Breaking the 11 Day Dry Posting Spell With a New Weight Loss Challenge

I've been battling a bout of depression--the Blue Ghoulies. I can sense when it's coming, cause my feelings flatten out, and I just want to sleep, and when I'm not sleeping, eat. I even told my hubby last week, "Oh-oh, you need to pray. I feel the black cloud coming back."

I've had periodic blues since I was 9. Eating well, resting well, controlling stress, praying, and singing usually help a lot. But when I get into a stressful time or miss sleep or whatever, I'm more vulnerable. And it will come without warning, for no reason (ie, life is going just fine and dandy). Anyway, I'm still beating it off, and trying to win this round. (Yes, I was prescribed Cymbalta, but I'm terrified of side effects, so I've stayed away from antidepressants as much as I can and just wait for it to pass. Inevitably, it does, though the bout I got when my mom was dying lasted more than a year and really, I think I was close to a heart attack or something, it was pretty bad and I was gaining weight at a scary pace, medicating with food.)

So, I'm starting the New Year on a cusp--waiting to see if it will be sunny or cloudy internally, and hoping for sun, of course. :) I haven't fully slipped over the edge to the gloom, and I think that's partly because of family gatherings and the season itself, which compels a certain amount of joy from one's soul.

But...this is a diet blog, not a Princess Blues blog, so on to the diet stuff:

I totally crapped out of the old challenge toward the end. (Granted, ended it lighter than I began, but fizzled all the same.) But I'm 15 pounds lighter than I was when I started this blog in May. So, this blog has helped me lose, as has the encouragement, inspiration, and support of you fatfighting bloggers out there. Thanks, y'all.

For me, a new challenge is always a good thing, because it makes you accountable, no matter how lightly, sporadically, or iffily. I need that accountability.

Thanks to the TALES FROM THE SCALES crew for their challenge. On to Shannon's Easter Challenge.

Here's the deal. The starting weigh-in is today.

I got on the scale after NOT doing so for a couple of days, and, voila:

274.0

I kind of like that I'm starting on a Point Zero weigh-in. I don't like that I'm up from my previous low. But, considering the holiday excesses and the empanadilla feast yesterday (one and a half large meat pastries sopping with grease and two handfuls of barbecued potato chips. Two cups of sangria. Two amaretto sours (very unlike me to have more than a glass of wine at an occasion, but dang those were tasty.) The only healthful thing I had was the Vitalicious cake slice. hah. Sad.

So, I was up almost two pounds from my low.


Time to stop with the holiday gorging on fried or gravied delights and back to veggies, fruits, and healthful meals.

This challenge takes us nearly to Easter.

December 31st – 274.0
January 7th – Week 1 WI
January 14th – Week 2 WI
January 21st – Week 3 WI
January 28th – Week 4 WI
February 4th – Week 5 WI
February 11th – Week 6 WI
February 18th – Week 7 WI
February 25th – Week 8 WI
March 3rd – Week 9 WI
March 10th – Week 10 WI
March 17th – Week 11 WI
March 23rd – EASTER--Goal of being at 250 (or less) by this day

It's an 11 (or 12 week challenge if you want to weigh-in on Easter Sunday), and calculating a 2 lb weight loss per week, then my goal is to be 24 lbs lighter by Easter (yep, let's consider it a 12 week challenge.) It would be very nice to fit into a smaller size Easter Dress. (Though we don't really call it Easter, but Resurrection Day around my house, or Dia de la Resureccion, but I'll go with EAster since it's Shannon's challenge and that's what she calls it.)

The hardest part for me, without question, will be the exercise portion. To exercise 4 x a week at 30 mins. Sigh. It's really hard to move at my size--with knees complaining, ankles creaking, back spasming. But, I will be talking positive to myself every day. Even if I have to break it up into 3 10 minutes sessions, I do believe it's doable, so I need to "Just do it!"

Let me know if you're doing this challenge, too.

