Okay, when Week 1 officially started is a little hazy...
- If it started when I began swimming, well that was shortly after I went off in 2018... I mean, it was an irregular thing, but it’s when I started!?
- If it was when I decided that I want to love myself again (and not be angry or frustrated by all the things I can no longer do the way I used to), well then that was around the time of New Years.
- If it was when I decided I needed to lose weight, well... um, yeah... I have lost count of all those times. But this time, was on Sunday the 9th of February... well around then, at least. I had been to the doctors that week previous to get my Uric Acid levels checked (basically blood tests, to check everything) and was talking to the nurse - I have been wheezy with asthma, tired, depressed, sore, and so much more. She weighed me, and it was a shock... 140kg!? She asked me about the weight management programme (which I did a few years back and was not pleased with) and when I said I would join a programme but did not have the money for it, she said that was now a part of the weight management programme and she would refer me. Three days later, thinking about tonnes of stuff, I decided to look at the prices and signed up (even though we had already done my shop for the week and had not planned, even though I was waiting for the Weight Management referral to go through, etc...). It wasn’t the smartest plan but I decided I needed to take some sort of first step. (FYI - a week later, I have now had to email and cancel that plan as the weight management one has come through... I will not have gone to my first meeting yet until this up coming Saturday, the 22nd).
- Is it when my mother and I decided on how we would start swimming before work a couple days a week, as that was this Saturday (the 15th)....
- Is it when I began looking at and planning meals and making healthier foods to eat, as that was sort of last week (some planning) and yesterday (a day of cooking, which I over did it and later regretted as I was so sore from the effort).
- Or... no, I think I will stop there.
You can see Week 1 is not easy to define... I am defining this as Week 1! This is when I took my mother’s advice and began to document this journey.
One thing I need to point out, one very important thing... I am NOT “dieting”. I have purposely not used that word. I have dieted previously, and no, not again. It does not work. Yes, I am joining Weight Watchers. Yes, I do need to lose weight. But no... over the past few years, with everything that has happened to me, I have changed... therefore it is time to start making other changes now. It’s time to make some lifestyle changes, like swimming more or making slight modifications to my eating habits. I am working on changing my mindset and my motivations. I have not had much control over what has happened to me over the last few years, and so am taking back control in the ways that I want and need to help me feel good again.
Last week, on Thursday, I joined my current workplace’s Weight Loss Challenge... to keep me motivated to make these changes. It’s not going to be easy, and so anywhere I can get support I will accept it.
As I said already, I am not dieting... that means, I am not going to feel guilty about occasionally eating bad, but on a regular basis I need to start making better choices. Today, instead of a sandwich and Doritos, because they are light to carry and easy to make, I had homemade soup and oranges. I need to cut back on carbs, and eating them all day long at every meal is not good for me. The only carbs that I had today were at dinner, as I am finishing off some ready meals that I have in the freezer. It is about making smarter choices. All that being said, I need to be careful as well. It is not just a choice of switching to the sugar-free or low-fat versions. I am allergic to aspartame and so need to be very careful as it is in so much now.
Today has not been a bad day - yoghurt and blueberries for breakfast, green tea and water through the day, homemade soup and oranges for lunch and snack. My dinner was the only meal today that had carbs; it was a ready meal pasta dish which I added some veg to.
One thing I need to work at, is ensuring I eat enough to sustain me, and not to skip eating. I can be bad at this, if not hungry or if something else distracts me then I can go whole days, which is not good for me either. I know in the past, when I did diet, that I sometimes struggled to eat enough of the right foods... this will be a challenge for me. I am making changes, but need to ensure that I am getting what my body needs. I need to ensure that my sugar levels and vitamin levels are reasonable. That I stay hydrated.
