Back from the Brink Yet Again.

I've had many things to say and hope to spread them out over the next several days... unfortunately, my health has not been the greatest, so I did not get to say them earlier.  I finally feel the fog lifting from my brain, so I take this as a sign of recovery from the worst cold and chest congestion I've had in forever.


So let's get to it!

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It's a new day, and I'm feeling... better than I have in a while.
Not as good as when I was in the Bahamas on the cruise
holiday last year... but working on getting better.

This Wednesday's weigh in came with a (BIG) and unexpected surprise; the weight gained in the past two weeks had almost all come off, with me being 1 pound away from my all time low (159 lost versus the original 160).  I'd be stumped as far as why I'd gained so much weight in a couple of weeks to begin with, but I don't know if I'm stumped about how it came back down.  As to I was doing the same WeightWatchers as I'd always done, here's what I did differently in the past week:


Weigh myself once a day - I've actually stuck to this for the most part.  Wednesdays tend to be a little more as I weigh myself as "normal", then I weigh right before I go out the door and then weigh at the meeting.  However, I like that this method as it has helped me to become more mentally stable.  I am not joking when I say I was going deep-end, Daffy Duck type of crazy that may be hilarious to observers but not so much fun for the one experiencing it!  This may or may not have any impact on the ultimate Wednesday Weigh-In, but it's keeping me calm.


Yoga, Meditation and Belly Dance - Again, mental health to combat the crazy place I was going*.  I find more and more that I need to pay attention to my brain health... also, I find the activities are helping with flexibility of joints... and just feeling comfortable and sometimes sexy.  These are important things!  Also, I got... jingly things at the the MD Ren Festival last year and (laugh if you want), it's fun!  In any case, The Husband approves of these activities.

I doubt you'll see a picture of me yoga-ing or belly dancing-ing
anytime soon... or ever.  I'm trying to reach that zen place.
Like when I was in the Bahamas last year.

Two glasses of water before each meal - I read about a study that suggested that drinking two glasses of water before each meal while cutting back on portion helped to promote weight loss.  Now, I don't know how sound it is or not, but while I was getting more than enough liquids to satisfy the WeightWatchers Good Health Guidelines, I'd say only 1/3 of that was pure water (the rest was Crystal Light water - An On The Go packet spread over 32 ounces, coffee, tea and a diet ginger ale).  Nowadays, water is up in stock, and the ratio of water to non-water is greatly improved!  I'd like to think this helps.


No Distraction Eating - I think this one is another biggie.  For a long time now, I'd grown accustom to consuming my meals in front of a screen; a childhood of watching morning cartoons while munching on sugary cereals, then computers and THE INTERWEBS, eating while I play video games, eating at the computer at work... I remember everything but the actual eating.  So now, breakfast, lunch and dinner (and if I can manage, snacks) are eaten at the table.  Sometimes I am joined by The Husband, and sometimes alone.  I try not to read either if alone... I just concentrate on the meal and enjoy and savor it.  I am actually finding it is a great indicator of when I am full.  Next task - stop eating when I am full, no matter how good or how much I hate to waste food.


Avoid the Noid Excess Sodium - Water may also help on this, but one of the first things my wonderful WW leader suggested (when I let her in on my disappointment and crazy "diety" thoughts) was that sodium may be playing a bigger factor in my weight fluctuations than it had in the past.  Her experience had been that the closer you get to goal, the more sodium can really boost you up.  Indeed, I'd had a whole can of Progresso light soup the day before, and while it is great tasting and low in calories... a single serve portion is a lot of your sodium intake, and the whole can is almost half!  In any case, I'm trying to be aware of the extra sodium (especially in the last few days before weigh in), and hopefully I won't see any more strange upswings of weight (as in dramatic 2-to-3 pounds because I'm secretly eating 20  Filet-o-Fish** in my sleep...)

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I think I took some great pictures.  And I think I should likely
also try going back to the Bahamas.  It couldn't hurt

If things go back up, or down or sideways, I hope I can hold onto these healthy habits and also to my sanity*.  I need to work on, aside from weighing even less and the stop eating when full thing, not being afraid.  When I start treating this like a diet instead of a healthy life... it winds up not being healthy for anyone.


In any case, on with the physical and mental recoveries.  I'm finding myself a lot more at peace and slightly less congested... I hope you can find some good tips here in this, and if you have any to share with me, please do!  One thing I've learned from the beginning... if I want to do this, I'll need help!


Make it a great week!

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* Some of my favorite songs are about sanity, or lack thereof.


** I remember really wanting a Billy Bass because I thought it was cool in its lameness and that no one else in the world would want one.  How wrong I was... so I never got one because I really wanted to be the only one.  Now I want one that sings that song.  I wonder if I care if that's popular or not...