Setting New Goals

source

I'm doing really good maintaining my weight!  Too bad I'm not at goal and NEED to maintain.  I think the many years of yo-yo dieting has caught up with me and my metabolism is shot.  Eating less isn't enough anymore to get the scale to move downward.   I'm up to ten minutes on the stationary bike!  My goal is to ride for twenty minutes by the end of the month.

The scale might not be moving the way I want it to, but I've made progress since deciding to get healthy.  I had three goals to start with and I've accomplished all three!
     The first goal was to eat breakfast every morning.  I can't even imagine NOT having breakfast now.  It makes such a difference in how I feel and how I approach food the rest of the day.
     The second goal was to drink more water and less diet Coke.  I'm happy to say I drink lots more water now.  I still occasionally have a diet Coke but at least it's not the only beverage I drink throughout the day.
     The third goal was to cut  back on sweets.  No one is more surprised than I am at how much I have cut back.  I had to have something sweet every single day.  This didn't affect just my weight but my blood sugar also.  The sweets were killing me, literally.  I still allow myself a treat every week, but just one serving.  There was the binge a couple of weeks ago, but I was able to gain control much sooner than in the past.  This is progress!

So it's time to set and achieve new goals.  Here they are.
     1.  Ride the stationary bike for 20 minutes by the end of April
     2.  Give up foods containing artificial sweeteners
     3.  Keep a food diary.  I keep saying I'm going to do this but I haven't started.  It will help me see what I eat, when I eat, and how it affects my blood sugar.

Have you set or reached goals for your health?  

Have a great weekend!!

xo Annette xo

The Dreaded "E" Word

I've been thinking about it and saying I'm going to do it, so it's time to start.  Exercise.  To me it has the same negative implications as the "d" word.  Diet.  Both words represent failure, lack of discipline, and they are both temporary.  I realize you may not think so, but this is from my experience.

I know exercise is necessary for good health.  At different times in my life I have enjoyed the benefits of walking and riding both a bicycle and stationary bike.  I'm not a fan of the gym, swimming, running, high impact aerobics, or any sports related activities.  To be quite honest, when you're carrying around an extra hundred plus pounds, you really don't have the energy to get up and move unless it's necessary.  But I know I have to do it.  Both for stabilizing my blood sugar level and losing weight.

This is my stationary bike.  We bought it last year to help with the recovery from my knee surgery.  I rode it faithfully, but gradually stopped after I was done with physical therapy.  It was sitting in the family room and I rarely went in there.  So we moved it to where I sit directly across from it and have no excuse to not get on it.  It's going to be a long slow process to work up to a really good workout.  So far I can only manage five  minutes a day.  I know that's better than nothing.

How do you feel about exercise?

xo Annette xo