Another Angle

This week wasn’t a good exercise week. It seems like my schedule was so full. I didn’t get off work until 2:30am on Monday so being back up at 7am to go to water aerobics was out of the question, especially since I had to be to work at 12pm. Then I got off work on Wednesday morning at 2:30am and that eliminated water aerobics again. I did get to the “Y” for my gym side on Tuesday and it was a very good workout. I increased my bike time to 30 minutes. I did the ARC 20 minutes and my goal next week is to increase that by at least 5 minutes. I did not walk because I ran out of time before I had to go to a doctor’s appointment. I increased the sets by 1 on all my weight machines and floor exercises. I felt very good about the workout. It did not seem to make me sorer. I will stick with the number of sets for about 2-3 weeks and then increase again. I got up Thursday and got dressed to go to the “Y”. As usual I sat down in front of the computer to go through email before I went. I fell asleep sitting at the computer. I guess all the overtime had worn me out and I didn’t realize it. I decided I had a full day ahead of me so I crawled back in bed and slept for 2 more hours; therefore no exercise for Thursday. Friday I had my car serviced in Manhattan, so I walked around the car lot a few times. That helped, but not like the water or gym would have. So on Monday it is right back to the exercise schedule!!

As winter approaches we have to think about bad weather and the ability to make it to the store. In this thought pattern I think of storing food. I used to have the mentality of “eat one more so you won’t be hungry later”. I still catch myself thinking in that vein. Just the other day I had breakfast at 6:45am and as I was driving home from another town I thought do I stop and eat? Well, it was only 10:30, but if I waited until I got home it would be noon. So I again thought, do I stop and eat or wait until I get home. The deciding factor was the fact I was not hungry at the time, so I drove home and ate at home, which was the healthier choice. It was amazing the topic at my support group was eating out. So I used the information given to me by Jennifer my dietician at IWLS. I made the wiser decision because of that information and because of listening to my body instead of my “head hunger”. Sometimes our thoughts are our worst enemy. Sometimes they are our best guidance.

I read in one of my WLS newsletters this week “You will still have emotional highs and lows, days of self-doubt and days of celebration. There will be food pushers, saboteurs and cheerleaders along the way, but the burden is on you to use the tool." Some times this translates “Be creative”. You have to be creative in your approach with food, such as how to eat, when to eat, what to eat and why you eat. Some times you have to be creative in what you do to “curb” those desires brought on by the old tapes in your memory bank. I know I find I have to think twice as hard about some things. I have to justify why I don’t want to eat instead of why I want to eat. It is looking at it from another angle. Yes, I want that peanut butter cookie, but no I don’t need it. My body doesn’t need it. It has no nutritional value. It does have an emotional fulfillment value. Can I get that fulfillment by another means? Yes, by patting myself on the back for the small step of not eating the cookie, instead of beating myself up with guilt by eating the cookie. That is my way of defeating the self-doubt. This is taking responsibility for my life and blaming no one for my decisions. This leads to one of the emotional highs of “A job well done!”

In my support meeting this month a post-er (post-op patient) brought 2 pumpkins. Each weighed over 50 pounds. Now think of how much you have lost and imagine a pumpkin weighing that. Then imagine picking that pumpkin up. Would you be able to? Probably not, yet you carried that weight around with you daily for how long? Now here is another way to measure your weight loss. If 4 sticks of butter equals 1 pound, how many sticks have you lost?? Sometimes I think it is hard to imagine the weight you have lost. We tend to look at ourselves in the mirror and still see a “fat person”. We need to stop and look at the picture from another angle. Something we can visualize. Something we deal with on a daily basis. Give yourself a pat on the back for losing what you have. Give yourself an “atta boy” for working at it on a daily basis. Always remember you didn’t gain all this weight overnight and it won’t come off over night. Use the pattern we were designed with and that is the ability to take one step at a time. Think of a small toddler learning to walk for the 1st time. They stumble and fall, but they don’t let that deter them. They pick themselves up and try again-one step at a time. Sometimes when they hit the floor they sniffle and cry, but they always try again. Soon they are walking a distance and get better and faster and learn to run. Weight loss is the same. We have to accept the stumbling and fall as part of the process to get to the steps that become easier. Soon we are running. We try to improve our choices and actions. Soon the decisions become 2nd nature. We are on the road to sustained success and can take pride in our accomplishments, just like a toddler does when they “master” the process of walking from point A to point B. They can’t make it to point C without going through each step. Just take the next step and watch your progress.

I read this on one of my daily encouragement sites this week. I think it fits with the daily life post-ers must live. “You are not expected to do what you cannot do – you are only responsible for doing what you can. Do everything you can to make it happen. Live with passion and purpose.” Use the tool you have gained through surgery and work hard at it every day. Commit yourself to doing whatever is necessary to get there. The progress will be your reward! Now I will take my own advice and get busy this week.

My mind is like a steel
whatchamacallit.