I said before you can't lose weight just by deciding to; you have to take action. I needed a little bit more information about exactly how small decisions were impacting me. I had a FitBit before and found it really helpful; unfortunately, the day after I started wearing it again I lost it while out on date with my husband.
That wasn't intentional. Really.
I upgraded to the FitBit Ultra this time around and I'm really pleased that I did. A few years ago when I decided I needed to lose weight I put together a huge complicated spreadsheet that kept track of calories in, calories out (determined by the FitBit), daily weight and weekly additional measurements, including body fat and waist, hip, and thigh measurements. I was successful, but there was still a certain amount of guesswork involved in how I timed my meals, and the system itself required a TON of record keeping. It probably eventually failed when we went on a trip.
The FitBit comes with a cool website that keeps track of all that information for me, with very pretty and informative graphics, and it updates every fifteen minutes. Or sooner, if I really need it to. Likey.
Before you think I'm advocating this for anybody, I'll just say -- I personally require a lot of information to satisfy the control-freak elements of my personality. I personally find this level of information helpful for understanding that yes, that little bit of chocolate really will make a difference to my success for the day. Even if I'd like to say that it won't.
The StickK contract holds me accountable to the tune of $10 per week if I don't lose a pound on any given week. I still haven't figured out how to circumvent that snacking habit, and I found that my desire to work through it was fading a little bit, though my impatience with myself wasn't so much. So for $10 per week, if I don't succeed in losing a pound that week, I'll keep figuring out why I absolutely can't spend an afternoon not snacking.
This afternoon I tried to take a few minutes of quiet for myself and was interrupted every forty-three seconds by Duncan insisted that I absolutely had to see the contortions he had made to the Wii characters he was playing with. After ten minutes of bouncing up and down I finally snapped and said that I could not get through the afternoon without fifteen minutes of NOT LOOKING AT THE DAMN WII. (OK, I restrained myself and didn't say damn, but I thought it. Hard.)
I think that part of my problem is that because I feel like Jeff is at work all day long, that I also ought to be "at work" with the kids all day long, and the idea of spending a bit of time in the afternoons recharging before crazy hour begins feels forbidden. Meals are permitted -- he gets lunch breaks. Ergo, if I'm eating it's OK. With my newfound $10/week motivation I'm going to see if just saying "this is my quiet time," even if I only say it to myself, makes it easier for me to relax without consuming anything.
Hopefully this works.
In the meantime: Yay me!! I lost ONE POUND!
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