Fitness, Weight Gain and Getting off the Couch!

Hey all,
Thanks so much for the support. There definitely seemed to be something in water when I started reading other blogs and seeing I was not the only one who was having cravings! Maybe it was the moon alignment or the planets or something but whatever it was, I am glad that it has passed and I did not light up.

I was reading some posts from another quitter VJ Sleight at http://stopsmokingstayquit.blogspot.com/ and the post "Quitting is not a One Time Event" really hit home! I have been off cigarettes for almost nine months! (The 11th is the big day!) Its easy to forget that every little accomplishment creates a situation where even if I have a really strong urge, I know it will eventually go away! Just knowing that I can get through things without lighting up a cigarette is a miracle that is easy to take for granted! I cannot afford to take this gift for granted...its too easy to go back to active addiction so I continue to blog about it which brings me to my next topic....Weight gain and fitness (or lack thereof) after quitting. I must say, I feel like VJ is writing topics especially for me and I have been on her blog a lot! Her last post, Weight Gain Tied to Emotional Issues when Quitting Smoking almost made me fall off my computer chair! I mean, I definitely wasn't going to fall off my treadmill! Anyway, in that same post, VJ stated, "Quitters will often replace food as a source of comfort just like they had been using their cigarettes. With each emotion is an emotional need that needs to be addressed instead of covering it up with a substance." Now when I first read that, I was like ,"Oh hell no!" and I did not want to admit that some of the additional eating could be happening to cover emotions or to fill up what most addicts of one thing or another call "that feeling of emptiness" When I started looking at this level of weight gain honestly, I have to address two things: I am partly eating to deal with emotions and what I am choosing to eat is not what I would call a nutritionally sound diet! I mean, how healthy can the .99 cent cheeseburger at McDonalds be anyway?

I am looking for others bloggers who are working on a fitness plan as a I need one! Anyone who knows some good support sites, let me know. The online support thing seems to work for me! For the record....and its an ugly record but I have to get honest here: I have gained about 35 pounds since I quit smoking and I was not small to start with! I mean, I am carrying around the extra weight of a toddler! I am started to get concerned! I told Christine O. that I wanted to join the weigh-in on Fridays because her "Summer of Me slim down" fitness and exercise contest seemed so cool! I wish I would have been ready to get ummmm "moving" earlier in the summer!

Lets just say, whether or not I am ready, it is going to happen. For those of you who do not know, I signed up for a fitness camp in Nashville, Tenn and I will be there for two weeks starting on the 16th. I will be moving A LOTand eating healthy nutritious food whether I like it or not! I will definitely be getting off the couch as the fit camp staff comes and picks you up at your hotel and takes you to the gym twice a day!
Gotta run,
Peace
Diva

Trip Up Tuesday

Ok, here I am...no trimmer but it is Tuesday so here goes:

Weight:

• Too much to say right now. I have made the decision to call Jenny Craig as my lifestyle is really too hetic to cook/prepare all meals for myself. If I want to really want to be in control, I need to give the control to someone else. I need someone to prepare meals for me at least until the end of the semester, which is in June. Between looking for work, working extra hours tutoring etc. I simply do not have the time, energy or desire to cook for myself. Hopefully by being honest about it and formulating a plan for getting low fat meals will help me with my wieght loss goals.

Diet:

• I really have chilled on eating out as much as usual and the fast food has come off the menu as a mainstay. I have only eaten at a fast food restaurnat about once or twice a week which is a MAJOR improvement for me! I must say the fact that they feed me twice a week at the group home is an improvement over driving through the drive through. I still need to work on portion control. I also did buy food and have been bringing my lunch to work every day for about two weeks now. I only get to eat what I pack so it has been good.

Exercise:

• Does walking from the car into the shopping center count? I have been getting no real exercise but my goal is to get a pedmeter thingy. I have a watch that measures a bunch of stuff like calories burned, steps taken etc. and its still in the box so I would say its time to take it out and read the directions so I can use it.

Goals:

• Go back to Jenny. (I have lost weight there before) Analyize lifestyle triggers and map out of plan of what I want to accomplish. My goal is to make an appointment for Friday and begin the program Sunday.

STILL LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB AND OTHER THINGS

Hey there all...
I have been super busy looking for another job! I have faxed out over 30 resumes and cover letters and am following up by mail. I am also tutoring twice a week so my time is really limited! I sat sat down and wrote for the fun of it last night when I posted and it was really cool! Stuff came to me that I have not thought about in years!

Anyway, as far as fitness, I took my beautiful Siamese cat Yoda to the vet. She kind of has an eating disorder! She is a HUGE almost 20 lb cat that freaks out if food is not in her bowl. I met a really sweet guy who is a vet in one of my smoking classes and her recommended a special diet for her. She gets to eat and the food is super low-fat/calorie. I am in the process of doing 50/50 split between this food and her old "low calorie" food until I can more her to that food completely. He told me that when you restrict an older cats food too much they can have system failure so he wants her to try and lose weight this method first. When I took her in, the vet was super sweet. He told me that Yoda was going to be fine and he would work with me to help her lose the weight so she would be more healthy. I was really sad when he told me he was smoking again.

