Friday, January 4, 2008

January 2008: Refreshing My Mojo!

Although I restarted low-carbing on May 3, 2007, I believe it's time to start anew for the upcoming year. By that, I mean I am reclaiming my mojo. I've had great success so far with my low-carb lifestyle and my water exercise routine (which I call my Water Workout), so I'm going to start this blog by posting "recaps" from my personal low-carb journal. Here's the first:

These are things I do to keep motivated and track my progress:

1. I set daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Sticking with the daily goal keeps me on plan (which is the most important thing) and it often gets me to the weekly goal. In turn, hitting the weekly gets me closer to my monthly goals. Every single step is another one to FINAL GOAL and Maintenance!

2. To keep with my daily goals, I have a motto: "This day, I will stay on plan." (I might tweak to my heart's content, but that motto keeps me from making too many boo-boo's. Not that I haven't made my share of them!)

3. I track my progress (or lack thereof) and my body’s reactions to certain menus by weighing myself every day. And I ask myself: Did I feel alright? Was I more energetic? Was I exhausted? Did a particular daily menu leave me hungry? Why? Was I ok with it? Why?

Btw: Every day, I weigh as close as possible to 9:30 a.m., since I read somewhere that our bodies don’t quite let go of all the water until that time. I tested that idea quite a few times, and it worked for me. There can be a 2 lb. weight difference earlier in the morning. So if I can wait (no eating or drinking or this won’t work) until 9:30 a.m, I’ll find my weight is lower than it was at 7:30 a.m. If waiting is impossible, that’s ok. Then I go ahead and weigh earlier and figure I’ve lost a little more than it says and I'll see it the next morning. As Scarlett O’Hara said: “After all….tomorrow IS another day!”

4. If I don’t understand why I lost, maintained, or gained weight, I review my menus over the past 2-4 days, not from the day before. (Ever notice how a mistake can wait 2 whole days before it shows up on the scale?) In that way, I can usually find the reason. (That’s how I started “tweaking.”)

5. Sometimes, hours after dinner and my last bit of liquids, I’ll get on the scale to see what it has to say. (It usually sticks its tongue out at me, too.) I've found that the report it gives is usually (not always) from 1-3 lbs. higher than the wt. I’ll be in the morning. There were even some evenings when it was lower…and that same loss was still with me by morning. (I still can’t figure that one out!) However, on evenings I felt bloaty, I just knew the next morning's weight would not make me happy, and I was (unfortunately) right. But it sure does teach me how to get in tune with my body - and here I thought I already was! (We've been together for a long time, y'know!)

6. At first, I was keeping a private log of my menus, my ideas, my thoughts, etc. While I still do that, I purchased FitdayPC (which I like better than the free, online version). That software program really helps me in ways I didn’t expect!

7. I do my best to schedule my menu for the next day, or at least in the morning. Sure, I may end up tweaking it because I changed my mind about something or I just didn’t feel like eating a certain item, but the basic outline remains the same.

8. I typed out all the reasons I want to do this (from the serious to the comical), stick with it, prepare myself for a lifetime of low-carbing…and I add the benefits I’ve already recognized.

9. I read and re-read my low-carb books, which usually throw a nugget at me that I felt I didn’t need to implement during an earlier read. Talk about “AHA!” moments!

10. Since I started low-carbing to get better, feel better, and look better – my water exercise is important to me, mostly for the good it does in battling fibro and arthritis…but I cannot deny that I’ve lost a goodly amount of inches, too. So I stick to conditioning and toning via my water exercises, and my minimum goal is 3 times a week, for 1.5 hrs. each time.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

HI M,

Starting at the beginning and reading your blog. Great Tips for us all to remember. Thanks for the details.

Swatkins

Anonymous said...

I'll echo the previous poster. I've just found your blog and am enjoying it enough to be more than just a 'lurker'. Keep writing.