weight loss – Betsy Schow

9 Tips to Keep Holiday Weight Away

In most every survey, losing weight and getting fit is at the top of the list of New Year’s resolutions. For thirty years, it was number one on mine until I decided to make a change. In my book, Finished being Fat, I went on a journey to lose seventy-five pounds and learned to finish what I started. The first year after the weight-loss, it felt like the holiday season was out get me: the feasts, the parties, and the endless parade of neighborly homemade fudge and treats. But I was determined to never make that weighty New Year’s resolution again. Here are a few tricks I’ve found that help me survive the holidays — with both my buttons and my sanity intact.

Stick to the Budget
The secret to weight loss is not so secret. Take in less calories that the body is using. That’s how I lost the weight and that’s how I’ve have kept it off. My budget doesn’t take a holiday vacation. If I have an important party or dinner to go to, I make sure to save most of my calories for that.

BYOB
This stands for bring your own bananas. It doesn’t really have to be bananas, but if I’m going to a party where I knew there will be lots of fattening finger foods, I bring something a little healthier. So I’m a good guest and bring a veggie or fruit tray. The party host is usually grateful for the extra offering and I’m not stuck with an empty plate.

Daily Present
It’s the holidays, so I give myself a present everyday. In my daily budget, I make sure to save room for a little piece of one of my favorite indulgences. I’ll feel less like a miser when I satisfy my cravings. And since it’s in my budget, I don’t even have to feel guilty about it.

Pretty Plates
I eat with my eyes first. At big family dinners with lots of food, I focus on making a pretty plate. In the case of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, I put the food with color on first — the leafy greens, the vibrant orange carrots or some sweet potato. Then I’ll add the protein onto the plate. That only leaves a small portion of my plate for the beige stuff like mashed potatoes and gravy.

Float Away
Wherever I am, there’s plenty of water nearby. I try to drink a full glass before every meal. It serves two purposes: First, I feel fuller and I’m less likely to overeat. And second, it helps my digestion to flush the fat.

Earn More
When I’ve already spent my calories for the day, but that pumpkin pie is calling my name, I earn more calories for the budget. I go for a run, hike, or walk. Sometimes I’ll play in the snow with the kids. With an hour of exercise, I can earn an extra 400-600 calories for the day.

Deck the Halls
I try to stay busy and off the couch. Boredom snacking doesn’t add to my enjoyment of the holiday, but it does add to my waistline. I plan activities for me and my family that aren’t centered around food. Like going caroling or making holiday cards. It keeps my hands and mouth occupied with something other than eating.

Peace on Earth
The holidays can get crazy. I de-stress and avoid emotional eating through meditation. Every time I want to reach for the tub of ice cream to soothe my frayed nerves, I take a few minutes to breath and meditate instead. I prefer a couple of yoga boxed breaths. Inhale for four counts. Hold for four counts. Exhale for four counts. Then hold again for four counts. Works like a charm to focus my brain on what I really want, rather than the momentary satisfaction of what I think I do.

Forgive and Forget
Everybody has bad days. After I’ve had one, I look at what went wrong and why I went over the budget. Then I commit to myself to do better — then let it go. It doesn’t help to beat myself up over past mistakes. That’s one of the tricks that has led me to lasting weight-loss — banishing the Ghosts of Fat Past.

Full Body: Serenity Prayer for Weight Loss

I truly believe that the Serenity Prayer, used in AA and other support groups, fits perfectly for people with body issues.

Here’s my version of the Serenity Prayer for weight loss.
“God grant me the strength to stick to a healthy lifestyle. Give me the will to persevere and change the things I can and accept the things that I can’t. And the wisdom to tell the difference.”

I can change my body into a healthy, fuel efficient machine. It can be smaller and sleeker and stronger. But no matter what I do, I can not be in my 20s again. I cannot change my body type into one of those slight elf like creatures. I can’t get any taller. And my face will always have chubby cheeks.

So why spend precious time and energy bemoaning the aspects that I cannot change. Next time you get discouraged, think of this post and say my Serenity Prayer. Save your energy for the stuff you actually can change and let God bless us with the acceptance to love ourselves as we are.

