Current Plan of Attack

I am mostly back from another absolutely wonderful Christmas season with my family.  I say 'mostly' because my nephew and his bride-to-be are here through the weekend.  When he says "Jump!" I say "How high?"  I love my family.  The older I get the more I realize what a precious gift I have in a family that loves each other and enjoys each other.  

My gushing about my family will likely be kicked up a notch this year.  We have a wedding at the end of July and all of us want to be fit & fabulous for the festivities.  In our typical fashion, we are banding together to encourage each other to keep our goals.

Each of us are setting our own personal goals with regard to weight loss/exercise/general fitness.  We will report to each other at least once a week.  We will encourage each other to stay strong when the going gets tough and to keep our focus on the end goal.  We are doing this privately, but I'll share my goals here.

I want to lose 25 pounds before the wedding.  That is almost a pound per week.  One pound per week, is what the medical profession is touting as the appropriate level for sustained success.  I rounded down, which is unlike me.  I'm trying to make my goal realistic and attainable.  If I manage to lose 25 pounds before the wedding, I will make it my goal to continue to lose 1 pound per week.

As for the method, I am leaning heavily towards a low carb approach. Not, an Atkins zero carb type thing, although I will confess, I like the appeal of eating all of the meat I want.  I'll eliminate the typical carbs like sugar & white flour as much as possible.  At the same time, I working on my mental approach too.  I don't want to vilify sugar to the point that if I succumb and eat some, I won't feel like a failure and be tempted to totally blow it.  I am also trying to keep an open mind as to the best eating plan.  If I see that this isn't working, I'll evaluate it and tweak as need be.

With regard to exercise, one of my former co-workers and I have agreed to try the 1000 mile challenge again.  We will walk or run 1000 miles during 2014.  I will be using my walk away the pounds DVD while the weather is cold and damp.  I'll walk outside more and more as I can.  

I also have the free fitbit app on my iTouch I can use to track calories in & out. In all honesty, I'm not sure if I'll stick with that since I know how I get about counting every little morsel of food and every last movement.  (How many calories does blogging burn?)  If I can manage to change my mindset to the point that I can track my eating & exercise without turning in to some sort of freak, I'll do it.

I'm chugging the water today.  I realized at some point through the holidays that I was opting for water over other beverage choices.  It was what I wanted.  Go me! 

I'm looking forward to discovering more surprise improvements through the year as my weight slowly declines.  I am ready for some slow & steady weight loss.