Developing the post-Thanksgiving plan
I have committed media consumption outside my budget, by which I mean that I bought stuff yesterday which, by rights, I shouldn't be purchasing for myself until after Christmas when I'm assured that I've bought everyone else's gifts. I really, really, really wanted to have Superman Returns on DVD the minute it was available, though (I have a great soft spot for well-done superhero movies), and while I was at it I picked up something called Get Ripped! with Jari Love, which according to some reviews was supposed to be like BodyPump. I have never taken a BodyPump class, but I've heard of them often. I watched the workout this morning without partaking, on the theory that if I didn't feel up to doing exercise I could at least keep my brain on it, and it looks murderous, but do-able. Nothing obviously annoying about it, which is very important to me in an exercise DVD. I'm planning to give it a whirl tonight; I'll report in on how things went.
Both the strength-training DVD and the yoga DVD have a significant cardio thing going on, so I'm thinking that I may interchange the two for six days a week in the future. On the seventh day I'll either rest or go jogging... although, granted, the abnormally warm weather in Chicago is about to come to a screeching halt, so jogging may wait for summer.
I appear to have hit my three-year healthy-living anniversary at some point in the past week and completely forgot about it. A lot changes in three years. What we eat these days is completely different from what we used to. The amount we go out to eat has plummetted. The amount of pre-prepped food that we buy has likewise plummetted. We're both comfortable enough with the concepts of good-for-us food to throw something together out of what we've got in the kitchen, and what we've got in the kitchen is generally good stuff. And, best of all, my Hub has been exercising and eating right for almost three months now. Incredible.
I told my doctor that I wanted to get off the Zoloft and she advised that I wait until spring, so that I don't get walloped by the seasonal darkness. (Note: working from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM means that we actually get a wee amount of time out in sunlight in the mornings and in the afternoons. Changing to this schedule was SUCH a good idea.) So currently the plan is to call her in the spring and check in, and then switch to a full pill one day, half the next, and alternate accordingly for a while, then drop down to half-pills only, then eventually go off altogether. Eeee.
I love my doctor, by the way. I have to say that every year, because she is just the absolute best. She is small and wide-eyed and adorable and smart as hell, and we always have a good laugh at all my appointments. I told her about my Hub's sudden attack of wellness, and she was delighted. She suspects that he may be gearing up for eventual fatherhood by getting his act together. Hmm. Possibly. I don't understand what's in his head most of the time, but then again, neither does he.
Me, I'm unabashedly doing this in preparation for parenthood. I heard a doctor say once, regarding obesity, "Nature may load the gun, but nurture pulls the trigger." I've never been clear on what genetics are at work where the extra weight on me and my Hub is concerned, but obviously whatever we've got is no match for bad habits and a crummy environment for health. We've ducked a lot of the environmental issues lately by dropping cable TV and barely watching broadcast, thus missing a majority of the commercials. What remains is the home environment that we create, and I want that to be as healthy as possible when we bring kids into the equation. I don't want to be weird and militant, I don't want to roller-coaster back and forth from diet food to junk food, I just want healthy food and exercise to be part of what the kids take for granted as being how our family operates.
It has occurred to me that getting off the sugar-- and, as much as I can, the caffeine-- before getting off Zoloft is a good idea. As far as I can tell, those two things put stress on my body and are just extra dependencies; I'd like to be in as good a state as possible when I go off Zoloft, since theoretically that would make it easier on me. I'm already barely ever drinking alcohol; I had wine at a friend's house last week and that was the first time in more than a month. It's a monklike diet we've got going here, and I'm still sort of stunned that we've adjusted to it so well.
Also stunning: apparently the five pounds are staying gone. Even in the middle of PMS, the scale hasn't gone up past the five-pounds-gone mark. Wacky. This is the slowest I've ever lost weight, but it's also the easiest. No pressure, no rush, no sense of trying, no expectations. I don't know if I could have managed this at any other point in my life; I think maybe that going through all the hardcore weightloss programs and messing with your head is something that's kind of necessary, just to get to the point where you're tired of the bullshit and just want something you can live with.
Both the strength-training DVD and the yoga DVD have a significant cardio thing going on, so I'm thinking that I may interchange the two for six days a week in the future. On the seventh day I'll either rest or go jogging... although, granted, the abnormally warm weather in Chicago is about to come to a screeching halt, so jogging may wait for summer.
I appear to have hit my three-year healthy-living anniversary at some point in the past week and completely forgot about it. A lot changes in three years. What we eat these days is completely different from what we used to. The amount we go out to eat has plummetted. The amount of pre-prepped food that we buy has likewise plummetted. We're both comfortable enough with the concepts of good-for-us food to throw something together out of what we've got in the kitchen, and what we've got in the kitchen is generally good stuff. And, best of all, my Hub has been exercising and eating right for almost three months now. Incredible.
I told my doctor that I wanted to get off the Zoloft and she advised that I wait until spring, so that I don't get walloped by the seasonal darkness. (Note: working from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM means that we actually get a wee amount of time out in sunlight in the mornings and in the afternoons. Changing to this schedule was SUCH a good idea.) So currently the plan is to call her in the spring and check in, and then switch to a full pill one day, half the next, and alternate accordingly for a while, then drop down to half-pills only, then eventually go off altogether. Eeee.
I love my doctor, by the way. I have to say that every year, because she is just the absolute best. She is small and wide-eyed and adorable and smart as hell, and we always have a good laugh at all my appointments. I told her about my Hub's sudden attack of wellness, and she was delighted. She suspects that he may be gearing up for eventual fatherhood by getting his act together. Hmm. Possibly. I don't understand what's in his head most of the time, but then again, neither does he.
Me, I'm unabashedly doing this in preparation for parenthood. I heard a doctor say once, regarding obesity, "Nature may load the gun, but nurture pulls the trigger." I've never been clear on what genetics are at work where the extra weight on me and my Hub is concerned, but obviously whatever we've got is no match for bad habits and a crummy environment for health. We've ducked a lot of the environmental issues lately by dropping cable TV and barely watching broadcast, thus missing a majority of the commercials. What remains is the home environment that we create, and I want that to be as healthy as possible when we bring kids into the equation. I don't want to be weird and militant, I don't want to roller-coaster back and forth from diet food to junk food, I just want healthy food and exercise to be part of what the kids take for granted as being how our family operates.
It has occurred to me that getting off the sugar-- and, as much as I can, the caffeine-- before getting off Zoloft is a good idea. As far as I can tell, those two things put stress on my body and are just extra dependencies; I'd like to be in as good a state as possible when I go off Zoloft, since theoretically that would make it easier on me. I'm already barely ever drinking alcohol; I had wine at a friend's house last week and that was the first time in more than a month. It's a monklike diet we've got going here, and I'm still sort of stunned that we've adjusted to it so well.
Also stunning: apparently the five pounds are staying gone. Even in the middle of PMS, the scale hasn't gone up past the five-pounds-gone mark. Wacky. This is the slowest I've ever lost weight, but it's also the easiest. No pressure, no rush, no sense of trying, no expectations. I don't know if I could have managed this at any other point in my life; I think maybe that going through all the hardcore weightloss programs and messing with your head is something that's kind of necessary, just to get to the point where you're tired of the bullshit and just want something you can live with.
posted by Meg at
8:41 AM
1 Comments:
Meg,
I wish I worked in publishing, because I'd be offering you a book deal right now. Such clear, compelling writing, such common sense. And it's great to have you back & blogging regularly.
All the best!
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Anonymous, at 2:03 AM
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