Letting the Scale Dictate Your Mood

I never now what to think when members at Weight Watchers through the normal greeting my way:

Me: "How are you today?"
Member: "I'll let you know in a minute!"

Of course, they all say it with a bit of humor in mind, but really do they?
I had my monthly weigh in on Saturday, the last Saturday of the month.  It was not good! Since it was not good, I did let it get me down food wise the entire day.  I didn't track, I ate way too many snacks and I just plain was mad at the scale!  I went to the gym and worked my tail off for an hour, but proceeded to the grocery store to buy food for dinner and a few extra "I deserve them for exercising" snacks. Nothing horrible, two energy bars and a diet root beer, but after the few snacks I had before hitting the gym, I was not in need of more calories, just a better mood.

I usually am fine about the scale since I know that my weight fluctuates a bunch through out the week, but that ONE official weigh in every month seems to get me worked up.  Not sure if it will ever change, maybe if I ever see positive movement in the right direction. 

Happy Monday, raining here again...

Time to Fess Up

I weighed in this evening for the first time in almost a month. Had to do it as WW employees are required to submit a weigh in sheet by the 15th of each month. I posted a 6.6 lb. gain. I knew it was coming and was trying to put it off as long as possible. I know what my problem is, I track what I want. I eat until my points are gone and then I snack some more without writing anything down. Thinking that if I don't write it down, it didn't happen. I've had some late night snacking issues especially the last week or two waiting for baby. I've stayed up too late and snacked on good choices, but not good portions. Again, the Fiber One Bars came back to bite me. Two nights in a row I've finished an entire box. You would think by now I should know better than to even buy the darn things. I am snacking especially when I'm tired and sleep has been a luxury item these last two weeks. Doesn't seem to be going to get any better since school is now out for the summer and the kiddos think that means bedtime is now 10:00.

So what's my plan? I will track daily, writing EVERYTHING down or at least keeping track in my head and stopping when I am out of points. I haven't written anything down since reaching lifetime and I know what I usually eat for breakfast and lunch, it's dinner and evening snacks that I need to track. I will also exercise daily once again. I have been ignoring this important aspect, but the last two nights have decided once again that it is important and at 9:15ish, I have hopped on the elliptical. I'm so tired, it really doesn't keep my awake any longer than I would be anyway. Actually, tonight I made a pot of coffee at 9:00 just so I would be awake enough to exercise.

WW 4-way approach involves the acronym: TEAM. T~Think First, E~Eat Wisely, A~Attend Meetings, M~Move More. I know what to do, now I just need to do it.

Journaling

I've been journaling without exception since last April. This week, I have been experimenting with not journaling. I have found that I eat pretty much the same breakfast and lunch, so why not try? The reason I have found: it is much easier to snack and add a handful of this or a bite of that when you're not keeping track of what you're eating.

Today, I was doing a "In the News" group with several residents. There happened to be a story about Rachel Corrie. There is a play about her short life "My Name is Rachel Corrie." When reading the story to the group of residents, we started talking about dairies. I asked everyone in the group if they had ever written in a dairy. Every single one of them admitted that they had NOT written in a dairy, but also everyone wished that they would have. Most did know someone who kept a dairy. Several had mothers who kept journals of the weather, daily menus and chores. One resident had a mother who became very ill, but the family was able to keep everything running smoothly as she had kept details notes in her dairy.

I've kept a dairy at my bedside since getting married and write in it every so often when I have something exciting to share. Usually, I write about big purchases, personal milestones, job changes, family additions and the such, but on occasion I have written about regular days. It is definitely these regular days that intrigue me the most and I tend to re-read those entries most often. Our lives are made up of mostly regular days and it's those regular days that shape our lives.

I will continue to keep a dairy and start writing more often as I know I am not writing for myself because I rarely read what I write, but more for those who will read it sometime in the future. I will also continue to journal my food daily as it will help to remind me of the importance of my choices.