The best news I've had all weekend is that I am preferred plus! Yes, I indulged quite a bit these last few days, but that is not what the plus is referring to. Nope it has nothing to do with airline miles or Starbucks rewards, but everything to do with a cheaper life insurance policy rate. I received the results back from my life insurance blood work and apparently very few applicants are awarded "preferred plus" status (but I was). However, I did wonder why they even bother to offer it if no one ever qualifies. My take is it is simply the carrot to get applicants to apply for the policy and then we stay with this choice because we do not want to go through the hassle of peeing in a cup and getting stuck with a needle again. Our insurance agent, a good friend of the family, told my husband to tell me to, "keep up the good work." This led to, especially after this weekend, a great feeling of remorse or guilt. Not that I would change a thing I did! All this just made me feel like I swindled fate, gave up on my resolve, and in the end, was rewarded for my bad choices. I firmly believe though this is all going to come back to bite me in the butt.
All day long an old proverb was swirling around in my head and this pretty much sums up the last week for me: "By learning you will teach; by teaching you will learn." I apologize for falling off the blog wagon for the last week. I will not make excuses for my inaction, only that it is my opinion that if you are going to fall off the wagon you might as well make it worth the climb back up. In my eyes, by sitting down and writing about my frivolity, possibly I will learn a thing or two or at least come back to it in a day, week or month and recognize the error of my ways.
Needless to say, I had an enjoyable weekend filled with spirited friends and indulgences. I wouldn't take any of it back and I have minimal regrets when I think of the quality of time spent with others. I popped back up to 144 on my Tuesday weigh in and I deserve every pound of it.
What was incredibly meaningful to me this weekend was that my naughty traipse down hill was picked up by my girlfriend's stellar climb uphill. I don't want to name names, but...........my friend has lost 10 pounds. We went out for dinner on Sunday evening and she hesitated to order a libation with us (until we browbeat her mercilessly) and she also ordered a health conscious meal. Said friend stopped at one libation (by nursing it wisely)throughout dinner, in spite of the fact she was sitting across from the devil(s) advocates partaking in several libations. This was impressive to me for various reasons, but what stood out to me the most was knowing that I couldn't leave my house for breakfast, lunch or dinner for the very reason that I doubted my ability to practice self control (in the face of so many delicious choices).
A few days later, I saw my friend at the gym and we were on the gauntlet together. We were discussing going out to eat somewhere for book club and she confided in me just how difficult it is to go out to a restaurant and maintain a strict caloric intake. Knowing that I partook in a 3 course meal and then later ate my 4Th course, I readily agreed with her. The tables were clearly turned here! Here I was laying the groundwork for weight loss and here she was becoming my role model for accountability. I'll have to admit, I was a bit uncomfortable at dinner that night. Not in a bad way, just thinking that I should be following her lead, but I was caught in the moment of food and libation pairing and it all came together so very nicely.
I also learned one other important lesson. One that we are all probably well aware of. If you take something out of your diet completely, it is hard to start back with moderation. I took part in a cleansing the first 10 days of my diet, so traditionally you are not supposed to drink alcohol while cleansing it out! Going forward, I will allow myself a nip here and there so that I can embrace all things in moderation and not over indulge to fill a void.
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How low can you go!!!!!!?? Today you are going to start thinking about what you are putting into your body AND putting it into writing!
2 comments:
I'm still down the same 10 lbs as last week. I ate out 3 times this week. Even though I made semi-smart choices, I still know that I would have been better off with home cooked meal at home. I'm best at home. I can control what goes into my food. For those of you who know me, know that I've always prefered to make dishes from scratch, with REAL food, oppossed to processed food. This doesn't mean that in the past many of my dishes are low in fat and calories, but I like knowing what I'm serving my family and friends.
I've really hit the cardio hard the last few days. Going over 60 minutes most days. I'm totally missing Friday morning spin. The girls swim schedule doesn't allow for it this summer and come fall, Charlie's preschool drop off time won't allow for it either. I've got to figure something out.
I had Tom take a picture of me this morning in my workout bra and shorts. I'm hoping for some serious improvement in the after picture! I also forgot to take measurements before, so I'll probably do that this afternoon.
I love sparkpeople.com. It tracks everything for you. Check it out, it's free.
That is 10 pounds in about 10 days, so a major achievement. I like that you took a picture. I need to do this as well. Whatever you miss at the gym, I am happy to help you make up. No worries! You are hitting the cardio and this is going to help you burn, but also recognize that you are going to build to a certain degree. It is better to have muscle to burn calories at rest than to cringe from the "bulk". I say this because so many of my participants refrain from resistance or weights because they do not like the idea of too much mass. Bottom line is that this mass will enable your body to work stronger (especially) when you are with your kids and also when you are sleeping off your hard work!
So, build your muscle mass and look at it as definition. You might not like this on the scale, but the bottom line is that when you burn after you build, you will have more shape and definition.
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