Starting Over

[Ashna]

Hi all!

I found my way back here after a long hiatus. With the new year looming, I'm hopping on the resolution bandwagon. I have about a million resolutions (very practical, I know). The big one is to [strike]lose weight[/strike] be healthier. In the past, my focus has been on dieting. Now it's on proper nutrition and regular exercise in addition to weight loss. I'm not too bad in the nutrition department aside from all the "extras" I binge on, but I'm embarrassingly inactive. Time to change that!

The plan is to spend the next day or two reading this forum and trying to reprogram my brain for 2013! I have a lot of changes to make!

 

[fizzyfluff]

Ha, I'm just going to copy and paste this to mine lol!!

It's frustrating when I look over my diary and see how we'll I was doing and good I was feeling when I just stopped!

15 lost : 52 to goal

 

[Ashna]

I hear ya...if I'd just stuck with my plans I could have been at my goal ages ago! Oh well, I guess the important thing is we're getting back on track now, right?

 

[Ashna]

Goals for January:

1) Lose 10 lbs
2) Exercise for 15 hours

If I stick with JUDDD, the 10 lbs should be manageable, especially since it's my first month back on the plan. I think the key for me is to plan meals in advance. That helps cut down on binging and split second poor decisions.

The 15 hours of exercise is pretty ambitious but doable. I want to start walking regularly - there's a great indoor track near my place that I should be making use of! I also have a Gazelle at home, so I need to retrain myself to use it while I watch TV instead of sitting on the couch. Some days I feel too exhausted by the time I get home from work to do much of anything...I guess I'll either have to be stricter with myself or else wake up earlier to do the workout before work (eek - not a morning person). Breaking old habits is tough but what better time to do it than at the start of a new year?

 

[Ashna]

I've found a walking partner. We're planning to walk once a week, so that's a start. If I don't plan things in advance, when the time comes to work out I'm like "meh, I don't feel like it," so being accountable to someone else will be good. Tomorrow will be my official weigh in to find out how much damage I've done over Christmas - eek!

 

[jacci48]

Good luck with the weigh in!!x

 

[Ashna]

Thanks! Looks like I gained 2.5 lbs over my Christmas holidays. I'm actually surprised - I expected it to be at least twice that.

Today is my first down day. I also want to get an hour of exercise in, even if it's just something non-strenuous. I'm thinking I'd like to try yoga, so off to search Youtube for some good instructional vids!

I've made this site Firefox's homepage, so now there's no way I can forget about it.

 

[loulalou]

Hi there and good luck with your first week back! I think 15 hours is very do-able exercise wise so good luck with that too I'm the same as you I tend to eat healthy meals and then spoil it all with the 'little extras'. I am loving the fasting way and so excited it January and can start back properly!

 

[BedtimeBear]

Thanks! Looks like I gained 2.5 lbs over my Christmas holidays. I'm actually surprised - I expected it to be at least twice that.

Today is my first down day. I also want to get an hour of exercise in, even if it's just something non-strenuous. I'm thinking I'd like to try yoga, so off to search Youtube for some good instructional vids!

I've made this site Firefox's homepage, so now there's no way I can forget about it.

That's a very small gain and will no doubt have given you a boost. Best of luck! x

 

[Ashna]

^Thank you!

Tonight I used the Gazelle for an hour. I've had a healthy blueberry shake made with 1% milk and Greek yogurt. I'll have some raw veggies and a bit of hummus before bed. So DD #1 has been a success!

I went grocery shopping today and made smart choices. I did buy some tiny containers of dip to go with all the raw veggies I picked up, but I figure as long as I have them in moderation it shouldn't hurt anything. I'm not going to overthink my up days, but I do want to start making healthier choices. My doctor is a big advocate of cutting way down on carbs. I love carbs. I know I can't give them up completely but I'm going to try to cut down - shouldn't be too hard if I focus on filling up on veggies. I'm also going to drink more water and cut out sodas and juices completely for the time being.

 

[Ashna]

I've lost the Christmas weight (2.5 lbs).

