Tales from the Scales

**Important Announcement**

It is very difficult for me to say this, but Tales from the Scales will be closing it's bloggy doors on April 17th, 2008.

After all I have been through over the past six weeks, I can no longer put forth the effort, nor have the motivation, to continue this blog and make it truly useful to it's readers.

A special thank you to all of the amazing, inspiring, special women who have contributed to this site - you have made it the success that it is.

Over the next week I will browsing other weight loss blogs for challenges that may benefit you.  I will be posting a list this Friday.  It is my hope that you find one that leads you to the weight loss success you have been working so hard to achieve or maintain.  The weigh-ins, along with regular posting will continue for the next two weeks.   Thank you so much for your understanding.

The Final Weigh in

Is it Wednesday, already?  How did your week go?

Things change, Change can be Good.

Well, I feel pretty sad to be writing what will probably be my last post on this site. Tales From The Scales is going where the socks go in the dryer, but I am not going to be melancholy. I have been through two challenges and I think I can fly now on my own. I hope so.

I have a few irons in the fire. Tomorrow (7:30 AM EST - say a prayer for my surgeon!) I am having my gallbladder out. I hope to be recovered quickly and back to exercising soon. Also, tonight is the kick off to a new weight loss initiative in our town. I have been bugging our local school district superintendent and our town's rural medical staff to help me start up a free, state of the art community work-out center and weight loss support group. Tonight is our brainstorming session. Wish me luck! I am hoping I am not the only one who wants this.

Along with all those other great options that Beth offered for weighing in, I am going to host a weigh in on my own blog site, because I am just kind of lazy. I want to have the party at my own house, you know? I am not cleaning though, so just kick the mess aside and come on in. We'll have tea. With stevia instead of sugar.

So, if you're looking to hang out with someone familiar, feel free to stop on by. I will be starting up weigh-ins on Monday, that's next Monday. Why Monday? Well, it helps keep me from pigging out all weekend long.

I will miss talking with all of you through this site. Please take care and be kind to yourself and your body. You're the only one who has the ability to love yourself from the inside out.

Peace, Love and ------

ONWARD AND DOWNWARD (scalewise)!

You knew I had to kick a few butts before I left, right?

(Left, right, what are we in the army now???)

There's alot there

Here are a few other weight loss sites/blogs that I found recently.  I hope at least one of these will be of use to you.

Capessa
Weigh Ins
Weight Loss Wars
Where is Tigerlilly?
Healthy You Challenge

If I find more, I will add them to the list.  If you have one you'd like to see added, just let me know and I'll add it.

Weekly Weigh-In

How did your week go?

The worst kind of cheating...

...is cheating on yourself. Have you cheated? I have. But I have been doing it in a sneaky way that doesn't show. I just recently admitted this to myself and for the past two weeks, I have been trying to undo that habit. Here is my cheating:

I journal every bite. But if my son who has autism, wakes up in the middle of the night (and this happens at least twice a week), I usually wake up ravenous and find myself eating in the middle of the night. That's not the only cheat, here's the worst one: I would journal it on the previous day's food. With Fitday.com, the journal turns to a new date at midnight. I would go back and write those on the previous day's food because I rationalized that it was still the middle of the night. I have overeaten, but as far as I am concerned once I was up for the day, that was in the past.

So, what's the big deal? Well, in the morning and through the day, when I eat as I usually do, I am actually consuming about an extra 400-500 calories for that day. The other thing is that because the midnight eating is essentially a freebie with no negative consequences, the cheats just get bigger and bigger each time. I was laying on the sofa bed with Charlie eating Fiber One bars loaded with peanut butter and sometimes having four of them.

I put a stop to this three weeks ago. Since then, I journal anything that I eat after midnight on the proper day. That means that if I eat in the middle of the night, the next day, I have to hold back. I have already consumed those calories and I can't get them back. It makes for a day that requires some planning to keep in my target caloric range. It's not like I have the freedom that I usually have to just eat. There are negative consequences.

So far those consequences have made it so that I am more inclined to eat less junk if I am up at night and more inclined to eat fruit. So far it hasn't stopped the eating, but at least I am making progress.

Do you cheat? How do you deal with it?

Thea Thursday - There's Still Time!

“Nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute” - Unknown

Last Sunday, I was flipping through the USA Weekend and every once in a while, I'll find something on the health and fitness front worth reading.  Here is what I found that I thought all of us need to know about:

A fitness challenge

By Dr. Tedd Mitchell

The first National President's Challenge is a call for Americans to be active for at least a half-hour (an hour for youths under 18), five days a week, for at least six out of eight weeks. As a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, I know this event will change the lifestyles of many people -- for good.

Sign up between now and April 3 at presidentschallenge.org. The event began March 20 but will last through May 15. Participants ages 6 and older can log their activity, and if they meet the requirements -- even by walking five days a week -- they can get a certificate and other awards from the President's Challenge website.

USA WEEKEND's FitSmart columnist, Jorge Cruise, is a challenge advocate, and I recently spoke with him. "People will get motivated for six weeks," Cruise says. "They'll adapt their lifestyles to the challenge. Once it becomes a part of their regular day, it will be easier to fit it in indefinitely."

Many folks' exercise resolutions fail because their focus flags after a few weeks. But the rewards are immediate: In addition to its very real health benefits, exercise can increase energy, improve the ability to think on your feet and reduce back pain, heartburn and restlessness at night. It makes you happier. If I could create a pill that did all of that, I'd sell out in no time.

