3 Weeks In

January 24.  This month is flying by. I thought I'd better take a minute to check in on my goals for the year:

I am still not tracking my food so I also don't know if I'm staying in my points allowance. Okay, I admit it, I'm resistant. I will plumb the depths of that resistance a bit later and see what's driving it. Similarly, since I'm not tracking, I'm missing out on the opportunity to see what is behind the eating choices I'm making. Okay, I've convinced myself. I will track today!

I do have perfect attendance at Weight Watcher's so far, and it is paying off, in spite of my lack of attention to tracking. So far, I've lost 4.8# of my 50 lb. goal for this year. 49 weeks and  45.2# to go.

As far as my exercise goals, I'm getting in my  60K steps and then some; now I need to focus on my minimum 1 hour of strength training and working up to 30/min a day of structured exercise.  I got 20 minutes of Dance Party yesterday. I will get 30 minutes of structured exercise today.  My fitbit week starts on Sunday, so that exercise will be strength training plus about 8000 steps to get in today.  I found some great leg presses without machines I will try. (Here's another. And one more.)

My glaring "miss" so far is I still have not gotten my official support partner on board. It's because there's been an awkward silence between us for some time so I need to break that silence. I will do so with an email today. I know that if I had more accountability, I would be hitting more of my goals!

I'm working on my first every self-made workout playlist. The last thing I had that was even close -- try not to laugh -- was a mix tape I made in the early 90's and played on my Walkman! Oh I am so old!  I think getting my playlist will help me get those weekend steps in. 

How is YOUR year going? Are you meeting your goals? What do you think is helping you succeed or getting in your way?

2015 Goals and a Plan to Succeed

Hello, out there.

Yes, it has been a long time.  Yes, I've been busy but honestly, not that busy!  I have not posted frequently here because . . . quite honestly . . . it's hard to keep up a weight loss blog when there is almost never any weight loss to report.  There, I said it!

I have my list of "reasons" too -- some real, most excuses -- but that isn't the point, is it?  The point is, I have a commitment to myself to reduce my weight, and by golly, I am going to.

The good news is, I haven't given up. I have managed not only to maintain, but to lose another 12 pounds since school started. I have lessened my effort at times since Thanksgiving but am still on a losing trend.

I have made a big commitment for this year: To lose 50 pounds. For me, that's a lot, as a typical loss ratio for me is about 1/2 pound every two weeks. What I have learned since September, however, is that increased muscle tone and activity can give me the metabolism boost I need to sustain a higher rate of loss.

Frankly, it's going to take a higher rate of loss for me to ever get there since -- and I know some of you can relate to this -- every time I get sick or for some reason lose my focus, I immediately gain 2 pounds.  That's four weeks of work at my normal rate of loss! I can't afford to lose at such a low rate when gaining is as easy as breathing for me!  Okay, that's a little dramatic, but you get the picture.

Anyone who has tried to lose weight knows -- no one ever lost a pound by "planning" to lose. It takes real and concrete action.  Here is my action plan to get those 50 pounds off:

• Re-vamp my daily schedule with planned exercise periods (done);
• Get back to tracking my food to give me the opportunity for course correction;
• Stay within my Weight Watcher's Points Plus allowance;
• Have perfect attendance at Weight Watcher's this year;
• Notice the life-shocks that precipitate poor eating choices and deal with them;
• Get 60K steps a week, plus a minimum of one hour of strength training and work up to at total of 30 min/day (6 days a week) of structured exercise;
• Get a strong support partner on board and keep working with my WW partner.

I think this will be the recipe for success for me. The trick -- as always -- is sticking with it and believing in myself. My last list-item will help with this.

The elephant in the room in all this is this: My last post on this blog was in June; over 6 months ago. At that time I was in a self-made PRT Challenge.  Needless to say, I did not complete the challenge or reach my goals. I allowed myself to get distracted, especially when it got hard.

All I can do from here is forgive myself, learn from my mistakes and move on. That's what it's all about right?  I know I have re-started a thousand times, but what is the alternative? If I'm not forgiving myself and trying again, then I'm giving up -- and that is not an option.  I am quite certain if I hadn't been fighting all these years, I'd weigh 300+ pounds now. I gain weight so easily.

There is some science to help me:  Research shows most people give up their weight loss efforts within a few weeks. Other studies show that people who participate in a weight loss or accountability group are twice as likely to succeed at weight loss.  Additionally, losses of more than 44 pounds are more likely to be maintained than losses of 24 pounds or less. I am planning to get all of these things working for me this year.

What about you? Where are you in your weight loss efforts? What is your New Year's plan?