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random musings of a crazy cat lady

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Diet Update, and Mad Props to my LoseIt Mean Honey Badgers

I'm doing well on my diet and am starting to see the results. I've lost about 8-10* lbs since the beginning of the year. My two pairs of everyday jeans are fitting better, and I was able to bring the tighter of the two pairs back into the everyday rotation, along with a couple of sweaters. Some stuff (eating less/healthy, not letting myself get too hungry, stockpiling healthy food at my office, exercise, etc) has become habit now and require a lot less active willpower. That makes it easier. The few weeks it takes to make new behaviors become habits is not all that fun, but it is worth it.
I am not going 100% in this diet. I lose weight every 4-6 years or so. The last time that I deliberately lost weight was when I was part of the diet study almost 8 years ago. I followed it very strictly then, and was working out a lot. I lost weight very quickly - 20 lbs in the first 2 months. It was good, but it was hard work. I guess I could've done that here, but I didn't feel like it. So I'm coasting along at about a lb/week. I eat chocolate pretty much every day, and get a mocha or chai at least once a week due the the bad influence of my office mate, sample the baked goods that people bring in, and still get Thai food for lunch on Fridays, although not every week. Working late still takes priority over workouts sometimes, but not always. But all this half-assery is getting balanced out by the fact that I am really busy and a lot of meals have been replaced by large healthy snacks/semi meals, and I'm being diligent about not letting myself get too hungry.
I am kind of surprised that I am actually losing weight. The surprising thing is not that this works, but that I stuck around long enough for the good habits to take effect. The memory of my rapid weight loss during the diet study spoiled me and if I don't start off with a bang I got discouraged quickly and gave up. So what was the difference? Well, in part it's due to some online support in the form of the aptly named Team Mean Honey Badgers.
Missy told me about LoseIt.com, which is a free diet/exercise site. I signed up, and tracked my calories and exercise for a few days. I was starting to get bored with tracking my calories when I took a look at the forums. I saw one called "Team Mean Honey Badgers" and you know I had to go check it out. At first I was dubious - they had a weight loss competition. That didn't seem very much in the spirit of not giving a shit. But after reading the posts I realized that it was a very fun supportive group and it was 100% motivational and 0% competitive. I admit, I've stopped tracking my calories and exercise, but I still follow the honey badger forum. Mostly it's just for fun, but there are days when I am really unmotivated to work out and they inspire me, and other days when I just don't give a shit about dieting and it's nice to see that there may be others that are busting their asses and sometimes a few who are don't give a shit either, and so I have company either way.


* depending on how bloated I am, how carefully I balance on the scale, etc, etc.

2 comments:

  1. Lol. We love you just the way you are!! Honey Badgers don't care if you have a bad day! :)

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  2. Thanks, Debi! You honey badgers are the greatest!

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