Taking It Off Together Tuesday - Week 19

Wow! I can't believe that I'm the biggest loser this week. Because I've felt like one a fair amount of the time. This bouncing up and down is driving me crazy. Not because of the bounce, but because I know it's my actions that cause the bounce.

My problem isn't that I don't know WHAT to do. I just don't DO it. I picked up a diabetes magazine at CVS awhile back. I'm just getting around to reading it. One of the articles had a great suggestion using index cards.

On one card, write down all the reasons why you want to lose weight. Things like 'I want to be healthier' or 'I want to look hot!' Of course the only hot I'll ever look again is 'get the lady a fan' hot. Every morning when you get up, read the card - out loud. Or when you're facing temptation, read it - out loud if you can. I think there's something special about seeing your reasons in your own handwriting that makes it more concrete. And hearing yourself say it reinforces it, too. Just reciting isn't really the same.

On another card, write down things you can do to distract yourself when a craving comes calling. So when you're going nutso, and reading your reasons for losing doesn't help, you can do one or more of the distracting things. The author of the article said usually 1 or 2 activities are enough.

I'm thinking I'll take some more cards and write out some encouraging and cautionary statements. 'Maybe I'm not hungry, but thirsty. Have I been drinking enough water today?' One thing I learned several years ago but seem to have forgotten is that when I'm craving food and I'm not physically hungry, I'm really hungry for something else. Maybe I'm spiritually dry and need to turn more fully to God. Maybe I need to go for a little walk because I've been sitting too long. Maybe I need to start getting more or better sleep.

It can be really hard in our busy lifestyles to pause and take stock of our bodies, minds, and hearts. It's a lot easier to pop that candy into my mouth. But I know from past experience that it doesn't take a lot of time and it's really worth the effort. Now I have to take stock of my desires and decide if I REALLY want to lose the weight.


OK, enough soul searching. Here's Leigh's report for this week:

This week our contest is sponsored by Tammy! She is offering a copy of Superfoods for the prize for this week! If you'd like to sponsor a prize, let me know! We are currently out of prizes!



The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Chris!

Congrats to Clara for being this week's biggest loser of pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!

Chris - 1 LOSS
Tammy - 1.5 GAIN
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - No Change
Grace - 0.4 GAIN
Leigh - No Change
Clara - 1.5 LOSS
Julie - 0.8 LOSS
Cheryl - no report
Audrey - 2.2 GAIN
Christy - 0.2 LOSS
Tina - 2.0 GAIN
Danielle - no report
Jessie - no report
Steph - no report
CYN - no report
This week's total - 2.6 GAIN! EGAD!