as well. I told it what I weigh, how tall I am, how much I want to lose total, how much I want to lose each week, and how active I am on average through out the week. Then it told me how many calories I should eat each day to reach my goal. Each day, as I enter each thing that I consume, it subtracts those calories from my daily allotment. SO cool! And so easy! It even has a bar code scanner so you don't actually have to type everything in by hand - you know, to save time. On top of all that, it keeps track of all of my daily nutrition, so I know if I'm consuming too much fat, salt, carbs, etc each day. So, even though I haven't had time to sit down and blog this week, I've at least been able to keep up with all my stats right there on my phone.
This week is one of my busiest weeks in the year and, as you might have noticed, I've been a little bit AWOL from my blogging commitment. That is because, all week I have been decorating and RE-decorating (because each day requires different decorations!), making copies, sending text messages, answering my phone and answering questions, running down to the basement to grab some supplies, then running UP to the 3rd floor to deposit the supplies, running out to buy something I'd forgotten, baking and decorating a cake (hence the butter cream icing yesterday!), and on and on and on. By the time I get home everyday I'm so exhausted all I do is fall into my chair and watch TV for a couple of hours before I fall into my bed and pass out. And I am having so much fun! I can't believe I get paid to do this.
In addition to the crazy hours, I'm also having trouble finding something healthy to eat when I finally realize that I'm hungry. I haven't been home enough to eat there and I've been flat broke for like 3 days so I couldn't even go out to get something. So, I've had to sort of graze on what was available at the church - basically, snack food. THANKFULLY the woman in charge of the VBS snacks has been lovely enough to get things that are sort of, kind of, a little bit healthy and not all the way junk filled snacks. She's had water bottles, baked chips, and fruity-chewing thingies made with - get this - REAL fruit! Not the greatest sustenance for a shrinking woman, but it could be a whole lot worse. Thank the good Lord in heaven, our treasurer wrote pay checks early so I can afford to eat healthy food for the rest of the week. And VBS is over tomorrow! As much as I love it, I am also kind of happy to say good bye to that wonderful week of wackiness. Four days of this is quite enough for me.
I am VERY excited about the festivities awaiting me this evening. The Peachtree Christian Church C.A.S.T. is on Tour this week and tonight they are coming to MY church. Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about, but for those of you who just had the word "Huh?" run across your brain, let me explain. My home church - the one I grew up in - Peachtree Christian Church from Atlanta Ga. has a pretty awesome youth program. Part of that program includes C.A.S.T. (Christian Acting Singing Troupe) and every year they do a play or musical and go on tour with it in the summer. I grew up in C.A.S.T. and loved every minute of it - in fact, I credit my director (Nancy Oliver) with teaching me how to be a strong public speaker. It is because of her all the hard of hearing folks in my congregation never miss a word of any sermon I preach (hopefully, that's a good thing). I can't wait to show off my old church group to my new church group and to see what kind of entertainment C.A.S.T. has planned for us tonight!
Well, it's getting late in the afternoon and I still have tons to do. I thank you all for being patient with my inconsistent blogging this week, because it just couldn't be helped. Hope you're all doing well and I will see you back here, hopefully, tomorrow!
I'm off like a dirty shirt!
Laura
This week is one of my busiest weeks in the year and, as you might have noticed, I've been a little bit AWOL from my blogging commitment. That is because, all week I have been decorating and RE-decorating (because each day requires different decorations!), making copies, sending text messages, answering my phone and answering questions, running down to the basement to grab some supplies, then running UP to the 3rd floor to deposit the supplies, running out to buy something I'd forgotten, baking and decorating a cake (hence the butter cream icing yesterday!), and on and on and on. By the time I get home everyday I'm so exhausted all I do is fall into my chair and watch TV for a couple of hours before I fall into my bed and pass out. And I am having so much fun! I can't believe I get paid to do this.
In addition to the crazy hours, I'm also having trouble finding something healthy to eat when I finally realize that I'm hungry. I haven't been home enough to eat there and I've been flat broke for like 3 days so I couldn't even go out to get something. So, I've had to sort of graze on what was available at the church - basically, snack food. THANKFULLY the woman in charge of the VBS snacks has been lovely enough to get things that are sort of, kind of, a little bit healthy and not all the way junk filled snacks. She's had water bottles, baked chips, and fruity-chewing thingies made with - get this - REAL fruit! Not the greatest sustenance for a shrinking woman, but it could be a whole lot worse. Thank the good Lord in heaven, our treasurer wrote pay checks early so I can afford to eat healthy food for the rest of the week. And VBS is over tomorrow! As much as I love it, I am also kind of happy to say good bye to that wonderful week of wackiness. Four days of this is quite enough for me.
