Well, I’m at the end of three months. I had hoped to be -24 at this point, but sadly I am only -14. I know, I know . . . better than going the other direction or nowhere at all. But the fact is it’s disappointing. In my Type-A world, less than the goal is not a good feeling. I never could accept getting B’s. I wanted only superior ratings. And I need to lose 2 lbs each week.
So why am I not losing at my goal rate? It’s pretty simple: I’m not being diligent enough. I’ve been a little cavalier about adding in a “treat” or subbing in meals (like Chinese L ). And perhaps I’m not accurate enough with calories. No-one ever said this was going to be easy. If it were easy – there’d be no fat people!! But despite being highly motivated and eager to please, I’ve still strayed. I hang my head.
What now? I’ve talked many times about keeping myself motivated through both intrinsic and extrinsic means. Let’s review:
- I’m going on an amazing trip to France a mere 451 days away.
- I’m tired of ALL of the negatives associated with how people treat fat people.
- I’m tired of trying to function as a fat person in a world not designed to accommodate my girth.
- I’m tired of the pain caused or exacerbated by being fat.
- I want to look better.
And methodology? It has to be about accountability. I’ve been using the FitnessPal app every day – counting calories and tracking exercise. But something is still missing for me. Some time ago, I said I was going to print my menus and mark off what I’d eaten, but I didn’t. It’s time to add that back in. I also said I was going to measure everything as I had done previously, but I didn’t. It’s time to get with this part, too. Revised plan:
- Print menus and mark everything daily.
- Enter foods into MyFitnessPal.
- Stay below the calorie limit (1250).
- Measure snacks into bags for the day.
- Measure and weigh food.
What about exercise? Not much change here except that I haven’t managed to up my steps. My doctor wanted 5000 by today, but I’m still only managing 3000. I promised I would be intentional about my walking. But again, I haven’t done that. Renewed strategy:
- Walk with intent, daily, gradually increasing steps.
- Continue the 2-1 swim plan (two days on, one day off).
- Add resistance exercises with bands and video at least three times each week.