Today is the last day to sign up, folks!  If you haven't done it already, head on over and sign up today.  It could be the most important thing you do today!  It took me less than 5 minutes, and all you need to do is enter your personal information and then choose a fitness program.  It even lets you pick what activities interest you most so that you can customize your activity log.

Since I have already reached one of my 0-3 month goals, I think I just found a new one...

Weekly Weigh In

How was your week?

But, they take you everywhere!

How much do you pay for the shoes that give your only two feet support, comfort and enough airflow to keep your friends and family from passing out if you take your shoes off?

I've always just bought what I thought was cute, which was not my fault.  I grew up playing volleyball and our coaches ALWAYS picked our shoes for us and they always matched cutely matched our uniforms.  They were comfortable too, but they were also mid-highs so when I started shopping for my own tennies, I shopped for shoes that "matched" (I would think to myself, am I wearing more black or brown these days?) and then stick with a price point that allowed me to spend more on other things like cheap short lived basic tee's from Target and buy one get one free sandals from Payless. 

My most recent pair of shoes were super cute!  They were primarily silver with lavender highlights and by the end of the day, I wanted to take them off.  Sure, that concerned me a bit and I wondered if I should spend more than $27.99 on a pair of walking shoes but that was as far as my thoughts went. 

My sister is very different.  She knows her shoes like few people do.  As a matter of a fact, most of the shoes I have owned since I was 16 are hand me downs from her shoe selections.  She recently purchased, in my opinion, a pricier shoe which was actually the second pair of the same exact shoe she owned.  That's how much she liked them.  Just for fun, I put one of her nice new shoes on my left foot, and kept my piece of crap shoe on my right foot.  The difference was absolutely remarkable.  On the left, I felt light, like I was walking on clouds.  On the right, it felt like a big flat peice of cardboard was supporting my arches and heel.  The decision was made. 

I splurged and now I sit here wearing these expensive and beautiful tennis shoes that wrap perfectly around my tired feet and provide me with endless support.  They are the best $85 I think I have ever spent.  I absolutely love them and they're pink so they fit the cute criteria, too. 

If you're wearing shoes that you selected for price over comfort, if you can afford it, buy a better pair.  You will never regret and will probably wonder how you ever allowed yourself anything less.  By the way, I spent about $85 on these shoes (Nike Air Pegasus) and they're on sale now at Dick's Sporting Goods for $70.  Go get'cha some.  You'll thank me for it.

Priorities

I was approached recently and asked to do some major politicizing for a presidential candidate. Apparently, there are not many of my political affiliation in my area who are willing to help. I said yes right away. I felt kind of honored that they asked me and excited that I might get to meet the candidate. But I know how I am. I throw myself into everything, I go all out, and I started to get worried because I really have my plate full already - overfull.

I am the new tax assessor for our town, not even sure what all that will involve;
I have a kid with severe autism and all that entails;
I have a husband and three little ones at home, six kids in all;
I have one grown kid with schizophrenia;
I like to go to church and spend time participating with people there;
I am dealing with a training problem with my son with autism and our 110 pound great pyrenees puppy;
I have a house that simply refuses to clean itself;
I am committed to a couple of blogs;
I publish a newsletter quarterly for our school district and it's coming out right now;
I am on a massive weight loss/exercise journey;
I have paintings in my head that won't paint themselves;
Paying bills, doctors appts, gall bladder problems...sheesh.

You get the idea.

Being too overwhelmed is so stressful. My brain can't hold it all in and something has to blow. Is it the kids or the husband that gets blown off- no, it's the diet, the exercise and the housework that get lost. Can I devote time to a candidate that I don't even know, but I can't say that my own time needs are more important right now?

Well, darn it. I am saying it. My time needs ARE important. I need this connection through this blog and my own blog. I need time to paint, exercise, to journal my foods and I need time to buy and prepare my foods. I am important. Heck, I even need to to just read or take a long, hot soak in the tub.

I called the campaign headquarters and told them I had reconsidered and I would not work for them. I immediately felt better. I am important and, besides my husband, who else is going to put me first?

Where are you on your To-Do list? Try putting yourself higher up on that list and see how it feels.

PS - From last week's Bunny Challenge, my son Charlie chose Melissa as the winner and I will be shipping her goodies off today! Thanks!

Thea Thursday - Puttin' it out there

"The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach." - Benajamin Mays

I have been floundering.

My weight is up.

My motivation is down.

I need to reboot.

So here I stand before you, humbled, and realizing that I need to get myself back in line.  It's time to set new goals.  Heck, it's time to set ANY goals.

And not only do I need to set the goals, I need to work toward actually achieving the goal.  One way to help me reach my goals is to write them down.  I will make 3 weekly goals, 1 short term goal (3 months away) and 1 long term goal (6 months away).  I also need to come up with a plan of action to meet those goals.

Here we go...

Goals for Thursday 3/27/08 to Wednesday 4/2/08:

1. Journal every bite, every day.  I will have 23 Weight Watcher Points a day to eat and 35 weekly Points to eat.  I WILL NOT GO OVER IN POINTS!
2. I will earn between 7 and 14 Activity Points.
3. I will drink 96 ounces of water every day.

Short term goal (0-3 months):

1. Get back to 157 lbs by the time I leave for my family reunion on 4/10/08.
2. Research and pick a 5K race to walk in the fall.

Long term goal (3-6 months):
    Walk a 5K race (this will be updated once I research what's available in the area)

So there you have it!  Do you want to join me?  Leave a comment if you want to pick some goals and let us know what they are!