Time to stop floating and get grounded

From Saturday's bike ride:<br /><div style="text-align: center;">I wish my legs were this long and skinny!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUlo8DNT1FNN3bDr1Hl26cy8gnKCxZRq_NeldRUI9Y1wuI2dxAy9F059jq9I9PMZp89vprTan4CKryQojm4MOtiROJNVgvzd2JZWR-_8_T92BULRjn9QNQ3C92XYTFYGgO2SgIGvICTudo/s1600/bike+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUlo8DNT1FNN3bDr1Hl26cy8gnKCxZRq_NeldRUI9Y1wuI2dxAy9F059jq9I9PMZp89vprTan4CKryQojm4MOtiROJNVgvzd2JZWR-_8_T92BULRjn9QNQ3C92XYTFYGgO2SgIGvICTudo/s400/bike+016.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Beautiful Mt. Rainier. Saturday was a perfect day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-ldW9Iw-FI8ZerthyphenhyphenxobXpevsvSwej-jZk9mqmoaPr2yn58WvTHEg0YPg5JiqdebS9VnD6EAfEoC9xwzDxXoKX92y4Ezgxbrj9Gjbe735MzeFa7MvaN4znN4pTvBG2JgOaFEzJrjMQ2L/s1600/bike+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-ldW9Iw-FI8ZerthyphenhyphenxobXpevsvSwej-jZk9mqmoaPr2yn58WvTHEg0YPg5JiqdebS9VnD6EAfEoC9xwzDxXoKX92y4Ezgxbrj9Gjbe735MzeFa7MvaN4znN4pTvBG2JgOaFEzJrjMQ2L/s400/bike+013.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><strong>Goals</strong><br />I woke up in a foul mood this morning. I had the words of a two-year old I know going through my head "I don't wanna!". I really just wanted to turn off the alarm, roll over, pull the covers over my head and forget all my responsibilities in life.<br /><br />Of course, I'm not two, I'm fifty-five. I learned a long time ago that some things in life just aren't optional. Like going to work. If I want a place to live and food to eat, I have to go to work.<br /><br />Exercise and eating healthy are optional. As much as I'd like to claim these things are NOT optional, in reality, they are a choice. We can choose to be a couch potato and eat crap, or we can make our best effort to do what's right for our bodies. <br /><br />In high school my best friend's dad would always tell us, "the hard way is the easy way and the easy way is the hard way". At the time he meant if my we chose not to go to college, in the short run it would seem easy, but in the long run, that was really the hard way".<br /><br />I've thought of that philosophy hundreds of times over the years and how it applies to weight loss. In the short run it would be easy to never exercise and to just eat whatever the hell I wanted. In the long run that would most likely cause a multitude of possible health issues as well as greatly reduce my quality of life. <br /><br />Which leads me to the purpose of this post, it's really time for me to stop floating along, staying the same weight. I looked at my calendar this morning and my weight on August 1 was exactly my weight today. In almost two months I haven't lost an ounce. That is seriously a sad state of affairs. <br /><br />I love reading about people setting weekly goals for themselves, and especially when they report a week later on how they did. Monday is a perfect goal setting day, because after all, all "diets" start on Monday.<br /><br /><strong>Goal #1</strong><br /><strong>Exercise six days a week.</strong> <br /><br />Normally, this wouldn't be much of a challenge for me since that's my normal, but the last month my job has really messed up my workouts. After a 12-14 hour workday, getting to the gym or even a walk was more than I could manage on some days. My average turned into 3-4 times a week. <br /><br /><strong>Goal #2</strong><br /><strong>Attend a Weight Watcher meeting.</strong><br /><br />I've been terrible at attending meetings lately. I don't have an excuse other than, well, I don't really have an excuse. I just need to do this. It's one hour out of my week. Why is that so difficult?<br /><br /><strong>Goal #3 </strong><br /><strong>Drink water</strong><br /><br />This is really sort of pathetic to admit, but I've completely stopped drinking water at work. The reason was that I didn't want to take time to go to the bathroom. It makes me crazy that I did this, but things are back to normal at work, and it's time to get back to the water guzzling. <br /><br /><strong>Goal #4</strong><br /><strong>Count Points.</strong> <br /><br />Not even stay within my Points, which would be mighty nice, but just count them, even three times a week (every day preferred, but I have to start small). <br /><br /><strong>Goal #5</strong><br /><strong>Knit a scarf.</strong><br /><br />It's not weight loss related, but I need to stop being so obsessed by weight loss. I use to do crafty stuff all the time. It's time to get back into something that has nothing to do with weight loss.<br /><br /><strong>Goal #6</strong><br /><strong>Read a book.</strong><br /><br />I can't remember the last non-weight loss or non-exercise book I read. I have about a dozen fun books on my nightstand. I miss reading and want to get back to it. It use to be one of my favorite things to do. Now it's all about the gym and the food. B-o-r-i-n-g.<br /><br />I'll report next Monday how the week goes with my goals. Wish me luck. Lord knows I'm going to need it!

Time to stop floating and get grounded

From Saturday's bike ride: I wish my legs were this long and skinny! Beautiful Mt. Rainier. Saturday was a perfect day. Goals I woke up ...

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