Staying on track for the holidays- my holiday list 2012

Links for tips for  weight maintenance during the holidays.

Dr. Berkeley has some great tips for weight maintenance at her blog, Refuse to Regain. Read the tips here. I have to say I'll be doing all items except #8 on Dr. Berkeley's list, because I don't drink. 

I also liked the link to the Beck Diet Solution page from last year. Here

Here are what works for me for staying on track and dealing with holiday food, baking, traditions, feelings, and sabotage.

0. Hook into that good feeling

• I weigh daily
• I tell myself, I'm going to stay on my plan today in the morning
• I stay on plan
• I feel awesome at night when I'm winding down the day.
• I love that feeling.
• I wake up the next morning and I feel awesome most of the time
• rinse and repeat

1.  Gifts: Cookies, cakes, fudge, food other than tea or coffee

• I've communicated that I don't eat sweets or baked goods. 
• This stops most drive by cookie/food items right from the get-go. 
• If given items away from home- either trash or immediate re-gift. Away from the giver.
• I prefer trash, as no one really needs obesity or diabetes. 
• If given items at home, Jr. Family member gets 1 item of choosing.  
• Then the rest hits the trash can.  Away from the giver. 
• There is no holiday baking (sweets) at my house.
•  I baked "for others" and ate for myself too much. I'm onto my slippery slope thinking. 
• I put a stop to that for my commitment to my goal. 
• Jr. Family member can bake in most other places she goes. 
• The homeless shelter I serve food has an overload of sweets from a local company- every day.
•  Don't  try the donations to the food bank or shelter suggestion. Mind sabotage. I'm on to it!!
• Ignore any "Mean Mom" comments. Part of Sabotage. I don't drink that Kool-aid. 
• Sabotage. This still happens. Politely decline. "No thank you, Doctor says". 
• I'm never, ever giving in. EVER. Slippery slope thinking and obesity are exhausting...
•  Sing to the tune of that Taylor Swift song. ;)

2. Holiday Meals

• Pass on expensive holiday parties where there is no gluten free food on a pre-fixed menu.
• Check the menu or bring my own on plan item
• Eat before hand, show up after the meal. 
• Explain to the host/hostess. Most people are on board. A little tweaking goes a long way. 
• Draw a line around those who are not on board (don't go in there!)
•  I won't change their mind. That's okay. 
• I do what's best for me. Doctor says. I decided. Talk matches the walk. 
• Coffee or really good decaf is a great way to finish a holiday meal
• Flavored tea (watch for teas with gluten- yikes!!) apple, cinnamon, peppermint, pumpkin. Major holiday flavors without the calories or triggers.

3. Activity

• Take an outside break, hike, or walk. 
• Ask others to join, but plan to go it alone if they all say no. 
• Take my camera, practicing my hobby is stress relief
• Plan an outside activity for the whole family.
• Always make time for exercise. Even if I fly, I can walk the air terminal or hit a hotel gym.

4. Holiday traditions 

The new Normal:

• I am not the Grinch.
• I am a previously overweight person who needs the new normal
• I deserve to feel awesome and want to be in holiday photos.
• Find recipes that work for the new food plan. 
• Use spices that are holiday like, without the trigger food.
• Enjoy people and places. 
• Visit with people who are in the area once a year.
• Take a walk on the beach. 
• Take a hike inland. 
• Ski, skate, or snow shoe if the mountains & weather permit. 
• Board games
• Wii Fit games
• Volunteer
• Travel
• Work to fill in for others with small children. 
• See, I'm not really the Grinch
• My clothes still fit come January

Zip- Zip Hooray. Santa is bringing revenge clothes. Best January gift ever. Totally within my control. Onward.  Discuss. Any other ideas? 

Thanksgiving 2012

I'm thankful for good recipes that keep me well. The ability to cook and provide for my family. Crockpot Turkey Breast. (my photo- recipe from Stupid Easy Paleo)

The two tortoiseshell kittens we adopted- the cool, relaxed cat (sup?) 

