Saturday, May 31, 2014

Weight is shifting higher this week- Data and actions prevail

Just a quick weekend check in and a few observations.

My weight has shifted higher this week. I came down with some mild GI stuff late Thursday and then positional vertigo Friday morning.

I'm feeling better, but still having some break through vertigo. I've noticed an upward trend  in my weight and I'm now into my "scream weight" zone.

I don't use any shame or blame. I'm not emotionally eating or wanting to binge eat. All good for my mental state. No excuses either. It is what it is. That's why I updated my bio's everywhere ( Pinterest, Instagram, FB, Twitter to 68 pounds in maintenance) Full disclosure is best! 

I do use the tools that I know work fully during these times.
Top tools for reversing a trend (no matter what the root cause is)
1. Determining root cause ( if possible). This trend has to be virus related, I've decided. May be more, but at a minimum, the virus
2. Continue to weigh in daily
3. Continue as many normal activities as I can ( walking, cooking, house cleaning, working)
4. Discontinuing anything that will make it worse ( looking in high up places, ladders, etc)
5. Batch cooking bone broth. Relying on some broth I had in the freezer. Good stuff.

Now I'll start to use advanced tools like

1. Food tracking until I'm at a lower weight. My Fitness Pal- you ROCK!
2. Some journaling to make sure there's no other root causes.
3. Prioritizing sleep at night and tracking sleep.


That's what works.  Here's what did not work in the past when I would gain weight:

1. Avoid the scale ( because I know it will be up and "I can't handle it")
2. Eat comfort foods ( "I'm sick, I deserve...____ carby, sweet food")
3. Discontinue exercise ( I'm sick so I'll skip walking today..)
4. Eating junk food out because I did not feel like cooking.

I suspect that the ineffective cycle of using processed foods probably kept me sick and binging much more than I ever knew. I can see it. Good to have the blinders off.  It helps to look at it from a Lifeguard approach, from a distance away. Easy to spot stinking thinking quicker that way. Doing an "ostrich" approach always steered me away from my goals and my health.

I'll do my usual June 3 check in next week.


15 comments:

  1. Good for you on staying on top of things!
    I love myfitnesspal and just finished making bone broth :)
    Have a great weekend and I hope you're feeling better asap

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    1. Thanks, Suzanne. Hmmmm broth... so good. I have a mug or two a day until I feel well.

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  2. Sorry you haven't been up to snuff. I get the positional vertigo if I lean to far over/down...not so much looking up/on ladders. Isn't it odd how it affect people differently? It's a real challenge with 3 dogs, each under 9 lbs., one being a chihuahua. I have to be very mindful of how I interact/play with her. ;)

    I know this will be in your rear view mirror soon!

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    1. Thanks, Gwen! I thought of you. Ugh must be tough with the doggies. Hard to keep my head in one or two positions. I had to tell my co-workers about it so no one thought I was intoxicated!!! LOL. I don't drink and they know it.....

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  3. Any illness, mild or not so mild does have an affect on our bodies. Obviously depending on the illness, virus infection etc some may see a loss of weight and some a gain. It's important not to get 'too carried away' but to look at things logically, some cannot always manage this. But Karen, in my opinion, this is one of your strongest points.

    I wish you back to full fitness soonest and then stable weight will be there I'm sure.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thanks, Jan! I do hope this passes quick. Hard to remember not to look up too high at things... sigh! :)

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  4. Might not be the case, just asking -

    Did you have higher than normal sodium intake?

    Because that is what sets off vertigo issues for me (and makes my weight go up at same time).

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    1. That's a thought, Vickie. I don't think it's salt related. I had some GI troubles the night before and any virus (respiratory or GI) seems to trigger the vertigo. I seem to do better when I sip broth with a small amount of sea salt in it. I can do some experimenting on this once I get feeling better. If have sea salt I'm okay with weight. If I have conventional salt, I bloat up.

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    2. I went to inner ear physical therapy. And it was the therapist who told me about the salt correlation. I don't have to have a high salt intake, just a higher than normal for me (which is still low) and it will cause problems.

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    3. I'll do some testing on this soon, Vickie. I feel about 3-5 times better after I have the homemade bone broth. I make it with either low or no salt, then I use sea salt depending on the weather. I'm one of those people whose blood pressure is so low, that without salt, I could easily have side effects from the low pressure. In the winter, I don't need as much salt, so I adjust. I may do well on a decongestant at this point... also proper positioning at night. Positioning at night is KEY. I messed it up last night. I've got a Lazy Boy recliner in the office. I may sleep there overnight tonight. I'll be getting my blood pressure tested today at a drug store. I know it's not high, so that is good...

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  5. I've been dealing with unexplained shin pain and accompanying swelling this week and have been surprised how much easier it is to avoid the soothing with food cycle than it used to be. By tracking every morsel I eat, checking my blood sugar regularly, and sticking with my weekly weigh-in, I'm finding that I don't have much desire to inflict more damage on my poor body than it's already dealing with.

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    1. Hi Denise, it's taken me 2-3 years, but finally, finally I don't crave my binge foods now when I'm sick. Ah, shin pain, swelling and inflammation. Tough stuff! It helped me to think of how to decrease my inflammation and that meant no sugar/grains/legumes/dairy/nuts..... it takes a while. Glad you are tracking. I am too. It helps a lot.

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  6. hang in there, Karen -- "this too shall pass!" :-) allergy season can get us down, too. Dr Atkins' chapter on yeast and candida was eye-opening!

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  7. Thanks, Tess! I'm wondering if a mild decongestant would help my inner ear.... hmmm.....

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    1. Allergy meds tie in directly.

      The same way that sodium causes swelling, so do allergies. I picture it that everything is sluggish and not flowing.

      I am on allergy meds, 365 days a year, regardless of season, as preventive dizzy step.

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