Day 10 of P5: Dozy Feeling, Still Want Your Response on Preferred Giveaway Item, and Delayed Date Night of NON-gluttonous fun with Pic (blurry, hah)...Scientific American article on Obesity and What Works Best (Scientifically) So Far....

Yawn. A Sleepy me on the scale--
Tanita-San: 220.8

Even though it's a low energy day, that cheers me up. That's almost 1.5 lbs since the weigh-in for the challenge last Saturday.

I want this week to show at least 2 lbs off at next weigh-in (and 2 lbs is great for me, means I'm doing what I need to, I'm not one of those 4 and 6 lbs a week megalosers). I always kid that I fall in the "average" zone for the Challenge, and Allan said the average loss the first week was around 3 lbs. Well, I fell into that average again. Middle me. Turtle Princess.

But that's okay, cause I know what happens when you string a bunch of 2 lb losses together. You get to goal eventually. :)

And when I began this blog in September, I was aiming for 1 lb a week loss. So, doing it twice as fast ain't gonna bum me out, I can tell you.

If you didn't reply about what type of giveaway item is your preferred, see the choices in the previous post and leave a comment there or here. Thanks.

We finally had our delayed date night (delayed due to an allergic reaction on my part). We went to Gulfstream park and, yes, I did not overeat. :) Every time we go out and I don't go nuts, it makes me feel ridiculously happy. Last year, the year before, the years before that, I would have stuffed myself to the point of discomfort; I would have had bread and butter,  appetizers, entree (or some of two entrees), dessert. I sometimes ordered multiple entrees and had some of several. Seriously....I was outta control. You don't get to 300 lbs unless you're outta control, people. You know it's true.

To have a modest meal, not feel stuffed, and enjoy myself...it's like a dream.

Blurry pic, sorry, hubby was holding it arm's length and I guess shook it a bit:

Princess and Her Prince at Racetrack Casino

Total opposite of my previous lip gloss. This is MAC Dazzleglass in "Utterly Posh"--a sorta peachy-goldeny transparent glittery thing. I am a Dazzleglass ho. MAC is a lip gloss-crack dealer, I swear. I own like dozens of them. I love the things. They may say after a certain, ahem, age you shouldn't wear the glittery shiny gloss. Too bad. I love em and will wear em when I'm 80 and dessicated  (if I live that long). heh.

Anyway, we stopped at Barnes and Noble on the way home (I wanted a cookbook) and I got a couple health/fitness mags and the new Scientific American, cause its cover boasted an article on "Scaling Back Obesity...What Science Says About Losing Weight And Keeping It Off". Well, they knew how to hook me, right?

It's about 6 pages of text and several illustrations. Basically, it shows that using techniques for behavioral change are (currently) the most effective for losing weight or keeping from gaining. The behaviors that correlatedwith a greater chance of losing weight and keeping it off are:

~~setting clear, modest goals
~~focusing on lifelong habits

Which they break down into

1. Initial Assessment-- what do you weigh/measure;how much do you have to lose; what are the things you're doing (or not doing) that caused you to gain weight; what rituals contribute to overeatingunderexercising. Getting professional help at this stage can be beneficial.

2. Behavioral Shifts:  This can include small changes, like taking the stairs or parking farther from destination and walking more. This includes the strategies at, say, a buffet table (studies show surveying it first, before serving, helps people put less on a plate).

3. Self Monitoring: weigh-ins, calorie tracking, logging steps taken. Some sort of system to let people know how well they are doing. Whether low-tech (paper and pencil) or high-tech (online monitoring).

4. Support Groups: "Being part of a group...lets participants share triumphs, bemoan setbacks, and stragtegize solutions."

Might wanna browse it at the bookstore or newstand.

And you can take their poll at  ScientificAmerican.com/feb2011/obesity-poll .


I think those of us who blog are already doing so much of that. We publish our weight and progress pictures. We talk about meal planning and our calorie counting. We log our exercise. We are accountable with regular weigh-ins or other monitorings (waist measures, etc). We join forums. We create challenges and form support groups in them.

I know that reading about the processes of change was helpful to me, cause it was bad behavior I needed to alter. Behavior ruled by emotions/stress rather than strategy or reason. A binge is not a rational act. It's an emotional one. It's also a habituated one (see THE END OF OVEREATING) that can be set off by what one intially eats (the fat/sugar/carb/salt combo).  Either way, it requires a change: some sort of new routine or act or plan that curtails binges or keeps them from occurring to begin with.

So it's a behavioral strategy I needed to curtail them/prevent them.

I find avoiding the deadly triumvirate helps immensely. I find distractions help. But whatever works, you have to learn to implement it fast and it has to become a habit. Like my habit now of drinking 2 to 4 glasses of fluids before I take ONE BITE of any meal or snack. Get the stomach full of fluids and it's harder to fill it with solids. :)  (And yes, there is a study that says drinking 2 glasses of water before eating means you eat less.)

I hate logging my food...but this is one of the most valuable "control" tools I have found, so, well, I do it. It's feedback. It's self-monitoring. I need it.

And a weekly weigh-in to which I'm accountable is important. And when one of us goofs up and others offer solutions (or I offer ones I found valuable), that's parto f the strategizing. We need this to learn. Maybe the strategy that works for you will work for me, vice versa.

Lifelong systems have to be in place or..yes...we will simply put the weight back on, which a huge/vast percentage of dieters DO. Even bariatric surgery doesn't guarantee lifelong success as the stats show. Just browse the web or youtube and see the people who've had multiple surgeries and still regain....

Gotta find the system that works for you and it will have to include a system that lets you eat better and, yes, sadly, LESS.

Anyway, if you've read any really good articles, tell us about it.