One afternoon, while nursing a sinus infection on top of a migraine, I decided to peruse Twitter to get me through my misery. For me, migraines present with pain, (obvs) extreme sensitivity to light and sound, plus the loss of my better judgement. (My brain turns to mush and feels like a '76 Ford Fiesta with squeaky brakes)
I ran across the announcement of a new round for a friendly weight loss competition involving some of my blog/twitter friends. (And by "friends" I mean people who are way better/funnier writers than myself who probably don't know me from Adam, but whom I regularly "stalk" on blogs and Twitter- but in a much less creepy fashion in which that sounds) Hello BBL'ers!
I submitted my entry fee on a whim and thought SURE! I'll just try to eat fewer cupcakes once in a while, maybe break out the ol' Pilates DVD.
Aaaand then I realized the scope of what I was in for. These other participants mean business! I thought I was doing well just purchasing a scale! Ha, no! Some people have PLANS! And actual, though crazy sounding, diets! I cannot completely give up carbs and processed food for thirty days!
You see, I am an emotional eater, and because I live with a man nicknamed "The Consumer" in college, my portion sizes are totally out of whack.
--- I remember in the early days of our marriage heating him up a Lean Cuisine meal (my typical dinner fare) and he laughed because he thought it was a side-dish... and was vegetarian. I was doomed--
I eat whenever I feel overwhelmed, which is 98% of my day. I eat as I am relieved the kids are finally in bed. (The kids are asleep! Whip out the celebratory brownies!) I eat out a lot because I am a terrible cook. (a decent baker, though! Which is another reason I am... fluffy) In addition to all this, my twins are rail-thin and require a high fat, high caloric diet. As in, we slather everything with butter and use whole milk just to keep a pound on them.
So! There you have it! I am no longer expecting to do even minorly well in this competition. Hi, I'll be the one at the very bottom of the list.
However I'm committed! And this seems like a good step in the right direction of working us out of survival mode living. I've already begun tracking what I eat- and hoo boy, is that an eye opener I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
I also plan on working out more often, which I loosely define as anything more than sitting on my couch. (Spoiler alert- I really detest "running" and "training for marathons." So we can rule out that ridiculousness immediately)
I might keep the blog apprised on my progress. Let's not rule out failing miserably on a large, and quite public scale. Or at least just meandering around, as I drool over the doughnuts at the grocery store.
On a sunnier note; I have already met some very lovely people through this. And if that's all I get, it was worth it.
We can do it together! I'm excited for the challenge, also hate running and love that you refer to yourself as fluffy. My six-year-old regularly pokes my belly because he likes to watch it jiggle - awesome! Here's to BBL 2013 - may it treat us well!
ReplyDeleteI kind of wish I had signed up...I need some motivation! I'm excited to hear about your progress.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds cheesy, and I wasn't sure I would like it when I started, but I'm reading the book The Willpower Instinct for BlogHer Book Club, and it has really, really good information and ideas on strengthening your willpower. (I feel like that might have been the longest sentence ever, but you get the idea!) I will be glad to send it to you when I'm done if you're interested.
No worries! From what I've seen (since this is my first year for joining it too), BBL is all about support, especially that it's ok not to eat perfectly or exercise every day. I'm pretty sure we're all fluffy in places--I know I am! lol... So if I can lose a couple pounds, I'll be thrilled, but if not, it's still fun and I'll be glad I got to meet a bunch of great people. Good luck! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I AM WITH YOU on so much of this post! Except I don't really feel like I'm going to fail on a public scale; BBL seems pretty low-key, so, if I manage to only lose 10 lbs. of fluff by the time it's over, I won't feel bad =). No plan here either, other than: drink more water and try not to graze all evening once the kids are in bed.
ReplyDeleteMarie is rail-thin too, so I've also had to do the whole milk/butter/cream thing. My kids can earn ice cream for various things so I buy the stuff in the 1/2 gallon for the boys, but I buy the stuff in the pint for Marie, lucky girl =).
If you want to meet more Lovely People, I highly recommend the Crappy Day Present/Package Exchange ;-)! Registration will likely open on March 1st for the next one.