Wednesday, January 21, 2009

wednesday weigh in

I've never been a dieter.

I've never been one of those people who refuses to go back for a second helping when my appetite isn't completely satisfied, or declines a chocolate eclair, all in the name of watching calories.

(Or afraid of what other people might think.)

I've never been one to eat a salad for dinner (unless I want a salad), just so I can have dessert. And unless it is really (really) huge, splitting a dessert is blasphemy in my book.

I've never been worried about fitting in to a specific size and I've never been obsessed with the scale and need to know if I weigh more or less than I did the day (or hour) before. Except of course, when I watched the scale with fascination as I lost more than 50 pounds the week after both of my pregnancies. But that was purely scientific.

It's no surprise given my love of good food, I've never been thin. And now that I seem to be growing older and my metabolism is slowing down, I might soon change my tune about sharing that triple scoop hot fudge sundae. Especially once I stop nursing and no longer have a little fat vacuum named Henry attached to me.

But here's the thing...

I don't eat much during the day.

I graze constantly and usually I graze on good things. Fruit. Nuts. Whole grain crackers. And, through experience, I've learned to not fill my house with foods that overly tempt me. Sure, I'll have a bowl of ice cream every single night of the week ... but I don't eat it mid day. And although I'll make brownies or chocolate chip cookies every so often, I can't always have that stuff in the house ... or I would be as big as a house.

The reason that I am pulling myself out of bed every Saturday morning to go running is not because I am trying to lose weight. Although, I suppose that is a nice side-effect. Instead, it's because I really feel like that little time a way makes me a better person. When I come home from exercising, I am recharged. I am ready to take on the day. I am ready to be a better wife, a better mother, a better friend, a better employee, a better person.

And perhaps best of all, I can eat O'Henry bars - with a side of fresh blue berries - and not feel quite as guilty.

So, how are you doing with your goals?

(And please let me know if you are able to see the photos in this post? I recently switched over to Flickr and I received a note today that the pictures in my blog are no longer visible. Which is almost as horrifying as running out of ice cream!)

32 comments:

  1. Hey Jen, you know what my goal is...just wanted to let you know I can see your pics loud & clear.

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  2. yes....i can see the pics u posted...

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  3. Yes I can see your pics, and love that they are bigger now!! I think it was when you were with Photobucket that they were smaller a month or two ago.

    I'm the same way with dieting, never really worried about it. I'm lucky, though ... my sister really has to watch what she eats, or gradually puts on weight. She recently got a dog though and it's made SUCH a difference, because she needs to take him out every single evening. So there's no option for being sedentary. The weight has come off her very quickly.

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  4. See the pics just fine!

    I've lost 14 lbs. and have kept my goal of exercising at least 5 times a week for almost 3 weeks now! It really does make me feel better throughout the day. It's gotten to a point where it is routine.

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  5. Yep, I can see the pics!

    My goals are...well, not too bad. I've been playing with my 3 year old a lot more. My sudden obsession with Montessori blogs (your fault LOL) is helping that - I now have 6 different mums/teachers blogs in my blogroll! And they have the best ideas for activities!

    Weight wise....um lets not go there just yet...it's still over 35 degrees celsius here at 8:30pm so walking is out of the question right now!

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  6. I can see the pictures. Can I have some chocolate please pleassssseeeeeeeee pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
    pretty pleasssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

    Lucie

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  7. I can see the pictures AND your photo posts usually crash my iPhone but this one did not. Yay for that!!

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  8. I can see your pictures!

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  9. After no physical exercise in I dont know when. I joined the gym and have gone every other day, small workouts babysteps I would say. Its a start.

    susieg

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  10. I see the pictures and the kids look great. I guess you are not an over-eater. Good for you.
    Noni

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  11. I can see the pictures just fine! My goal was to be down 35 pounds by June 1, but since I have found myself pregnant with #4 my new goal is to gain no more than 35 pounds by mid July (my due date). I go to the dr. on Monday and will see if I have gained yet. With my twins I gained an ungodly amount of weight and lost it all very quickly. With my singleton I also gained an ungodly amount of weight, but did not lose so quickly, thus my determination to gain no more than 35 pounds this time. Right now it's easy as I am so queasy, but if history repeats itself, that will end soon and I will want to eat everything in sight!

    Kelly(Houston)

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  12. Your pictures are showing up fine. Especially that one of the O'Henry bars. I think you posted the recipe once, but could you post it (or link to it) again?