Weekly weigh in 152.2 -1.8 lbs

Snack Smart: Salads are not always low calorie

Are you trying to lose weight? So you automatically pick the salad off the menu? Sadly, salad does not always equal low calorie or healthy.

Most commercial salads have cheese, croutons, some have breaded chicken or bacon, maybe guacamole. None of these things are bad per se. But they certainly hike up the calorie count. The worst offender is the dressing! You can easily use 300+ calories just on 2 tablespoons of dressing. Ugh that’s a bag of M&Ms.

So make your own fresh and yummy salad. Here’s mine: fresh diced tomatoes, cucumber slices, fresh lettuce. Tossed with balsamic vinegar straight from the cooking bottle. Not the vinaigrette dressing. Yum and under 150 calories.

Some things are not a race

I was talking to an “anonymous” friend yesterday. She read my Fleshy Confessions post from a couple days ago. She informed me about this great product that would shed all 12 of those pounds in one week. All I had to do was starve myself and subsist only on a special “drink” (nameless on purpose).

I told her, um, no.
Why? she asked. It’s only a week. Anyone can do something for just a week.

I told her the same thing I’m gonna tell you, some things are not a race. I don’t have a big fluffy white dress I need to walk down the aisle in a week. Nor am I entering a swimsuit competition anytime soon. I have learned my lesson about losing weight way too fast. It plays hell with your skin, (think a deflated balloon in several prime locations), absolutely screws up your hormone and body chemistry, and is mostly water and waste weight anyway. And it comes back.

I’m in no hurry. I can afford to be smart and tweak my life to lose a pound a week instead of turning it upside to lose it all.

I’m going to impart a little nugget of wisdom, so pay attention: The only way to long-lasting weight loss success, is finding a lifestyle that you can keep. Everyday. Without wanting to shoot yourself.

Full Body: Fleshy Confessions

If you’ve been reading for awhile, you know I am all about taking responsibility for my actions and choices. So it’s time I confess a couple of actions and their consequence.

Choice #1 – in an attempt to focus only on getting through the marathon, I ditched the scale so I wouldn’t focus on the numbers, just on how my body felt.

Choice #2 – Believing my friend when he said, you run marathons, you can eat whatever the heck you want.

Result: 12 lbs. extra on the scale. Lame.

Now I’m not fat by any means, just a little on the fleshy side. The high endurance training has just eaten through any muscled definition I had in December in my peak shape. My pants are snug, but they still fit. But when I look in the mirror, I miss seeing the contours of my waist, the slight curve in toned arms, to say nothing of a non saggy bum.

So no excuses. I know exactly what to do. Drag myself to the gym for weight training 3x a week. Zumba 2x and running 1x. Sunday I’ll pass out. I’m starting on a 1500 calorie budget, but I will adjust as necessary if that is too little.

I’m not in a hurry. I don’t need it off tomorrow. Or even next month. If I keep exercising and keep to the budget, the fat will go down and the muscles will go up.

I thought about taking a NOW picture for reference, but aside from my arms, it’s really hard to tell with clothes on. And as much as I love you guys, I am not stripping to sports bra and panties for y’all.

So join me, or just tune in. Either way, it will be an adventure. I’ll update every Wednesday

Today’s Weight – 154

Dress for Success: Lose the baggy

My friend has lost around 18-20 pounds. She is still wearing the exact same sweats we worked out in a year ago. They are just baggier now. Problem is, she has trouble remembering what they looked like 20 pounds ago. So when she looks in the mirror, she can’t see any change.

It’s tempting to say, “But I want to lose more weight, so I don’t want to buy new clothes”. Money is always an issue, I know. But sometimes, your eyes will lie to you and you’ll see yourself in those same XL sweats and think you are still XL. Uh uh, oh no. Be proud of your changing shape, bite the bullet, and get something that fits well. It’s easier to see the improvements when they are not hiding under the same clothes you felt fat it.

A word of warning: I’m not talking about doubling up on spandex for the gym either. If it feels like sausage casing, it probably looks that way too.