And here's The Princess wishing you all...

A New Low for The Princess & Catching Up With Some Fatfighting Bloggers

As some of you may have noticed, I'd been using the dehydrated after-one-day-of-a-7lbs-loss of when I had the stomach bug in October as a sort of low benchmark. Well, I passed it. Without a stomach bug.

Today, the scale practically sang at me: 272.4

The post-stomach-bug, my-intestines-are-totally-free-of-matter, I-nearly-live-and-sleep-on-the-toilet weight was 272.6.

It's a mini-milestone.

The next one will be 269. Looks like that won't happen until January, but that's okay. I suddenly feel a second wind that says, "Yes, you'll get there soon."

Other good news:

~Chubby Chick is back on track. Yay. We've got our fave diet cheerleader back in force!
~Teale is also zipping along on that track, losing what was gained and with superb attitude.
~Heather has made it into the--ta dah--170's. We celebrate the loss! I hope next year by this time, I can say I made it to the 170's, too. Or lower!
~Lisa is looking so gorgeous. What a face on that woman! And she's learned how to "float" with self-caring.

Go give encouragement or advice or a hug to:

~Lady T, who needs to figure out how to fit in exercise. If you've managed to carve out time in a busy schedule with all sorts of obstacles, go tell her how you did it.
~Lady Shanny, who really needs to befriend a seamstress. :) Leave her a cheery comment.
~Diana, whose had a blip--medication sometimes will do this.
~Sonya, who's done great in the Challenge, but is struggling this week.

Who I'd like an update from:

~CCC, of whom I hope there is LESS of, since she's soon off to Paris! Just because we're jealous doesn't mean we don't want ya to let us know how the pre-Paris prep is going.
~Caroline, who's been MIA since early November. Come on. We need to hear from you, lady!
~Flabuless, who's cheery face is always a delight, and who doesn't blog nearly enough. It's coming up on two weeks. She's been exercising 2 hours a day (!!!) leading to a 20 lb loss in a few weeks. Swimming, hill climbing, etc, in New Zealand must leave her too tired to update. Post, woman, post! :) (I adore how she pronounces "fat", so it sounds like "fet" as in Boba Fett. Cute.)

Keeping Holiday Stress (and Year-End Weight) Down

Diet Blog has a good article about managing the stress that comes along with the holidays--and we know what stress makes some of us do, don't we?--which I recommend y'all read.

I especially found valuable the part about analyzing self-talk and spotting our own exaggerations. Oh, yeah. I'm prone to that! That particular bit of advice meshes well with the BECK METHOD stuff I've been reading/applying.

Scale Tale: More Progress for Princess Snail Dieter...

I'm happy to report in for this week's challenge weigh-in. Another week with loss. Yippee!

Today, Mr. Tanita says:

273.2

It's been three months since the challenge began (in September), and my total loss (ignoring the part that went up and had to come down again) was only 6.8 pounds. Clearly, I am NOT that competitive, huh?

It's true. I haven't challenged myself very much. Some days, some weeks, I was lucky to hold steady. Others, I went sliding backwards on a trail of gravy.

However, we're in the midst of the holidays, and what I gained during the Thanksgiving holiday splurges and presurgical face-stuffing is gone. And I haven't gained during the busy shopping, prepping week. I feel good about that.

But I still feel bad about slacking so much. I'm nowhere near my challenge goal.

Still, I choose to focus on progress overall, and that's a simple fact: I'm looking to end this year lighter than I ended last. And I'll end the year lighter than I started it. That's a gain.

So, while I suck at the competitive thing, I'm happy to not have caved in and given up (as I have in the past). It's been three months of irregular adherence to my own healthy eating and weight loss guidelines for this challenge, but I'm still here.

And it's been 7 months since I started this blog, and I'm 15.8 pounds lighter (as of today) then I was back in May.

This gives me hope, a lot of hope, that I can continue to learn, retrain, and move forward in 2008.

