May 18, 2016

Week 40 Weigh-in (and a change to Wed. Weigh-ins)

I'm back! While I did miss you all, I had a really nice week off of the internet. I didn't realize how refreshing it would be--for the most part, I enjoy writing in my blog, but sometimes, I need to just do things without worrying about taking pictures for the blog, or what I'm going to write about. For the last couple of days, though, I was ready to get back to writing. Even though I've been super busy this week, I felt very strange not blogging.

I've done a lot of thinking this week, and I decided to make a change in my weigh-ins. Since I've been going to therapy, I've been working on discovering what contributes to my anxiety--and one of the things that I hadn't realized was having a big effect was actually my weigh-ins. I like the weigh-ins, because they help me feel accountable, and I think that if I stop doing them completely, my weight might get out of control again.

When I was trying to lose weight, I loved weighing in on Wednesdays, because it was fun to see the losses add up each week; but now that I'm trying to maintain my weight (my goal is to stay at or below my "goal weight" of 133), the actual number itself isn't really anything to look forward to. Each week that I stay under 133, I feel like I'm successful, and I am happy with the weigh-in.

Now, in maintenance, even though I'm still five pounds under my goal weight, I was starting to let the weigh-ins affect my attitude on Mondays and Tuesdays, even if it wasn't a conscious effort. If a friend wanted to go out to lunch on Tuesday, for example, I would have anxiety about it because I knew I had to weigh in on Wednesday, and restaurant food always makes my weight go up a little (just from sodium).

Last week, Becky (my sister-in-law) came over for wine on Tuesday night, and I was worried about what that would do for my weigh-in the following morning--when I really shouldn't have been worried about that, because the wine fit into my calories just fine. Calorically, I can fit restaurant food and wine into my week, and it won't affect my overall weight; but the morning weight following those things reflects the previous day or two. (By the way, I am not saying that I have a *reason* to feel anxious over it--I know it's unreasonable. But that's what I'm working on.)

So, I started trying to think of a solution that still keeps me accountable, but doesn't cause that "Monday and Tuesday anxiety" I feel about my weigh-ins. At first, I thought maybe I could switch to monthly weigh-ins, but I think that might get out of control (I'd tried that in the past). Then I thought maybe I could just write whether I was "above goal" "at goal" or "below goal" to take the focus off the exact number (I wish there were scales that would do that! You would input a goal weight, and it would simply tell you whether you are at-, above- or below-goal); but I think doing that on my own is actually too vague for me right now. I feel like I need to post a number periodically.

I have an app on my phone called Happy Scale that keeps track of my "moving average" weight--it's a little confusing, but I'm starting to understand it better. On any given day, it looks at the past 10 days of weight logged and averages those weights. That way, one particular bad day or "that time of the month" or whatever doesn't "ruin" a weigh-in.

I really like that idea--inputing my weight into the app daily, and then on Wednesday, posting my "moving average" weight, which is the average weight of the last 10 days. It will keep me accountable by posting numbers, but I won't feel that pressure on Wednesday mornings to have my best weight of the week, if that makes sense.

I don't know how well this will work, so I'll do it as a trial for a couple of weeks and see what happens. If it makes my eating get out of control, then I'll go back to posting my Wednesday weight; but I think this seems like a good solution to have that accountability I need while not causing me to stress over the Wednesday weigh-ins. And my week will be more consistent. (If I was still trying to lose weight, I think I'd want to post a weekly weight; but this seems like a much better idea for maintenance, when my weight won't have drastic changes from week to week--at least I hope not!)

This week, my weight varied from 126.6 to 130.8, but my moving average is 128.3. I weighed in at 128.4 last Wednesday, so I'm happy with today's "moving average" weight. My calories were very similar to last week, at 2,122 per day on average. I'm happy with how the week went!

Here is a graph of this past week (the blue dots show my weight on each day, and the blue line is the average. I like that it shows my "maintenance weight" at 133 (the orange line), so I can visually see that my weight was under my maintenance weight all week. That makes me feel like I am on track with what I'm doing.




