Second Update of 2022

             I decided it was time for an update blog about the progress of my goals for 2022. Considering this is only the second update and it’s the last week of April, that should tell you something about how it’s going. But, hey, it is what it is.

             My first goal was to continue my healthier lifestyle. I’ve lost 52 pounds since December 2020. Originally, part of continuing this included losing another 40 pounds this year. And, that’s still a part of the plan, I’ve just modified it slightly. I’m still counting calories. I’m still tracking what I eat in the Lose It! app. I’m still exercising. For the moment, however, I’ve moved myself to maintenance mode. One reason is that I hit one of the infamous dieting plateaus and it didn’t seem to matter what I was doing, I wasn’t losing any weight. A second reason is that I realized I’ve been losing for over a year and I’m tired. It’s hard to maintain that for the length of time I have. So, I set the Lose It! app to maintenance mode during spring break, and I will stay there until after we return from vacation, around the first part of June. The last day of school is May 20, so I’ll have about another two weeks to do maintenance mode. My hope is that by maintaining my current weight for two months, continuing to exercise and eat within a set calorie range, that when I start back, I can move past the plateau and start losing again. It makes sense in my head; hopefully, it works out. Regardless, I’m still avoiding pop and exercising, and I’m not overeating.

             My second goal was to read at least one complete book per week. I wish that were happening, but it’s not. I’m reading, just not quite at that pace. In fact, I’ve read just four, though I do have a couple more in progress. There’s a lot going on, and while I’ve pretty much stopped bringing work home, there’s still a lot of other things going on. I have several other projects that I also want to work on, and I’ve decided to spend a little time each week on each project, which means the likelihood of finishing a complete book every week is basically non-existent. To modify this goal, I’m just going to read what I can as I can. I’d still like to hit at least 50 books for the year, so I’m hoping that I can do some catch up in the summer.

             My third goal was to write and post one blog per week. Well, this is the ninth blog of the year, and it’s week 17, so it’s pretty obvious this goal isn’t proceeding as planned either. That’s alright, too. At least I’m back to blogging after a terribly long hiatus. If I can produce 26, or one every couple weeks, I’ll be doing quite well.

             My fourth goal was to complete a monthly Bible study plan. Don’t be too surprised, but I haven’t kept this one either. I’ve been doing some Bible study, but not the way I had envisioned it at the beginning of the year. I’d written out a specific plan. I’m still going to try to work through the ideas I outlined, but it’s not moving as quickly as it should. I’m going to keep at it though.

             My fifth and final goal was to try a new recipe from one of the cookbooks on my bookshelf. I’ve tried eight new recipes from these cookbooks, which isn’t even half of seventeen. I have a bunch marked in several of the cookbooks. I just haven’t gotten around to trying them yet. I’m thinking that with summer break coming up, that would be a good time to do a lot of those.

             One thing I’ve learned about myself is that I am usually overambitious in what I want to accomplish. That has proven true yet again. But I’m going to keep plugging along and I’ll get some things done this year. It may not be as much as I originally envisioned, and that’s OK. Another lesson I’ve learned is to be flexible. I’ll lose some weight, read some books, post some blogs, complete some Bible study, and try some new recipes. I’ll also complete (or at least work on) some other projects I have in mind. I’ll get done what I get done, and what I don’t will just carry over to next year. And I’m retiring in 2024, so I’ll have plenty of time to set bigger, loftier goals.

            

Lunch Meal Prep

             In the last blog, I explained how I did my breakfast meal prep so that I had healthy breakfasts to take to work each day. This prevents me from overindulging in doughnuts, Little Debbie cakes, and Pop-Tarts. I also do meal prep for my lunches that I take to work, which also allows me to eat something healthy that will stick with me. The way I do lunch is much better than a pack of Nabs or a sandwich every day.

             Prior to developing this plan, I always struggled with lunches. I’d stick a pack of Nabs in my desk drawer as my emergency lunch. I’d fix a PB&J sandwich or a ham and cheese sandwich, add a few chips to a bag, and that would be lunch. If I wanted to get brave enough to wait for the microwave to be free and spend three and a half minutes of my already extremely short lunch time, I’d take a bowl of microwavable shells and cheese. While these lunches can be low-calorie, they are also low in sustenance. Therefore, I’d usually add a brownie, cookie, or Rice Krispie treat. Between my Pop-Tart breakfast and my sandwich and a cookie for lunch, I’d leave work feeling hungry almost every day. The result of that was coming through the door and grabbing the nearest snack available: a half bag of chips, a package of cookies, a snack cake, or a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter. Based on my history, I knew that if I was going to lose the weight, I had to make a better plan.

