Are you ready to lose weight?

I read this excellent list of questions on the Mayo Clinic website, and thought it was a good, searching list of questions for me to ask myself. If you are trying to lose weight, and finding yourself lacking in the motivation or self-control or ability to make change, you might find this interesting as well.

Are you motivated to make long-term lifestyle changes that require eating healthy foods and exercising more? Be honest. Knowing you need to make changes in your life and feeling up to the challenge are two different things.

Honestly, I don't always feel that motivated to make long-term lifestyle changes for this one reason: I'm addicted to junk food! BUT, when I think about how yucky it makes me feel to stuff myself with junk food, and when I think about the possiblity of passing on my (and my husband's) bad eating habits to our infant son, it fills me with dread. I want to be a great example to him of health and discipline. So yes, I feel motivated, but I don't necessarily feel that I have what it takes.

Do you currently have distractions in your life that could affect your commitment to a weight-loss program? You may set yourself up for failure if you're distracted by other major events in your life, such as marital problems, job stress, illness or financial worries. Give your life a chance to calm down before you start.

I feel this is a copout. My life will be in constant transition forever. We have a lifestyle that involves frequent moves to different countries. I can't wait to all the "distractions" in my life to be gone before I make changes. This time is as good as I'm going to get!

Do you truly believe that slower is better? Losing weight at a relatively slow pace has proved safe, healthy and effective over the long term. You should aim for a weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a week.

Yes, I want healthy weight loss, surrounded by real life-changes.

Are you realistic about your weight-loss goal? Remember, losing as little as 5 to 10 percent of your weight can improve your health if you're overweight or obese. This means, for example, losing 10 to 20 pounds (4.5 to 9 kilograms) if you weigh 200 pounds (91 kilograms). Ask your doctor how much weight you can safely lose.

Realistic? I weight about 190, and I'd like to weigh about 130. I'm 5' 6.5" tall. Is that realistic? I don't know. If I made it down to 140, I bet I'd be pretty happy with myself!

Do you have family and friends to support your weight-loss efforts? It certainly helps to have someone in your corner. If you don't have someone you can rely on, consider joining a weight-loss support group.

My support = weight watchers online. And I don't sign in their very often. I found the real life meetings more effective. It's hard for me that my husband is overweight and seems not too inclined (in theory maybe, but not in practice) to change his habits.

Do you believe that you can change your eating habits? Sounds easy to do in theory, but in practice, it's often difficult. It's hard to cast aside established behaviors and develop new lifestyle habits, but it can be done.

I don't know if I believe in myself or not. I don't know if I can really change my habits.

Are you willing to become more physically active? Increasing your level of physical activity is essential to losing weight and keeping it off.

Yes, I'm willing to get more active!

Do you have time to keep records of your food intake and physical activity? Keeping records increases your chance of success. You'll be pleasantly surprised by how helpful it is to track your progress.

Yes, I have time to keep records. I want to do it.

Are you willing to look at past successes and failures in weight loss and other areas of your life? Learn from the past about what motivates you. Keep working to resolve barriers that might prevent success.

Yes, I am willing to learn from past successes and (I have a lot more of these to glean insights from!) failures!

Do you view a healthy-weight program as a positive experience? Losing weight doesn't have to be a bad experience. Many people find they feel better when they're more active and weigh less.

Yes, if I was succeeding at a weight-loss program, I feel like it would make me feel SO good!

Have you resolved any eating disorders or other emotional issues that make it difficult for you to achieve a healthy weight? If you have a tendency to binge, purge, starve or overexert when you exercise, or if you're depressed or anxious, you may need professional help.

I don't think I have a disorder per se, but I know I eat to make myself feel good. And I look forward to my snacks--chips, chocolate.

Do you believe that a healthy weight is a lifelong commitment? Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is a lifelong process. There's no going back to your old behaviors. Are you ready to make a permanent change?

I want to make lifelong changes. I'm just wondering if I have it in me.

July goals

My July goals are simple:

1. Exercise every day except Sunday.
2. Plan meals.
3. Track everything I eat, and stay within my points.

Anyone else have any special July goals? What do you plan to do for exercise? I have great biking trails around here, so although I don't have a bike (plan to rent one soon), I hope to walk...and perhaps even start running again! (It's been SO long since I've run, but I love the buzz it gives me, and how I feel when I'm just going...Will I be able to do it again?)

planning meals ahead of time

Have you tried planning your meals ahead of time? Does it help you eat better?

I've been so very busy, and having tons of change going on in my life. Meanwhile, the planning of meals has fallen by the wayside, and I think that as a result, I just eat (and feed my family) whatever "sounds good," whatever is "on hand" and whatever is easy to fix FAST!

Also, being in a new country poses some obstacles: 1) We don't have a car, which means that we walk to every store and carry everything we buy! 2) I don't speak the language well yet, nor know what foods are all available nor where to find everything. This combination makes me less excited and less motivated to try to plan and shop for meals.

But I'm determined to do it. At the moment, all I have the energy or foresight to plan is tomorrow's breakfast: 1) scrambled egg and egg white with some new hot sauce I want to try, 2) fruit combo (grapefruit? strawberries?). I do like having fruit on hand, although since my husband doesn't like fruit, I don't always eat as much as I would of it around fruit-lovers.

There! At least I've got breakfast planned. :) We'll move forward from there.

three pounds gone

189! I have to admit, I was surprised. I didn't expect to have lost three pounds this week, because I didn't follow my plan as well as I should have.

But still, I'm encouraged. And I plan to keep better track, and be more disciplined, this week. I am so inspired by other people's blogs, photos and stories; they help me to see that I can do this. If I look to the ultimate goal it seems too far...but then I remember that I can do this one day at a time, one choice at a time. It can be done! And I will do it.

freaky peach pit mold!

I felt like breakfast was a success. I know, I know, just one meal! But it means something to me to be able to figure out what's balanced, moderate and healthy to eat for one meal. Because I can make that same meal again.

I'm trying to fill up a lot on vegies and fruit. So this morning I made the light version of omelettes, and along with my omelette I had a kiwifruit and a peach. The peach was so juicy and sweet, but when I got to the pit, it broke open, full of mold. Yikes! I shrieked, but got over it quickly.

After breakfast I fixed myself a cup of tea with a little milk and sugar (1 WW pt.) and sat down at the computer. I'm determined to exercise this afternoon and make today and tomorrow winning losing days, before weighing myself again Thursday morning!

A photo from this morning

Just to settle, in an image, the problem at hand. (Or should I say, the problem at foot?)

My weight loss goal

I weigh 192 pounds. I added on quite a bit of weight with my pregnancy last year, but was already overweight before that. Here's something I wrote back in 2001, before I had accumulated many of the extra pounds I'm carrying today...

On April 30, 2001, I wrote the following:

"I think my goal weight is about 115-120, but I am not sure. In a way, I would like to weigh less, like 110, but I don’t want to be a fanatic, who is always worrying about food and about being really skinny, so I should not get too thin. My goal is to lose two pounds a week, starting today- so by next Monday, I should weigh 146."

My goals have gotten more realistic since that time, but now I have further to go to reach then that I did back then, too. I realize now that 130 is a much more reasonable and healthy weight goal, so that is what I am shooting for.

I thrive on support and encouragement, so I will welcome any comments or people who are in the same boat and need some encouragement as well. I have spent too long wishing to be thinner, and I am ready to take action and reach my goals.