I don't really understand how this stuff is calculated, though. Below, it says my "lost all time" is 123 pounds, but at my current weight today, it should be 125. And it says I gained 0.2 in 7 days, which is calculated based on the average moving weight and not current weight, so it's kind of confusing. It will take some getting used to, I think, but I do like being able to see the trends--I'm up almost 4 pounds from 90 days ago, which isn't too terrible, but being able to monitor that can help keep it from getting out of control.


I do have to pat myself on the back, though, for doing so well with maintenance this time around! I'm very close to where I was 90 days ago, and also to when I reached my "official" goal in November, so I'm thrilled with that.

I like that I can set my objective to maintain, and I can choose a "high weight" that I want to stay under (in my case, it's 133). This is a nice idea for maintenance! If you are trying to lose weight, the options are a little different.


Anyway, this is a cool app that I think will be helpful, if I can just get used to the moving average idea. I like that it takes the focus off of one particular weigh in, and shows the full picture instead.


I think I mentioned that in therapy, I'm working on focusing on the present and not on the future so much. Since I always tend to make big goal and focus on the end (like a race or a goal weight or something big like that), I miss out on all the things going on in the present. I also feel kind of lost once the goal is over with, so focusing on the present will help me from feeling the "let down" that I get after a big goal.

Instead of working on an end goal right now, I'm trying to come up with things that I can focus on today. I ask myself, "What can I do today to make me feel good?" And as far as my health goes, that involves running per my schedule and keeping my eating in check. I'm not worried about tomorrow, or next week, or the fact that I'm in "maintenance" mode for the forseeable future--but just today. I'm going to do what's best for me today, and if I continue to have that attitude daily, then my future should look pretty good. (This is hard to explain! Haha, but it makes sense in my head.)

One thing that I decided to try this week may sound completely ridiculous, but I have a good reason for it--I'm going to do my hair and make-up and get dressed in "real" clothes (no yoga pants! ha) every day for a week. I always feel so much better when I take the time to make myself look decent. Instead of waiting until late morning to run, I'm doing it as early as I'm able to (depending on the kids' schedule) and then showering and getting ready for the day.

8:00 AM this morning: post-run, -shower, -hair, and -make-up
I can't even describe how much better I feel throughout the whole day! It's something so simple, and it really only takes less than 45 minutes from the time I get in the shower to the time I'm done with my hair and make-up, so there is no reason not to do it. Yesterday, I had a bunch of errands to run, and I actually wouldn't have ducked behind a shelf if I'd run into someone I knew ;) I always admire people who look "put together" all the time, because I just never take the time to do it. And even if I don't have plans to leave the house all day, I really do feel much better about myself when I take that extra time in my appearance.

Over the weekend, I started a project I'd been thinking of for a long time--redecorating my bedroom! I don't have much extra money to put into redecorating right now, so this is going to be a long, drawn-out project on a tight budget, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. Over the weekend, I started by painting my bedroom furniture.

When Jerry and I got married, we used some of our wedding gift money to furnish our house. We bought a really nice solid oak bedroom set--a headboard, footboard, and rails for our bed; a dresser; and two nightstands. The furniture is extremely heavy and has held up really well over the years, but it looks outdated and frankly, I'm tired of it. Since the quality of it is really good, I decided just to paint the furniture and put some new drawer pulls on it.

I'm super bummed that I forgot to take before and after pictures of all of it! The only one I did was the nightstands. On Saturday, I hauled them out to the garage and spent the entire day sanding, priming, and painting. By the end of the day, they looked like completely different nightstands!

I love the new look, and it made our bedroom look so much brighter instantaneously. On Sunday, I continued with the dresser and bed frame. Here is an after pic of the headboard:


As I continue to do more with the bedroom, I'll try to remember to do before and after photos to share. Like I said, it's going to be a very long project, because there is a LOT that has to be done (we need new carpet, which may have to wait until next year). I've been looking through DIY stuff on Pinterest, and there are SO many great ideas! It's almost overwhelming. But it's fun to work on :)

24 comments:

  1. Love the idea of the "moving average" weight!

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  2. I love how much a new coat of paint can freshen up household items!

