Thursday, September 22, 2011

Lets be HONEST!!!!

I have been messing around with this weight loss and fitness thing since January 2010. I've had some success, down 66 pounds so far! I've also had some set backs, but thankfully despite it all, I'm still plugging a long.

That's the thing...I'm pluggin'.....

Weight loss is so slow for me. It's frustrating!

Here's my story....

I'm doing all "they" tell me to do and I do what I know is best for me...I'm exercising (when not injured), I'm journaling my food, I'm drinking water, I have a good attitude...yada yada yada!

But the scale is hardly moving....

I want to tell you that "I just don't know why this is happening to me. I'm doing EVERYTHING I can..." But the reality is.....it's simple.....I'm still eating waaaay more than I need to, to lose weight! That's my reality!!!

So I decided to do a little research and went to my favorite source Google! I put in the following words in the search bar...."How many calories for 208 pound body". The first source that comes up was:


Calorie Calculator

So I plug in my info and I found that to maintain my weight at 208 pounds, I need to consume 2527 calories.

It also told me....

To lose one pound per week, you might decrease your required calories by 500 per day.
(-500 calories X 7 days per week = -3500 calories)

 
Interesting....because my food journal says that I'm averaging around 2000 per day.....You know what that means? I'm fudging!!!


That is the REAL truth!! I'm fudging....I'm a fudger!!!! I can't say anymore that I don't know why things are not happening...why the scale is not moving....Can't say that anymore because I know the truth and that is I'm simply eating way too many calories and obviously I'm not recording everything I eat. I can't fool myself. This is fact!!! It is!!!

So my BRILLIANT Friend Jessica is after me! We started doing a Fitness Challenge together that has really helped me stay focused on my fitness goals. Unfortunately with this back thing she's smokin' me on the challenge, but I will be back soon.....Heh heh heh Jess watch out!

Then after some time and I guess with all of my whining about not losing weight, she suggested we exchange food journals.

Ahhhhh what? 

To me that's like standing in the middle of a crowd naked.....Why...I can't show my journal....Well for crying out loud, my dirty little secrets would be revealed. Well fortunately for me, not all my secrets are secrets because the reality is....I'm not doing all I can and I've been revealed by having no weight loss. So I could not really hide from what I'm doing.....But to share my journal.....Well that's really EXPOSING my deeds!!!

So I had a choice to make. I could blow her off and give excuses why I could not join with her and be accountable to her....Or I could be a big girl, put my big girl panties on, suck it up and share the good and the bad of what I'm really doing....


So what did I do?


Run like a coward?

Nope....I sent it to her and have done so each day! 

WOW ARE MY EYES OPENED!!!!

You know when you expose yourself to others, or should I say open yourself up to others, it really puts a spot light on you.  By doing what I'm doing and sharing this part of my journey with my friend, do you think that I think first before I put something into my mouth? YOU BET I DO!! I really can't lie about what I'm doing, my body will tell on me.....by not losing weight. So I have incentive to be honest and truthful with what I'm doing and oh....I need to make some changes and eat less!! There is just no way around it!!

Just like I'm counting every minute of exercise I do so I can beat Jessica and the other challengers in the Fitness Challenge, I am also motivated and accountable to Jessica and myself to keep my diet clean.  I want that scale to MOVE!!!

Now I am expecting some results to come in...I am now TRUTHFULLY doing the work!!!

Yesterday I had a friend who was whining about her weight. I told her what I've been doing and I asked her if she would like to get together and be accountability partners.... As soon as she got a break from me, she literally ran out the door.  WOW!!! It's scary and hard to be accountable, but I feel it's a great way for me to get my stuff out in the open. That way I can really see what I'm doing. Helps me to also make improvements where needed and it helps motivate me to stop procrastinating and to get to work!!

Are you truthful with what you are doing? Do you have an accountbility partner?

Keep focused!

12 comments:

  1. Girl- Having you as my partner is really helping me too! I know I would have had that second piece of birthday cheesecake if I weren't sending the journal to you :)

    You are doing great!

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  2. Accountability is key, isn't it? WOW!

