Wondering where I’ve been for a week? Me, too! Just a little re-grouping, cleaning, blood sugar swings, St. Pat’s celebration … you name it. None of which is an excuse for not blogging. But they contribute!
The formula for weight loss is, by now, burned into my brain: healthy diet and exercise. And I’m reminded that sleep, stress levels, plate size, water intake, and a whole host of things can affect weight-loss, even if you’re doing a diet the right way.
As I admitted in my last few blogs, I’ve struggled to stay the path in the New Year. Well, it’s March … time to move on. I try mental things, and menu activities, and motivation tricks … but I’ve been looking for strategies to help reach my goal faster or more easily (I’ll take either). The helps that appear with frequency are all things I already know. It’s like they are hollering at me!
EAT (AND ONLY EAT) AT MEALS
I’m seeing a lot of repeated advice about focus. We’ve talked about this before and I said I’d do it … but I didn’t. It’s so easy to eat at my little table in my comfy chair and not have back pain later, which is often brought on by a stay in the dining chairs. I don’t do computing or messaging during dinner, but I do watch TV. It’s a lifelong habit and when I’ve always caught up on the days events. Can I break this pattern? The experts say it’s time to stop. Here’s the thing. I think this advice works if you’re just generically eating. But I have a pretty specific plan, so there’s no room for additional foods or grazing. Hmmm … am I making excuses?
PHONE A FRIEND
I read the “buddy up” recommendation over and over. Everyone does better with the help of a friend. And I don’t disagree, but I’m not very good at the whole “team approach” to weight loss. Could never get my head around the systems that required meetings, groups, or even a personal coach. But I do know that I’m entirely more like to go to the pool because my lane partner expects me to be there. When we got out FitBits, my buddy and I checked in on Mondays. But we didn’t stick with it … life stuff gets in the way. But this IS the life stuff right. I’m always ranting that we have THIS life to live, so live it. Maybe I need to follow my own advice. We all get by with a little help from our friends!
SHRINK THE PLATE, SHRINK THE WAISTLINE
How many times have I read this? When you’re eating a controlled serving of food, you brain is actually fooled into thinking you’re eating more when you eat if off of a smaller plate. And when you are no longer dieting, you are 30% less likely to overeat using a smaller plate. Have I done this? No. Because we own dinner plates and we own salad plates – one is 10″ one is 6″ and you can’t fit a dinner on the 6″ version. Maybe I have to invest in one smaller plate? Good grief.
REST, REST, AND REST SOME MORE
It’s this whole darned sleeping issue. EVERYONE says sleep really counts in the quest to drop pounds. The less you sleep, the more likely you are to make poor food choices, especially in the morning. When you’re tired, your have more cravings. In addition, adequate sleep means you do a better job at exercise and general movement throughout the day. My problem is managing my schedule to be able to get to the pool AND get enough sleep. I totally prefer to go to the pool first thing in the morning and ahead of morning traffic. But it also means I would need to go to bed at 7 in order to get 8 hours of sleep. It’s not working. My other admitted short-coming is staying on an exercise schedule. I set one, I just don’t stick to it.
Must. Do. Better.
(P.S. we’re six months from travel … ahhhhhhh!!!!)