Hello. My name is Mr. Miller, I’m a Coke Zero addict and it’s been three days since my last $1 large drink at McDonalds.
(Now here’s where you all say: “Hello Mr. Miller” and apparently I’m supposed to feel better.)
Of course my lack of good health and fitness comes from more than just a nasty Coke Zero habit. Age plays role, as does a desk job and an overall sedentary lifestyle. In October I changed jobs and no longer have gym access for lunchtime workouts and runs along Chicago’s lakefront. And while she, herself, shouldn’t shoulder the blame, being married to a damn good cook isn’t helping my midsection either.
For those reasons – and let’s not forget the pinched back nerve and the current plantar fasciitis – I’ve gained 25 pounds in the last year and a half and I’m not happy about it.
Yet every other week, the beginning of most months, and surely on New Year’s Day, I mentally psych myself up to lose weight by repeating those often heard feel-good phrases: I can do this. I’ve done it before. If not now, then when? This time will be different.
At what point, really, does the mind take over and simply say: “The shit stops now!”?
Today. (Well yesterday actually. You know, being the first of the month and the beginning of a new week). Today I plan to once again try to go down the path of good health, less weight, and a better lifestyle.
That’s not me of course, but damn!
So what will make this time different? Let’s try the following for starters…
- A lot less Coke Zero. I’d love to quit but I’ll start with moderation.
- Better use of the Lose It! app.
- Weekly weigh-ins. I’ll use the numeric reminder as motivation.
- Fitness blogging.
- Finally – tips from you.
Right now, the focus is on the short-term: today, this week, and the month of April. The goals will remain small: to drop a few pounds, fit into clothes a little better, and to ramp up preparations for this summer’s Warrior Dash(es). Perhaps soon I’ll do yoga again, maybe play basketball, and hopefully throw in a few 5k’s. (Not sure yet about softball yet this summer, but we’ll see.)
At best I’m a weekend warrior, but I can do better. Not 6-pack-abs-and-5%-body-fat better, but better.
Stay tuned for the progress and results…
Miller, one suggestion: look for exercise every and anywhere. For example, I ALWAYS take the stairs. I’m on the third floor at work and even in buildings where some meetings take place on the 4th or higher, I’ll take the stairs. It’s gotten to be such a habit that when I’m forced to take the elevator, like when departing a meeting and chatting w/colleagues, it feels weird. Walking is of course always good.
Good point. Though being on the 6th floor is a bit different than the 3rd. Nevertheless, I may have to give it a go – at the very least for the frequent trips from 6 to 3 or 6 to 9…
Good for you! I’m in a similar boat — I have a wicked addiction to Diet Coke and sweets (plus I was brought up in a clean-your-plate household — old habits die hard). I’ve been on a diet all my adult life, it seems. To me, the best advice is to try to get healthy (or healthier) before you hit “rock bottom”. For me, I hit rock bottom about 10 or so years ago when I was almost 300 pounds and got on an airplane and realized I couldn’t buckle the seatbelt. I had to ask for a seatbelt extender, and it was the most humiliating moment of my life. I was too fat to do what other, regular people could do. As soon as I got home from that vacation, I started on the right path and lost 100 pounds in a year. Since that time, I have slowly gained back a lot of that weight but not all. I started losing weight in earnest again on January 1, and I’m down 20 pounds. I need to get back to my “gym rat” status — I feel so good when I exercise! Endorphins are wonderful things! You’ve got great strategies listed, and lean on people who you know understand where you’re coming from and you’ll do great. I saw your check in at LA Fitness this morning and felt bad that I didn’t get my rear out of bed and hit the gym myself. Your effort and success help motivate others, and hopefully they will motivate you, too!
It’s mentally draining, huh? To be constantly thinking about weight, diet, etc… Obviously going to the gym, alone, isn’t the answer so we really need to better focus on things OUTSIDE the gym.
Funny you should mention the clean-plate thing. My portion control just plain sucks. Plus, I not only clean my own plate but now also scarf down what the twins don’t eat. I think everyone knows what needs to be done, it’s just extremely difficult to find the time, motivation, and right mental state to do it.
Down 20 lbs for the year? That’s pretty damn good for 3-months. Didn’t your husband do the Warrior Dash last year? You two should make it a goal to do it this year…