My Journey, June 13, 2022

Well, another week has passed. To recap:

Jan 1, 2022 weight: 314

Last Monday’s weight: 317

Weekly Exercise Goal: 100 minutes

So, how did this week go?

This week was interesting. My son got married on Saturday. So, that threw off the schedule for the week. It also meant a lot more food around than normal. That’s not to make any excuses. My choices are still my choices, but it is part of the story.

MOVE MONTH Goal

You may recall, that I declared June to be MOVE MONTH. I set a goal for myself of 100 minutes of moderate activity (exercise) per week. For the first week, I only did 47. I learned that I needed to have a plan. So, I went into this week with a plan for when I would exercise and what things I would do each day.

The end result was 100 minutes. I reached my goal exactly! I would certainly have loved to have beat it, but I am super excited that I reached my goal. My long-term goal is 150+ minutes every week. But, I think that we need to set goals that stretch us but are attainable. So, for now, I’ll celebrate this goal.

Weekly weigh-in

A couple of things before we look at my weight for this week. First, I know many people will say that we should not focus too much on the scale. I’d say, yes and no. On the one hand, we can certainly become too focused on the scale and find ourselves when we don’t see the progress we might hope for. On the other hand, at my weight, if I am doing what I need to do with my nutrition and exercise, then I WILL lose weight.

Another thing is that people will differ on how often we should weigh. I, personally, weigh every day and I report it once a week. For some people weighing daily can be a very discouraging thing and that’s totally cool. We each need to do what works for us. For me, if I don’t weigh every day, then I will go off plan and end up quickly gaining weight, sometimes quite a bit.

So, I weigh every day, understanding that there will be some fluctuation and that can be ok. Then I report it once a week to track the trends in my weight. That’s what works for me.

This week’s weight: 321

Yeah. That’s right. I gained 4 pounds this week. Truth is I gained it all over the weekend. Much of that is due to the wedding and all the leftover food. Not only have I been not making the best food choices, but I’ve also been eating in quantities that are so much higher than they should be.

It freaking sucks.

I’m less upset about the weight gain than I am about the fact that I allowed myself, yet again, to go so far off the rails. Well, no sense beating myself up over what is already done. Now it’s time to take a deep breath and move on to a new week, learn from this week, and see what I can do differently from here.

Next week’s Goals:

Weight: 317

Movement: 100 minutes

Celebrations and Lessons

Each week, as I share my update, I’m going to share something that I am celebrating. I think it’s important to remember that we have experienced some success. I will also share lessons I have learned and will work to apply in the coming week.

I’m celebrating having reached my move goal for last week. In spite of the weight gain, it feels good to know I reached it. I also can feel a physical difference, having been more active with exercise in recent weeks.

I’ve learned that, while a plan is important every week, it is especially important when special occasions come or things that bring us out of our routine.

Stay tuned as I continue to push through MOVE MONTH and then add additional habits to the plan as I move forward. Thanks for your support in this.