Nothing better than ending the year with progress and starting a new one with hope.

To all my fatfighting buddies: YOU ROCK! Thanks for the good words through the past months. I look forward to being your encourager--and being encouraged--during the months to come.

May these sacred and joyful days fill us up so much with love and memories and dreams that we don't need to stuff on junk.

Onward and DOWNWARD!

Quickie Weight Update

Today, the scale was kind:

273.8

A new non-stomach-bug low since this blog started. :::smile:::

Scale Tale: What Was Gained Is Now Lost, Weight-wise; Some of what was Lost Is Now Gained, Sightwise, and Some Lost Forever.

I meant to post this Wednesday--ie, yesterday--but my eyes tired out after reading email and posting on a forum. The surgery went well Monday. I opted for modified monovision, so I'm getting used to one eye for far and one for mid-range. I do need reading glasses for anything within arms length--like most folks nearing fifty--but I'm getting used to seeing the monitor sans progressives, and I can walk around my house without specs--which I could not do before unless I wanted to fall, bump into furniture, etc.

I can't wash my face for week, so you can imagine how gunky my eyelashes look with multiple drops a day and no washing. Ugh.

I also have to sleep with safety glasses or goggles, which is hardly comfy. Because I can't go fully on my side, I've been sleeping propped up on the couch. I'm getting less sleep than my normal quantity this way, but I'm not feeling too taxed; and it must be deep and restful during those five hours, at least, cause it's not having a negative impact on the scale.

Yesterday--when I was gonna post--I weighed in at my previous non-stomach-bug low of 274.8.

Today, Mr. Tanita says:

274.4

I'm having food delivery done, cause while I'm resting my eyes, and until I can get prescription reading glasses for close work, I really don't wanna futz around in the kitchen. So, a lot of chicken and egg whites, fruit and salad, and low-fat dairy. I've been treating myself to skim milk made with Scharffen Berger natural cocoa powder and Splenda (ie, a sugarless, home-made cocoa) almost every night. Mmm. Maybe that's helping the sleep.

I hope my blogging buddies in the fat fight are doing well. Unfortunately, my eyes are still healing and poop out fast. So, I apologize for not keeping up with everyone, and hope that in a couple of weeks (as my eyes adjust to monovision), I can be back on the ball 100%.

Hope my Jewish pals have had a great Hanukah, and that everyone celebrating or preparing to celebrate is having a lot of peace and joy and love with friends and loved ones, at work and at home and, hey, even in the malls.

Be randomly kind even more often this season, since it's especially hard for some who are stressed or lonely or, if they're fat-fighters, tempted by the endless displays of holiday goodies and feastings.

Onward and DOWNWARD!

Weight Stuff and Eye Stuff

First the Weight Stuff:

Been fluctuating from 277 to 279. (The latter after a soy/sodium fest at the local highly-praised, chefs eat there after they close their restaurants, Japanese place.) So, really, not doing ideally. I've been eating way too much sweets--La Nouba marshmallows covered in chocolate, Raisinets, Goobers, some stuff hubby got me at the mall from Leonidas--and it's cause I'm fretting about the eye thing. Not an excuse. I know better. Just saying that stress makes me want chocolate, and I've not been saying no.

And this is what I'm fretting about:

I'm scheduled for LASIK eye surgery tomorrow. I'm a total wuss. Instead of thinking benefits, I'm freaking thinking about complications and mishaps. Part of me is conflicted because I have both myopia and presbyopia and outcomes for middle-aged folks is not generally idea. If I get the monovision one (one eye for far, one for reading), I compromise acuity at both ends, and I may not adjust well. And I may not get my driver's license renewed by the State! If I do far vision, given my severe myopia, I will not be able to see anything within, what, two to three feet of me. I'll need reading glasses. (I can read without glasses if it's really close to me, but after about 7-8 inches, it starts to blur.) So, correcting my myopia leaves me like a normal-sighted middle-aged person: needing reading glasses.

