Joined Weight Watchers

I'm not sure if this is the ultimate sign of desperation or just a really good idea I've been putting off for far too long, but this morning I joined Weight Watchers Online. They have a pretty good deal right now that if you lose 10 lbs in your first 2 months, you get 2 months free.  Should be good motivation to get going.

I used to belong to SparkPeople which is kind of a free version of Weight Watchers.  The more I investigate the online portion of WW, the more I see similarities. Which is good because SparkPeople was motivating for me when I participated. The problem was there was little to keep me going there when I lost motivation. And it was an online community I struggled to find my place in. Although I did have some success with my blogs.

I've realized that all of the exercise in the world isn't going to help me lose weight if I don't get my eating under control.

I actually red a blog last week about how people don't like to exercise and it shouldn't be forced on them as a way to lose weight because it really is a crappy way to lose weight. The best control we have over our weight is through diet.

It's kind of a cruel irony that I enjoy exercise more than I enjoy eating healthy foods.

I get that all of this makes sense. There aren't many gains to be made even through strength training. Even by taking the stairs all the way to my office every morning or running 15 -20 miles a week. Walking Hank at the dog park will do even less for me.

I tried going back to a diet I'd tried before, but I struggled to maintain that for more than a couple of weeks. I quickly got bored of the food and lazy about preparing it. Although I'm still doing a fruit filled smoothie every morning and trying to make sure that fruits/vegetables are part of every meal.

It's with some fear that I start back on Weight Watchers. A program is only ever as good as the person following it. Since recovering from cancer, I sometimes get a, "screw it, we're all going to die anyway!" mentality and just go for the food I want to eat. Ok, I get that mentality a few times a day.

Especially since I haven't been able to run.

I went to my running clinic on the weekend and walked the 20 minutes instead of running. My foot/ankle wasn't painful, but I could definitely feel the tendon was irritated. To bad since I'd hoped to start running again on Sunday.

So, instead, I started sanding a desk we've been planning to refinish for my sewing room. It kept me active and out of the kitchen. We also bought stain and paint for it and now I'm going to have to go find some brass polish because it's old enough to have actual brass drawer pulls that are tarnished and crappy looking.

Running and diet and sleep

I'm not always the best with my diet, but the husband and I have decided to do something healthier when it comes to food.  We are  loosely following a commercial diet plan that we happened to have a cookbook for as well as some success in the past following said diet plan.  It's really more about us actually planning our week's food and eating in rather than giving in and eating out when we have nothing planned. Which is why I'm not really going to mention the diet - it's way more about balance and eliminating fast food than what the diet actually says.

That's been interesting because at the same time I've been avoiding junk food (my favorite) and alcohol (I like it, but this is not such a big deal).  Meanwhile our summer student at work is driving me to drink.  Or at the very least crave large amounts of salty, crunchy food.  Or giant plates of pasta.

Did you know that the Germans make a dessert that is essentially ice cream extruded like pasta.  Often topped with strawberry sauce?  There is something wrong with that, but probably only to someone who loves pasta more than ice cream and sees this as sacrilege.

These are the things you can find on the internet when you're trying to ignore your hunger while googling "German Ice Cream" to see if there's anything your coworker needs to be aware of before she departs for her vacation.  Because, priorities. Also because killing summer students is frowned on and it seems somewhat harsh to request he be fired.

So, having changed our diet for a whole three days (seriously, today is day three, I'm not good on diets), I've noticed that the one benefit promised in the book of benefits (otherwise why would you buy the diet book?) is actually valid.

IMPROVED SLEEP.

I'm actually sleeping mostly through the night (pets notwithstanding) except for that bizarre 12:30-12:35 am time period where I continue to wake up every night.  Sure, I have a bit of trouble falling asleep (I'm surprised I was asleep by midnight last night to make my 12:30 wakeup call) now and again, but I seem to be getting better quality sleep.

I say this because I'm actually waking up at 4:30 to run with a lot less, "OMG! NO!"  I can also get on the bus on running days and not sleep for the entire trip into town.  And out of town.

On non-running days, I also don't feel the need to nap on the bus so much.

This could also be because I switched from coffee to tea at the same time as starting this diet so perhaps the sleep thing is not so related.  BUT THE BOOK SAID!

Regardless, the early mornings are getting easier, my speed is getting faster unless a hill is involved, and I'm kind of enjoying this running thing a little bit more.  And for some reason Hank is getting better behaved on leash.  Except for that poor cat he chased into the park yesterday.  In other news, turns out a good whistle will bring that dog back, even with a small furry animal to chase.

The one result I haven't seen much of, you know after three whole days, is actual weight loss, but I'm sure that'll come if I manage to find my patience.