             While browsing Facebook one day, I saw an Amazon ad that became a game changer for me. This ad was for a mini-crockpot food warmer for about $20. I checked the item out and ordered one in January 2020, just a couple weeks into my weight-loss journey. I was only able to use if for about two months before the pandemic hit and schools were shut down for the remainder of the year, but I was thankful to pull it back out when we were able to return in the fall. I use it nearly every day. The design is just like a crockpot, and the pot is removable for easy washing. Unlike an actual full-sized crockpot, this device doesn’t cook the food; it just warms it up. Sunday through Thursday evenings, I put my lunch in the pot and put it in the fridge. The next morning, I put the pot in the crock, and when I get to work, I sit it on the corner of my desk and plug it in. This is usually around 7:15 each morning. By my lunchtime of 11:20, my lunch is hot; it’s not just warm, it’s hot. I’ve actually burned my tongue a few times. Many of my co-workers have made comments about my little lunch pail, but I absolutely love it. I no longer get burnt out on lunch choices because I now have a wide variety of lunches from which to choose.

             Meal prepping for lunch is extremely easy with this nifty little device. When I fix supper and have leftovers, the next day, one serving of the leftovers will be my lunch. The remaining leftovers are individually wrapped, similar to the way my breakfasts are, and labeled and put in the freezer in airtight containers. Foods that can’t be wrapped go into airtight containers with screw-on lids. I ordered a variety of sizes from Amazon just for this purpose: half cup, one cup, two cups, and four cups. My lunch buddies have been surprised by the foods I bring for lunch this way. There have been the obvious soups, but I’ve also taken lasagna, chicken enchiladas, orange chicken and fried rice, General Tso’s chicken and fried rice, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes, stuffed pepper casserole, chicken fajita pasta, shells and cheese with BBQ pulled pork, pizza, and biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns.

             One thing I want to make clear is that just because I’m trying to develop a healthier lifestyle and eat in such a way that I lose weight, I also want to continue to eat foods I enjoy. Calorie counting and exercise as a way to lose weight allows that to be possible, but meal prepping my breakfasts and lunches so that I can consistently eat well throughout the day, makes it happen. While I only have two years left after this one until I retire, the crockpot food warmer has me so spoiled, I don’t think I could do lunch any other way now.

             There won’t be a supper meal prepping blog because I don’t generally put a lot of prep work into supper. I do (most of the time) plan what I’ll have for supper, but it doesn’t take the time and effort in the same way that prepping my breakfasts and lunches for work does. I will note, though, that having an idea of what supper will be makes it easier to decide which breakfast or lunch to pull from the freezer to take to work that day and keep the calorie count within the limit set by the app. Moving towards a healthier lifestyle is not easy and requires much work. However, a year into it, and I can tell a huge difference in myself, both physically and mentally, and that makes it all worth the effort.

Breakfast Meal Prep

             One of the things that has been beneficial to me with my weight loss is meal prepping. This can be time-consuming, but in the end it is worth it. Prior to starting on my healthy lifestyle change, I often skipped breakfast. On occasion, I’d have a small snack (usually high in sugar, carbs, and everything else), but my first real meal was always lunch, though it is debatable whether that was ever really a real meal. I’d sometimes have a sandwich or a few peanut butter and crackers. Often, lunch had very few calories overall, but since I hadn’t had breakfast either, by the end of the workday, I would be starving, which would result in overeating, by a lot. The solution is meal prepping: having meals prepared so that I don’t have to make bad eating choices on the fly. Having a well-thought-out meal plan has made all the difference in my success.

             First, I decide what breakfasts to make, then I choose a day to do the work, usually a Saturday. Often, it takes nearly all day, but by the end, I have enough breakfasts in my freezer to last about two months’ worth of school days. These breakfasts are for the sole purpose of taking to work. If I’m home, I simply make myself a breakfast each day. When I’m working, I pull one out of the freezer and take with me to pop into the microwave for one minute to one minute and fifteen seconds, and then I enjoy a warm nutritional breakfast.

