Wednesday, December 15, 2010
How am I doing it? (Day 146) -- Let's say I'm going through my PACES
Is it naive or odd that it is surprising to me that people are asking me this when I am still 1 lb away from a 50 lbs loss since July 23rd?
So what have been the things that have worked for me so far?
In thinking about this, I even came up with an acronym. So here we go:
PACES
- Point-of-View - my mindset is very important and although some days I get down, I try to get myself back in the right headspace. I am not beating myself up if I have a wonky day, I just try to re-focus as soon as I catch myself. And although I weigh myself daily, I only update my weight when I have my next loss because it keeps me more motivated when I look at a chart and just see things going down. I have not gone more than 7 days without a loss since I began to focus on changing me mindset, my health and my life.
- Accountability - This encompasses a number of things like the fact that my fatsecret.com food log can be logged into by ANYONE, really makes me more aware of what I am eating and the rough calorie count helps keep me mindful. Another part of accountability is using my digital food scale and measuring spoons and measuring cups. And making note of the portion sizes on boxes and containers and using them. In the past, I would eat an ENTIRE BOX of white cheddar mac n' cheese (for example).
- Choices - I make a point to make healthier choices than I did in the past although I also choose to not deny myself anything because, in the past, saying "No, you can never have that again" just served to make me obsess and then binge eat. But allowing myself a small portion of whatever I am craving does work for me when denial did not. We choose to buy some of our groceries at the local Farmer's Market - especially hormone free meat and pesticide free fruits and vegetables (when in season).
- Exercise - I am moving more (though it is more of a challenge during a Canadian winter in South Western Ontario). I bought some hand weights, a floor mat, an 8 lb medicine ball, a larger yoga-type ball and I have an elliptical. In the nicer weather, I was walking a lot more outside and swimming at my niece's house. Now I've been working out with two of my friends after trying a boot camp that was not a good fit for me. And I am still seeing if I can fit a belly dance class around Son's scheduled activities in the new year.
- Support - I could not have accomplished this without first, the support (although it was begrudging at first) of Hubs and then, secondly, as I told more people, the support of my friends and family that I let in on what I was doing. And that's not just my real world, in person friends, it includes my blogging friends, my FB friends, my Babycenter friends. You need to have supportive people, even if it's only one or two at first - especially in the beginning where you are most likely to falter. And having the support of a medical professional is always a great idea during a weight lose plan/healthy lifestyle change!
Thanks for listening!
