I was having a conversation with my husband a few weeks ago and mentioned that it was funny that I *felt* fat that day, since I'd been about the same weight since I'd met him 17 months prior to that.
Then it hit me.
Despite a year of actively trying to lose weight, I've pretty much been +/- five pounds of the same point since we met. Now, maybe my muscle mass has fluctuated, etc., but it's ridiculous that I claim to have been actively working on something for 17 months and have nothing to show in terms of change.
Which means, either:
A) I was doing everything right and my body is beyond broken.
or
B) I wasn't working as hard or consistently as I thought I was.
While there's a smidgen of A that is probably true, let's go with B, shall we?
Well, consistency is the key to success. You don't have to be perfect every day, but you have to be good more often than not.
What does being healthy look like to me?
Emotionally/Spiritually
- Daily time spent in
- Prayer
- Bible Study
- Meditation (seriously guys, this can lower your blood pressure by a lot)
- Journaling/reflection
- Frequent quality time with my husband
- Date nights
- Weekly budget/to-do check-ins
- High aerobic capacity
- Better core strength -- I'd like to make it through the year without an L5 exacerbation, but hey, we might have to get rid of our futon for that to happen.
- Increased flexibility
- Eating more whole foods
- Decreasing intake of refined sugar
- Not reliant on caffeine
- Ability to listen to my body's cues on food, not cravings
Career
- Staying up to date on advances
- Reading at least one peer-reviewed article a week
- Listening/viewing at least one FOAM resource a week
- Networking
- Going to conferences whenever possible
- Reviewing
- Picking at least one concept/disease to review per week
- Find a mentor to help guide me through the craziness of residency
So for January, 2017:
I'm going to be working on a lot of these things on the side. I can't totally change my life all at once, and some of them I've been doing in fits and starts. But I'm going to write out what "healthy" looks like for me, and keep it visible on my bullet journal, so I can keep it in mind.
But for January, let's build some new habits: hence, the FitBit 30.
I like the FitBit. It calculates my daily energy expenditure (DEE) and can prorate the calories I have left for the day based on that. I'm going to attempt to maintain a daily 1000 calorie deficit (according the the FitBit) for the 30 days, which should result in an 8ish pound weight loss compared to tomorrow. It'll also build good habits.
Rules:
I can not go OVER the calories prescribed by the FitBit -- must be "in the zone." If I go over, I'll have to "earn" those calories back.
Can I go under? Yes, but here's why: sometimes, I go to bed still in the target zone, but earn enough calories while sleeping to push me under it. So I can't be too strict about that.
Bonus wins: Meeting the FitBit goals for water, sleep, activity, and steps. But hey, let's keep it simple and focus on the calories for now.
Consistency is the name of the game.
Happy 2017 everyone!
