January 2023 is almost done, and it’s been a little over a month since I renewed my health journey. And I’m going to be honest, it’s not gone the best, yet it’s also not been the worst.
Since the start of the year I’ve lost only 3 lbs, which isn’t terrible. I mean it is in the right direction at least. That being said it’s not near what I was hoping for by this time of the month. However, I’m not surprised by this outcome either. I’m far from being discouraged though. If anything, I’m even more determined than ever.
This past month has been a learning experience. I’m going to take what I’ve learned and use the knowledge to implement lasting change.
The Starting Line
I know it’s a debated topic anymore, making New Year’s resolutions, but I personally am a fan. Having a starting point helps me prepare, and helps me with milestones. It makes me take a step back to look at what I want to accomplish over the course of the coming year.
Last year, I married the love of my life and best friend. And I will confess that like most couples, I got comfy. I was loved and loved for who I was. Both my husband and myself are also foodies, and we love trying new foods and cooking.
Before I knew it, I was over 200 lbs. And I’m only 5′ 5″ so according to the CDC, I’m obese. It’s heartbreaking to write, and even more so to look in the mirror and know it now.
Losing weight, and getting healthier was something I knew I needed to do. But I didn’t kick myself into gear until I’d been married half a year. The topic of kids was something my husband and I had discussed as a possibility in our future. I knew then however, that my body and my health wasn’t in line with this.
Even before I gained the love-weight, my blood-pressure wasn’t the greatest. And to be honest, I should probably be on medication for it. So when we did start talking about our future, I realized I’d let myself go too far. We both had. And we made a promise to ourselves that we were going to do better.
So as 2022 came to a close, I started making small changes. Then the holidays hit and I gained back all the weight I’d lost up to that point. It was rough. I knew I was needing to make some serious alterations to myself in 2023.
January 2023
Almost four full weeks into the year, and I’ve not been consistent in my journey.
One of those weeks I was dog sitting for my parents. It really through me out of my groove, and I didn’t utilize the time I had to workout more. The only thing I could think of was getting back home, and I let it distract me from my goals.
The week before I’d experienced a really bad week with cramps and all that good lovely stuff. Being a female is so much fun sometimes! Not really, it sucks. But, I gave in to feeling bad. I didn’t try and power through at all. No, I wasn’t up for a HIIT workout, but I could’ve done Yoga or something. But I didn’t, and that is on me.
But these two bad weeks, were a great learning experience.
Bad Habits I’ve Noticed
Emotional Eater
I have noticed that if I’m having a bad day, or a rough week as mentioned above, I eat. I seek out comfort food. Chocolate, pasta, all the bad stuff. And it doesn’t help that there’s a vending machine at work with all the delicious treats I don’t need.
Caving to Cramps
If I’m having a bad week or day, not only do I eat worse, but my motivation drops to zero. I tend to just let the negativity of whatever has occurred take me down. I don’t fight it as much as I should. And that needs to change in a major way. I can’t have a whole week of being down and out.
Bowing to My Environment
I’ve noticed that I let my environments sway how I’m going to do that day.
If I’m working in office, versus at home, I don’t get up from my desk. Unless I need to use the restroom, I’m plugging away at my desk. I may get 2.5k steps if I’m lucky. Also, there is the vending machine just feet away that again has those delicious tempting treats.
As well, If I arrive at home from after a long day at work, and the kitchen is a mess, I don’t feel like cooking. We don’t have a dishwasher, and I don’t feel like adding more dishes to my workload. So I’m more liable to choose an easy grab meal or something not healthy.
Good Habits I’ve Developed
Weighing Daily
A few years back I did a 7 day free trial of Noom and one thing I took away from it, was to weigh daily. Don’t be afraid to step on the scale. It’s going to fluctuate. But don’t be afraid of it. The times before Noom I would go months between weigh ins. And that’s because I knew I wasn’t going to like the result. I was afraid. So stepping on the scale every day, I lost that fear. Yeah, sometimes the scale doesn’t go the way I want, and I know why. But being afraid of the scale isn’t going to help matters.
Logging Food
I need to keep myself accountable, and logging food has helped me recognize when I’m choosing an indulgent food. If I’m hesitant to add something to my log, it’s probably because I shouldn’t be eating it. But even if I still eat that Twix from the vending machine, I add it, I own it. So when I step on the scale the next day and see the number tick up, I know why.
But as a whole, when I am logging food I tend to eat better and make much healthier choices.
Talking to my Friends
I have a few friends that are also on their own health journeys. And it has been an amazing blessing, having a support group that understands what I’m going through. People who I trust to be honest and we can discuss our health, workouts and recipes. They’ve held me accountable as well, and that has been great. If I’ve not been active and they know it (Apple Watch users and our rings) they reach out.
“Hey, I’ve not seen any watch exercise notifications from you lately. I enjoy cheering you on.”
Things like that mean the world and do motivate me. Being able to return the favor and talk with friends about our journeys has been game-changing of late.
Things I’m Going to Change
Going forward in the next month and beyond, there will be some changes coming.
I am going to meal prep more, and not give myself the opportunity to indulge. Especially during the weeks I’m in office, I need to make sure to set myself up for success.
Also while in office, I’m going to make a point to get up more and walk around. Get up, move. Walk out to my car, something. Getting barely 3K steps a day is pathetic and I can improve that. I’d like to start hitting 5k steps a day at minimum.
On the days that I’m working at home, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be hitting 10k steps. So that’s going to be a new goal starting next week.
As far as all the emotionally fueled bad habits, I’m going to try and journal instead. Recognize what’s triggering my emotional eating, and writing about how I’m feeling instead. And maybe sipping some hot tea.
In Conclusion
January could have been a way better month, but I’m not going to let it bring me down. I’ve learned some things about myself, and I’m going to make some changes so that February, and 2023, is even better.
See you in February!
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Hot tea is amazing and Ive gotten to the point to where if I don’t get my tea before the end of the night, watch out lol. It’s my destressor/treat for the day. I know some people say food should only be viewed as fuel but I refuse to board that’s train. I can and will enjoy food because I plan it into my diet. Life is too short not to enjoy food. Healthy food has come a long way and can be even better than the junk food. I can’t hardly stand fast food now after eating healthy for the last three months. I hope you continue your healthy journey and just remember it’s okay to make mistakes on our nutrition, as long as we learn and never give up trying to be better. Sorry for the long message, I got carried away 😅
Thank you! Yes!! Tea is amazing and I’ve been drinking it more and more. I’m super excited to see where this next month takes me 🤍