Refocusing
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So, last week, I was all ready to post this great post about shifting my focus. I even talked to my mom and sister about it when we went to breakfast on Friday. I was going to say something about how I was going to refocus and how I was tired of feeling like I’m in limbo because I’ve been losing weight for over 2 years.
It was going to talk about how I’m ready to get about the business of maintaining and being happy about my weight. I was going to say that I was shifting my focus to maintaining and toning what I’ve got – that I was going to keep weighing in, but losing wasn’t going to be my goal for awhile, but that I was, instead, going to shift my focus to toning and maintaining and quit feeling stressed and aggravated about my plateau.
Then, I realized that I do want to do this! I want to lose that last 10 or so pounds. I want to reach my goal because I think it is a reasonable goal that was not set arbitrarily or with unrealistic expectations.
I’m not stuck because my body is resisting losing any more weight. I’m stuck because I haven’t had any sort of real intensity with my workouts since August. Yeah, I’ve still been running, but studies have shown that distance running isn’t the most effective way to lose weight because if your body does what you’re training it to do – become more efficient – then it burns less calories for the same amount of work.
(That definitely doesn’t mean that I have any plans to give up the one physical activity that I’ve come to love. I just need to balance it with other activities.)
I’m stuck because I’ve been pushing the envelope with my eating choices. Yes, I can enjoy some treats in moderation, but the lines of moderation have begun to blur a bit and I’m sure my portion sizes have probably grown since, for the most part, I haven’t been measuring. And, I haven’t been tracking.
So, as of yesterday, changes are afoot. As of yesterday, I have started:
- Measuring and tracking my food again. I’m using a paper journal instead of My Fitness Pal, for now, but I may wind up using both since MFP will figure out the calories for me. I’ve got a composition book that I’m going to model after my fitbook, since the fitbook was the best workout/food journal I’ve ever found, but I don’t want to plunk down another $25 on a new one.
- Start strength training again. Last week I bought a personalized workout plan from Tina Reale – Best Body Fitness. She worked with me to figure out the best workout for me. I started it yesterday. It was a lot more challenging than it looked on paper…but a good kind of challenging.
I’m also probably join our local Chick-Fil-A’s Battle of the Bulge, which starts next Monday. I did the Battle of the Bulge a couple of years ago. The biggest benefit of signing up is that participants get free use of the YMCA for the duration of the program. I’m thinking that adding in the intensity of the classes and equipment at the Y could give me just the boost I need.
My plan is to really work this for the next 12 weeks and see where I’m at by that point. If I’m at my goal weight, great! If I’m still hovering around the same weight I’m at now, but have toned up just in time for summer, great!
No matter what happens, though, I want to know that I really, truly gave reaching my goal weight my best shot.
As an exciting side note, I was really excited to see the changes that have taken place in my body since I last used my fitbook (about a year ago). I started it at 153 pounds. In addition to losing weight, I’ve lost several inches since then, too. That made me smile.
What about you? Are you still plugging along or is it time for you to get back to a former level of commitment?
Do or do not. There is no try.
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
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