Weighing in with this proclamation: my weight hasn’t budged. Not an ounce.
Okay, so it has budged an ounce. It’s gone one ounce up…and one ounce down. Three ounces up…two ounces down…ten ounces up…
And so on.
I recently left a comment over at Jenn’s blog (on one of her wonderful Little House posts) saying, “Sometimes I want to throw in the dieting towel and just be a plump & happy Almanzo’s momma” No worries about the low-carb stuff. Lots of homemade donuts and fresh bread & real butter.
I don’t know.
Then again, I’d really still like to lose ten pounds.
Let’s give a thumb’s up to what’s right in my world: This cookbook,
Let’s give a thumb’s down to what’s not right in my world: Random snacking and too much van time, with both factors being deeply-ingrained and usually intertwined. The van time stresses me out and so I snack; I mindlessly snack and feel out of control, leading to greater stress during all that van time.
And so I eat. See?
Granted, this was on the way home from Grandma Cathy’s on Sunday, and I needed to munch to stay awake. Still. We’re talking a King Size Hershey’s Bar (with almonds), minus the two snaps I gave my daughters, and an entire bag of Giants pumpkin seeds which are delicious but really? An entire bag? My tongue puffed up like a salted kumquat.
(Are kumquats puffy? I don’t even know but it’s sure fun to say.)
Look. I know these ten pounds aren’t going to make or break my worth as a person. I know that I am loved by God–truly, madly, deeply, passionately–and yet, what I want, REALLY want, is to be turning to Him rather than food or comments or “likes” or whatever.
It’s a balance thing. A God’s love thing. An “I’m centered in Him and not needing crutches.”
Amen. You know? Tell me you get what I mean.
I so get it–more of HIM!
Have you read Consoling the Heart of Jesus? I'm in the middle of it. You might need to. I think you'd love it. Written by the priest that wrote 33 days to Morning Glory!
I've been walking every day, 30 minutes on the treadmill (except Sundays) for almost 3 weeks now…and not an ounce lost.
I feel your frustration.
Jamie, I love that book and I love that priest! (in, you know, a chaste and wholesome way) I pray for him all the time because, oh my goodness, this book is making such a (slow but sure) difference in my life.
Right with you ladies. Work out. Try to eat right. nothing comes off. nothing.
Davey and I are rather enjoying this whole middle-age thing. There are lots of perks! One of the downsides, though, I admit, is a bit more weight than I'm used to, and it really doesn't come off. I'm not a big snacker and I do a whole lot of physical work and probably walk a couple of miles every day just doing my chores, but there it is – a more pudgy middle than I like to see. But HE – my husband – he looks at me and he doesn't see that soft, flabby belly. He sees his wife, his bride, the woman he's STILL madly in love with. And in the morning, when I'm getting dressed, I look in the mirror and I say to myself, "That belly really isn't so bad, you know." 'Course, now I'm pregnant and I have an out. š
Anyway, all this is to say that we were made to need other people, and sometimes they can help put things back into proper perspective for us, and I wonder: What does your husband think of your body? Does he still think you're beautiful? Does he still find you desirable? He probably does, and I know for me, nobody else's opinion matters.
Nailed. IT.
How I love you, Jennie C.
I understand TOTALLY!!
I know, eh? : )
Try the bistro salmon recipe from the low carb cookbook and it's yummy with chicken. My husband liked it . I'm currently hogging my library's copy of the book.
Just looked it up. Yum-oh!
You can try, but I think it's counter productive to obsess. But hey, look at me, and pass the butter. š Everything in moderation, including exercise. Which we probably need more of to be moderate (I do!).
PS got a rosary for the van? It's hard to pray and munch. š
I *do* have a rosary for the van, dear Barbara! I just need to use it more and more.
I have absolutely had those exact thoughts about Mother Wilder!!! I finally lost the weight though, it took the discipline of crowding out meaning nothing was off limits I just ate the good stuff first. Personally, I've seen your pictures and you are beautiful and so long as you feel good, your definitely not a plump person at all, just lovely!
Eating the good stuff first, huh? Makes sense! Does that mean "before" or "after" the coffee, tho? : )
I have come close more than once to just saying "To heck with it, I'm going to be a fat squishy mom" (I have a LOT more than 10 lbs to lose-more like 80). But I hate being a fat squishy mom. It is even worse now that my husband has lost 30 lbs and is nearing his lowest weight since we were married 20 years ago. We look like Jack Sprat and his wife. I'm proud of him, he looks great but it just magnifies my failure, at least to me. He did it by eating low carb, I also lose weight eating low carb but then then the emotional self-medication by ice cream and chocolate kicks in and I undo all the good I did. My mom had her first heart attack at 43. I'm 42.
