What's the Plan?

In 15 months, I will be turning 50. To celebrate, I want to go on a trip. I love travelling but it’s been 10 years now since I’ve been on a trip. I just can’t justify it when there are so many more important things to spend my money on. The exciting life of a solitary parent! But I will be done my master’s degree in a year and I need something to look forward to. I also need to lose weight. And going on a trip at my current weight isn’t too appealing.

Now, I’d love to lose a hundred pounds but let’s be reasonable. These are busy times and I am running the rat race. Full-time job, parenting on my own, 1-2 graduate courses every semester, so there is only so much time for food prep and exercise. At a pound a week, I should be able to lose 4lbs a month and over 15 months that would be 60 lbs, but I am accounting for some plateauing at some point as well as setback speedbumps.

Unfortunately, this isn’t my first time planning to lose weight. I’ve done this numerous times before. I have also succeeded a few times. Then I succeeded in gaining the weight back. You know what they say about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. So, I change up my plan sometimes, but this time I am really shaking things up. I’m actually telling people about it, gasp! And I’m using strategies to conquer what have been obstacles for me in the past. Accountability strategies for giving up, alternative habit-forming for evening snacking, and daily contemplation for flagging motivation.

I figure that blogging about my journey can help me with all three of these obstacles as well. It provides some accountability in that I will use it to report to my Supportive Super Friends (SSFs) and I don’t want my blog to just taper off into nothingness. It will certainly provoke contemplation. And if I’m really craving some unhealthy night time nibbling then I will make a deal with myself that I need to have a cup of tea and write a blog post instead. By then, hopefully, the haunting call of processed poison will be gone. So here it goes!