Resolutions for New Year's

It is January 1^st, that time when many of us set goals, make resolutions and try to overcome our personal demons with promises to ourselves. Some people don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions and I get that. I think any time of year is a good time to make changes. The trick is believing you can really make them.

That’s why I like New Year’s. Many of my friends and family are in the same boat as me. We are all trying to change something in our lives that needs tweaking. The resolutions run the gamut from losing weight to getting their finances in order. I have MANY of the same goals as my friends. I want get my financial life straightened out, become more organized, and be a nicer, more caring person and I want to lose weight.

So here I sit and this beautiful, sunny New Year’s day, wondering how to renew my resolutions and actually make serious progress this year. I started my weight loss blogging journey about 2 years ago and as I stepped off the scale today, I faced the fact that not only did I not make progress in 2011, I gained back much of what I lost in 2010.

Oh sure, I had a rough year, like 2/3 of Middle America and I tend to use food as a comfort tool but seriously? Gained all but 6 lbs of it back? So not only am I wondering how to be successful this year, I am wondering how I can ask anyone to take the journey with me as I am certainly no inspiration to anyone. Someone said to me they liked reading about my “honest evaluation of the challenges.” I found that little nugget of encouragement inspiring. It was followed by others who are also supportive friends. Several felt that others are in the same boat and would like to know it’s never too late to try again.

So after two years of virtually no progress, I am starting again. I weighed in 261.7 and at 5’ 6”, which means I have roughly 110 lbs to lose to be at a comfortable and healthy weight for me. At 50 years old, the time to make changes is here and I realize I don’t have many more years before the abuse I have heaped upon my body will start to show in ways both harmful and that make it even more difficult to shed the pounds.

I am a fan of low carb living and that is where I will start. I’ve already eaten both breakfast and lunch and my total net carbs are at 5.5 today. I will post my weight and my measurements frequently, in hopes that it will help keep me accountable to myself and to all of you.

I wish you a Happy New Year and great success with your goals, no matter what are.

How Many TimesCan You Start Anew?

The answer to that question for me is as many times as it takes. After getting through all the stressors in my recent past that were the excuses I used for not eating healthy, I found myself ready to go, willing to get back on my low-carb diet and begin exercising again but there was a problem. During the preceding couple of months, I had loaded up the house with carb-rich foods like pastas and rice. We were between paychecks as hubby only gets paid twice a month so I couldn’t go shopping for the healthier food choices I needed. So while I tried to limit my intake, anyone who knows how low-carb works knows that if you're eating carbs like pasta and rice, tit throws everything off.

Well hubby got paid yesterday and I spent over 2 hours running from store to store with a very specific list. I got all my shopping done and spent another hour putting it away. I have a 5 week low-carb menu plan all written out on, of all things, a Betty Crocker recipe wall calendar. So today I begin anew...again.

I am not terribly bothered by this reboot. I wish I done better but I know that beating myself up won't get anything accomplished except to make myself feel bad. There's no point. So with menu in hand and pantry well-stocked, I am ready to start again. I launch this latest effort from a dismal starting point of 256.6. Not the highest I've ever been but considerably higher than where I had struggled down to earlier this year.

Still with the better part of six weeks planned out and on hand, I should be able to see some considerable progress before the holidays get here. And that will give me a solid start of good eating habits going into the dreaded food-tempting holidays. I will be looking into low-carb options for some of our holiday favorites and will share them here as I find them.

Good luck with your fitness goals. It's never too late to start anew!


PS: Adde at 7:30 tonight. My first day back on the low carb wagon and I consumed just 13 net carbs and don't feel humngry in the least.