2 posts tagged “weight loss”

Has it really been a month since my last time here? Poor little neglected Vox weblog. I might start using this space to talk about weight loss. Maybe. Possibly. Soonish. But maybe not, because I don't want to become (more) boring. Also, I find that if I talk about anything too much, it's as if I've been there, done that, and I quit. I'd sort of like to avoid that, you know?

Anyway, for now, I will tell you that I've lost thirty pounds in the past three months, but have been plateaued for the past two weeks (and it's completely my fault...mostly). I've been slipping back into old habits, because old habits are like your favorite pair of jeans; the most comfortable things in your (proverbial) closet.

No more of that, though. This week I've been (almost) back on track, and with all new endeavors, like drinking a gallon of water every day, which makes me very grateful that my desk at work is less than 20 feet from the ladies' room (now; if only my headset were wireless). This is a daunting prospect for a girl who, heretofore, considered three cans of Diet Coke her daily liquid requirement, with a glass of water or two for variety (this hasn't really been true for a few months now - I'm down to less than a can of pop per day).

Two weeks ago, possibly longer, I paid a lot of money to join the gym, and I haven't been back since my initial sign up visit. I'm wasting perfectly good money and some truly awesome treadmills (these have little individual televisions on each machine) because I'm scared and maybe a little lazy. My goal for this week is to start going, and to (quickly) get back into the habit of going regularly like I was in Virginia Beach.

So.  Lots of water, and soon, lots of gymming. I'm also cutting out all sugar, because trust me when I say that I can't have sugar. One spoonful of Nutella becomes an entire jar, which leads to a trip to the grocery for more chocolate, and some ice cream, and perhaps an entire Entenmann's Lemon Coconut cake. I've lived it, and I've tried it in moderation, and it just doesn't work for me. Ever. In my body, sugar is like crack.

I do understand that it's worth all the effort. I like it when my pants fall off (in the privacy of my apartment). Besides, I have a lot to look forward to; my 50 pound goal treat is a haircut, color and a mani at my salon, and the second that I hit the 75 pounds lost mark, I'm laying down cash for some hot Oliver Peoples sunglasses, in that color. I'll get there. I just have to keep telling myself that I want these things more than, say, an entire bucket of original recipe chicken from KFC.

Sometimes it's a struggle to make that decision, but I always come to my senses, eventually. This time, I'm hoping to stay here, sense intact. I won't lie and say it's easy. Anyone who's lost any amount of weight knows that it can be ridiculously hard. If I'm going to be completely honest, I should tell you that it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and that it's taking me a long, long time to learn that food is not love.

Food is not love, and pretending that it is leads to heartbreak. I don't know about the rest of you who are struggling with anything like this, but I am so over that heartbreak.

Things that I loved about this weekend:

The Etienne Aigner bag that I finally wheedled away from my mother (this is the hundredth bag that I've done this with - we share an impressive collection) when she bought a new one. I switched from the Latico bag that I've been carrying for the past several months, and the features that I coveted when she bought it several weeks ago (compartments and pockets designed and concealed with such sneaky brilliance that it sets my heart aflutter) are now mine.

A Prairie Home Companion. It was a brilliant movie (but I confess that I'm still partial to the radio broadcast; it won my heart when I was a very little girl and even today, I never miss it unless it can't be helped), well written (naturally) and perfectly cast. It was lovely to sit in a dark room with a house full of other NPR listeners.

My Weight Watchers meeting. I've lost 20 pounds (so far).

K.T. Tunstall. When will I tire of this album? Never? Never is good.

My new work schedule, which started Saturday. I'm working 9:30am - 6:00pm on Saturdays, and 10:30 to 7:00pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. For the past few months I've been working four 10 hour days. I am not a happy girl when I'm at work that much, and the extra day off is no benefit to me, as I'd spend the first day of my weekend recovering. Eight hour days (actually, 7.75 where I work) are like a walk in the park.

Napping. I've come to embrace my mother's couch with open arms each Sunday in the early evening (this is entirely new for me). I sort of think that it's so easy to nap at my mother's house because I feel so well protected there, with her (I guess 30 years of love will do that).

The little alligator that I saw in the pond nearest my apartment building this evening. Sure, their larger counterparts are menacing, but this one was just so cute. We have three lakes on the property, and he was swimming around in the smallest of the three, which has a fishing dock. I stopped to watch him for awhile on my way back from picking up the mail.

Grocery shopping. I love grocery shopping.

The tiny, abandoned snail's shell that I found on Sunday and tucked into my handbag. I'm going to keep it with me all the time as a reminder that I'll get where I'm supposed to be, however slowly, as long as I keep going.