I am VERY excited about the festivities awaiting me this evening. The Peachtree Christian Church C.A.S.T. is on Tour this week and tonight they are coming to MY church. Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about, but for those of you who just had the word "Huh?" run across your brain, let me explain. My home church - the one I grew up in - Peachtree Christian Church from Atlanta Ga. has a pretty awesome youth program. Part of that program includes C.A.S.T. (Christian Acting Singing Troupe) and every year they do a play or musical and go on tour with it in the summer. I grew up in C.A.S.T. and loved every minute of it - in fact, I credit my director (Nancy Oliver) with teaching me how to be a strong public speaker. It is because of her all the hard of hearing folks in my congregation never miss a word of any sermon I preach (hopefully, that's a good thing). I can't wait to show off my old church group to my new church group and to see what kind of entertainment C.A.S.T. has planned for us tonight!
Well, it's getting late in the afternoon and I still have tons to do. I thank you all for being patient with my inconsistent blogging this week, because it just couldn't be helped. Hope you're all doing well and I will see you back here, hopefully, tomorrow!
I'm off like a dirty shirt!
Laura
Friday, June 10, 2011
Why would ANYONE want a Bentley?!
Last night I watched this week's episode of The Bachelorette and I have to admit I feel a little bit sick to my stomach. If you're not watching the show, let me catch you up. There's this woman who's dating 25 men all at once and sending 1 or 2 home each week. The idea is, she'll whittle them down to the last one and, hopefully, find "the one" and get married. Admittedly, the whole Bachelor/Bachelorette phenomenon is a bit far fetched and voyeuristic but I can't help myself. The idea of romance is just so enticing I can't help but watch. Well, this season one of the bachelors was a charming, handsome, fun-loving sociopath named Bentley. When he was in the presence of the bachelorette, he was essentially the ideal man - sensitive, self deprecating just enough to make him attractive, funny, and, of course, gorgeous. To the camera he was the most disgusting pig of a human being anyone could ever imagine. As he claimed that his only goal was to win the game, he talked about her in the most horrible ways - "she's not my type", "that kiss was terrible," "I wish she were Emily" (another of the girls from last season's The Bachelor), "She's kind of an ugly duckling," and on and on. While he's saying all of this behind her back, he is deliberately making her fall totally in love with him. She was not a human being, she was simply a fun little challenge for him to achieve.
You all may be wondering what an episode of The Bachelorette has to do with weight loss, so I'll tell you... One of the issues I've been dealing with in my adult life is my basic anger at, and distrust of men. On a day to day basis, my distrust doesn't make much sense because I am continuously surrounded by upstanding, faithful, loving, wonderful men who treat their wives so well. But I have also spent my adult life watching men treat other female friends so badly that I must have kept all of my feelings about that stored deep in my mind. And if I'm being completely honest, I have to also admit that part of my distrust comes from feelings of rejection I've felt from men in general throughout my life. I think I've interpreted the rejection as being a physical rejection - I'm fat so men want nothing to do with me. In contrast, the friends who have been treated the worst have actually been the most beautiful women I have ever known (inside AND out). Somewhere in my brain an idea has developed that straight men are superficial to a fault and only want physically beautiful women, not because they are in love with the human being but because they see women as something of a trophy to win. Once they get that trophy, all the romance is over. It has been suggested to me that I keep myself overweight to keep men away and to keep my heart safe.
So, when I watched that "reality" show yesterday it just illustrated so completely all of my rational AND irrational reasons for anger that I just HAD to talk about it here today. I know that for every horrible man with horrible ways of treating women there are 5 wonderful men who treat the women in their lives like queens. I know that I have become accustomed to subconsciously focusing on the negative and not on the positive, so I have made a point of avoiding books, movies, TV shows and so on that have male characters like Bentley. This one just snuck up on me, I guess. I just wish that men could be less visual when it comes to their attractions the way women can often be. How many times do we see gorgeous women dating or married to not-so-good-looking men? How often do we see gorgeous men dating or married to not-so-good-looking women? Pretty much never.
