June 2, 2012

Game On! Three Month results

23

That is how many pounds I have lost as of today in the three months since playing the game.  At the end of the last game which ended Wednesday, I was actually two pounds heavier.  A combination of fatigue, Memorial Day weekend and a complete breakdown of "won'tpower" led to my demise.   I had two nights of insomnia and one late night knitting project to complete for a class I was taking.  With the late nights,  I was having difficulty getting up early enough to exercise, which is getting imperative as the days are reaching the 110 range.  So not only was I missing points for sleep, but I was also missing them for exercise, a double-whammy.  There were so many activities going on that week and weekend that I missed meals and gorged more than I should have.  So on Wednesday morning, the final weigh in, I wasn't surprised that I hadn't lost the needed weight.  I spent Wednesday in a bit of a funk, wondering what had happened and having no  desire to do any more Game On! competitions and basically feeling sorry for myself, even though I had lost 21 pounds.  The Minnesota ladies also seemed to have lost their enthusiasm, or maybe we all just needed a bit of a break.

Thursday, I am still in the middle of my old eating habits when I decide to do what Toby Mac recommends  and "get back up (It's never too late to get back up again.  One day, you're gonna shine again;  you maybe knocked down but not out forever...)."  I went back to the book to see what they said about solo games.  They didn't recommend it and said that it was a bad idea because part of the success of weight loss is having accountability and the "co-opetition" aspect of the game.  I decided to ignore them and started a new game yesterday.  Eric is my accountability person, checking my points on a daily basis.  My new habit that I will be continuing is to drink 4 liters of water because summers in Arizona require it and my bad habit that I am kicking is to stay off the computer from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. unless I have to do something for church or school or a project for my family.  Today is my habits day off.  As soon as my daughter gives me the $20 she owes me, I will put it in a "Game On!" envelope and keep it for the four weeks.  At the end, if I don't lose 7 pounds, that money will be given away, either to charity or to something my kids or husband want.  If I lose the weight, I get to buy myself a new outfit or at least a new pair of pants or a belt.

So Friday, I got up early and went out for a 20+ minute interval run and I started back on my regular eating plan, which is what I am calling the eating plan outlined by Game On!.  It was  a bit difficult, but I made it through, knowing that I would be taking a meal off for dinner--Denver Omelettes with bacon rather than ham and half a slice of buttered bread.  Immediately afterward, the hubby and I went out to see The Avengers and I ate popcorn for a while and had a few sips of diet soda.  Part of the popcorn was my 100 free calories, though I am pretty sure that I exceeded the 100 calorie limit.

I got on the scale this morning and-lo!-two pounds had magically dropped from my body .  Or maybe the scale is playing mind games with me.  It loves to do that.  Or my body got some relief from my "dieting ways" as the personal trainer who developed the game said, and now feels that it is safe to drop weight when my eating habits change back for the better.  This is something I read during one of my insomnia nights.  The reason he put in the day off was so that the body wouldn't go into "fasting mode" and reduce your metabolism to conserve energy and because everyone needs a day of rest.  I think everyone occasionally also needs a week of rest, whether it is from activities, from learning, from exercise or from dieting.  This, of course, was God's plan from the beginning, which means that it is good and right.  Therefore, I am not ashamed that I listened to my body and took a break, even if it made me "look bad" in terms of the competition.  And in the future, I will always take up to five days off in between  competitions to rest up and prepare for the next battle of the bulge. If anyone wants to join me, let me know in comments section.

Game On!

3 comments:

Adrienne said...

Great work! Keep it up!

I picked you for an award on my blog!!!

Jane Hoppe said...

You're doing great, Kris. I like how you set worthy goals, the big ones and the little ones required to achieve the big ones, and then persevere through ups and downs. You remind me of one of my all-time heroes, Nehemiah.

tandemingtroll said...

@Adrienne: Thank you so much for nominating me for an award.

@Jane: Thank you so much for your kindness and for the compliment. I am currently hitting a wall, so the encouragement is much appreciated.