Part I: What didn't work

I thought it'd be a fun Friday post to make a list of things that worked and didn't work for me over the course of this journey. The list got rather long so I'm only going to post part one today. What didn't work.

• Jane Fonda exercise video: Ah Jane. I was so excited to see you again. In the end, I couldn't handle the 80s flashback. Jane met the donation box.
• Curves Gym: I made the best effort I could, but in the end, Curves didn't grow with me. Though it was a great way to get back into exercising, it became monotonous. It worked in the short-term, but not for the long-term. I canceled my membership after a year.
  
• Weighing myself more than once a week: The scale used to drive me batty and I'd let it sabotage my efforts. Mr. Trim hid it on me for a better part of those 16 months. I had to learn that the scale is feedback and not failure. Since then, the scale and I are on a tentative cease-fire. I agree that I won't kick it and it agrees to tell me what my weight is. It's a lopsided agreement.
• Not having more than one goal: After achieving my first big goal, I became a bit rudderless and floundered. Since then, I learned that always having a number of goals keeps you moving forward. When one goal is achieved, there's always a few more to work on next.
• Olay Thermal Pedicure: I bought this as a mini-reward. Though mildly pleasant, it doesn't make up for the fact the packaging sucks. The tube bunches up, doesn't re-inflate and the paint flecks off it.
  
• Keeping old “fat” clothes: I did this the last time I lost weight and it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. My "just in case" clothes were an easy excuse to gain the weight back. This time around, I got rid of them as soon as they were too big.
  
• Barry’s French Twists: Bad, bad, bad, good, no wait...bad, bad, bad. These things are seriously my Cryptonite. After inhaling the entire bag, it's safe to say that I can't be in the same city as them.
  
• Not tracking: Whoo, there's a surprise! Not following the program leads to weight gain, waffling, and falling off the wagon.
• Giving myself permission to eat anything at Christmas: Who would've thought my "awesome" plan would backfire? Ha! Famous last words. This little gem of mine set off a chain of events that caused me to plateau for two months.
• Microwave Egg Poacher: Last fall, I bought a microwave egg poaching cup with the intention of adding more protein to my mornings. I only used it twice. The eggs were rubbery and the yolks hard to keep soft. I'd rather do extra dishes to enjoy them the old-fashioned way.
  
• Exercising without eating properly: I saved all my points for one or two days instead of spreading them out. No wonder I was so tired, cranky, and frustrated at the scale. Once I started eating smarter, the weight came off.
• Beck Diet Solution: Great book, lots of really insightful things in it, but I got bogged down on the "sitting while eating" part. Standing and eating was never an issue with me. I really hated forcing myself to sit all the time because I could think of no good reason why I had to. I got frustrated and didn't crack the book again. Eventually I'll get back to it but I think it'll be best to skip that step.
  

Next week I'll go over what did work.