Stacking the Deck--Again (Or Why I Should Have Stock in Amazon)

So if you've been paying attention lately, you're aware that I have a weakness of buying all the gadgets & gizmos and wardrobe and notebooks and cool pens etc. as a way to prime myself to start a new phase of action and commitment. The bigger weakness is that I often don't follow through after stacking the deck.

It's been an online ordering week for me. Here's what I've stacked the deck with. Remind me to tell you how they work out (once they arrive).

Item #1 for Foot Pain Relief

The Happy Company Foot and Body Roller, Nubs

Item #2 for Foot Pain Relief

Pampered Toes Spa Therapy for Toes by Ped Egg

(guess they had to say Toes twice to show that there are 2 pieces in the box?)

Item #3 Book on Increasing Activity

Move a Little, Lose a Lot: New N.E.A.T. Science Reveals How to Be Thinner, Happier, and Smarter by James Levine (I heard about this one on NPR)

Item #4 Book Eating Real Food

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan (This was recommended me to me by a new acquaintance who for some reason I trust implicitly--maybe because he is so d*mn funny and smart)

Item #5 Book on Exercise Motivation

Mind Gym: An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence by Gary Mack and David Casstevens

(I stumbled across this using the great, money grubbing resources of Amazon that recommend other cool things you may like. I'm all about what we tell ourselves so this seemed interesting even though I'm far from an athlete. Plus for some reason when I saw the title, I felt motivated by the tune of Morning Has Broken repeating in my head. . . did you hear it too? BTW, Did anyone else find it noteworthy that the formerly 500+ woman featured on the Today show this week became an athlete? A professional race walker?)


Item #6 Gadget to actually do the work from Item #3

Magnetrainer ER Mini Exercise Bike

(This is recommended in the Levine book)

Item #7 Gadget to also help me do the work from Item #3



Motorola H710 Bluetooth Mono Headset

(it will be really interesting to see if this works well. . . wanted it so I can use my phone & walk)

My Baby Unveiled

Wet Puppy

Before the Groomer's

After the Groomer's (Can you see the eyelashes?)

My SWOTs for Achieving a Healthy Weight

Here is my SWOT list for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. A strategic plan will follow.

STRENGTHS
Past success. I have lost a significant amount of weight before (60+ lbs) using a healthy plan (WW) and kept it off for a long period (6 years).

Food tastes. I like healthy foods a lot and know how to cook them—most vegetables, fish, skim milk, etc. So does my husband. I can afford to buy healthy foods.

Exercise experience and gear. I am no longer afraid of gyms or exercise. I’ve worked successfully with trainers in the past and know about strength training; I belong to 2 gyms—one near home; one near work; one with a pool; I own a pedometer, a treadmill, a stability ball, Zoomer swim fins, some weights, and a step. My husband wants to walk and go to the gym and pool with me.

Motivated by Winning. I like the being the best and being all I can be.

Knowledgeable and Problem-Solver. I know a lot about nutrition and starting and growing fitness plans. I am good at strategizing and working through options to stay on track and improve.

I ask for help. I’m not shy about asking people for help and not embarrassed to ask for what I want, and I take criticism I’ve asked for pretty constructively. My husband, counselor, and even my boss are prepared to help me find time and motivation to get and stay on track.

Fellow bloggers. I am following stories of people who are successfully losing and maintaining and they are also following and encouraging me.

WEAKNESSES

Current size & mindset. I’m bigger than I’ve ever been and It’s hard to move and push the thoughts of defeat aside.

Inertia. I make a lot of plans but don’t follow through on them for more than a few days or a week. It’s easier to watch TV than to walk.

I let work take priority. It’s hard to feel like I can get away from work to exercise or to get home before 7:30 or 8 so I have the energy to cook healthfully and pack lunches.

I let fear of potential problems keep me from trying. Like my feet hurt and I’m afraid of hurting them more. And I have a fear of being hungry.

I feel like a failure to have to keep starting. I’m embarrassed and humiliated that I keep starting and stopping.

I get caught up in other people’s problems. This drags up my own problems and negative thinking and breeds the blues and distracts me from own direction and solutions. (Hubby made me add this one. . . hmmmm)

OPPORTUNITIES

To take charge of my life. Be a new person who is energetic, self-loving, positive, inspirational, fit, creative, ever-learning, and generously loving.

Avoid or delay obesity associated health problems, most of which run in my family. Stay free from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, breast & endometrial cancers.

Improve my lifestyle to help manage depression & osteoarthritis. Use exercise to help manage depression and strengthen muscles to ease pain and increased damage of OA. Use success to help breed increased self-confidence and positive future focused thoughts.

Feel proud. Feel more positive about myself and life each day. Feel more confident and like a positive representative in my job. Be a better healthy role model to the grandkids. Change my story so I can talk about and dwell on something else besides my fat.

Wardrobe in the wings. I have lots of clothes to at least last me the next 70 lbs.

THREATS

Lack of belief. I have never lived in a healthy weight range and am not sure I believe I can get there or live there.

Depression. I am prone to depression and am struggling now. It tends to paralyze me and make me very negative about my ability to succeed and to recognize my successes.

Cynicism about my future. I tend to have an inability to stay focused and confident that I can have positive future that has purpose and growth and fun with stimulating and loving people.

Self-pity, isolation, fuck-it defeated attitude.

Family history and patterns. Parents and sister are overweight and none of them have sustained weight loss with a healthy, maintainable plan.