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  13. I can see the pictures just fine. I'm happy to see that last pic of the O'Henry bars, too. I made a pan during my Christmas baking but I wasn't sure if they were supposed to be that thin or if your cookie sheet was smaller than mine, but no, yours are thin too. They were really good--everyone thought so. :)

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  14. I am still able to see the pictures...William would look more innocent if he didn't have the chocolate on the side of his face. lol! And the ice cream....MY FAVORITE KIND! Yum! It's 8:03am where I am, but that ice cream is calling my name! lol! I'm stopping at the store on my way home. I dropped over 80 lbs and haven't had ice cream since before May of last year when I started trying to lose weight. I'm happier and healthier now...my goal has been reached. Now, my goal is to get through this move next Friday and hope everything goes smooth and there aren't any major hangups!

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  15. I wish I could be disciplined enough to graze(on healthy food) all day. I think that is a key to eating right. Instead if there is chocolate around I. eat. it.(or maybe inhale it). How can you stop the cravings for it? Not just one piece of candy but two or three. Any hints on dealing with cravings?
    How are the goals doing? Have not gained any weight but not lost any either. I am back to work and I work 12 hours Mon-Fri and 7 hours on Sat. Needless to say by the time I get home I am too tired to exercise.
    I did go buy groceries Sun and picked up some things to snack on, grapes, apples pineappes...also healthier meals hope that helps.
    There are so many of your post that I have meant to comment on but just couldn't find the time. Most of the time when I am trying to look at them I fall asleep with the computer in my lap, lol.
    Anyway I enjoyed the "monster in the woods" hilarious! The "winter" at your home was awesome, I think the day I read it I had woke up to -2 that morning. Beautiful but cold. My husband says thank goodness for under armour! I know there are more that I wanted to comment on but I can't think of them right now.
    Thanks for the inspiration and I hope to do better on the chocolate. If only there were no such thing;)
    Kathy

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  16. I can see the pictures just fine -- yay for flickr!

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  17. I love your healthy NORMAL outlook, its hard to find anymore. Yes I could see the pictures! and I"m on dial up so that doesn't always happen, I missed the ones of the attack squirrel in the woods. I need to get back into doing something but it is so dang cold, soon it will be spring and I can start walking again (don't want to freeze my daughter int he stroller just yet. missmayita.blogspot.com

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  18. Jen,

    Your eating habits sound a lot like mine. I'm a grazer, too. With a side of Rocky Road in the evenings, thanks! Now that I'm pregnant, though, I have to eat constantly to keep the sickness to a minimum. It seems the height of unfairness - now that I have a good reason to eat all day, it's pure torture to eat anything! Oh well.

    I have actually moved my bottom a little this week. Here in chilly Colorado, we have had a beautiful week. When it climbs to the 60s in January, it feel positively tropical! Hubby and I took the kids out for a bike ride on Saturday and went 6 or 7 miles. Monday we spent walking around the Denver Zoo all day. I planned on doing something active on Wednesday, but, ummm, does eating half a box of licorice count? It was all-natural.

    Cheers,
    Sarah L

    ps - Yes, I can see all your pictures. Love the empty ice cream bucket. What a tradgedy!

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  19. Jen:
    I wonder why I can't see them. Do you think there is something I can do? Maybe download something off of Flickr? If you have any idea that could help and you would feel comfortable with it, you could email me at jessica_dailey@cable.comcast.com.
    (JLD from Carolyn's Boards)

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  20. Kathy - how to deal with cravings??

    First, I don't keep it in the house. If I don't have a bag of miniature Snickers in the cupboard, I am less likely to crave them. Second, I find things that are good substitutes.

    For example, I absolutely crave sugar in the afternoon. So, I might have a cup of hot chocolate, or - a cup of tea with honey. Usually, I find that when I drink water and eat some crackers or fruit, the craving passes.

    My mother says I'm not an over eater, but I know I would be if I filled my house with things like Joe-Joe's and Peppermint Bark all the time. I just don't (can't) have that stuff around, because I lack self control!!

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  21. Amen to the self control issues...if it's around, I snack on it.

    I've exercised three times a week or more for the past three weeks. And it's getting easier.

    The kids say the Wii Fit asks them for me if it's been a few days...isn't it strange that that motivates me?

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  22. Picts look good! and I know why you are going running in the morning.... hehehe....9 more days til our 5K.... woo hoo!

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  23. Oh, MAN! There must be something in the air, because I just posted this last night (before eating it...), and then, just posted this today, discussing my feelings regarding dieting and exercising and progress toward goals, etc.

