Starting over - what will you do differently this time?

ccgisme
ccgisme Posts: 239 Member
edited September 22 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

Due to work and life stress, I set aside most of my healthy behaviors back in September. I got on the scale and took my routine measurements for the first time in 4 months last Thursday and was very unhappy with what I saw.

So, it's time to start again. This time, I have very specific, non-weight related goals - yes, the ultimate goal is to arrive at and to maintain a healthy weight, but those are the BIG goals and I've come to realize that they are the by products of certain routine behaviors and my goals focus on engaging in those behaviors. So here are my current goals:

Goal 1: Move your body - My aim is for a minimum of 30 minutes of activity 6 days per week. At this point, I'm not focused on intensity - I'm focused on building healthy habits.

Goal 2: Eat food, not a lot, mostly plants - Yes, I stole this - but it's a good goal and has a lot of meaning to me. For anyone reading this who is not familiar with the writing of Michael Pollan, see http://michaelpollan.com/books/in-defense-of-food/.

Goal 3: Lift heavy things - Stolen again, from Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. I don't agree with everything he writes, but I think there is merit in many of his ideas. The basic thought here - and I'm paraphrasing something I haven't read in a while - is to occasionally lift heavy things in ways that engage the entire body and generally involve some level of explosiveness. Personally, I prefer compound movements and a more hybrid (aerobic and strength building) activities.

Goal 4: Drink LOTS of water - caffeine and diet pop (soda/coke depending on your preference) are weaknesses of mine. They lead to poor physical performance, mood swings, and a whole host of other problems that have been fairly well documented.

Goal 5: Practice variety - eat a variety of foods, engage in a variety of physical activities, practice a variety of stress reduction techniques. The body adjusts to its circumstances - nutrition, exercise, etc. - and variety is a great way to prevent the stagnation that comes with the body's ability to adapt AND it keeps life interesting.

Goal 6: Play - exercise only requires will power when you don't enjoy it. Finding physical activities that you enjoy reduce the need for will power and increase your chances of success.

Goal 7: Write it down - Two things here: log food and exercise and write down how I'm feeling when I eat. Many wise people have pointed out that eating to excess is often an emotional response to your environment - it is a care taking activity, it reminds us of better times or loved ones who are no longer with us. That's all great, but emotionally driven eating is rarely healthy eating.

That's the basic foundation I plan to use. I'll continue to adjust my behaviors - and my thinking about my behaviors - over time, but I think these 7 goals will get me a long way towards the success I want.

What will you do differently this time?

Replies

  • Holton
    Holton Posts: 1,018
    I appreciate your post!
  • ctraill
    ctraill Posts: 89 Member
    Goal 2: Eat food, not a lot, mostly plants - Yes, I stole this - but it's a good goal and has a lot of meaning to me. For anyone reading this who is not familiar with the writing of Michael Pollan, see http://michaelpollan.com/books/in-defense-of-food/.

    I love this quote & this attitude has gone a long way in making me think twice about shoveling crap into my mouth.
  • kristinlough
    kristinlough Posts: 828 Member
    I like these! I have to add that I find I eat a lot more OTHER veggies when I add tomatoes, mushrooms and/or red onions. I can't quite explain it, but it makes me eat more veggies, and like them more.

    I'm not starting over, but I did allow myself a "normal" holiday season, so there might be a few more pounds on my belly, but they'll be gone lickety split. My plan mimics yours a great deal.

    30/6 is going to be a must because I'll be an almost stay-at-home-mom this semester. I might TRY to make it 30 mins. 3 days a week, 60 mins. 2 days a week and about 2 hours one day a week. Anybody wanna hold me to that? :wink:
  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,350 Member
    I like these goals. Some I like better like #1 and #7. #4 is great too but hits me where I live. I hardly touch soda but coffee and espresso are big. I have been better at drinking more water. The variety goal is very intriguing to me. I have been very steady logging here and losing slowly. I think that helps me continue with this. So I hope all goes well for you this time.
  • dinos
    dinos Posts: 1,390 Member
    I like these goals. Some I like better like #1 and #7. #4 is great too but hits me where I live. I hardly touch soda but coffee and espresso are big. I have been better at drinking more water. The variety goal is very intriguing to me. I have been very steady logging here and losing slowly. I think that helps me continue with this. So I hope all goes well for you this time.

    I agree with Keri. I'm not giving up my coffee or the occassional glass of wine and I pass on the heavy lifting.
  • ccgisme
    ccgisme Posts: 239 Member
    I like these goals. Some I like better like #1 and #7. #4 is great too but hits me where I live. I hardly touch soda but coffee and espresso are big. I have been better at drinking more water. The variety goal is very intriguing to me. I have been very steady logging here and losing slowly. I think that helps me continue with this. So I hope all goes well for you this time.

    I agree with Keri. I'm not giving up my coffee or the occassional glass of wine and I pass on the heavy lifting.

    I knew the idea of giving up caffeine wouldn't be popular! :bigsmile: I'm on the fence about wine. I read too much conflicting information about it's benefits and how it can be harmful. I don't drink wine/alcohol that often, so I didn't specifically address it in my goals.

    Thanks for the input, everyone!
  • Kkmama
    Kkmama Posts: 544 Member
    I like your thoughts! I too let others and too many obstacles in my way... but that changed a few days ago... I am going to be the change in the world | want to see.
    I am not about to give up coffee, just drinking less and and including more herbal teas and water.
    I am going to engage in a physical activity everyday... and enjoy the fact that I can and play while I am doing it!
    As for the heavy objects... I'll leave that to you!

