We haven't talked about our goals for a long time, so I thought it would be good to go back and see where we are all at. Some of us have been around for a long time, some are newer and it's always nice to "update" our information and reestablish our goals.
I'm curious as to whether or not everyone HAS a weight loss goal (i.e. what weight are you striving for?); and do you have a specific date by which you would like to reach this goal? What are you doing to achieve your goal? Do you find yourself sabotaging your weight loss efforts? Do you have medical issues that may hinder or prevent you from reaching your goal? You aren't limited to answering these questions...........
Since I asked all the questions, I'll go first: I'll answer my last question first, so you'll know where I'm coming from here. I had always maintained a weight between 100 - 115 (even pregnant), and all of a sudden in early 2008 (age 59), I gained about 30 pounds within a period of 3 months -- wow, was that a shocker for me!!! I had a lot of other symptoms as well, that over the years, my doctors had put down to getting older and/or being menopausal, since I had a hysterectomy at age 46.
I had even joined Curves in an effort to get rid of the weight and I only kept gaining.
At that time, I was visiting my doctor's office every couple of weeks anyway for vitamin B12 shots (pernicious anemia), so I talked to the nurse and she suggested that I make an appointment to get my thyroid tested, so I did. At first, my symptoms were blown off, once again, as age and/or menopause. I pointed out that I wasn't THAT old and that I know menopause doesn't last for 13 yrs...........lol I was finally allowed to get the necessary blood tests and of course, they came back showing that I had extreme hypothyroidism, which really slows the metabolism and causes weight gain, plus it had my resting heart rate down in the mid 30 bpm, as well as other things. I was put on thyroid replacement hormones and as I began feeling better, I just knew that 30 pounds was going to fall right off. It's a long story that isn't relative here, but that goes in "spurts" and I still struggle with symptoms, specifically fatigue, weight issues, muscle/joint issues. I have a sister who is also hypothyroid and SHE lost all her weight within a few weeks (of course, she was over medicated for a while too....lol), so you can imagine my disappointment when my weight didn't budge!!
I think I can safely say I have lost and gained the same 5-10 pounds at least monthly, for the past 2 yrs. While my weight is no longer going up (not higher than my high of 150), I haven't been able to make it go down for any length of time either.
So, as of this morning, my weight was 146.2 and I've no doubt that if I stepped on the scale now, it would be close to 150, just because of my day's eating/activities (or lack of), fluid retention, etc.
My ultimate goal is 115 pounds, so you can see I have a long way to go. I would like to get there by New Year's, but that might be a bit ambitious, since I've had a hard time committing to a specific plan.
About the only thing I'm doing consistently right now, is trying to eat well; however, all too often, I end up running through the fast food drive through between destinations, which is pretty much a "no no" for weight loss. I have figured out that there are some places to go, at which I can get by without a lot of high fat food but one can't live on Wendy's small chili and side salad........ lol I do try to make breakfast my main meal of the day and the evening meal, the lightest........
My exercise is very sporadic. I have a treadmill and health rider (now being used as a clothes rack), along with Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus, exercise dvd's, etc and I simply don't use them. My day starts at 3:30 am and by the time I get home from work around 3:00 pm, I'm tired and there's always a ton of other things to do, such as house cleaning, laundry, etc; and weekends are taken up with making the trip to care for my elderly aunt, mowing lawn, and doing other things I don't do during the week.
I do feel fortunate that I have managed to stay within a "range" and not keep going higher. I find myself resolving to get back into the routine of exercising and healthy eating; then I find myself coming home from work and sitting down in front of the computer; once I do that, I'm done!! I also find it hard to keep up an exercise routine when my husband is home/in the house. He always wants to visit with me and is easily offended if I don't stop what I'm doing to talk to him, yet, he "says" he understands my need for that 30 minutes of exercise. I resent his not leaving me alone for 30 minutes to get through an exercise routine and it's easier to just not try to exercise than it is to have to deal with the "attitude".
I know I'm sabotaging my efforts by eating fast food, not exercising, etc and my reasons for doing so are not acceptable. The only "valid" reason I have for not losing weight, is when my thyroid levels got off and my metabolism slows down to nothing.
I'm trying to find that one "motivator" that will get me going and keep me going, no matter what comes up, including keeping up with posts here on WL&D or the other forums I belong to on MH. This can be an addiction, I think.............lol
My goal: 115 pounds - 31 pound loss by New Year's Day 2011...............
Okay - now it's your turn. What's your goal (weight and time frame)? What are you doing to achieve it? What keeps you from achieving it? How will you overcome the stumbling blocks? Do you sabotage your own efforts, and if so, why do you think you do it? Is emotional eating an issue for you? Medical issues that may be valid (thyroid, PCOS, insulin resistance, etc).
I'll gladly accept suggestions to get around my own stumbling block....which is me..............
Remember: there are no failures, only set backs....