Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Happy New Years and 1-800-FREE-411 (All in One Night)

Lindsey and I spent New Years together on my roof. I made a new years resolution to not swear as much and well, I'm not sure what Lindsey's was. I wasn't going to make the same resolution I have for the last decade though, and we all know what that was...lose weight. I'm not going to make a resolution I know I'm just going to break within a matter of hours. So, I'm going to swear less...oh, and I'm going to drink more water. Yeah.

But, I do want to change in 2007. I know I said this, at least to myself 1994-2006, but, hey, it's always the truth. And Lindsey feels the same way I think.

So, at 12:07am on January 1, 2007 Lindsey and I used 1-800-FREE-411 to dial our local Weight Watchers to see if there was a meeting on Monday. We couldn't stop giggling. The woman at 800 Free 411 couldn't stop giggling. How many people had called her in that 7 minute period to ask for the local number to Weight Watchers? Jenny Craig? NutriSystem? (By the way, has anyone tried NutriSystem...I'm curious about it)

How many people, right after the ball dropped, spend their new years calling Weight Watchers? Were their phones flooded? I'm dying to know. I'm also a little scared to go to the meeting tonight. I'll most likely have to get there an hour early to secure a seat.

I also spent most of yesterday watching every dieting program they had on...Biggest Loser Marathon, Discovery Health Fatty Marathon, etc. (By the way, I'm still so impressed with everyone at BL. Though, I looked at Poppi's diet journal, and I think staying under 1,000 calories everyday is a little scary. I'm going to have to research that more.)

So, here's to a great year of swearing less and drinking more water and maybe, just maybe...losing a little bit of weight along the way.

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

Less swearing and more water sounds good to me! Have fun at the WW meeting tonight, just remember, don't take anybody too seriously, and have a sense of humor. That's the best way to get through some of the overbearing, preachy "weight-loss guru's".

-sara

Anonymous said...

I'm finally buying myself a new wardrobe even though I didn't lose any weight. I've realized that confidence and looking good draws people to you at any size, whether I be 155 or 135.

I don't care. I made a resolution to be happy with myself.

Anonymous said...

Funny thing I noted when I went down to my Au Bon Pain for lunch - they were completely sold out of salads by 12:30 :)
-fatty mcgurk (LTRFTPELTE - long time reader, first time poster, even longer time eater).

Anonymous said...

i've been working out for the past few months with a personal trainer, and have barely lost any weight, but feel really good, am stronger, have better range of motion, and don't have any weird pain in my calves any more when i walk.

i have been working out 4 times a week, and am eating what i want to eat. what's wrong with that? i like to eat. why refrain from the things you love the most?

working out has made me realize some pretty amazing things. i have an addictive personality. if it's not food, it's cigarettes, or drinks, or drugs. i'm an artsy social person. all these things are around at every art opening, and every party. since i work out every other day - i can't get drunk or high, and try to work out the next day. so, those things are basically off limits. cigarettes - effect my cardio - so, no more smoking. haven't smoked since nov 17th. last thing is food. but, i notice how certain foods make me feel, and i am having to let go of overeating, using food as a crutch, etc. i screw myself over by abusing food. weirdly enough, exercise is somehow teaching me how to deal with it. it's slow, but, it's happening.

resolution - be happy. be healthy and strong, even if i don't fit in the 'normal' weight category. losing 3 pounds a month is not bad. it's realistic, and will be easier to keep off than losing lots of weight quickly and regaining it even more quickly with an extra few pounds each time!

most of all - i resolve not to be so hard on myself.

i love your blog - thanks for keeping it going. it's makes me feel good. i look forward to another year of fabulous and thoughtful entries.

oxo.

Anonymous said...

That was a good call. Keep focussed on your goals. Happy New years.
Jeff

Anonymous said...

I really like the free speech element on your site.

Anonymous said...