The danger of writing thoughts like this in such a public forum is people might think I'm pathetic or feeling sorry for myself. But the reality is, these are not things I think about a lot. It's more like a residue that's taking up space in my head and kind of influencing my decisions without me even realizing it. I do think it is a very real possibility that all the pounds I've put on over the last decade are just little barriers I've piled up to keep me safe from some sort of subliminally perceived danger. Now that I'm aware of it, however, I can slowly but surely start chipping away at those barriers and allow myself to reenter the world as the new and improved ME!
Until then, I am happy in my fantasies about all the Bentley's of the world contracting some kind of sexually transmitted disease that makes them as physically repulsive as their rotten hearts & forces them to live alone with their thoughts for the rest of their lives. (Hmmm, that's not very charitable, is it? I might have to work on that!)
See you back here on the flip side!
Laura
You all may be wondering what an episode of The Bachelorette has to do with weight loss, so I'll tell you... One of the issues I've been dealing with in my adult life is my basic anger at, and distrust of men. On a day to day basis, my distrust doesn't make much sense because I am continuously surrounded by upstanding, faithful, loving, wonderful men who treat their wives so well. But I have also spent my adult life watching men treat other female friends so badly that I must have kept all of my feelings about that stored deep in my mind. And if I'm being completely honest, I have to also admit that part of my distrust comes from feelings of rejection I've felt from men in general throughout my life. I think I've interpreted the rejection as being a physical rejection - I'm fat so men want nothing to do with me. In contrast, the friends who have been treated the worst have actually been the most beautiful women I have ever known (inside AND out). Somewhere in my brain an idea has developed that straight men are superficial to a fault and only want physically beautiful women, not because they are in love with the human being but because they see women as something of a trophy to win. Once they get that trophy, all the romance is over. It has been suggested to me that I keep myself overweight to keep men away and to keep my heart safe.
So, when I watched that "reality" show yesterday it just illustrated so completely all of my rational AND irrational reasons for anger that I just HAD to talk about it here today. I know that for every horrible man with horrible ways of treating women there are 5 wonderful men who treat the women in their lives like queens. I know that I have become accustomed to subconsciously focusing on the negative and not on the positive, so I have made a point of avoiding books, movies, TV shows and so on that have male characters like Bentley. This one just snuck up on me, I guess. I just wish that men could be less visual when it comes to their attractions the way women can often be. How many times do we see gorgeous women dating or married to not-so-good-looking men? How often do we see gorgeous men dating or married to not-so-good-looking women? Pretty much never.
The danger of writing thoughts like this in such a public forum is people might think I'm pathetic or feeling sorry for myself. But the reality is, these are not things I think about a lot. It's more like a residue that's taking up space in my head and kind of influencing my decisions without me even realizing it. I do think it is a very real possibility that all the pounds I've put on over the last decade are just little barriers I've piled up to keep me safe from some sort of subliminally perceived danger. Now that I'm aware of it, however, I can slowly but surely start chipping away at those barriers and allow myself to reenter the world as the new and improved ME!
Until then, I am happy in my fantasies about all the Bentley's of the world contracting some kind of sexually transmitted disease that makes them as physically repulsive as their rotten hearts & forces them to live alone with their thoughts for the rest of their lives. (Hmmm, that's not very charitable, is it? I might have to work on that!)
See you back here on the flip side!
Laura
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
A successful failure?!
This week I'm getting ready for Vacation Bible School and I am up to my eyeballs in Noah's Ark! It's been great having so much to do because it's forced me to run all over this church building all week long. I've been up the stairs and down the stairs and then back up again! I've been bending over and stretching up (to hang decorations on the wall) and I've been practicing deep breathing techniques (by blowing up balloons and inflatable animals!). On top of that, I've been saving time by making a sandwich and eating lunch at the church. I should do VBS every week and I'd for sure drop the pounds without having to think about it.
I heard someone say the other day that weight loss is 100% in your head, and I have to agree. When I saw the number on my scale go down today, I was at once thrilled and disconcerted. Of course I'm thrilled, because what overweight person doesn't want to lose weight? But my disconcerted-ness was a little confusing. Why would losing weight bother me? Am I a crazy person? (Don't answer that!) Do I need to go back to my therapist? Well, the more I thought about it I realized that my mind does not know how to feel about successfully losing weight. For the past 10 years all I have experienced is failure. So now that I'm seeing some progress, I'm kind of in shock!
