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My latest column came out today about what would the perfect day look like with regards to taking care of yourself. You can find it at http://www.times-standard.com/lifestyle/ci_12236306?source=rss I hope you enjoy.
Is it possible to have a perfect day on your diet?(online surveys)
I feel for Oprah, really I do. I have had to battle weight my entire life and I've had ups and downs and back again. I also respect Oprah a great deal. Not only did she come from "nowhere" to become one of richest women on the planet, but she spends her energy for positive causes. She seems to remember from where she comes. I'm sure she has her dark side (as do we all), but for the most part, I think she's a positive contribution to our society. I also admire her willingness to be transparent with the issues and problems of her life. By putting them "out there," she makes it "OK" for the rest of us to accept our own problems. "If she — with everything she has — has problems, I'm not so bad myself," we say. That's inspiring. It's motivational. We move forward.
In a nutshell, we need more "Oprahs."
That said, I saw this clip on Larry King:
My reaction?
It's hard to believe that she didn't know this was a lifelong battle. We never get "over" weight issues; we merely get them under control. But control is illusive and it's fluid. Some days you have it; some days you don't. If you have it more days than you don't, you're in control. If you have it fewer than you do, you're out of control. We can very easily slip back into our old habits.
What to do about it?
Nope, neither do I! I went clothes "shopping" in the dark side of the closet; that section where old too-thin clothes go to hide and you say, "One of these days I'll get back into it." Well, it looks like "one of these days" was today for a nice blue pair of pants I really like!
After five weeks of following the new Weight Watchers Momentum Plan,
when I weighed in last week (my weigh in day is Tuesday), I had lost
another pound, making the grand total eight pounds!!! They say a safe
weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week and, despite the plateau for weeks 2,
3, 4, I'm doing just about the average.
I stood on the scale this morning and had to do a double take. I don't
get on the scale as much as I used to because I found myself obsessing
on it. If the loss is less than I am expecting, I feel bad and say, "Screw it, might as well eat…" If I'm doing well, I say, "Wow! I've got room to move. I can get a little sloppy." Either path leads to the kitchen, and before you know it, I'm eating again. So, I stay off the scale…mostly.
Since my weigh in day is Tuesday, I do tend to get a little antsy on Mondays, so I got on the scale this morning and couldn't believe my eyes! Lately, my morning naked weight (you know, trying to get the lowest possible number) had been around 184-186, which was too high. I got on the program again because early December, it got to 189 and that was just too freakin' scary. When I'm doing real well, my morning weight will be about 180-182. This morning, it was 178! I thought, "What? Is the scale broken?" I got off and on it three times just to make sure. It hasn't been under 180 in as long as I can remember!
Granted, since it seems appropriate to remove all my clothes for my Weight Watchers weigh in, I'll weigh four or five pound more. Still, it's all relative, isn't it?
So, what to do?
Well, the first thing is to run to the closet and dig into the way-back machine of clothing that's too frustrating to put on. There are about four or five shirts I used to like but the buttons pull across my chest or stomach now and it looks tacky. Not to mention, it reminds me that I need to lose weight. I also have about two or three pair of pants back there. The price for wearing them is that I must give up my attachment to breathing.
I tried on the brown ones; nice chocolate color and — without holding my breath or lying on the bed — they slipped right on but are a little short; a sign that I need to lose about two or three more pounds before I venture into the world wearing them. I could have but who needs to be self conscious all day because my pant legs are riding above my ankles? (We used to call those "high waters" when I was a kid and I hated it then.) So, I pulled out the blue ones; lo and behold – marvelous fit and the correct length. I can bend over and breathe! Praise the saints!
Well, with that victory under my belt (literally and figuratively), I needed a shirt and found one of my old favorites. It's been so long that I forgot I even had it. So, I'm wearing a Nehru jacket! (Naw, just joking, it hasn't been that long…) I found a blue and white vertical striped shirt with white color that I used to just love. Wearing it — with a dark blue tie. Looking and feeling fine!
