Wednesday Weigh In: Selling Ourselves Short

I was shocked at the scale reading this morning. If you are keeping score the past 4 weeks – pretty much since seeing my “magic number” on the scale —  I’ve shown a gain. So last week I decided to change things up, trust myself a bit more. I wanted to focus on what I was eating, not how much.

I didn’t talk about this last week, but I really think I was/am underestimating my calorie needs for my current activity level, especially with all my CrossFit workouts. Sometimes I still approach the eating/weight-loss thing as I did 8 years ago when I didn’t workout, run, or have 2 kids to tackle. I’m still grappling with lowering my calories because, well, that’s what worked! I was able to consistently drop 2 lbs a week through diet alone back then.

Now things are a bit more complex.

I’m not making excuses, just self observations.

Overall my new approach worked. I immediately felt less pressure to figure out how to enter something in MyFitnessPal or weigh out a serving. I started to get excited by making kale salads and fun ways to add more vegetables to my diet, but as the week went on I started to slowly slip into old habits. Little remnants of the perfection mindset were sneaking in and by last night I found myself binging on cookies because there was no way the scale wasn’t going to show a gain this morning.

I was self-sabotaging before even giving myself a chance.

I sold myself short and I’m going to bet you’ve done it, too.

I hopped on the scale this morning, eyes closed. I waited 30 seconds until the number locked in, and then I saw this…

 Trusting myself may be the hardest part of this journey.

I really felt fantastic all week too. I’m wondering if it may be time for me to step away from scale again, or at least figure out a way to track the data without the unconscious pressure I appear to be putting on myself.

GAH!

Enough about me! How was your week? I have to go anyway, I’m late for CrossFit! 

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Baltimore Color Run from The Eyes of The 7-Year-Old

Last year I ran my first Color run event in Philly and had an absolute blast! It was fun, energizing and so family friendly I vowed to take Little Guy the following year.

He was ecstatic.

If you’re scared of registering for a 5k, I want you to remember this is the same kid who has a hard time running a mile. Running long distance is not something that just comes easily to him, nor me if we want to go there.

I have no desire to make him some sort of track star or avid runner, but I am trying to raise him to be active, confident, and not afraid of new experiences. That’s why I’m continuously looking for new things we can do together like this.

I was hoping we’d run a bit more than we did, but he did great overall. About a quarter mile in he wanted to take a walk break but then he saw the yellow station and got all excited. If you watch the video you may think he ran the whole event but we basically walked until we hit another color, which would give him a burst of energy.

By the end he was tired, achy and begging for a “sit break” but we crossed that finish line strong and as you can see, he had a blast at the color festival!

Color Runs are a fun time and I’d highly recommend them as a first 5k if you are just looking to have a fun morning. There are no chip timers or clocks. Most people walk. It’s really more of a festival than anything else.

However, keep in mind these things are CROWDED. I don’t think I’ve ever waited longer on a start line before. Next time I won’t worry about being on time. They have rolling starts for an hour so unless you get there super early you’re better off arriving almost an hour late to avoid waiting in a crowd. Especially if you are bringing kids.

We went with my friend (and official FitBloggin’ photographer) Carrie and her 5-year-old daughter who did amazing!

After the event we were a colorful mess!

My Motivation Turned Workout Partner is growing up too fast.

Someone make it stop!

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To Weigh or Not To Weigh: That is the Question

Kelly left a great comment on yesterday’s Weigh In Post and it really got me thinking about my own scale habits.

Been following you for a long time Roni and have almost exact same history with being overweight, losing it, gaining it, the yo yo, the binging, the negative self talk. I too am a Mom in my late *ahem* 30's. : ) Waking away from the scale is the best thing I ever did and it was the last step to true freedom. Making breakthroughs with mentality, serving size, whole food eating, becoming an athlete (yes, that’s you) etc. are awesome and life changing. Continuing to step on the scale week after week is keeping with the old mindset of “measuring up”, what defines success, and the answer to “are we good enough this week” (or insert whatever other self inflicted questions that we have never really said out loud). We try to tell ourselves that the number does not affect us, that we are just “monitoring”, “keeping an eye on it”, and that it is just “one tool” in our approach to health. That is a lie. Not for all, but for those of us that have lived a life being very overweight at one time, had self confidence issues, tried everything, I mean EVERYTHING just to see the number go down on the scale, it is a lie. The number on the scale is bondage to us because no matter how much we change our lifestyle, exercise habits, foods we buy that all reflect our progression to a healthy and fit life, that number speaks to us and continues to define us (to a point, but still). If the number on the scale truly does not matter, then why do we have to step on it? Do our clothes not tell us? The minute we button a shirt or pull up a zipper, do we not intuitively “know” where we are? Learning to trust our new lifestyle without the scale is hard and there is a period of withdrawal and doubt, but true freedom…..true freedom from the old mindset, the old standards, and that nasty inner voice that talks to us when we see the “number”. Walking away from the scale will most likely take you out of your comfort zone, but isn’t that where you thrive? (Crossfit Games, Tough Mudders, Travel, etc). You can do it.

