6.5.2018 - Getting Back on Track

No one reads this (I don't exactly promote it anywhere), but I'm still going to post it out there to hold myself a little more accountable. It's been 2.5 years since I last posted. In that time, my weight has fluctuated up and down a bit, but has held pretty stable in the 175-180 realm, occasionally going a little higher, into the 180-185 range, where it currently sits.

I worked out during lunch at the fitness center here at work for a while. But it's probably been almost a year since I've done that. At least regularly.

I want to be healthy, I do. Last year I even finally saw the doctor about lowering my cholesterol. I'm on medication to keep that in check, because even when exercising and eating healthier, it was still too high. It's at healthy levels now.

But today I stepped on the scale, and hit 184.4 lbs, and as I looked in the mirror, realized that doing what I'm doing isn't going to cut it. I don't like how my body looks. I don't like how I feel. I don't like feeling guilty after eating, or laying around the house.

I want to feel confident.

I want to feel attractive.

I want to feel healthy.

So I'm going to change. But I'm not going to do it all at once. I know that I can't. I have tried and failed too many times. So I took a look at all the reasons I fail, either at healthy eating or exercise:

- Work travel / vacation: it is so hard to exercise or eat healthy when I am traveling, especially since you're eating at restaurants - no one wants to order a salad at a restaurant.
- I get sick: when I wake up feeling sick one morning, I don't work out, which snowballs into not working out at all.
- Unexpected change of plans: this can encompass my wife getting a migraine, dinner plans falling through, feeling lazy and not wanting to make what was planned, etc. 

There are a few others, like lazy weekends, work projects, staying up too late, etc., but I think it really comes down to planning and organization. If I can plan really well, I will be more likely to stick to the plan, regardless of whether I feel sick one day, or am on vacation for a week. The plan will keep me on track. So here's what I'm going to do:

- Plan meals in advance: monthly meal planning sessions.
- Have easy-to-make, quick, healthy meals for when plans fall through. Monthly preparing meals to go in the freezer, or keeping ingredients stocked for simple recipes (or both).
- Weekly breakfast-, lunch-, and snack-making: doing it in bulk, so I have no excuse but to eat healthy.
- Exercise schedule: planned monthly, and something I can stick to that is not short-sighted.
- Weekly shirt ironing: this probably doesn't appear to fit here, but having my shirts ironed for the week gives me a psychological edge over my morning, and makes me more poised for success throughout the day.
- CALENDARING! Putting all of these things on a schedule, with time blocked off, so I'm sure to do it (I stick to my calendar pretty well).

So there's my plan. Slow and steady wins the race, but some real changes are needed to make it happen.