Category: #holidays

A Little Help From My Friends

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Happy New Year readers! The holidays have come and gone, and looking back it seems I’ve been collecting unpublished blog posts in my Drafts Folder. This one is different. It is different because this post is inspired by friendship…

Here is the story, I began a conversation in a group text of friends to complete a challenge: let’s share one positive thing we have done for ourselves or for others for the first two weeks of 2024. Christening the new year with shared positivity felt like it would manifest even more of it for the coming year. My friends agreed, and soon after we all started sharing photos and accomplishments to cheer each other on.

Today, my friend Keri suggested that we make three lists: What will you leave in 2023? What will you take with you from 2023? What will you start in 2024? I love this idea, so I figured I would share my lists, and gift my friend’s idea to any of you who might want to use these questions as a way to reflect on your lives.

What will you leave in 2023?

  • Trying to please everyone
  • Overthinking possible outcomes
  • Expending too much energy on negative people
  • Picking apart my physical appearance
  • Procrastinating
  • Avoiding hard conversations

What will you take with you from 2023?

  • Spending time with my sister
  • Daily weigh-ins
  • Drinking 64 ounces of water each day
  • Food tracking
  • Exercising every day
  • Meal planning
  • Mindful eating
  • Attending Weight Watcher meetings
  • Reading for pleasure
  • Writing blogs
  • Decluttering
  • Walking Sadie with Dave
  • My sense of humor

What will you start in 2024?

  • Keep to a weekly budget
  • Get up earlier during the workweek
  • Practice active listening every day
  • Strength training

What will this year bring? That is the mystery that has yet to unfold. So in the meantime, I want to spend my time focusing on loving my friends and family and continuing to strive for personal growth, knowing that this life is a gift.

The Holidays

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It’s the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and today was my last day of teaching for the week. It’s 8:40 pm and I’m in pajamas. On TV, a newish holiday movie is playing that is attempting to kindle that old Hollywood charm but is (sadly) missing the mark. Instead of watching the show, I find myself thinking about my weight loss journey instead. It’s been a long stretch between posts, so here are some things that are going well:

  • I’m on a 277-day streak for food journaling
  • I’m also on a 41-week streak of working out every day.
  • Every day I drink 64 ounces of water and take vitamins.
  • My gratitude journal is almost completely full.

I have really garnered some momentum on my journey and that makes me feel pretty great. Now that the holidays are here I am reflecting on what I want to achieve. At my last Weight Watcher meeting, we discussed having a strategy for Thanksgiving. At first, I thought I’d pre-track everything that I plan on eating, but now I don’t think that’s the way to go. I’m going to treat it like any other day. I’m going to eat what I want, track it all. What I’m doing now is working so I think I’ll just keep doing this.

To anyone taking the time to read this post, I say, let’s take on that attitude of gratitude, as we lift our glasses, and say,” Cheers to us!” as we keep becoming the best versions of ourselves.

No Matter What

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The bravest thing we can do is to surrender to the understanding that love is our most powerful expression of self. All the fear, anxiety, and anger are really subordinate emotions there to protect us from rejection or disappointment. I think all these emotions are bundled up and intertwined like chains that keep us back from reaching our full potential.

It’s hard, to be honest about what made me gain back some of the weight that I lost. It would be lazy thinking to say, “It must be genetics.” Don’t misunderstand me, I’m certainly not diminishing the role of genetics, we are all built differently, and that is a good thing. There are so many ways to be beautiful, I don’t believe we were ever designed to look or be one way in this diverse world. Diversity is the vanguard of a healthier, more evolved, better planet. What I am saying, is that I know myself. I know when I feel more at home in my own skin. I feel physically stronger and mentally clearer when I am in control of my weight. Rediscovering this truth is both painful and beautiful. Painful, because I let that slip away; beautiful, because I have the wisdom to recognize it.

I think that maybe weight gain is just another layer of protection. Food can transport us back to happier times when (if we’re very lucky) to carefree days of youth, family, security, and traditions. The food we eat tells stories of our roots. So in that way, we can time travel back through eating. We can share our stories through food, food can even be an expression of love. Really, don’t you think it’s playing it safe to show or experience love through food? I’m not kidding myself, for me, I think all of that has to do with why I gained back weight – carrying the weight of the world literally on my back (and everywhere else).

This is a heavy thing, to say no matter what for the rest of my life, I am going to do all that I can to lead with love – even if that means I am rejected; even if I fail; even if it means love is not returned back to me. It’s not just about weight loss, it’s about becoming someone more evolved than I am today.

Finding Freedom

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I don’t want to think of my weight loss journey as being something separate from my life. What I mean is, I don’t want to say, “Well I’m on vacation so I will just have fun, and forget about following my Weight Watchers plan.” There is a subtle but destructive message in that thinking. This kind of thinking assigns something punitive to being on a weight loss journey. As if I cannot have all the fun I want and still be cognizant of how many points I’m consuming. This is a false narrative because I can be on vacation, be on plan, and have a great time.

Some might be thinking, “She has gone off the rails! Don’t drink the Kool-Aid!” I think, what I’m doing is, finally coming to my senses. I don’t want to be a prisoner of weight loss. That sounds hyperbolic but if I look back, I see that it was always black-or-white thinking. I was either good or bad; on or off and in that way, the prison I found myself in was by my own design.