Oh yeah, the coup de grace; I had to go down another notch in my belt!
So, as I posted last week, my first seven days on the new Weight Watchers Momentum Plan went really well. I lost a whole lot of weight and that's inspiring. Now, the question is how to keep it going; you know how motivation goes; it starts strong and immediately starts on a downward slide. I like to "rate" myself in terms of diligence. Last week, I was probably a 95 on a scale of 100. This week, I can feel the "pull" of getting a little sloppier so I'm probably around a 90. I understand, it's not like I've said, "Six pounds! Time to Par-tay!" and have gone crazy (OK, I would never say "par-tay" no matter what the occasion…) but I believe when you see the beginnings of a problem is when it's easiest to correct it.
So, what to do?
The question is how do you keep on track during what is considered the hardest time of the year during what might be arguably called one of the hardest years? I gave that some thought. Here are four steps I'm working on. I hope it helps.
1. Slow down
I was watching Meet the Press this morning. (I had a choice between Condoleezza Rice on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" or President-Elect Obama on Meet the Press. It was a no-brainer.) Most of Tom Brokaw's discussion with the incoming president was about the important issues we face: national security, domestic issues, finances, etc. However toward the end, Brokaw asked Mr. Obama about smoking. Here's the exchange:
So what does that have to do with weight loss?
I am — or was — in a real funk today. I’m a little better now but I though it would help (me) to share it.
I just woke up that way and I can’t trace it to anything in particular. It’s just like a big giant dark cloud is hanging over my head. I’ve got enough therapy behind me to let me know that it’s OK to feel down once in a while; it’s actually healthy. But, I’ve got enough of a “fixer” in me to also tell me that it’s OK to try and figure out why and fix the damn thing.
I mean, when I think about things on the grand scale, I’m doing better than most. And, if one looks at my “seven lessons of prosperity,” prosperity, that feeling of being OK with most of the world, is a “most of the time kind of thing.” I think it’s more on a the small scale. But, what the hell, I’m getting philosophical. It doesn’t matter. It still feels like crap and when I feel like crap, I am more inclined to eat without control. That won’t solve a thing, so I’ve got to do something different.
So, I did a little thinking and several things are bothering me:
I spent last weekend with my wife on the Smith River (see previous post). I spent a lot of time writing and figuring out where I "want to be." Being a "solopreneur," I can get dragged in so many directions. I get stressed. I eat. Repeat cycle.
So, following the advice of my dear friend and accountabilibuddy, Rich DiGirolamo, I decided to take some time and write. I mean, actually write, none of this computer stuff (like I'm doing now).
So, I sat and wrote. Who am I? What do I do? What do I enjoy? What do I want to stop doing? You know, all those light, easy-to-answer questions that don't affect one's life. Simple stuff. (Yeah, right.) It helped. It gave me some clarity — and some confusion.
I decided:
OK, here’s the question. Supposed someone came to you and said he could guarantee you would never again have to battle weight (or whatever your bad habit is). You would be “cured” of all cravings. You would never want to go off your program. However, the price would be that for the rest of you life, you had to follow a very specific, unyielding, exact program and could not waver, no matter what the circumstances. If you made one slip, you were off the program and regained all your weight and could not start again, would you give up all choice to achieve that?
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I summed up my life in a conversation with my sister a few months ago.
"How are you?" she asked.
"I’m working hard at relaxing," I replied without thinking of the implications.
That sums me up, "Working hard at relaxing." Wrong on so many levels.
This is my busy travel season. (If you’d like to read some of my columns on travel click here. If you’d like to read some other postings in this blog about travel, click here.)
The good news is I can pay my bills and I get to meet a lot of people who are really cool. The bad news is I have to subject myself to the airlines’ special brand of customer abuse for the next few months. (If you have not traveled on an airline in awhile, you’ll find the clip — sent to me by my good friend Rich DiGirolamo — below from Mad TV very funny. If you have been on an airline recently, you will find it recognizable, causing much groaning.)
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