When I say that all I've seen is failure, I am not exaggerating. In the past 10 years I have joined Weight Watchers (3 times!), I have joined a gym (2 times!), I have hired a personal trainer and worked my TAIL off with him (well, not literally or this wouldn't be in my list of failures, would it?), I have done Atkins, I have tried to cut sugar completely out of my diet, I went to a weight loss specialist in my Gynecologist's office, I took Phentermine, I got VERY close to having gastric bypass surgery (but changed my mind at the last minute) and so on. Nothing worked. I believe I am the only person on the face of the earth who's appetite was not affected in any way by Phentermine. And when I say that I worked my tail off with my personal trainer, I mean he worked me to the point of almost blacking out 3-4 days a week for 2 months and I never lost a single pound or a single inch. I can't tell you how demoralizing it is to see my trainer's face look so devastated. The no sugar thing did not work for more than 3 days at a time and then I would totally binge out. And I've been going to Weight Watchers for so long (I think the first time I went I was 12) that I think they should have my picture up in every office in the country! So, after all of this, to see the numbers on the scale go down is, to say the least, something of a new experience.
I think that I need to watch out for my tendency to self sabotage. Now that I'm experiencing some kind of success, my brain might attempt to shift me back to a place where it is comfortable - binging out on fattening, carb-filled junk-food crap. I'm going to have to be hyper-vigilant about not reverting back to the status quo. I'm making positive changes in my life and I do NOT want to revert back to my old ways. Please keep me in your prayers and I will turn to God also for help on my weight loss journey.
Thank you to all of you who shared some of your personal experiences and stories. Your experiences are so moving and I feel honored that you shared them with me. You all are my human strength and support (the rest of my support and strength is divine!) and I am so grateful for you. I believe that the reason I'm seeing such success for the first time in a decade is because I'm not doing this alone. Y'all are da bomb!
I hope you all have a great evening and I'll be back here again tomorrow. So for now I'm out like the fat kid in dodge ball (oh wait, that was ME! Ha!)
Laura
I heard someone say the other day that weight loss is 100% in your head, and I have to agree. When I saw the number on my scale go down today, I was at once thrilled and disconcerted. Of course I'm thrilled, because what overweight person doesn't want to lose weight? But my disconcerted-ness was a little confusing. Why would losing weight bother me? Am I a crazy person? (Don't answer that!) Do I need to go back to my therapist? Well, the more I thought about it I realized that my mind does not know how to feel about successfully losing weight. For the past 10 years all I have experienced is failure. So now that I'm seeing some progress, I'm kind of in shock!
When I say that all I've seen is failure, I am not exaggerating. In the past 10 years I have joined Weight Watchers (3 times!), I have joined a gym (2 times!), I have hired a personal trainer and worked my TAIL off with him (well, not literally or this wouldn't be in my list of failures, would it?), I have done Atkins, I have tried to cut sugar completely out of my diet, I went to a weight loss specialist in my Gynecologist's office, I took Phentermine, I got VERY close to having gastric bypass surgery (but changed my mind at the last minute) and so on. Nothing worked. I believe I am the only person on the face of the earth who's appetite was not affected in any way by Phentermine. And when I say that I worked my tail off with my personal trainer, I mean he worked me to the point of almost blacking out 3-4 days a week for 2 months and I never lost a single pound or a single inch. I can't tell you how demoralizing it is to see my trainer's face look so devastated. The no sugar thing did not work for more than 3 days at a time and then I would totally binge out. And I've been going to Weight Watchers for so long (I think the first time I went I was 12) that I think they should have my picture up in every office in the country! So, after all of this, to see the numbers on the scale go down is, to say the least, something of a new experience.
I think that I need to watch out for my tendency to self sabotage. Now that I'm experiencing some kind of success, my brain might attempt to shift me back to a place where it is comfortable - binging out on fattening, carb-filled junk-food crap. I'm going to have to be hyper-vigilant about not reverting back to the status quo. I'm making positive changes in my life and I do NOT want to revert back to my old ways. Please keep me in your prayers and I will turn to God also for help on my weight loss journey.
Thank you to all of you who shared some of your personal experiences and stories. Your experiences are so moving and I feel honored that you shared them with me. You all are my human strength and support (the rest of my support and strength is divine!) and I am so grateful for you. I believe that the reason I'm seeing such success for the first time in a decade is because I'm not doing this alone. Y'all are da bomb!
I hope you all have a great evening and I'll be back here again tomorrow. So for now I'm out like the fat kid in dodge ball (oh wait, that was ME! Ha!)
