Distraction - Why? To get your mind on something other than food - FUN.

Even with WLS there comes a time that food is on your mind more than you want it to be. By that time you need to have some behaviours in place that will keep you away from the fridge and pantry. If you don't then your weight may creep up again. That is not something you want happening after you have gone through major surgical changes to your body.

Fitness Distractions
Some of these distractions can be orientated to the weight loss experience. Friends are using Fitbit Challenges to encourage themselves and others on the same journey. They do steps challenges, cycling challenges, gym time challenges. They decide together what the challenge will be, try to reach it and encourage each other if things slow down. Fitbits can track activity, exercise, food, weight and sleep depending on the one you buy (or are given).

MyFitnessPal is useful to keep an eye on your food and exercise balance. You can blog there and also join the community forums. They have their own blog that gives a lot of information that is useful in a weightloss journey. Check it out to see if it is useful for you. Some like to keep a close eye on things as that helps them lose weight because it makes them feel more accountable. If something has to be written down, food wise, you may not want to write down a 200gm chocolate bar so you will think first and hopefully step away. Writing down your exercise is positive reinforcement that you are reaching goals. The charts help you see the changes you are making in your body and life. Other people encourage or commiserate with you. They may give you ideas for change because of something that has helped them. Recipes may give you changes in your diets that are beneficial.

These are just a few of the options available to help you in your weightloss journey. Go on the Internet and find one that works for you.

The gym is a good distraction that helps you become fit and tightens up your muscles making you look thinner at the same time. The pool when used as a place of exercise, then fun, will do the same thing. As you get down in weight use the swings or slide at the local park to remember when you were much younger and carefree. Who cares if your kids laugh at you. Nothing beats the sensation of flying free on a swing. Hang your head back and look from a different viewpoint. Remember the joy you felt as a child and recapture it. Kick the ball around, throw a frisbee, play chase; just move. Move with the kids or grandkids. A dog will do at a pinch as they never run out of energy. You might help in their weightloss journey too.

Hobbies

New ones mean that you have to concentrate on something that you have never done before and maybe always wanted to give it a try. They can be crafty ideas: knitting, crochet, cross stitch needlepoint, painting, jewelry making, photography. The list goes on. Your friends can teach you. You can attend courses. You can go on YouTube and find videos of how to do almost anything.

The more cerebral ones are writing your own blog, or memoir. Write your family history after you have done the genealogy research and gathered up some of the stories. Some will be almost unbelieveable. Start (then complete) that novel, or other book, you have always said was inside you. Put it down on paper or in a Word document today and for however long it takes you to finish. It may end up being good enough to publish and make you some money.

Something hands on could be gardening; especially if you end up growing some of your own food or the Best In Show Flowers or vegetables that garner a ribbon for you at the local show. You could renovate your house, build a new one, make structures for your garden, learn how to make a drystone wall, paint inside or outside your house. The ladder climbing will be manageable. You will be moving more freely.

 

You do what speaks to you. You do what enchants and involves you. You do things that you may never have been able to do. You do things that scared you. It is your life and you are changing you life with your weightloss journey. GO FOR IT.

What are you going to do that you love? Mine are:

Cerebral

• A book using my writing mindmaps; written then published
• Hold a workshop around the book
• Have it at the library where the librarians have been so encouraging for the last 2-3 years
• Be 75 kgs when this workshop occurs
• Aim for December 2016 to make me work harder

Hands on

• Knit my daughter a eternity scarf on 20mm needles within the next fortnight as it will grow fast
• Finish the cornish village needle point by June 30 as there is not much left to do
• Do a page of colouring in to relax my mind

Health and exercise

• Gym 4-5 times a week for 60-90 minutes and walk for the same length of time on the other days
• Eat more protein, less carbs - that is an ongoing battle but I will change my desires one day at a time
• Use MyFitnessPal to track food and exercise and size/weight changes, blog there as well.

Encouragement for your journey of weight loss

I have been writing about my journey of weight loss but it has been me, me, me. I also want to be a part of your weight loss journey by talking about the total day by day journey. We all have different reasons why we gained weight so we have to work individually to overcome them. Saying that, there are common threads running through our lives and maybe we can talk about that together. We have started our weight loss journey (maybe many times over) so today I want to talk about encouragement.

