Thursday, May 28, 2009

Time to Lose the Weight Ms. Waite!

I have this thing with being accountable. I am FAR more likely to get something done if I have to account for my doing it to someone. That is part of why I shared that I wanted to do the labor thing without drugs. I figured I would be more likely to follow through if I had shared that with all of you. And it worked. 

I am taking the same approach to my desire to lose the baby weight and fit in my clothes again. So though weight can be a taboo subject for many, I am sharing my stats with the world. 

After my first 3 kids I never even had to try to lose the weight. Well the last 10 lbs. has been slow to go but it eventually went. After Camille it was a whole different story. I lost 10 lbs. giving birth and then the rest just stayed. 

Maybe it was the whole age factor? I don't know but the same thing seems to be going on now. I lost about 15 lbs. in giving birth to Noble and now I am just sitting around 150 lbs. Normally I like to be between 128 and 135. I started this pregnancy at 130 ish. So that means I have about 20 lbs to shed. 

One thing I have done in the past that has worked really well for me (actually this is as close to a real "diet" as I have ever done) is to write down each night everything I am going to eat the next day. That is the whole plan. I don't have "restrictions" on what I can or cannot eat. The only restriction is that I have to have written it down the day before.

Of course, I am trying in my writing it down the day before to be good and plan to eat healthy foods. I am after all trying to lose some weight right? But I am also very realistic. If there are cookies in the house, I write down 2 cookies. Then the next day I know I can have cookies but I usually wait till the end of the day to treat myself to them. 

The way this method works for me is that normally I would eat the cookies for breakfast lunch and dinner. :) Nobody PLANS to eat 15 cookies right? Well at least I don't. But by the end of that day it is totally possible that I will have eaten that many. So if I write it down I limit the number of cookies I eat. 

Also if I am craving something not on my list, I tell myself that I will write it down that night and eat it tomorrow. (Procrastination is a great tool for me in dieting.) The thing is that often by the time I get to writing my list that night I am no longer craving that thing so I often don't even write it down after all.

The other good thing about this plan for me is that it makes meals really easy. I never have to think "hmmm what should I eat?" I have all the meals planned the night before so I don't just grab the easiest closest snack instead of cooking. 

This writing things down really addresses most of my major issues so I hope it works this time too. I'll be weighing myself weekly. I will let you know how it goes. Feel free to join me if you like and let me know if it works for you. Oh there is my little guy wanting his "dessert" for the night. Off to go give him some of my calories!

24 comments:

Michelle said...

what a great idea--I have done the "write down WHAT you eat", but not the night before. I think this would work for me. I want to try it. My baby is 6 months old, and if there are cookies (or muffins) then I eat them--for breakfast, lunch, dinner & snack :)

good luck--I hope it works for me too.

Claire said...

LOVE this idea! When I'm trying to lose weight I tend to track my calories... I use sparkpeople.com and love it. But I'd never thought of figuring out what I'll eat the day before. I'll be filing that away for future reference! In about 7 more months I'll be in your shoes, trying to shed some baby weight.

Congrats on Noble's birth! He is beautiful.

Raychel said...

Great idea! I may try that until I get good news that I'm pregnant. I'm hoping to be pregnant with in the next month or two which will throw a wrench in things! But, I may start it to see how much I can lose before getting pregnant.

Mindy said...

Funny how quickly 15 cookies total up to 15 cookies, isn't it? :)

Carole said...

That's a great idea, and definitely one that I will have to try! I have gained a ton of weight over the last year since becoming a stay-at-home-mom, and it has got to go! :) Good luck!

Unknown said...

you are so funny and sound exactly like me!! Check this out---http://chocolatecoveredchaos.blogspot.com/2009/03/reality-bites-lot.html

April said...

I love it! I have much more weight to lose than you, but I will definitely give this a try. I am currently going to the gym 5x's a week, and rather than writing down what I eat, I think writing down what I am going to eat is a much smarter track. Thank you, and good luck!

Chelsea said...

Stephanie, I will SO JOIN YOU! When I have our baby that is! I have a few things I like to do also, and I will share my tricks, and try yours! I think I gained more this pregnancy than any other (I'm sure it was being on "rest" for 4 weeks eating and not moving.) but I have refused to watch the weight go up at every Doc appt! I try to eat pretty good while pregnant, and do weight accountability when I have the babe. I will be on board for any fun ideas!

Stephanie said...

That is such a great idea! I am going to adopt it.

Kristine said...

I love that you embrace your procrastination and make it work for you. I'm going to say it again - I love you for that! :) I've been on the fence about taking responsibility for what I eat and this sounds like a reasonable plan to me so I'd like to start this with you too.

Although I will say you are definitely cheating by breast feeding!!

Anonymous said...

I'll have to try that out. I have 50 to lose, and I HATE counting calories (or points if you follow the plan of a nation-wide weight-loss chain) ;)

chanel said...

thats a great plan, i think i will try it. but let me tell you, 4 months postbaby myself, the weight will come off, be patient with yourself. i felt the same way as you after about 4weeks, i was disgusted actually, but it has gotten better with time....slow slow time.