             Breakfast sandwiches are easy to make. I buy three packages of six-count sliced English muffins. I start by preparing my meats: six sausage patties, twelve slices of bacon, and a half-pound of country ham. While the meats cool, I individually fry a dozen eggs, and let those cool, then build my sandwiches. Each muffin gets a slice of cheese (I’ve used both slices of cheddar and Kraft American singles), then an egg, then a meat, either one sausage patty, two slices of bacon, or a slice of ham. When finished, I have eighteen sandwiches. I wrap them first in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. I label each as sausage, bacon, or ham, place the wrapped sandwiches in an airtight container, and put them in the freezer. Based on the Lose It! app, these sandwiches are between 300 and 365 calories.

             Next, I make what I call hash brown breakfast cups. I start with a bag of Simply Potatoes southwestern-style hash browns. These go into a bowl. I brown a pound of breakfast sausage and add about four ounces of that to the bowl. I keep the other twelve ounces to use in another recipe. I crumble in about four slices of cooked bacon. I scramble six eggs and add to the mixture. Last, I add about a quarter cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Everything gets mixed together. For this recipe, I use my Pampered Chef mini-loaf pan. This pan makes eight mini-loaves. The pan goes into a 350-degree oven. Bake until the eggs are set. Honestly, while writing this blog, I don’t remember exactly how long that takes, so just start checking after about fifteen minutes. When they’re done, let them cool, then wrap individually in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Label, put into an airtight container, and put in the freezer. Based on the Lose It! app, these hash brown breakfast cups are about 200 calories.

             My final breakfast is burritos. This recipe usually makes about twenty burritos, using the flour taco-style tortillas. All my ingredients go into one huge bowl: twelve ounces browned ground sausage, eight slices crumbled bacon, a dozen scrambled eggs, four ounces shredded cheddar cheese, one cup of frozen pepper/onion blend, and three tablespoons salsa. Make sure everything is cooled and mixed well. Place a paper towel between three or four tortillas and put in the microwave for about fifteen seconds. This will make them easier to roll. Take a heated tortilla and add two to three tablespoons of the mixture and roll it up. After all of these are rolled out, wrap in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container. I never wrap these in foil, just the plastic wrap. According to the Lose It! app, the approximate number of calories in my breakfast burrito is 335.

             And that’s it. At the end of the prep day, I feel quite accomplished: after all, I have added approximately forty-five breakfasts to my freezer. There’s enough variety that I won’t get burnt out on any one thing. The calorie count is close enough for each one that planning meals for the day so I stay within my calorie limit is still easy. All in all, it’s a day well spent, and I attribute much of my success to doing this.

             Having a good breakfast is key to success in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but it doesn’t end there. Having a meal plan for the day is vital. In the next blog, I will explain how I do lunches that keep me on track.

            

            