Laura
Monday, June 6, 2011
A truly girly week
I'm learning that it is not so easy to post on my blog every day when I don't have a computer at home. I promise that I am trying to figure out a way to save some $$ so I can buy a little computer of my own, but it's going to take some time. I hope that all of you can be patient with me and my inconsistent postings and know that in my mind I'm writing all kinds of wonderful words of wisdom - they're just not always making it to the world wide web! I'm sorry :(
I am also learning that this weight loss experiment is going to have it's awesome weeks, it's abysmal weeks and it's so-so-kind-of average weeks. This last one fell somewhere between abysmal and so-so. If you are reading this and you are a boy, please forgive me for what I'm about to say... but it is REALLY difficult to deal with cravings and so on when it is that time of the month! On top of that I've got all this water retention and stuff that just makes me feel... Icky. Looking back over the weekend, especially Sunday, I seem to see a lot of cookies going in my mouth. As I remember it, I did not actually make the decision to eat the cookies, I'm not even sure the cookies were put in my mouth by my own hands! I even seem to remember all of those vanilla Oreos with vanilla cream and chocolate cream filling just sort of appearing in my mouth and I just spontaneously began chewing them. I am now dealing with "Day-After-Cookie-Guilt." Sigh
The reality is, weight-loss is an every-day, week after week, month after month ongoing process. The reason I said that last week fell somewhere between abysmal and so-so and wasn't a complete wash was because even though I ate all those cookies on Sunday, I am actually making some positive changes in my day-in-day-out food choices. SOME of you health nuts out there might look at what I've been eating and wonder where the good choices have been, but you have to consider what I was eating before I started this gig. More often than not I was habitually choosing to eat fast food hamburgers, pizza, Mexican Food, chips & dip, ice cream, and so forth. Other than the fact that I usually chose fruit over fries at the drive-through, there wasn't much redeeming value in what I was feeding my body. I was getting used to feeling sick to my stomach and for the first time in my life I was taking antacids on a fairly regular basis. So when I see myself choosing yogurt over a bacon, egg & cheese biscuit, or choosing a turkey sandwich and apple sauce over an Arby's Big Beef & Cheddar with curly fries and a Jamoca shake, I feel pretty proud of myself. I feel as if I'm making small but significant shifts in how I approach food and those shifts are going to lead to even more changes in my whole life style.
I'm curious to know how all of you feel about YOUR personal approaches to this body fuel we call food. Do you eat only when you're hungry, are you a gourmet cook, are you a fast food junkie, what? I'd love to know a little about your journey. Maybe we can all gain a little insight from each other.
Well folks, it's time to wrap this up so for now, I'm gonna make like a stocking and run!
Laura
I am also learning that this weight loss experiment is going to have it's awesome weeks, it's abysmal weeks and it's so-so-kind-of average weeks. This last one fell somewhere between abysmal and so-so. If you are reading this and you are a boy, please forgive me for what I'm about to say... but it is REALLY difficult to deal with cravings and so on when it is that time of the month! On top of that I've got all this water retention and stuff that just makes me feel... Icky. Looking back over the weekend, especially Sunday, I seem to see a lot of cookies going in my mouth. As I remember it, I did not actually make the decision to eat the cookies, I'm not even sure the cookies were put in my mouth by my own hands! I even seem to remember all of those vanilla Oreos with vanilla cream and chocolate cream filling just sort of appearing in my mouth and I just spontaneously began chewing them. I am now dealing with "Day-After-Cookie-Guilt." Sigh
The reality is, weight-loss is an every-day, week after week, month after month ongoing process. The reason I said that last week fell somewhere between abysmal and so-so and wasn't a complete wash was because even though I ate all those cookies on Sunday, I am actually making some positive changes in my day-in-day-out food choices. SOME of you health nuts out there might look at what I've been eating and wonder where the good choices have been, but you have to consider what I was eating before I started this gig. More often than not I was habitually choosing to eat fast food hamburgers, pizza, Mexican Food, chips & dip, ice cream, and so forth. Other than the fact that I usually chose fruit over fries at the drive-through, there wasn't much redeeming value in what I was feeding my body. I was getting used to feeling sick to my stomach and for the first time in my life I was taking antacids on a fairly regular basis. So when I see myself choosing yogurt over a bacon, egg & cheese biscuit, or choosing a turkey sandwich and apple sauce over an Arby's Big Beef & Cheddar with curly fries and a Jamoca shake, I feel pretty proud of myself. I feel as if I'm making small but significant shifts in how I approach food and those shifts are going to lead to even more changes in my whole life style.
