Friday, September 4, 2009

A Little Ol' Idea

Thanks to each one of you who commented after my "weepin' and wailin' 'bout weight" post yesterday. Your compassion, understanding, and wisdom were so therapeutic. (Not QUITE as therapeutic as Little Debbie's, of course, but very, very close.)

And in order to even more fully appreciate what you all said, I've taken an excerpt from each comment and am posting it below. The unifying theme in almost every entry is that we all struggle with many of the same issues, which I thought should be an encouragement to us all.

After the "comments" be sure to read down to the end where I have a little ol' idea for us to consider.

Without further ado . . . here are YOUR wonderful comments! (Also, if a commentor has a blog, I included the site address. However, for some strange reason, all the "clickable names" associated with links didn't change color like they were supposed to so you can just click on any name you're interested in to see if it links you to a blog.)


COMMENTS FROM YESTERDAY:
Becky, I am SO where you are...And like you, I know exactly how I put the weight back on that I had lost. I feel better just knowing someone else is in the same boat and I think it's time for me to get back out walking and eat better. I think we can both do it. We both did it once before!
--Lesley

I know exactly how comforting those carbs and chocolate can be. --Leesa

I have yet to get back to our gym since doing my first triathlon this summer. Here's to getting back into training for all of us. --Sheri

I think most of us would be gaining a pants size or two ourselves if placed in the same situations. --Karen

I feel your pain. Several years ago I lost 50 lbs. I maintained that loss until I got pregnant. I gained 50 lbs. during my pregnancy. Don't be too hard on yourself, you're going through some major life changes. Me? No real excuse! --Melissa

Start by forgiving yourself. Then move on. Immediately. --Vickie

You go girl! You lost all of the weight last year and you are a carb junkie to boot! I am envious. That is my downfall too. I just love those carbs. I need to take off and keep off about 10 lbs and it is ever so difficult. --Catherine

I have about 70 lbs to loose to get to a comfortable weight but can't seem to not eat the bad food. --Angela

Exercise will help reduce your stress and help balance your emotions. It will be easier to get back in shape this time, it really will. You have only been out of the gym a month, you have not lost all the strength you have gained. --Min ("Min" is a trainer/nutritionist and left a lot of very helpful advice.)

Just try to guess how many women read your post, sighed, and said "ME TOO." Everyone likes to shout successes, yet we cower and hide from our slip outs. The thing is that we can't have one without the other! --Tess

So, you see, you wouldn't have these problems if you weren't so dang thin to begin with! (I'm not saying I'm really, really fat...but it looks as if I swallowed Little Debbie herself!)
---Sue

I just want to say that I agree with everyone here. Please don't be so hard on yourself. --Nancy (I couldn't get your website address to cooperate with a clickable link. However, you can access her page in my right side bar. )

A great side benefit of the exercise is all of those endorphins, which will even help lift some of the sadness. So, ya got ta move it, move it... and those clothes will fit well again in no time!
--Pam

Becky, I do understand the 'call of the carbs' after such tumultuous days. It helps a lot to plug the holes that get poked into my high spirits! Kudos's to you for getting to the gym! Yippee! Myself, I am soo wimpy (and a little scared) to try it, so you are well ahead of me.
--Regina

Oh gosh, I think we've all been there. (The "found pounds" and lost fitness, not everything else you're having to deal with).
Lyndsay

I do empathise with the "dryer shrunk all my clothes" theory. I have thought that myself recently - but I am back with that exercise video - not as diligently as before - but it is a start - so, Becky, we are all in that waiting room with you again - only, thankfully, this waiting room is outside a gym!!! --Mary


And finally, an intriguing idea from Anna . . .

Maybe there are people who would like to organize a work out buddy system on the Internet. We could all post our goals for the week and then report how well we did. (We would all have to be honest) :)

I don't have anyone to work out with so this might make me more accountable. We could also have a buddy to whom we can send encouraging messages. I don't think we should focus on the weight loss, but instead the achievement of working out. If we work out, the weight will come off.



What do you think of that idea?

Here are a few thoughts I had:


The area in the right column called "My Community" gets a little bit of use, but not much. There is a very active discussion group over at MckMama's site that draws thousands of participants and so it's a great place to go to involved with a lot of input and discussion.

However, rather than reinventing the wheel and trying to build an active discussion group here, we could use the area instead for a support group forum for people who are not just trying to lose weight but also make make healthy living choices in general.

If you'd like, we could give it a try for a predetermined length of time, let's say until October 1. If there is enough interest to keep it going, we will. If not, well, it will have been fun to try!

So I need to hear from you whether or not you're interested and if so, what sorts of categories I should set up. Here are some ideas. Can you think of others or can you think of something you'd like to change on these?