My Weight-Loss Plan

A lot of people have asked me about my weight loss, and they want to know what I’ve doing, so that’s what this blog will explain. Let me begin with a disclaimer, though. I am not a doctor, and I’m only explaining what has worked for me. Before you begin your own weight-loss journey, you should check with your own doctor and follow their advice.
My journey began on May 30, 2020, when a pulmonary embolism (PE) nearly killed me (I will eventually write about that). That summer was a difficult one, filled with emergency rooms and doctors and surgeries. When finally in December 2020 I saw my cardiologist and was given a clean bill of health, he told me the next thing I should concentrate on was losing weight. That’s the one thing I could do to make myself healthier. Finally, after all I had been through, I made the decision to take charge of my health and do what I knew I should’ve done years before. I was going to lose the weight.
1. First, I planned. Then I had to understand and accept that this plan is not set in stone, and there will be days when I would stray from the plan, which meant I also had to understand and accept that straying from the plan did not mean I was failing. For me, I also had to write the plan down because that’s just how I do things.
2. I decided to do old-fashioned calorie counting. I downloaded a free app called Lose It!, entered my information, and set my goals. I set it to lose one and a half pounds per week and set my first weight loss goal at a minimal five pounds. I knew even then my actual goal was a lot more like 100 pounds, but I knew I couldn’t go into the app and set it for 100 pounds. That sounds so unreachable, so I decided I’d go with small goals. Five pounds at a time. When the first five came off, I was ecstatic. Then I did the next five, and the next five. Eventually, I made it to 50 pounds gone. I’m halfway there. I really like this app. It sets a daily calorie limit for me based on my goals. I can also set the limit to be flexible, so that I eat fewer calories on Monday through Thursday and more on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I can also record my measurements so I can see the inches drop. I can create recipes and get calorie counts for those recipes. I have all my data for the last year, and that helps keep me motivated to keep going.
3. I recognized that I couldn’t just cut calories, I also needed to start exercising, so I had to plan for that as well. I started walking, so much so that I was making laps around the halls at work every chance I got and walking in place while standing in the hall for hall duty. People noticed, and it kind of became a joke, both with my co-workers and students. I started walking at home, both outside and inside. Later, I bought a stationary bike, and I try to ride that at least four times each week, but I prefer it when I do so every day. With fifty pounds gone, I’ve added some toning and aerobic exercises. I have some DVDs that I use for that. I knew I needed to be moving. A lot. There were days I didn’t want to. There were days when stuff got in the way, and I just didn’t. But there were more days when I did. And that’s what matters. I kept trying to follow the plan and get in some exercise. I didn’t beat myself up on the days when it didn’t work out. I just resolved to do better the next day.
4. No foods are off limits for me. As soon as something becomes off limits, that’s what we as humans want. Therefore, nothing is off limits. If I want it, I will eat it. However, because this is my rule, I don’t overeat that food. I’ve become very good at staying within the boundaries of my calorie count, even if I have an extra cookie, or a piece of candy or cake, or a bowl of ice cream. And on the day when I go over the limit, I know it’ll be okay because tomorrow is a fresh start. My goal has been to change my lifestyle, to make this a permanent change. I don’t intend to permanently give up cookies, candy, or cake, so I occasionally allow myself to have a little bit.
5. The one thing I have given up is my Diet Mountain Dew. However, I did not do so immediately. I was three months into the plan when I had a vasovagal episode and had to go to the ER, and later that same day, I had a case of colitis. To rest my colon, I stayed away from the Diet Dew for a few days, enduring a mild caffeine headache. After the headache was gone, my son suggested giving up the Diet Dew, since I’d already made it through the worst part. I really loved my Diet Dew. I really did not want to give it up, but I realized I wanted to be healthy more. I have obviously known for years that the Diet Dew wasn’t good for me, and I finally found the motivation I needed to give it up. Since March 2021, almost a year now, I have not had Diet Dew. Even more than that, I haven’t had a pop at all. Now, I drink water and lemonade. I feel better than I’ve ever felt, and I know that switching to drinking primarily just water has made a difference in my weight loss.
6. Another component of my plan is some meal planning. I know how many calories I can have per day, so I try to plan meals in advance to make sure that I can stay within those calorie limits. I don’t always have every meal planned every day (and I want to do better with that), but I am able to plan enough so that I stay relatively close to those limits. I also make sure that I eat at least three solid meals a day. Before, I rarely ate breakfast, and I never had the best of lunches, and I would snack recklessly when I got home, then I would overeat for supper. Now, I have breakfast every day. I spend time prepping breakfasts to take to work: breakfast burritos, hash brown breakfast cups, and bacon/sausage/ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches. I take one of those to work every day, and on the weekends, I fix myself breakfast. I bought myself a mini-crock pot that doesn’t cook food, just warms it, and I take that to work every day. When I have leftovers from supper, I freeze them to take for lunches later. I put my lunch in the mini-crock pot and plug it in when I get to work and by lunch, I have a hot lunch. When I get home, I have my supper, which I have sometimes planned for, but on the occasions I have not, I consider where I am with my calories and choose my options accordingly.
7. Weighing and measuring my food is also important to my success. I bought a food scale. I’m getting better at judging my food portions now, but that’s because I started weighing and measuring my food. I’m learning what three ounces of meat and a cup of pasta looks like. I can measure when I’m at home, but learning what portion sizes look like makes it easier to fill my plate when I’m eating somewhere besides home.
8. Finally, I weigh every day that I wake up at home. I don’t take my scale with me when I’m traveling (that would be a bit much), but I will weigh every morning when I get up. Some days, there’s loss. Some days, there’s a little gain. And some days, it stays just the same as the day before. I know some recommendations say to just weigh once a week, because daily weighing can get discouraging. While that is true, for me, it is more helpful to weigh in daily. It helps me maintain my focus and makes sure I don’t let things get out of hand. I’d rather see I gained a half pound from the day before than two pounds from the week before. This allows me to make daily adjustments when I need to, either eat a little less or exercise a little more.
That’s the basic outline of what I’ve been doing to better my health and lose some weight. I started in Dec. 2020, right after Christmas. I’ve been at this for 426 days (the Lose It! app tells me each day how many days I’ve logged my meals and gives me a projection for when I’ll reach my current goal). Physically, I feel better than I have in a long, long time. Surprisingly, I also feel better mentally. I didn’t realize what a difference being physically healthier could make for my mental health.
Sometimes I feel like I’m on a plateau and the weight isn’t coming off fast enough, but I am resolved to see this through. When I reach my desired weight, I will keep doing these things: logging my food (changing the app from weight loss to maintenance), exercising, weighing and measuring my foods, eating regular meals. I will do that because it’s the healthy way to eat. And my ultimate goal is that this is a lifestyle change to get to and maintain a healthy weight, not a temporary change to lose weight and gain it back.

