WLJ Weekend Update: 3.19.11

While last week I had a hard time controlling my eating due to some emotional things that were going on, this week was...pretty serene.  Other than a brief argument with a loved one, my week was pretty uneventful so keeping on plan wasn't too difficult.  I ran 23.11 miles, plus did water running and toning and I stayed in my points.  Pretty simple.

So, this week, I'm going to write about weight loss in a non-emotional way.  I'm going to compare it to a monetary budget.


When watching what you eat, whether using Weight Watchers or some other program, the premise is always the same: you are allowed x amount of points (or calories) each day, your job is to stay within (or under) x.  You get to eat a bit more, albeit a very little more, if you exercise.  To put into money terms it would be like saying "I am allowing myself $25 a day, and if I find some spare change I'll let myself spend that too, but no more than that."  And if you don't eat your exercise points?  That's like putting the spare change in a coffee can to save up and blow on something you want but don't need.

So, what happens when you go over your budgeted points?  The same thing that happens when you spend more than actually have: you have debt.  But this debt is excess weight on your body. 

"But, Jaci", you say, "money is an emotional thing for me.  I spend it to make myself feel good, I get depressed when I don't have any, I hate that I have to work so hard to get it...so this budgeting thing is hard!" 

First, look at those words, doesn't that sound like something someone says when they emotionally eat?  I didn't say it was going to be easy, there is definitely some things you'll have to work through and some emotions you'll have to sort out.  But it will be worth it.  Why?

Because just like how rich people get rich by not spending all their money and not putting themselves into debt (unless there is some kind of huge ROI like in education or homes),  skinny people get skinny by not eating every piece of food that comes their way.

And, who doesn't want to be skinny and rich?

I bring up the budgeting idea because I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that part of the reason that I am finally losing the weight is because I finally figured out how to budget my money.  Suze Orman has predicted past season winners of "The Biggest Loser" based off how they spend their money and she was right!  I think this can be extended to how successful someone will be in keeping the weight off too, the person who is patient and loses at a healthy rate (like a long-term investment) is much more likely not to regain the weight then the person who crash diets (like a get-rich quick scheme). 

I started my weight loss journey a little over two years ago.  In that time I went from someone who didn't think twice about whipping out my credit card or opening a line of credit to pay for something I "needed" to someone who saves 30 to 40% of her monthly income and never uses credit.  I also went from 231.4 pounds (now you all know) to 154.2 pounds in that same amount of time.

I get budgeting and I apply it to my life (and to be fair, I actually find budgeting kind of fun).  I'm not saying I'm perfect, I have to adjust my weight-loss budget and money budget continuously and be flexible.  Some weeks I blow my budgets and some weeks I'm super tight.  I remind myself that that's okay, that I'm human, and I start again the next week (last week is a great example).  Rich people practice this thought process too.

So, this week I focused on my budgeting.  And I lost 2.2 pounds.  Grand total of weight loss (for those who don't want to do the math) is 77.2 pounds (food debt) gone.  9.2 pounds to goal!  Ohmygosh, I'm so close!