Either way, I give up something.

So, we'll see. I may not be a candidate--the doc will let me know after the tests. And I may chicken out--run like a crazy-eyed woman with fear.

If you're the praying sort, please pray that I make a wise decision and, if I go through with it, no complications or further surgeries are needed. Thanks.

Part of the reason I want to do this is to be able to swim at our local pool (which is ONE BLOCK from my house. ONE.) and at the beach (which is a five minute drive away). Right now, without glasses, I'm essentially blind. And so, I've avoided water and rain and stuff for decades. I haven't been to the beach to swim since, oh, 1981 or '82. And I live in Miami. I know, crazy. But glasses do impede.

And when I'm in the shower, I can't see what I'm doing (shaving is iffy). And in the summer, my glasses condense when I leave a cool house or car, and I'm temporarily blind. It's a pain.

But having your vision compromised by complications/infections/mistakes is worse.

So, I've been fretting. And eating chocolate. And fretting.

But, tomorrow is decision day. I hope I just make a good decision and not just an emotional one.

If I don't check in, it's cause I had it done and can't use the computer for X amount of time during recovery.

Be well, all. Eat soundly. Do not follow MY recent example. Do better than I am.

Blessings...oh, and...

ONWARD AND DOWNWARD!

Do You Like Hot Cocoa?

If so, I gotta heartily recommend Scharffen Berger's natural cocoa powder, unsweetened.

Oh, man. I am so digging this. Been having a cup every night (with Splenda and skim milk) and I've been sleeping sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Plus, the taste rocks my mouth.

I've tried a lot of cocoa powders for hot cocoa, including Ghirardelli, Hershey's, Droste. I've grated my own chocolate from imported bars. I've even used baking chocolate bars, like the amazing Valrhona's (melting them to mix with milk.) Just recently tried one from Netrition.com that was organic, but didn't have me in ecstasies like S-B.

I find the bitter edge that some cocoa powders have is not there in Scharffen Berger's powder, and that's nice. It's dark, it's got great flavor, it makes killer hot cocoa. I like it so much, I just ordered five tins from the company's website. (The vendor at amazon.com charged 12 bucks for shipping one tin, and more for extra. Forget that!)

If you're ever in the supermarket, look for it. Williams Sonoma carried it (I got it at the mall last Monday.)

This is the real thing--no alkali, no Dutch processing, no sugar. It's got the heart healthy benefits of cocoa powder sans alkali. But, really, aside from that, don't we really drink it cause it's comforting and delicious and just makes us feel young and warm inside? Yeah. I thought so. And for dieters, it gives you that dose of chocolate aroma and taste without oodles of saturated fat and calories. It's a diet treat with health benefits and soothes the soul.

The Princess' product recommendation for the day: Scharffen Berger's cocoa powder (natural, unsweetened).

MmmmMmmmmMMMMmmmmmmMmmm.
~

If you like fantasy fiction and fantasy art

The Princess Dieter (ie, ME!) is a fantasy-loving royal freak.

Let me recommend a novel: WIND FOLLOWER by Carole McDonnell.

I really enjoyed it. It's a multicultural fantasy (set in a non-Earth world that mirrors our world) and it has a very Christian spirit. Part love story, part "finding identity" story, part tribal conflict story, it's a good read. I know fantasy is not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed that African/Asian/Native Amerian/European cultures are mirrored (without being copied exactly), and it's not just a bunch of white elves bopping around in medieval outfits. (Not that I can't enjoy that, too, but, you know, that's become sorta cliche.)

In case you were looking for a read during your holiday days off.

And if you're looking for a lovely book for children (to read to them or to let them read for themselves if they're able to read at that level, say 8 or 9 or 10), here's a gorgeously illustrated and delightful tale with a lesson about accepting and respecting those who are different: The Woman Who Outshone the Sun/La Mujer Que Brillaba Aun Mas Que El Sol. I was enraptured by this poetically scripted Mexican tale and the excellent, colorful artwork.