In It to Lose It!

             As you know, I’m working my way toward a healthier lifestyle. And it’s not easy. Sometimes, it’s not even fun. But it is a necessity. After the scare I had with the Pulmonary Embolism (PE) in May 2020, I realized that I definitely needed to make some changes to become healthier. I can retire in 2.5 years, and I want to be able to enjoy that retirement. I have family and friends who I love dearly, and I want to be able to actively live my life and do things with them. Bottom line: I had to make some changes to give myself the best shot I could to live a long, healthy life.

             After receiving an excellent report from my cardiologist in December 2020, I knew my body could handle the changes I knew I needed to make. I’m a planner, so I had to have a plan. I installed an app I have used before and had success with: Lose It! I synced that app to the Fitbit app. I put in the app that I would like to lose 1.5 pounds per week. It gave me a daily calorie limit. I started tracking everything I ate in the app. I started walking. And I saw the pounds start to drop.

A couple months later, I gave up pop. I haven’t had a Diet Dew (my vice) or any other pop since March 2021. I feel a lot better. I’m sometimes tempted. If I’m at a restaurant and they don’t have lemonade, it’s tempting to ask for Sprite or a Diet Dew, but so far, I’ve stuck to water. When I’m traveling and have been driving for a while and starting to get tired and stop at a gas station, I really want to get a Diet Dew. So far, though, I’ve always talked myself into just getting the water.

I knew exercise had to be part of the plan. I started by walking. I set my goal to 8,000 steps a day. I read several articles that indicated this would be as effective as trying to do 10,000. I don’t always hit 8,000, but most days I get close. In the spring, I bought a stationary bike. I started riding it. Most weeks, I get four to five days in on the bike. Some weeks, I manage to do all seven.

All of this made a difference and at one point, I did hit the 50 pounds lost mark. I did gain a little back through Christmas, but I wasn’t surprised by that. I changed the Lose It! app from “lose” to “maintain,” and I didn’t get to exercise as much as I had been, but when all was said and done, I still had dropped 45 pounds in a year.

I kept the app on maintenance mode until Jan. 10. We had a vacation planned for the week of New Year’s, and I wasn’t going to fret over calories while on vacation. On Jan. 10, I switched the app back over to “lose,” and again selected to lose 1.5 pounds a week, and I got started back. I also changed my exercise routine a bit. Instead of just walking or riding the bike, I added in some exercises that would target and tone my body. I still want to lose another 40 to 50 pounds, but I also don’t want flabby, floppy arms. So I worked out a plan where I use old workout videos I have on DVD (yes, those still exist). I also downloaded an app called “Lose Weight in 30 Days.” This app has a series of daily exercises that take less than 10 minutes to complete. The exercises I’m doing on the DVDs run from 10 to 20 minutes.

Taking the maintenance hiatus and adding in extra exercise when starting back seems to be working. I’ve lost two pounds since we got home from vacation. At the rate I’m going, if I can be diligent and avoid the seemingly inevitable plateaus, I should reach my goal weight by Thanksgiving of this year.

Right now, that sounds like such a long way off. However, I keep reminding myself that I didn’t gain weight overnight, thus I won’t lose it all overnight. I keep reminding myself that I’m making smarter food and activity choices than I have in a long time, and I’m not doing a fad diet that will result in gaining the weight back when I stop. I’m making this a lifestyle change. There may be a time when I don’t have to track what I eat, but I will keep tracking even after I reach my goal. If I don’t, it will be too easy for my eating to get out of hand again. I will keep exercising regularly because if I don’t, all the work I put in to making my body healthier will be for naught. When my doctor asked me to explain what I was doing to lose weight and I told her, she asked, “But isn’t that a lot of work?” and the answer is “yes, it is.” But I want to be successful in this endeavor, and this is the only way I know how to do it.

