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If only I had stuck with it

While we were in Los Angeles this last weekend we went to visit Paul's cousin Emily (Hi Emily!), her husband Nick, and their daughter Kate. She had asked me how the exercise was going and I told her that it was hard but I needed to stick it out. We ended up talking about all of the things we've started but quit somewhere along the way. And I started thinking about what it would be like if I'd just stuck to weight watchers or an exercise routine or any of the things I've started that would have had me looking and feeling better by now.
There's a book by Malcolm Gladwell called "Outliers". Gladwell talks about a study by Anders Ericsson that shows most people that have mastered a skill have had to spend 10,000 in their life up to that point practicing and working on that skill. I've always considered this relevant to my career but I've never really related it to my weight loss goals.

But now I am. If I want to not only improve and succeed at taking care of myself not only for now but for the rest of my life, I have to commit to the time. This has always been a point of contention for me. I hate tracking what I eat and I hate having to write anything down. Obviously I prefer just omitting food groups and having pretty basic limitations. But I don't think that's going to work. Obviously.

After a four day calorie fest in California it's time to throw in the towel and start counting calories. I'm not going to weight watch anymore, but I will be tracking what I eat and trying to stay within a calorie range. More on this to come.

In other news, I'm doing well on the challenge so far. I didn't set aside time for actual exercise while on vacation but I'm sure I've walked more in the last four days than I do in a whole month. So I think it counts. Today I went to Bikram yoga and it was rather challenging. I'm not flexible. I think this is something I need to accept before I'm going to enjoy these classes more.

How are you all doing on the challenge?
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Comments

  1. 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 BabyMay 13, 2010 at 9:08 AM

    So, are you still doing WW? How has that beein working for you? I'm thinking of finding the point book and using it, but I can't get to the meetings.

    Do you have a source?

    ReplyDelete
  2. 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 BabyMay 13, 2010 at 9:08 AM

    So, are you still doing WW? How has that beein working for you? I'm thinking of finding the point book and using it, but I can't get to the meetings.

    Do you have a source?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bethany Schweitzer GoshornMay 13, 2010 at 9:17 AM

    I am not still doing it, but I know you can buy journals that you can track for 3 months at a time in. I don't think you have to go to the meetings to buy one. The nearest center I know of is Cedar Hills. You'd have to look up the meeting times on their website to find out when it's open.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ShelliceMay 13, 2010 at 2:53 PM

    Hey Bethany - what "diet" or routine that you've done has made you the happiest? Weight Watchers? Exercising? Yoga? Vegetarian? Etc. Then that's the one you should do again :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bethany Schweitzer GoshornMay 13, 2010 at 7:20 PM

    the easiest has been the vegetarian. the best one with the healthiest results has been weight watchers, but it's difficult to keep up on it because it costs so much for one and because you have to write down absolutely everything you eat and I hate having to spend the time obsessing over my food. I think the exercising is probably the best thing I could do for myself regardless of whether it gets me the results I want.

    ReplyDelete

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