The Bleak Mid-Winter

First the weigh in news: .4 down. Kind of underwhelming, but really not bad considering I ate out almost every day last week. So many January birthdays, so little will power.

And now the weather: cold, cold, cold. As in, feels like -46 C with windchill cold. Somehow every year I seem to forget that winter does not in fact end with the holidays and I find it really annoying when it has the nerve to continue on blithely through January and February, getting worse all the time. I'm done with you, winter! Didn't you get the memo?

When its really cold all my motivation to exercise goes out the window. It seems contrary to common sense to expend calories when its only down to the whim of the furnace gods that I'm not shivering under 10 blankets, relying on those last few cookies to see me through until I'm rescued. And the thought of SWIMMING, my usual cardio, is just ridiculous.

And on top of all that, we didn't go grocery shopping before the cold snap set in and I can't imagine getting up the nerve to go grocery shopping in this.

So what has this taught me? Planning is the key. I SHOULD have thought ahead and gone grocery shopping before Sunday. I SHOULD have a store of frozen and canned foods that I use when a team of dogs couldn't drag me to the grocery store on a sled. And I need to have a go-to exercise option, like DVD's or an inside bike, to use when the swimming isn't happening. And I need to be PATIENT when my best laid plans go awry.

Slow and Steady

The votes have been counted and I'm now sitting at 215.6. Followed it up with a freezing (like -18 C freezing) walk for about a half hour (this was all we could manage without losing some appendages to frost bite).

I also went on a trip through WW memberships books past and I can report that since my first trip to WW in November 2004 I'm down 40 lbs. An average of about 13 lbs per year or about 1 lb per month. Attention hares -- turtle sighted plodding along behind you! If I keep it up, 2009 should just about see me under 200. It is so contrary to my nature to be patient for anything so perhaps that is another of the many lessons I'm learning through all this.

Right then

I go to Weight Watchers - I don't actually follow the program, mind you, I just go. I have a couple of friends that I go and have coffee with after, one of whom has lost over 100 lbs, and it keeps me on track and motivated for the week (sometimes). Last week was the first time I've actually gone since before Christmas, and the results weren't too bad considering - 216 point something. Come to think of it, it could have been point 8 but still, it's the number in front that matters, right?

Tomorrow is WW day again -- time to see how things have gone this week. I think I've run a pretty good campaign, but we'll have to see what the voters have to say. I haven't exactly got the "exercise every day" part down yet, but the eating has been quite healthy. I have actually been eating more, but healthier and with half an eye to the actual nutritional content. I have certainly not been hungry. Tonight I actually planned a meal to eat before arriving at a restaurant, and when I got there, ate that meal. Wowzers. This is big stuff, people.

Wish me luck tomorrow - the scale isn't everything, but sometimes I need a bit of a motivational push to get things rocking.

A New Start

My New Year's start has gotten off rather slowly. I slept in late yesterday due to staying up until 2:00 a.m. reading and didn't make it to Saturday morning Weight Watchers. I can't say this was entirely accidental, I was more than happy to have an excuse to put off facing the numbers for another week. Then I decided to just weigh myself at home today and not put it off any longer, but those good intentions were foiled by the "Low Battery" reading on my scale. Before it konked out it had climbed to about 220 -- let's just hope it was going to stop there, shall we? That wouldn't be so bad, given the kind of serious bad eating I've been doing lately. Even this half-assed weigh-in has made me feel a bit more on track and accountable. I can feel the resolve and energy starting to creep back and the New Year's excitement finally making itself shown. I will go swimming this afternoon and try to keep it rolling through the week.

Pleasing Other People

In pursuit of the above goal I have spent a hell of a lot time, energy & money in 2007, and every year before that, come to think of it.

And they are not pleased, are they? No they are not.

I'm toying with the idea that you could probably trace at least half of these extra pounds I'm carrying to cookies, chocolates, drinks, extra helpings, and other "treats" that I have indulged in as a quick, effortless way to please myself after most of my energy has already been expended on others. Kind of a misguided way to satisfy the need for self-care. I wonder if I would still need to indulge in these "treats" if I had treated myself with as much consideration and respect as I treat others?

Or am I just feeling particularly unappreciated and annoyed tonight? Quite possibly.

Either way, I think I'm going to make myself a hot chocolate.

What Are They Doing, Anyway?

I decided to call this blog "Everyone Else is Doing It ..." for several reasons.

First, I can be spectacularly uncreative at times and nothing better came to mind - for similar lack of inspiration, see the web address.

Second, one of the main reasons I decided to write a blog is because I have been a lurker on so many weight loss blogs over the last year and I felt like I wanted to participate a little more actively.

And finally, once I started thinking about the title, I realized that it actually does have a bit of deeper meaning, even if found accidentally. One of the main themes of this blog is going to be weight loss and my continuing slow but steady efforts to achieve it. You, dear reader, are joining me on this weight loss journey approximately 30-40 pounds in (due to the incredible slowness of the journey accurate record keeping is difficult). I have about the same amount left to lose. One of the realizations that I have come to during this process is that I had accepted that being a healthy weight and living a healthy lifestyle were things I simply could not do - that somehow I was predestined to be overweight and there was no hope of being any other way, so why bother? I am working on challenging this belief and creating a new belief that I can be whatever I choose to be and live however I choose to live.

I'm hoping that this blog will help me in this and I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes me.