I understand this approach isn’t for everybody, but it’s what works for me. I use the apps. I track what I eat, and I eat what I want. No food is prohibited in my plan. I just have to make reasonable choices and watch my portion sizes. There have been a few days when I’ve gone over the allotted calorie intake, and the world didn’t end. The important thing is I don’t let a week of the scale staying on the same number discourage me enough to revert to my old habits. The app does allow me to select “flexible” for the week, and this breaks the calories allowed down to a smaller number for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and gives me a few more calories on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I do this because I tend to eat more on the weekend, so this way, it’s not as disastrous when I do. The app allows for that.

I’m in this for the long haul. I don’t want my body to get back to the unhealthy state it was in. I love looking at pictures and being able to see the difference. I love looking at the app and seeing how much lower all the numbers are. I love buying new clothes, many of which are one to two sizes smaller than what I had been buying. But most of all, I love having more energy. I love being able to do things with the grandkids that before I wouldn’t have been able to do. I love just feeling better. This hasn’t been easy, and I suspect that won’t change, but it has been so worth it.

 

New Year, New Goals

             I’m going to start the year the way I have traditionally done in the past, by identifying the goals (resolutions, if you must call them that) that I have set for myself for the year.

1. Continue my healthier lifestyle plan. This isn’t just about losing weight, though that is a big part of it. I’ll detail my entire plan in a later post, but here are the highlights. I use the Lost It! app to track all the food I eat; it also tracks exercise that can be imported from my Fitbit. I make healthier food choices and I stick to a maximum number of calories per day. I make it a point to do some sort of exercise each day. This worked incredibly well for me throughout 2021; I lost 50 pounds! Since I want to lose at least another 40, I’ll keep doing what is working for me.
2. Read at least one complete book per week. This will allow me a minimum of 52 books over the course of the year. For a lot of reasons, I haven’t read as much the past three or four years as I have in the past, and I want to return to reading at that level.
3. Write and post at least one blog per week. This will ensure that I make time to write but will not be so tedious that it is unattainable. I’d also like to return to some poetry writing, but that seems to work better for me when I’m feeling a particular emotion, so I won’t set a number for how many poems I should produce. I’m just going to hope that I can produce some good blogs and a few good poems throughout the year.
4. Complete a monthly Bible study plan. Last year (2021), I made it my goal to read the Bible entirely through. I had done that before, but it had been a while. So, my goal was just to get through reading it once again. This year, I want to have a more focused plan of study. I have some ideas (and even a plan for January), but I’m still working on developing those into something feasible.
5. Try a new recipe each week of the year. I have a lot of cookbooks on the bookshelf in my kitchen. Lately, the past few years, I’ve been focused too much on Pinterest recipes and have largely ignored those cookbooks. Recently, the past few months, I’ve gotten back into buying cookbooks, but then I realized that I have all these cookbooks that are just sitting there. As a result, I’m going to make it a point to find a variety of new recipes to try from those cookbooks.

If you’ve been with me in the past for these New Year’s Day blogs, you know I try to keep it simple when it comes to goals for a new year. I’ve been guilty of overestimating the things I can accomplish in a given day, week, or year. However, five goals are manageable, and when things are manageable, they’re more likely to get done. I’m looking forward to the journey that 2022 will provide. I’m praying God’s blessings for each of you as we begin this new year.

Step 5 of 5 to Lose 25

I’ve spent the last four days outlining Steps 1 through 4 of my newly created five-step weight-loss plan. Today, I will reveal the final component of my strategy. To refresh your memory, Step 1 was to set my goal and create tracking charts, Step 2 was to create a support team to hold me accountable, Step 3 requires menu planning and keeping a food journal, and Step 4 requires regular (as in daily) exercise. By following these steps, I should realize success. I will be eating less, eating healthier, and exercising more. But there’s one more thing that will be essential to my success. In fact, this step focuses on something I should have done in 2014 and 2015 to keep seeing success. Step 5 requires consistent prayer on my part.

Time I’m obsessing about food is time I could be devoting to something else that would be more productive to the kingdom (which is an issue I need to work on anyway). I know prayer works. It has gotten me through worse situations that being overweight. So, I will start with prayer. However, I also know there are scriptures that can help. I know I could look them up and find them myself, but to start this journey, I decided to look for a devotional devoted to weight loss. One thing we keep telling ourselves is that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Amazon has an abundance of weight-loss devotionals, enough that it can be overwhelming trying to decide which to go with. However, I finally decided to go with Fit Faith: A 7 Week Weight Loss Devotional by Susan Kelley. I may discover this isn’t what I wanted or what I need. If so, no big deal, I’ll just start over.

