the importance of phrasing

week: +0.5
total: -72

I'm reading Tom Venuto's Feed the Muscle, Burn the Fat. The first chapter is all about motivation and goal-setting. The biggest lesson I took from that is that by changing my language, I can change my attitude, and also influence my outcomes for the better. Instead of phrasing things as "I need to..." or even from the positive "I will...," it actually tricks the mind into believing it if you say, as though from the point of view of the finished future, "I am..." or "I do...." And it doesn't have to be just about weight loss, this works for everything. "I do floss my teeth every night before bed." (I'm still working on 100% compliance on that, but I'm up to 5 nights in a row so far.)

By my motivators over there on the right, I'm still in weight-category limbo -- not firmly "overweight" anymore, but not comfortably in "normal" yet either. I've set a new goal, to be ready for Florida at spring break. Ready or not, I'll have to go.

2 in 1 day!

I just realized, I hit a major goal yesterday, and did not comment on it. I reached another 5% loss from my previous bodyweight. I'm now 77% of the woman I was last January. I'm aiming at 60% ultimately.

To celebrate, I ordered some CDs I've been eying for a while. It might be time to get some new clothes too.

a purpose for this throwaway blog....

How does it work? On Tuesday, May 8th, you post on your blog how much weight you want to lose, and your weight history, what other goals you may have for this challenge (creating activity, cutting out soda, etc.) and any weaknesses you have. Come back to this site and sign Mr. Linky. Begin your diet. You have one week from today to plan your diet and prepare yourself for finding the skinny girl inside of you. She's in there and she wants out.

okay I'm a day late here.

Goal: lose at minimum 50 pounds, maximum 75 pounds.

History: I have never been small, but I recently saw a picture of myself as I was about to graduate high school, and in comparison I looked surprisingly trim. At the time I was size 16 in jeans, 12? in dresses. I was moderately active thanks to marching band, but not athletic. Now, 17 years later, mostly through inattention and inactivity, I've gained quite a bit.

Plans: I started taking steps in January (watching my diet, keeping track of my intake and weight, moving more), and lost 17 pounds, but for the past month or two, I've been on a solid plateau. Work is definitely to blame for this, as I'm just too tired to exercise after leaving the office. Soon the pressure will be off, and I should be able to get back to the gym regularly.

Weakness: prepackaged foods that make preparing dinner less complicated. I feel like I have to keep up with my husband, or else he'll eat it all (clearly not good for him if it's not good for me). I either need to learn how to make less, or I need to train him not to eat everything in sight.