Recommitting

I'm getting back on track too... The past few months have been crazy and stressful at my house. Which means I've been waffling around the same 4 lbs. Blech! :p But I've recommitted to working harder and I've started exercising again - already down 2 more pounds. At least I think... my scale broke (darn sticky paint in the bathroom cabinet pulled one of the feet off - the one with the sensor!), so I bought a new one and in the few days I was without a scale I went down two more pounds. But that's also the few days that I started exercising again, so maybe it's possible? Or maybe it's just the difference in scales.... Either way, I'm taking it! I read this neat little insert of an article in the Redbook magazine (I got one issue of it recently... it's a long story, but it was free). I thought I'd post it because it helped my point of view anyway. I even clipped it and stuck it on my fridge. It was an article about the woman who engineered a new CD called Skinny Songs - they are songs about weight loss. She was an executive at Apple and had managed to gain quite a bit just being a wife and mother and executive. One day she got the idea to create music that was motivational for weight loss, just like the music she listened to to pump herself up for meetings and such. She ended up losing 35 lbs at age 50! This was her memo to herself for when she fell off the wagon:

In Case of Emergency:

You've just consume a whole bunch of calories you didn't need. You slipped, you splurged, and you hate yourself for it. What now? Give up? Eat some more? I think you deserve better than that. Here's what I want you to do:

1. FORGIVE YOURSELF. No one is perfect. Stop kicking yourself. Everyone who has succeeded has had moments like this. You can still succeed too, but you must stop yelling at yourself and simply say, "I forgive myself for the mess-up."

2. PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE. Even if you ate 1,500 calories in a single sitting, it is not a deal-ending moment. You have not permanently ruined your life. You have an extra half a pound to get ride of. Big deal.

3. REAFFIRM YOUR BIGGER GOALS. Remind yourself about the importance of the goal you have set out to reach and recommit yourself to working to achieve it. Look at the dress you ripped out of the magazine, or imagine yourself bounding up a flight of stairs in a black tracksuit. Just because you ate a quart of ice cream doesn't mean you can't meet your overall goal.

4. ELIMINATE THE TEMPTATION. I don't want to waste food, but sometimes the rest of the bag or carton needs to go down the garbage disposal. This is one of those times.

5. WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM THIS? Take a step back and see if there is something that will help you overcome future moments like this. Did you deprive yourself so much that you were overwhelmed with hunger? Did you get mad and eat out of emotion? Think about what you can do to avoid this trigger or situation next time.

6. DON'T PUNISH YOURSELF. Don't starve yourself. Don't go on a cabbage-soup fast. Punishment doesn't work; it just perpetuates a bad cycle.

7. RECOMMIT TO LOSE. Say out loud, "I'm over it, and I'm back on my plan." Imagine yourself standing up, dusting yourself off, and getting back on a horse. Hold that visualization for a moment and feel great about that decision. Feel proud that you can recover so quickly. Now forget it and move on! You are back on track.

(This is from Redbook Magazine. March 2009 issue. Turn Up The Tunes and Lose 35 Pounds by Nicole Yorio.)

Hopefully you guys find this inspirational.... Good luck again!