DEANNA said...

MY TRAINER HAD ME DO THE EXACT SAME THING. IT IS AMAZING HOW QUICK YOU BEGIN TO GASP AT WHAT YOU ARE EATING. I CAN TELL YOU FROM EXPERIENCE THAT THE ZONE DIET IS THE EASIEST IN THE WORLD TO FOLLOW, EAT A TON OF FOOD ON AND IS PERFECTLY FINE FOR NOBLE. ONCE YOU GET PORTIONS DOWN THEY BECOME SECOND NATURE AND PRETTY SOON YOUR KIDS WILL ASK FOR YOUR MEALS AS WELL AND SUDDENLY YOU HAVE MUSCLES SHOWING AND ENERGY THAT JUST WON'T QUIT!

GOOD LUCK!

Michelle Arnett said...

LOVE this post. I liked all the ideas. I find that I have to tell people too about things to stay accountable that's why I made it public to the world that I was running the marathon, otherwise, I know it would be too easy for me to just let the day come and go and not actually follow through:) Take care and good luck w/losing weight. I'd like to lose another 10 LBS

Anonymous said...

How do you DO that--actually PLAN your meals for an entire day --in advance?! When it comes to just planning dinner for one day I go completely brain-dead!

mckenna said...

I have been struggling to lose weight this year. A lot of weight. Since having babies. I've just packed on a good 40 pounds. Yikes! I did really well at the beginning of the year and dropped 25 lbs! Yay! And then in the last three months I gained 20 of those back. Ugh. I know what foods are healthy and I know how to exercise. For me it's a simple matter of DOING it. I like your approach. So I'm trying it! I wrote everything down just before bed last night and so far so good! Sticking with it is always hard for me. But maybe this will help! If I don't give myself the chance to think about what junk food sounds delicious I'll be less tempted to eat loads and loads of it!! :) Thanks for the idea!!

jodie@eighteen25 said...

i love yor idea....i am totally like that also. i'm a visual person. in addition...you could try the jillian michaels 20min shred. it will kick your booty in 20 min. that's it! i love it!

Bridget said...

My husband has off and on (now on) in our marriage done a year without treats. No dessert, no candy, no cookies, no nothing EXCEPT for holidays/vacations or family member's birthdays. It's been really good for him...and me to see what kind of garbage I consume. I've got 20 fabulous pounds hanging around that I'd like to get rid of. Though I won't go so far as to say I won't eat snacks...I have gone as far in the past month to say I won't buy candy EXCEPT for Halloween and Easter. It's helped...unfortunatly I don't think it's affected my extra 20. I'm still considering trying your write everything down method.

Karm said...

I am definitely going to join you. I am currently training for a triathlon while at the same time trying to get the rest of what I call my "baby" fat off. I think this will help me fuel my body more efficiently. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

You are awesome! I was in a Biggest Loser contest for 12weeks (jan - apr) and won (yay!) after losing 34lbs. Then I felt I 'deserved' some treats and couldnt get back on the wagon...so I regained 20lbs (boo!!). I'm starting South Beach tomorrow and am determined to get back into shape. I have about 80lbs to lose and I want to be healthy for myself, my hubby, and my girlies. With my husband deployed, I want to take this time to really focus on me (and the girls of course!!) and get my 'act together', you know? A site that is really amazing is caloriecount.about.com. LOVE it!! I have yet to find something it cant do. You can even input the ingredients to a recipe along with how many servings it yeilds...and it will break down the calories and whatnot for you. Incredible!

Best of luck to all of us!! You are a great example!!

Brittany said...

It has been 4 months.... and I am still working on it. i wish I sat around 135, but I am unable to maintain less than 140.... and that is running 6 miles a day. However this "diet" will make our trip to cali a lot easier for me to eat healthier :)

Mechelle said...

Good luck to you!
I just shed my last 25 pounds and my baby is 3:(
Try this website MYFITNESSPAL.Com for tracking and planning food, thee best and my weight loss blog thoughtstothin.blogspot.com for inspiration - I hope!

Mimi's Toes said...

I have never heard of this and thought I had heard it all! I am also trying to shed some weight but don't want to give up my favorite foods. I might give this a try. Good luck to you! I just wish I only had 20 lbs to lose!

Marcy said...

oh sweetie--i so know how you feel!! This is a huge thing for me right now!! I lost 15 lbs right away and can't seem to lose any more. And (might i say) i am working my butt off in the gym and eating pretty dang healthy!! it is driving me CRAZY!!!

But because of my circumstances i feel that people are looking at me and wondering why I am so fat instead of knowing that i just had a baby!! it is probably just in my head, but it is definitely how i am feeling. OK, OK, i am done ranting!! But, i am thinking that writing down the night before might be worth trying--i am up for anything!!