A vacation would become a tripwire; after eating and drinking freely coming home to stringent routines would marginalize a personal sense of power. “See I gained ‘x’ amount of pounds, I can’t be trusted with my own decision-making.” A weight loss journey comes down to making choices. I am learning how to trust myself to make choices that will allow me to live a full life and improve my health not just when I’m in my controlled environment of home but anyplace.

It’s All in Your Head: Deciding What Habits to Keep

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What kind of person are you? It’s the habits you keep that will give you away every time. If you identify as a person who lives a healthy lifestyle; but don’t work out, drinks too much, and eats mostly fast food – you are not living a healthy lifestyle, are you? Habits dictate how we live, they are the workhorses of everyday life. The goal for intentionally setting up personal habits is to simplify life. When it comes to deciding which habits to keep, is a deeply personal affair. Before you can decide which habits are serving you well depends on who you are now and your end goal.

There are five steps that anyone can use at any time to establish productive habits:

  1. Identity Work: Who are you? Who do you want to be?
  2. Lifestyle Choices: How do you want to live your life?
  3. Name the Goal: What do you want to achieve?
  4. Developing Systems: What habits need to be set?
  5. Momentum & Joy Are habits building momentum? Do they bring you joy?

Here is the template if you think it will help you do this work

There is no reason to wait any longer to grow into the person you want to become. This is your one beautiful life, live it the way you want. Allow yourself to be inspired and be inspiring to those around you. Believe you can do this and you’re already there…

Keep it Together

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Has this ever happened to you on your weight loss journey? Things are going so well, the habits you’ve working to cultivate have become very sustainable. You’re working out on a regular basis and your energy levels are good. You are feeling fit and then, you catch yourself in a picture… You don’t look the same on the outside as you’re feeling on the inside. Then comes a huge disappointment. It’s true my weight loss journey is about wanting to live a healthy lifestyle, I want more energy and that is happening. It’s just that I also want to look physically fit. That takes a long time to show up. I’m not feeling defeated, I’m not going to quit, and I’m not even surprised. This blog is a place for my own honest reflections on how my journey is going. So just for tonight, I am feeling a bit down on myself. Tomorrow is a new day, and I am not deterred from my goal.

Weight Loss & Miracles

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There is no miracle cure for losing weight. Sorry if you opened this post thinking, ” Oh good someone is finally going to tell me the shortcut to losing weight.” Today is definitely an I wish there were a miracle kind of day. Wishing for it doesn’t help, and maybe it makes it a little bit worse. Wishing implies weight loss out of my control like it’s something like winning the lottery. Someone wins, but chances are good that’s not going to be me. That would be a real bummer if it were true. Ready for the truth? What is true, is that I (and anyone reading this post) can lose weight. Here is what it takes:

  • Dedication – having the personal resolve to see it through
  • Skill – knowing what to do to help yourself achieve weight loss
  • Belief – believing in yourself completely, you can do it

A Little Imagination

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I went for a walk today with my husband and our pup Sadie. It was cold and sunny, a welcome change from the soggy (unseasonably warm) grey weather of late. Along the way, we passed the telltale signs of post-holiday remains: condensed boxes tied neatly at the curb, a perfectly shaped Christmas tree rolled on its side, and houses stripped bare of their colorful lights. Then all of a sudden a splash of whimsy

Hello Mr. Narwhal

I just love a holdout. It sparked a little joy and optimism inside me like if you just look around you’ll find something special in the ordinary. Something that captures the imagination… I think it is very important to flex the imagination while trying to achieve any big goal. Especially when progress can be slow; as it sometimes is when it comes to weight loss. Think of it this way, imagination is the intellectual gift we give to ourselves. It is not something that is only reserved for artists, poets, and musicians. To imagine is to be human – it is innate to who we are and sustains us when the going gets tough.

Today has been a good day on plan. I hit my water goal, I am within my points, cooking dinner I planned out my meals for the week, and I had a very rigorous workout this morning followed by this leisurely walk that inspired this post. All of these tiny little goals knit together to form a strong foundation for my future success. No, I’m not perfect, as you can see by looking at my habit tracker… but the transformation to daily healthy habits is underway. I got this and if you believe it – so do you.

A January Jump-Start

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Let’s go 2023! I am using everything I have to jump-start my healthy habits. Dinner was not the greatest choice, and I was very hungry by the time I ate. Instead of one portion, I had two. I thought about weighing and measuring my portion but I didn’t do it. That was what kept me from coloring in that goal on the habit tracker. While this is kind of a downer, I won’t let it steal my joy in everything that did go well. Overall, this day was a total win. I didn’t snack. I ate all the foods I prepared, I worked out, and I drank my water. I am here blogging to share my story with anyone who cares to come along with me – I would say I am being downright earnest. I do feel a small shift and I KNOW I am due for a comeback.

A Promise Made

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The most important promises we make are the ones we make to ourselves. Yesterday, I promised that I would track breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I did it. I’m over my points, thanks to what I can only call landmine cookies. I came home to holiday cookies at my doorstep. Two cookies later, I am over where I would’ve been – but I tracked it. So really, I am victorous at least insofar as my goal is concerned. That’s it readers progress is slow, but it’s progress just the same.