Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Housework and yo-yo dieting
I am not a fan of fad diets mostly because I KNOW what they are like. They make me feel like I am starving, I dream only in pizza and chocolate (that includes daydreams), I become a very angry person, and I end up gaining most of the weight back and then some. I know you all know what I am talking about. If you have lost a lot of weight in a short period of time you are either in need of some counseling or on a fad diet, most likely the latter. Not only are these diets unhealthy by limiting complete food groups (especially favorites like breakfast meat and corndog poppers), but they make me feel like a complete failure and hopeless for any success with my body weight. Although I am really pushing myself with the exercise thing, right now I am taking it step-by-step with the food. I know if I say "No treats" or "Nothing fried," the little devil in me will sabotage the whole thing and I will be sitting on the couch in a pool of candy wrappers and French fry boxes with an extra twenty to lose. So what I have done is allow myself a little bit of everything, just less. And I have concentrated on eating slowly, so my brain can tell my stomach when to stop, not the other way around. I am trying to train my stomach to be a little more polite and stop screaming "FEED ME, FEED ME NOW!" Patience, little friend, patience. I wish that I could apply this same principle to housekeeping. As much as I yo-you diet with food, my clutter yo-yoing is one hundred times worse. I try the home Atkins diet: no carbs on the carpet, or couch. Or "The Daylight" diet which calls for cleaning everything up by 7:00, and no messes after that. Or my favorite, and LEAST successful, the "Binge and Purge." Here's how that one goes: I get a huge wave of cleanliness, usually after watching a TV show on Hoarding, and donate or throw away large amounts of items I don't need, then comes the emptiness. I fill up the holes in my heart with NEW junk from garage sales and other such thrifties. The "weight" gain continues; and I start over again. I am really happy about how I have been exercising, if only my house would stop the up and down cycle--maybe the mop and vacuum need to go for a jog.
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Bina - I hear ya on this one... do you even read my comments, friend? I will give you some tips, I am an old 32 yr old now, so i've learned a few things.
ReplyDelete1) get a really good book on CD/mp3 - only let yourself listen when you are cleaning. if it's a good one, your house will be immaculate.
2) play some pump me up music while you clean, it makes it more fun
3) if you are feeling lonely, call a sister or a friend while you clean
4) try this approach, remember to always leave the room cleaner than when you entered, even if it means picking up one diaper. Don't ever leave a room messier.
5) if your house is messy, it doesn't mean you should feel bad about yourself, just say to yourself, i'm choosing to have a messy house, i don't care, my room my rules. maybe the next week you'll be in the mood for a clean house. who cares really.
About the clutter....
At the yard sale, before buying, close your eyes and ask yourself, where i am going to fit this item? is there room in the closet? can i get rid of an older item and use this as a replacement? or do i not need it? sometimes when i do this, I realize, YES, it is an AWESOME deal, but I don't have the space for it. Admire it, then go w/ your money in your pocket.
Great advice Suz! I should follow it next time I go to DI. Yeah, I like cleaning and exercising to music. Sometimes both (if you clean REALLY fast with sweeping and mopping it counts as exercise).
ReplyDeleteI agree with the yo-yo diets. I went on south beach last year right before Halloween. I broke down before the end of the two weeks. That sent me into a spiral that caused a lot of pigging out through the holidays. Ah well, you win some you lose some. Lately I have been going to sparkpeople.com. I track my exercise and what I eat there. I like it.
Doesn't sparkpeople cost? Cuz slimfast is free, if it does. I like to pretend I'm tracking my food, but I do it for one day, feel like I'm starving and then eat everything in site the next day. Terrible, terrible! Oh-well, we'll all be perfect in the here-after right?
ReplyDeleteAlso, the garbage can by my feet is overflowing right now and there's dishes all over the counters. My floors haven't been mopped in like 2 weeks and here I sit. Darn.
Also, you know someone in Slovakia??? You really do ROCK! You are famous.
ReplyDeleteBina, Bina, Bina, so funny! you are such a good writer! I looked at my house yesteday and thought, "You win" and that's where it ended. I have a friend who is trying to double dip--cut the clutter and the food. She has decided to only eat at the table. Proposterous, I know, but possibly effective. In our house when the kids go to bed, all bets are off. Give me a pint of BR ice cream and a bag of chips, wrap me in my snuggie on the couch and with remote in hand, I am a happy one. Sitting at the table would ruin that . . . maybe its worth a try.
ReplyDeleteI am a friend of Shandee's from Canada, now safely back in Arizona. Knowing her and having met Tara and their parents briefly, I just have to say that I would love to attend a family get together. You are just as hilarious they are. I know so many people who are trying to loose weight (including myself) who could use a good chuckle about the whole process. Thank you for providing that outlet. I'm going to pass along your website info.
ReplyDeleteCARI!!!! I MISS YOU!!!! Sorry Bina, this is your blog, but there's CARI! HELLO!!! And by the way, Cari is AWESOME! I adore her.
ReplyDelete