So, here's to a great year of swearing less and drinking more water and maybe, just maybe... losing a little bit of weight along the way.

Yawn! No doubt I'll check back in two weeks and find the WW thing was a just a passing fancy. Do you want fries with that?

Anonymous said...

Two weeks? Please, the Fatties won't even last one week.

Anonymous said...

I think starting out with small goals like drinking a lot of water is good. It's something that does require some thought and planning but it's not particularly onerous either. You will feel better after doing it for a while (you just have to plant yourself around a bathroom for the first week).

I wish people like 2:51 and snickers would just shut the hell up. If they write and say that they didn't do it or whine, sure, pile on and say something. But maybe you'll just goad Lindsey and Emily to sticking it to just to prove you wrong (although I wouldn't care what you think).

I think this is a more realistic plan to try than to say I'm giving up everything I love to eat, go to the gym for 2 hours each day, etc. etc.

I started out very small and cut out some things in my diet and went to the gym, oh, about 2-3 times a week and not for very long because I was at my heaviest. I lost about 30 pounds and kept it off. But I was still fat. So by your standards, I probably was a big fuck-up. But I kept it off and after a year of that, I lost about 47 pounds. I still have a ways to go but maybe slow is how I'm going to accomplish it.

I think doing SOMETHING is better than doing nothing or worse yet, wasting time by going to a fat blog and typing out insults.

Anonymous said...

My resolution is to leave my husband.

I tried NutriSystem in 1991 (eons ago)! It worked but it was a lot like Jenny Craig, which I also tried. I lost about 45 pounds on NutriSystem and about 20 lbs on Jenny Craig. Did not keep the weight off. However, throughout my midlife crisis, which I am going through right now, I have managed to lose about 45 lbs and am no longer overweight, according to BMI. I'm doing it through more physical activity, less eating, better food and probably natural stress. I also use hoodia and "bowel buddies" have changed my life. Peace.

Anonymous said...

well anonymous above... by leaving your husband that is a good chunk of dropped dead weight. Congratulations on that huge weight loss!

Anonymous said...

my resolutions are something really easy too, so I won't fail!
I resolve not to start smoking!
And not to become a drug addict!

Anonymous said...

I am on Nutrisystem and have been for 19 weeks, today was my weigh in day and I have officially lost 50lbs on NS!! I've tried WW before but always "cheated" on it and never really stuck to the program, but with NS it is similar to Jenny Craig where you eat the meals they supply and add your own veggies/ fruit and dairy. It is a "low GI" diet so you still get to eat carbs and chocolate but it is "good" carbs. And it is WAY cheaper then Jenny Craig and you don't have to go to any meetings/ weigh-ins, the food is delivered right to your door and you get beanie bears for every 10lbs you loose! I love it - I'm a grab a go type person so it works well for me, no weighing food or counting calories! Highly recommended !

Anonymous said...

I think if you continue to make weight loss an all or nothing choice then you will always remain overweight and hating yourself for failing. By all or nothing choice I mean either you just eat whatever you want and throw caution to the wind or you have to be like the Biggest Loser and exercise every day and limit yourself to 1000 calories a day. The reality is that it would be waaay tooo hard on me to keep to 1000 cals and exercising every day or even 3x a week. I mean its just unrealistic for me and I would break down (as most of us do) way too quickly. I don't think its productive to think of myself as a failure because I can't do it (although the tucker max folks would surely say i just have no self control)but thinking like that just leads me to basically where I am: hating my body and trying to change but can't and feeling like a loser because I can't. The only thing that has worked for me so far is making small changes gradually (e.g. switching from soda to water; eating at least some veggies and one fruit every day; switching to whole grain breads when I can; walking when I can; eating fish when its an option as opposed to meat or pasta.) Perhaps one of these small things should be your new years resolution(as you mentioned the water thing)as opposed to either my resolution is to lose 30 lbs or pick some other resolution and avoid the whole weight thing cause I'll just fail anyway. Over the last few years I slowely incorporated this stuff into my life and I have lost a good bit of weight and it wasn't too hard on me. I would lose way more weight if I exercised regularly and ate less chocolate but I am what I am. At least I have had some success and I feel good about myself from that- and I am hoping that if I can continue to incorporate more stuff I will one day wake up and be one of those exercise and healthy eating freaks who feels like she HAS to go running every morning! so far, it hasn't happened...but a girl can dream. Sharon.

