Well, I met my goal. Woohoo! At the beginning of the year as I thought about turning fifty years old, I decided I really wanted to lose the weight that had been annoying me a long time. My pants were all so tight! So my Lose 15 pounds by age 50 goal began. It wasn't a lot of weight, but something that made me feel that I wasn't as healthy as I should be. I wanted to look good in the graduation and birthday pictures I knew were coming and oddly enough, I don't think we even took a whole lot!
Around Christmas last year, the hubs decided to cut out refined sugar when my daughter told him how much sugar was in the hot chocolate drink he got daily (sometimes more than once) at Starbucks. She said, and I quote, "Sugar is like Crack to your body." So that is one thing he and I have both been made more aware of...just how much sugar is in the foods that we eat. He's lost 24 pounds! He does eat things sweetened with raw honey.
I didn't totally give up refined sugar but have been eating more fruits and less dessert. I found that I could get away with something sweet in the afternoon, but not after dinner. Also, if there's not going to be kids at home for dinner it has changed to more like a snack. Weird, I know. My exercise regimen has just changed slightly. I still do some kind of exercise 5 days a week for 30 minutes to an hour. We trained for the OKC Memorial Marathon relay race, even if we ended up not running it due to weather this year. So my exercise regimen has varied between Curves, Body & Soul classes, running, and now I've even added in Pilates classes. I'm beginning to sound like an exercise junkie. I guess that's a good thing!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention my motivation jar! I made THIS and it's in my bathroom. I weighed every morning. Yes, every single morning and paid myself $1 if I maintained. I got $5 if I lost and had to pay $5 back to my husband if I gained. Even though it was just a small amount of money, I rewarded myself at the end of every month. It may sound selfish, but I decided it could not be used on anyone else. The last day of the month I had some fun money for some new beauty product or a pedicure - no food rewards! For some reason I feel guilty about spending money on that kind of stuff, so this made it all right. Anyway, it worked for me and I felt success every time I got to put in a $ and disappointed every time I had to pay out of it. It motivated me to do better!
So I revealed my secret. Everybody has their own way of maintaining a healthy weight and hopefully I'm there for a long, long time.
Do you have any behavior/diet modification
secrets you want to share?
2 comments:
awesome job!! Maybe I need a jar to help me....cause I feel the same way about spending money on pedicures and what not....I only get my hair cut about once a year, and it's so cheap you'd die! (I also have decided I'm not even going to worry about my weight until Drew was done nursing, that I was just going to enjoy my last baby!)
Wow! You are one motivated mom. Most people at the age of 50 would give up staying fit, but you're no ordinary 50-year-old. You stay focused, kept yourself motivated and reached your goal. I admire you for that. That is one great motivation technique you got there. Thank you so much for sharing! Stay fit and healthy!
Ari Maccabi @ InFighting
Post a Comment