I'm struggling with the exercise. It's strange because I'm always resistant to working out but then when I do I always think "well this isn't so bad." I've been so preoccupied with other things lately that I'm just not making it a priority...story of my life! Tomorrow will have to be different. No matter how busy I am I always make time to sit in front of the TV, so there's no reason I can't hop on the Gazelle instead. Now to just convince my lazy, stubborn brain of that!

 

[Ashna]

This week hasn't been good...too many drinks, too many carbs, too many calories and not enough exercise! Time to turn things back around!

Planning is my biggest challenge. It seems I'm always in a rush - no time to eat breakfast or make a decent lunch in the mornings and by the time I get home from work I'm hungry and want to eat whatever's quick and easy. I made a salad for lunch tomorrow. I haven't decided what's for dinner yet, but have raw veggies and hummus I can snack on when I get home if I absolutely can't wait to cook something.

I'm glad I have a weekly exercise partner - our walks aren't very fast-paced but they're better than nothing and going with someone else means I won't just blow it off. I'm a couch potato. Normally when I have the TV on I'm half-listening while I do things on my laptop or cook in the kitchen. Not anymore! I'm promising myself that for the next week I won't watch my favourite shows unless I'm working out while I watch them! That should take care of working out on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays! That, plus my weekly walks will be 5 hours of exercise per week. I'm sure I can fit something in on the weekends, too...I just have to make it a priority. I've only exercised 3 hours and set a goal of 15 for January, so I have some catching up to do!

On a more positive note, I'm doing a good job of drinking more water and am eating more fruits and veggies.

 

[Lanarkwitch]

Sounds like your head is getting well into gear, planning is the key to not eating rubbish I find..well I find if I don't buy it I can't eat it tbh!!

i just started JUDDD on Saturday and I'm amazed at the results so far, DD's are tough but like you say plan ahead and you'll have no trouble, good luck !

 

[Ashna]

I'm starting JUDDD yet again. Life got crazy and stressful so I put the weight loss on hold...all the usual excuses, I guess. I've managed to eliminate some pretty massive stressors in my life and going forward, will hopefully have more time to devote to working out and preparing healthy meals.

I forgot to weigh myself this morning but I'd estimate 210lbs or thereabout is still accurate. So I truly am starting over, right from where I started before. Could be worse.

First DD is going fine so far. I'm optimistic that I'll take some weight off in June. How has everyone else been doing while I've been on hiatus?

 

[carrot_tit]

Welcome back Ashna Glad your enjoying your DD so far.

 

[Ashna]

Thanks!

When my weight loss goal date is months and months away, I think it takes some of the urgency away and I go "oh well, I can make up for this cheat day later." Instead I'm going to focus on losing 10lbs per month. Hopefully having a more immediate short-term goal will help keep me on task.

 

[Ashna]

Today was a tough DD - I wanted to eat everything and anything! Usually I try to fill up on salad or low calorie raw veggies but I'm due for a trip to the grocery store and didn't want to go on a DD for fear that I'd buy all kinds of junk lol. So I made do with what I had on hand. I had a bag of popcorn (300 calories) and drank a bunch of water with Crystal Light and hot tea and coffee with low fat skim milk (100 - 150 calories). I'm not normally a tea or coffee drinker but it did a good job of curbing my hunger so I'll have to remember that in the future. I also took a multivitamin...I like to do that whenever I'm dieting. I honestly didn't think I'd make it through this DD so I'm proud of myself for not giving in!

 

[Lanarkwitch]

Well done thats one down, are you doing 4:3 or alternates? I've just got back to proper fasting this week after a break of about 6 weeks and I've found the DD's really tough again, I know it gets better so I'm sticking with it as the scales are playing nice! Any plans for today?

 

[Ashna]

I'm doing alternates - what do you do? And I'm happy to hear the scales are playing nice, that's always encouraging! I was down a couple pounds this morning so was pleased. The plan for today was yard work, including tons of heavy lifting. I know I'll be sore in the morning but it was an awesome workout and a beautiful day to be outside.

 

[flossyfee]

Oooh popcorn. I've never thought of that for a DD.
I hope you enjoy your gardening in the sun and are not too sore in the morning.