Ways of Measuring Success

Things are looking up!  The scale is still not showing the number I'd like to see, but my clothes are fitting comfortably again.  And, I'm feel better!! This made me think about an article someone told me about a while ago on the Health Discovery web site.  It's called "Why the Scale Lies" (http://www.healthdiscovery.net/articles/scale_lies.htm).  A very interesting read!

There are many factors that could contribute to a weight gain.  As we all know, gaining muscle means extra pounds.  I did gain muscle since beginning my workout at Curves.  Also, a high-sodium diet leads to excess water weight gain.  Korean food is quite high in sodium...all kinds of good seasonings have high salt.  I try to be mindful of drinking lots of water to flush it out, but I don't always do as well as I could or should.  And then there's just normal fluctuations of water levels in our bodies. 

Since the scale lies, it's important to focus on other measures of success.  As I mentioned, my clothes are fitting better, and I just FEEL better...healthier.  Those are the factors I need to focus on.  Therefore, the poem for this entry is going to be a tribute to Elizabeth Barrett Browning's famous Sonnet 43 - How do I Love Thee!  I hope you enjoy it and use it as a reminder that success takes many forms!

How to I Judge Success?

How do I judge success?  Let me count the ways.

I count success by feelings and fit and pounds.

There is more than one measure, I have found,

To judge the end result and ideal health.

I count small success all my days.

Stay positive and mentally sound.

I see success when I am less round.

I count success when others praise.

I count success when strategies I use.

In times of grief, I will keep faith.

I count success when weight I lose.

With each point gone, I celebrate.

Healthy snacks and lower fat I choose.

I shall count success and hit goal weight!

Inspiration and Motivation

I apologize for the hiatus from blog posts.  Truth is...I'm struggling with my own weight loss and haven't felt like much of a motivator for others.  I know we've all been there...plateaus, dead stops, can't get back on track...whatever you want to call it!

I do have one little thing I'm holding onto...a pair of jeans!  It's the first pair of jeans I bought after reaching goal weight in 2009.  Yes, I do still have them.  They serve as a good litmus test for my weight maintenance.  The GREAT news is they still fit.  They're a little tighter than I'd like, but still wearable.  So, things aren't all bad...but I'd feel better if I lost those few excess pounds.

Instead of a poem to end this post, I'm throwing out a challenge (or maybe a request?).  What poem, saying, quote, anchor, etc. keeps you going during times of frustration?  Would love for us to share in order to motivate and inspire one another!

"The Jeans" -- still able to wear them
5 years later.  That's something to be proud of!!

Being the Boss

I’m continuing to stick with my changes: smaller portions, increased activity, very limited sweets.  It’s a hard battle, as we all know, but it’s working little by little.  I am down 1.1 pounds this week.

I do feel like I should see bigger results.  We’ve all been there, haven’t we!?!  And, we all know that the last few pounds are always the hardest.  I need to remember that I started with only 7 pounds to lose, so I probably won’t see those amazing results you get when you first start losing weight. 

So worth it!

And, of course, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up, but I’ve done it before and I can do it again!  Kind of like climbing a mountain…it’s all up hill and a whole lot of work, but slow and steady will get you to the top for the amazing view.  In this case, the amazing view is me 7 pounds lighter! 

(Okay…so that analogy was a bit of a stretch, but I’m still on a high from my amazing hike this past week.  It was SOOOOO hard, but so INCREDIBLE.  Read about it in my other blog “The Chronicles of Betsy” (www.betsyinkorea.blogspot.com) )

My Own Boss

Victory at the Top!

I’m the boss of me

No one else can be!

I’m working it out

Won’t scream and shout.

Pushing on through

Till I lose a few.

Small changes I’ll make,

My resolve will not break.

Me giving up – NO WAY!

And that’s all there is to say.

Simply amazing!

Finding a Buddy

Time for my weekly check in…and it’s not good news.  I’ve managed to gain back the .9 that I lost last week.  So discouraging!  But I’m not going to give up!!

I need to keep up the activity.  I’m now walking to work in the mornings because the weather is so nice.  It’s about a 40-minute walk, so it’s a good way to start my day and get started on my activity.  I go to Curves when I can (that was only two days last week…ugh!).  I’ve been intentional about just walking more.  I’ll get off the bus a few stops before mine, so I need to walk more.  I ended up earning 42 Activity Points for myself last week, which is really good for me. 