The cuddly one who likes to perch on the coffee pot

For replacing foods that fuel rather than trigger. Fat Guacamole Deviled eggs. My own photo- recipe from Mark's Daily apple.

My health so I can walk and take a few photos on my walks.

My house and neighbors. We are so lucky to live in this place.

And of course for my family- especially Jr. Family member, my friends, my job. Happy Thanksgiving. 

Please know, you can celebrate while staying on track. Your pie hole does not require pie. Show the slippery slope thinking the curb. Really. This Thanksgiving will come and go. Stick with your plan. Your body does not know that it is Thanksgiving. Monday will come soon enough. Listen.... wait for it.... zip-zip hooray. My clothes will fit. Because I will stay on plan. No mater what. Notice I am stating this and not saying "I hope it will work" "It's Thanksgiving, I'm going to indulge".  

Is it worth it to trigger yourself?  Stay on plan. I  will be doing just that. You are not alone when you stick with the foods that make you well, instead of choosing foods that make you sick.  Onward.  Happy Thanksgiving. 

Power to the graph and pedometer- maintenance tools

Hello All, 

I've got the computer blues a couple of different ways. I'm keeping it all in perspective, though. Minimal in comparison to Hurricane, Economy, and world issues. 

I've realized that my walking and my weight control are very, very linked. Much more than I ever realized. See the weight chart above? Pretty typical, normal variation for me. By graphing my weight and looking back at my habits, I was able to figure out that 

7,000 steps will keep me maintaining, higher level

10,000 steps will keep me maintaining, lower level

10,000+ steps means I need to eat more to maintain my weight, but not MUCH more. 

I enjoyed Roni's post on weight graphing at google. I'm going to plot both weight and steps over a month. 

And, I've also learned that I'm a really,really poor estimator of my activity levels so my pedometer is a must. Otherwise the slippery slope thinking steps in. "Oh, I walked a lot today, so I deserve XY&Z". This does not work any more. I kicked that thinking to the curb. It tries to get back into my car; I drive quickly around that road block and keep going. Cookies, biscotti and mini-candy bars are not foods I could out exercise.

Yesterday's steps. The little figure "cheers" for me if I walk over 10,000 steps. I love this pedometer from Omron. I've had it for over a year and it even took a swim in my washer. It clips onto my clothes, so I don't loose it. It was $20-30- less than a fitbit. Doesn't always track some of my stairs or eliptical activity, but that is okay with me. 

What does work

Food/Fuel

Now I check my pedometer and sautee up some kale, asparagus and/or some protein- chicken thigh, half of a turkey or salmon burger.  and I fuel. I don't feed the thinking that got me 72 pounds overweight. 

Self check- I ask myself "What do I need right now?" I feed my body food from the template if I need, sleep if I need, music or podcasts if I need. 

Move it more: Yeah, If I'm at 7000 steps, I do tend to head out for a walk. No excuses. Makes all the difference. Grab the camera and look for cool stuff. I'm never disappointed. 

The liquid amber tree is the closest tree there is compared to a maple tree here in So. Cal.  Love those fall colors. Not like the mid-west, but still a few colors to see. 

Does anyone else have an activity threshold where they know they will start to gain if they don't exercise a certain amount? Discuss.

Okay, I owe posts on two topics- transition from Medifast to Paleo (Hils) and loose skin (Vicky). If the computer holds up, I'll be back soon for those posts.

Photo update- 9 Months maintaining

October 31, 2012

Here's a side view of 9 moths of maintenance. Sill rocking the Danskos

Eating very little processed foods- Paleo diet, exercising regularly- Primal lifestyle, getting the mental game in check- adopting what works from other maintainers, changing the way I deal with stress- the answer is not in the snack cabinet.  All of these new behaviors and techniques really make a difference. 

 Anyone who thinks that you WILL regain after a big weight loss- well that might happen. It's not easy, but successful weight maintenance  can be done in many cases. And it's certainly worth a try. Lots of people do- Weight Watcher's long time lifetime members, successful lap banders, Take Shape for Life Coaches, total transformation bloggers & cross-fitters, clean eaters, bicycle riders, gym rats.   There is no one way. There is only the right way for you.

