Milestones (Amy's diary)

I would not worry about not making it the additional pound. You moved the needle and are headed in the right direction. That is what’s awesome. Keep going. I think that was 1 pound in a week? That’s great. I’ve found self-accountability here really helps me. Do you have another mini goal? :)
 
Yes, I have two between here and the next major goal.
Mini-goal 1: get below 13 stone
Mini-goal 2: get out of the 180s Club
Next major goal: cross the line between obese and overweight.

Thank you for the encouragement - it feels such a s-l-o-w business.
 
Hi, Amy. Do you have other non-scale goals that you can focus on while you work towards the others? Sometimes distracting yourself helps take your mind of what can be a frustrating journey. (I'm a bit over that word, but couldn't think of another. Mission?) xoxo
 
Hi Amy! Amazing how far you’ve come! I was blessed with a couple sisters, one will only notice if I’ve gained :confused: — and the other will only notice if I’ve lost. Funny how that works!

I’m a vegetable lover, but I’ve never been a fan of the brussel sprouts. Maybe it’s time for me to reacquaint myself.

Sorry about that last stubborn pound. I too am amazed at how slowly this process works. I feel like the 5 pounds I can gain in a single day then takes 3 weeks to lose.
 
Thanks, Cate! That's a really good question, about non-numbers, non-scales goals. I have had "aspiration" clothes, but they all fit now (which is good!, but I'm not in a position to go shopping for anything more right now. I should put my brain to work, and come up with a fitness/health goal or two. And yes, the "journey" metaphor is very over-worked. Quest? Hunt? Hunting for the better me? :D

Thanks, davisgirl! Yeah - sisters - gotta be one of the most fascinating human relationships around! And as for
davisgirl said:
...I feel like the 5 pounds I can gain in a single day then takes 3 weeks to lose...
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With me, it's not "feel" it really does take that long - at least the Christmas/New Year gains took about a month to disappear!
 
aiminglow said:
Yes, I have two between here and the next major goal.
Mini-goal 1: get below 13 stone
Mini-goal 2: get out of the 180s Club
Next major goal: cross the line between obese and overweight.

Thank you for the encouragement - it feels such a s-l-o-w business.
Click to expand...

These sound good. Good milestones. I also second the idea of a non-weight goals. What helps you? Meal prep and planning? Shopping lists? Exercise? Meditation? Socializing? Support? Other stuff?
 
Thanks, Rob. :) I am really appreciating this call from you and Cate to reassess what I'm wanting to achieve - the non-weight goals. Very much food for thought.
As to what helps me - definitely meal planning helps me - that is, to put it in the negative, it's when I don't really have any idea what to eat, and just wander into the kitchen and eat what I see (a spoonful of last night's curry, a few crackers... ) that I gain weight. And meal planning means shopping lists, for sure - especially lots of fruit and veg, the kind of things I can just pick up and eat when I feel I want to eat - like carrots.
Relatedly, starting breakfast with fruit - this morning, an orange, but it could be anything.

Another thing that has helped is not "tasting" as I'm cooking - this is tricky, because it really is easier to make something taste good if you (the cook) take a spoonful, and then think "needs more salt", and then another one, and think "maybe a squeeze or two of lemon juice" - and so on. Now, I'm more likely to call someone, and say "taste this - what do you think it needs?". That's been a great help.

Exercise - yes, it helps, though apart from some gentle stretching and tai chi, my exercise is mostly just walking. Socializing - no, that's a problem area for me! My support, apart from here, is mostly just myself; I'm helped by a (wrong) sense of pride in not wanting to "fail" and go back to my higher weights.

But those non-number goals... time to think hard!
 
aiminglow said:
Thanks, Rob. :) I am really appreciating this call from you and Cate to reassess what I'm wanting to achieve - the non-weight goals. Very much food for thought.
As to what helps me - definitely meal planning helps me - that is, to put it in the negative, it's when I don't really have any idea what to eat, and just wander into the kitchen and eat what I see (a spoonful of last night's curry, a few crackers... ) that I gain weight. And meal planning means shopping lists, for sure - especially lots of fruit and veg, the kind of things I can just pick up and eat when I feel I want to eat - like carrots.
Relatedly, starting breakfast with fruit - this morning, an orange, but it could be anything.

Another thing that has helped is not "tasting" as I'm cooking - this is tricky, because it really is easier to make something taste good if you (the cook) take a spoonful, and then think "needs more salt", and then another one, and think "maybe a squeeze or two of lemon juice" - and so on. Now, I'm more likely to call someone, and say "taste this - what do you think it needs?". That's been a great help.

Exercise - yes, it helps, though apart from some gentle stretching and tai chi, my exercise is mostly just walking. Socializing - no, that's a problem area for me! My support, apart from here, is mostly just myself; I'm helped by a (wrong) sense of pride in not wanting to "fail" and go back to my higher weights.

But those non-number goals... time to think hard!
Click to expand...

This sounds like a good self-assessment. Grazing is a prob for me too and will probably be when I'm on maintenance but the solution you mentioned sounds good to me - have something like fruits and veges available. Love the walking and Tai Chi. I walked for about a year and a half before I got to a weight I could run at.

