Day 12 – the Rant

A year from Now you may wish 

You had started Today

-Karen Lamb

I haven’t done this in a long time, title an entry for the blog website ‘the rant’.  Even though my writing may seem a little disoriented, I try to keep on topic. Today I have no real focus, but I still had the desire to post something here.  In the entry before this one I typed that I will try to do write about food, mind body in a cycle of some kind.  Today is a food day.  I haven’t tried another alternative oatmeal breakfast.  In fact I had a setback, I ate a box of cheez-its and they were delicious.  It was the only thing I ate yesterday.  Anyone on the healthy track that reads this is going be like ‘WHAATTT!”  I haven’t been 100% good but I have been better than I was yesterday and I will be feeling it all day today.  

How did this happen?  I told myself that I shouldn't keep food in my room.  On Tuesday I broke that rule and brought in the infamous box and other cheesy calorie loving goodness.  I don’t know if I said this before but I love cheese.  It can be a downfall for me. I know that I will most likely have to get my food portion into some kind of order because I can overdue it.  So that is something I have to work on.  Along with all the obvious things that I have to work on. 

Wednesday, I had a mental shutdown.  I went to sleep like 5am in them morning.  I did a good zombie impression then conked out completely.   This will completely mess with for rest of the week.  I haven’t typed about this a lot but I have trouble sleeping.  I have always had this problem since I was a kid and I kind of made it worse by having a night job.  I may even have a mild form of shift work sleep disorder.  I am not sure and I haven’t spoken to a doctor about it.  What I do know is that it can takes a week or more before I can fix my sleep cycle again.  Until then I will be struggling to write and struggling to maintain the mission of the 100 days project XX.  Sleep is a topic for another entry.  I have a feeling I typed that before.  Let’s hope I do research and utilize the correct citations and references. 

                Please leave a comment. Really.

Day 11 - The Core

A year from Now you may wish 

You had started Today

-Karen Lamb

The core is a part of the body exercise instructors, talk about a lot.  The Core have many programs dedicated to it.  Some of them I have watched, some I have attempted to work through.  I have always gotten stumped when the Instructors says, “Make sure your core is … or your core should be ….  I would immediately lose focus especially when they add “you should be feeling it in your core.  And all I felt was uncertainty.  I was doing something wrong. 

Since deciding to add an exercise routine to the lifestyle change, I have searched the internet for an answer to what exactly is the core.  I eventually found the answer.

Google defines the core of the body as this:

Major muscles included are the pelvic floor muscles, transversus abdominis, multifidus, internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis, erector spinae (sacrospinalis) especially the longissimus thoracis, and the diaphragm. Minor core muscles include the latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, and trapezius..

Wikipedia defines the core as this:

In anatomy, the core refers, in its most general of definitions, to the body minus the legs and arms.^[1] Functional movements are highly dependent on the core, and lack of core development can result in a predisposition to injury.^[2] The major muscles of the core reside in the area of the belly and the mid and lower back (not the shoulders), and peripherally include the hips, the shoulders and the neck.

In the article ”Do you Know what your core really is and what it does?”, Jeff Kuland, from breakingmuscle.com explains the core as a complex series of muscles, extending far beyond your abs, including everything besides your arms and legs.  It is incorporated in almost every movement of the human body.  

Of the three I understand and like Kuland’s definition better. His article was a quick easy read with a self-explanatory title.  He also offered exercise test and a chart to help people that are into dead man lifts.  With some clarity, I was able to go forth and do push-ups free of reluctance.   Wikipedia also gave an extensive explanation of the core of the body, but it is Wikipedia and can’t be anyone’s only source. 

I felt that Google definition required a medical dictionary and chart. 

Now that I know what Instructors are talking about I am able to look at myself and admit my core needs serious work.  Although I am working with the Gym Box.  I am still researching.   There is so much information out there.  The path for an acceptable body is abundant. Then they break up into genders, vegan, meat, weights and cardio etc etc.  I might even have to dedicate a project to the body.  I don’t think that I can be like the writer AJ Jacobs, I won’t be able to do it for a year, three months is my limit.  I will also have to work on conclusions.

                Please leave a comment. Really.