Anonymous said...

I'm excited for you that you made this decision.

Why?

BEcause you did it WHEN YOU WERE READY -- not because of what anybody said to you, told you, thought about you, advised you, or pressured you to do. YOU YOU YOU.

I've joined and quit weight watchers more times than I can count, but the very first time I walked through the door was because I was truly ready to make a commitment to changing my life... 3 years and 65 lbs later, I am very happy I made that choice. I'm not done losing yet, and i won't say that it hasn't been hard and frustrating at times, but I've never given up, and I never will, not until I reach my goal.

Best of luck to you in 2007.

~jessica

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your story, Sharon! The kind of thing you're saying is 100% the way I feel, too, and it's more of an inspiration to me than the "all" part of the all-or-nothing deal you mention. It sounds just like common sense--you start practicing healthy habits, and you become healthier. Yay!

Anonymous said...

Thought you fatties would like this:

Pros of being fat:

- save money on coats
- save money on heating bills
- dressing is a *snap* (moo-moo)
- eat whatever you want, whenever you want in whatever quantity
- lean plate member
- get exercise just by breathing
- hide stuff (food, children) in rolls
- you don't have to have "pregnancy" clothes,
- your own gravitional field means you don't lose things easily
- no one pushes you around
- people let you know location of food where ever you go
- at restruants, never have to ask for more bread or chips, the are constantly refilled
- live it up everyday
- don't waste money on gym memberships
- no one asks you for a bite of your food
- seductive way of jiggling

Anonymous said...

I wish people like 2:51 and snickers would just shut the hell up. If they write and say that they didn't do it or whine, sure, pile on and say something. But maybe you'll just goad Lindsey and Emily to sticking it to just to prove you wrong (although I wouldn't care what you think).

Please. I doubt that Lindsey and Emily could be goaded into doing anything. Even with a cattle prod.

Anonymous said...

You know what another pro of being fat is, anon 10:19?

I can break the necks of twigs like you.

Anonymous said...

You know what another pro of being fat is, anon 10:19?

I can break the necks of twigs like you.


I wouldn't bet on it. :-) I do strength training.

Anonymous said...

Oh, really? Then how much is your squat?

Anonymous said...

Instead of watching dieting shows, maybe you should have gone walking, or to a gym.

Anonymous said...

Oh, really? Then how much is your squat?

165 pounds. Why - what's yours?

Anonymous said...

Instead of watching dieting shows, maybe you should have gone walking, or to a gym.

A good idea, but I think you've missed the point. The Fatties like to watch diet shows while eating fattening food. They wrote about it a while back. Perhaps they think it's ironic?

Anonymous said...

Anon@319
165lbs doesn't qualify as strength. That does pretty much classify you as a twig.

If you are curious, mine is 455.
My bench is 405, and my deadlift is 500.

They aren't great but I am working on it.


-SDave

Anonymous said...

165lbs doesn't qualify as strength. That does pretty much classify you as a twig.

Actually Dave, that's a lot more than most women squat. :-)

Anonymous said...

If you are curious, mine is 455.
My bench is 405, and my deadlift is 500.


rawr! And your dick size? Let's compare!

Anonymous said...

If you are curious, mine is 455.
My bench is 405, and my deadlift is 500.

rawr! And your dick size? Let's compare!


Hmm... maybe that's why Dave is called "Short" Dave - if you get my drift.

Anonymous said...