I also got my 2008 wall calendar, and it's full of artwork from one of my favorite artists, who specializes in fantasy art, including covers for children's and adult fantasy books: Kinuko Y. Craft. If you enjoy intricate art of wonders, I can recommend it. Utterly stunning. Visit her website and enjoy her immense talent. It's like giving your eyes a gift. And maybe it will sate an emotional appetite so that you don't nibble on a no-no. (Hey, it's an idea!)

PSA: Don't Use Your Credit or Debit Card on Kimkins Website

Medusa is sounding the warning, and I wanted to add my voice:

Please, don't give your credit card or debit card information to Kimkins, the scam diet site. Heidi Diaz is not someone to trust. Just google up her name or do a blog search for Kimkins and you will learn.

Or visit Medusa.

Remember, don't trust lying liars who lie. Especially not with your credit info.

Find a legitimate, scandal free, health-promoting place to lose weight online. Kimkins is NOT it.
~~

Kimkins Still Sucks

For those who haven't been keeping up (er, like me), there are new developments in the Kimkins scam and Heidi Diaz adventures (AKA the lying liar who lies). You can start your catching up over at Kimkins Scam And Medusa's blog.

And it seems I missed Tippy Toes's banning and "turnaround." (Okay, so I reserve a tad bit of skepticism, while nurturing hope.)

She's learned that chronic liars and scammers don't stop lying and scamming. And we've learned what we suspected all along: Heidi was raking in big bucks while doling out pittances to the people really doing the work to keep the site going. The emphases are MINE:

But recently Kimmer had a deposition with Teidt. I saw parts of it. Kimmer told me she was in danger of losing her car. She had financed it to build credit and can no longer make the payments. She couldn't buy milk on her ATM card... And so I then learn from her own deposition that she had 1.6 million in cash, spent almost half a million on a house just prior to deposition, and that she bought two cars with CASH. It was then I realized Kimmer was not really coming clean as I had hoped she would. Things really were not changing after all. And her photos on the front page... I had recruited Brian and Heather to be out there with her losing weight. I began to notice that Heather was losing a lot of weight pretty quickly and Kimmer claimed about the same loss. But suddenly Kimmer looked 100lbs less than Heather and I knew something wasn't right. It was really the final straw for me. I have asked Kimmer numerous times what Kimkins plan she was following and never received a reply. This, combined with the rest was too much for me and I decided to take a break and reflect on the situation.

--from Medusa's "TippyToes Spills the Beans! Sort of..."


So, she went on a spending spree right before her deposition. I'm guessing in California a house cannot be taken in bankruptcy? Hmmm? Yeah, she's sheltering her money before anyone can get some. She made people work for her with pay cuts then for zero money, claiming she had no moolah, while enriching herself with a house and two cars. Can we say evil, rotten bitch?

May karma bite her a big one on her ginormous butt. Soon.

Tale Scale: Gluttony and Sloth = Regain

Okay, so here I am: I missed two challenge weigh-ins in November.

The reason for those absences was, as my previous post explains, that I was besotted by days of feasting in Valley Gorge.

But all vacations end, and not everything one does in the Gorge stays in the Gorge. In fact, what one does in the Gorge shows up on the scale.

~My last challenge weigh-in was 274.8

~My highest weight in the interim from then til now was 280.2.

~My current weigh-in (ie, this morning) is:

278.2

Obviously, I was not alone in Valley Gorge. I had lots of Overeating Ogres attending to my desires with their supersized green hands.

If there are lessons to learn--and there are--it's these: Ceasing to use the tools is disastrous. Ceasing to be vigilant is detrimental. Ceasing to keep one's eyes on the goals is demotivating. And it's very easy to feel like we deserve that slice of cheesecake or that extra serving of mashed potatoes or that second helping of X, Y, and Z.

