What’s stress got to do with it?

It’s amazing the impact that stress has on my life. When I’m not dealing with it effectively, I find myself eating mindlessly for comfort and relief. Not only is that a bad solution, it doesn’t relieve my stress and it packs on the pounds like there’s no tomorrow, helping me to arrive at the obese state of affairs I find myself in today. My third week TOPS SMART goal was to journal my stresses for at least 3 days. Boy, it seems like I let a lot of things bug me. Identifying them was my first step in dealing with the nasty little pests.

My Uptight and Out of Sight Stressors

·         Work pressures

·         Family disagreements and misunderstandings

·         Financial worries

·         Reductions in income

·         Clutter in the home, office or yard

·         Driving in traffic

·         Husband not listening

·         Crowds and noise

·         Loud TV

·         Too much TV

·         Health concerns

·         Fuzzy brain and lack of mental clarity

·         Children’s and grandchildren’s problems

·         Friend’s problems

·         Impending retirement

My Stress Busters

·         Getaway to Orcas Island

·         Swim

·         Play the piano, psaltery, or guitar

·         Write a song expressing my thoughts and emotions

·         Visit a friend

·         Visit kids and grandkids

·         Take a trip to a lake, river, or ocean beach

·         Fish

·         Canoe

·         Beachcombing

·         Visit and share music at a nursing home

·         Garden

·         Creative writing

·         Pray

·         Read

·         Meditate

·         Nap

·         Phone a friend

My stress busters aren’t necessarily in this order, but these are some of the things that relax me. As I made my list, I realized that some I haven’t done in more than a year. It’s time to get back to the simple pleasures in life instead of taking the easy way out by overeating. .

Getting in the swim of things

Swimming is one of my favorite forms of fun and exercise. It’s great with grandkids, perfectly relaxing and a wonderful stress-buster anytime.  You feel weightless, even when you’re not, it’s a natural analgesic for aching joints, and you use more calories than just sitting around. Burn up to 250 calories by walking for 30 minutes in water up to your chest while moving your arms around in the water*. My second week TOPS SMART goal was to get in the water and exercise at least 3 times a week. I loved it so much; I plan to keep it up long term.

*Data from www.discoverwalking.com/blog/burn-calories-walk-in-water.php

“Grandma, how did this get so big?”

As I walked down the hallway of our home with my 3 year old grand daughter following close behind, I felt her little hands patting both cheeks of my rear end and her inquisitive little voice asking “Grandma, how did this get so big?” Later in the day my little grandson commented “Grandma, you’re really fat.” You have to chuckle or cry at the honesty of little children. At their eye level vantage point, the jiggling immensity of my size must obliterate the view of anything else. The photo in the right side bar shows me at the biggest I ever plan to be when I joined TOPS 5-31-11. It’s all downhill from here. I plan to be a smaller, better grandma in the years to come. A 16 pound loss in the first 2 weeks at my TOPS weigh-ins is an encouraging start down the long road to goal.

The Journey Begins

It seems impossible to think of losing over half of me. I’ve tried and failed time after time, on program after program, yet here I am, back on the weight loss band wagon again.

While the doctor has a long term goal for me that seems as insurmountable as climbing Mt. Everest, my short term goals are simpler, SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) little steps  as recommended by Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS).

To help with accountability, my local TOPS group has us put our personal weekly SMART goal in writing during the meeting, and then gives us recognition if we achieve the goal by the following week.

I decided my 1^st week SMART goal was to memorize the TOPS pledge. I printed it out on little slips of paper, and placed them in the car, on my desk at work and home, in the bathroom, and the kitchen. I put the words to music and sang them. I meditated on them, I let them sink into the depths of my psyche and challenge my way of thinking.

It starts with, “I am an intelligent person”. Sometimes I feel like I’ve got all my marbles intact, other times I feel like a total nincompoop. I found this affirmation hard to say at times. I have to remind myself that while I may not be the brightest bulb in the vanity, God designed me with a brain to meet every challenge I would ever face in life. OK, I can make myself say it and believe it. “I AM an intelligent person”.

The next phrase is, “I will control my emotions and not let my emotions control me”. Now this is a huge challenge for me. I’ve long known that I’m an emotional eater.  The only way I could say this part so that I could believe it was to add my own preface to the sentence, “with the help of God.”

The following 3 pledge items really sent me into self examination as I committed them to memory. “Every time I am tempted to use food to satisfy my frustrated desires, build up my injured ego, or dull my senses…” Yep, that’s me with a huge history that shows on my huge frame how many times I’ve used food to deal with my frustrations, stresses, and hurts.

Finally the pledge ends with commitment to my actual plan of action. “I will remember, that even though I overeat in private, my excess poundage is there for all the world to see, I will Take Off Pounds Sensibly”. I have it memorized now. It's in my head, and working deep into my heart. A mantra, not just to recite at the beginning of a meeting, but daily, hourly, minute by minute when I need to overcome those urges and the poor eating habits that have led me to the shape I'm in today. 

TOPS PLEDGE

I am an intelligent person. I will control my emotions and not let my emotions control me. Even though I am tempted to use food to satisfy my frustrated desires, build up my injured ego or dull my senses, I will remember, even though I overeat in private, my excess poundage is there for all the world to see. I will Take Off Pounds Sensibly.