    If everything we ate and did or did not do in excersise or getting off our tushies were really out in the TOTAL OPEN, I'm sure our complaining to our friends would go down. We can fool ourselves for only so long. You hit this right on, my friend. How lucky you are that Jessica asked for your food journal. That sounds like it was something that splashed some cold reality into your program.

    YET... that doesn't discount the good you have done and how far you have come. It's a learning experience and you are WORTH the effort to make those changes.

    I so wish I was there to run another 5k with you! I am running into some accountability here with having NO ONE who wants to run or exercise with me. But I refuse to be defeated, either. We are both tough cookies!

    Love ya,
    ~Margene

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  3. Wow, thanks for sharing. I am inspired :)

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  4. you had me at "let's be honest!"

    I been there...no I don't have an accountablity buddy but on normal weeks that's ok. But this wasn't a normal week...I had a friend from VA come into town and didn't hold myself 100% accountable because "it's too much of a pain in the rump!". Tomorrow is weigh in day...so we'll see just how bad it was "winging it".

    chin up girl...panties back on and moving forward!

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  5. This post made me laugh in such a good way! I think it's great that you've got Jessica. I sure wish I had a Jessica in my life. I could use an accountability partner right about now!!!

    I'm so proud of you!!!

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  6. I wish I had guts to look for an accountability partner when I was working on shedding pounds. But then, it is quite possible I would have lied to that partner too. It was a roller coaster ride for sure.
    I think 66lb weight loss is a great accomplishment. I know you want to see bigger results sooner but maybe your journey will be easier if you pat yourself on the back for accomplishing so much already.
    You certainly have more guts than I did, sharing your journey with another. That is inspiring.

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  7. Great job making this realization! I just know you will make the changes you need to to be successful! Excellent!

    Kelliann
    http://lifeincareer-sis.blogspot.com/

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  8. Joy,
    I would encourage you not to be so hard on yourself. That formula for decreasing your cals in to equate to 3,500 calories per pound a week loss has been in the research lit lately. It turns out that as we age, that formula doe snot work quite that way. that is why the math does not add up. Our metabolism slow down (Check the article in Time magazine on Sept 12, 2011 by Dr. Oz to learn more). I am glad that you are getting better at tracking all you eat (especially the fudging part), but again, keep in mind that the formula is not perfect. I am a very slow loser, too. Wish I were not but am. It will take me another year to loss the next 35 pounds.

    Have a great weekend!

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  9. Enjoying your blog. So happy I stumbled upon you!

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  10. It is so important to face reality but also very difficult. We often don't want to face the fact that we fall short. It's that perfectionist in us. We are so good at finding the shortcomings of others and are full of advice for them but when it's us we tend to filter all that information that casts a bad light on us. Great job on fessing up, straightening up, and lightening up!

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  11. I'm having the same problems! My scales are moving slowly and it's because I have yet to work on my eating habits. I'd like to keep track of what I eat all day but I work and sometimes I don't get a chance to write things down. I don't get to a computer 'til after 2 pm and my memory sucks at times. They're excuses, I know. Blech. I need to work on it though, so those scales can keep moving down!

    I'm glad you're working on it now. I know how tough it is! Good luck to you and your friends. [:

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  12. Hi, I found blog spot on myfittnesspal.com, I have realy enjoyed reading the different blogs, everything we can do to keep inspired & encouraged helps. I have 115 lbs. to lose & many health issues, I have not been able to exercise (bone on bone both knees & can not take narcotics very allergic), so knee replacement had not been an option. Hoping that losing the weight will make it easier to walk, I know it won't hurt. ( you know they say for every 10 lbs. of weight we lose, takes 30 lbs. of pressure off our knees, WOW! look hop much pressure I have been carring around over 300 lbs., no wonder my knees & body were complaining, I am going to correct that.

    You are right about making yourself accountable, when I joined MFP, I made my food dairy viewable to all, it makes me accountable and I hope that reading my dairy can help others that is great.

    I am really happy with my results so far, I am 68 yrs old, was at 285 lbs. I started my weight loss journey May 25th 2011 and as of today I have lost 31 lbs., keeping a food journal daily of my food intake has really helped.

    All of the new web sites available is amazing, and so very helpful.

    Keep up the good work, you have already had good success with a 66 lb. loss, I wish you much more success on the rest of you weight lost journey. Keep up the good work, God Bless.

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