I’ve cut down on the sweets and reduced my portion sizes.  In fact, I’m still getting comments and snickers from co-workers regarding my small portion sizes.  I’m certainly not letting that stop me.

Eating out continues to be a challenge.  It’s such a social thing here and healthy options are limited.  The side dishes are somewhat healthy, but there’s always rice and noodles…so many starches.  I ordered a chicken salad to split with a Korean co-worker last week (she’s the PE teacher, so she’s more health conscious).  However, the chicken came in the form of wings, the lettuce was drizzled with BBQ sauce, and there was a big pile of fries to go with it (sigh!).With certain Koreans, I’m comfortable passing up some of the food.  With others, I don’t want to be rude.  Such a fine cultural line!

Ready for a Bike Ride

I have found that having a buddy is offering me some encouragement and keeping me motivated.  After dinner and a movie with the PE teacher, we walked an hour to another part of town just because it was a nice evening.  One of my co-teachers joined Curves, so now I have more accountability on that front.  The trainers at Curves are also awesome.  They speak limited English, so it’s fun to communicate and teach each other.  On Friday, I went biking along the Taewha River with another foreign teacher.  We biked 27 miles roundtrip…earned 13 activity points that day!

Another friend from the States offered me some good support today.  She said after getting off schedule this summer, she hit the gym hard and consistently starting in September.  She said it took a good month before she started seeing results.  Good reminder to keep going!!

And so I do…keep going…I can do this…I  know I can (“I ‘think’ I can,” doesn’t belong here)!

A favorite trail I often hike
with a Korean coteacher.

 

The Buddy System

Losing weight –

It’s hard to do!

For me and for you!

If it’s hard to do,

why be alone?

Can’t do it on my own.

So I’ll get some help.

I’ll find a friend

So progress won’t end.

Two is better than one.

More fun to exercise

In order to reduce our size.

Hurray! That’s it!

The golden secret

To being more fit!

Controlling My Perspective!

I’m a little discouraged this week.  I’m only down .9 and was hoping for more.  Now is when I have to remember all my words of encouragement I’ve given to others and follow my own advice…practice what I preach.  Rather than allowing myself to be disappointed, I need to focus on the fact that I have managed to lose weight in South Korea!

So, I need to focus on my “Bravo” moments:

• I cut down on portion size (and was slightly amused that everyone around me noticed…I got many comments about my small portion of rice).
• I reduced my not-so-healthy snacks.
• Earned 29 activity points.
• Worked out at the gym 4 times.

If I keep this up, the .9 will be 7 pounds in no time! Again…all words of wisdom and encouragement are greatly appreciated!  : )

                                                Change of Perspective

Just a pound!

How can that be!!

I worked so hard

This can’t happen to me!!

Just a pound!

It could be worse.

It’s just a setback,

Not a curse.

One whole pound!

This is great!

Again and again

To get to goal weight!

Mayday...Mayday!

I apologize for my three-week hiatus.  I usually write my blog entries on Saturdays, but the last three Saturdays have been very busy.  The first one, I was busy preparing for the American-style house party I threw for my Korean friends (read more about that at www.betsyinkorea.blogspot.com).  The next two Saturdays I had a good friend visiting from the United States…it was great having her here for two weeks.  I’m back now and will hopefully stay on schedule because…I NEED YOU!

All of the wonderful Korean food and the eating together values of the culture have caught up to me.  I weighed myself last Monday, and I was up 7 pounds from when I got here.  YIKES!!!!  That hasn’t happened in five years and, to be honest, I’m freaking out a little bit.  Add to the fact…it’s not easy for someone my size to find clothes in South Korea…and the clothes I have are starting to get tight.  I need to make some serious changes, and I need you for accountability.  Here are the changes I made this week:

·         Packed lunch – I brought my own lunch this week, which turned out to be a bigger deal than I thought.  Eating together is such an important part of this culture, so all my co-teachers noticed I wasn’t eating in the cafeteria.  I had to explain why many times, and they just didn’t seem to grasp what I was talking about.  I needed to pack my lunch to get my head back in the game, but clearly, it’s important for me to eat with the other teachers in the lunchroom.  So, I’ll just have to cut back on portions.

·         Gym Membership – There is a Curves that is a 5-minute walk from my apartment, so I joined that this week.  I was the only foreigner there, but luckily you don’t need many words for the workout.  Body language works well!   The trainers are really nice and speak a little English.  I even inspired one of my Korean co-teachers to join the gym, so I have a workout buddy.