I’m hoping to use this journey I’m about to begin not only to lose weight but also to strengthen my walk with Christ. I know this is something I should work at a little bit more instead of allowing everything else to get in the way. Besides, I know if I’m going to do this, He has to be a part of it. I’ve determined a huge part of my failures in 2014 and 2015 is because I lost this aspect of the weight-loss attempts. So in addition to prayer and using the devotional, I’m also going to keep a journal of my experiences. There may be times I share parts of that journal with others. I haven’t completely decided yet what will become of the journal, but that’s OK, because its primary purpose is to keep me focused on my goal.

And with that, I’ve outlined the steps I think will make me successful in this undertaking. I knew when I started this short blog series that we’d be out of town to celebrate our anniversary and that wouldn’t be a good time to get started. Therefore, tomorrow April 4, will be the first day on my new lifestyle journey. Support team, I hope you’re ready because I am.

Step 4 of 5 to Lose 25

The weight-loss plan and journey are coming together. Steps 1 through 3 have been identified and charts have been made. Step 1 was setting my goal and creating the charts to track my progress. Step 2 was identifying my support team who will help me stay on track. Step 3 is planning my menus and recording what I actually eat, ultimately changing my eating habits and making that change become a new lifestyle for me. The next step is a progression of this lifestyle change, moving to the obvious area of exercise. Step 4, then, is to get back to exercising on a regular (daily) basis.

While menu planning takes time, it’s minimal when compared to exercising. Probably the first thing I’ll have to do is adjust my sleep schedule. I will definitely have to go to bed earlier if I’m going to get up and exercise before going to work in the mornings. My issue is that if I stay up late, I can’t get myself out of bed to do anything before I have to get ready for work, and I’ve got two more months to work before summer break. Of course, these two months will be extremely busy, as the end of the year will be. Therefore, there must be an exercise plan that I can stick to. Support team, this is where I really need you to hold me accountable.

I have a chart I found somewhere online that I intend to use; after all, you know my love of charts and lists. The chart suggests a daily routine of 100 jumping jacks, 40 lunges, 40 squats, 100 knee highs, 40 butt kickers, 20 side lunges, 10 leg lifts (each), 100 crunches, and 10 minutes of running. I modified the chart and added a line for the treadmill, a DVD workout, and walking at the track. I already know that I’m so out of shape that I’ll never meet those numbers when I start. My goal is to build up to – maybe even eventually surpass – those numbers. So, I’ll do what I can each day and on my chart I’ll write down the daily totals. It’ll be nice to see the numbers increase. I want to see these numbers increase so I can watch the other numbers (weight and measurements) decrease.

For now, then, the plan will be to be in bed by 11 P.M. each night so I can actually get up and be ready to start a workout routine by 6 A.M. each morning (except the weekends, which I’ll play by ear, but I do still plan to do a workout). I’ll start by trying to do a 30-minute session on the treadmill before work, which will also be a good jumpstart on those 10,000 daily steps my Fitbit wants to see. In the evenings when I get home, I’ll work on the calisthenics listed on the chart. I may also meet Byron and Theresa at the track and do more walking. The thing is I have to make the time to do the exercise portion of the plan or I’ll be doomed.

We’re all busy and it’s hard to fit exercise into the schedule, but other people do it. The conclusion, therefore, is that I just have to make it happen. If it’s important, I’ll make time for it. I may need some prodding, but I’ve done it before, so I know I can do it again.

Thanks for staying with me thus far. Check back tomorrow to see the final step in my weight-loss plan.

Step 3 of 5 to Lose 25

If you’ve been with me the last couple days, you know I’m renewing my commitment to losing weight, and I’ve created a five-step plan for myself. The first step was setting my goal weight and creating tracking charts to keep up with the data. They push data analysis in everything else, and given my love of charts and lists, I figured it would have to help. Step 2 was creating a support team. I identified my team members (hopefully they will read the blog and be aware they are part of the team, though I suppose I should make it a point to inform them) who I trust to keep me on task. Now we’re ready to move on to Step 3, which is to make a lifestyle change in the area of my eating habits.

