Fall New Year's Resolutions

This is my 5th challenge and I am ready to just be finished with losing weight. Like many of you, I feel like it is the story of my life. I am really close to my goal but just can't seem to grab it and hold it. This is going to be the challenge where I do it. It's time.... I LOVE fall. I don't know what it is about fall, I live in southern California so it isn't like we have much of a change of season and I don't like daylight savings time, but I just love moving from the chaos of summer to the structure of fall. I love back to school, fall baseball, and the anticipation of the holidays. It is always a good time for me to get back in a groove and clean up my act. I like to make my New Year's Resolutions at the start of fall so that when the New Year Starts, I am ahead of everyone.

This has been a key year for me. Birthdays have never been a big deal for me, but this year I turned 50 and it just felt different. I feel like this is the time of my life where I get to focus a little more on me. I just sent my oldest child off to college and my youngest just started high school. They still need me but not in the same way they have for the last 18 years, and it is easier just having one at home to keep track of. It helps that my younger child is a little less labor intensive than my first child, too. I'm actually starting to feel like an individual again and not just a mom. It feels kind of good..... I think I may be able to get used to this.

On the downside, I feel like now there are far fewer excuses available for me to hide behind. There are always the little things that come up- like the cold that has wiped out my entire family for the last 2 weeks (a going away present from my brand spanking new college student), the relentless schedule of baseball games that my high schooler has, and the perpetual chaos at work making it necessary to stay longer at work and work more at home, but those will always be there, in one form or another. There has never been a better time for me to do this, so do this I will. I love a good plan so here it is, my roadmap to sealing the deal:

1) Exercise. For me this is the key to my success. I have the advantage in that I have physical therapy twice a week to rehab a sucky ankle. I have a love/hate relationship with it- I am seriously tired of going (it has been a year now...) but it is a golden opportunity that has forced me to get in almost the best shape of my life. It is like have an overqualified trainer that my insurance pays for and my coworkers and family have come to expect me to go to. The focus is on strengthening my whole body as well as fixing my ankle so I have an intense workout every time I go. And hopefully by the end of the journey I will be able to run again.

2) Planning my menu and preparing my food in advance. If I make a track, I will stay on it. It is an investment in time that pays off on a daily basis. I love to cook and I love healthy food so I have little reason to stray when I am in my groove. My groove has been a little unfocused lately so I just need to be smart with my time and make sure I am prepared for the week. This even includes some baking so my treats are planned in advance and will be exactly what I want. This way I won't feel the need to go searching for crappy store bought baked goods that aren't worth the calories... and baking is what I do best. Not to mention it is my favorite form of therapy.

3) Tracking. It keeps me somewhat honest. It is a pain in the butt and I detest doing it but it is effective (and research shows it is the number 1 predictor of weight loss success). A very necessary evil and a non-negotiable task.

4) Journaling. Writing a quick blurb in the am helps me frame my day and keep my goals and priorities front and center. I look at is as "booting my mental desktop". I also find it helpful to jot down a little in the evenings to kind of recap my day but in all honesty, it doesn't happen that often.

5) Accountability. Weekly weigh-ins. Daily reporting of activity and LTGL activities. Annoying. Painful. Extremely effective. I HATE posting a gain or telling the world I did not exercise or drink my water. I know that nobody judges me for it or really pays attention to what I do or don't do, but I know that I am motivated when I see other people do really well so I like to try and be that person.

I'm on my mark, I'm set, and I'm off!