While I'd imagine the reasoning is different, much like Carlyn has difficulty discussing doing things for herself, I have reservations concerning talking about my weight loss. I don't know if it's the idea of being held accountable to actually lose weight that bothers me or "jinxing" things as I am somewhat superstitious once I have begun to make progress. At any rate I'm throwing caution to the wind and discussing it. I work at a grocery store as a customer service manager and our work place has started a weight loss challenge. My goal for the year was to lose 50 pounds but the weight loss challenge runs 8 weeks. It would likely be unhealthy to lose that amount of weight in 8 weeks so I targeted 24 pounds or 3 pounds per week. After the challenge is over I will continue to work toward my goal for the year.
I do anticipate making a serious effort this year. Last year losing 50 pounds was one of my goals that I did not achieve. At times my weight fluctuated without ever losing more than about 10 pounds. About 2 weeks into our weight loss challenge at work I have lost 10 pounds, so I'm right at my lowest weight of last year currently, actually about 2 pounds lower. That said, this is often times the stopping point at which I stall before I regress. So I feel like I've reached the first road block. I have the additional challenge of going on a vacation soon. I'm excited about the vacation but I want to balance my weight loss plans and still enjoy indulging a bit, as I am certain to go out to dinner a few nights and drink a bit more than I might ordinarily. The weather in the Northeastern United States where I live is starting to warm up though so I am afforded the opportunity to get outside and exercise a lot more than I was willing to do in the winter cold. I know too that when I go on vacation I will be out and about so staying off the couch will help.
As I get older it's not as difficult for me to limit my caloric intake as it is to motivate myself to get off my bum. So exercise will be key if I am to be successful. So far so good but maintaining that motivation will be the toughest thing for me. Might anyone have any suggestions for things that have worked for them when they try to lose weight? I realize that "success" in weight loss is different for all of us, which is why there are so many different diets. How is it best to keep to an exercise routine?
Hopefully I will be able to update my weight loss with positive (or negative in the sense of losing weight) results. One thing that I have already noticed is an increased energy. I used to come home from work every day and nap. Now that I go for a walk or exercise I am able to have my normal nights sleep and feel energized enough to skip nap time. Wish me luck and please feel free to lend any suggestions you might have to help me along. I might not take every suggestion, but even if I can find one or two things that really help me I will be grateful.
Jon Bear, I am glad that you are beginning to see the success of your weight loss. The quality of your sleep is a good indicator that you are getting healthier as people who have weight problems usually don't sleep very well.
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