I'm back!

Okay, so I took some time off from the blog this year. There are several reasons, namely;

• I stopped dieting
• I stopped working out
• I had a problem with kidney stones 

And as a result, I gained like THIRTEEN POUNDS.

So..not the most awesome late spring / early summer work. 

But doggone it...I'm going to beat myself up about it. Let's look at the good points;

•  I'm still 50 pounds lighter than I was was last year
• I've taken four inches off my waistline
• I've dropped at least one shirt size (and sometimes two, if it's cut generously!)
• I've had to buy two (2) new belts in the past year
• My blood pressure is better - I didn't have to start taking medication
• My blood sugar is better

So...lots of good things going on. I'm not at my goal, but after wandering in the wilderness for a few months, I think I'm getting back on track. 

So easy steps - get back on a healthier diet.  I threw together a bunch of vegetables, including a generous helping of KALE, tossed in some cooked chorizo sausage and - instant soup! 

Last of the kale soup! 

Non-scale victory!

Looking for a pair of pants to wear to work this morning. Pulled on a pair that felt tight. Was a little concerned until I realized they were 34" waist. Have not worn those in a couple of decades.

Woo Hoo!

So long Yellowstone...!

Whenever I traveled by air I was always envious of my lucky co-passengers that would board the plan looking tiered, tan and wearing a new t-shirt advertising the fact they had just completed an adventure in one of America's many fine national parks. So when whenever I had the opportunity, I too acquired location specific t-shirt to announce my participation in a great outdoor adventure. In 2010 I visited Yellowstone and picked up the required t-shirt.

The coat does a good job of hiding the excess weight. 

Packing a lot of weight around the middle in this picture, It made hiking along the Yellowstone River a lot of work. 

I still have the Crater Lake shirt - it still mostly fits as it is an XL! 

I loved that shirt. I wore it a lot. Around 2014 I wore it a lot because I'd gained a lot of weight and this shirt still (barely) fit. So it got a lot of use and it got a lot of wear.


Now it's time to face facts. Some good, some sad. The sad facts - this shirt is worn out. It's got a tear at the neckline. It's utility is reduced to yard work or house cleaning.  It's stained and stretched and generally worn.  You could say that it's broken in and comfortable, which is a true statement.

The good fact - I've lost so much weight that this shirt no longer fits. It hangs on me like a tent. Today as I went through the dresser and the closet purging all the clothes that are now too big. I had to wrestle with embracing the body I have now with the sentimental value the shirt carries for me. Then I thought - a compromise. If the sentimental value is derived from my viewing the shirt do what so many kids recommend - take a picture, it'll last longer!  GENIUS!

So now I can throw the shirt out with no remose. When I want to remember it, I can just look at the following picture.




But the real motivation will be to go back to Yellowstone for a new shirt in a size the will fit my goal weight body!

Stay on the path to a new you and see what is over the horizon! 

"Why didn't anyone tell me tasty things tasted so good?"

So...yeah.

It's been sort of a retrograde week. Lots of tasty food. Not so much exercise.

Meh.

We're were talking about fear of success last week. I didn't really get it, but in hindsight it was a very timely topic. I think that is part of what is going on here. Coupled with some other eternal things. What it boils down to is that I need to put this behind me and get refocused on weight loss. The good news is that spring is just around the corner...dog walking weather, which I think both the dog and I will greatly enjoy!

If it was easy...

...we'd all be at goal weight!

I'm on an okay trajectory. Down 0.4 pounds in the past week. Didn't lose a lot last week, but that's okay. We're not always going to lose weight every week. I could point to several factors - no time, stress and annoying lower back pain that is putting a crimp in my exercise routine.  But it's okay.

I made a big pot of vegetable soup that will last through the weekend (and into next week). If can resist the siren call of tasty food dining out this weekend, I'll should have a good week. 

One key to not eating poorly is to keep busy. I've got a few irons in the fire that I can focus on whenever I start to feel 'the munchies' rumbling in my stomach. Another is to recognize that the process will have ebbs and flows to it. I've made amazing progress over the eight months. If I can stay focused, I think I can reach my goal weight this year! 

Random Thought for Saturday...

I sat down at my PC this morning to do the usual. You know - check the e-mail, read some news, visit web sites I follow and check the Facebook.

After logging in to the PC, you know what the very first thing I see is?

A pop up box in the lower right hand corner of my Windows 10 PC that says "ready for the Superbowl? Do you have enough snacks?"

So now the PC is pushing notices to consume junk food?  Really?

A year ago I would not have given that a second thought. But seven months into this journey, I'm almost hyper-aware of how we are constantly bombarded with advertising suggesting that we consume crappy food that may taste good up from but will just be converted to fat if you are lucky and convert to fat and make you feel bad three hours later.

Where's the positive take away here. Stay strong and stay with you healthy choices. Don't consume just because "the man" is pushing it on you. Consumerism is a lifestyle choice, but it is a choice!

Back on track!

SITREP

The weight loss continues. Down another 5.4 pounds in the last week. Lost a total of 54 pounds since embarking on this journey. Let's take a look at the numbers.

Since starting these changes to my lifestyle in June 2016 I've made amazing progress! I never would have envisioned I could lose this much weight. Again, my quote back in June was "If I can lose twenty pounds, I'll count it as a win!" Well, I've lost that twenty and plenty more.

Last week as a good week.

I feel like lust looking at the weight graph is a one -dimensional metric. Yes, it as a good week because I lost five pounds of weight. But it wasn't the only good thing.

For one - I started thing not in terms of how much I'd lost but how much was left to go before I achieve my goal. The good news is that when I think about my goal it no longer feels like it is 'over the horizon'. In fact it's in sight. Yes, there's a way to go, but I can see where I'm going and I have the tools to get there.

For another - those 38" waist pants I was so happy to fit into back in August and just about falling off me. They are very close to joining the 40" pants in making the trip to Goodwill, never to be seen again.  The 36" paints fit comfortably. There's something I never thought I'd say again. I can get into a pair of 34" pants, but I don't think I'd be ready to wear them for 10 hours at a time quite yet (Soon, my precious, soon).

It's been a very busy week. I've not been able to get to the gym much, but I've been walking at work - and climbing the staircases when I get 10-15 minutes. Adding those small amounts of exercise does help as all that activity adds up.

Lastly, I'd sitting doing relaxation exercises for two minutes. When asked why, I shared my pulse had been higher and I thought it was  due to the stress of life and how it was impacting my pulse and blood pressure. We slapped a cuff on my arm and checked the blood pressure - 184 / 74. Ummmmm....yeah, I can't complain about that. Best reading I've seen in several years.

So all in all, last week was a good week.

Onward to next week! Keep that junk food away from me.