It still shows a large number in general, but can I just say that this morning my scale told me that I’ve lost 4.5 pounds since beginning my 30-day commitments on December 11! That’s 4.5 pounds gone in one month – with no dieting, and no exercise. I actually didn’t believe the scale, since yesterday it was wobbling between 3.5 and 4 lbs gone. So this morning I moved the scale to various locations in the bathroom in case the floor was uneven – but it said 4.5 pounds gone in all three places. That’s AWESOME.
Yes, I know what everyone is thinking: Just think what you could accomplish if you DID diet and exercise! But see, the thing is – I HATE dieting. I HATE exercise. So the fact that I lost 4.5 pounds just by making small little changes is AWESOME and instead of frustrating me, I’m totally encouraged!! If I had started a diet/exercise regimen on December 11 I would have completely given it up come Christmas morning.
Last night at 9:10 p.m. I had my piece of coffee cake for dessert, and was quite content to have that be the last food of the day. So the “conversion” to this habit has been relatively easy compared to the chocolate one – which really took about a week before the frustration was gone. The no chocolate commitment has gone so well that I may continue it straight through to Easter, which is in mid-March.
that’s awesome!
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Congrats, Jane!! That is 4.5 pounds gone, which is a victory no matter HOW you lost it, so you deserve to feel good about it!
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Good job!
You are losing weight in the best possible way. By changing your habits, you are changing your lifestyle. Diets are a temporary change in habits that result in lost pounds that tends to come back when we go back to our old habits.
I changed my eating lifestyle 12 years ago. I lost 50 pounds, and have kept it off.
You go girl, I will be cheering for you.
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Congrats on the weight loss. Maybe just cut chocolate out of your diet foever?
That’s great. You basically answered my next question, “Seeing as you won’t exercise or diet, and you lost weight by making these “small” changes (no chocolate, no eating after 9:30 pm, no dinning out, etc.) are you prepared to keep that up for life?
Keep it up, sweetie.
No, I could never cut it out of my life forever, but I could certainly stick to just chocolate milk, hot chocolate and chocolate ice cream and avoid all chocolate CANDY for life.
However, I’d much prefer to do the 30-day challenges, then take a break for a couple weeks, then do it again. Now that I know I CAN do it for 30 days, I could see myself making 40-day commitments in 2009, then 50 day commitments in 2010, and so on. But give up chocolate forever? Never!!!
Congratulations–that is awesome!!
Congratulations! I think lifestyle change is absolutely the key, but rather than prescribed, rigorous time increments, I prefer a balance of treats in moderation and long-term “grown up” dietary changes.
My “commitments”:
-No soda, not even diet, not ever. Water or mineral water. Very little juice. Since about 2000. At a soda fountain? Draw the “soda” tab that dispenses seltzer.
-No red meat since 1990 and no, I don’t miss it, not even bacon. Pulled chicken bbq, turkey bacon, lots of soy, portabello burgers, etc.
-Little to no deep fried meat (chicken, chx fingers)
-Very little prepared foods and very rarely eating out, and NEVER fast food. NEVER canned soup – look at the sodium contents of most prepared foods and it is horrid.
-No purchasing baked goods or donuts. If I want something, I need to bake it from scratch
-Integrate whole grains where possible, which is one I’m working on at the moment
-No full fat milk, including ice cream. FroYo is fine if I need it. Ice cream about once a year, if that. This was a gradual phase-down.
-This one is hard for me, but I purchase salty snacks and chips as seldom as possible. I am an “eat the whole bag” person when it comes to chips and need to be careful there. Try to choose homemade popcorn, edamame, roasted chickpeas, etc.
-When I do eat out, I limit fries as a side, and choose sweet potato fries when possible (again, this one is hard)
-No limits on cheese, because of the meat restrictions. When I want or crave, I can have pizza, alcohol, chocolate, etc.
-Challenge is good: Last season we joined an organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm and every week we had oodles of fresh vegetables to figure out how to use. It resulted in trying new foods, using those dusty cookbooks, freezing what we could (soups, stock), and eating very little meat or bread because of the sheer amount of produce that arrived each week. Also, we threw almost none of it away, except a cuke here and there.
Also, eating well, as in, quality ingredients, good recipes with balanced flavors. Peanut butter on whole wheat or eggs are also fine if I’m in a rush.
I mentioned that I restricted the red meat thing 18 years ago, which was for health reasons. So, I started these changes then, and the rest of these changes have been an ongoing process since then. The whole grains, for example, we’re still working on that one, and I don’t ever expect to eliminate all white bread.
What an awesome idea! Hmmm. I’m going to make a list of a few things and pick something, myself.
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Wow, Beth – I don’t know if I could do all of those. I don’t drink sodas, wine or beer – never have. Water, skim milk and various juices are my main staples. We also do homemade popcorn at our house. It tastes much better!!
But no meat? No fries? No fried chicken? There’s no way I’d give those up (my husband’s homemade fries ROCK).
OK, now I need Denis’ recipe for his homemade frieds!
Jean’s last blog post..Catching Up
Jean – it’s pretty easy – cut up potatoes and deep fry ’em in the deepfryer. But he uses kosher salt instead of regular salt once they are done frying. YUMMY.
Yes, it is that easy.
I fry in cannola oil. A little healthier fry, right?