Net Effect: GOOD!

I have good news: I was able to weigh myself yesterday afternoon, thanks to receiving bathroom blessings (see 8/1's blog entry as to what that is...LOL). And the good news is that I only gained back a pound of that Whoosh loss! So, the walking must have really helped keep me from paying a bigger price for my cheating. Hopefully, that is true and it continues. I think this also means that my weight setpoint (the weight my body seems to gravitate back to) might just have gone down a pound. Nothing stunningly drastic here, but progress nonetheless. Important progress for me, as this is how I have to lose the weight. I can't stay on Atkins Induction long-term; I am struggling to last the 2 weeks it's advised for. I think it's great for confusing the old matebolism and shaking up the setpoint, but since ketosis (the chemical change that you fall into after 4 days on Induction, where you basically are a fat-burning fool) always makes me feel like crap, I don't really trust it all that much as being 100% safe. I stay intermittently naucious and tired while I am on that phase of the diet, and it seems like nothing can help. (These are classic symptoms that many diet followers suffer, so it's more of an inconvenience and annoyance than anything else, but still...).

So, I am thinking about changing the diet strategy for myself up. I'm thinking the most about something similar to Weight Watchers, that limits bad carbs as well as calories (this is translated into those points, but basically those two are restricted). I am also finding myself wishing for a pre-determined food menu that accomplishes this, along with built-in suggests for cheating non-harmfully.

If I do this, I am going to create a bit of conflict between myself and DH, as he is on the low carb wagon. Since it has worked for him, and since he only had to lose 20 pounds (and does not realize how lucky he is to not really have a weight problem at all), he doesn't realize that someone like me can't rely on just one gameplan. He and Missy are both blessed with what I like to call a "skinny gene", and both of them are constantly forgetting that I am in Phase 2 of Atkins. Or they never listened to me in the first place....sigh. (That happens frequently in other areas of our life together, too). Or, they are thinking, you wuss, stay on Induction til you lose that weight! (They are both hard-asses like that.) Well, I can't stay on it. I can only use it occasionally and then I have to fight to keep the weight off once I end it, but done successfully, the weight loss lasts. Which is where I'm at right now, on the downhill side of that.

I just have to accept that this weight is going to come off just as slowly if not more slowly than it went on. Slow and steady can win the race, but I can't forget about it for months or even weeks or even days (right now). The wonderful thing about dieting (or, rather, repeat dieting), is that you really can learn from your mistakes.

My lesson to learn is that if weight loss was a war, I'd have to win it with a very high number of little skirmishes/battles instead of one or two humongo battles. (get it? Each battle equals a little weight lost? Sounds a bit nutty, but it's really a great analogy.) If I completely stop fighting and strategizing, the enemy (weight) sneaks back up and takes over and starts defeating me. I have had a clear history of dieting for a while and then abandoning it for longer. So this will be a great lesson to master!

In addition, the longer that I can eat a balance of food groups that helps me not gain weight, the more successsful I'll be. I do honestly believe there is something to lowering carb intake in a diet. I also think that there is a positive cumulative effect over time in doing this. I know that anthropological research shows that the body trains and learns over time, so why wouldn't it learn from what food you are feeding it? Carbs, especially the "bad" ones (sugared and processed foods), is a quick energy source for the body. If your diet provides you with less of those carbs than you need for fuel, your body will then burn fat. This is a very basic explanation, but the end result is that less carb intake improves weight loss when your diet is sensible, you get exercise, and you don't have a lot of carbs messing with your insulin level.

God, I know this blog must be incredibly boring, LOL. It's become pretty much a big peptalk to myself for staying straight. If you have read it, you deserve the Job Patience Award, especially if you are not running away screaming, LOL. It does help me, though. Last night, I almost went to buy tons of carbs. But, I thought about how stupid that'd sound to have to write here. Literally. And, instead I ate the leftover shrimp zuccini from Tuesday night and a porkchop from last night's supper. I literally take it one day at a time, and I guess that's huge proof that food to me is a lot like alcohol is to an alcoholic.

My pedometer arrived yesterday and I got it programmed so I was able to use it last night/this morning. According to the pedometer, I wasn't giving myself enough step credit when measured against how far I walk in 20 steps. Apparantly, I've been walking farther than 1/8, 1/4, or even 3/8 miles. Last night I walked the same number of steps that I'd tagged as 3/8 mile, and it computed them as .55 miles! I'm totally confused, but since I am only going farther on the step count, I'll follow the pedometer's logic. So now I am walking 1/2 mile a day, and I'm going to see how much I can increase it every couple days. No more waiting a week to increase my load. My neck and upper arms are terribly sore and painful, and my legs are just slightly less painful, but it's almost a good pain. I'm very hooked on the walking, and I am feeling so blessed that my lower back is not acting up over the walking like it used to do. If I could have one wish, it would be for my back to stay that way and not flare up. I think tonight I will push a continuous workout a bit and see just how long I can keep it up before it starts really hurting. I don't know if that's really wise, but I want to know!!!!

Well, I need to shower and then lay down for a while. Missy is going ahead with her garage sale and I bet she has not even thought about tables for it. We have plenty of tables, but a ton of crap is sitting on all of them in the garage. So, I will need to be clearing out and throwing away and reorganizing to free up as many tables as possible. Here's hoping I can move tonight or tomorrow! Lots of physical activity involved in that!

Have a great day and don't forget, eat some carbs for me! LOLOL