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  3. Great post! I'm interested to see how the new app goes over the next few weeks. Sounds like it might be a good tool for my boyfriend (he weighs daily already). Love the new paint on the night stands!

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  4. I missed your blogs this week. I've been a daily reader for four or five years now and your story is so inspirational! I really appreciate that you are so open about your anxiety, as I suffer from anxiety too and it affects my weight loss. Thanks for blogging!

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  5. Other than the anxiety around the weigh-in's, I really liked the vibe your writing gave off in this post, haha if that makes any sense... you just seem happy :)
    As a stay at home mom, I totally know the yoga pants slump, and am guilty of it everyday, but I do try to do my hair and makeup, and it does make a difference when I do.
    Looooove the furniture, and I too find the DIY stuff on Pinterest overwhelming, and have plans to do every single thing I pin - HAHA!

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  6. Have fun redecorating! It's incredible how much improving your living space can lift your mood :) xo Kelly http://lazygirlsguidetofitnessandbeauty.blogspot.com/

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  7. I love the Happy Scale app, for the reasons you mention in the last paragraph. It takes so much of the anxiety out of it, so I can actually focus on healthy behaviors and choices and longer-term strategies.

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  8. I love working on one day at a time, especially when it comes to healthier eating-- it seems so much more manageable to me. The furniture turned out beautifully!

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  9. The Happy Scale app sounds great for when I reach my goal. What I do now is weigh daily and then take the lowest weight for the week as my weigh in. I guess that means I have seven shots at getting my weight lower than the week before.

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  10. AnonymousMay 19, 2016

    What a great post! The furniture looks so fresh and updated. Sometimes when I read your blog I feel like you are in my own head! I too have Wednesday weigh ins and stress over any events that happen prior to that weigh in day. I'm in maitainence right now-can't wait to hear more thoughts on the app, I will have to check it out.

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  11. Getting dressed every day reminds me of the show "What Not to Wear" - do you remember that show? I loved it, and I don't think it's on any longer (even re-runs).

    Love reading your blog.

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  12. Welcome back, Katie! The scale I have now kind of does what you mentioned in today's blog. You can set it to weightless mode and it doesn't give you a number, just whether you are up or down. I don't use that feature myself so I'm not sure if it's based on a target weight or your previous weigh in. I do love the scale though because it automatically syncs with its app so I don't have to manually log my weight. You can check out out here: http://www.google.com/shopping/product/10938161717024487613?lsf=seller:7815,store:8252030951806908025&prds=oid:14439512729376048220&q=weigt+gurus+wifo+scale&hl=en-US&ei=9LA9V7XsBIfjjwTUk43ACw&lsft=gclid:CjwKEAjwyPW5BRCC3JaM7qfW_FwSJACM3jz9UaOV0Vi9C4Jekrcyr0XXdu_ejpkKtcVXWtiy5Y8qJxoCaDzw_wcB

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    1. Thank you! I'm going to check it out :)

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  13. I really love this post! I think the moving average weigh-ins are a GREAT idea--I'm going to look into that when I get to a solid maintenance weight! I also love that you're focusing on the present and doing something as simple as "getting ready" every morning. I totally agree with you on that! I'm a lazy person on the weekends or any day I don't HAVE to "be presentable," but I always feel so much better about myself when I do. (And, as you mention, it lessens the anxiety of running into someone I know while I'm out, lol!)

    Welcome back!!

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  14. Hmm, I have the Happy Scale app too but I've just been weighing in once a week (I'm trying to lose weight even though the scale just isn't budging much so far). I wonder if I weigh in daily it'll be a little less discouraging? I normally don't weigh in every day because I can have one really good day and one really bad day the next and I think that's what causes my frustrations. I might just do that.

