Hi All!
I want you all to know that, for me, it’s always a pleasure to hear from each of you. Each check-in/weigh-in may not result in any weight loss - which can be frustrating...so so frustrating...LOL - but it is a chance to continue to make accountability to oneself a priority and a habit.
Let’s talk environmental variation! It’s something that seems to have been tripping many people up lately (myself included for quite some time).
What are examples of environmental variation with regards to struggling to adhere to the MWL program? It’s how we each are affected by vacations, conferences, moving, or even things as apparently benign as your workplace or what you’re doing on a Friday night.
Sometimes the interaction between our bodies, our process (say, lifestyle or eating choices) and the environment are noticeable quickly. Vacations tend to lead to more salt and alcohol and richer food, less exercise maybe, and the scale can reflect that differentially in each of us. Alternatively, we may not really recognize the effect of an environment for quite some time. I have a personal example:
I moved a year and a half ago from a condo in a large city to a semi-rural property in a small town. I honestly thought it would lead to further weight loss: I’d be outside more often, in the fresh air, gardening, etc, etc.. But, as it turns out, when I lived in a big city I was able to maintain about 10 pounds less than I do now with no additional effort. Why would this be? My cupboards were still full of the same foods (and I’m not suggesting this isn’t a part of the problem...LOL...but my focus is on outside of our homes for this post). In the city I was forced to walk everywhere because driving was too inconvenient. I lived in an area with no fast food restaurants and I had less overall responsibilities dividing my attention. My cost for moving/changing environments appears to be a pretty stable 10 pounds weight gain at current dietary adherence and exercise levels. I am not blaming the particular area’s factors for my gain (that’s a whole ‘nother discussion for the public health policy makers and epidemiologists to debate); I blame how I am interacting with it.
This means for continued progress towards my weight loss goals I will have to sort through and create another way of interacting with my new home in order to find the right balance that will get me back to a comfortable slight-calorie-deficit (while not focusing on it in that sense on a day-to-day basis, of course). My other choice could be to move back to the city, but that isn’t really feasible (or desirable) at this point in time so I will have to develop some new habits to figure out how to interact with the environment that I currently find myself.
If you travel often (for work or pleasure), socialize a lot or have a job that moves you around the country or surrounds you with food temptation - you will probably have a bit more work to do than a person who has a very stable life with regards to forming good lifestyle habits. We are all going to be faced with these challenges every once in awhile. Taking some time to anticipate potential issues and develop situation-based strategies can help mitigate deviations from your plan. If your weight loss has been stalled for quite some time, try looking at a longer time-frame to identify issues.
The best strategies haven’t changed:
1) First and foremost adjust to a comfortable and appropriate
calorie density! This can equate to more consistent weight loss.
2) Be prepared - with your shopping, chopping and food prep.
3) When eating away from home ensure there is something appropriate for you. Call ahead at restaurants, or suggest where to go. When visiting someone else’s home bring a dish or two to share.
4) Find other little ways to interact differently with your world in order to gain additional slight metabolic advantages.
Sirdle’s example is a fabulous one. He wanted to include more movement in his day and so he changed his work schedule, very slightly, too accommodate that.
Can we find similar little things like that to do comfortably and consistently? What strategy got you out of a tricky situation or kept you on-plan?
My final thought: when a process isn’t working it’s important to think and reflect and figure out why. When a process is working it’s time to turn off that thinking and just do it. I’m happy to see so many of you turning all this thought into action!
Amy XO
Here are the results for the fifth week in March:Next Weigh-In is on Friday, April 5th, 2019Total group loss reported in 2019: 226.57 pounds
March 2019 Weight Loss Group :: Monthly Weigh-In Results
Total group loss in January 2019: 140.53 pounds
Total group loss in February 2019: 78.64 pounds
Total group loss in March 2019: 7.4 poundsWeek ending 03/29/2019: 10 participants reported a total loss of -2.9 pounds
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Anelson108 - 4.4
Rosey - 6.2
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Total gains: 10.8
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Dpascar - 1.4
Shelley Crockett - 0.0
Sirdle - 0.9
OOnaOwl - 0.0
Belana - 1.4
Cena - 1.0
EllenN - 3.0
Amandamechele - 0.2
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Total losses: 7.9
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Total group loss in March 2019: 7.4 pounds
Week ending 03/29/2019: 10 participants reported a total loss of -2.9 pounds
Week ending 03/22/2019: 8 participants reported a total loss of 1.6 pounds
Week ending 03/15/2019: 13 participants reported a total loss of 13.5 pounds
Week ending 03/08/2019: 15 participants reported a total loss of 3.8 pounds
Week ending 03/01/2019: 15 participants reported a total loss of -8.6 pounds