Diabetes and HBP waiting to happen. Plus, both my parents have mobility issues from progressive arthritis and spinal deterioration.

SWOT (of) This Fat Woman

I’ve worked for several companies, and the ones I’ve been at for more than 3 years, or that have existed for more than 3 years and have also had a few employees who have also been around at least that long, always have this in common—the same problems continue and the same, or at least very similar, solutions come up. And when they do, they either:

• Get laughed at (the futility of it all!)


• Scoffed at (we’ve tried that before—gong!), or. . .


• Brushed off and tried again because the timing, circumstances, players, tools, or attitudes have somehow changed—and it was a good idea to start with.
  

The companies that give up get shut down. I’ve been in a few of those too.

Another thing that winning companies that I’ve been part of do is strategize their next steps by doing a SWOT analysis.

This is not to be confused with SWAT. When I Googled SWOT team, I got this image (found on http://blog.technicalmanagementinstitute.com/2008/03/innovative-swot.html with photo courtesy of N.Trung by someone else making a play about the 2 acronyms):

SWAT stands for Special Weapons and Tactics. (Does that look like a smoking ham hanging from the ceiling to you?)

It’s also what you do to a fly.
(Fly swatting photo from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1050305/Splat-Scientists-work-perfect-way-swat-fly.html

Or in some cases, apparently, both:

http://www.sidekickstudios.com/gallery1.html

SWOT, on the other hand, stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Threats. Really good companies create multiple SWOT lists at all levels, letting people at all key divisions participate and define authority to make changes. Their images look more like this.
(graph from: http://www.excelsia.ch/htmlgb/blog/index.php?entry=entry090108-234052)

And this:
(graph from: http://www.coachingcosmos.com/17.html)




And here's another good one:

I'm going to be working on my own list of Strenghs, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Threats when it comes to getting to a healthy weight. . . I'll share. Think it might help you to do it too?

from: http://www.worldwideassociates.co.uk/marketing_strategy_swot.htm)

Today's Inspiration

I heard this playing this morning--in Starbucks, of course.

Hit the parallel bars on the right in the green box (radio) to stop the usual 45 music. . .

Come 'on, People, Give the Cow a High Five

OK, the bad news is I ate lunch at Chick Fil a and I didn't make healthy choices. (I realized as I started to post this that ugh, it revealed my misstep and would elicit an unplanned confession--perhaps a good thing.)

But the good news is that I'm not so caught up in myself or with my life that I wouldn't take the time to smile at and give the guy in the cow suit a high five.

There was this one guy in there, eating and reading the paper. The guy in the cow suit, strolled slowly over to him, stopped and tilted his head staring at the guy. It was funny and adorable.

Nothing. No response.

Cow tried moving his head the other way.

Nothing.

Cow moved on to other people--waved at one guy, then waved at me with both hands--I waved back with both hands, then he put up his "hoof" for a high five. Why not???

The cow walked back past the guy, did the same little cute thing again--to no avail.

Moved to peek between the door and glass window next to the guy--nothing.

I mean how hard is it to give the guy making a living wearing a cow suit a little TLC? Relax. Life is too short. Give the Cow a High Five!

AM Walks Started, AM Weights Next

Two days down that Hubby and I have been getting up at 6 AM to walk Puppy Yeats together. We don't go far, but it is down hill and back up and it takes awhile because Yeats gets overly excited so we have to stop and get her to chill before we move on.

ARMS TOMORROW
Tomorrow is a big day because I told Hubby I wanted to start doing some weights in the AM together. I figure we can do some bicep and tricep curls and military presses and chest presses and flies. Since we're just starting, I'm shooting for 2 sets of 12 (10 if we reach fatigue at 8).

LEGS ON WEDNESDAY
The next day we will squats, step ups & side step ups, leg raises, and crunches.

SCHEDULING LOGISITCS
On Thursday, I plan to leave work by 5PM so I can go to water aerobics. This is more stressful for me because I have to leave on Weds. at 4:30 to meet with PhD2. And with daily deadlines, it can be almost impossible to leave. Plus, I have this new employee training with me that is still not up to speed. Plus, I took today off to be with my visiting aunt & uncle and need to leave early on Friday to drive to see our NC granddaughters (7 year old has piano recital on Sat. & the 3rd birthday party for the other on Sun.) So I am not going to beat myself up if I can't get out. However, my goal is to start leaving on Tues., Weds. & Thurs. early--Tues & Thurs for water aerobics and Weds. for my appt. I can work from home after if necessary, but it doesn't count toward the deadlines.

UNUSED MUSCLE FATIGUE
Starting to get moving was something PhD2 talked with me about. I feel stiff and sore so many places. I've been having a lot of shoulder pain, all along my right scapula and across my right chest muscle (hurts to the touch). It felt much better after just one day of walking and stretching it. My knees have been catching some. My feet hurt (they are the worst part.) But I have new inspiration. I want to ride my bike (Hubby and I have started kind of dreaming about going to Maine or NH with the NH grand kids and I thought it would be great if we could all ride bikes together but not if I can't keep up.) and I want to swim and go to our house assoc pool.

PUBLIC BATHING (SUITS THAT, IS)
I can't decide whether I want to go to pool in our subdivision now--probably more likely in the AM or late PM, hopefully when fewer people are around. I sort of feel like fuck it, if others can't take seeing me in my bathing suit, but the up and down OMG look my uncle gave me when I was in shorts when they arrived (to clean our deck), incites my hesitation.