    I wish you all the best for the coming year. You can do this!
  • jdcole67
    jdcole67 Posts: 108 Member
    I had a very similar setback in my plans in October - luckily I have managed to juggle about 3-4 pounds since then, back and forth, up and down, with no major loss of the gains I had made this year - still down 35-38 pounds, slightly behind my goals, but nonetheless a step in the right direction...

    My plans are quite similar, and I appreciate you putting them into print, because your post can become a blueprint for my year as well...good luck to you, I look forward to seeing your success this year!
  • lucky1ns
    lucky1ns Posts: 358 Member
    Just getting the holidays out of the way will be a huge help to me.

    I do well all year and start to slide in November and it doesnt seem to get any easier until the new year.

    It is going to take me until April to weigh what I did in early November.

    That sucks!
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
    I'm starting over as well! Will post my goals shortly...yours are inspirational!
  • thnksfrthmmrs
    thnksfrthmmrs Posts: 152 Member
    Those were some brilliant pointers there!

    Im not exactly starting over but i did fall of the wagon for a few months. My main problem is excercise. I dont do very much of it - having had a bad leg injury in 2009, i cannot do alot of impact sports, i cant run nor jump so im very limited to different excercise.

    Im going to purchase myself an excercise bike as not only will it help me work up a sweat but it will help the flexibility of my knee & leg. And im going to aim to do an hour on the wii fit a day as i can set up the levels i am capable of.

    And as soon as the evenings get lighter i will take myself off for walks around the local field.

    I failed on this last year, i wont do it again this year!
  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
    That's awesome but seems like a lot of goals. :)

    I think maybe I'll pick the one about 30 min a day. :) That's my downfall. Currently I work out about every other day. I gave up the soda, still drink coffee and wine. I just count it into my calories for the day.

    I find if I just do something positive for myself for about 30 days and know that I deserve it then I get that done and want to add to it. :) If I go too hard at first I tend to burn out.

    Good luck and welcome back. You deserve everything that you want now go get it. :)
  • PaulC9554
    PaulC9554 Posts: 117 Member
    For me, this time round I'll be tracking calories and exercise. Prevoiusly I've 'thought' that I was doing ok with the calories, but the physical evidence (my size) has shown differently.
    Just starting out so no weight loss to show yet.
  • Robin66
    Robin66 Posts: 103
    These are great goals, just remember to take it one day at a time, forgive yourself when you slip and jump back on the wagon right away. You will do well and you have come to the right place, mfp is a fantastic tool. Good luck!
  • ccgisme
    ccgisme Posts: 239 Member
    These are great goals, just remember to take it one day at a time, forgive yourself when you slip and jump back on the wagon right away. You will do well and you have come to the right place, mfp is a fantastic tool. Good luck!

    Robin - I've already had the chance - on New Year's Eve, I ate healthy foods until we left to stay with friends. I didn't count calories that night or beat myself up re: what I ate. My wife and I brought healthy snacks (dried fruit and nuts from Trader Joe's) and I tried to eat more of those than anything else. Jumped back on board the next day.

    @BethV - I always take on too much, I thought those goals were pretty manageable! If I have to pick two - they'd be exercise 30 minutes most days and log food. The rest are guidelines that fall loosely under either of those goals.

    @ PaulC - It's incredibly easy to underestimate the number of calories you consume, isn't it? I know I fall into that trap often!

    @thnksfrthmmrs - exercising with/through injuries it tough! I hope the exercise bike works out for you! We used to have a nice bike with a comfortable seat, moving hand bars, and a front wheel that doubled as a fan. Sold it in a garage sale, huge mistake!!!

    @wanderinglight - I look forward to reading your goals! Thanks for the kind words.
  • ccgisme
    ccgisme Posts: 239 Member
    Shameless self-bump! :laugh: I want to hear from you!
  • dinos
    dinos Posts: 1,390 Member
    Shame on you :tongue:
  • wanderinglight
    wanderinglight Posts: 1,519 Member
    I was on MFP before and lost about 15 pounds with a LOT of very hard work, but I put it back on and then some. I slipped into some bad habits and got lazy. Lazy with what I was eating -- I don't have a problem working out since I love exercising, but I just have not been careful with the quantity and quality of what I"ve been putting in my mouth. So, my goals are:

    1. Be very honest logging my food. Even if it's things I tend to just not bother with (like coffee, mustard, celery sticks, etc.). They still add up.

    2. Stay within my goal for sugar consumption. I consistently go over this number in my food diary and I'm going to keep it more under control.

    3. Plan what I'm going to do before I walk out of the door to the gym. Keep that plan in my head with single-minded focus throughout my workout without taking breaks or getting distracted.

    4. Only weigh once a week or less. I have been really pushing for the past two weeks but weighed today and saw no change on the scale. It was so discouraging I wanted to just give up on that day's workout. So, less focus on the scale, more on my jeans fitting.

    5. Really, really mixing up my workouts. I realized today I've been exercising for 25 years! I want to push myself to do things I've never done. Lots of explosive movements, intervals, different workouts with weights and new equipment.

    6. More yoga!

    Good luck, everyone!
  • ccgisme
    ccgisme Posts: 239 Member
    @wanderinglight - These are great goals! Keep us posted on how you are doing.

    I have had a great week and have worked out my 30 minutes regularly and mixing things up. I have also managed to stay under my calories since New Years - not a lot of time, but you have to start somewhere!

    I hope you all are doing well
  • MarilynMarie
    MarilynMarie Posts: 74
    This time i shall stick to it instead of derailing my train of weight loss with peer pressure and those yummy nasties
  • Harp123
    Harp123 Posts: 5
    I got my butt off the sofa and joined a gym! Haven't gone yet.....
  • ccgisme
    ccgisme Posts: 239 Member
    Had a good first week of starting over - met most of my goals, made good progress on others. I hope you all are doing well with yours! :bigsmile:
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