I feel like sometimes I probably blog too much about whatever diet and exercise plan I’m currently on, but I guess that’s because it takes up so much of my brain space at any given point. So, I apologize in advance if this stuff bores you.
I’ve always thought that I know what diet I need to do to lose weight: low-carb works for me. Back in the old days (read: before I had a kid), I could just chuck all the bread, cookies, chips, and other starches from my pantry and I’d guarantee to drop a few pounds quickly. (The problem, before my gastric bypass, was that would be all I’d lose – a few pounds. That was all I could ever lose on any diet or exercise plan. Which is sort of frustrating when you need to lose 100+ pounds.)
In the last couple of years, I’ve tried to do a low-carb diet again on several occasions. And the longest I’ve ever managed to stick to it is about two weeks, tops. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. I used to be really good at sticking to diets. I never cheated, ever, and I always stuck to the plan. What the hell changed?
Oh, that’s right, I had a kid. Who eats carbs for roughly 90% of her caloric intake. So I can’t get rid of all the bread and crackers and other carb-y snacks. My old trick of “just don’t have it in the house and you’ll be fine” no longer applies.
I had to find a new diet, one that would allow me to have carbs on occasion. Which is why I signed up for Weight Watchers Online. I am far too lazy to go to Weight Watchers meetings, and I kind of have a weird aversion to that whole support group environment anyway (don’t ask me why). But the online plan has a lot of information, and the whole “points” system is actually not as horrible as I originally thought. (There’s even an iPhone app so I can track my points while I’m out. Very nice. I guess they had to compete with the “LoseIt!” app.)
I’ve been on it for a week now, and I like it. I’ve also lost 5 pounds – I don’t expect to maintain that rate; in my experience, I always lose a lot of weight at first (because of the shock to your system, I guess) and then it slooooows down. Still, I’m not going to complain about 5 pounds. It’s a good start. And I still get to eat little sweets here and there, and I don’t have to feel like I’m cheating – or more specifically like, “oh well, I’ve blown it, might as well pig out now.” I just allow for those points out of my daily allotment, and I move on.
So, it’s good so far. We’ll see how it goes. I’m cautiously optimistic.
On the exercise front, I’m still working out most days. I typically either do the 30-Day Shred or the Couch-to-5K workout. But I think I have to give Jillian Michaels credit for massively increasing my endurance. I’d been stuck on week 3 of the couch-to-5K program for weeks, because no matter how hard I tried, I physically could not run for more than 3 minutes straight. I tried week 4 a few times, but I could never do those 5-minute run intervals. But this week, I finally did it. I ran for 5 minutes straight without stopping. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE. And I know, I know, 5 minutes, whoopee. But trust me, it was a very big deal for me.
Yesterday I decided to mix it up and take Catie for a bike ride to the playground (meaning me on the bike, her in the bike trailer). And you know what? I know that this might cast a shadow of doubt on my genetic connection to some people in my family, but I haaaaate riding a bike. Seriously. I absolutely can’t stand it. I would so much rather walk (or run), I can’t even tell you. And because of my funky patella issues, it hurts my knees just as much as running. Plus, even though I invested in the super-cushioned gel/padded seat, it also hurts my girly bits. So what’s the point of THAT? No. Not a fan of the bike at all. I think I just like to have my feet on the ground.
YAY running 5 minutes straight is a milestone! Great job. At least you gave the bike a fair shot, now you can sell it and buy a nicer pair of running shoes! I lurve my bikes, but I’ve invested years and a lot of money in getting the exact right geometry for me in my frame, saddle, cracks, pedals, shorts, handlebar, etc. If running feels good, then that’s your sport.
Let’s sign up for some 5Ks this fall!
@Cat, I probably won’t sell the bike, just because Catie is going to want to learn to ride one someday, and Dave has a bike too, so who knows? We might do Family Bike Rides (like I did growing up) someday. You never know. Besides, I already have the Vibrams, so I’m cool for running shoes. 🙂
I stayed with WW for about a week. I cook all our food from scratch (or most of it), so putting in all the ingredients to figure out the points was a pain, pain, pain. I’ve started the “be too busy to eat” diet. It’s not really a plan, but it’s the current state of being.
@shari, Yeah, I get that. I cook most of our dinners myself (well, and breakfast too I guess, but I don’t really count scrambled eggs as “cooking”), and the recipe builder thing IS pretty annoying. But I make the same maybe 12-15 things over & over again, so I just entered all of my most-frequently-used recipes at one time, saved them, and now I’m pretty well set.
Yaye for 5 pounds. That is awesome and you’ll be even more motivated as the weight continues to come off.
I loved WW while I was on it. I went to the once a week meeting and loved it, I think it helped that the instructor was pretty awesome.
Good luck with the plan. I know you will do awesome!!!
.-= AmazingGreis´s last blog ..Sometimes random is good… =-.
@AmazingGreis, I know a lot of people like WW meetings. I cannot explain my weird aversion to support group environments. I had to attend a few for my gastric bypass and they just made me itch to get the hell out of there. It’s a flaw in my brain, I’m sure. Maybe leftover Second Child Syndrome – that whole “I don’t need any help, I’ll do it myself!” thing. I don’t know. But it’s cool, the online method is working for me so far.