I have been slowly shifting over the past few weeks, if I need something with a bit of a crunch through the day, instead of a lunch-sized bag of Doritos, I have been starting to take carrot sticks. Today when I craved something sweet, I had an easy-peel mandarin orange. Instead of drinking black tea with sugar, I drank green tea all day as I don’t find it as bitter and do not need sugar in it. The big difference between the past attempts at losing weight and now, as I already mentioned is mindset. I am not going to say, I can’t eat that right now as I am losing weight... I think this is where I went wrong before... now, if I really want something and have been eating well and making good choices then there is no harm in indulging once In a while, so long as it is done smartly and occasionally. I am not going to avoid foods just to lose weight and then start eating them again at a later date, as that is how the weight just comes back. I need to learn how to eat properly and deal with all foods, as if I do this right then this will just become my new norm. It is going to be keeping this in mind and learning how to live with food so that it does not become a guilty pleasure or something bad. I still want to enjoy all the things life has to offer, and that includes foods, but I need to ensure that most of the time I am doing what is in my best interest.
So, Week 1 of this journey is off to a start. I am making a record, so that I can look back and see how far I travel, to use to motivate me (or maybe others), and just because I can. I am going to learn to love myself again and be comfortable in my own skin; it’s going to be a lifestyle change but also a mindset shift. So, let’s see what happens, where I end up, and how I get there.
Last week, on Thursday, I joined my current workplace’s Weight Loss Challenge... to keep me motivated to make these changes. It’s not going to be easy, and so anywhere I can get support I will accept it.
As I said already, I am not dieting... that means, I am not going to feel guilty about occasionally eating bad, but on a regular basis I need to start making better choices. Today, instead of a sandwich and Doritos, because they are light to carry and easy to make, I had homemade soup and oranges. I need to cut back on carbs, and eating them all day long at every meal is not good for me. The only carbs that I had today were at dinner, as I am finishing off some ready meals that I have in the freezer. It is about making smarter choices. All that being said, I need to be careful as well. It is not just a choice of switching to the sugar-free or low-fat versions. I am allergic to aspartame and so need to be very careful as it is in so much now.
Today has not been a bad day - yoghurt and blueberries for breakfast, green tea and water through the day, homemade soup and oranges for lunch and snack. My dinner was the only meal today that had carbs; it was a ready meal pasta dish which I added some veg to.
One thing I need to work at, is ensuring I eat enough to sustain me, and not to skip eating. I can be bad at this, if not hungry or if something else distracts me then I can go whole days, which is not good for me either. I know in the past, when I did diet, that I sometimes struggled to eat enough of the right foods... this will be a challenge for me. I am making changes, but need to ensure that I am getting what my body needs. I need to ensure that my sugar levels and vitamin levels are reasonable. That I stay hydrated.
I have been slowly shifting over the past few weeks, if I need something with a bit of a crunch through the day, instead of a lunch-sized bag of Doritos, I have been starting to take carrot sticks. Today when I craved something sweet, I had an easy-peel mandarin orange. Instead of drinking black tea with sugar, I drank green tea all day as I don’t find it as bitter and do not need sugar in it. The big difference between the past attempts at losing weight and now, as I already mentioned is mindset. I am not going to say, I can’t eat that right now as I am losing weight... I think this is where I went wrong before... now, if I really want something and have been eating well and making good choices then there is no harm in indulging once In a while, so long as it is done smartly and occasionally. I am not going to avoid foods just to lose weight and then start eating them again at a later date, as that is how the weight just comes back. I need to learn how to eat properly and deal with all foods, as if I do this right then this will just become my new norm. It is going to be keeping this in mind and learning how to live with food so that it does not become a guilty pleasure or something bad. I still want to enjoy all the things life has to offer, and that includes foods, but I need to ensure that most of the time I am doing what is in my best interest.
So, Week 1 of this journey is off to a start. I am making a record, so that I can look back and see how far I travel, to use to motivate me (or maybe others), and just because I can. I am going to learn to love myself again and be comfortable in my own skin; it’s going to be a lifestyle change but also a mindset shift. So, let’s see what happens, where I end up, and how I get there.
Comments
Post a Comment