Oftentimes resolutions become fleeting moments of good intentions. I decided to put a plan into place in 2019, and after 345 days, my scale and weight (and my life) reaped the rewards!
I’ve spent my whole life in some form or another of weight fluctuation. There have been big highs and rejuvenating lows, but in all honesty, it’s highs for the win when the days are tallied. This gives me a lot of experience losing weight, and unfortunately, a lot of experience gaining it back. It also gives me a pretty packed closet with a wide range of sizes.
My Recent Journey
After being in some form of a foot brace or boot and feeling like I’d been sitting on the sidelines for the majority of 2018, I decided that 2019 needed to be my year. There were three main motivators that put this into perspective as January 2019 approached:
- My Family – With an active 6-year-old and two busy teens, I needed to be able to move and go, go, go. I wasn’t getting out there and experiencing enough with my kids or my husband. I wanted to be more physically present and engaged.
- My Health – Well, 48 is a time of meager metabolism and menopause. Weight and how it’s carried were going to be changing, and with an inactive status, that wasn’t going to be a positive change.
- My Closet – That bulging closet holds sizes 6-16, and I only live out of small sections of it at a time. I was ready to reclaim some of those single-digit favorites that I can never seem to let go of at purge time.
My perspective heading into the New Year to fuel my motivation was focused on these three factors. I had 60 pounds as the number that would get me down to the goal weight I was given the very first time I joined Weight Watchers about 20 years ago. By the way, I hit that goal and became a Lifetime Member… twice. Remember, I fluctuate…
After 30+ years of sliding up and down the scales, I took a long hard look at what I know to be true about myself and my mindset when I enter a weight loss journey. I needed to shift my perspective to what was going to work for me. I have lots of friends who do lots of different things, but one big thing I’ve realized is that weight loss and/or fitness journeys are personal. It’s not a cookie-cutter undertaking. I determined my “Big 3,” and I started my journey on Jan. 2, 2019, just three pounds shy of my highest weight ever.
I made sure my “Big 3” were in place, and it was go time!
This was/is my weight loss trifecta:
- Accountability – This is why Weight Watchers worked for me in the past, but with a busy family life, heading to meetings wasn’t an option. I did a fitness app. I log every meal and fitness activity every. single. day. I use My Fitness Pal, and the free version is all I need. I only input my weight when it drops, so sometimes it may take a month for a weight update, but I stick to it. I also log EVERY SINGLE THING that I eat. This is often enough to keep me from munching on poor choice items.
- Guilt-Free Workout Time – When I’m active, I make better nutritional choices because I don’t want to negate any workout gains with poor food options. I know that I’m not a gym person, so it’s my DVD player and my elliptical in the basement. We meet up six out of seven days of the week. I’ve realized that I’m a morning workout person because it fuels a good choice day. I’m also not taking time away from my family who are all still sleeping during a morning workout slot. I get up between 4-4:30 and do any one (or two) of my five to six go-to workout videos (PiYo, The Firm, Tae-Bo, Metabolic Renewal, etc.), and then jump on the elliptical to round out my workout time. Do I like getting up at the crack of dawn? Not particularly. Has my body gotten into the routine and shone me proven results? That would be 60 fewer pounds of yes.
- Food Plan – I LOVE food! Finding ways to still enjoy it in a non-binge and sans high-calorie fashion has been necessary. I have go-to choices for breakfast and lunch, and I’ve assembled a decent list of takeout and fast food options for when we are continually on the go. I DO eat a lot of salad and vegetables, and I DON’T eat whatever is left on my son’s plate. Having to log the food really makes a difference, and apps make it very easy to see which foods make for the best choices with calories, fat, and the like.
The New Year is a great time to focus on change and improvement. It happened to be the right timing for me, and it gave me a solid starting point. I had to put my motivation in the foreground and determine the “Big 3” that was going to help me not only get started, but also keep going. For 345 days, I kept going, and I’m not stopping!
I spent nearly a year developing and fine-tuning habits that allowed me to be more active with my family, improve my health, and get back into some old wardrobe favorites. If you see someone sporting a big smile and some slightly outdated fashion choices, it’s likely me. With a shift in resolution perspective and the establishment of a personalized “Big 3,” it could be you, too!
