Picking

 I thought I would share my non scale victory with you all. I used to be a 'picker' if Liam was eating something different to me I would have a taste of what he was having, a couple of chips, a bite of sandwich, crust from a slice of pizza. Overtime this has got worse and become more frequent. I have never noticed an effect on my losses but the weeks of unexpected gains could have been down to that. On Monday I gained 2lb, I know it could have been down to the wedding but I didnt think I did that bad and I do think some of it is down to the picking (last week was a bad week for it!). After Mondays wi I decided to try my best to banish the picking and so far so good. Its still baby steps but all in the right direction. On Wednesday I had none of his chips or coselaw at Nandos (when we went last Saturday I had a few chips and couple of mouthfuls of coselaw). For lunch today he had a pizza and I love eating a few pieces of crust when hes eaten the pizza and today I had none - not even a bite. It is taking a lot of willpower but I am glad I am doing it and feeling very proud! It has taken a lot for my to share this with you and feeling better for doing so. Lets hope we see a big change in my losses from now!

I have been lucky that Ive managed to give up picking completely, for others it might not be that easy. But saying no just once a day or week is a start and it will get easier and easier over time. Every little thing you change is a step closer to your goal.

Changes

 I have been thinking a lot recently about the changes I have noticed since the start of the year.

There are obvious weight changes, I have gone from 16 stone in July 2009 to 13 stone in April 2012.

There are obvious size changes, that can be seen from these measurements;

Waist 42inches - 35 inches - 7 inches lost
Thigh 30 - 27 - 3 inches lost
Calf 18 - 16 - 2 inches lost
Bust 40 - 36 4inches lost
Arm 16 - 13.5 - 2.4 inches lost

Also I have gone from a 20 on bottom to a 14 and a 18 on top to a 12/14.

There are physical changes that can be seen from this photo.

But I have been thinking about the changes that cannot be seen in photos, cannot be measured in pounds or inches, the mindset changes which I personally think are the most important changes as they they shape the weight losses and the inches losses.

I used to struggle a lot with weight loss, which is why its taken me so long but recently its changed and Ive lost a stone in the last 10 weeks, a new record for me!

My mindset has changed completely, I used to give into temptation so easily and never get anywhere.

Last night we went for tea as a family, me, my fiance, my mum and her partner and it was Wetherspoons, they had no salads left, no jacket potatos or rice so my options were blown! I decided to have nothing, and sat with my diet coke, it wasnt as bad as thought, so I waited, went home and had steak, jacket potato, mushroom and tomato. Much nicer and no syns! I was very proud of myself and evidence that I had changed.

I am a totally different person to what I was now, I think about things before I eat, think would I rather get a loss this week or enjoy bad food for a matter of minutes? I still use my syns and have the treats, but they are concious treats and controlled not overeating.

My exercise has changed too, I always had the mindset if I was not walking miles or doing a big gym session it was not worth doing. But I have decided a little exercise is better than non, I walk daily to work, around half a  mile from where I park my car and back again. I walk a lot at work, its a big hospital and lots of corridors. I also purchased an exercise bike on Thursday, I did 5 k in 15 minutes on Thursday and today, Saturday I did 5 k in 13 minutes so knocked 2 minutes off my time. Ive realised some exercise is better than non. Every little helps as they say!



Sabotage

I think everyone has been subject to sabotage at some point, I know I have. A friend or family member encouraging you to stop losing weight or for you to have a day off plan.

Some friends and family will be doing this intentionally because they are worried about you, some will do it intentionally because they are jealous and other will do it without even realising they are doing it.

The problem is, how do I get around this? Getting around this will not always be simple, the first step is to say no, simple say you do not want whatever they are offering you, they may take offence or be unhappy with you, just explain, explain your doing very well at the moment and you do not want to ruin your hard work. You do not have to be left out, for example if your at a coffee shop and they are eating cakes, have a fruit salad or offer to share with someone so its half the portion.

