(no subject)

[oyceter]

*sigh*

Have dreadfully overslept for two days in a row. Missed the farmers' market and as such, have no peas =(. At least I still have fruit and veggies leftover from last week and am planning on making massive leftover veggie stew and just chuck in onions, carrots, canned tomatoes, beans, string beans, leeks, and whatever else I can find in the fridge. Too tired for recipes. Maybe if I randomly throw in cumin and cinnamon, it will miraculously become delicious Moroccan soup.

Also broke yarn-buying moratorium with a vengeance and splurged on yarn for pattern in Vogue Knitting, despite already having ten other patterns in line. Feel guilty. Have not recalculated budget yet and am rather frightened of it.

Also, (to put pronouns back in) I started Weight Watchers on last Monday. I've never dieted before. I do realize that I look ok. On the other hand, according to BMI and whatnot, I am just shy of overweight, and my cholestreol levels are also just shy of being in need of preventative measures. And, more importantly, my eating habits are completely whacked, especially given the move and not cooking and thereby randomly eating whatever passes my way. And I just feel heavier, less active, less able to do things with my body, more out of shape, and I don't like it.

Anyhow, I don't like it so far -- too many things to keep track of and too many things I can't eat as much as I used to. Of course, this may be a good thing, considering what I would eat a lot of. So hopefully Week 2 will work better once I have vegetable soup and other, healthier options available.

Comments

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Unsolicited advice: I find that exercise is much more effective than formal diets for (A) making my body feel good and (B) losing weight. Diets just make me obsess about food.

[oyceter]

Yeah, my problem is without some sort of regimen or something, I can't seem to make myself do anything... I've been trying to up the exercise quotient for some years now, and I just keep slacking off. Ditto with the whole "eating healthier" plan... it's too easy to tell myself that I'm doing the right thing when I'm not writing it down and keeping track of the eighteen random chocolate snacks I have at the office.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

What about wu shu? Are you still doing that?

[oyceter]

Um, sort of? Aka, I skipped the last month, half because I am lazy and half because my schedule the past month has been insane. Hopefully I will be going again this week, plus swing dancing on Wednesdays.

[loligo.livejournal.com]

More unsolicited advice: if you don't have a challenging metabolism (which you probably don't, since you look quite thin and have never dieted before), you don't need a rigorous system like WW to lose weight. It will be much easier to just make a list of the nutritionally bankrupt foods that you most commonly consume (bread products made with white flour, pasta, white rice, candy, whatever your weakness is) and commit to reducing your consumption of those.

I tried this once, and lost 10 lbs. over the course of a year with basically no effort, no thought, and no hunger. Yeah, that doesn't sound too dramatic, but ten pounds was all I wanted to lose in the first place, and I maintained the loss without any further effort, until I got pregnant.

P.S.

[loligo.livejournal.com]

If you were only going to do *one* thing to normalize your cholesterol levels, the most important would be to cut out trans-fats (i.e. partially hydrogenated oils). This will also have the side effect of dramatically reducing your intake of commercially-produced baked goods.

[oyceter]

Hee, I thought of restricting the intake of nutritionally bankrupt food, and it really, really doesn't work for me because I end up eating it anyway. So I like WW so far because I can still eat them, as long as I sort of keep track and figure it out.

[minnow1212.livejournal.com]

Best of luck in feeling healthy again, whatever method ends up working for you.

[oyceter]

Thank you!!

you've found a hot-button issue!

[jinian.livejournal.com]

No peas! Sad! I missed the market here too, but it will be fruit season at any moment so I'd better get with it.

I have to say my BMI piece: When I've been exercising, I score as "obese," but when my muscles are as overcooked noodles, I'm merely "overweight." Any measure of fitness that says crew rowers (not me, just an egregious example) need to lose weight, as if that were some kind of worthwhile goal for people with mad muscles, is obviously bullshit.

And I think that eating less, or even eating better, is way less important to feeling good than is movement. I agree you should keep an eye on cholesterol levels, but exercise helps that too. (Maybe you do exercise, but I haven't caught you talking about it, so it doesn't exist, like your job.) Hope you find something that makes you feel better, whatever it is; it's never fun feeling like your body won't do what you want it to.

Re: you've found a hot-button issue!

[oyceter]

Alas, I very much don't have mad muscles ;). And I suck at exercising... I've been trying to get myself to do more, but I do keep slacking off, so it's good to have some sort of program to keep stuff in check.

[oursin.livejournal.com]

I have been a lot less bothered about the BMI I had done a few years back which suggested that I was only just under the desideratum and ought to try losing some weight, since reading that apparently it is better (at least for Women of My Age) to be slightly over rather than slightly under the stated ideal (this may relate to things like e.g. bone density). Seconding all the suggestions about healthy eating and exercise rather than specific weight-loss regimen.

[oyceter]

Well, I checked over the WW regimen, because I don't want to do a fad diet or anything even remotely like that, and really, most of it sounds largely like recommended portion sizes and types of food -- the way the system is weighted really encourages vegetables, whole grains, and etc.

My problem is that while I know I should do healthy eating and exercise, I have no good way to quantify it and so I end up eating completely random things, which is why I like having to keep track of things (well, not like, per se, but it's very educational).

[canandagirl.livejournal.com]

I've heard good things about Weight Watchers. I haven't tried it myself, but a good friend of mine has, and she liked it a lot. You'll have to let me know how it goes. I'm having weight and cholesterol issues myself, but I am extraordinarily lazy when it comes to diet and exercise. I'm still convinced I'll fit into my nice clothes that I bought years ago.

I might have to sign up for Weight Watchers myself.

[oyceter]

I am horribly, horribly, horribly lazy when it comes to exercise. I mean, horrible.

Right now it's really hard getting used to because my eating habits have been so out of whack, but from looking over the points and whatnot, I like that they really encourage vegetables and whole grains and things like that. Also, I think my body's still trying to adjust to proper portion sizes and whatnot.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

BMI is horribly problematic, but eating well and exercising are of the good.

[oyceter]

It is, and I know this, but on the other hand, using that and fat percentage and feeling out of shape and knowing I'm eating poorly is probably fairly indicative that I need to eat better and exercise, at the very least.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined to heavily favor "feeling out of shape and knowing I'm eating poorly" as indicators as opposed to medical numbers.