It is here: 2020! A new decade lies before us, full of possibility. There is nothing like a year when more than one of the numbers turns on the year dial. Now is the time as well for resolutions and reflections. At at 12:31 am on 1/1/2020, I can honestly say I have not had any sugar or junk food all year!!
Thank you to anyone who has been with me on this journey thus far. I am sad to say the past couple of months were less than stellar. A series of stressful events led to bad eating, which in turned led to a lowered immune system. I ended up getting sick 4 different times! Nothing serious, but this last cold left me useless on the couch for a week. The week of Christmas none the less. I had big plans with the family, but they all had to be pushed aside to make way for my weak and wheezing body.
This year, I made a “vision board” for my goals. The board features a weight loss tracker, an area for notes for each month, my goals, and some motivational quotes. I plan to hang the board somewhere where I can see it daily and be reminded of my goals.
Weight Loss Tracker
One of the features of my board is a weight loss tracker. I took picture of the beach from an old calendar I had. I put tick marks along the bottom in 5 pound increments, all the way to the desired 50 pounds I would like to use. I have a dolphin picture taped to the beach, and I plan on moving it as I lose the pounds. I hope to see the dolphin “swim” across the ocean as I lose more and more weight. 🙂
My weight tracker
Monthly Tracker
I have spots on the board to keep track of my weight and any other vitals I want to record. By having it posted on the wall, I hope to be reminded of my goals daily. One of my goals is to be more mindful of what I am eating, so by seeing something to remind me to be mindful should help.
Thank you for everyone who has joined my blog and journey! You are the best. I hope that 2020 is a good year for you. 🙂
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It is that time of year! The time of year when your loved ones ask you what you would like for Christmas. This year I am going for a fitness and health oriented list. As the new year begins and I start doing even more, there are a couple of items that would help me along the way.
#1 – Digital Scale: Right now I do have a scale. However, it is over 20 years old and starting to rust. I am not sure how accurate it is anymore, plus I would hate to cut myself on a rusty scale! I have seen the new digital scales, and a lot of them look great! I found one on Amazon that not only takes your weight but can also check your body fat.
#2 – Meal Prep Containers: As part of my get-healthy plan, I have been trying to do meal preping. That way when I go to work I have already packed a healthy meal and do not have to eat out. These meal prep containers I found have three different sections, which will allow me more options for packing. Also, it comes in a 20 pack so I could meal prep breakfast as well as my lunch for the whole week.
#3 – Acid Reflux Pillow: Yes, apparently there is such a thing as an Acid Reflux Pillow! When you have GERD, sleeping flat can cause real problems. Bile from the stomach can back up into the esophagus. I have been trying to combat this by using extra pillows. However, I recently discovered that someone had come up with a solution to this issue! A special acid reflux pillow: It is pretty much a big, soft wedge you can use to keep your head elevated. According to the reviews, it works well. I have never tried anything similar, but it would be nice to try it and see if it helped!
#4 – BP Cuff: Since I want to track my heart health, it would be nice to have a blood pressure cuff I can use at home. Right now I have to use the one at the local grocery store (which according to the sticker on it hasn’t been calibrated since 2014). Plus, if I had my own, I wouldn’t have to worry about the considerable amount of germs that may be in a public BP cuff. 🙂 The one that caught my eye is one that is used on the wrist. I have used one like it before, and it worked pretty well.
#5 – Pregnancy Workout DVD: Here’s hoping there is a baby in the near future! For my first little one, I was unsure what exercises are safe while pregnant. I did a lot of research to find ones that would work well with pregnancy. A DVD of pregnancy-safe exercises would be great to stick in the player first thing in the morning.
#6 – Jump Rope: I don’t know if anyone else remembers this, but back when I was in 1st grade there was a big push to get kids to jump rope. Each kid would get a sparkly new jump rope and encouraged to use it. The exercise was supposed to be good for your heart. Now as an adult, I have read that it is still true! Not only is jumping rope good for the heart, but it is a good way to work out the core muscles as well. It also works for people of all fitness levels, which is perfect for a beginner like me. 🙂
#7 – Weights: Although getting toned arms is not one of my foremost goals, I would like to develop some upper body strength. Whenever there is something heavy that needs lifted, I usually bow out. I even have a hard time holding my little one for long periods of time. I found a weight set that has 2, 3, and 5 pound weights. They even have a nifty stand that comes with. This is the kind of “weight training” I need to start out with. Something simple so I don’t over-strain those muscles. 🙂
Day 1(October 21, 2019) – Stuck with it on day 1! The only sugar I had today was 6 gummy worms after dinner (which is a huge decrease in what I normally have). It was also a deliberate choice, not a mindless snack or sugar craving breakdown. I had a breakfast of oatmeal, almonds, and a banana. Lunch was cheese, cucumber, and raspberries. Dinner was beef, peppers, and onions over rice. My energy seemed to be about the same, but I started craving snacks in the afternoon. As I was making dinner I had to keep fighting an almost automatic urge to snack. But I did not give in!
