Thursday, August 27, 2009

Meltdown Rules for Dummies (and by dummies I mean us)


Now that we have 10 days under our buttery belts, we have a pretty good idea about what our rules of the road should be in order to stay on track. These are guidelines for us and not necessarily for all Melters, and it's just a bunch of no-brainer, common sense stuff. Trust me, nothing terribly enlightening here, people ... and certainly nothing we haven't all heard a ka-zillion times before. But these are rules we've been ignoring the past few years, like dummies. It's time to wake up and lose the butter.

1. Eat every hour or so: Being too busy and waiting too long to eat has probably been one of my biggest problems in the past. Now I'm eating little snacks throughout the day ... walnuts, some strawberries, maybe a hard boiled egg. Previous experience tells me that allowing myself to get too hungry, especially when out running errands, could possibly result in a drive through McDonald's.

2. Exercise: Mike belongs to a gym and goes there, uh ... sometimes, when he has the time. (Poor guy, it's work and travel and work and travel for him.) Me? Naaah. I know myself and honestly, I won't drive 10 miles to a gym, which is how far away it is. So I try to walk 2 miles a day and use my free weights at home for some resistance training. End of story.

3.
Water: I already drink oceans of water and Mike is pretty good about his water intake as well. I think the amount of water that I drink has actually kept my weight down over the years, considering my gi-normous appetite. Hey, there's one thing we've been doing right!

4. Portion Control: What's portion control??? I know not these strange words. Lean steak the size of a deck of cards? No juicy 10 oz. ribeye? Oh dear, this could be trouble.

5. Whoa on the carbs: Mike can cut out carbs completely without flinching but this is a tough one for me, as it is for many women. Every couple of days I'm allowing myself a crunchy piece of grainy toast (liiiightly buttered), maybe some baked sweet potato fries, or a little pumpkin & flax granola sprinkled over strawberries. But gone are the bushels of potatoes and Costco double loaves of bread. Never been a big fan of pasta so that's one saving grace.

6. Deprivation in Moderation: I subscribe to the theory that if you deprive yourself toooo much of foods you like, you will sabotage your weight loss plan. For me, total deprivation means resentment and frustration take over and I'm more likely to give into cravings. I would rather lose the weight slowly and allow myself, say ... a taco now and then. And I do mean now and then. Mike, on the other hand, is more of a purist and will probably not consume as much as a tortilla chip during this meltdown process. Dueling theories.

7. Sleep: I keep the hours of a nightclub owner, sans the sleep-til-noon part. Somehow I've convinced myself that I don't need more than 6 hours of sleep. And that's just wrong. Dangerously wrong. But I get soooo much more work done late at night when there are no distractions, she whines. Too bad, now go to bed!

8. Sugar: Those who know me well know that I could eat my weight in cookies, pies and bread pudding. (Mike can take it or leave it, dammit.) This is mandatory deprivation for sure, and challenging indeed. Not even one itty-bitty cookie? Nope, not at this early stage.

9. Last but not least, Raise the Stakes to increase accountability: For us, that means putting ourselves online like dorks. I'm convinced that this blog is the thing that will tip the scales for us this time ... in the right direction, that is. It promotes the commitment part because, well ... all of you are watching! One could argue that we should be doing this for just ourselves, and that it shouldn't matter if there is an audience. But it does matter. Because it provides support, encouragement, incentive and accountability. All key stuff, imho.

So thank you, followers, for reading and supporting! Together we're 35 sticks lighter for it! Stay tuned.

16 comments:

Canarella said...

I came all the way from california to read about your lumps a butter....thanx

Jody said...

What??? Thirty-five sticks down already???? How the heck have you done that? All I've done is use the "think system", which has worked about as well for me as it did for Professor Harold Hill's kids.

I'm so impressed. Heck, my dog and cat are impressed! Keep on, Grants. You are my heroes!

Smoochies, but not sugar-coated,

Jode

anon said...

Sounds like you've got it well in hand and don't need any advice.
But I always advocate for just plain old fast walking for an a day. Does a body good : )

I was sent here by a pleasantly scented fabricator who says you've got her back. Nice work!

And good luck : )

Julie D said...

Good luck with your weight loss! I've lost 27.5 lbs so far, and have like 48 to go (yeah, I'm one of those 75 lb.'ers.) I can't even calculate how many sticks of butter *that* is. LOL My calculator doesn't compute that high! :)

Julie D said...

Oh by the way, I am one of Fragrant Liar's pals. And I calculated my own journey to be 110 sticks down, 190 to go!

I'm going to go throw up now. LOL

Fragrant Liar said...

Dang, girl! 35 sticks! That's some fabuloso progress. And all great eating tips. But that eating every hour thing? I am such a creature of habit now, I don't know how I'd retrain myself. Unless I was eating chips or pretzels or nuts or some other kind of snack food. I can't think too hard on food or I won't do any of it. I'm a no rules kind of gal, you know. But keep up the good work. You guys are rockin' this!

Fragrant Liar said...

Oh, and that sleep deprivation thingy? I got it bad right now. Where are those 8 hours when I need 'em?

Michelle Wells Grant said...

Well, I won't poo-poo the 35 sticks but bear in mind this is actually just 8.75 lbs. and that is our combined weight loss. Mike's lost 5 and I've lost the 3.75 lbs. So it's a little slow going but that's ok because that's the best way to lose. Slow and steady.
Thank you all for your comments ... please stick (no pun intended) with us and keep sending the positive vibes.

Julie: What an absolute inspiration you are! 110 sticks already lost! Just imagine taping 110 sticks of butter all over your body ...now gone! You need to give yourself a huge pat (not of butter) on the back for unloading all those sticks!
(Ah, the butter puns are flowing. Sorry.)

Midlife Roadtripper said...

"a taco now and then."

A taco? All you want is a taco? Oh, my. I'm so behind the curve.

Hey, can you put on a side bar how much a stick of butter is worth pound wise - for those of us math challenged readers? I can't calculate too well.

And this blog rocks. I am impressed.

Twenty Four At Heart said...

I came to visit you from Orange County via Fragrant Liar. Maybe you'll get me motivated too! : )

Michelle Wells Grant said...

Midlife Jobhunter ......
And by taco I mean Taco Supreme Grande Combination Plate with enchiladas on the side.

I will put up a side bar to calculate the butter, but basically we're talkin' 4 sticks = one lb. of butter.

Crazy Charm said...

Hey there,
You are too funny! I read about your challenge over at Fragrant Liar and am hooked already.

Good luck :)

shrink on the couch said...

You and Mike doing it together, that is a huge plus, too. I struggle with the carbs. I like my crackers in bed. Helps me sleep. It really does (excuses, excuses). I have good weeks and bad. Need to minus the bad.

I'm impressed with your dedication and the blogging piece is keeping it real. good luck!


p.s. Fragrant sent me.

a-woman-of-today said...

Great blog Michelle, I'm impressed about the 35 sticks, cracking up over gaining 2 lbs sleeping (and relating), and enjoying your journey vicariously.....luv ya, Terri

V2V said...

I think it's super what y'all are doing!! Very impressed!

Unknown said...

You go girl! You guys are definitely on the right track. I'm behind you a 100%