    I'm still trekking along toward my goal of running a 10k this spring. I just started a new training regimen, and my first real "test", my first stretch, will be this Friday. I'll know more after then whether or not I can stick with the program I've developed. Weight-wise? Well, I think I explained that over on my blog! Bring on the cupcakes!

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  24. I'm with anonymous. Please post the recipe for the O'Henry bars. They look perfectly sinful (as we are talking about health and exercise goals) :) !

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  25. Hi Jen:

    I signed up and went to my first women's run group this evening -- in large part because of your blog. An e-mail notifying me of the running group came across my inbox a couple of weeks ago and I almost deleted it. But, I didn't and I thought of you. You, who has triplets and another one. I thought, if you can do it -- so can I. Balancing twins and a job is nothing compared to your life. So, I signed up and went tonight. It felt great! I am on an 8 week course ending in a 5k run for St. Patty's day. Thanks for the inspiration. Btw, on the way home, I stopped at Trader Joes for a salad. Ended up trying their sample recipe of cream cheese, salsa and black beans with chips. AMAZING. So, I came home after my run and just ate 1/2 a stick of cream cheese, mixed with salsa, black beans and way too many chips. The salad is in the fridge :-)

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  26. Jen! very cool you are back at MIM! I had to take this season off - as I'll be working every SAT for tax season...but after watching this stupid show on Discovery Health Chanel called "Could you survive" (the premise is that they take an out of shape husband and wife team and have them pretend they are running away from danger...then time them...then give them and exercise plan...then see if they can "escape the fire" after they are "fit")
    I felt like a huge fat ass! Was thinking about going this Sat a.m. (Kristina said I could visit) The run will be fun. If I go, you'll have the benefit of me being the slowest....

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  27. Jen I totally agree with not having the unhealthy items around and I keep them away from home. But...where I am working there is a big basket of mini candy allmost everything you can think of, think she would notice if I threw them all away? I did better with it yesterday my co worker brought me a doughnut in and I totally did NOT eat it!!! As for the little candy I ate 1 and only 1. Still I wish I had the self control to not eat any. Hopefully today I can do better and not eat any. Thanks for the encouragement, it really helps to know that I am not alone.
    Kathy

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  28. GEEZ....ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP????????? Thanks. New craving of the MONTH!!!!!! humpf.

    Running tom. morning in a 5k - downtown Greenville....they are predicting a COLD RAIN. Yeah, yuck.

    Why did I get into this again????? Oh yeah. Someone had the "bright" idea that "we" could compete in a triathlon...and it would be fun... with my cousin. Which I have NO idea of HOW to even TRAIN for a t-r-i-a-t-h-l-o-n. By.the.way. Nevermind spell it correctly!

    Right now I am Praying that I can somehow run the entire way and make it up the massive hills (little exageration - massive to me) The point is that I haven't done ANYTHING/NOTHING in over 2 weeks!!!!!! AND NOW I'M Stressed CRAVING MINT CHOC. CHIP ICE CREAM.

    Love, Marg
    ...and you think you have it tough w/4 kids under 5.

    PS Love the knitting in the previous post. Nice work and wonderful to do.

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  29. Jen, I found a good blog for you. It's mamasweat.blogspot.com Keep up the good work!!!!

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  30. what are o'henry bars? i want one! i love food, too. hehe.

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  31. I just wanted to add a comment about chocolate cravings. First of all, amen to keeping it out of the house. Secondly, I used to be able to eat a huge portion of milk chocolate without satisfying my craving - like I'm talking those humongus Hershey bars that are the length of your arm. Then I switched to dark chocolate. I don't know if it's the extra cocoa, or the richness, or what, but I can eat an ounce or so of dark chocolate, and be completely satisfied. I dont' even want to eat more than that. It's been amazing for me, the queen of sweets, to eat a little and be SATISFIED!

    Cheers,
    Sarah L

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  32. Jen,
    You will be so proud of me. I am working out every day and watching what I am eating with Weight Watchers. I have lost 10lbs in a week and half and feel AMAZING! Funny thing is I didn't tell anyone I was doing this and I have had a ton of people say I have lost weight. I asked my husband last night if he can really tell and he said yes esp in my face (he is an honest man and would tell me no). I am so excited. I noticed it a bit and thought it was just my imagination. I am so happy thank for the encouragement on your blog. It is worth it every minute of exercise. I do a walking video with bands 3-5miles a day. I can't wait to really lose a good amount and buy a new wardrobe. 90lbs to go to get back to my wedding weight!! 9yrs ago

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