Embarrassed, need some motivation

stoogeswoman · Post by **stoogeswoman** » Sun Sep 04, 2016 1:53 pm

Hey everyone -

I've posted a couple of times since I rejoined the board, and I know I sounded really gung-ho and like I knew what I was doing, but ...

here it is early in the morning* and I'm finding I need some encouragement and help motivating myself, so here goes:

I'm really having trouble making myself think good thoughts about myself right now, because during the past year, I stopped exercising, and gained almost 40 pounds.

My excuse for stopping the daily walking was that I strained my knee. I do have arthritis so there's some justification in that - you do have to stop and let your body heal. However, once the knee healed, I had gotten back into the habit of sitting and watching TV most of the day. "Binge-watching", you know.

So the weight piled on! And now here I am, getting ready to "tote that barge, lift that bale" again, only this time, instead of weighing 220 pounds (which was already too heavy), I'm at 260! So I have to get rid of all those pounds before I even get back to where I was when I was *already* too heavy!

Sigh. Well, I know I'm not the only one with these problems, but I just thought I'd post it because there's really not a whole lot of people I can talk to sensibly about these things. I have a friend who's a "Doctor Oz" fan and pushes pseudoscientific nonsense about smoothies and juice fasts at me whenever I mention my weight; and a husband who's got his own health issues.

So - you are IT! Sorry about the rant, and FWIW just writing it all out makes me feel a little more positive. So if you just read the first sentence & then skimmed down to here, that's OK! Just pat me on the head and tell me I'm doing OK! (and thanks!!)

(also FWIW, before I sat down to write this, I *did* do my "Shovelglove" workout - four days in a row, woo hoo!

So I am making a bit of a start!

)

RAWCOOKIE · Post by **RAWCOOKIE** » Sun Sep 04, 2016 1:58 pm

pat, pat - you're doing OK.

Good start with the Shovelglove!

stoogeswoman · Post by **stoogeswoman** » Sun Sep 04, 2016 2:06 pm

RAWCOOKIE wrote: pat, pat - you're doing OK.

Good start with the Shovelglove!

Thank you!

Whosonfirst · Post by **Whosonfirst** » Sun Sep 04, 2016 5:34 pm

Hi stoogeswoman, Okay you're got four shovelglove days in a row. That's a decent start. Don't try to lose all the weight in one bite, so to speak. Go for small victories or habit changes. Myself, I'm shooting for five No S days in a row. So far, I might have three, but's usually two. So don't beat yourself up over past habits or how you look. None of us are ecstatic about how we look.

I love this guy's story, named Arthur who changed his life with Yoga for regular guys. Not that I know anything about yoga, but it's just an inspirational story. Kind of tears me up and I've seen it several times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448

Please keep posting, as when we get into a habit and allow others to share in our success and failures, we tend to hold ourselves more accountable. Have a great day. Whosonfirst(Trace)

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sun Sep 04, 2016 6:11 pm

No need to apologize. It's very human to get all gung ho and convinced when we're not in the middle of our lethargy. The future sounds so exciting when we imagine we're actually going to get to it! Then those moments come when we're supposed to perform. Ugh. I can't believe how strong the feeling of resistance to do my 14 minutes (and tons of other useful behaviors) is. Kudos for your recent overcoming!

It might be indelicate to point out, but I don't think lack of exercise was the only issue. It's also common for people who stop exercising to also paradoxically eat more, and more processed foods. Did that happen to you? If not, forgive me! If so, this is also the right place. Exercising more also often leads to better eating habits.

You are not talking to anyone who hasn't faced a lot of the same patterns, including the failing. No angels here!

Forward!

stoogeswoman · Post by **stoogeswoman** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 5:07 pm

Thank you, Whosonfirst and oolala53!

oolala53, oh yes, I am sure I ate more too. But ate in a non-No S fashion. In other words, snacking way more than I should have.

Not that most my snacks were "unhealthy" per se - my favorite snacks were freshly popped (not bagged!) popcorn with a little grated (not canned!) Parmesan cheese and melted butter (not margarine!) on top ... mmm! Any of which ingredient, if you isolate it, has some health benefits to it. (popcorn = fiber, cheese = calcium. Butter = well, depends on who you ask but my doctor said it was OK to have some in moderation. I think I wasn't very moderate with it though!)

And - this is still a fun "comfort food" snack, which I plan to enjoy on S-days - especially if there are any rainy days at all this winter - though with our current drought dragging on into its however-many-years, that's unlikely.

Problem was I was having that and other "healthy" (and yes, unhealthy!) snacks, all day, every day. And talked myself into thinking it was ok because again, "healthy"!

So I was certainly consuming a lot more calories than was good for me. That along with the inertia, I'm sure, contributed to the weight gain.

The good news is, at my last physical, all my numbers were really good, except my cholesterol and my weight. So I think if I can stick with the No S plan *and* gradually incorporate some light exercise into my routine (walking and Shovelglove, and perhaps the occasional visit to my gym's pool as a reward), I can bring both those numbers down.

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Tue Sep 06, 2016 4:14 am

I think you're on the right track with just recognizing the issue and restarting with shovel-glove. Good for you! I think you'll notice some positives when you get back to the No-S habits too.

I've been such a slug lately myself, and I definitely need to get into better habits with exercising. We're all in this together!

stoogeswoman · Post by **stoogeswoman** » Tue Sep 06, 2016 5:01 am

Thanks, Merry!

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Wed Sep 07, 2016 5:11 am

You inspired me to get back into some exercising this evening!

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 3:39 am

Hi stoogeswoman!

Glad you posted because I always feel it's best to be honest about our struggles. I know it's hard but you can do this!

I was over 210 lbs when I started NoS but lost about 45 lbs over about a year and a half. It came in bits and spurts and I had plenty of times where I struggled. Other times it just flowed though and felt easy.

I guess the trick is to just persist through the tough times so you can get to the easier times. Make it easy on yourself to be successful. Pile your plates high so you can easily get to the next meal, pick an enjoyable, doable exercise and don't do more than 14 mins/day. Once you have that down you can build upon your successes.

Also remember you are more than your weight. Plenty of beautiful, intelligent & successful plus size people so in the meantime, don't let your weight keep you from living a full life.

Oh and ignore your friend. We all know how those fad diets end.

Best of luck and post often if you find it helpful.

Linda

liveitup · Post by **liveitup** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 4:24 pm

You CAN do it. Change is one plate at a time. Focus on that. You know this is achievable and you can do it. You also have us to help you when you need motivation!