Weight Loss: Staying Focused on Your Goal
Sometimes it is very hard to stay focused on your long-term healthier you goal. Life and disappoints get in the way more times then not. Sometimes even people unintentionally or intentionally try and sabotage your success.
So how do you stay focused? Take each day one at a time. Tackle each roadblock one at a time. You may have to change your relationships as well. For instance, if you and a friend always meet for Friday night drinks, maybe you can meet for Saturday morning strolls around the park. You have to determine why you are meeting that person in the first place. Is it for drinks or is it for companionship?
How to deal with sabotage? This may be hard to determine but sometimes it is very blatant. Tread lightly if you can and try to change the dynamics of your relationship. Maybe you can talk frankly with the person on how his/her actions affect your progress. He/She may or may not be willing to support you. As harsh as it seems, you cannot let other people’s decisions and actions deter you from getting healthy.
Misery loves company. There will be other people on a similar journey but he/she is failing or lost determination. I had someone tell me she would like to see how successful I am in three years. The statement did not shock me but I wasn’t mad either. I have taken steps to ensure my continued success.
Setting up short-term goals can help with the success of becoming and maintaining a healthier you. When you win on a short-term goal, that success can boost your determination to win on the next goal. On the same token, if you fail on a short-term goal you can use lessons learned from that failure to win on the next goal.
Unfortunately, willpower alone cannot sustain your continued success; this is where a support group comes in handy. There were times where I just didn’t feel like working out but I went because my husband was going. I went to support him though I didn’t have the willpower to go for me.
Weight-loss: Don’t let your excuse hinder your weight loss!
Yes losing weight is hard. In fact, it may have been one of the hardest obstacles that I have overcome. I say this because I got in my own way for over 20 years. I would start a “diet” and do well for a few months then life and excuses tripped me up. There will always be something happening, something happened, or you just lost that loving feeling but you cannot let that deter you from obtaining or maintaining a healthier you. For me it was literally between life and death. I say that because I was pre-diabetic and hypertensive and still eating very bad foods at very large quantities. I felt awful and looked even worst. My eyes lost their luster and my smile was gone. I am genuinely a happy go lucky person but over the last few years that happiness turned to depression and sadness. Yes I had happy times and yes I was in a loving marriage but I still wasn’t happy and it showed. It seemed as though life always kicked me when I was down. I think I lost hope of a better tomorrow.
I have suffered from the lost of many loved ones, disappointments, stressful jobs, and layoffs. I almost excused my way into an early grave and I was digging that hole with every bad choice I made. Last year my husband and I decided it was time to do something and we did it. We had a heart to heart before we started this journey because I knew this was going to cost us a lot of money and that bothered me because we have a lot of student loan debt. (yea – we thought Master degrees would help finally obtain that “life”) . We agreed we needed to finally invest in ourselves and commit to this healthy lifestyle. I will admit that I was blessed that we were both doing this at the same time and that we were able to support each other. I have heard stories where the spouse doesn’t support the change and attempts to sabotage them. Finding a support team is crucial to your weigh-loss journey because you will falter, plateau, or just fail but with the team you will be able to get back up and keep going. This is a journey so bumps in the road should be expected.
The change does not happen overnight. In addition some of the problems that helped add on the pounds won’t be resolved by the time the pounds come off. You just have to find better ways to deal with those problems or remove them from your life. I did a lot of soul searching and house cleaning in an attempt to work through the things that caused my unhappiness. I have removed unhealthy actives and added activities that will enhance my healthy lifestyle.
Getting healthier by adopting a healthy lifestyle takes hard work, research, dedication, and creativity. This is a JOURNEY and taking baby steps is a great way to start. Just remember your are the most important person in “your” life.
Weight-loss: Setting up Goals for the New Year
I was very successful with the Weight-loss goal in 2015 to become a healthier me. Not only did my overall health improve but the 118 pound weight-loss was incredible, my fitness increased 10-fold, and my outlook on life and happiness took me to greater leaps and bounds.
Needless to say what I did, went through, and put up with for the last 21 years of my life will no longer be accepted by me. Not only did I shed the pounds but I shed the old me and Teeha 2.0 was borned.
I have truly changed my Life and Lifestyle. So what does that mean for 2016? The goal is the same but different. My goal is to stay a healthier me. Losing weight is just half of the battle you have to maintain the weight-loss; which I have never had any success. To achieve this goal I need to balance my nutrition, keep moving, and monitor my progress.
Nutrition
A balanced nutrition includes whole grains, low protein meats, fruits, veggies, and low fat dairy. My goal this year is to eliminate or reduce process foods. Last year I depended on the Quest Protein Bars heavily; eventually they hindered my weight-loss. Yes, there is a time and a place for them such as a 10 mile Hike but not for a mid-day snack. I will still use a protein shake after my Orangetheory workouts because they are so intense.
I also plan to drink more water. Although I only drink water and tea, I have noticed I just don’t drink enough water. So my goal is to go back to drinking one gallon a day.
Fitness
My fitness goal is attend OrangeTheory Fitness classes at least 5 times a week. On the rest days I plan to continue moving with a walk. If the weather is nice I will walk outside during my lunch breaks. If it is raining or too cold I will walk for 30 mins on the treadmill.
I also plan to stand and stretch more while at work. I plan to use the 15 minute break that we all should take and never do to go for a walk or get some fresh air.
Monitor My Progress
Monitoring is so important for weight-loss and weight management. Keeping track of your food and your fitness helps gauge your progress. It also helps you investigate a 2-6 pound gain. When you lose weight or change your fitness your calories needs fluctuate. Unfortunately a lot of times balancing your nutrition and fitness is trial and error. You may find a sweet spot but that sweet spot may only last for a few months. You will reach a plateau so investigating what you need to change is critical.
Some of the tools I will use to monitor my progress are:
- Sparkpeople for Food
- FitBit Wearable for Fitness
- Photos for toning