 Because if you tell yourself you can't, you probably won't.  If you tell yourself you will find a way no matter what, you probably will. I've had some people tell me I can't. And to that, I say- WATCH ME.  

May 2011

Because I cannot even remember the person in the photo below. And, it's only been a year and a half.  And, I needed to know that there were other maintainers out there who were successful. Before I took the first steps...  We are stronger together. 

9 month Weight Maintenance- checking in

 
I hit my 9 month mark for maintaining 72 pounds (  plus or minus 2 pounds) on Nov 3,2012.  What did I do to celebrate?  I went to Disneyland!!! Well, really, a kind relative gave us park hopper tickets and the tickets were about to expire. My relatives are awesome.

Anyhoo, as I was walking around both parks for 13+ hours I had a lot of time to think about where I was, where I was going, and how things were going. I was struck by not just weight maintenance but by the following improvements in my overall health

Improved:
1. Weight Maintenance- longest time ever at a stable weight. 40 years of trying. Wow. Just Wow.
2. More muscle tone, strength, balance.
3. Over all fitness- I walked 23,000+ steps that day- some were "in-line" shuffles. I woke up the next day and did a 45 min walk including a steep hill with no problem at all
4. Better sleep- I sleep longer, better, and dream more.
5. Less stress- better life balance. I work hard at work, then leave it behind and jump into my home family life. Crazy busy, but keeping the balance is key.  I'm more engaged in both places.
6. Blood work: Holy Smokes!!! My CRP went from 6.8 to 0.8. Hemaglobin A1C from trending high 5.7% to 5.3%. HDL went from the 40's to the 80's. Weight loss and removing foods like wheat have really made all the difference. 

Total transformation between my obesity days and today. The willingness to work a solid maintenance plan has made all the difference in the world.

It's not all Disneyland though. Here's what I still struggle with daily or occasionally

Struggles:
1.  Looking objectively at the scale if I'm gaining
2. Getting to the gym two times a week- already going once a week or doing at home strength. (improved, but still slippery slope thinking here)
3. Time to get in my walking.
4. Going to bed earlier some nights and turning off the google reader...
5. Stress- balancing it all- lots of work here, ongoing.
6. Time spent cooking, packing food, shopping for fresh food. I love, love, love my fresh food and eating style- but I find I do get tired of washing all those dishes and food containers for the foods I take to work. Small price to pay for the benefits, so I suck it up and keep moving on this one. My bio-markers (blood work) are totally dependent upon the quality of food I put into my body. That mountain of dishes is not too tall to tackle!

Well, that is the scoop here. I'm sure that there are Non-scale victories that you found in weight maintenance, too. Feel free to discuss. We are stronger together.

A plan for weight maintenance- while loosing

 

I read an awesome post from the Refuse to Regain website. Planning my first maintenance year took a lot of reading, work, thinking, planning, and then finally testing out what worked and what did not. 

Here is a link to the post 

Setting up a solid plan about 20 pounds before I hit goal weight gave me enough time to formulate a plan, get my head wrapped around what I would likely need to do. My weight loss tool this time was much different than my maintenance plan was this time. They were very separate and different phases I studied the new plan like a student.

I still do!!!  Anyhoo. Give the article a read and and a thought if you are nearing goal. I can say that I entered into weight maintenance much more prepared. I still have to and had to tweak the plan here and there. That's what the first year is all about- IMO.

One tweak- I'm pretty much off dairy now. I never thought I would need to be, but too many side effects. On one hand, I'm glad I know- sinus trouble and acne are no bueno. On the other hand, I miss feta cheese and an occasional latte. Not worth it, but worth feeling better.

9 month check in will be up this weekend. Still rocking it.  Much more than a stable weight. More soon.

Did any of you have a plan for maintenance? Did you have to change up to make it work?