Can You Weigh Me Now? Weight Fluctuations Cause Stress

(This article was first published as Weight Fluctuations Cause Stress on Technorati.)

I almost gave upon this weight loss challenge this week. I weighed myself and almost tossed the scale shot-put like into the backyard. It showed an increase even though I ate carefully, exercised and avoided all the stuff I wanted to eat.

Hells bells, I even avoided smelling donuts (One can't be too careful, you know. No siree, Missy.) Still, the scale showed an increase. When I picked up the darn tootin' thing to toss, I set the scale down again but in a different location and tried again.

This time It showed a 1.2 pound weight loss. And just to be sure, I sort of acted like the "Can-you-year-me-now" guy in that Verizon commercial except I was holding a scale and saying, "You-can-weigh-me-now."

The same, exact weight loss showed in several locations, so I can only surmise that the initial freak-out occurred because I had set the scale a bit topsyturvy on the tile.

Weight fluctuation apparently is normal. The Internet is filled with reasons why. Blame salt, the weather, hormones--you name it; just Google it.

Still, I probably shouldn't have eaten that tasty cheeseburger and french fries in celebration today of the 1.2 pound loss. In penance, at least I walked 45 minutes and went to my fat yoga class for two hours.

My yoga instructor told me she bought me some Valentine's chocolate that said, "You're No. 1" since I was the first person to sign up when she opened  her studio almost two years ago.

But then she decided that bordered on being a diet saboteur, so she didn't bring it to give to me. Instead, we all had to do extra yoga crunches because she said she ate nachos for lunch. (Like we would notice, since she's the size of a tooth pick.)

Something tells me those yoga crunches had nothing to do with nachos and a lot to do with that chocolate I didn't get. I think I gained two pounds just thinking about it.

I wonder how much thoughts weigh?

Pounds, Panera & the Godfather-- Week 10: Small weight loss bolstered by other breakthroughs

[This article was first published as Week 10–Small weight loss bolstered by other breakthroughs on Technorati.]

Now don't get all in a dither, but this week's weight loss was pretty paltry--only a half a pound.
A lesser person probably would have been epically discouraged, and I probably would have except I believe I've made some rather monumental breakthroughs–and not the kind involving clothing seams either.

For the first time in a very, very long time I went out for lunch and didn't eat everything on my plate. OK, so I ate my little piece of whole grain baguette (all 140 calories) that came with my Panera Pick Two order. But the rest--the salad and soup--I didn't. I just ate until I was full.
Confession time: I did purchase a very scrumptious looking 99 cent bakery item–The Double Fudge Brownie with Icing, though. (Now about this time a bunch of you skinny minnies are probably slapping yourselves upside your little tee tiny heads.)
But wait… I brought the treat home, checked on line  and discovered that tasty brownie weighed in at 470 calories, containing about as much as my lunch. So, instead of eating the entire thing, I cut off a small piece and saved the rest for my husband.
Now I realize all of that isn't the stuff that makes fodder for such shows as the Biggest Loser, but let's face it, Anna Kournikova, Dolvett Quince or Bob Harper aren't going to come knocking at my door to give me a thumbs up or yell encouragement as I battle myself in my own  weight loss challenge. I'm on my own here.
I knew it was going to be slow going especially since I am old(er). I read with interest an article entitled, "You can be a big 'Loser' at any age--here's how." Do we really need anyone to tell us the 50-plus blue team is at a disadvantage?
According to this article, those of us in our 40s and 50s need to load up on some omega-3 fatty acids for their "anti-inflammatory benefits" and "help with depression."
I don't think I need Bob Harper to tell me that my 99 cent double fudge brownie with icing doesn't contain any of those nifty omega-3 fatty acids.
And I'm fairly certain we probably need those nifty omega-3 fatty acids to  "help with the depression" which surely will ensue from either (1) not being able to eat that brownie or (2) the overwhelming guilt from eating that brownie.
I really don't know why I bother reading these fitness/weight loss articles. One of the suggestions was to reduce our calorie intake by 100 calories a day. OK, so that's reasonable.
But then there was this little suggestion: "If your family is having spaghetti and meatballs, have meatballs and spinach instead."
Spinach? Really?
All I could think of was how different Marlon Brando would have looked in the "Godfather" eating meatballs and spinach. And somehow that famous line wouldn't be so famous, if Clemenza had said, "Leave the gun and take the spinach."
I think the mere suggestion would have been enough for the Corleone family to go to the mattresses.