I'm curious to know how all of you feel about YOUR personal approaches to this body fuel we call food. Do you eat only when you're hungry, are you a gourmet cook, are you a fast food junkie, what? I'd love to know a little about your journey. Maybe we can all gain a little insight from each other.
Well folks, it's time to wrap this up so for now, I'm gonna make like a stocking and run!
Laura
Friday, June 3, 2011
One Deadly Sin with Coconut Please!
As I stood in the candy aisle of Rite Aid last night, trying to pick out a treat for the movie I'd be seeing, I realized that I had put myself in the exact place I SHOULD NEVER BE! Just as an alcoholic should never voluntarily walk into a liquor store, I should never choose to surround myself with a thousand varieties of the one thing I would rob a bank to get (and no, I don't mean Bradley Cooper!). My friends thought it would be a good idea to go to the drug store before the movie to load up on cheap movie candy. I agreed because I knew I could get my hands on sugar free variations of the same candies I've always loved. So we walk into the store, head for the aisle of doom and I go straight for the sugar free chocolates. I picked out sugar free Mounds, sugar free chocolate covered toffee, and sugar free York Peppermint Patties. How awesome am I!? But then I turned to see what my friends had chosen and there in front of me was row after row of temptation to commit my favorite deadly sin - Gluttony. It would truly have been "death by chocolate!"
I bit my lip, gripped my sugar free chocolates so hard I would only be able to identify them later by taste, and waited for my friends to decide what they would buy. I waited. And I waited. And I waited some more. They hemmed and hawed, picked up one choice and put it back down again. They debated whether they would split something or whether they would choose their own candy. They debated the merits of Dots verses the merits of Charleston Chews; and they expounded on the history and development of the modern-day chocolate bar and how it has affected the global economy as well as the entire movie industry. It was excruciating!
The reality is, all of this probably only lasted a total of 3 minutes (and I may have exaggerated a bit as well) but due to the magnetic pull I was experiencing from the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, the Symphony Bars and the giant milk carton of Whoppers, that 3 minutes felt longer than a Thursday night college seminar class! Finally, my friends made their choices and we all went merrily to the movies, treats in hand.
I wonder if that experience is what it's like for an alcoholic, new to recovery, who goes to eat in a restaurant. It's easy for a non-addict to say, "He has to learn to be around alcohol without drinking it himself." That may be true but it is definitely NOT easy! So, once again, I find myself grateful for all of you out there who have taken an interest in this not-so-little journey of mine because you are the reason I was able to resist the candy - AGAIN. As I made the decision (over and over again) not to pick-up the bags of sugary concoctions, I kept saying to myself, "remember the blog, remember the blog!" Once again, it all comes down to accountability. Eventually, I will be able to train my brain to be accountable to myself and to God, but for now, it is so important that I have other people who want to see me succeed.
Thanks again for rooting for my success! And if you're one of those characters who's rooting for my failure because you think it's funny when people fall in public - all I have to say to you is, keep it to yourself!
I'm off to Zumba!
Laura
I bit my lip, gripped my sugar free chocolates so hard I would only be able to identify them later by taste, and waited for my friends to decide what they would buy. I waited. And I waited. And I waited some more. They hemmed and hawed, picked up one choice and put it back down again. They debated whether they would split something or whether they would choose their own candy. They debated the merits of Dots verses the merits of Charleston Chews; and they expounded on the history and development of the modern-day chocolate bar and how it has affected the global economy as well as the entire movie industry. It was excruciating!
The reality is, all of this probably only lasted a total of 3 minutes (and I may have exaggerated a bit as well) but due to the magnetic pull I was experiencing from the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, the Symphony Bars and the giant milk carton of Whoppers, that 3 minutes felt longer than a Thursday night college seminar class! Finally, my friends made their choices and we all went merrily to the movies, treats in hand.
I wonder if that experience is what it's like for an alcoholic, new to recovery, who goes to eat in a restaurant. It's easy for a non-addict to say, "He has to learn to be around alcohol without drinking it himself." That may be true but it is definitely NOT easy! So, once again, I find myself grateful for all of you out there who have taken an interest in this not-so-little journey of mine because you are the reason I was able to resist the candy - AGAIN. As I made the decision (over and over again) not to pick-up the bags of sugary concoctions, I kept saying to myself, "remember the blog, remember the blog!" Once again, it all comes down to accountability. Eventually, I will be able to train my brain to be accountable to myself and to God, but for now, it is so important that I have other people who want to see me succeed.
