On Sense and Sensibility

Here it is over halfway through January 2010, and wishing all of you a Happy New Year!

     Being in TOPS, Take off Pounds Sensibly- (TOPS.org- not the grocery store) a big thing is when a person hits their goal weight that is set by that person and a health care provider.  I had been going on throughout 2009 that that was the year that I was going to get to my goal weight of 177 pounds- at least that is what the Dr's wanted me to be at.  For those of you who know me, that would be comparing me to a wet, anorexic toothpick.  I verified this in October of 2009 prior to the Thanksgiving feast trip to TN ( which, was AWESOME) and at that point I was a bit over 200 pounds.  My Dr wanted me to be at 177- and my body is telling me that right around 200 is fine by it... I haven't lost much of anything these past two weeks...

   I digress.. I got mad, after all what are the BMI charts all about anyways?  Why do they determine who is obese, who is overweight and who is a toothpick?  So, I got a second opinion, and guess what.. the second health care provider told me the same thing.... Must be something to those BMI charts.

    I didn't shed a single pound in 2009 overall, in fact I gained three more pounds at the end of 2009 than I started with in 2009.  So, where did that leave me?  Not much to show for all of my hard work and determination? Not at all, in fact, it is the opposite.  It took time for the weight to get on me, it will take time to get the weight off. There always is a time and a season for all things.  I have a much sharper mental focus on what I need to do to get the weight off.  I ran my first 5K race; the "Its a Wonderful Run" and placed! (333, but hey, I ran!) and I am feeling a lot better than I had been starting in 2009; and we have a wonderful support group of friends and family here in the AOP 6 that have come up with a lot of support and motivation.

    And to help you get started in 2010- here are a few pointers:

1- You really, really have to choose to get in shape, or lose weight, or get healthy, or whatever it is that you need to focus on.  Re-read that sentence again, you really really have to choose....  that's right, its a choice that only you can make. Before all the gimmicks, the hopes, the dreams, the sensible eating, the excersise, before all of that, there is the one simple choice that you must make to start- or restart- and once started, you make a commitment- that is choice plus action to continue. Sometimes the choice is to get up 5- 10- 15 minutes earlier to get some excersise in, or to pack a lunch... there is always a choice....  It took a lot to get Jason to try tilapia, and I commend his choice.

2- If you stop, do not, under any circumstance, come down hard on yourself.  That is just a waste of the energy and time that the universe has given you, rather, just pick yourself up again and chose to restart and recommit.  That's it.  Remember, that sometimes the pressure that you work up to try to keep up with the excersise or the whatever gets us really up on a pedastil so when you come off, it hurts. Resist the urge to go into the "what - ifs"... It's done, it's over, move on and keep going forward...The past is the past, and I know you have it in you to keep going forward after picking yourself back up to continue forward.. I know I am

3- and this is the big one.... the greatest key to change? Keep it small and simple.  Sometimes the smallest changes can have the largest effects.  You don't have to lose 25 pounds by the end of next week, in fact, it is not recommended under any circumstances.... but you can make some small changes to lose a quarter of a pound a week, or a pound a month.  Cut out one soda per day.  Fit 5 minutes into your schedule to do excersises 3 times a day. Small changes adding up...to big changes

hope this helps-

Drew