10 - The Meaning of Lives

    

 A year from Now you may wish 

You had started Today

-Karen Lamb

The title may seem confusing but this is how I explain things in my head.  I have two lives, my internet life and the real one.  Sometimes they get along splendidly too often they are getting on each other’s nerves.  One of the sub goals of this project is to blend the two lives.  It is a lifestyle change process. This made me wonder, what is lifestyle?  What is wellness?  The definitions are so simple but so important. Lifestyle is the way in which person or group lives.  Wellness is the state or condition of being in good physical and mental health.

The first time I joined the daily challenge by MeYou Health, I took a test that let me know that both my lifestyle and wellness were poor.  It was not something new to me.  A person existing understands that they are on the bare bones of living.  It is one of the reasons why changing or asking for help very difficult.  Or why they are grumpy.  Now that I my mind is not set on a negative track, I wonder how I was able to go through life and not understand what was happening to me.  I mean I felt the effects of everything.  The causes were all different or maybe they weren’t I just rolled with the punches.  Then started to look like the punch bag. 

I have struggled with lifestyle, wellness, weight loss on previous projects that were doomed to failure because I lacked specific keys to success.  I don’t even think I have them all now.  I am still grappling with motivating myself to do differently. However I am putting out the effort in small increments at present.  I am going with the adage ‘small changes big effects’. 

It was decided to have 3 foci on this blog, mind, body, food.  Yesterday’s post was about food.  Today is the mind. Tomorrow is about body, I think. This will be a two weeks probation. If I am lucky I will be able to write something that make a little more sense.  

                Please leave a comment. Really.

Day 9 - As Seen in Magazine

A year from Now you may wish 

You had started Today

-Karen Lamb

Almost identical right?  I met the first oatmeal challenge.  The picture on the right came from the folks at Real Simple magazine.com. It looks artful and edible. The picture on the left is proof and homemade.  I am not a food stylist and I can’t believe that it is an actually job.  But anyone in the food magazine or photography business will tell me different.  While preparing this breakfast I learned too late that I was out of paprika.  I ate my cheddar and scallions oatmeal without it.   I was not instantly appalled.  Appalled is a strong word.  I wasn't icked out when I saw the picture on the right for the first time or when I realized what it was.  I was intrigued to look through all the pictures.  This was how the oatmeal challenge came about.  I was looking for alternative way to eat the healthy, low calorie, bad cholesterol killer, and gluten free oatmeal.  Not being a regular breakfast eater, I wasn't anticipating homemade oatmeal or the quick and easy oatmeal flavor types offered by various cereal companies.   My other option was the nutritious oatmeal smoothie but my blender broke and I am not in position to get another one.  With no options other methods were needed.

I was raised on homemade oatmeal, made with water, canned milk, white or brown sugar.  Cheddar and scallion oatmeal was an odd notion, then I thought if it was oatmeal bread with a cheddar and scallion cheese spread, I wouldn't hesitate to each that sandwich.  So I took the plunge actually the spoon and it was a good breakfast.  Now I am thinking how to describe the taste of scallions.  The cheddar blended well with the oatmeal, I added a sprinkle of salt for flavor.  If you suffer from hypertension or heart failure do not take the option.   I had to look it up but I am satisfied with describing the meal as savory, defined as the opposite of sweet and a plant as well.  

Overall I enjoyed the cereal alternative and will most likely do it again. I also recommend that others try it out as well.  

                Please leave a comment. Really.

Day 6 - TGIF

A year from Now you may wish 

You had started Today

-Karen Lamb

Reflections of the week.  There has not been as much change as I would have liked.  Which mean progress has not reached expectation.  Actually I really didn’t have any and that might be where I made my mistake.  There are many factors to being a lifestyle change and well-being.  I tried to analyze some of it but I think I just complained about my issues with it and various stages misconduct.   It is amazes me how a person can write the same thing in 300 word or more and it all sound like the same thing over and over again.  I am trying to change the tone of these entries.  The point is to sound more objective and less subjective. Even when writing about myself.  I am actually tired of writing the world ‘I’.  So starting next week I will do my best to stop.  In this post it will sound like a mix bag.  Some paragraph will be subjective and some objective.  There were all written at the same time.  English teachers and professors across the nation just cringed.  This is no way to write an essay.  TG this isn’t the writing website blog.  This is the health and well-being.    

Over the weekend I will be coming up with daily recipes to try and making a schedule.  So the week can be filled with productivity.  Unfortunately for you few readers, it will be put up here for your view.  With hope and true grit I will be making better decisions on the course of this blog and my lifestyle.  Last year I found some website blogs that have been praised for their content, I will look them up again.  I want to see where I am hitting and missing.  I am glad that I was able to post something for the last 4 days and meet the word challenge.  If anyone is interested you might have to look at old posts.  There should be better references and cites of work.  Which will me a well thought out and prepared post.  Not sure I will be there yet but next week I will do better.

