For a long while I have been floundering on how to lose weight. For a good 6 months I followed a carb cycling plan as taught by Chris Powell. I forget what happened exactly but for some reason I kind of got away from that. I thought I would get back on that plan a few weeks ago but still have been kind of wishy washy. I know a person can eat nutritiously while carb cycling but I really wasn't.
As it says on my profile page I want to thrive in my 40s. So far I haven't done very well. I think part of thriving for me will me eating a healthy diet on a consisted basis. I really want to concentrate on eating a recommended amount of fruit and vegetables along with healthy grains, etc. I am going to focus on using the guidelines from choosemyplate.gov, formerly known as the food pyramid.
The calorie amount they set for me even for weight loss was way too high so I set it to whereI think it should be. When I did that they adjusted the amount of the various food groups that I should be eating. According to them I should eat a daily diet consisting of 5 oz of protein, 2 cups of veggies, 1 1/2 cup of fruit, 3 cups a day of dairy and 5 oz of grains. I think that is all doable. I think I will move dairy to 2 cups a a day just because of where I live (Togo, West Africa) and the fact that I do not have a plethora of dairy type items here.
I have been "invited" to attend a workshop/conference in Ghana, West Africa in 9 weeks. I say "invited" because my boss fully expects me to attend and enjoy it. My goal is to lose 10 lbs before the conference. That would put me 4 lbs shy of my final DB10 goal. I would be thrilled to be at my DB10 goal by that point but as it will be more than a month before I have to be at that goal it's ok if I'm not. I would just like to be in the 170s. 10 lbs will put me at 179.
Recently I have been a strong starter but I don't get very far before I stop. I'm going to take advantage of this conference in 9 weeks and embark on a 9 week getting healthy project. I will make the following commitments:
1. I will carry this through to completion even though I will be tempted to stop.
2. I will eat a consistent daily calorie allowance of 1500 calories for 7 of the 9 weeks.
3. I will raise my calorie allowance to 1800 for weeks 4 and 8 to keep me from plateauing.
4. I will use Leslie Sansone's 30 day challenge DVD. This has me doing 30 minutes of cardio 3 days a week and 30 minutes of strength training 30 minutes. On weeks 4 and 8 when I raise my calories I will do 4 to 5 days of cardio to change up my workout just a bit.
5. I will post a blog a minimum of one time a week to report my progress.
6. I have a few meds I am supposed to take on a daily basis that I often forget to take (even with a pill holder). I will take those meds on a daily basis.
7. I will be in bed with the lights and the Kindle off by 10:30 PM to ensure 7 1/2 to 8 hours of sleep every night.
This is not just about losing weight. This is about trying to feel and be healthier thus goals 6 and 7.
I have other personal goals but I'm going to take the next 9 weeks to concentrate on feeling healthier. I will take the last two months of the year to concentrate on another goal. I think if I could really improve my nutrition and overall health in the next 9 weeks I would have more energy to tackle those other personal goals as well.
Here's to a healthy 9 weeks!