Joel: More Wii Fit Fun

So I took Tuesday off from any physical activity. Yesterday, I took a much more reasonable approach to the running and opted to go to my middle school's track (flat surface and all) and did four cycles of 4 minutes walking and 1 minute running. It worked out fantastically. I guess the only real problem was that I didn't drink enough water throughout the day and it was somewhat humid out, so I had to stop at the water fountain and get a quick drink about halfway through. No worries.

Today, I decided to opt out of walking or running and spend some quality time with my Wii again. on Saturday afternoon, one of my friends called me and reminded me that the new season of 24 debuted on Sunday night. He offered to let me borrow the DVD from last season to get caught up (I had a big DVR fiasco during spring break where I lost all of my unwatched episodes of 24, so I just blew it off till later knowing he would get it). So I went over and got it and have been watching that all week. As a result, I have done very little with Wii Fit except for the almost daily check-ins and maybe a little bit of stretching.

Tonight, I spent 34 minutes with it so far, am going to go have dinner with some friends, and then will come back and watch some 24 and probably do some step aerobics and walking around my house a little bit. So which exercises did I choose tonight?

• Lunges (ugh)
• Rhythm Kung Fu
• Snowboard Slalom
• Skateboard Arena
• Rhythm Boxing
• Lotus Focus (not really a workout, but more relaxation)

I also decided that it's time for me to lose the carbonation. I am replacing sodas with mostly water, and some occasional tea and/or coffee. I'll allow myself cappuccinos on the weekends if I've been good. So the journey continues...

Carol: Weighing In, Movies & Torture Time

01.17.10…Monday…While everyone else enjoyed their MLK date, we had a teacher inservice day. (Don't even get me started on teacher inservice)…

5 a.m.

• Drank lots of coffee

5:30 a.m.

• Scared the bejeebers out of the cat.
• Went into the not-so-cold-garage for some kickboxing
• Smacked the bag and sang along with my work out CD

6:00 a.m.

• Drank lots of coffee, ate some breakfast & got ready for work

7:15  a.m.

• Went to work
• Weighed in… Lost 2.5 pounds and a percentage point or two on the BMI/Fat calibrator thing. Not much, but something.
  
• Vowed not to look at chocolate or a roll. Was worried that the fumes would cause a weight gain.

11:30  a.m.

• Went out to lunch with my skinny hallbuddy friend Rhonda.
• Ate sensibly
• Bought a new tiara with a feather and a pink wand in celebration of those 2.5 pounds.
• Wanted to buy a multi-colored tutu that played the hokey pokey, but sadly, it didn't come in adult sizes.
  

12:30 p.m.

• Went to the movies in the afternoon for teacher inservice. (Ya, gotta love my principal). Saw "Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock (good movie). 
• Resisted the temptation to buy popcorn (held my breath so the fumes wouldn't cause an inadvertent weight gain). W
• Watched the movie with my bottled water (and wished I looked like Sandra Bullock and less like the character Big Mike).
  

6:30 p.m.

• Went to torture Pilates with my meany-meany-jelly-beany friend Doomsday Becky.
• Had to be in the front row. By the teacher.
• Decided to the change the name of the class from pilates to TT for Torture Time.
• Vowed to pin Doomsday Becky's face on my punching bag.
  

An Incentive To Keep Going

My sister Karen gave me another reason for Joel and me to thankful we're doing this weight loss thing. Seems a group of Swedish Weight Watchers were standing in line for a weigh in when the floor collapsed.

Thankfully, no injuries were reported, but if anyone needed an incentive to push on through and stick with their fitness challenges, this would do it.

Thankfully, like most homes in Texas, mine is built on a slab.