I am the worst at taking care of myself. Â I can loose weight. Â I gain some back. Â I try to eat more healthy…then the kids are home for the weekend and want me to fix all their favorite foods and I give in to temptation.
Of course after having too lofty of goals and not meeting them, I dive back into my old habits head first…only to feel worse. Â We all do it…I know it’s true.
Years ago, I had wanted to something in an effort to improve my longevity. Â Initially I wanted to lose weight but knew I just wasn’t up to that challenge. Â Instead I decided I would wear my seat belt…all the time, every time. Â Every time I got in the car, I thought buckle up or loose weight. Â Well that’s an easy choice-buckle up…and it was something that was good for me. Â Now I wear my seat belt all the time, every time.
Two years ago I had a idea that I wanted to keep my bedroom cleaner. Â I knew this was something I could do, but would probably go lax on. Â I decided instead to always close my closet door because that would make my bedroom look cleaner and it would be a goal I could reach. Â Now, the closet door to our bedroom is closed 95% of the time and it really does make our bedroom look cleaner.
I am at it again….knowing I need to make big goals…but knowing too that I am not ready to accomplish a big goal. Â Once again, I need to address my health. Â Sure I should lose weight…sure I should never eat a sweet. Â BUT what can I really honestly do that will add to my health, BUT now be too over whelming. Â This time around I am picking two things…..
I am going to wean myself off my hormone replacement pills. Â This has been a work in progress. Â If you take hormone replacement you know as well as I do that doctors are constantly flip flopping on the safety of the pills. Â Two years ago I tried a generic brand hoping to go off the pills….it was horrible. Â This time around I have stuck with the same brand gradually stepping down. Â It’s working! Â Over the next six weeks, I hope to be off the medication completely.
The second thing I am doing is to cut back on my intake of artificial sweeteners…mainly pop consumption.  I am not eliminating it…I like to stop at the gas station and get a pop when we are traveling a long distance.  I like to have a pop when the kids are home…but sitting at the computer working or at the sewing machine sewing….I’m drinking water.  This I can do…no pop during the week at the computer or sewing machine.
Once these two goals become  ingrained, I am moving on to  a new goal….I figure every weight loss program suggests lots of water consumption.  If I get the water things figured out first, I’ll be ready for the next step….Annie over at Annie’s Ruby Slipperz is having a linky party of others who are looking to improve their lives.  Hop on over and check it out.
How are you taking care of you?
You will start losting weight and feeling better if you drink lots of water and walking…try every hour going out and walking around the house…than came back have a glass of water and sew.
Good for you, Jo! If you ever follow flylady.net you know that “babysteps” is the best way to start any new adventure. I try to apply this to any task I have, whether it is cleaning my basement or getting in better shape. Break the task down into small steps and it eventually gets done. Good for you!
I think your goals are very achievable ones! I too set the bar to unreasonable high just setting myself up for failure. I cut pop out 90% over a year ago..it was HARD cause that old Cola company likes to put addictive stuff in their pop lol! I drink a ton of water now…I lost 20 lbs as a result over the year..not much considering how much more I NEED to lose but I FEEL so much better off it. I still indulge on occasion…Coke settles my upset tummy. Best of luck…I rootin” for ya!
YES, good for you! I was going to make a comment on one of the recipes that you made not long ago, but didnt want to sound pushy, or a know it all, but remember the scallop potatoes you did in a crock pot? Adding those cans of “cream of” were the biggest mistake, and number two, the ham. So full of salt. I got away from the cream of soups 25 years ago and make it all from scratch, taste better, I can control the salt, and not really that much more work. Now if I eat anybody elses casseroles that have the cream of soups in, I get diareaha. And let me tell you, that is a weight loss plan that beats not other. I just found a great website that lists 24 tips on a great weight loss plan without dieting..WebMD, hope you can check it out! Not to brag, but all of these make so much since, that I could have wrote them. And I keep trying to tell my overweight friends and family these things and they keep brushing them off. One of the tips is to eat slower, to take time with your meals. I have always been the slowest eater all my life. Sometimes I feel so intimadated by people that are all done eating and I still have half my plate to go. Now I am not going to feel so guilty. What great advice. Hope you can keep at! Be strong and tough, and set an example for your family too. They should be eating healthy too!
Water is an excellent idea for improving your health. Good luck and keep us posted with your progress!
Great idea to replace water for pop (or soda as I call it out here on the West Coast ;) ) A few years ago my then boyfriend, now hubby and I stopped drinking soda and we each lost at least 10-15 lbs. A great start! Good luck!
I quit smoking one year ago! My goal since November is to get off the weight I gained when I quit. It has been super slow, but 2 more pounds and I’ll be back where I was 1 year ago. This week I am trying to take vitamins every day. Good luck on cutting back on pop. That can be hard.
Trading water for soda is an excellent idea. Try drinking a full glass of water before every meal. It helps fill you up a bit so you end up eating just a bit less. Baby steps will get the job done.
Jo, I too gave up soda for the most part! Drinking water was a challenge. I tried it in a glass, and in a water bottle……but what finally worked for me was one of those insulated cups with a straw! and I add a slice of lemon……….now I can drink water all day with no problem! Good luck!!
I am addicted to diet soda, namely diet pepsi. You have motivated me. I am going to make more of an effort to cut back on soda and drink good old water.
Awesome! I find it too easy to get into that “all or nothing” mentality, forgetting how much difference small things can make. Thanks for the great reminder!
I’m so excited to ready your blog!…you have some great goals…and I KNOW YOU can do it!
hugZ,
annie
anniesrubyslipperz.com
Jo,
I had to check out your bottom links to Pete the cat. I love that book- and my kindergarten kids love it even more.. We have used that song multiple times over the school year. I am very excited to know that he has written a new book that is coming out in May. It is such a positive story and reminds one to keep on moving and grooving. It sounds like your plan is just like that.. Keep on taking care of yourself. Your worth it!
Regards, Anna
I have been working on losing weight since July by watching my calories. I was very surprised this morning to step on the scale and find that I have now lost 26 pounds!! Yay me! Last time I weighed myself I was at 24 pounds. It is a slow process and I tell myself everyday is a new start and not to berate myself when I have a slip up day. So far that has been working. I am still working on increasing my water intake though. Step by step we will get there.
~Linnea