By starting this journey you are starting to show some self love. It is not hating that large body in the mirror that you really don't want to look at any more. It is looking at your body and thanking it for what it has given you so far and loving it enough to say I WANT TO BE HEALTHY.  I need to be a lower weight and I need to be fit. The things in life that matter; yourself and your family - close and extended - should have you for as long as possible. We need to be active so we can join them in sports, walks, trips and yes, even dining out. We need to be up and out of this chair. We need to eat healthily. We need to do some form of exercise every day. If we make that exercise something we enjoy we will want to do it regularly. Pick a number of forms of exercise to mix it up. If you mix it up your body is never quite sure what muscles are going to be used and it won't get into a set routine.

Forms of exercise:

• Swimming - non-weight bearing but against water resistance
• Aqua-jogging - as above
• Water walking in a number of different ways - as above
• Gym work - this can be cardio or weight training. Cardio improves heart/lungs, weight training strengthens bones and shapes the body
• Cycling - cardio and lower body strength
• Walking - cardio and lower body/ upper body if you swing your arms more vigorously
• Running/jogging - as above
• Dog walking - helps the dog get healthy too
• Cat walking - I'd like to see how far you'd get with that with most cats, though some don't mind going into a walking harness and going with you
• Dancing - so many different sorts that there is a form of dancing for most people. Dancing With the Stars contestants say that they lost up to 25 kgs during their time. I would like to try belly dancing as I loved doing it with a friend from a long while ago. Being bigger shows it off better too and it tightens your abdominal muscles as well as looking very sexy.
• Skiing of all sorts.
• Snowboarding
• Skating of all sorts
• Racquet sports - tennis, badminton, squash, ping pong - hand/eye co-ordination and the speed of running to the next ball
• You find something you like and do it daily for at least an hour. Break that time up if you need too. I like my 90 minutes at the gym but I also like to go for a walk that lasts from an hour upwards.

Set yourself a goal and a time frame to accomplish it in. Reward yourself for reaching that goal. I reward myself with glass items I love, not food. If you slip off the wagon, step right back on. Reset that goal. You have so many ways to help you reach your goals nowadays. The latest electronic way is using a Fitbit and linking in with your friends nearby electronically if you haven't been able to meet up physically. Set reminders on your phone, computer or in your diary. Have friends that are on the same journey so you see can talk about your progress or any problems you may be having that are slowing your progress. These friends may be the people you have known for a while or they may be digital friends. Both sorts help you on your journey.

My Goals at the moment:

•  Up my gym times to daily with the days that I have other things on being only for an hour, 90 minutes on the between days.
• Walking into/back and around town for shopping or visits to the library 3+/week
• Eating better and less
• Reaching 100 kgs in 6 weeks or less
• Measuring myself monthly to show that they are decreasing even if the weight is not going down as fast as I want
• Daily Facebook with WLS friends
• Blogging weekly to reach out to others on this journey 

I find if I exercise at the gym for 90 minutes that I get the positive endorphins showing up. It took a couple of times of it happening before I realised it was. The same with my walking into town etc. If I go by myself and walk at the speed I like for the same amount of time I get it then as well. I am trying to be more present in my walks and that has been interesting. I have been gifted with a number of lovely bird feathers. Metaphysically it is supposed to show you that your guardian angel is near you and protecting you. My daughter says it is molting season. I enjoy the differences and the beauty in each and every feather. I am going to make and frame a picture using them soon. I notice the weather, the trees, the birdsong, the nice cars going past, the light in so many different forms that I can also use in my writing

I endorse the picture above. I exercise now because I feel better after doing so. I am happier. Today as I got out of bed I rested my hands on my legs. I could feel the muscles underneath with only a small amount of fat overlaying them. It used to be the opposite way round. It was positive reinforcement to me that I am on the right path for me. We need to stop punishing ourselves for past behaviour and make the changes we want and need now. We only have the present. We can't change the past and we don't need to worry about the future as we never get there.Now I eat well, exercise well and live life well. I can do the things I need to make my life better. We can all do this every day. 

Honour yourself by starting the journey for you. Decide what your life needs to be like. Each day do something that will help you get that life. We will walk hand in hand to get there together - to our new life. The life we want and love.

I'm a gym bunny - words I never thought I would say

Scary title, huh? When we shifted midway through last year I lost the use of the small on-site gym room where we were. The stress of packing, shifting, unpacking and settling in lead to a weight gain because I was feeding my emotions. Walking wasn't cutting it weight loss wise. Recently a friend said he had joined the gym just down the road (5 minutes walk) for $29 and a weekly amount. I dashed down there the next morning and scored the same deal. I actually got a lower weekly rate as my brother had joined earlier than me. I got a family weekly rate of $10.95 instead of $12.95. Score.

