The Lard Arms

The Signs Were (Are) There...

Apologies if this is a repeat of something I have written before but repetition is the way to learn, or so it seems. (The Management book has a page on this, which I am going to find...)

Ever since my scales had stopped working, I wasn't able to chart my weight (morning and night, if I remember). Then the lodger brought hers so I started weighing myself again but had no real idea how they compared with my LLC's scales. Then I went to class and got weighed and began to see a new correlation. Then I couldn't face the weight gain at a class weigh in so I didn't go to class. Anyway, the scales have been the one and only true gauge of my progress.

Until now.

Last week, a couple of things happened to make me realise that there are other ways of understanding what's happening with my/our weight. They are obvious but sometimes the obvious needs to be hammered home.

First, I wore my running outfit to the gym. And I could see definite/distinct differences. The lodger noticed too because I had sent her photos of me in the same outfit when I was in the last stages of Development. She had been saying she didn't know where I had put on the weight, as she couldn't see it (as I was always wearing my day clothes) but when she saw me in the Nike ensemble, she could see where the extra pounds had gone. You hide it so well, she said. The regained weight is, literally, all around my middle.

Second, I wore my black M&S Autograph trousers on Friday night; the ones that had always been a bit loose on the waist. Well, they were tight! (In the same way that my Autograph skirt had been tight last Saturday.)

So, had I worn or even just tried on either of these items more recently, purchased and worn when I was at some of my lowest weights, I would have been able to confirm what I already knew - that the weight was creeping back on. Not as much as some, I know, but enough; on some days it's as much as three quarters of a stone.

So, my message is, if you don't like using the scales, use clothes. At present, I am wearing the same clothes - jeans and T-shirts day-to-day - so it's hard to tell. Other clothes that I have kept are too big (such as pyjamas) because I haven't been able to replace everything in one hit.

So, do a deal with yourself, if you can, to find a way of measuring the pounds sneaking on either with a particular item of clothing or, if you are feeling daring, by measuring yourself. Of course, if you're vigilant the pounds won't be making a guest re-appearance (!) in your life but...just in case! Remember forewarned is forearmed! xxx

LighterLife Route to Management - Tips no.4

Make time for Route to Management. A LOT OF TIME!

I am writing this as I am doing LighterLife Route to Management - Revisited!

The first time (of doing LighterLife RtM) is overwhelming on the food front. I'd forgotten just how long I hung around supermarket aisles studying labels. And for someone who has deliberately avoided shopping, this can be really hard.

My lodger reminded me that when we went to the Emirates (first time) to see Arsenal play, we were walking up and down the food halls so I could decide what I could eat. I simply wouldn't do that now.

So, given that you go from one extreme to another - no food to some food to some more food - I think it's worth allowing yourself EVEN MORE time to do the homework. Of course, when I use the work homework, I am simply referring to using the LighterLife materials that are supplied. If you discount Development, the workbooks are good.

I realise now, with the benefit of hindsight, that I could do the homework for Foundation because I wasn't spending half an hour deliberating over which prawns to buy!

So, cut yourself EVEN MORE slack and maybe clear the diary for a while. Just so you can give yourself the very best chance of success.

Route to Management is really hard in the early days - it's scary, overwhelming and confusing. So, whatever worked for you at the beginning of Foundation, try to replicate it when you start Route to Management.

LighterLife Route to Management - Tips no.3

So, back to exercise.

Thanks to Lesley, I have found a new blogger whose exercise schedule is inspirational. Take a peek at Glam Girl's blog and her bootcamp experiences. It's pretty awesome (and a bit scary)!

Now, here's an admission; yesterday, I didn't warm to visiting the gym (which is worrying since it's only the second trip..). The inner slug wanted to stay at home and eat.

Even when we got there, the thought of doing all that work...but but but my excuses had no place with Power Plate. Because, quite simply, it does the work for you. Well, not strictly speaking - you have to hold the positions, and breathe and concentrate.

The lodger aka expert friend said that she felt a bit cheated by the Power Plate because there was no sense of effort; I felt no such thing.

And the more I think about it, the more I think the Power Plate really is the VLCD (very low calorie diet) version of gym equipment. Your workout time is cut in half - at least. The results are yet to be seen (on us) but people do rave about them...

Some people are very critical of VLCDs and I did notice that some people struggled with the fact that the VLCD was 'too easy'. It goes back to conditioning and personal experience; if you associate dieting with failure and hard work, a VLCD challenges that. Ditto a Power Plate!

What I really like about the Power Plate is the fact that it's a no brainer...literally. Why did I find abstinence worked for me? Because I didn't have to think about food. It's the same with the Power Plate; I don't have to think about it. The poster is in front of us, we need to refine our technique (training session next week) but I don't have to think about all the different machines as I work out the Body Doctor's sequence.

And I wonder whether this is the same for other people who are struggling to get to the gym? It all seems too much, too overwhelming and requires too much thought?

So, if the insane chatter starts taking over in the gym, that means there must be some crooked thinking going on so I went back to the LighterLife Route to Management book. Does it have the answers? Well, it does pose some questions:

What are your first memories of doing exercise or a physical activity (PE, ballet, riding your bike)?

Where were you?

Who were you with?

What were other people saying about you?

Were you comparing yourself with other people?

How did you feel while you were doing this?

What were the messages in your family about exercise and activity?

What were your experiences in school of sports, activity and exercise?

What exercise or activity did you most enjoy?

What exercise or activity did you least enjoy?

Do you recognise some of your Parent or Child messages coming through here?

So... some thinking to do, perhaps to help with the internal conflict that there might be around exercise...

LighterLife Route to Management - Tips no.2

Exercise. It's a must.

During Development, I got the urge to move. I ran. I cycled. I walked and walked and walked. And then I stopped. This is a pattern and another example of my all or nothing thinking. I've noticed my expert friend runs three times a week, maximum. It is not obsessional but that habit - and it is a habit - sets her up for the week.

I am still walking but not nearly as much and not nearly as fast. The bike has been parked behind the new extension - out of sight!

And as for the running - like my running kit in the cupboard - I have been busy going nowhere.

According to the LighterLife Blue Bible (aka Route to Management workbook):

"US scientists doing a long-term study of people who are successful weight holders have found that 77 per cent do at least one hour of physical activity every day."

Noted.

LighterLife Route to Management - Tips no.1

OK, so second time round for me.

Taking what worked for me in Foundation and Development, I know that I MUST make time for LighterLife homework. Absolutely. And that means reading the material and DOING the relevant exercises!

Here's a tip I missed first time round:

"Write your goals at the top of your shopping list"

Genius!