Jewish Musings, Sunday 10/30/2016

[savtele]

What’s on your mind – how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.

Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:

Angelika
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy

[savtele]

Boker Tov & Shavuah Tov All!

This past week we came to the end of our "Holiday Season" - with Simchat Torah & the rerolling of the scrolls, effectively bringing us back to the beginning of our journey again! I enjoyed all our discussions last week - and much of it was looking back. And here we are. So......

Over the past months we've talked about our WL/WMJs. So my question today deals with the beginning.
What was it that made you decide that you HAD TO lose weight?? How does that fit with where you are today? If you compare where you were then with where you are today - are your concerns and goals different, or do you still revisit some of the same concerns you had then, with new concerns added?

I know that I had gotten to the point where I felt like my life was shrinking while my waist was expanding. And so something had to be done to bring everything into alignment again. Now - at THIS point in my life, I weigh less than I did when I started on WW. BUT - and this is big - once again I feel like my life may be shrinking & my shape is shifting (too much sitting, I'm sure!) And so I once again feel like I am at a beginning.

I've learned a lot since that other beginning, so long ago. I've learned that I cannot tolerate wheat products - and that it is STILL difficult for me to walk away from them! I've learned that I feel better when I eat less processed foods.

And what I am really learning, right now, is that I do not like it when my body lets me know I'm eating foods it doesn't like! It really just isn't worth it. That's not an easy stance to take (and cheeses will be missed!)

So that's where I am at this new beginning! How about you??

[peachymom1]

Good morning, and shavua tov!

When my twin sons graduated from high school and I saw myself in so many of the pictures, I finally realized how fat I was. I also decided it was about time I learned how to eat properly and stop deluding myself that I knew more than I did. It was a humbling experience. Two coworkers that I'd gotten friendly with were members of WW, so I started asking questions.

I had to carefully examine and rethink my attitudes about food, and I had to learn to identify trigger foods and trigger situations. With WW's help, I finally learned to eat enough fruits and vegetables, which has been the singular biggest deal for me. I not only lost weight, I brought down my cholesterol and started getting enough fiber and real nutrients for my body for the first time in my life, even though I was thin as a child and well into adulthood.

I HAD to lose weight because I'm not 21 anymore and can't get away with abusing my body anymore. This is the only body I'm going to get, and I had to learn to take better care of it. My mom has had cancer, my dad has Alzheimer's one of my sisters is an addict, and it finally smacked me in the face that although there are some things I have no control over, there's plenty that I DO have control over, and I'd better stop wasting time and get my head out of denial.

I feel extremely lucky to have found WW. Finally, finally, finally I know how to eat properly. I know what portion sizes are now. I feel like I have more control over what I'm eating, though I still stumble with trigger foods sometimes, and I feel like I've done good things for this body. I've tried different kinds of exercise that I might not have tried before, and I've learned a lot more about cooking things that taste good but don't have to be loaded down with calories and fat.

I still have plenty to learn, but I feel like I've made an awful lot of progress, and I have hope. It's a great feeling to know that change really is possible, once I face my fears.

I don't know if any of this makes any sense -- it's just after 5 a.m. my time, I'm up earlier than I need to be, and I'm thinking of going back to bed. DH is at the CHOC Walk at Disneyland right now with DD28 -- it's a big charity event for Children's Hospital of Orange County -- and it's strange to sleep alone, but I'm getting sleepy again, so off I go.

I'll rejoin you all later -- have a great day!

[gazelle18]

I got to the point a few years ago where I just felt uncomfortable in my skin. I couldn't walk as fast, and bending over to tie my shoes wasn't so easy. Although diabetes runs in my family, I have been spared (so far), and I cannot say that my health concerns were what drove me. It was more vanity plus just not feeling good.

I did lose a bunch of weight, and have kept off much of it,but some has crept back.
Lately I have found myself wanting to feel good again, and I have been eating more reasonably. I already feel better, even if I'm still afraid to get on the scale!

