by Claire on July 26, 2009
Some of my family and friends have started their own weight loss journey, and I’ve offered my support, of course, and encouragement. There are three things I recommend doing at the very beginning of this process that I didn’t do myself, and I regret not doing them right away. These things are well worth the effort in the long run.
Start a weight loss notebook. I used a three ring binder and in this I put my Weight Watchers materials, favorite recipes I’ve printed from online, notes, goals, inspiring pictures from magazines, and such. I prefer a binder with page protectors, but you could also use a computerized notebook, such as Microsoft One Note, or any other software.
Take your picture. Take a full length picture and a side view picture, perhaps even a back view. This will be your “before” picture. It won’t be your most flattering picture. The point is to take an honest assessment of your starting point.
Take your measurements. This will be, if you are like I was, very painful to do. To really know what those hip, thigh, or waist measurements are when you start isn’t going to be pleasant, but trust me, down the line you’ll wish you had done this. And don’t go squeezing the tape measure to get the smallest number, either. (Been there, done that.) You want an honest measurement, remember?
I recommend taking the following measurements:
- Neck
- Under arms (just above bust)
- Full bust
- Under bust
- Waist
- Hips – 4” from waist (this is called the high hip)
- Hips – 7” from waist – or the fullest part of your hips
- Thighs (fullest part)
- Above knee
- Calf (fullest part)
- Ankle
Retake your picture and measurements every four to six weeks. Why? At some point in your weight loss journey, you *will* hit a plateau. It happens to everyone. Your weight loss will stall at the scale. You won’t be seeing any forward (downward) progress and you’ll wonder what is wrong. (Usually, you’ll need to recheck what you’re eating or increase your activity – that worked for me.)
When this time hits, you will be able to go back and see the progress in real numbers and pictures, not just in the fact that your clothes are looser or smaller. For me, this has been a huge incentive at those times to keep on going. When you can go back and see three or four inches lost from your hips you feel energized to keep doing what you’re doing.
Keeping a record of your entire journey this way really helps you to see how far you’ve come and, for me, is inspiration to not slide backward along the way. When I hit my goal, this will also serve as a record of just what I’ve accomplished.
Hope this helps!
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by Claire on July 25, 2009
How does the saying go? When life hands you lemons…? Well, sometimes I think life throws a fast-pitch or life jerks on, but doesn’t pull out, the rug under your feet so that you can test your balance and reflexes. I don’t believe in the notion that life is full of misery or that life just sucks. Entirely the opposite. However, I do believe that because we are all interconnected, choices other people make in life affect us and force us to check ourselves, our motives, our philosophies, and our faith.
This week has been one of those weeks for me.
At the beginning of the week, my youngest daughter came home with some news that really rocked my world – and I’ll probably share those details later, but not now. I have been processing this internally all week, and how what’s going on with her affects me. I’ve been happy, sad, doubtful, faithful, confused – probably every emotion possible. One thing it did surface for me was an appreciation for my parents and what they must have felt when I was a young adult making choices and decisions that they really had no control over. They loved me and only wanted the best for me and had to let go and have faith that God was looking out for me. I am doing the same for my daughter. She will find her way in the world, and hopefully she will know that all along the way, she has her mother and sister by her side.
In addition to my-world-rocking news, I have had a rough week at work. I’ve had to do my job of editing and managing a small team of writers plus cover for my boss who has been on vacation. I’ve had to manage a phase of our project through to publication not knowing much about the company’s tools or processes, and had to learn on the fly. This, coupled with worrying about my daughter, has stressed me out beyond belief.
How have I managed the stress? I had set a goal at the beginning of the week to do some sort of activity every day this week. Early in the week I walked and ran three miles each day, and then a four mile walk (no run, so it was easier) on Wednesday. Thursday was another walk (easy one) and yesterday was a lot of yard work (mowing, pulling weeds). This all counts for activity.
I have learned that activity and exercise really helps relieve stress. That, coupled with eating right – which I’ve been trying to do also – really reduces the impact stress has on my body. In previous years, this level of stress would have caused a flare up of my fibromyalgia to the point that I would be unable to do anything for a couple days. Not so today. For this, I am extremely grateful.
I also try to focus on the positive. The more I practice focusing on the positive and finding the blessing in things, the easier it becomes to feel it in my bones and to know that no matter what, I’m always going to be okay. I have a deep faith that life is meant to be good and that God never gives me more than I can handle. This doesn’t mean I don’t cry, don’t get hurt, don’t feel angry or frustrated at times. I do, because I’m human. I just don’t let myself get carried away by those emotions. The more I act as if life is always happy and joyous – even if I don’t 100% believe it in the moment – the more it truly turns out that way.
Life isn’t always smooth waters – sometimes you have to jump the wake, or ride it, and in doing so, you feel the blessing of life – living, feeling, experiencing, creating memories.
It’s all good.
