So, I've been at this for a while. After a couple of years of focused effort it's been revealed that I have a B12 deficiency and that my body won't "hold" this key ingredient for weight loss/control. To be candid, it sucks. Between the thyroid disease and this B12 issue, it is very disheartening to look in the mirror and I despise going onto a scale.
Then, one morning last week, I woke up and realized it didn't matter.
Not being able to lose weight has nothing to do with it. I have get into the habit of moving more and believe (with fingers crossed) that the rest will come in time.
I've adjusted my life to incorporate some really good choices:
- Drink more water
- Take supplements & meds
- Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night
- Cut out refined sugar (I have one teaspoon of organic demerarra a day in my morning coffee)
- Cut out all processed and fast foods
- That means most of my meals are now made at home
- Inconsistent swimming and walking routine, but I am swimming and walking
What I need to work on is:
- EAT BREAKFAST
- Eat my carbs early in the day
- Eat more often - aka snack!
- Have a consistent DAILY swimming and walking routine
That's four things. Really it's only two things: eat and move. I know, seriously. I am still not eating breakfast consistently if at all. I harp on my kids and insist, while I can, that they have to eat but they hate it. Thank goodness for bananas - the perfect portable in-the-truck food!
The reality is, time is getting short and my halflife to getting fit is quickly compressing. I have to do this.
I am motivated by competition and reward for a job well done. I fared very well in the corporate world! I thought I'd incorporate that mindset - though rusty - to this problem. (Knock wood) I've never not been able to do something I've set my mind to, and this will not be the issue that will defeat me.
It also has to be fun and visual. I have been home a long time!
I've made up a chart which is now stuck on my fridge. I can keep track of THREE things: eating breakfast, daily exercise of at least 45 minutes and those days I walk 10,000 feet.
Now, the motivator, the reward:
Marbles. Well, not marbles, but glass beads. We couldn't find the old fashioned marbles!
Each bead is worth $1. For every breakfast I eat, I get a bead. For every day I exercise for 45 minutes, I get a bead. For every day I walk 10,000 feet, I get FIVE beads. Why five? Because in the months I've had my FitBit, I've never walked that far. Extra motivation is required.
At the end of the year I'll count my beads and that will be my reward. It could be a movie or a trip or something in between.
The thyroid thing and the B12 thing will work themselves out. There is no point in waiting. It's time to make better choices: eat well and move more.
Start date? Yesterday! Why not January 1? Well, with the kids home it's just easier to keep my days open. Now that they are back at school my time is my own between the time I drop them off in the morning and pick them up in the evening. I have eight hours a day to fit this in.
And I did.