 

What does the 100 days project XX{20} at 100daysvi.blogspot.com mean.  When it was started the founder thought it was an original idea and anticipated followers and more.  Achievement, accomplishment, creativity and support.  A circle of friends and family, encouraging each other to meet their goals within the 100 days deadline.  It did not catch on and maybe that made the founder a little depressed.  She too became unable to reach the various goals she places on herself short term and long term went to the toilet.  She regretted it and refused to give up so now we are at #20, strange enough it could be actually the 21^st  or 30^th.  Four years ago stuff got shaky.  Twenty is a nice round number that the founder believes it is best. Of course the next project will be 21 and this may be mentioned again.  The writer plans to prepare better post so that will not be the case. 

In conclusion this entry is all about what I didn’t do and I didn’t go into detail.  The plan is to not give up and make sure that this week is not repeated.  Moving forward is the short term goal.  Observe experts and steal what you can without being sued.  Or revamp it and make it your own.  Be funny, be happy, be content, be well and ……

Please leave a comment. Really. 

Day 5- moving the things in your way

A year from Now you may wish 

You had started Today

-Karen Lamb

The weather and myself are against me; I stayed up way to late and I could not think to open my eyes, early this morning. Nothing to fear I am watching crash

course psychology on YouTube, to quickly learn what the hell is wrong with me.  Ok honestly I am just watching because I find it fascinating to get salient information in less than fifteen minutes.   You may have thought that this post would be about my oatmeal adventures.  Strange enough I thought so too. I didn’t have oatmeal for breakfast.  I ate toast, raisin bread with butter and coffee.  I can’t live without the coffee. The strange oatmeal challenge will be delayed for another day.  Instead typing about myself and the ambivalent feelings I have about oatmeal and other weight-loss trends.  I will be talking about another New Year trend.  Getting rid of the old, making space with the new.

Environment is an important factor in lifestyle change. Bings defines it as all external factors influencing the life and activities of people, plants and animals.  I have decided this with my own brain but I am sure that there are some articles and books a plenty about the effects of a negative environment or out-of-sync environment.   Environments affects our personal lives, organization the enemy of clutter.  There is a large number of books and audiobooks about organization and its many benefits. That will concur with me.

I used to think I lived in organized chaos as I got older, it became less organization and more chaos.  Now kittens are taking my socks out of the hamper and walking around like they are prey they caught in the wild.  So I found a book about organization.  It is a slow process.  I have not finished the book.  So I will save my review for another post.  I don’t know if I should be lamenting on how horrible things can get in my house.   I like to think that it is no different than anyone else’s but sometimes I know I am wrong.  Or maybe it is just frustrating. So in retaliation, I eat a large back of Doritos.

I typed that this post was supposed to be about something other than me but I find myself writing a lot of ‘I’s’ it is undermining.  There is no other way to discuss this problem. Well I guess you if you were someone else but me being myself.  The good me not the one up in the wee hours of the morning.

I won’t say that my house is making me fat.  But I will say that it can be a downer sometimes.  It takes more of my attention than anything else. And yes my writing is suffering.  In retaliation I may eat four packs of chocolate mini donuts.  Now my choices are fruit.  However this is where evil me will make an appearance and then I will hit the 7eleven.  It has happened before thank goodness it is January.  I have a strong aversion to being cold.

So what have we learned from this post. The author is more narcissistic than she thought.  Your external factors affect your well-being. It is an issue that has to be dealt with over the next 100days.

  Please leave a comment. I am really interested.  Really. 

Oatmeal, it's what's for breakfast

A Year from Now, you may wish

 You had started Today

-Karen Lamb

One of my worst habits is skipping breakfast.  I don’t know when that particular habit started. I can place several of my missteps in the path of a healthy life.  For example coffee, my obsession with coffee didn’t start until I was in my twenties.  My guess is breakfast became a problem for me in High School.  I could always sleep 30 minutes later if I didn’t have to think about breakfast.  Some of you are like what about your parents.  My mother worked at night.  My father was my dad.  I think he figured I was old enough.  I was a teenager after all, how hard is it to fill a bowl of cereal with milk and eat.  So even though breakfast food was available I didn’t partake of it.  I don’t recall if free breakfast was part of NYC school system for High School students in the 1990’s.  I know it was there for middle and elementary kids.  I know I was already living with the misconception that I was a fat girl barely looking like a human.  The passions of youth can sometimes be an awful thing. It didn’t matter if my parents or someone else told me anything different than what I perceived.  My first meal of the day for to many days in high school was a half pint white milk.  I imposed that crap on myself.  I didn’t have to prove myself to anyone. I was a nerd already interested in writing and humanities. 