Thanks again for rooting for my success! And if you're one of those characters who's rooting for my failure because you think it's funny when people fall in public - all I have to say to you is, keep it to yourself!
I'm off to Zumba!
Laura
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The House of the rising metabolism?
An appetite is a really strange thing! Some people never have much of one all (don't you just HATE those skinny people who can sit in front of a barely touched plate of deliciousness and say, "I can't eat another bite, I'm so FULL!"); for some people, they are just one big appetite and nothing else; and for other people - like me - the appetite is something that waxes and wanes like a lunar calendar. I'm the kind of person who usually has no interest in eating after I've had my dinner. I eat dinner, I watch a little T.V., I putz around the house getting a few things done, then I take my medicine and go to bed to read until I fall asleep. That's the week night routine.
But last night was so weird! I went out to eat and to a movie with a friend (we saw Thor - Thoroughly entertaining with great eye candy thrown in - calorie free!). All was good. I ate a Weight Watchers approved meal at Apple Bee's and I stuck with diet coke and a fat free candy at the theater; even stayed away from the calorie laden popcorn that is always so aromatically enticing! But when I got home and should have gotten ready for bed, I stayed up instead. I watched one T.V. show, I played with my constantly entertaining cats, I watched another T.V. show. I kept looking at the clock and thinking, "I should probably go to bed now," but I just wasn't tired. I was, however, hungry. Actually hungry. My stomach was empty and growling at 10:00 at night. That NEVER happens to me! So I tried some low fat string cheese. Good, right? Some dairy, a little protein, not a lot of fat. Should fill me up just fine. 20 minutes later, my stomach was growling again (and it was not indigestion, I promise). So I opted for cereal and fruit. When my stomach started growling 30 minutes after that I threw in the towel and just went to bed! This morning I woke up hungry again!
My first thought about all of this is that I must not be eating enough during the day for me to be so hungry late at night like that. But I know I am. I'm working hard at getting enough fiber and protein in my diet, and besides that, I'm full when I'm done with each meal. So then I think, maybe in the last 10 days since I've started this whole thing my metabolism has suddenly gone from the speed of a slug on pot to the speed of a cheetah! Or, maybe it was just a full moon last night. Who knows? At least I didn't eat chips, fries, a cheese burger, an ice cream sundae or anything else in the way of Fast Food/Drive Through fare.
Hopefully this evening my moon will be in the house of plenty and my stomach will NOT be growling at 11:00 at night! Please God, let me be full?
Off like a prom dress,
Laura
But last night was so weird! I went out to eat and to a movie with a friend (we saw Thor - Thoroughly entertaining with great eye candy thrown in - calorie free!). All was good. I ate a Weight Watchers approved meal at Apple Bee's and I stuck with diet coke and a fat free candy at the theater; even stayed away from the calorie laden popcorn that is always so aromatically enticing! But when I got home and should have gotten ready for bed, I stayed up instead. I watched one T.V. show, I played with my constantly entertaining cats, I watched another T.V. show. I kept looking at the clock and thinking, "I should probably go to bed now," but I just wasn't tired. I was, however, hungry. Actually hungry. My stomach was empty and growling at 10:00 at night. That NEVER happens to me! So I tried some low fat string cheese. Good, right? Some dairy, a little protein, not a lot of fat. Should fill me up just fine. 20 minutes later, my stomach was growling again (and it was not indigestion, I promise). So I opted for cereal and fruit. When my stomach started growling 30 minutes after that I threw in the towel and just went to bed! This morning I woke up hungry again!
My first thought about all of this is that I must not be eating enough during the day for me to be so hungry late at night like that. But I know I am. I'm working hard at getting enough fiber and protein in my diet, and besides that, I'm full when I'm done with each meal. So then I think, maybe in the last 10 days since I've started this whole thing my metabolism has suddenly gone from the speed of a slug on pot to the speed of a cheetah! Or, maybe it was just a full moon last night. Who knows? At least I didn't eat chips, fries, a cheese burger, an ice cream sundae or anything else in the way of Fast Food/Drive Through fare.
Hopefully this evening my moon will be in the house of plenty and my stomach will NOT be growling at 11:00 at night! Please God, let me be full?
Off like a prom dress,
Laura
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