I’m the heaviest I have ever been in my life. And I don’t like it. It’s not only that I don’t care for how I look in the mirror, but so many health risks are associated with carrying the extra weight. So, I’ve looked at my lifestyle and can point to some habits that need to be revised in order for me to lose the weight slowly and to keep it off.
For me, exercise has never been the issue. I already walk and run on my treadmill and bike for 35 – 45 minutes Monday – Friday. I do weights and stretching. I work in my yard on the weekends. I do my own housework. But just about all of my other activities involve sitting. When I’m not at my sit-down office job, I enjoy reading, writing, doing puzzles, sewing, painting pots and watching my Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean soap operas on Netflix. That’s a lot of sitting! It seems that the hobbies I add to my life all entail a lot of sitting. Apparently, I like to use my brain and my hands, but my body isn’t getting the exercise it needs.
I admit that I’ve sometimes ignored my Fitbit when it tells me to move to reach my 250 steps per hour. I’ve been averaging 9 out of 12 Fitbit movement goals each day although I generally reach my 10,000 steps. But no more blowing through those notifications. I’m going for 11 out of 12 movement goals each day. I realize that 12 out of 12 isn’t always possible because I can’t very well stand up and start walking around in the middle of a meeting. The other thing I can do is continue with a 20-minute walk during lunch, something I stopped doing during my July break. And finally, I’m going to add an additional 10 minutes on the treadmill or bike each evening.
But exercise isn’t everything. By far the most important aspect of losing weight is food. I eat way too much of it. I love fruits and vegetables, but I also love beef, fish, lamb, pork, and poultry in portions that are too large and too often. That Paleo diet was right up my alley, but my doctor didn’t like it. And apparently, it’s not so good for the environment either. So, I’ve essentially kept the organic eating aspect of it along with severely limiting sugar, grains, and wheat products. I’m sticking with honey, even in my coffee, and avocado oil, olive oil and ghee.
I long ago gave up soda and fruit juices in favor of more water. Nine times out of ten I grudgingly walk away from cookies, candy, ice cream, donuts, pastries, and desserts. I don’t deserve a pat on the back for this one since my 23 and Me DNA results confirm my preference for salt over sugar. And therein lies a huge problem for me. I love chips and French fries. The other day, I was watching a talk show and the hosts were talking about their favorite type of French fries. Some liked shoestring while others preferred steak fries. My problem is that I haven’t met a French fry or potato chip I don’t love. Moving forward though, I’m going to limit my fried potato intake to mirror that of my intake of sugar, rice, and wheat products. I’ll go back to eggs for breakfast with my plain Greek yogurt, organic blueberry & organic strawberry smoothie. This spring and summer, the strawberries and blueberries often come from my yard. Otherwise, they are frozen organics. These will be the hardest dietary changes alongside of cutting back on my consumption of animal proteins. I’m not a huge fan of eggs, but they make a great breakfast.
Accountability is everything, so I’m going to start keeping track of my progress. My goal is to lose about one pound per week until I have lost 50 pounds. I wrote out an eating plan for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and my television snack (one bowl of Skinny Pop organic popcorn). I will weigh myself every Friday and record it.
I believe if I can stick to my new plan, with only occasional deviations, then I’ll not only lose the weight, I’ll like the body I see in the mirror, and quite possibly I’ll improve my health outcomes for years to come.