The year of 2010 has been all about fine tuning sooo many different parts, BIG parts of my life!MY TIME ~ I want to be both productive AND to be enjoying myself, because life is just too short to merely endure, and because there is so much beauty that I don't want to miss. Finding that balance between doing and being without guilt, whoa, its been harder than I thought it would be!
MY WORK ~ embarking on the writer life and sharing a vitamin supplement that has literally turned my health around has been so stimulating, stretching and satisfying! With no place to go and no time I have to be there, this new life is both freeing and revealing. Talk about looking in the mirror.
MY MARRIAGE ~ just 3 years old last month, a gift to me that I never expected after my first marriage went south is something I'll always be fine tuning. I'm learning all over again what love is and what it isn't, what commitment really looks like and that when two people work together it's a beautiful thing!
And, of course MY BODY. There was a time when I could lose weight pretty easily. I'd just cut back and the pounds would melt off, but evidently those days are gone. My hormones aren't quite sure what they're doing right now, and everything is in a state of flux. The hypothyroidism plays tricks on me too, and there isn't much I can do about that I guess.
If you've been following this blog, you've heard me talk about my frustrations with my weight loss, everything from hiring a dietitian to following The Zone Diet to the latest two-a-day regimen (still working this one!). It isn't that I haven't put the work in, I have. But with my changing body and health challenges, its been a real balancing act to figure out how much is enough.
To say I've been disappointed in my investments and attempts would be an understatement. Probably the understatement of the year.
I don't blame the nutritionist nor The Zone, and not even my own once-thought-brilliant two-a-day attempt. They were/are all good pieces of the puzzle I can take with me as I keep moving forward. I also don't blame myself because, HONESTLY, I put the work in.
In fact, I stopped blaming anything or anyone for this predicament, and accepted that my body is in a very different place than it was even 10 years ago. It won't do the same things right now that it used to. I am not in the same body as I was in my 20's or 30's. This acceptance was actually a pretty giant step forward.
I don't know how many of my beautiful and brilliant readers are under or over the age of 40, but regardless, this post really is for everyone. If you are under, please know that your body will change as you age and it will be harder to take the same pounds off. Let that motivate you to stick with your plan while your metabolism is on your side.
And, if you are over, you already know this. To say we women over 40 are fine tuning our bodies and our weight loss programs would be another one of those massive understatements.
What is needed most, I think, is just the truth. Data. Personal data. What is MY body doing, what does MY body need?
So, in my quest for truth, I bit the bullet and bought the Bodybugg, one of those armband thingys, ya know the same device that the contestants on the Biggest Loser wear on their arm? With a more than 90% accurate rating for tracking an individuals calorie expenditure through the day, and a web program that offers everything a would-be successful weight-loser needs from tracking software to goal setting to helpful health information, it seemed like the truth I was looking for.
And so far it's working! Last week I lost 4.1 pounds, I'm more active and eating better, and the pounds are coming off. We'll see how it goes . . . we'll see if this is the thing that will work for me. So much of this battle is finding what works for us, isn't it?
I know that a lot of you don't use a device like this. I'm curious, how do you keep going when your body isn't cooperating? Do you ever feel like you're doing all the right things and yet the results are disappointing? What do you do when that happens? And have you ever hit a brick wall, knowing that you simply cannot give up but are also not sure what to do next? Please share. Your comments are always so helpful to me!
your stat-lovin' blogger/friend,
Cheryl
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
I'm so glad you got a bodybugg! I've had one since late February and LOVE it! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the 4.1 loss! You are working it and it's working! It gets tougher and tougher to keep the weight off, this I know. I'm trying to keep a health-focus the older I get, rather than an image-focus... it helps. You're doing amazing things on this blog, keep it up!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope you get some great advice on how to keep going because I am often lacking motivation. And yes, I do often feel that. According to my calculations, I am burning enough calories compared to what I eat to lose weight at a much faster rate. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI certainly think that all calories were not created equal. And somehow figuring out how different foods work with each of our body types is a slow process. Don't you love the girl who eats like a horse, doesn't exercise but looks fabulous. Not fair is it?
ReplyDeleteI'll be 40 in less than three years. In these past two years, especially, my body has been going through so much hormonal wackiness. Ugh! But I'm embracing it and just going to flow. Regardless of how my body chooses to rebel, I embrace who I am because I am so much more awesome than when I was 22 with the perky boobs and flat belly. I choose me. Now.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to figure out how I found those 4 pounds you lost in Malaysia!
ReplyDeletePlease do not discredit those changes that are taking place that are not measured by a wrist device or a scale. You have done an amazing amount of personal growth this year.
Ellen
@Kandra I am glad too! Most of the time I love wearing it, its kind of like instant gratification knowing at the end of the day I'll have something (a deficit!) to show for my efforts!
ReplyDelete@Heidi That's a great perspective. So much more important to be healthy than to worry what other people think!
@Karen I know what you mean on both counts . . . and that's why I've got to have a form of exercise that I love. If the weight is slow in coming off (and it is), at least I'm enjoying myself.
@Liz Very true! Seems the older we get, the less our bodies allow us to get away with. I know the bodybugg doesn't hold all the answers, its just one piece of the puzzle for me.
@Yum Yucky I love this comment! When I look back at the person I was at 22, wow, I hardly recognize her as me. The fact is she was one lost chic. The beauty that has developed on the inside of us despite the padding around the middle is indeed so much more valuable.
@Ellen You've been on so many adventures this year! And, you're right, its good to remember all the ways we grow, and celebrate the non-scale victories every chance we get!