HASAY Update Week 8 - On the flip side

I wish I had more for you. I really, really do. Unfortuately all I can say is more of the same - that so far I haven't lost one single solatary pound in the entire three weeks I have been participating in the HASAY challenge. But on the flip side, I haven't gained anything either. For now and for what it's worth I'm going to mark that as a success. Yes, I know I'm grabbing at straws - but throw me a bone (preferably one with lots of meat and fat on it)because I really need one about now. Being stuck on a plateau is never a fun place to be - especially in dietland -no matter how good the view is.

Seriously though, maintaining one's weight during the holidays is a good thing, right? Especially since the other night I made three batches of chocolate-dipped biscotti and nary a crumb passed by my lips. And, I also stuck to my regular exercise schedule. I'm at least proud of that.

In closing, I thought I would share my "plateau-busting" plan with you. It's simple of consists of merely three steps.

1 - GET MORE SLEEP - at least 7 hours a night. This is going to be hard for me since I am naturally a night owl. I will have to really work hard at letting go of some of my favorite night-time activities like scrapbooking, reading or couch potatoing

2. DRINK MORE WATER - at least 8 glasses a day. Sounds simple but I loath drinking water. I think I've spent most of my life partially dehydrated and it seems to suit me just fine. I have read over and over though how drinking enough water aids in weight loss so it's time to really give this one a try.

3. SWITCH TO A MOSTLY PLANT-BASED DIET -no more animal protien/animal based products for breakfast or lunch. This one might actually be the easist for me to do. I can handle rolled oats for breakfast and soups and salads for lunch - esp. since I will eat whatever I prefer for dinner which will keep my from feeling deprived. The hardest part about this step will be the meal prepration/planning.


That's it. Sounds easy enough, right? My fingers are crossed for myself and so far so good. If any of you have are struggling with similar issues, or are camped out on your own plateau, or have any other tips I would love to hear from you.

In the meantime - happy HASAYING!

HASAY Update week 7 - Turkey and a Thanksgiving F-Bomb

Hello all you HASAYERS! I hope your Thanksgiving week was safe, happy and relatively productive on the weight-loss front.

My Thanksgiving week was very nice, thank you for asking. It had all the usual stuff you would expect of a Thanksgiving week - copious amounts of good food and wine, lots of visiting with friends and family, some exercise here and there, and a preschooler who dropped his first F-Bomb like a seasoned pro. Yes-sir-ree Bob! Everything you could ever want! Our son just matter of factly said, "Daddy, I have to "F'n" poop!" Now I think that's pretty "f'n" funny myself, but my husband doesn't dig cursing too much. He immediately shot me the 'ol stink eye and asked "And where do you think he got that from?" "Not me" I said innocently. I don't think he believed me, but he should have because I don't cuss like that in front of my kids. I save it for the car (when they're not in it) and for those mornings when I stumble down the hall at 4:30 am on my way to the gym and almost maim myself by stepping on a Leg-O or Matchbox car.

As the week rolled to an end, my husband recovered from the "f-bomb incident" enough to laugh when he thought about it, and I was able to get myself out the door for several long walks and some trips to the gym. All said and done, I didn't gain any weight this week and I think that's commendable seeing as how I ate enough for two people on several occasions. However, if I can manage the same amount of exercise this coming week and keep my trap shut a little more, then I might actually see some progress. To help me along, I have started using a calorie-counting website called caloriecount.about.com. It's pretty cool and would be very helpful to anyone who is interested in an easy, fast way to track their caloric intake.

That's all for now - have a happy Monday.

HASAY Update Week 6 - I can get my butt up - but I can't keep my mouth shut!

FUTILE. VAIN. FRUITLESS. Those are the three words that sum up my efforts during my first week in the HASAY challenge. Nice words, no? Maybe they wouldn't sting so much if they were describing my attempts at something that didn't matter all that much to me - like changing the oil on my car. Unfortunately, they do describe my weight loss efforts this week and that sucks because I was hoping to do better than I did -but I just couldn't keep my dang mouth shut! Every time I turned around I was shoveling big 'ol handfuls of Pirate Booty, or spoonfuls of delicious apple pie or Rocky Road ice cream right smack into my gaping pie-hole. Nice mental picture.

So, yes I exercised some this week but my crappy eating reversed any good the exercise might have done. I took a couple of long walks, had an early morning romp with Bob Harper and his Cardio Max DVD - but it was all in vain. All in vain. In the end all I did was cancel out the bad eating I did all week because I sure didn't lose any wieght.

So right here, right now I am vowing to do better -to keep my mouth shut and my ass moving (except on Thanksgiving Day when the only thing moving will be the fork going from my plate to my mouth)

And before I go I just want to says thanks to all of you awesome gals out there in HASAY-land for being so welcoming, funny and encouraging. Knowing that you are all fighting your fight too will keep me motivated to do better.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Fat

"Fat girl" "Fat Ass" "Blubber Butt" - those were my nicknames when I was growing up. I remember how they stung every single time I heard them. I so desperately wanted to wear skinny jeans and cute clothes like all the pretty girls wore. I wanted to wear the cute two piece swim suits to the pool in the summer. Instead I wore baggy clothes and on the rare occasions I did go to the pool, I covered my ugly, frumpy one piece bathing suit with a t-shirt and I always wrapped a towel around myself for good measure.


Looking at pictures of myself back then, I wouldn't really say I was "fat". Chubby, definitely, but not fat. But you know how damned mean kids can be. I was lived with my lovely nicknames until the end of junior high when I finally grew taller and slimmed down - but it didn't matter anymore, the damage was done. In my head I was "fat girl" and in my head I have been "fat girl" ever since.

Jump forward to today. I'm 36 years old and I'm STILL battling my inner "fat girl". It doesn't matter that I've lost close to 40 pounds since I had my second son and I am back down to my pre-baby weight. Most women would be totally stoked to be back to "normal" after having two kids. But not me, oh no - that would be too easy. I felt fat before I had kids and now I still feel fat. I weigh 165 lbs - which isn't really fat, but it's not skinny either and that's where I've always been. Stuck somewhere between "not fat" but "not skinny". That shitty place between happy with your body and hating every dimple and lump. That shitty place between a size 10 and 12, but really wanting to be a size 8 or dream on, a size 6!


I lost my 40 lbs of baby weight on Weight Watchers so I know it works, and I only have 10 lbs to go to reach my goal weight. But damned if those 10 lbs aren't glued to my ass or something. No matter what I do, nothing is budging. It's pretty frustrating really. I'm so tired of floating between love and hate with my body image. It's time to open a serious can of whoop ass and KILL my inner fat girl once and for all! Now, where exactly did I leave my can opener?