Losing It Challenge, week 4
Can it already be week 4?
By now I had hoped to be down 4 pounds. Not only am I not down, I am actually up higher than when I started. I keep reminding myself that muscle weighs more than fat, but I am not so sure it’s muscle. I am hopeful that it is, but seeing as nothing is fitting better, it may be that I am gaining the wrong kind of weight.
Is it wrong to blame it on my hubby? I never had a weight problem until after marriage… so it must be him, right? Of course I am joking (well, partly, I really never did gain weight until after a few years of being hitched). But there is something to be said for the eating habits of others influencing your own for good or bad.
It is hard when the person you share your life with has different ideas about food. For example, I like to eat only when I am hungry but that would mean that my husband and I would likely never eat together as I am not hungry that often. Another difference is that I thrive on a mainly vegetarian diet. It makes me happy both body and soul. My husband on the other hand thrives on meat to be happy body and soul. You can see how this would be a problem for cooking meals every night, because who wants to prepare 2 separate dinners each night. And coming up with meal ideas that can be both is tough, there’s only so many recipes where adding in meat later really works well.
However, I think a lot of my problem is due to stress. I have read a lot of articles about how chronic stress can affect your weight (here is a good overview), and lets just say that there has been a lot of stress in the past 4 years of our 6 year marriage. With my dad having 3 strokes, my husband also almost dying from bleeding ulcers, and the loss of a beloved pet, all within 4 years, it’s no wonder I may be having trouble from cortisol.
So, in keeping with my no complaint promise I must now offer a solution! Now that the weather is getting nice (fingers crossed) I am going to add daily walks outdoors back into my workout plan. Daily walks in the sunshine, and nightly hoop dance fun, should burn calories and reduce the effects of stress. I am also going to make a list of every meal that I can cook that can easily be made with meat added last (things like tacos, pastas, etc). Hopefully this will all work together so I can reach my goal.
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Comments
I agreed with you totally about different eating habits also how each of us influence each other.
Both D & myself are quite in tune with what we want to eat but quite often, he is a small eater so there… 
Good for me though hahahah..
Good luck on healthy eating Aimee.
I feel the same way about MysteryMan… if left to my own devices I snack on a couple of crackers or veggies. But I come from a big italian family where food = love, so I can’t stop myself from cooking the man 3 course meals every single day. I totally had to put a end to that, so instead of eating together as often I’m trying to get him to take walks with me.
Definitely could be the stress. And also, I think bodies are inherently resistant to change so it takes a while to get into the losing pattern.
Good luck with the increased excercise this week!
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oh my goodness, you have gone through so much! I, too, need to whittle my waist line. We can both do it!
You have gone through a lot! And I’ve found that it can be really hard to manage stress. I have just recently learned better how to do that, but it’s still a challenge!