For me, it's not the husband who's "Jack Sprat" (that was funny, btw) but rather, the husband who has a MASSIVE sweet tooth and who worries me no end with his dietary choices. I know I have to focus on MINE, though, and support him in his fitness goals, not nag him to them.
Anyway, hon, let's keep each other in our prayers, okay? I know I'm a happier and more at peace when I'm making good food choices. I don't always do it but every time I do, I strengthen that resistance muscle.
It's pretty weak right now! ; )
Oh, how I love your blog. (and I say this while eating a piece of lasagna at 10am while my kids are all outside helping their dad build a tree-fort. On a school day. Yep. And if I had a brownie, I would eat that too.) Having said that, hear me out on the rest. My weight has not budged in the last 3 weeks either even though I am as smart as the next gal reading this. I know where lasagna and brownies go once they pass my lips! Right to my overweight hips. You bet, my husband still loves me. Because he is a good Catholic man. (vs. shallow one. Which in that case would not make him good at all and maybe cause to re-evaluate that "Catholic" thing too!) I rely on him loving me in spite of myself, through issues shallow and real. And he does, thankfully, because he values the sacramental covenant he made. And I do too. So why am I eating lasagna and dreaming of brownies while I read blogs? Because I choose to, even though there are 20 other things i could be doing. Because i like what you have to say, i know you struggle, and maybe I have something worthwhile to say.
My husband could tell me he loves the way I look all day long and I would still struggle with weight issues because this is between me and God who made me. I know how to eat and exercise and I still choose to do otherwise. Im craving unhealthy foods right now because I was gone all day yesterday and I didn't eat well yesterday. Rather than get back on my game today, I'm choosing what is easy, even though I know I'll pay for it later. There's a real science to "comfort foods." Sugar releases dopamine into your brain and it feels darn good. We all know the science of how dopamine and cravings work in the brain and it's not an easy battle.
You are not weak. You are normal.
Did you know we crave chocolate when our bodies need magnesium? That zinc is low if sugar snacks are extremely hard to pass by? That a lunch of pizza followed by another of lasagna takes another 3 days to pass through your system and recover from chemically? That detox takes 48hrs of clean eating and supplements to get back on track otherwise you'll just keep craving?
Well, I know all of these things, I know it works when I eat the way I've been taught, and yet I still make bad choices.
Think I'll go set that book out you and Jamie talked about that's been collecting dust here.
Hopefully I'll choose to read it.
You pray for me, I'll pray for you. Deal?
In the meantime, I'm headed out to soak up the last of the MN vitamin D and work on a tree fort with my family!
Lisa, you are an online sister of the heart. Plenty to think about in this comment and trust me, I have been. Thank you for taking the time to write it, and I am right there with you in those late-night indulgences. Lasagna & brownies? Who could resist?! And yet, we're happier when we do, aren't we? And all the more stronger when we save them for the next day's lunch.
I know I am late to the conversation but just wanted to say that I agree completely with Jennie C's comment. My husband, who is a very physically fit guy, prefers me with an extra 10 lbs. on my frame. I mean, he really thinks I look better when I am not at my ideal weight! He says the curves are much better – but he also likes the meals we eat when I am at that weight. š Knowing this, I no longer worry about my weight. You are beautiful Margaret – I bet your hubby feels the same way.
You are just right in saying that it's a balance thing – and when we put God above all else everything falls into that balance. (Now I just have to work at that myself.)
Betsy, you are never late to the conversation. I love your observations!
Ok, just to throw this out there…I also have 10 pounds I probably should lose. Does my husband mind them? No. Will I keep them? Yes. Because, 5 years ago this November, I became seriously ill with something called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (say that 5 times! Ha!) Essentially my immune system attacked my esophagus. I couldn't swallow. Literally. No one could figure it out. I lost 20 lbs in two weeks. I lived on liquids for three years. Thanks be to God and Mayo Clinic, I can now eat (as long as it doesn't contain wheat, milk, eggs or meat). And now I have 10 extra pounds that I know can be very valuable in case of emergency. I know why Almanzo's family thought extra weight was healthy. It was in case of emergency! So, long story short, just call those ten pounds your savings account.
I have lost 10 (of 60) pounds in the past 2 months. HOWEVER, I now catch everyone of my kids' sicknesses, like in a bad, lay-in-bed type way. Maybe the two are unrelated, but it just makes me think…