I really did not think this guy would be telling me he picked up the habit again. I mean, he was like the model ex-smoker from the class! I offered to meet him at the class (as we can all pop back in when we are feeling weak) and I showed up but he didn't. I was feeling kind of week and was stressed so smoking was kind of sounding good on some level. I guess it was good that I went! The topic of the class was "Smoking and Stress" and it was taught by a sub and not the instructor I am used to. The topic made me realize that I was dealing with stress not so much the desire to smoke. Then I saw all the new people, some with freshly applied nicotine patchs on! I remembered the feeling of wanting to jump out of my own skin and it brought me right back to the beginning of this journey! I do not want to begin the quitting process again and I definitely do not want to revisit the "Kicking nicotine" part of this whole ordeal. It is way easier to stay quit than to quit again!

Anyway, as for my fitness goals, I am going to call Jenny Craig this week. I have done better in terms of eating but I am going to need a bit of help when it comes to eating the right amount of calories and fat. I mean if the cat can be on a weight loss program, so can I! I gotta go so I can take a shower and mail out those resumes. Hopefully I will get a job by the end of this semester.
Peace,
Diva

BLOGGER IS TRIPPING!!!

Speaking of Fitness,I just Read a Great Bob Greene Article....

Hi there all....The first blog I posted on this same subject said it was Saturday March 22, 2008! Today is Thursday March 27 so I really think my page is tripping! Blogger is being really difficult! I cannot save posts and I am reposting this because of formatting issues! Anyone know what is going on with it?

I was just read an excerpt from Bob Greene (Oprah's Trainer) about his on-line The Best Life Diet and I am going to post the whole excerpt because I could SO relate: "Quitting smoking while you're dieting may seem like a form of torture. After all, how many bad habits can you be expected to change at once? And, why would you want to quit when you know that smoking can help keep weight off: It revs your metabolism and dulls hunger. But you can achieve the same weight-loss results with healthier habits, like eating well and exercising. And believe it or not, kicking the habit now can actually make hitting your goal weight even easier. I know, you're probably skeptical, but let's take a look at exercise. If you're a smoker, you may have a difficult time working out at a vigorous pace--thanks to all that wheezing and huffing and puffing. (You can blame this on congested lungs and a diminished capacity of your blood to deliver oxygen throughout your body.) That means you're probably not reaping the full calorie-burning benefits of exercise. Kick the habit, though, and you'll allow your lungs to heal. The result: Working out becomes easier, and you'll burn more calories.Your diet is also affected by smoking. Cigarettes and nicotine have been shown to make food less palatable. If you stop smoking, you'll be able to truly enjoy the flavor of fruits and veggies, lean protein and whole grains."

I am glad that I quit smoking (For Today) and am one step closer to living a healthier, happier and more fulfilling life! I am supposed to go weigh in at my friend's school tomorrow and join their "Biggest Loser" type program! I have given myself this weekend to eat pretty much what I want and then by Tuesday, its time to begin a new diet and exercise program. I did exactly what I did with smoking.....I set a "quit date" and since am I am feeling really under the weather, next week sounds good to me. Besides, I am really scared to see the number on the scale! One of my students recently saw a picture of me when I was 27 and I weighed about 125 pounds and was in really good shape. They kept asking if that was really me. I started wondering, did the cigarettes or bad eating age me or is that just life? Well, Tuesday will come quickly enough!
I think I am going to drop in to my "Stop Smoking Clinic" today and let talk to the new people/old people still showing up for support and the facillitor who has been really helpful. Hope everyone is doing well.
Peace,
Diva

Speaking of Fitness,I just Read a Great Bob Greene Article....

Hi there all....
I was just read an excerpt from Bob Greene (Oprah's Trainer) about his on-line The Best Life Diet and I am going to post the whole excerpt because I could SO relate: "Quitting smoking while you're dieting may seem like a form of torture. After all, how many bad habits can you be expected to change at once? And, why would you want to quit when you know that smoking can help keep weight off: It revs your metabolism and dulls hunger. But you can achieve the same weight-loss results with healthier habits, like eating well and exercising. And believe it or not, kicking the habit now can actually make hitting your goal weight even easier. I know, you're probably skeptical, but let's take a look at exercise. If you're a smoker, you may have a difficult time working out at a vigorous pace--thanks to all that wheezing and huffing and puffing. (You can blame this on congested lungs and a diminished capacity of your blood to deliver oxygen throughout your body.) That means you're probably not reaping the full calorie-burning benefits of exercise. Kick the habit, though, and you'll allow your lungs to heal. The result: Working out becomes easier, and you'll burn more calories.Your diet is also affected by smoking. Cigarettes and nicotine have been shown to make food less palatable. If you stop smoking, you'll be able to truly enjoy the flavor of fruits and veggies, lean protein and whole grains."

I am glad that I quit smoking (For Today) and am one step closer to living a healthier, happier and more fulfilling life! I am supposed to go weigh in at my friend's school tomorrow and join their "Biggest Loser" type program! I have given myself this weekend to eat pretty much what I want and then by Tuesday, its time to begin a new diet and exercise program. I did exactly what I did with smoking.....I set a "quit date" and since am I am feeling really under the weather, next week sounds good to me. Besides, I am really scared to see the number on the scale! One of my students recently saw a picture of me when I was 27 and I weighed about 125 pounds and was in really good shape. They kept asking if that was really me. I started wondering, did the cigarettes or bad eating age me or is that just life? Well, Tuesday will come quickly enough! I think I am going to drop in to my "Stop Smoking Clinic" today and let talk to the new people/old people still showing up for support and the facillitor. Hope everyone is doing well.

Peace,
Diva

PS: Why is Blogger not saving posts? My autosave keeps failing me!