Weekend Recap

Happy Monday!<br /><br />It was another busy weekend, which was kicked off on Friday afternoon by meeting up with <a href="http://honeyishrunkthegretchen.com/2011/11/14/zoology/">Gretchen from Honey, I Shrunk the Gretchen</a>.   SO cool meeting a blogger in real life!  Have you ever done this before?  I had some <a href="http://www.lacroixwater.com/">La Croix</a> waters that I wanted to pawn off onto someone, and I knew she loved these so I offered them up to her.  We met at a cutsie coffee shop in the area and got to know each other a little bit.  Some things about Gretchen's blog that I enjoy are: her sense of humor, her writing style, and her pictures (she's so good!).  If you're a dog lover, her 2 pups make frequent appearances.  Also, let's not forget how much of an inspiration she is -  having lost over 50 lbs!  <br /><br />Saturday was spent with Joel's family, celebrating his grandfather's 80th birthday at this REALLY cool retirement community called Leisureworld.  So wild!  It's like a piece of Florida in Maryland for older folks. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wPCVFnN2TPZvJBGyS2CPwG297LHIc78Nd2MSOdHBFqM205YXtcCrUHQFmqA3PEqRjQ7nQ-v0vwRHgN6dVOZLcxJcynHfgEZ0EmmVVs6lqgBF6wnCHcEVCriAe-2USdwg2kgF1KL4-pI/s1600/Paw+Paws+80th+Birthday+069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wPCVFnN2TPZvJBGyS2CPwG297LHIc78Nd2MSOdHBFqM205YXtcCrUHQFmqA3PEqRjQ7nQ-v0vwRHgN6dVOZLcxJcynHfgEZ0EmmVVs6lqgBF6wnCHcEVCriAe-2USdwg2kgF1KL4-pI/s400/Paw+Paws+80th+Birthday+069.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Since I now have another commitment on Wednesday evenings, I had to change my WW meeting day to Sunday (well, in order to stay with my awesome leader, Sharon).  So, I headed out Sunday morning to a very intimate meeting at 10 AM.  I really enjoyed it - sometimes I prefer the smaller crowds.  This week's meeting topic was about Thanksgiving and how we're going to plan our plate.  I came away with some great tips:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ol><li>Fill at least half the plate with fruits and/or vegetables.  Then the other half gets divided into two parts - 1 for meat and 1 for whatever indulgence you want to have.</li><li>Be active before or after the meal.  This year, I'd like to find a local "turkey trot" in the area to attend.  If that's not possible, then I need to hit the gym or do a walk/run around my neighborhood.    </li><li>If eating in a buffet setting, do a "first pass" of all the dishes, and then go back and pick only what you REALLY want to eat.</li><li>If you don't like something on your plate, don't eat it!</li></ol></blockquote><br />This year I'd like to bring a dish to both meals (I have Thanksgiving at two families) that is "safe" for me to eat.  I'm thinking a dessert, since I'd rather eat dessert than eat the actual meal, believe it or not.  Pumpkin pie is my absolute favorite!  <br /><br />After WW, I attended church for the first time since moving back to Virginia.  The place I chose was just "ok" for me.  I'll keep trying out some others in the area until I find a place that feels right.  <br /><br />Finally, after church, I spent all afternoon and into the evening cooking for the week.  <br /><br />How did you spend your weekend?  Any special, Points+ friendly dishes you plan to make for Thanksgiving?

Random Weight Loss Thoughts Weekend Recap Weekend Recap

Happy Monday!It was another busy weekend, which was kicked off on Friday afternoon by meeting up with Gretchen from Honey, I Shrunk the Gretchen.   SO cool meeting a blogger in real life!  Have you ever done this before?  I had some La Croix waters t…

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WHY WEIGHING YOURSELF SUCKS (and results in fat gain)

<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you think that by losing weight, your self-esteem will improve so much that your motivation to eat less will have everlasting motivation−you’re fooling yourself.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Monitoring weight is the biggest flaw in the foundation of a diet. Why: because desires to eat food have nothing to do with body fat. For example, how many of us sabotage our temporary diet in order to eat for emotional celebration? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">How often have you eaten food at a party, then felt guilty about breaking your diet’s rules, as a result decided your desire to eat was bigger than your desire to lose weight at that moment, and instead of feeling guilty, you’d rather let go of that desire to lose weight, so that you could eat all that you’d like− without guilt. And because you can just “start over” the next day, you end up eating more than you actually want, which compensates for the impending diet restrictions that you don’t want in the first place. Sound familiar? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This is typical of most when attempting a weight-motivated diet. Consider the failure of the entire diet industry. Consider how much fat our country gains each year compared to how much fat we lose. How’s weight as motivation working? Not well. With all of the differences between one diet to the next, the one consistency between them all is their hyper-focus on weight. The long term result: more fat gain.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you observe the obsession over weight-loss during the protocol (or any other diet) you’ll find that as soon as weight-loss stops, or slows down, complaints go up. Why? Because there’s emotional hardship when choosing to eat less−which is why there’s a desperate need for weight-loss as reward. We falsely believe weight is the problem and temporarily submit to a reduction in food intake−but only if weight is lost. Without holding accountable our desires to eat excessively and emotionally, fat is falsely accused as the problem.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Have you ever considered that the normal way you eat is the real challenge? Without weight loss, would you voluntarily eat less? If you continue to have desires to eat at every party, every social event, every moment you feel bored, and whenever you feel emotionally tested − your body will always be forced to accumulate fat. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Go ahead −obsess over your weight while dieting. Find out if your weight will motivate you to eat less the rest of your life. Or, decide you’re disgusted by our cultural gluttony. Recognize that you’ve stopped using your creativity, which is why you’re bored and use food for entertainment. Acknowledge that eating has become your best friend, your hobby, your crutch, and without eating at all social functions, you feel punished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>You might hate the amount of money you’ve spent to lose and gain weight over and over again−but eventually, you’ll recognize that weight isn’t the problem and that using it as motivation, will always fall short. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Without changing your desires to eat, anything less will feel punishing, and each time you restrict, that desire to eat will magnify even more. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stop kidding yourself.</i> If you have emotional desires to eat and want to continue this dysfunctional relationship with food, you might as well accept the outcome. </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you want permanent change, consider transforming the normal way you eat </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">to a realistic “new normal”, that doesn’t require you eating emotionally</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">−whether you lose weight or not.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Motivation to eat less is profound, especially when you live in a culture that eats excessively as the norm. Especially, when the diet industry has plagued us with constant guilt about what we eat, and the food industry is continuously shoving food down our throats. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You have to understand that obesity isn’t the problem−it’s the inevitable outcome of gluttony. So if you continue to assume that losing weight will change your desires to eat, you’re fooling yourself−again.</span></div>

WHY WEIGHING YOURSELF SUCKS (and results in fat gain)

If you think that by losing weight, your self-esteem will improve so much that your motivation to eat less will have everlasting motivation−you’re fooling yourself.Monitoring weight is the biggest flaw in the foundation of a diet. Why: because desire…

Read more »