In the previous posts, I have mentioned oatmeal.  I don’t the tone I used could be viewed as

positive.  I think it had a resigned feel to it.  I wondered about that.  I don’t have a good or bad feeling about oatmeal.  Breakfast meals in general are meh for me.  In the last 2 weeks I have only eaten eggs once and I have only drunk milk in my coffee. I wince when I think of cold cereal and that is another lost feeling. I used to love cold cereal.  What happened to me?  I guess that is another post to explore relationships with food.  When analyzed I noticed mixed feeling about the whole things.  This will take so much time.  I hope I can do it justice. 

Oatmeal is a great whole grain, there are many health benefits to add it to your diet.  Every time that word is typed I fight the urge to explain further.  If anyone is confused when I use that word.  Leave a comment.  I will explain. Back to oatmeal which is low calorie and low in fat, high in fiber and protein.  It also removes bad cholesterol, stabilizes blood sugar, protects again heart disease, heart failure cancer and reduces risk of diabetes. It enhances immunity and full of antioxidants and of course it is gluten free. 

Thank you care2.com for easy to read facts. 

Some of you may think that oatmeal is the same where ever you go.  Health and well-being nuts and those of us who are new converts to the health and wellness path know that there are two kind of oats used in hot cereal.  I am sure are most likely more kinds of oats but I am only working with the two that have been most popular.  Which is steel cut aka Irish oats and rolled oats, what I used to just call Quakers. There might be a little competition on which is better.  According to Prevention.com, the differences are negligible.  ¼ cup of dry Steel cut oats is 20 calories less than ¼ cup of rolled oats.  Steel cut has no sugar and rolled has only 1g. Both are of course gluten free.  The difference is the processing rolled oat has a longer method than steel cut.  I do know that steel cut takes a little longer to cook.  So weigh that against the choice you to make. 

In the meantime here are two odd and two even oatmeal suggestions made by Real simple magazine, pictures were elegantly taken by Danny Kim.  I will be trying each  one I featured here and give the results over the next couple of weeks.  I will try to also ascertain if the health bennies are enhanced or diminished.  

Odd

Oatmeal cheddar cheese and scallions 

Oatmeal bacon and maple syrup 

in my case it will be 2 strip of turkey bacon 

  

Even

Oatmeal with banana and molasses

Oatmeal with dried fruit and pistachios

This one is a little more traditional

Day 3

A Year from Now, you may wish

 You had started Today

-Karen Lamb

It is difficult to keep to your word when you know you suck at it.  I know the problems are disorganization and motivation. Working on them is big challenge. 

Honestly I didn't prepare well for the beginning of the first week of the project.  I let some things slide pass unchecked and I didn't place enough importance on sleep schedules.  I focused on what I needed to do while I was awake. And yes I protested too damn much.  In my defense I was following the saying fake it ‘til you make it.  Although it is ironic to delve into pretense to bring about action and permanent positive change.

Here are my misdeeds; I didn't meet my daily post deadline.  I didn't record any calories; I didn't wake up early enough.  As a result I haven’t started the exercise routine.   My good deeds were that I started the 100 days on schedule.  I did eat oatmeal with fruit for breakfast.  I did drink more water and eat more fiber in the form of nut and berries. 

Every new day is a beginning.  I love mucky junk like that.  I could be Mary Jane Paul of Being Mary Jane except I think I am shorter than Gabrielle Union and I use my post-its for story notes.  I tried putting one or two up and ignored them completely.  Enough digression, what I will be doing to rectify my small lapses is work at doing a better job, starting today.  I now that posting every day is difficult especially if nothing particularly interesting is going on.  Trying to hammer out 300+ words without mentioning the 300+word challenge has become more problematic since it has now become a daily write.   I look up to the quote on the corner of this post.  Because that feeling of “I should have” has been hampering my well-being for longer than I would like.