Day 2 – Another successful day! No sugary snacks, no swinging by to get fast food, no soda. As a bonus I also drank my whole bottle of water. I packed my breakfast and lunch and took it to work, and stuck with it! My stomach hurt after lunch (which was chicken salad, carrot sticks, grapes, cucumbers, and crackers). I am unsure if this was because this food is harder to digest than what I normally eat, or if I ate too much. Energy level was still about the same.
Day 3 – No cheating again! Today I am starting to notice some changes in how I feel: both good and bad. Good is that I have a little bit more energy than I have been having. Also, I feel like my mind is less foggy and more focused. It is great to have energy again! The bad thing is that I could feel anxiety creeping up on me. I have had problems with anxiety attacks in the past, and I could feel one coming on. This is probably due to the drastic decrease in eating sugar, since that is what I had used to squash the monster in the past. It was a terrible coping mechanism, and I am sure I am going to have some kind of fallout from that. Today I was able to stay busy and keep the anxiety monster at bay. However, as part of becoming a better person, I am going to try and find some healthy ways to deal with anxiety and stress.
Day 4 – Today I slid back a little. I forgot my coffee at home (NO!!), so I ended up getting one from the local Einstein’s Bagels. I tried to hold out as best I could, but at about 3:30, I could barely concentrate on my work. Normally I would have tried to suck it up, but I decided to not risk messing up at my job. I got myself a white-chocolate mocha. The first sip was amazing, and I perked up right away. However, after about 30 minutes my stomach started hurting. It could have been due to the sudden sugar surge, or the caffeine at such a late hour. I was amazed at how my body reacted since for awhile there I was having those drinks 3-4 times a week. Guess it goes to show how fast your body can adapt!
Other than that, I did good today. Healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I did feel some anxiety today that I need to work on dealing with. But my energy levels felt good.
Day 5 – Sadly today I had a slide back. I went to a home where there was a surprise birthday cake. A very delicious cake I might add. I figured one slice wouldn’t be the end of the world. Plus I wanted to be festive. My stomach did not agree with my decision. I had stomach pains from the yummy cake.
I also watched a YouTube video that was a compilation of clips from the show “My 600 pound life.” It is motivation to keep going. If someone who is struggling with their food like that can change their habits, so can I!
Day 6 – Today started out really well, then slowly devolved into my old habits. I started out the day with a healthy breakfast of oatmeal, almonds, and milk. However, I didn’t consume enough calories which left me at a Walgreens looking for a snack. This was still a win though. I went for trail mix and a tea instead of the mini donuts and mocha that I really wanted. I was proud of myself.
However, on the way home, my willpower dissolved. I was tired from a day at the pumpkin patch, and I was going home to a sick husband. I went through the Taco Bell drive through for both my husband and I. I had the $5 Double Chalopa Box, which was full of tasty, not-good-for-me items. I did get an unsweetened tea instead of a Dr. Pepper though, so that was a small win. Tomorrow I will get to stay home, so hopefully I can rebound on my good habits.
Day 7 – A good day! I avoided three different Starbucks that were within arms reach of me today. I also avoided getting any candy in the checkout lane. I did get a bag of candy for Halloween. I had a few pieces after dinner, but that was it. 🙂
Overall
This week started out really good, then I slowly started to lose resolve. My sugar cravings and anxiety slowly got worse as the week went on, which didn’t help. However, my energy levels went up and I am feeling better physically. I hope that next week I will be able to stay with my plan the whole week.
I did lose a pound! That is some good news, especially considering I weighed myself the day after I had the Taco Bell. I would like to lose weight a little faster and get out of the obese category. I believe if I can loose 5 more pounds, I will move from “obese” to “overweight”
This was the post I was not looking forward to. The “before” part where I have to face how far I have let my weight and eating habits slide. I will say – this is the most I have ever weighed in my life – including when I had a 9 pound baby inside me. 188 pounds! For a small person, this is a big number. It is even more confirmation that I need to make this change in my life.
I have never seen the scale go that high before!
Most of what I am trying to conquer is directly affected by weight: Heart disease, pre-diabetes, GERD. The diet I am choosing isn’t specifically designed for weight loss. I assume though that since it will be lower in calories and high fat foods that I will loose weight as a great side effect. If this turns out not to be the case, I may need to look into modifying my diet even more so I can shed some pounds.
At this point I am working on just my diet. I am afraid adding on too many chances will hurt my progress. After a couple of months on this new diet I will assess my progress and see if the time is right to incorporate exercise into my routine.
Stats as of October 19, 2019
Weight: 188
BMI: 30.3
Weight Classification: Obese
Waist Circumference: 43 inches (109 cm)
Blood Pressure:
I plan to check my stats once a month, around the same time. For the first month though I am going to check every week, since I feel that the first week will yield the most triumph and heartaches. I am excited to see what happens in the next several months (and a little apprehensive). I am going to do updates in the “Fitness Journal” section of my blog if you would like to check them out.
