Reflections, Beer, & Cupcakes...

It’s 2011, a new year. I am not making any resolutions about dieting and weight loss per se. Instead, I am examining past behavior, seeing where I have failed in the past, and looking for ways to change the patterns that led to failure. In addition, I am planning to make some changes in how I report progress…shoot in how I track progress. Okay, I am actually going to track progress this year. :D

My dad is a historian. As a result, I am a firm believer that a failure to understand history is to doom one’s self to repeat it. I don’t want to keep making the same mistakes, so I must look back and reflect on 2010. Where did I go wrong? What could I do differently and maybe find success? I think there are a few key areas where I broke down or was faced with an insurmountable challenge. I made some bad food choices, I failed to diversify my exercise plan, and I am guilty of using crutches.

First, I have some well documented weaknesses in the food department. Most notably beer and cupcakes. No! I don’t often- well, ever –have them together. Gross! I do like a beer or three with my dinner. As of Monday (Jan 3^rd) I am off the sauce for 30 days. After that I will keep all alcohol to a minimum. I will be very selective about when and what I choose to indulge in. Cupcakes. This one is trickier. I don’t know how to deal with this except to indulge the craving once in a while to keep it at bay. My real weak spot is when people at work drop a dozen in the kitchen. Those are the days I will have to dig deep and suck it up (no, I don’t mean the cupcakes!). I’ll need my #Twitloss community on those days to help keep me focused on the goal.

Second, is exercise. Gah! I detest this. I have to keep a stable of options available to myself to mix it up. So, I am expanding the Tae Bo tapes and Shimmy episodes to incorporate my stationary bike and running. DH is setting up his free weights, so I may throw a little strength training into the mix too. I just need to work out 45min a pop four days a week. That’s the goal.

My last mistake is the use of crutches. Not actual crutches, but metaphorical ones. First the Topamax. As we speak I am weaning myself off it. I have had no weight loss and no reduction of headaches. I have had all kinds of stupid side effects that I will enumerate in another post. (This one is plenty long as it is!) The next crutch to go: Diet Shakes. They don’t work. I am going back to food and focusing on healthy choices. I want more fruits and vegetables, chicken, fish, and whole grains. I am hoping these choices will lead to both weight loss and a healthier me, because right now I am feeling very rundown. I feel physically like a 75 year old despite being only 35. That is not good!

Reporting will also start happening this year. I have a new tool. Ha! I know, I know. I am trying out MyFitnessPal (free in the Android Market). Supposedly it will work with my barcode scanner on my phone and I can track exercise and water intake. I’ll let you know how it goes. My goal is to report each week on total calories consumed vs. total burned and how much exercise I did. At the bottom of this post I will update all of my measurements, show changes from my start in 2010 (don’t expect much), and then provide quarterly updates.

Here is where I stand:

Year	Height	Weight	Waist	Hips	Thigh	Bicep
2010	5'9"	197	41"	47"	281/8"	141/4"
2011	5'9"	199	402/8"	461/2"	28"	136/8"

So I can't say that 2010 was a wild success for my weight loss efforts, but I didn't do as bad as I expected. And I certainly see it as a springboard into this year.

Now, I've laid out my plan for 2011. How about you? Got any plans for success in the new year?