I wouldn't think in terms of not having numbers because those are pretty important for your goals to be specific and measurable. For example, meal plan a total of 5 meals in week 1. You've heard of SMART goals I'm sure? SMART criteria - Wikipedia

You're also doing something right bc you've lost weight. What is it that creates that success for you and can you expand on it?
 
Well, it's Monday morning, and that pesky pound is still there. :flame:
Of course, many pounds are still there, but I don't want to look too far ahead, to where I'd eventually want to be (which is round about 150 pounds) because I find the size of the number of pounds in between here and there horribly daunting.

But:
a) I'm not down-hearted, because where I'm at now is still lower than I'd been for years until last week, and I know I can do it again, and
b) as Cate and Rob have been saying, it's time, and past time, to define other goals besides numbers on a scale. (Still thinking on that one. Being perfect at tai chi probably wouldn't be a good goal, would it? because it's not really measurable.)

Now... off to see what's new with everybody since yesterday! :)
 
:p I'm not sure perfection at anything is a reasonable goal... But maybe you can do a frequency goal? Tai chi 20 minutes 3 times a week? (Or whatever makes sense to you.) Trying one exercise you struggle with for 5 minutes every day until you get it right?
 
:iagree: with LaMa. I think the aim for perfection is an elusive illusion, best forgotten about. Tai Chi, however, is something that I really want to get back into. It is a meditation of sorts. I love it! I might just replace my August goal of the bike with some Chi raising :D
 
This made me think of a favorite expression "Perfect is the enemy of good." and so I looked it up to see who first said it, Voltaire (1770) is generally credited, but it seems he may just have been the first to publish and old Italian proverb.

In the process I found some related things I liked:
  • Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without. — Confucius (maybe)
  • Give them the third best to go on with; the second best comes too late, the best never comes -- Robert Watson-Watt developer of the radar system used to warn the British of the Luftwaffe in WWII. Watson was an advocate of what he called the "Cult of the Imperfect"
  • Pareto principle or 80–20 rule. It commonly takes 20% of the effort to complete 80% of a task while to complete the last 20% of a task takes 80% of the effort. Achieving absolute perfection may be impossible and so, as increasing effort results in diminishing returns, further activity becomes increasingly inefficient.
All of which support what Cate and LaMa are saying.

Personally I don't see a problem with a goal of perfection,. So long as you realize its probably not achievable it can help you get to good enough. Which is by definition, good enough.
 
alligatorob said:
This made me think of a favorite expression "Perfect is the enemy of good." and so I looked it up to see who first said it, Voltaire (1770) is generally credited, but it seems he may just have been the first to publish and old Italian proverb.

In the process I found some related things I liked:
  • Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without. — Confucius (maybe)
  • Give them the third best to go on with; the second best comes too late, the best never comes -- Robert Watson-Watt developer of the radar system used to warn the British of the Luftwaffe in WWII. Watson was an advocate of what he called the "Cult of the Imperfect"
  • Pareto principle or 80–20 rule. It commonly takes 20% of the effort to complete 80% of a task while to complete the last 20% of a task takes 80% of the effort. Achieving absolute perfection may be impossible and so, as increasing effort results in diminishing returns, further activity becomes increasingly inefficient.
All of which support what Cate and LaMa are saying.

Personally I don't see a problem with a goal of perfection,. So long as you realize its probably not achievable it can help you get to good enough. Which is by definition, good enough.
Click to expand...
Most wise! I assert therefore that “good enough” is, in fact, perfection. :) It seems like winning in our game is all about time and consistency. Therein lies my biggest hurdle — oh, the waiting ... :willy_nilly:
 
Oh, thank you! LaMaria and Cate and Alligatorob and davisgirl - you are all so kind and so on point! You are right about perfection being both elusive and an illusion - Voltaire's saying (or Italian folk wisdom) about the quest for it being the enemy of the good is true, but so are alligatorob's words - good enough is good enough! (and therefore "is, in fact, perfection" :D I think my brain's getting dizzy! )

Well, encouraged by you all, I tai-chi'd this morning, and I noted that my weakest points is balance - I wobble, or else have to quickly put a foot down, in the parts where we balance on one leg. So as well as getting the movements and positions right, I want to focus on improving balance. I've just been to check the internet to see what's out there, and found this:


Does that look like a good way forward? I'll try the exercises that are shown there and see how I go. And I want to tai chi at least four mornings a week - I'll report back on that. Once again, thank you all very much indeed! :grouphug:
 
I quite like the exercises they show (although I don´t agree with the detail of all he´s saying) but be careful not to overdo it when bending backwards or going down with one knee bent: don´t go further than you can stabilize (in your back/knee).
 
Thanks, Cate, LaMa and Tru, for checking this out. :) I tai chi'd again this morning, concentrating on balance a little bit more, and also tried out the exercises shown in the video - and was very shocked at how really poor my balance is. :( But that firms up my intention to treat this as something to work on.

LaMa, when you say
LaMaria said:
I quite like the exercises they show (although I don´t agree with the detail of all he´s saying)...
Click to expand...
what parts don't you agree with? (And don't worry about my overdoing it when going down with one knee bent - I didn't get that far! )
 
Thanks for checking it out! :)
 
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