In conclusion, I will go to bed at a reasonable hour with the intention of sleeping.  I will listen to my alarm clock.  I will wake up, cringe and do an exercise routine, write the morning pages, tweak the post for tomorrow, eat a healthy breakfast. I will make up for day two by having a healthy and full day four. 

100 minus 100

A Year From Now,  you may wish

 You had started Today

Karen Lamb

I know the title and the goal is ambitions.  I am a serial quitter.  I don’t know what I have typed in the past about making lifestyle changes.  I do know that when I was attempting it in the fall of last year.  I had to make conscious efforts to change.  Conscious painful effort to wake up at 5am, conscious effort to walk seventeen blocks 5 days a week.  I didn't make conscious food choices.  I counted calories and I kept a step app on me. I ate more than I burned that was not helpful to the cause but I learned my eating pattern.  For example when outside I eat responsibly, at home, I veg out and eat 3oz of cheese with a box of crackers.  That would be my first meal at 3pm in the afternoon.  Breakfast would be coffee, with a 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and evaporated milk.  I haven’t measure how much milk I put in my coffee.  It is something to research at a later date.  I will also have to work out the pros and cons of coffee.  It is after all a stimulant and diuretic; the debate will continue on another post.

This week is the beginning of the 100lbs gone in 100 days project XX (20).  I like roman numerals for things.  This starts January 11, 2015 to April 20, 2015. Cue for auspicious upbeat music. Every time, only twice, I have gone to a specialist to help me lose weight, they have recorded my measurements and weight.   I thought I would avoid that displeasure then I realized that it was a coward move.  Other people on the lifestyle change weight loss journey have been bravely honest.  Well actually I have only seen the bad a year after the good and new body.  But in my research to make this blog better, I reviewed many blogs or websites.  The top ten according to a magazine actually.  They have been going on for years before they were rated so at some point in their lives the bad was a reality.   

So this is a hard truth moment.  The picture above was taken about 3 years ago, I was about 210lbs.  I have gained 10-15lbs since then.  I fluctuate between 225lbs and 230lbs.  A Jenny Craig counselor told me that at my weight back then by this time I would be 250 or more. Suck it JCrg lady.  I don’t

love or hate Jenny Craig their programs have worked for many people just not me at the time or with my mind set. Not only do I serially quite I also self-sabotage.  But that is a post for another time.   I am talking about measurements.  I am comfortable in 2x shirts and size 20w jeans.  I also have three other sizes 18, 16, 14, I got rid of all my size 12 jeans they were depressing me.  I have clothes issues, this may lead to a blog post and it might not.  What is important is that no matter what I wear I feel like this on too many occasions.  Lumpy Space Princess from Adventure time.  Cartoon Network do not sue me, I have no cash.  I even sing ‘Whatever’ in my head. 

One of the goals of the life style change and this project is to improve on my confidence.  I have so many needs that go hand in hand with my wants that it can be frustrating when they are not met or half-assed.  I think it is worse when half-assed.  Since I am an adult.  I am facing the problems head on, me being the biggest obstacle.  I don’t think I will be able to do a 7day daily write.  Everyone needs a day and I think mine is the weekend.  I will do my best to keep all who are interested updated.  

Please leave a comment

Marginally Unsettling Fail or You are what you eat

Yesterday was supposed to be a food tracking day.  I failed at doing that task and I don’t think I will be able to do that today either.  I have no excuse for not completing the task except that I didn't pick up a pen or attempt to type anything yesterday, until the wee hours of the night.  When composing these illustrious words.  Did I say before that I was a writer?

Food tracking, Food Diaries and Food Logs, I haven’t decided which term sounds better, are

important because it allows people like myself to see in writing what we are eating.  According to Kristin Kirkpatrick M.S., R.D., L.D., a Manager of Wellness Nutrition Services of Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, it helps us portion out our food and think before we snack and eat.  That is a paraphrase.  I don’t plan to do an official citing for this entry.  I got this from briefly looking at an article on Huffingpost.com.  Look it up if you need to. 

Evidencemag.com also gives us nine reasons why food tracking it great for weight loss and healthier living but I won’t go into it either.  Using the information is more work than I want to do today.  In the future I will put more effort in crafting these entries.  I have to do more efficient research on wellness and lifestyle change.  