·         Active Link Challenge – My Active Link wasn’t working when I first arrived for some reason.  But, I was able to get it working again.  I’m doing my assessment this week and will start a challenge next week.  Making sure I get to at least 4 solid lights each day should get me motivated to up my activity.

I do still have some challenges:

·         I don’t know the calories of the food I’m eating, and there’s no way for me to find out.  The language barrier makes it too difficult to find the exact ingredients, and there is no book to look it up in.  Add to the fact that half the time I don’t even know the name of what I’m eating.  I just enjoy.  Most of it is vegetables and meat…and lots of rice and noodles.  I need to cut back on those starches.

·         Another problem is the social aspect of the food.  I really don’t understand how Koreans eat so much but stay so tiny!!!!!!!!  Yesterday I was working at an education festival and lunch was provided…McDonalds’s (my first time having McDonald’s in years).  We had a DOUBLE cheeseburger, LARGE fries, and Coke.  Unfortunately, it could be perceived as a little rude not to eat food that is provided…ugh!  The unexpected social meals keep popping up.  Koreans don’t understand eating less to maintain weight…it’s just not a part of their culture.  This is going to be a continuous challenge for me.

My Commitment

I need to lose these 7 pounds quickly!  I’m going to do a better job of monitoring my food and increase my activity.  I’m also going to check in once a week to let you know my progress…good or bad (you know how that goes).  Any words of wisdom or encouragement from my readers would be GREATLY appreciated!

Mayday!

Mayday…mayday

What can I say

I’ve gained a few pounds

Much to my dismay

S.O.S

What a mess!

The extra pounds

Are causing me stress.

Here comes the red flare

My distress I must share

By telling good people

Who I know surely care.

It’s time for the rescue.

This is your cue.

Hold me accountable

I’ll do the same for you!

Summer Break is Over...Back on Track

I apologize for my little break in blogging.  It has been a busy summer!  My middle school was on break from July 23 to August 22.  However, per my contract, I only get 8 days off, so I worked a couple of days in my classroom and taught at an English summer camp at a local elementary school.  But, my summer break wasn’t all work.  During that time I managed to spend a week in Vietnam and get my SCUBA certification in Korea.  Not bad for one month!

The summer camp started after Vietnam, and I was feeling the need to get back on track after that trip.  I did what most of us do on vacation…enjoyed all the delicious new food!  Rather than beat myself up about splurging, I was determined to get back on track with eating healthy.  I thought that would be easy at summer camp because I was in charge of my own lunches.  What I did not anticipate was all the yummy snacks we would be given at snack time. 

The snacks I didn't eat.  Patiently waiting
to be eaten another day! 

I’m only about six months into being in Korea, so many things are still new.  When I see a new food or snack I haven’t tried, I just can’t help myself.  I want to experience it!  And, unfortunately, snack time wasn’t about healthy snacks – more like baked goods from a popular bakery.  To make matters worse, we taught two sessions each day, so there were two snacks handed to me.  My strategy…eat the snack in the morning and take the afternoon snack home for another day.  Since baked goods will go bad, I froze them to make them last.  I even got smart after the first week and halved some of them for portion control. 

The other benefit of this method is better control when craving something sweet.  Sharing food is very popular in Korean culture, so portions are pretty big.  This isn’t a problem for Koreans because another part of their culture is to do things together.  It’s rare for a Korean to go out to dinner or even to a coffee shop alone.  However, the big portions present a problem for me when I’m by myself and craving something sweet.  On more than one occasion, I’ve overindulged when the craving hit.  Now, when I’m craving a sweet baked good, I have portion control in my freezer.  I just need a little patience to let it thaw. J

Overall, Korea is an eating culture.  I am constantly amazed by the amount of foods Koreans eat at any time of day (and…they are so tiny…how is that possible!?!?!?!).  I am so thankful for all of the strategies I’ve learned in the past several years.  Without those strategies, I really would be in “big” trouble (pun intended).

Then and Now

When I look back to the past,

I’m surprised by what I see.

Wow…those eating habits,

Truly weren’t good for me.

I didn’t know any better,

What was good and what was bad.

So I had some extra weight,

And that made me really sad.

But knowledge is power,

Or so that’s what they say.

I embraced new ways and habits,

And changed the amount I weigh.

And even more than the number

I feel so healthy and alive!

Mindful eating, mindful habits

Have helped me truly thrive.

So I continue on my journey

Facing all the highs and lows.

But I’m a stronger person for it

Of that I truly know!