Oh, boy does she make some great points. Maybe I am lying to myself. I did go through a period of scale independence before I got pregnant again.  Then after baby, when I went back into weight-loss mode, I thought it would be easy to just redo what I did 6 years earlier when I lost the 70 lbs.

It wasn’t.

I struggled with Weight Watchers before having my Weight Loss A-Ha moment.

Yet even after my “moment” I still continued to weigh in.

I told myself I was disconnected from the number, doing it for the blog, that I was strong enough not to let it affect me.

Kelly IS right. I was (am) lying to myself. Part of me still REALLY wants to see 145 on the scale consistently. I want reach that number yet again because it represents “skinny” to me. It’s a weight I never saw in high school. A weight I didn’t think was possible for my frame. It’s that magic number I’ve programed myself to want to be.

When I read Kelly’s comment I didn’t want to respond right away. I really wanted her words to sink in a bit. Then LisaM chimed it with another perspective.

You preach it Kelly! Your comments were so powerful I hope you don’t mind if I respond with my reasons for utilizing the scale. Although I didn’t lose a huge amount of weight, it’s been a struggle all my life. I finally changed my relationship with food, and if old habits didn’t creep in from time to time, I too would have no use for the scale. But as a fickle human, I can play too many mind games if I go just by clothing fit to monitor whether or not those old habits are getting entrenched again. I’d probably be on a 10 lb pendulum if I just went by clothing, and that takes long enough that the bad habits have gotten too ingrained. So I only use the number on the scale as an unbiased monitor of how healthy my habits are. I find that focusing on my habits for the amount of time it takes to lose the extra weight is just about long enough to internalize good habits again. So, I don’t freak out if I’m really concentrating on living the way I know I should, but the number on the scale isn’t where I want it. I just know that means I need to continue concentrating.

Complete opposite perspective yet still valid, and there is a bit of data to back up the idea of consistent weighing.

According to the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) 75% of the members weigh themselves at least once a week. If you are unfamiliar with NWCR, their members are people who’ve lost an average of 66 lbs and maintained that loss for over 5 years on average.

I wonder if all of them feel like a slave to the scale or maybe they’re able to use it as a simple monitoring tool. I have a feeling opinions are going to vary greatly and that’s why I thought I’d make this an old-fashioned question of the week.

So what say you? To weigh or not to weigh: That is the question!

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GoalKeeper Cards

I keep a deck of cards in my purse. But these ain’t no cards for Poker, baby.

I came up with these GoalKeeper Cards. It’s a really simple tool to help keep me on track. It motivates me when I feel like a slacker. It’s a pick-me-up when I’m feeling overwhelmed. It helps me fight back when I’m overrun with the false feeling that I’ll never reach my goals.

Inspirational pictures and quotes from famous people are cool. Sure. But sometimes you just gotta listen to that inner voice that’s screaming for you to succeed.

My deck of cards is with filled with truth that spilled out from my heart. The cards speak to me. Your own GoalKeeper Cards might say something similar or be totally different. There is no wrong thing to write on your cards. They are yours to personalize to your own situation. Whatever helps propel you forward — words or pictures. Put it on the card. Keep the deck with you wherever you go. Look at the cards often.

But this isn’t just about fitness. Use the cards to as a tool to tackle goals in every area of your life.

A blank-faced deck of Bicycle cards is uber-cheap. You can choose from the blank-faced cards with Blue Back or the blank-faced cards with Red Back. Just be sure to write on the card with a marker. Let the writing dry before handling the card. Otherwise, it’ll smear. Don’t use a ball point pen on the cards. It won’t work out well.

Sometimes I question why I make the sacrifices I do, all in the same of reaching my goal. Is it really worth it? I get weary sometimes –mentally and physically — I get tired. But I can’t let that stop me.

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Should Strong be the New Skinny?

I shared the article this quote is from last week on my Facebook page but I relate to it so much I had to make it a post.