    Also, I LOVE your updated bedroom furniture! I've really been wanting to update our kitchen but ugh, the money. It really sucks sometimes. Seeing your headboard though makes me wonder if I can go to Goodwill or something and find a cheaper headboard and just update it to my needs. My husband and I still don't have a headboard after 2 years of marriage haha. Just one of those things I really want but never have the money for!

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  15. As always, I am so proud of you!! I too am in therapy, for anxiety and depression, so I admire you for sharing your journey. One of the things that I have learned from my therapist, when I start to feel guilty about doing something for myself, or something that gives me life, is to say, "This is not selfish-this is self-care." I've also been focusing a lot on Matthew 6 lately, especially verses 33 & 34, and that helps me stay in today. You go girl!!

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  16. I love the Happy Scale app and it sounds perfect for what you need!

    My mom always put on "her face" every day whether she went out or not, and even if she stayed in comfy pants and t-shirt. I also find it makes such a difference for so little time to do that. Good for you for giving it a try. I do envy your dark hair though, because you can go out without makeup and look fine. This blonde-lashed girl needs help. lol

    I also repainted our dresser for the same reasons -- outdated, but such good solid wood. Your redo looks nice! And now you have a project to work on. :)

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  17. Welcome back! I'm glad you enjoyed your week off. Your new method of staying accountable sounds like a solid plan. I know when I was doing WW my Saturday morning weigh in would completely overrule any Friday night plans, even if I had the points for it.

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  18. Loved this post...taking care of yourself in the ways you are talking about- moving weight posts, staying on the present by running as you wish, eating well, and getting ready for the day-are terrific strategies. I completely get what you are saying- that the future is built out of todays, so if today is good, so is the future!

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  19. I'm in the data analysis business. A moving average is pretty straightforward - On day 10, you average days 1-10, on day 11, you average days 2-11, on day 12, you average days 3-13, etc. So, you are always dropping one day off the average and adding one in. It is a good way to blunt the impact of an outlier and see your trend over time. Seems like a good and creative solution for you on teh weigh ins!

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  20. Hi Katie! I think changing your weigh in to your avg weight is a great idea. I track my weight in my fitbit app. Though I wish I had it independent of any app/device. And the fitbit shows me a weekly avg. I like looking at the trend of the avg, which unfortunately in my case isn't going down, but is just hovering.

    I have an off topic question: the book on the left side of the blog - the 80/20 book is the one you followed with your HR training right? I thought I added it to my amazon wish list, but I didn't. I've been pondering trying HR training, but I read I have to stay below my MAF for months. I currently run with my husband once a week (he's faster) and I don't want to give up those runs, but there's no way I can keep my HR low enough with him. Thanks!

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    1. Yes, 80/20 Running is the basic structure that I follow. I use my MAF heart rate for 80% of my running, so in that way, I sort of combined the two. But with 80/20 running, you can still do faster stuff, which keeps me from getting bored. It's a great book, and I highly recommend it! You can apply the 80/20 principle to pretty much any program and exercise.

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  21. Great post! I am too scale obsessed maintaining my WW lifetime weight so I may try this app. Also, the getting dressed "up" thing is huge. I think FlyLady.com always says "dress to shoes" to have a better day even if you're staying home.

    Lastly, I haven't read other comments so maybe it was suggested but have you ever tried Chalk Paint for furniture? (NOT chalkboard paint that kids can write on!) Annie Sloan is the best brand so you can google it and go to her site. But it does not require any sanding/priming and it often gives either a sleek, or if you prefer a "shabby chic" look to your furniture in just one step since you don't sand and prime. I'm addicted to reviving furniture with it! There are YouTube videos about doing it too but it is really hard to screw it up. Happy decorating!

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  22. This is why I weigh myself every day- I found myself getting anxious about a weekly weigh in. It's just a habit, as soon as I get up I weigh myself, take note of the number (because it's just a number!) and move on with my life. I don't get anxious if I randomly jump a pound or two and don't get smug if I randomly drop a pound or two.

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