Ultimately, I packed on 5.8 pounds (with some of it water, I know) in five days during Thanksgiving week. Then I struggled, slightly, not to over-over do after that, which let it come down about a pound. (Mostly water, I know.)

How easy to go up. How hard to come back down.

But this is a quest. This is an ADVENTURE, and as such there are battles major and minor and pleasures big and small and allies and enemies. And it doesn't always (or even often) go easily. Not many things of great value come easily.

Today, like every day, is another day to get it better, to get it MORE right, to get it moving in a good direction.

My desire to be on plan now outweighs my desire to linger in Valley Gorge.

It was good to visit my blogging pals today and find many successes. It made me sad to see others are struggling (from a little to a lot). Please drop by the blogs of those who are struggling and send a supportive comment. Please congratulate those who are flying down the scaleway.

It's nice to NOT be alone in the quest.

Now, here are some online bloggers who, like me, have been sidetracked or totally derailed. I covet prayers for myself and them:

Lady T
Chubby Chick
Teale
Kim Ayres
Lyn
Zanitta

For those struggling to recover, like me, or who want to avoid holiday pitfalls in the coming weeks, visit Grumpy Chair's excellent and useful post on mapping a path to weight loss.


Now, here are bloggers who inspire me today with their achievements, with how they are using their tools and staying on plan and moving forward:


Lady Rose
Melodee
CCC (and her cousin D)
Becky
Kellie
Amber
Wallow Girl
Poppy
Tiger Lilly
Lady Shanny, who is especially inspiring and motivating to me today. Thank you for your terrific posts.

Onward and DOWNWARD!

The Princess Lives and is Back on the Weight Loss Wagon after a Side Trip to Valley Gorge

No, I was not abducted by aliens.

I just had a combination of busyness, blogging sloth, and Bad Princess Off Eating Plan syndrome.

Time flies. Even when aliens aren't involved.

So, a recap:

*Drifted off plan in the weekdays prior to Thanksgiving. (Hubby off work; We ate. Or rather, I took it as an excuse to overeat.)

*Ate like a piggy Thanksgiving, which was so good that it was hard to regret. Until I stepped on the scale the Friday after and it was 280.2. My lowest being the Saturday prior at 274.4. I did say the week went badly, yes?

*Didn't really put a brake on things the week AFTER Thanksgiving, so the scale started to scare me daily, without mercy.

*Had a cake orgy (cheesecake; chocolate layer cake) at my niece's birthday party on Sunday. On the plus side, got some exercise playing with the kids, which showed me how utterly dreadfully out of shape I am, cardiovascularly-speaking, cause I was soooooooo gaspy.

*Tried to rein self in without using the usual, tried-and-true tools (measuring, planning, journaling religiously, blogging, getting support, etc.) That didn't work so well.

*Got busier.

*Decided the sloth and gluttony was getting out of control when lackluster, undisciplined efforts yielded no results. So, began retracing steps to sanity over last two days.

*Am back on track as of yesterday.

Yesterday: I finally, FINALLY, sat down and began the Beck Diet Method. I did my first exercise: My Advantages Response Card. I have 41 advantages on there, and I had to make up THREE cards to fit them all. But, the exercise said to think of as many reasons as possible, and I did. If I think of more, I'll just add them.

Today: Day Two--I need to complete my Day One stuff (I fell asleep before I could) and place copies of my ARCs around the house and begin to get in the habit of reading them twice daily. I also will do the day two exercise of the therapy says I am to pick two reasonable diets.

I'll be posting regularly again (barring another whoopsie with BellSouth, which had our internet access down nearly the whole day Monday). I'm sure I'll have another post today, too. To catch up and to do my Tales from the Scales challenge weigh-in.

I want to thanks the lovely ladies who posted and prodded and checked up on me--you know who you are--for your encouragement. God bless you with many things for your kindness and concern, including with a major loss this week. :)

Smoochies from The Princess...