It’s called “This Trendy ‘Strong is the New Skinny’ Thing and what is could mean for the next generation of girls,” and this paragraph could not describe me and mentality at the moment, any better:

“Now when I look in the mirror (this is embarrassing by the way, I can’t believe I’m admitting this online) I flex instead of sucking in. Now when I pinch my stomach, it’s to feel my abs, not to feel shitty about how much “flab” (real or imaginary) is sitting there. I no longer stare at the “calories burned” display on the elliptical, but how many plates I have on each end of the barbell.” — Sophieologie.com

I mostly agree with the article but like some of the commenters, I fear “strong” could become the new “skinny” in a bad way.

It’s true. I’ve become a bit of a workout junkie. I took this photo last month as a joke but never got a chance to share it.

I’m really starting to see the changes in my body. I feel the difference in my strength. I have more energy. I’m happier. I even feel calmer in a weird way, more in control of my emotions.

So my gut reaction to this article was positive. Of course “strong” is a better goal than “skinny.” I’ve even wrote a post about why I feel “skinny” is about the worst goal you can set. 

However, it does feel a bit like we are swapping out one cultural obsession (thinness) with another (super fit), and although I fall in the category of a workout junkie (now) I’ve made that choice after a lifetime of hating myself and my body. For me it IS a more positive shift in my goals, but I can only imagine how young girls may feel today.

What if you happen to be thin and have no interest in lifting weights — do you now feel just as inadequate as I did not sporting the “heroin chic,” waifish frame body of the ’90s? What about other folks who do workout, enjoy it, yet still don’t have the “expected” body shape of a “strong” woman?

Why does it feel like we are we constantly doing things in pursuit of someone else’s ideals weather it be skinny, strong or curvy?

It’s taken me a long time to get to where I am emotionally and it’s true I got here by pursuing weight loss. I’m not going to lie and say the changes in my body aren’t awesome, but I stripped myself of the pressure of looking a specific way long ago. If I didn’t I’d still be pursuing Twiggy’s arms and Elle MacPherson legs, both of which are a complete impossibility for my body type regardless of how much weight I lose or iron I pump.

Now I do what I do because I WANT to do it. I pursue fitness goals because it makes me feel amazing. Alive. Accomplished.

Confidence should be the new skinny.

I hope that’s the message I’m spreading.

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Fat Killer Workout (full instructions and video)

Let me just make it plain. This workout kicked my ass. Anybody need to kill some fat? My bawwdy is glistening in the video. It’s from the fat that died…

Fat Killer: FULL WORKOUT (4 exercises, 3 rounds)

6 reps high-knee jog burpees10 squats into alternating high-knees4 dive bomber push-ups10 alternating side kick-throughs

Try to move on to each exercise with as little rest as possible. But from what you see in the video, good GAWD, I needed rest. Just do your very best (no cutting corners!) and the fat will surely be killed.

MODIFICATIONS & PROPER FORM

During burpees, instead of a high-knee jog, do a high-knee march. Hit the deck completely (body totally on the floor) on the down-move.For squats, stick your booty out like you’re sitting in a chair. Get down low and don’t let knees go over toes. On the up-move, get that knee up high!Do the best you can with side kick-throughs. You may need to do this move very slow to get the coordination down if you’re just starting out. Although the legs are very much involved in this exercise, your arms and shoulders are gonna feel the burn.

EQUIPMENT CHECKLIST

None needed. Just bring your A-game and stay in Beastmode

v HOME WORKOUT CENTRAL

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Weekly Meal Plan + A Beautiful Day Review

Happy Mamas Day to all the moms out there - step-moms, mothers-in-laws, foster moms - everyone who "mothers." It's a beautiful day here a little north of NYC and I plan to take my mom on a garden tour and then for brunch somewhere - still need to look up exactly where we'll be going. There was an attack on this site during the week so I decided to remove the commenting feature BUT please comment at our Facebook page, and there are other options below. Plus you can always find me on Twitter (iateapie).

(Photo Credit: tejvan photos/ Flick 2.0)

This week's meal plan ... Dinners.

Mon - Mexican Bowtie Pasta Bake + + "B" Red Salad (lettuce + strawberries + bell peppers + dried cranberries)

Tue - Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

Wed - Lemon Chicken (4 Ingredients Cooking) + Quinoa with Walnuts, Radishes & Spring Onions

Thu - Baked Popcorn Chicken with Maple-Dijon Dipping Sauce + Spiced carrot & chickpea salad

Fri - Smothered Burritos + Black Bean, Sweet Corn and Mango Salad

Sat - Healthier Smothered Sweet Potato Fries + How To Make Ground Beef Go Farther

Sun - Pecan Tilapia and Baked Brussels
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See you on Monday with more food product reviews.

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