You guys, resolutions — they work better than I was giving them credit for these past few years. Or at least they’ve worked really well for me for the first 12 days of the year. I have done so many things in the framework of my 2012 goals already this month, which in turns means I’ve been keeping the spirit of doing things. I feel like I’ve already been more productive than I was in all of 2011, and I’ve even managed to relax a bit.
So I said I didn’t have a specific health goal for the year, but in the course of a week I’ve already made myself out to be a liar. I have a goal and a plan, thanks to some timely unintentional intervention by a Christmas gift, my friends and the Modern Love Machine.
I had requested a copy of this gorgeous illustrated version of Michael Pollan’s Food Rules for Christmas because I love pretty coffee table books. Instead I received the paperback copy — not as ideal for display but much more conducive to leaving on your night stand for bedtime reading. It took me about three days last week to blow through all of the book’s bite-sized food proverbs, and that was enough to inspire me. I wanted to eat better again.
Saturday night I had a little Girls Night Out with my galpals, and they mentioned they were planning a 12-week Biggest Losers Contest among our friends and was I interested? Um, considering how uncomfortably snug all my pants have gotten, you betcha. We all splurged on many glasses of wine and some delicious pasta that night for our last hurrah and stepped on our scales in the privacy of our own homes on Sunday morning to mark the first weigh in.
our bathroom floor. isn’t it pretty?
Y’all. It was bad. It was a very bad weigh in. I was so far away from the goal I achieved through Weight Watchers a few years back and so close to my original starting point. I wanted to cry for all the hard work I’ve managed to undo. That was my next prod. I was going to get back into tracking Weight Watchers points, no matter how much a pain in the ass it can be, and make exercise more of a priority.
When I told the MLM of the Biggest Losers competition (there was a $20 buy in to create the winners’ pot of cash), my dear husband asked me what my plan was. ‘Oh, you know, be diligent in tracking my Weight Watchers points and workout more.’ His response: ‘That’s not a plan. There are no losers in this household. Now, what’s your plan?’
I love the MLM so much, despite the fact that my reaction to him at that time was quite the opposite.
After dwelling on a more concrete plan during a long, wet run on Sunday afternoon, I came up with a plan of earning a particular number of Weight Watchers activity points (ie, bonus points for workouts) each week, which has the extra effect of forcing me to login to my WW app more frequently therefore reminding me to track my food as well.
A little piece of me hates how obsessive Weight Watchers can make me when it comes to tracking points, but at the same time I’ve already managed to get rid of about two pounds of bloat and feel so much better already. Plus, I know the more of a routine it becomes the less obsessive it gets. After a few weeks your body adjusts and has a better sense of how much food it really needs. And it’s not like I can’t splurge every so often on decadent things like wine and cookies.
Now I need y’all to hold me accountable. I’d like to lose about 15 pounds from my Sunday weigh in. Minus the two pounds of bloat already gone, I’ve got about 13 to go. Seven or eight of those pounds will be tough.
Blogging about it helped me three years ago, so I’m going to subject y’all to it again. Because there are no losers on this blog.
Good luck – I know you’ll be great at achieving your goal. I think the MLM had the right idea – you need goals that are specific so that you know what you’re reaching for. I understand that WW isn’t for everyone, but when I started using it two years ago, I felt so overwhelmed by what I wanted to achieve. So, instead, I broke it down into little goals. Each time I hit a little goal, I felt so fantastic that it made it easier to keep setting and reaching for new ones. I’m rooting for you!
Thanks! I was really successful when I first did WW, I just haven’t been able to maintain. It’s so hard to keep doing it once you’ve hit that goal.
Go you! Once you set your mind to it, you can achieve anything. I believe that. I’ve been a bit lax in my weight loss and am going to jump back on full throttle on Monday. At least I’ve still been consistent with my workouts which has helped me from falling into that beating myself up trap.
I hope you win! But more so, I hope you feel better in your body!
Thanks! Feeling good has always been my No. 1 goal, but I finally admitted myself that if I didn’t put a specific number or goal for weight to lose, then I wasn’t going to make the effort to stay healthy.
Of all of your “resolutions” from the other day, none of them are dependent on what you weigh or what size jeans you wear.
No, but I think we can file this one under the ‘health’ category. I don’t necessarily care about my exact weight or pants size, I just don’t want to have to buy new pants or be an unhealthy weight.
if you have a droid they have an app I just got called calorie counter. What a geat app for tracking what you eat. It’s called calorie counter.
http://www.fatsecret.com/connected/android
Just want to stay your number one reader and comment…go Beth! 🙂 No Weight Watchers for me but I’m on the same plan basically!
i’m trying for 40lbs by May – now THIS is going to be a challenge.
i’ve found WW to be way too easy for me to cheat at, haha.
good luck with the weight loss, you can DO it – and take home all the $$$$$
Having a plan is essential if I’m going to achieve any sort of fitness goal. I pledged to run the Peachtree Road Race on July 4, which is a 10K, and that’s the only thing that’s motivating me to run.
Good luck with your weight loss goal! You’ve done it before; you can do it again.