Word of the Week

​How is it already Wednesday and I haven’t posted my word of the week yet!  I’m such a slacker!!!   It just seems as if every moment of my day is sucked up with activity.   By the time I do sit down to relax in the evening I am just plain and simple tired!   But here I am now, so let’s catch up!

Word of the Week

My word of the week for this week is consistent.     Consistent just seemed really appropriate for me this week.  My January report actually kinda surprised me, I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was, but it showed me that my efforts were making a difference!  Because of that, I knew that I couldn’t let up!  I needed to stay the course that I am on.  I had to stay consistent!   

I am happy to say that this far this week I have been consistent!

Accountability

I have long resisted the idea of actually posting my food on a public forum such as this site or on my YouTube channel.  I know a lot of people do, but it just seemed as if I was opening myself up to ridicule as people decided to make comments about what I’m eating because of course my eating plan is MY plan and may not fit in with what someone else thinks is a good plan. So while I have toyed with it quite a few times over the years, I have never actually done it.   I also lacked the discipline (and memory) to actually film/photograph my food for each meal!  Hahaha. So I never did it.  That is, I have never really done it until last week.   No no no, you didn’t miss anything on here.  I decided to try something on my YouTube channel and I started posting what I eat in a day videos. Yeah, not really sure what possessed me!  Must have been a moment of insanity!

But I’ve done a few now.  And it hasn’t been too bad.   Sure I got a comment from someone to eat more veggies (I have always been a bit heavier on fruit versus veggies, so no surprise there).    I have forgotten to film one meal.  But since I’m a creature of habit it was luckily just a bowl of cheerios that of forgot to film.  So I’ve done it for about a week. And it’s been….well enlightening.

For one, the accountability multiplied tenfold for sure! And secondly, I realized how much of a rut I really am in, and it did make me sit back to try to think of different options for lunch.  (Although if it’s working for me, why change it?)

I don’t know how long I will do it.  Posting a video everyday is a commitment. It takes time to not only film (I am throwing in other things from life into those ‘what I eat in a day videos…and some videos are two days lumped into one), but it takes time to edit the footage.  It takes time to get everything ready to post and it even takes time to post.  But for now, it’s working as I’m working to set up some kind of routine to allow it to happen within my normal daily schedule.  (And in that schedule I am looking at adding a regular time to write here because I am always THINKING about writing a post but time gets in the way.

You can check out my what I eat in a day videos here.  

The Homestead

It’s no secret that when Jason and I bought our place that we bought it with grand visions of the property.  We don’t have a lot of land, but you can do a lot on a one and a half acres.  Fruit trees, a strawberry patch, garden, chickens, etc etc etc.   However, shortly after moving in life went upside down and well….I started to struggle emotionally.  And if you have ever suffered from any level of depression you will know that it is a monumental task to even do simple things like cleaning and cooking.   The yard progressed a bit..and we did plant a few things, but nothing major.

I decided that it was time to change that.   So I’ve been trying to spend a little time outside each weekend doing SOMETHING to better our ‘homestead’.   It’s winter so there isn’t a whole lot to do.  But we have a big brush pile to burn!  So we had a fire one weekend.  And my nut trees needed pruned…so I pruned one weekend.   We still have brush piles and stuff to clean.   That’s a good winter chore!  (Can you get poison ivy in the winter?).   I am looking at getting strawberries, grapes and blueberry bushes this year.  I want the fruit trees, but I need to watch the finances and don’t want to bite off more than I can chew in terms of time commitments!

I’m pretty excited about the homestead work!

We remain busy with life and all of our commitments, but I’ve been doing much better emotionally.   And of course, Zoey the Newfoundland is as cute as ever…she got a bath this past weekend!   She wasn’t happy about that!!!

So life is moving nicely..and things are going well!

Accountability

This journey is difficult.  It's possible to do on ones own, but I can say from serious trial and error, that it is SOOO much easier with a friend, a group, a system, ANYTHING that keeps me accountable!

Really?  What works for me with accountability?   It has changed for me over the years.....or maybe it hasn't changed but circumstances changed.

1.   Weight Watchers.   I LOVED the accountability of the meetings.  Weighing in each week gave me a tangible accountability.  I KNEW the scales would be staring me in the face each week.  I weighed myself each week too....none of that free weigh in pass for me.  I wanted to see what what happening and know where I was each week.    While I would say the accountability of the weigh ins were the biggest part, I also found that the regular attendees of the meeting that I went to provided the other aspect of support that I needed to be a success.   We may not have known each other in any way other than by facial recognition, but those people were my support group. 

2.  Weekly weigh in with Friends.  I at one point instituted a weekly email that went to a group of friends.  Each week I sent an email with my weight to these friends.  I have done this off an on with some of these same friends throughout the last few years.   They WORK!

3.  Challenge Groups    These can be fabulous if they are run well!    I've been in some good ones...and I've been in some not so good ones.  I have participated in some and I have actually led some.   Both approaches work for me in terms of accountability.  I have done these with other people wanting to lose weight.  I have done them with people that are interested in challenging themselves physically with exercise.  (I used to participate heavily on a mileage challenge on  myfitnesspal , through weight watchers, through facebook and any other means.  I recently joined the Hagerstown 100 Miler which is in essence is just another challenge group. 

4.  Running and races.   Actually this could be any event that requires training.   I started with a few bike rides and then started doing some runs.  I'm not exactly consistent, but knowing that I paid for a big race is enough to keep me focused and moving for sure!   

5.  My blog-    I started this blog years ago....and it wasn't until earlier this week that I noticed the pattern.   I lost the bulk of my weight and was my lowest weight between 2007-2009.  Is it coincidental that in 2007 I wrote 230 blog posts.  What about a whopping 334 posts in the year 2008.   The year 2009 wasn't too shabby with 277 posts.  For those three years my average number of posts for the year is 280 posts per each year!    The average of posts for all the other years combined is 129 posts a year.     Coincidence?????    Hmmm, I don't think so!   

So why is the blog so important?  I think it is important because it helps me refocus on my goals on a daily basis.   When I'm not forced to think about it and write about it and whatnot, the focus in my life tends to shift and switch to something.  I am not saying that what it shifts to is not important, but I need to have the daily reminder that this goal is very real and very important in my life and that I need to keep pushing forward.  

Right now I am committed to sending my weight on a weekly basis to two friends. (And I will gladly add more people to my weekly weigh in reports if it will help!  I've at one time shared and emailed with 3-4 friends...the more accountability, the better!)   I am registered for one race (The Cooper River Bridge Run on April 2).  Obviously I am in the Hagerstown 100 Miler.     I am also committed to writing posts to help me stay accountable and to help me stay focused!