Dress For Success: Lose 10 pounds in 30 seconds.. or at least look like it

This tip is an oldie, but a goodie. And one you’ve heard a ton from your mom and grammy.

Stand up straight! Go stand in front of a mirror. Now stop cringing, you look fine. Now experiment with different postures from the side view and front view.

When you round your back, you lose an average of 3 inches in height, but gain a nice big tummy roll. Happens to the best of us. I am notorious for this. I have a very rounded back, and horrible posture from years of being heavy in front. Even know my husband regularly reminds me to straighten up.

Another thing to try is whether you prefer your look with hips tucked in or butt out. Look in the mirror and try it. If you have a J.Lo booty you want to flaunt then go for it. Notice the way it may also puff your chest and ribs out, depending on your shape. For me, when my hips are tucked underneath, I seem to have a longer, leaner look.

Experiment and see what suits your frame the best.

S.O.S Stuck Ostrich Syndome

I’m trying something new. I want to mirror my blog a little like my marathon training; one long run a week, and several short ones. So from hence forth, Monday-Friday will be filled with short blurbs with fitness tips and food for thought Saturdays are reserved for the long posts – the long run. And just like my running, on Sunday I will rest.

Today’s long run is about weight loss S.O.S – Stuck Ostrich Syndrome

Now I am not ragging on ostriches. They’re pretty cool birds. They can run up to speeds of 40 MPH, their meat is super lean, and the males egg sit at night so the females can have girls night out. But I think almost everyone had heard some version of a proverb about the ostrich with it’s head stuck in the sand. The idea is that the ostrich, afraid of something, buries its head in the sand so it doesn’t have to see the big scary monster. Interestingly, this is a myth. The ostrich only looks like its head is buried in the sand because of its light color. Because it does lay down its head to hide, it can still see what’s going on.

Now you’re are probably saying, Wow that’s fascinating. Thanks for the National Geographic update Betsy/ But what’s this have to do with weight loss?

Well I’ll tell you. In past incarnations of my attempts to lose weight, I would tell myself and anyone who would listen, that I had no idea why I wasn’t dropping the pounds. I was doing all the right things: exercising, counting calories. I figured my body had some defect that demanded I be fat. My size was not in my control and I put blinders on to the prospect that I could be responsible.

But you probably guessed, I had my head buried in the sand. I didn’t want to examine some of the behaviors that were keeping me fat. Sure I was exercising, but was I really putting in a full effort, or just kinda jogging in place? And when I was counting calories, did I actually measure a serving size, or did I eyeball it and estimate? If it was a homemade meal I’m sure I drastically under estimated the calories while way overestimating what my portion size should be. Not to mention I never counted the handfuls of marshmellow cereal I would grab on the way past the pantry. There weren’t enough calories in a single handful to make it worth my time to add right? Or if I finished of the kids plate? Midnight snacking? The list goes on.

Then there’s the excuses as to why I’m fat. Because my parents are fat. Because its all muscle (muscle can be really jiggly right?). Because I’m getting older and my metabolism is slowing.

It was easier not to know what exactly I was putting into my body. If I knew that each slice of banana nut bread was 200 calories, then I wouldn’t be able to eat it. Easier to assume the Cafe rio salad was healthy since it was salad than to find out it was a whopping 1000 calories.

But like the ostrich (see told you I’d get back there) my head was not really buried in the sand. I may have been hiding, but I think I knew what was going on. I may have been covering my eyes, but I was peeking. Even in my own self denial I saw the truth and that’s one of the reasons I hated myself so much for it. The problem wasn’t that I was fat, the problem was that I was lying to myself. And just like when you lie to someone else you feel horribly guilty (hopefully), your insides will twist up when you lie to yourself too.

So don’t be an ostrich with its head stuck in the sand, or lying on top of it. Hold your head high and stay informed. If you want to lose weight, the only way you are going to do it is by knowing what your eating and how many calories your body is actually burning a day. Be specific, be informed. Take control. See if that cinnamon roll tastes as good now that you know its 800 calories. If it does, rock on. At least you are consciously making that choice instead of deceiving yourself.

Information is power. Get some. Like GI Joe used to say, “and knowing is half the battle”