I especially liked his flash of modesty: "They aren't great but I am working on it." Pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I was going to say @ 165 that's a pretty powerful squat for a woman. I think SD assumed he was talking to a dude.

I squat 70 for workouts--I'm not sure what my max squat would be but it's probably around 100. I need to weight lift more.

But enough about that. I think the water thing is a great resolution. It's something I really struggle with myself and therefore I never make it a resolution. I would never follow through. But it's so good for your body--especially your skin. I usually end up with 6 cups of water a day. 8 is a struggle though. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Hey, I tried Nutrisystem and did it for about 5 months and lost about 30lbs.
If you are single and don't like cooking much it is great, as long as you stick with it long enough to find the food that tastes good to you. Some of it is vile, and people quit before giving it a chance. It really teaches you about portion control.

That said, a few years ago I made the resolution to eat healthy and exercise more, not lose weight. I didn't diet at all, and that's how I lost the first 150lbs. I thought Nutrisystem could take off the rest quickly but, I should have just stuck to eating right.

By the way, I wouldn't even consider eating 1000 calories or under, it is self defeating. You will get very hungry and as soon as you begin eating more calories you will gain all of the weight back plus some.

If you really don't think that you will ever lose weight than maybe you should work on eating healthier and loving your body as is--health at any size?

peace,
Tara

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 7:29,

Just over two hundred. And I'm a chick.

Anonymous said...

Just over two hundred. And I'm a chick.

Way to go! I've been using the squat rack only since August 2006 - I aim to get up around 200 one day. :-)

Anonymous said...

Heh, good luck to you. I've been powerlifting since I was a freshman in highschool.

Anonymous said...

I think it's a good idea to start off with a small change.

Towards the end of last year I got a new job which forced me to make 2 changes. One is that I now have to walk 15-20 mins to and from the bus stop every day to get from home to work and vice versa and the other is that I have to pack lunch to take to work with me every day because the office is in the middle of nowhere and far away from food of any kind and most definitely out of the reach of naughty fast food.

Those two changes have made such a difference in such a short time. Without even really trying (because this time, unlike so many other times I had not intentionally set out to lose weight)I started losing and people have started noticing...

So I hope that your small change of drinking more water begets an even bigger change!!! Best of luck with your New Year's resolution!!!

Anonymous said...

I don't know if anyone else has this experience, but it really is as if some synapse in the brain has to close, or some switch has to click, before I WANT to get serious about diet and exercise, and nothing I consciously do can make it close. When it does, I've lost weight with calorie-counting and again with Weight Watchers. When it doesn't, I maintain but I don't shed pounds, even with Weight Watchers (yes, I know it's because I cheat, but the thing is that I cheat because I don't really want it enough.) It's a very strange feeling. It's worked well for me, though, to lose ten or twenty pounds over about three months, to maintain for another six months, then lose another ten or twenty more; it's not dramatic, but I haven't gone back up. So y'all definitely start with the water and the swearing, and if your Weight Watchers synapse has closed, I think it'll work well for you because it doesn't exclude whole groups of food (a recipe for disaster for me.)

But what is that switch thing? Which synapse is it? What makes it, if not exactly easy, at least worthwhile to go through all the discipline sometimes, and totally not worthwhile at others? Does anybody know what this thing is? Is there a branch of neuroscience that studies the mysteries of motivation and desire?

Anonymous said...

But what is that switch thing? Which synapse is it? What makes it, if not exactly easy, at least worthwhile to go through all the discipline sometimes, and totally not worthwhile at others? Does anybody know what this thing is? Is there a branch of neuroscience that studies the mysteries of motivation and desire?

Interesting... I've never heard it put like that before, but when it happens, it sure feels like something has been "switched on".

Anonymous said...

That is so funny...I'm sure all the weigh loss sites get more hits on New Years day than any other time of the year combined!!

Anonymous said...

