My Reward

I really do hope you continue to use PC during your social-media hiatus. I really appreciate your support and knowing that there are people out there in my same situation with the same goals.

Plus...PC is not social-media...it's a support group!

Thanks. You are sweet, LL. I am really trying a 90 day social media fast. I am worried that I have let go of most social contacts in real life. In my community it is really hard. One has to make a big effort to connect. I would rather stay on social media sites, but at the same time I need real life contacts to make more money, find a better place to live, friends to do things with on weekends. So I have to kind of force myself.

Good luck with the diet. I am really disgusted with where I am physically. I want to lose about 40 to 45 pounds in 90 days. That's a lot but do-able. But it means a lot of attention to exercise every single day. I am also meditating twice a day.

I hope you can reduce your drinking. When I am stressed out I think about drinking a lot but I am being really strong right now in not going that route.

Just remember you have to start rewarding yourself with things that are not substances. You are such a good writer I wonder if you journal. You have a lot of interests. Follow them. And go easy on yourself.

I really hope you check out LoseItLikeLauren on YouTube. It is something to do when you feel restless, or bored, and she is inspiring.

Love and best wishes. I will be back. Dechan

You are right that PC is a support group. But where are the real life people in my community??? I used to have a lot of support and now I somehow got disconnected. I need real life people. I don't live near family so having a few good friends and groups to go to is really important. I may try to find a real life weight loss group. Not Weight Watchers but something like Overeater's Anonymous or something like that.

I am proud of you for starting your weight loss journey. By this summer you will be well on your way and your are going to feel great about yourself. Stay strong. Keep losing, keep smiling!

Today I had a very yummy smoothie for breakfast and lunch. I mixed in a can of vanilla protein shake with 35g of protein. It was better than I thought it'd be. I had a banana, strawberries, and frozen fruit. Mmmmm. I didn't feel like having a full meal, it was already late when I made myself the smoothie and it was late enough where it could be lunch and not so sure what/how to eat so I went with a smoothie.

I had a very good workout today. 30 min treadmill, 5 min peddler, set of 100 ab and hip machines. I feel like going back after all that!

I love having breakfast for dinner!

I had a yogurt, banana, oatmeal and milk.

YUM!

I think breakfast for dinner is the best.

Dieting is the fastest way to gain weight and feel deprived on so many levels... which leads to falling off the diet wagon.

Lifestyle changes are far more helpful and has long lasting health benefits.

Good luck

I was going to warn you about putting the cart before the horse with that reward subject but... 14lb in 4 weeks is great. To follow up on Moreta's post... you will need to think of this as life, the way it is from now on. Goals are great for measuring progress but it can't end there. Weight loss programs tend to be very short lived and frequently lead to a seesaw of gain and diet, gain and diet. Try to think of it more as healthy living.

Don't forget to set small incremental goals and reward yourself as you reach them.

I don't consider this a diet at all. I say diet lightly, but I consider this to be a "weight loss program" which is hardly that either. I don't give up food. I am making lifestyle changes, as you put it, but I do not deprive myself of unhealthy food. I just make a choice to eat them in small portions. With 14.6 pounds lost I've drank two bottles of alcohol (and gained weight, but lost it within two days), eaten chocolate and sourdough bread, ice cream, etc. Aside from the alcohol, which I did go overboard with, foods that are deemed unhealthy I eat in small portions without necessarily avoiding or cutting them out completely. I ate two small ribs and a medium sized rib with hunks of meat on them, but before that I made sure I ate a few scoops of coleslaw and a half cup of beans before I ate the ribs.

In short (too late), yes, this is not a diet but a lifestyle change.

That's the plan! I have goals within goals. I have goals to eat 2 salads every day, one small and one big, and another goal to eat veggies alongside my salads, and my goal is to eat enough fruit as well with a strong focus on veggies, because before the diet I ate very little of it. I also try to change things up to not get bored. I make variations in my salads, I eat different veggies, as a treat I like to eat breakfast for dinner.

I also make an effort to go to the gym on a regular basis, and I have my own goals for that too, such as adding 5 minutes on the treadmill each week.

I'm very proud of myself today for my success at the gym, which was pushing forward when I felt like quitting. I have a love-hate relationship with the treadmill. Somedays I can do 20+ minutes no problem, but today after only ten minutes I hopped off with the excuse of being thirsty. I bought a caffeinated water bottle, went outside and smoked, and after much debate with myself I hopped back on the treadmill and finished strong.

I made a blog post about my weight loss! Check it out!!!

Child of the Universe ? Bipolar Strong: Weight-loss and Self-Exploration