You Haven’t Tried Everything, So Don’t Lie!
Posted on 10/18/2011 by dsjohndrow
I keep on seeing “I tried everything posts!” Oh yeah? I don’t believe it. What you are saying is everything YOU HAVE tried has failed. The fact is this, lots of folks get skinny and I am on my way to success too.
I am pretty sure that you haven’t eaten an ox from a box or a dog in the fog. And it’s doubtful that you have eaten an egg with your leg. Sorry, I was reading Dr. Seuss to my little one.
Here are some things I have tried.
-1 Instead of giving up everything, I just started to add good stuff to my diet (what I eat, not what I do). Today, for example, instead of having a hamburger for lunch which I do on occasion, I bought a package of Morning Star Chik’n patties. I made it with a bun, a slice of tomato, onion, and Swiss cheese topped with a ½ teaspoon of Honey Mustard. Score! Only 312 Calories, too.
-2 Do more things to burn calories. I really do park far from the door. I laugh my butt off at the YMCA watching displays of road-rage over the front row of parking spaces so they have a shorter walk to the treadmill. I always take the stairs (yes, I got stuck in an elevator once, but that is not why). I have a push lawn mower, I bike to the store for a few things, I stand and cut my veggies and fruit instead of buying them, and I dance with my kid instead of watching TV. It’s not pretty, I will admit that, but I am dressed.
-3 Shop smart! If you need to use an interior aisle in the grocery store or supermarket, it is probably processed (and the security cameras are aimed there too in case you are short on cash)! Fruits, veggies, fresh meat, fish, produce, dairy, and fresh bakery are just about always found on the perimeter aisles. Skip the canned foods, cereal, cookies and pet food aisles – you’ll be glad you did.
-4 Size matters, but no one ever talks about it. We are a family of two adults and one child. The older ones are now on their own and took the damn pretzels and Pepsi with them! It is hard to buy anything that is a good size for us. Me, I hate to have the same thing two days in a row if I can help it. So we freeze stuff: cold cuts, cheese, meat, fish, poultry, lunches, dinners, and one time even the cat, but that was an accident. We use lots of freezer bags. We also buy nuts in bulk and keep the plastic jars for other stuff like Barbie shoes.
We have small plates, and super small tubs for packing lunch in.
-5 Off limits eating. Only eat at the table; not while cooking, or sitting in the living room. And come on, not in the bedroom, someone is going to have to sleep on those cracker crumbs! Can’t you think of something else to do in your bedroom?
-6 TV Aerobics: If you watch an hour of TV a day, you get about 12 minutes of commercials. Instead of going to the kitchen for a snack during a commercial, do some squats, leg raises, push ups, sit up, planks or just stand up and walk around. If you watch 2, you can fit in a small cardio workout. And if you watch 3 hours a night, you should get a stationary bike or treadmill.
-7 Get a Dog that needs walking!
So tell us, other than weighing yourself after doing a #2, what have you tried to make the scale go down?
Thanks in advance for the votes and comments! You guys and gals have been amazing!
Feel free to friend me. I'm not sure you'll be glad you did, but try it anyway - just be sure to send one with a message. :)
Feel free to friend me. I'm not sure you'll be glad you did, but try it anyway - just be sure to send one with a message. :)
It didn't go well.
You know how in the movie Up the dogs have a cone of shame? Well they hated it so much, we now have a harness of shame.
I try to always move. I have a desk job in a doctor's office and when ever I have ask them a question, which requires me to stand outside the exam room door and wait until they are finished, I do walk squats, knee lifts, toe touches, anything that makes me move. The other girls tease me, but I point out that my weight loss plan is working and ask how theirs is going. Every single one of them eat the worse food and never move and then complain that they don't understand why they keep gaining weight...
The 'I have tried EVERYTHING' is very similar to the 'It's always in the last place you look' sentiment.
Kudos to you and your blogs!!!!
Great blog once again. :-)
We did that to my sil's cat! I opened the freezer on the side by side for something and Clyde slipped in unnoticed. The other cat, Cleo, was having a fit in a little while, meowing and walking back and forth in front of the fridge. Finally, I opened the freezer door and there was Clyde! Silly cat.
We have similar issues with food packaging. I buy the larger, family sized meats and divide them into small amounts in freezer bags. I also cut whole chickens in half when they are on sale and not frozen. I make large batches of soups and freeze in different sized containers. Small ones for one serving or larger ones for two. I've got home made, low salt, pasta sauce in the freezer too--again in portions just right for 3. Its just hubby and me but then there is enough for him to take for a lunch for work the next day. We also use the smaller plates like you said. The lunch plates sure make it look like a lot more food than the regular dinner plates! And really, smaller servings are better for us, we know that, right?
Great blog, btw!
2. I have a clerical job so at the moment I spend entirely too much time sitting (has landed me in PT). I'm bribing the guys in Maintenance (with brownies, ironically enough) to build me a riser for my keyboard and monitor, to let me stand instead of sit. Will make a huge difference. Also I've started working at a stand-up workstation close to my area whenever possible.
We have to want it and go after it.
Keep pushing forward.
The Cat.. is PETA on this site??
Nothing works if you sabotage the plan. Eat less, move more. Pretty much everyone will lose if they do that enough. The fact is, you have to be honest with yourself.
More people need to read this!
Lacto-Paleo all the way, for my whole family. Even eating bacon for breakfast, I end up at 1500-1800 calories a day, and I'm only counting carbs (under 100 per day since I want to lose weight fast).
For 250 calories, I can have a granola bar, or 6 slices of bacon. No contest; and no insulin spike.
When I have lost all the weight I want to, I'll go up to 200 carbs for maintenance - and probably not need to bother counting it much.
@nanodot: Right there with ya, and that's a lifestyle I would never have tried if my doctor hadn't told me I needed to, for my particular metabolism. But it works!
@dsjohn: awesome article, as usual. I need to remember #2; I work on the fourth floor, imagine how many calories I would burn just by pretending the elevator is broken... These always make me laugh, I really appreciate that!