Good luck on everything in your new year!
I have tried NutriSystem. The food is DISGUSTING and does...unpleasant things to your digestive system. I lasted through about a week of it before I returned everything. However, I got a full refund so if you want to try it's relatively risk-free. It's just something about a hamburger patty that is so processed it doesn't need to be refrigerated doesn't sit well with me (in more way than one I found out). You would be better off spending the money on lean cuisine and lean pockets for your meals if single-serving processed food is your bag.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I did think I was talking to a guy, and the modesty is real enough, I am one of the smallest and weakest of the people I lift with, when I have a 2000lbs total, then I will brag.

And honestly, why would I weightlift if I had a big dick? its all compensation.

~SDave

anji said...

good luck with the weight-watchers -- i'm sure you guys are big girls (not literally, I mean figuratively!) and can look past the negative comments people have made.

Just make a personal goal of sticking with it for a time period of say, six weeks and re-evaluate then. I'm sure you will make damn good progress in that time period :)

Good luck with it!

Anonymous said...

And honestly, why would I weightlift if I had a big dick? its all compensation.

Aww... Dave, I like honesty and a sense of humour. (blushes)

Anonymous said...

First week on WW and I lost 3 lbs!!! And that was with cheating midweek with some pizza. I can't wait until my next weigh in, when I have worked the plan all week long. Or the weigh in after that, when I start to add some cardio into the mix.

My biggest problem is that after the 4th or 5th week (when the results start to taper off and I hit my first plateau), I tend to lose motivation and slip back into my old, comfortable habits. Any suggestions (from sincere people, not trolls) on how to get over that hump?

Anonymous said...

Not sure how the whole power lifting topic got started, but I had to smirk at the whole "the more you lift, the more you must be compensating for something" thought. Any guy I dated who was into that stuff thought that he was WAY better at bedroom activities than he actually was! Does lifting give you extra testosterone and therefore a false sense of bravado or esteem????

Let's not forget those who have some kind of chemical help in getting that strong....they definitely need to lift a higher weight than everyone else b/c their "plums" have shrivelled into "prunes"

And yes, I know, not EVERYONE who lifts relies on......supplements.

Anonymous said...

My biggest problem is that after the 4th or 5th week (when the results start to taper off and I hit my first plateau), I tend to lose motivation and slip back into my old, comfortable habits. Any suggestions (from sincere people, not trolls) on how to get over that hump?

I'm glad you asked. :-) The most likely reason for the plateau is that your metabolism has slowed slightly because less food is coming in. The best way to boost your metabolism is to build muscle by lifting weights. Add some weights to your workout program along with the cardio and you should get better results.

Anonymous said...

Both of my bosses did NutriSystem for awhile. She quit after a week, but she's done that with every weight loss plan she's tried so that's not really a dig at NS. But he has done really well on it. I've tasted a lot of the food...it's much better than I expected. Except the chocolate pudding. That was something spewed from the bowels of hell.

Heidi

Anonymous said...

My biggest problem is that after the 4th or 5th week (when the results start to taper off and I hit my first plateau), I tend to lose motivation and slip back into my old, comfortable habits. Any suggestions (from sincere people, not trolls) on how to get over that hump?

Really, the best thing to do now is to take your measurements (and take phones) and when you get to a plateau, keep doing what you've been doing. If you want to up your exercise, go ahead but remember, even a plateau is an opportunity to learn maintenance.

By recording your measurements and taking photos, you can see the progress you've made. You need to look for what we would call Non Scale Victories (NSV) like rings falling off your hands, measurements going down, less headaches or other physical signs, ability to move more easily, etc.

But just stick to it. Sadly, that's the one thing -- sticking to a program even when you don't get a "reward." When you get to goal, that's how it's going to be anyway.

Good luck!!! Great progress so far!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE how the fattest people I know are the most willing to give dieting advice!

Anonymous said...

I dont' think another diet is your answer... or a non-diet ;). A whole new way of thinking might be...

Lisa