They have an incentive to get you into the habit of using it by saying if you use the gym at least 3 times a week for 12 weeks you get a month fee free. I have been going at least 3 times a week and sometimes up to 5 times if nothing gets in the way. I am enjoying it. I find when I get back home to get Mum up and do the housework that I get through things quicker. My clothes are getting looser again, my muscles are tightening up and my back is slower straightening again. The times I take to do various distances on the bike or treadmill are getting less so I must be going faster. I can increase the weights by one kilo and still do the repetitions well. I am happier emotionally as I spend about 90 minutes there most mornings and that is long enough for the endorphins to kick in.

It is a Jetts' gym so you are able to use it 24/7 as you enter with a swipe card. During the day there is staff available. You get a 1/2 hour free consult on exercise at the start and they are available as personal trainers as well. Most people are there to do their gym work but a number will speak to you. There is a good mix of ages and capabilities so no-one sneers at you which is very good.

I can see there is a difference in these 2 photos;There is still a way to go in my abdomen etc, but the legs are slimming down and shaping up. Early on this gym journey I lost 1.2 kgs in the first week then went up 2 kgs over the next few weeks. The first week I did nibble too much but I pulled myself up and went back to listing food eaten. There was and is a slow decrease happening again. I am putting that initial gain down to muscles growing bigger and therefore heavier than fat. I'd rather have the muscles. I will continue to go to the gym at least 3 times or more each week and hopefully I will return to below 100 kgs in weight soon. I am working on eating less and better each day. I don't always finish what I put on my plate but now I get up and put it on the kitchen bench. If I leave it near me I will nibble at what is left when my stomach empties out a bit. I am putting less on my plate and aiming to see more of the pattern of the lovely plate my food is on.

In a closed Facebook for WLS NZ people we had a lovely discussion on how to reward yourself for reaching goals you have been working towards. I am firmly on the side of buying something permanent from an interest you have had within your life. My first 20 kgs were celebrated with buying 2 blown glass heart shaped paperweights that I chose because they were a lovely shade of blue with patterns internally that I like. I love coloured glass. A Murano chandelier would be my fantasy Christmas gift that I would be delighted to get. The glass candle holder was for the next 10 kgs. I am working towards the next glass item so will start looking now as an incentive to get there faster. Whatever you do to reward yourself do not let it be food or alcohol. They are the things that got us to the stage of being morbidly obese and needing an operation to help us lose our weight.  

Clothes can be a good incentive. On the Biggest Loser they get them to chose the item of clothing they have always wanted to be able to wear. They showcase it in a glass case and by then end of the program the person is parading down a runway wearing it. I know the joy I felt when I finally got out of the 26, 24, 22, 20 range and into the 16-18 size range. I wish my breasts would reduce even further so I can get back to at least the DD range as there aren't many pretty bras in the larger sizes still. It would also be easier on my shoulders and back. If I find when I get right down to a normal weight and I still retain the size I would seriously think about breast reduction.I like being larger in some ways but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. 

Give yourself permission to buy a few clothes items in your new size and dispose of the clothes you no longer fit. A charity shop will be happy to receive them as it is a size they don't have many of and they are needed. Don't keep Fat or Thin clothes in your cupboards. Keep only what you fit. Get a ftting for your bra size (if female) as your size will change. Shoe sizes will go down as you lose weight too which is something they don't tell you about. I was a size 9 in my 20's and slowly crept up to a size 11 as my weight increased. I have lost one shoe size so far and expect to return to that size 9 when I get my weight right down.

I am reading Deepak Chopra's book called "What are you hungry for - The Chopra solution to permanent weight loss, well being and Lightness of soul". I think this is a good book for me at the moment  as I feel what I need to work on more is the mental part of weight gain so that I can balance myself out and work through what is needed. I don't want to self medicate with food anymore. I am finding it very interesting and it is answering my questions, making me think, and encouraging me to balance out my life. He says this leads to balance in your weight  and from some changes I have made recently I can see what he is saying will work on my mind and eating habits. Balance and awareness are essential to change. It is worth reading. Mine is a library copy but I may buy a copy so I can go back to it regularly.

My Intentions for the rest of May:

1. Gym 4-5 times a week
2. Eat smaller, more protein, less carbs
3. Walk 2-3 times a week
4. Do a chapter in my MG book at least every 2 days to finish the first draft finally
5. Knit beanies and scarves for the City Mission so homeless people have something to keep them warm over winter (done 1 scarf, 1 beanie so far)
6. Mow the lawn fortnightly (done once)
7. Do this blog weekly

MY WEIGHT this week back to 105.9 kgs