I mentioned I want to lose weight and get healthy in my previous post, so here’s a bit more of an in-depth look at what I’m doing to accomplish those goals.
I’m going back to portion control by means of meal prep. This is what I did when I lost 75lbs last time, and I know it works for me. My issue is not eating unhealthy so much as it is eating way too much. With mean preparation I don’t need to figure out what I’m going to eat each day, it will already be cooked. I also don’t need to worry about how MUCH of it I eat, because I have it all divided up in handy little containers. This also leaves me with more time during my days NOT focused on food, which is great because I have little time due to my kids anyway. Less chance of making unhealthy choices.
I’m also fasting, but to me it doesn’t really feel like fasting. I’m doing a 16/8 ratio, which means fasting for 16 hours, eat 8. I have my meals between 7am-3pm but this is pretty much what I normally would do except that I would eat dinner around 4pm (before kids go to bed at 6pm) and I would then snack all evening long. I’m sticking to those hours, and cutting out the snacking.
I’m tracking my meals on Myfitnesspal. You can find me there as Stargrace2. I want to hold myself accountable, and I want goals, rules, and rewards. All of this occupies my brain and makes me more likely to stick to it. The first few weeks are the most difficult, and I know this. I really want to eat when I’m stressed. I’m stressed a LOT. It comes with having kids. It comes with having a special needs child. It comes with being a LEO spouse. I need to turn that stress into something productive instead of eating.
I’m giving myself a reward system. I plan on posting this in more detail later, but the overall ‘goal’ for 2020 is to get below 200lbs. I know I can do this. I know it won’t be easy.
I’m using a google spreadsheet to track weight loss stuff, much like I track earning gold in WoW. The analytical part of my brain loves this, graphs, charts, stats, all of it helps motivate me and keep me on target. It simply makes me smile inside to see statistics, no matter what those statistics are for.
I’m integrating exercise into my days slowly. I’ve got a lot of aches and pains. Carrying so much excess weight isn’t easy on my body. I’m starting with just the simple stuff – moving more. Shoveling the snow, playing Just Dance, getting active with my kids. I’ll get more serious about it as time goes on.
Hopefully each of these steps will push me towards weight loss. I know they work for me, I know I can do it because I’ve already done it before, and I know I’m ready to do it. I just need to make it habit.