  • Healthy recipes

  • Good books/resources that are especially helpful

  • Things you're struggling with right now in the fitness/health area

  • Things you're proud of about yourself in that area. (I'll brag on myself here: yesterday we went to a movie and I cut up an apple and put it in my purse. I ate that instead of my usual Peanut M&M's and it even tasted good to me. Hurray!)

  • How much weight and/or inches you've lost in the last week/month

  • Workout/fitness goals

  • General inspiration/information

Please chime in and let me know if this is something you'd like to try. I tend to get the feeling that many of us are in the same boat and could use an encouraging sisterhood to keep us accountable and rejoice with us when we succeed. (And give us a virtual hug when we don't.)

Thanks for stopping by and, again, thank you for all your encouraging comments yesterday.



8 Had Something To Say (Just click here!):

Anonymous said...

Sorry. I have a little question.
Is the discussion area your are referring to entitled "My Community"? On the topic of diet tricks---dill pickles are a great appetite suppressant with virtually NO calories.
Judy

lesley said...

Becky,

I had a feeling we were headed in this direction, which means I HAVE to get serious. Uggh :)
So, Judy, I just went and got a dill pickle out of the refrigerator!
My only thought is I just dont want to get lost among the thousands of people at MckMama's site.
But I'm in!

Angela said...

It is a great idea. Only I always check your site at work and can't get into the 'My Community' section due to firewall (Company blocks certian sites) policy.

Pam D said...

I would love to see what folks have to say. I've lost 12 lbs in the past month or so; doing the protein shake thing for breakfast and lunch and trying to eat a decent dinner works, especially when school is back in session and I'm spending countless hours volunteering. The down side is no real time to exercise (and being so tired that my legs just won't do it); when I get that part figured out, I'll be golden.

Anonymous said...

IT is a great idea, exercise buddies whether virtual or real life really do help people maintain their goal. I was thinking since you are home schooling Sarah you will have to work a phys ed component into your program. You too can explore different exercise tapes, dance forms, swimming, or just taking walks during your school hours. It might help motivate you because you know you will also be doing it for her.
Min

Anonymous said...

I think most of us know what we need to do but the follow through is hard. Knowing I have to get off the couch and get out and walk is a grand idea but when you're dealing with grief, getting out of the gray murky fog and into the walking shoes sometimes takes more energy than we have.

But, I did give up my regular, full sugar Coke this week. At 3PM I'm napping because of no caffine but that too shall pass.

Thanks for the dill pickle idea Judy. I'll start that tomorrow and I just bought dill pickles!

I won't be joining the McMama mess. Sometimes I read it but don't want to get involved in the nastiness that seems to crop up way too often. If the community is attached to this site, I'll reconsider.

Hugs,
Connie F-G

Anonymous said...

Becky- I think it's a great idea. I remember when you started going to the gym & I remember when you told us about losing the 30lbs. At the time I thought if only I had started exercising when Becky did I would have at least lost some inches.

Margie Miller

Sue G said...

I think anything that makes people feel better about themselves is a great idea. I think losing weight is a lot like getting cancer. Before people start throwing things, let me explain.

When I was diagnosed with my first cancer and told I would most likely die during the surgery, I went into immediate abject fear. I was terrified. During one of my shout outs to the Lord, I told Him I couldn't handle it, and His response was, "No, but I can. You just show up and be a light."

I think body image, self image, exercise, etc. are a lot like what God asked of me: I think we just need to show up and let God do the rest. Oh, sure, we need to do the best we can in the moment. But, showing up means controlling not only what we put in our mouths, but also what we put in our minds and on our tongues.

We need to celebrate the Temple the Lord gave us and acknowledge our culpability in what we did to us. And then we need to praise God that He has kept us going despite the Little Debbie's and the Baskin Robbins.

Regular exercise is a plus, whether we lose weight or not. It helps the body to move, as it was intended to move. And it helps to rebuild the things that are near atrophy from non-use. And it helps to quiet the left brain criticisms we put on ourselves by making us use our minds and our bodies in sync and our brains working as whole brain and not compartmentalized.

I say yes to moving more, exercising, and eating healthier. But to me the most important part is the support, the opportunity to lift each other up for who God sees we are instead of letting us see only failure in ourselves because we're human.

We all have issues. Maybe if we start ridding ourselves of some of our issues--which is usually why we overeat anyway--we can begin to see the amazing people God created in us. When we start to see ourselves with clarity and vision, we won't hold ourselves up to the ideals we have created.

Oscar the Grouch sang that it isn't easy being green. Well, it's even harder being real. But I think we can do it and have some fun along the way.

If we can show up and exercise, eat healthier, and be a light for each other, we'll never have to use the word "diet" again!