I’ve mostly abandoned the lifestyle changes I made in 2013. Letting them go is much easier than keeping them. I’ve got to reestablish those changes. Therefore, Step 3 is a renewed focus on eating habits. First, while it would be in my best interest to give up pop completely, I’m not going there yet, but I will go back to what I did in 2013 and limit myself to Diet Dew on the weekends only, and to take it a little further, my weekend limit will be three. At least this will be a start in the right direction. I know that if I try to deny myself completely, I will become too focused on what I can’t have and that would ultimately make things much more difficult.

The next thing I need to pay attention to is portion sizes. I will aim for a daily caloric intake of 1,500 calories, maybe a little more if I am exercising regularly. I’ll have to plan my daily meals and snacks in order to do this. I’ve found that a particular problem I have is that I’m starving when I get home from work, and that’s when I go overboard and eat a bag of chips or something else I don’t need. So menu planning is going to be essential to success. I’ll have to distribute my calories throughout the day and make smart snack choices for foods that are filling yet lower in calories. One way to do this is to make sure that I’m eating more fruits and vegetables, and hopefully with summer on the way and those foods becoming in season that will be easier to do.

Other than trying to restrict pop to just the weekends, I don’t plan to make any particular foods off-limits as this often leads to cravings and over-indulgences. If there’s something that I really want, I’ll work it into the daily menu plan, and if necessary, I’ll add extra time to the exercise routine.

In addition to menu planning, I’ll also have to make sure I’m keeping track of what I actually eat, not just what I plan to eat. I have a food journal that’s part of my Fitbit app as well as the Lose It! app on the Kindle. Between the two of them, I should be able to track my actual caloric intake. Using the weekly menu and using the food journal apps are going to be essential to my success. If I don’t know what or exactly how much I’m eating, I won’t be able to successfully lose the 25 pounds.

And there you have it, Step 3. As you can see thus far, this plan isn’t rocket science. It does require a little time and effort on my part, though, but then that would be required of anything I chose to do and wanted to see success with. This is just the beginning, though. The real work will be with Step 4, so check back tomorrow to get the details.

Step 1 of 5 to Lose 25

Back in 2013, I lost 40 pounds. I was thrilled. Each year since, I have set goals to continue to lose weight. Each year since, I have failed, and I have no one to blame but myself. I know what strategies I used in 2013, but I have stopped using them. That’s on me. Of course, I have lots of excellent excuses – the best one is my lack of time – but that’s all they are: excuses. One-fourth of 2016 is gone and I’m no closer to my new goal than I was on January 1. Since I am the only one who can fix that, it’s time I do.

First, I need a realistic goal, one that can be reached in nine months. If I exceed that goal, then that’s all the better, but right now I’d be happy to meet that goal. Considering I’ve regained 10 of the 40 pounds I lost back in 2013, this is even more important. So, I will set a reasonable goal of losing 25 pounds by December 31. Not only will those clothes I bought after 2013 feel better (it’s amazing how tight just 10 pounds can make them), but I know I will also feel better. I had gotten so that I could walk and not feel winded, but I’ve lost that as well. So, it’s definitely time to say goodbye to at least 25 pounds.

And with a specific goal, it’s necessary to develop a specific plan. Over the next few days, I’m going to outline my plan for you, the things that worked in 2013. I will use this blog to set my goal (done) and to briefly outline step one of the plan. The blogs for the next four days will outline steps two through five of the plan. I use some books that are titled 5 Steps to a 5 to help my AP students. Well, I’m going to consider this my 5 Steps to Losing 25 plan.

Step 1 will involve charting my weight daily. Of course, I’ve been weighing in daily, but I haven’t been charting it. Those who know me know that I like charts and lists, and I’m more productive when I create and use them. Thus, I have created charts and lists for each of the steps of my new plan, including a chart to track my weight loss. Each of these charts has been duly hole-punched and placed in a pink folder and are ready to use beginning April 4 (my first official day of this new journey). My chart contains columns that allow me to enter the date, time, weight, and the difference from the day before. This will allow me to (hopefully) watch the number decrease, while at the same time I can look for fluctuations based on the time of day I weigh in.

Another component of this step will involve charting measurements of my waist and hips. This I will do only monthly as it will take longer for a recognizable difference to become noticeable. Obviously, I should also notice those clothes becoming loser, but I hope seeing these numbers decrease helps to increase my motivation to stay on track and follow this through.

So, there you have it. I’m going to get myself in line and lose 25 pounds by the end of the year. I have a five-step plan to make that happen, and Step 1 is to chart my weight daily and the measurements for my hips and waist monthly. Come back tomorrow for Step 2.