January 1, 2020: Getting Started!

Oh boy. Big day. 2019 is finally over, and it's time to get back in charge of my life. I spent much of fall 2019 in a state of heightened anxiety and despair as I watched my 15-year-old son make one bad decision after the other. In addition, of course, the current "president" has caused me (and everyone else I know) a great deal of anxiety and angst. Unfortunately, the way I responded to this angst was to eat and drink too much. I weigh more currently (176 pounds this morning) than I did when I was pregnant (or honestly, maybe I weigh about the same). Still, it's way too much. Here's what I looked like this morning:
I actually don't even think this picture captures this weight gain accurately. I'd say most of my weight gain has gone to my stomach. Should have taken a profile shot! 

 So, what am I going to do differently during 2020? 

 1. Eat less! I am not going to "diet" per se, but just be more reasonable about what I eat each day. 
2. I'm going to give intermittent fasting a try, as I've been reading much about it. I will only eat between 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. I don't know if this will work for me, but I'm going to try. Just coffee and water in the morning, a nutrition shake at 11:30 (at least five days/week), a small lunch-y type meal around 2 or 2:30, and then a normal dinner with my family at 6:30. Only water and tea after 7:30. 
3. On days I have meetings, I will bring meals with me to avoid eating junky food. On nights I teach, I will bring a sandwich or salad.
4. I will hydrate more: 6-8 glasses of water per day.
5. I will exercise at least five days/week. This will include my class at the Y, 2-3 days/week and on the non-class days, I will either do the elliptical at the Y or I will do strength training at home. 
6. I will track my food and exercise on myfitnesspal.com. 
7. I will cut back on alcohol consumption. During the holidays, I had at least one drink every day. During 2020, I will avoid drinking Monday-Thursday. 
8. I will weigh in weekly (probably more, but will record my weight weekly). 
9. My goal is to lose at least 5 pounds per month until I get down to 150. 
10. I will photograph myself monthly and post here. I will also do my measurements monthly. 

 Here I will post pictures of shakes I'm drinking as well as share details about eating, intermittent fasting, and exercising. I may also share details about how I'm hoping to improve in other areas of life (e.g. parenting above-mentioned 15-year-old). 

 Here is the first shake of the year. Oh boy!


This blog is really just for me, and I hope nobody finds it! I am using it for accountability.

 Go me!

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