If you have explain before and they still are not getting it and their sabotaging efforts are getting more regular, have a word with them. Maybe they do realise they are doing it and will be shocked when you speak to them, when you have spoke to them they may realise that they are upsetting you and stop it. If they do realise and are not willing to stop (which I find unlikely) you can discuss their reasons. You can explain your happy losing the weight, you can tell them why you are losing the weight and reassure them that it is healthy and you will not go too far.



Guilt

Guilt - the state of being responsible for committing an offence.

The above definition of guilt is a bit extreme for guilt relating to our weight loss journeys but for some people the guilt of giving into temptation does feel like a big offence.

We have all given in at one time, had a big blow out or just gone over our syns and I bet at one time or another one of us has felt a tremendous amount of guilt over giving in.

So how do we deal with this guilt? Move on! It was one mistake, it has happened and cannot be undone. Just forget it, accept it has happened and learn from it so it does not happen next time. Make sure you get on plan at your next meal, if you have gone off track at lunch then make your evening meal an on plan meal, do not wait till tomorrow or the guilt will be worse which will make it harder to get back on track.

Guilt is a horrible feeling, we all feel it at some point but the best way it to forget and get back on plan and the next possible time.

Temptation

Temptation is something we all face everyday, some of us more than once a day. It is a very tricky situation, it is a fabulous feeling if we resist, we feel proud and like we can take on the world!

If we give into temptation, we feel happy for a short while, it tastes so good, we feel so happy. Then we finish, the happiness is replaced with guilt we feel sick, sad and regret giving in. We wish for a magical time machine to go back and resist.

It takes so much will power to resist something, if there is a fruit bowl for dessert or ice cream, I bet most of us would want the ice cream. If we resist, we sometimes sit for a while afterwards thinking about the temptation, in some ways regretting our decision and maybe wishing we had given in. The feeling is short term, eventually regret is replaced with feeling proud and we are glad we resisted.

Next time it will be easier, we all face temptations whether we are new members or target members but the more we resist the easier it gets. It will never be pain free, there will always be a tiny bit of doubt as to whether we should have eaten a chocolate brownie all to ourselves but we will feel happier than we would have if we had eaten it and our waist will thank us too ;)

Positivity

Being positive is very difficult sometimes. When something negative happens it is very difficult to look past the bad things and find something good, a silver lining no matter how small. Not just in everyday life but in our weight loss journeys.

For example, you have had an amazing week, you have counted every syn and eaten lots of super free and exercised, yet the scales say a maintain of weight. You instantly forget you did everything you could and more and focus on the negativity that you did not lose any weight. Your not alone, a lot of us do this, instead why not forget it and move on, do the same this week and I bet you see the results next week. If you sit and think, there will be a reason behind not getting your results, you might not be able to think immediately but maybe later on, ping, it will come to you.

Sometime it is a struggle to stay on plan, things come up so you cannot make something healthy, other people make your food or it is just simply unavoidable. Do not fret, get on plan again as soon as you can, forget the time off plan and just draw a line and a fresh start. I could not stay on plan Friday or Saturday and it was completely out of my control but today I woke up, got back on it and forget the other two days, there is no need to throw a whole weeks hard work away just for a simple slip up. I am not expecting a loss this week but I know I will not gain as I have taken control.

Try this also in your personal life, it is not always easy but it is possible. If something bad happens, look for the positive side, sometimes it is very hard to find them but nine times out of ten there is something positive to look for. 

Remember...always look for that silver lining....

Goals

We all have one main common goal to lose weight and get to our target weight. Some people focus too much on the end goal, it sometimes makes more sense to, things that can be achieved sooner to spur you on.

For example, doing regular exercise. That was my mini goal and I now do 30-60 minutes a day and really enjoy it.

Also aim for each half a stone (7lb) goal, then every time you reach a new half a stone goal you will get a sense of achievement.

Focusing on mini goals instead of the end is a simpler way to look at things and you will be at your own goal in no time if you focus on the mini goals to get you there.