Posts Tagged Sparkpeople
You Can Always Sail Back “Home”
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust.
Though I love to travel and see new landscapes … it’s one of my absolute favorite quotes.
In fact, this past winter, I used it in reference to going back to D.C. (I moved here to Michigan from there about three years ago).
But today, I am using it to announce that after months of agonizing and journaling solely on Sparkpeople, I am going back to my beloved Weight Watchers Points system (which more or less worked for me for the past four and a half years … any weight gain wasn’t the fault of the program but rather my lack of adherence to it).
On paper, it’s a generous program and it never made me feel like I was dieting, honestly. The disordered eating behaviors began long into maintenance; I don’t blame Weight Watchers for that.
The program taught me about portion sizes, making good choices … all things permanently ingrained in my head.
And yet even with this knowledge, I’ve been abusing my food intake on Sparkpeople … so I decided it’s time to go back to familiar territory. Especially with the newer program Weight Watchers came out with, Momentum. (more…)
11 comments May 18, 2009
A Challenging Weekend
Today’s a confessional post. No, it’s not about midnight eating — I’ve been in the clear for a while.
I am struggling with my journaling on Sparkpeople. Not the act of journaling — I’m a pro at that. But rather about a pickle I’ve gotten myself into. See, my caloric range is 1270-1570. Not terrible, provided I stick to it; it’s a perfectly acceptable range and most days, totally do-able.
I’ve discovered on WW I was eating too much to lose. I lose when I’m in the 1400-1500 range with my usual exercise (which would be basically WW target points plus a couple Flex) but the past two weeks, after a kick-ass first week back on Sparkpeople, I’ve simply not been able to get it together.
What I mean is, I had one high day two weeks ago, and I’ve been “buying calories” for the next day ever since … Technically this isn’t cheating, as I am not going above my limit for the week, but it’s cheating because I am not in my range that one day.
And I gained last week — the same 1.4 I’d lost the previous week. Sure, it could have been a fluke (I hadn’t weighed in all week and didn’t this weekend, either) but I am sure eating at the high end of my range isn’t helping me any. (more…)
20 comments February 2, 2009
Cool, Calm & Collected
Sometimes it just takes a nudge to get us moving again towards a goal.
I remember that feeling of being paralyzed about mid-way through my senior year of college.
I didn’t have a job lined up for after graduation, I
knew my then-boyfriend (now husband) was moving overseas after graduation to fulfill his military obligation in his home country, and my friends were all making their plans to spread out around the country.
I felt alone, lost and uneasy–fairly natural for most co-eds about to be tossed into the “real world.” I wanted to stay in D.C. but my internship at U.S. News & World Report wasn’t going to last past May, and even if I stayed, where would I live if all my best friends were leaving?! (more…)
9 comments January 19, 2009
… And a Bit of Rejuvenation
They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
The only time I’ve seen results in terms of weight loss was last winter/spring when I was journaling on Sparkpeople, when I was doing something “different”. Still journaling, just paying attention in a different way.
And so I see a couple reasons already why journaling on Sparkpeople, instead of Weight Watchers, is going to benefit me. (more…)
13 comments January 15, 2009
Making Lemonade Out of Lemons
So it’s no secret that I’ve gained some weight this fall/winter; I’m about 5 from where I was last summer and about 10 from my comfortable weight.
I can see it in pictures, in the mirror … it’s there, and there’s no denying it.
So before 10 becomes 15, I would like to capitalize on my hardwiring as an anxious person and use that anxiousness to make lemonade out of lemons.
I’m still a loyal online WW member and have been since 2004 … which is even more perplexing as to how I’ve gained without going over my Points — the only culprit I can think of is the wrong choices within my points, since I am still working out the same and not even eating those APs I earn.
But I digress.
I’m not here to ressurect the past, only to look ahead to what can be done going forward. Last winter/spring, I lost about 7 lbs. by continuing on WW and also journaling on Sparkpeople.com, a free weight-loss jounaling site that actually shows you the nutritional breakdown of your foods in terms of calories, fat, fiber, carbs, etc.
Now, this summer I quit Sparkpeople cold turkey because I was journaling there, plus counting Points, plus keeping a spreadsheet that would make even an accountant cringe, it was that nitty-gritty.
It was obsessive to the extremes, and it just made me more fixated on food. (more…)
9 comments January 14, 2009
