Saturday, May 29, 2010

Dieting at the grocery store

I am a die-hard bargain shopper. Put a good deal in front of me, and suddenly something I'd never consider buying becomes tempting. So it was at the grocery store today.

On my way to the produce section, I had to make my way through the bakery/deli, and there I saw a huge sign: 99 cents (regularly $2.99). What was on sale? Cookies. Mini chocolate chip cookies, mini sugar cookies, mini pink lemonade cookies. They all sounded great, especially since I have some friends coming over tonight. My rationale was that they'd be good for nibbling on. Then the great debate began inside me. Yes this was a great bargain money-wise, but what about calorie-wise. These were tiny little cookies, and yet, the chocolate chip cookies came in with the lowest calorie count: 30 calories apiece. Who could eat just one, or two, and at three, you're nearly at 100 calories. Besides, I knew these cookies would have the Lay's potato chip phenomenon: "No one can eat just one." Still, I put a couple of cartons of cookies in my cart.

I ventured on over to the produce section. Ahhhh, strawberries on sale. Two cartons went in the cart. Yum, blueberries on sale for just $1 a carton. Hmmmm, the same price as those cookies. I put four cartons in my cart. Then the piece de resistance!!! Blackberries for $1 a carton!!! I absolutely love blackberries, not to mention they would be healthy. I started to put in about six cartons of blackberries, then I thought, "Wouldn't you really rather have those blackberries than te cookies?" I decided to load up with 12 cartons of blackberries knowing those would be an incredible snack I could eat and enjoy because they also would be keeping me on track. In fact, guess what I had as soon as I got home! (And the cookies went back on the table, not in my cart.)

When I picked up the strawberries, I decided to make some of my awesome strawberry shortcake for when my friends were over. I think it's one of the best things I make, and I figured that if I made that when people were coming over, I wouldn't have much left for later. Besides, as desserts go, I figure shortcake isn't too bad. And, I can have a small piece, then pile on the strawberries. Even though I had that plan, I have to tell you I paused at the Marie Callendar's pies on sale for $3.88, less than half price. And then there were two displays of them. I stopped both times, but I didn't buy any.

Dieting really does begin in the grocery store, and today, I give myself an A!

Friday, May 28, 2010

No free passes

Today was a strange day. My sister recently learned she has breast cancer, and we went to the surgeon today. I won't dwell on that here--that's her story. But, I will say that's an additional reason I decided it was time to lose weight. What if I were suddenly facing surgery? Would it be considered safe to do so?

We were at the doctor's office for a couple of hours, and afterwards, we decided to go get some dinner together. (And I was good. I stuck with a soup and salad; I was good at lunch, too: a grilled chicken wrap and salad.) It's a lot to process, all that my sister will be facing, and going to work out just wasn't at the top of my list. I knew this didn't give me a free pass to skip today's exercise, though, and I decided to exercise at home.

After I'd been home an hour or so, I decided it was time to get to exercising. I am NOT going to let anything get in my way this time. I did some stretching exercises, with and without the bands I have. I didn't exercise a full hour tonight, but still, I'm happy with what I did. Most Fridays, I don't even consider exercising. I want to get in the habit of getting up early on the days when I have something after work. I also am looking forward to doing some water exercises next week. The pool at the rec center is open from 6-8 p.m., and my plan is to come back to the rec center after eating and do some water exercise.

I think one of the things I have to focus on is not getting bored. By that, I mean I need to find a variety of exercises I can do, and I have to find a nice variety of foods I really enjoy that are quick, easy, and healthy. Please let me know if you have suggestions on either front. If you know of an exercise video you really like, let me know about that, too. Step by step, bit by bit!

I'm really excited about the challenge ahead of me. Believe me, I've come up with every excuse I can think of to not exercise, to "treat" myself--but then it turns out to be treating myself all the time. I'm going to try to find alternate ways to do that, with fingernail polish and nice smelling lotions, and other things that will help me feel attractive and "girly."

Here's to your health!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

I'm doing it this time!

I have had a lifelong struggle with weight. Even in the first grade, I was the chubby one in the class. In high school, I managed to lose about 40 pounds one summer. But over the years, the weight came back on. When I got a divorce eight years ago, I already was overweight. Instead of being one of those fortunate ones who loses weight during a difficult time of life, my weight shot up 50 pounds.

I've made half-hearted attempts to lose weight countless times. Last year, I learned I could hire a personal trainer at a reasonable price at the rec center at Bradley, where I work, and I thought doing that might help my motivation. My personal trainer's name is Matt, and he is great. He is pursuing his doctorate in physical therapy and is a very kind and caring person who is patient and helpful. But we only get to meet about once a week due to our schedules. Matt wishes he had time to meet with me more often, but I assure him the biggest thing is that my motivation has to come from within ME. He constantly encourages me, and I think one of the things that has really helped me is that he hasn't given up on me, even though my progress up to now has been slow.

That's where this blog comes in. Yesterday, when I was getting off work, I really didn't want to go work out at the rec center. But, despite my objections within, my determination won, and I worked out. All of a sudden, during my workout, it was like something deep inside of me was awakened, and suddenly, as I was walking around the track, I found myself thinking, "I can do this; I can do this." Over and over, I repeated that as I walked and walked (I'd already done some weights on the machines.) I wanted to stop at 5:30, but I didn't let myself. I kept at it until 6 p.m.

In the locker room, I weighed myself. Yes, it was evening and yes, I had my shoes on, but at least it's a starting point. I had to let out a big "Pffffff" when I got on the scales. The young lady (no doubt one of our students) who had weighed before me had left the scales at 102 pounds. Probably at night with her shoes on, too. I laughed it off, though. I have no aspirations of weighing 102. But, I do have aspirations. Mostly because I know it would be good for my health, but also it would be good for my self esteem. I need to do this. I need to prove to myself that I can do what I set out to do. I need that sense of accomplishment.

When I left the gym last night, I WAS proud of what I had accomplished. What might be simple routine for many people was monumental to me. I not only had worked out for an hour, but I was proud of it! No one else was there pushing me along; I did this on my own, That voice deep inside of me was louder and louder, and it told me that this time, I CAN do it!!!

I decided to start blogging about this because if I make this public, I can't just quietly stop doing this. I HAVE to keep plugging on. I struggled a bit with a name for my blog and finally decided on "Step by Step, Bit by Bit" because that's what it's going to take. Every step, every time I exercise, is important. Every bit of food I decide to put in my mouth counts. This transformation isn't going to happen overnight. I've made a commitment; now the rest is hard work and determination. I understand it's a commitment I need for the rest of my lfie.

I'm counting on you, my friends, and anyone else who might read this blog, to keep me on track--to say something if you see me slacking off. I want to be a success--I WILL be a success.

Today, when I left work, I actually was looking forward to heading to the gym. Again, I told myself, "I can do this, I can do this." And I can. Because I have that much power over my life.

If you've been thinking about losing weight, too, look deep inside yourself and ask if this might be your time, too. My first nudge came at 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 26, 2010, when I didn't come up with a flimsy excuse to go home instead of to the gym. The light came on inside me at 5:30 when for a moment, I tried to tell myself a half-hour of exercise was enough for that day.

I don't think I've ever before been able to name an exact time and place when I knew it was MY time to lose weight. Maybe that's because it finally, truly, is my time! I'll post a before picture on here soon. See you here tomorrow!