Ok, so I'm seven weeks into this thing. What have I done and what have I learned? Am I closer to my goal? Have any of the changes I made had a significant impact? These are good questions to reflect on after spending a significant time in pursuit of a goal.
And the answer is yes. I am closer to my goal. The changes I have made have shifted my mind back toward healthy habits and away from daily overindulgence just for the heck of it. I have learned that if I set a goal and put my mind to it the worst that will happen is that I do not meet the goal. The best that will happen is that I will exceed the goal. The likely situation: some small, positive progress.
This week I decided to focus on one small habit, something that healthy people do - the idea being that if you act like a healthy person you will eventually become that healthy person. With that in mind I decided to focus on 5 minutes of intentional exercise (in addition to my already habitual 15 minute workday lunch walk) EVERY day.
This exercise could be an additional walk, 5 minutes of an exercise video. It could be pushups or running in place, lifting weights or using exercise bands. But the goal: 5 minutes of work. Will that affect me positively toward my weight loss goal? I'm not sure. But moving my body regularly is a very important thing for me as I get older.
I do want to be cognizant of the fact that goal setting, while good, can be counterproductive to view as a single task to conquer, one achievement to check off the list. If it is not followed by habits that impact our regular way of doing things then the goal itself is minimally productive. That's why I want to create small, achievable habits.
While my goal is to lose weight, the ultimate hope is to create healthy habits that perpetuate a life of healthy living so that I don't find myself more tired, lumpy and overweight in five years. Slow, impactful changes that are sustainable - that's the aim.
So did I meet my goal? Not entirely. I bowed out 2 times. That's not terrible. It is progress. And I accept it. I will keep the same goal for the week to come. And even though I haven't perfected it, I will add a small, additional diet-related goal on top of it. Weight loss is important to me right now.
I will end my eating after supper. Even writing this makes want to fight against it. But I've done it before and I've done it well. After a few weeks, or even one week, I don't really even think about it. And in the past when I started eating in the evenings after a long stint of not doing so, THAT felt weird.
Basically, change is hard but you eventually get used to it. That's the story of human existence.
I wanted to add as a side note that one day this week I made a poor food choice that had negative consequences within hours. I was running late for work and it was a bit of a crazy morning. So instead of making my normal egg sandwich or wrap with egg white and avocado, I grabbed a pack of PopTarts. Yes. I knew it was a bad choice as I was making it.
But that's not what gave me pause. I make bad food choices. That's life. It was in what happened later that I felt the impact of that one decision - but really months of poor decisions. When lunchtime rolled around I had symptoms I haven't had in years, low blood sugar symptoms. I felt like I HAD to eat. I was shaky and lightheaded.
An hour after eating a carb and protein rich meal (leftover meatloaf and roasted potatoes with some zucchini on the side) I felt better. It scared me a little though. My body was telling me that I need to get things under control. The last time I had symptoms like this my A1C was not in a healthy range. I don't want to be back there. So I will move forward with small, positive changes that I know will yield real results.
My goals this week are:
- 5 minutes of intentional exercise every day
- No eating after supper
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