How am I doing it? (Day 146) -- Let's say I'm going through my PACES

Well I posted my most recent pic (in the new outfit) on my FB yesterday and I have received a ton of positive feedback but also variations on the question - "How did you do it?"

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

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. 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).
4. 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.
5. 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!

So there you go, there's how I am summing up what I've done so far and what I will continue to do.

Thanks for listening!

edited to add:

blog hop

blog hop

Fat to Fit bloghop

replies for "meet me on monday"

from the meme at: http://nevergrowingold.blogspot.com/search/label/Meet%20Me%20On%20Monday

Questions:

1.  How many pillows do you sleep with?

Only two.  I used to sleep with 3 but I switched to two when I was pregnant with Baby Girl.

2.  Where will you eat on Thanksgiving?


Thanksgiving already happened in Canada but we didn't celebrate it with anyone this year.

3.  Would you rather go to a party or host a party?

I'd rather go to a party so I can leave when I want to.

4.  How many purses (for the guys..wallets) do you own?

I only have one functional purse.


5.  What is your favorite kind of seafood?

I am not a big fan of seafood but we do like steamed haddock.

I think I did this right - I created a Blog Hop, please join!

How many people can we get?

I hope I get at least 13 (my fav number).

another blog hop

Blog hop

Blog Hop & I puked at Boot Camp

So yeah, I puked at boot camp tonight.

Felt bad and embarrassed but Michelle said that meant I was really working hard.

Had the modifications to the moves and I got some knees protection.

Answer the questions Blog Hop

1.  What is your favorite kind of pie?

My late Mom's Bartlett Pear pie or an oh so bad for me pecan pie from the Stone Crock.

2.  Have you ever ran out of gas in the car you were driving?

No, because I am SUPER paranoid about that.

 
3.  How many languages do you speak?

Just English.

4.  Do you take daily vitamins?

I take Vitamin D, a B12 sublingual and my Omega oil (yuck!)

5.  What is your worst eating habit?

I *HATE* eating in the morning and it is still a struggle for me to get ANYTHING into my stomach before 11 a.m. no matter what time I get up.

 

My first night of Ultra Camp aka the longest fitness test EVER (and a Blog Hop)

So we had to do a fitness test tonight. And I misunderstood at first and thought that our results were all going to be compared to one another and I kicked into anxiety mode.

After Monday and Tuesday night at Emergency First Aid and CPR-B training and certification, I've already been keyed up and this added to it.

The funny thing was - I was really scared about all the parts that involved using my arms but I mistakenly thought I would ace the leg stuff.

Colour me WRONG! I did a decent job at the push-ups and the plank stance thingy (sorry, I don't remember all the names) where I had to hold myself on one arm and lift a weight with my other hand but the backward lunges and the getting right down on the floor (on my front) and back up again all those times really sucked away my time.

As well, the side-to-side jumping over the rolled mat was harder than I thought.

For some reason I did OK with jumping forward and backwards with my feet together but side-to-side, I would get scared about injuring my ankles and I could not keep my feet together.

So I have feet issues. Well, really it's more about my ankles. I don't even know how many times I've had sprained ankles in my life - it's happened that often (and this started when I was a skinny, scrawny kid).

We did some squat things too.

I managed to calm down after 2 near panic/anxiety attacks.

But holy crap, my negative self-talk was back from vacation in full force. I've been doing pretty damn good with laying off the negative self-talk but egads, it was nasty!

It was bitching away at me as I was struggling to complete these movements:

"You look like an idiot."
"Everyone is looking at you."
"They're all going to laugh at you." <-- yes, it was even in Piper Laurie's voice circa the movie "Carrie."
"You can't do this."
"You should be ashamed of yourself."
"You're a joke."
"You're disgusting."
"You're a loser."

So I was trying to squelch the voice, keep focused on what I was doing and not go full-blown into an attack and/or start crying.

Anyway, my fit-test time was 8:01 and at the last class we'll be re-doing them and testing against our own time.

We also ran back and forth across the room (I was speed-walking) and then we were supposed to run up 3 flights of stairs and then back down again (I had to walk it).

My knees felt like they were vibrating and my thighs felt like rubber bands that someone was twanging.

I was also nervous about my knees as they've never been the best since a bully shoved me down the stairs when I was in Grade 7.

I did not realize that boot camp would make me feel so emotional.

I am glad I went, am proud that I did it and I WILL get better, stronger and faster!

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Now, the latest blog hop

another blog hop

OK I like blog hops because it's a good way to search out other bloggers.

another blog hop

Blog hop