[hollygail]

My weight was in proportion to my height almost my whole life. Then came menopause... All of a sudden, I was a size 14 (note: I'm about 5'2" with a relatively small build). 14!!! I felt physically uncomfortable at that size. Before menopause, I was a 10/12, so I was prepared to be a full size 12 (based on everything I'd read about menopause, weight gain being one fairly common side effect; practically all the books and articles I'd read said something like, "Don't be surprised if you gain 5 to 10 pounds"). However, I went from approximately 135 to 175 (not exactly overnight, mind you, but those numbers are real) and from a size 10 (or 10/12) to 14, and some of the 14s were getting tight...

The reality is I felt uncomfortable carrying all that weight around. So I did some research and found an old WW plan and followed it. I went down to a low of 138 and my weight settled in at 142. I was a large 10 or small 12 and frankly, my goal had been large 10 to small 12, so I felt fine. And stopped the WW plan I had been on. I don't remember how long it took (a year? less? more? I really don't remember) but then I was 165...

I joined WW and started going to meetings. This was during the Momentum plan which preceded PointsPlus. I counted just plain Points for about a year and reached the top of the WW range for 5'3" (I had once been measured at a smidgeon over 5'2", so both the receptionist and the leader said I qualified for 5'3"), the top of which was 141 pounds. I figured if I had made it to 142 on my own, I could get to 141. And I did. When was that? probably 2010.

A couple of years ago, my step-son was getting married. I didn't want to spend $100+ on a dress I was going to wear once. So I asked some women I knew who looked to be about my size if they had something I could borrow. One woman had a purple cocktail dress and was more than willing to let me borrow it. She wasn't, however, a size 8 (which I was); she was a size 6. Oy. So I figured, what the h, I'll take off a couple more pounds. Well, the dress was a size 4. FOUR! I really worked hard and got down to 133. Bottom line: I looked better than the mother of the groom (who's at least one year younger than I am; she's built a little like a stick with practically no curves at all and I'm curvy). I felt GREAT! (and had the dress dry cleaned before returning it to my friend)

Since then, I wavered up and down a little around 135 and was plenty happy. Then came Thanksgiving last year and I started gaining. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's I went up almost to 140 and have had to be incredibly careful since then (almost a year now, right?) not to go over 139 (since weigh-ins are when you're fully dressed). But I'm still wearing size 8 (and yes, one or two items of clothing are a little bit tight, but frankly, more items are loose).

[louise]

I am also afraid to get on the scale but about 3 weeks ago I decided to take control, to the extent that I can, of how I age. The biggest thing in my way is my weight. My father died form complications of diabetes and I have been experiencing pain when walking. You all know my new motto is "Less weight, less pain. Do it." It's working for me - I feel a little thinner although I don't know in pounds - and the big side effect was that when I cut back sugar the pain decreased. My hip joints no longer hurt when I walk. Well don't that beat all! I also don't long for the sugar anymore. There's a win win!

In the past it was way more about how I looked, although I also did want to be healthier. I still would like to look better - being a plus sized petite makes it difficult to buy clothes - but the emphasis has shifted. Before improved health was the by product and now looking better would be the by product.

I have been doing weight training for the last few years - not much maybe, but whatever it is, I'm doing it and there's a big difference in my body. I actually have some muscle under all the fat! It takes me by surprise sometimes. I'm much stronger. When I lead the torah procession I'm no longer looking at the rabbi pleadingly to take the torah from me when we get back to the ark!

It's detrimental if I think in terms of how much I have to lose or how long it will take. If I just stick with my motto I know I'm on the right track.

[happysavta]

Hi, everybody,

I had a super busy day today cleaning up after the dog. She had diarrhea. She woke me up at 5:15 am to go outside and it was dark so I didn't even notice what was going on. I left her downstairs and went back up to sleep, but when I came down, oh what a mess. Liquid poop on the wood floor and on the rug. Yuck. I cooked her some rice water; hope that helps. I'm too old for baby care.

Why did I want a dog again? Please remind me!