Coming up with effective practices to attain a healthier lifestyle is more work than I imagined.  These words may seem pessimistic but I really don’t know how else to describe what I am doing.   The horrifying and nagging fact and to quote the Barenaked Ladies, who are all men and Canadian, “It has all been done before”.  This will be my continued whine and rant for the next 100 days.   There is a large number of website blogs that focus on and chronicle the healthier lifestyle change and weight loss journey of so many people.  They have been way more successful with their website blogs and goals than I have been.  I am a little overwhelmed with my attempt since I have yet to reach my goal.  Crafting and entertaining, sometimes education and enlightening post is work not often appreciated.  Because I want all my post to end with a positive optimistic note.  I will type that it will get better in time and I will not give up.  I don’t plan to.  However I believe I will rant and rage about it until I get the desired result. 

Please Leave a comment!

Routine

First Forget inspiration, Habit is more dependable.

Habit will Sustain you whether you’re inspired or not.

-Octavia E. Butler

That quote is from one of my favorite authors.  It had to do with writing but I think it can be applied to lifestyle change.   Especially now, at the beginning of the year many feel the need to make grand changed in our lives.  We make the cliché New Year’s resolutions, the promise that we will change starting with the first day of the New Year.  For some of us it is good, we are a determined and we reach the goal we wish to attain.  For others and I am a part of this group, we are good for a time, but we lose focus, lose track, we burn out.  Then we complain about not being able to accomplish anything.  Forming habits takes time, we don’t see when they happen, changing habit is harder and takes time because we are breaking from what we normally do.  

Today I don’t feel like typing.  Today I doubt the title has anything to do with the words I am going to post up here.  But I am doing it to change myself to making a daily write and posting it up on my health blog.  I should be this good to all my blogs.  The 100 days is lucky enough to be the first getting this treatment.  I wish I could say that I am different, that I am not waiting for an auspicious time. But I am waiting for Sunday, January 11, 2015.  I needed a sustainable, attainable plan.  I couldn’t just wake up at 5:00 am in the morning and decided to exercise and eat differently.  I could but eventually I would stop. I would go back to habits and be happy I was there.   This may have been written before but this week is a prep week.  I look over the meal plans, exercise routines and other healthy advice and figure out where they will fit into my life.  Some small changes are great but it will take time before they can be applied to my real life.  Some changes will seem odd but fit with my modified lifestyle.  For example, I would rather drink oatmeal than eat it.  In this day and age that may not seem as strange as it once did to me six years ago.  Before the smoothie became such a thing and health alternative.

I think for this blog I will add a temporary deadline.  From now on and next week I will attempt to have a post in by 10:00am, Eastern Standard Time.  I think this will help me with writing and help me form a working habit.  I will also be looking at subjects to write about. So each post won’t be about intangible things hopes, dreams and plans. 

Motivation

The online services and apps I mention are not endorsements.

I am only talking about them as they affect me.

Despite my grand declarations I still haven’t gotten the kinks out of the plan yet. So we are still on blocks.  This is one of the many problems of lifestyle change.   One problem is the scheduling.  When to do what and how? Another problem for me is the chronicling here on this blog.  I am attempting to write and post daily so when project 20 starts officially I will be in the habit. This is process is frustrating because I am also attempting to keep to a word count challenge.  I have been able to successfully post two entries, one that was timed.  I am especially happy about that one, because it give me time to work.  I always knew that a post could be scheduled but I just didn’t us the app.  I don’t have any excuse except I didn’t think I would ever need it.   There is a lesson in that, I haven’t found it yet but maybe I will later, stay tuned for that post.

I typed that I will be joining the daily challenge (DC) by MeYou health and the Gym Box.   In the daily challenge I am part of the balanced diet track; for the next month or 28 challenges will be about healthy food choices.   I just realized I typed the hated d-word. I don’t know any other word to explain what I will be doing with my food.  I not planning on only losing weight although that is a part of the lifestyle change.  I am thinking about my overall well-being.  That means my body, my mind, my spirit, my family, my environment; all these aspects that makes up my life.  All these aspects affect me for good and bad. I make decision good and bad because of these aspects.  So I need to approach each one at a given time. DC gives me fun, simple challenges and the sense of accomplishment once achieved.  A positive action to bolster the day.

I joined the Gym Box for convenience. I don’t have time or money for a gym and I know that I need to add exercise into my lifestyle change.  The Gym Box offers the exercise classes along with an exercise routine plan that is easy to follow.  All these actions are getting four week-trial.  I don’t know what will work and what won’t; putting out the effort is important.  I know I have the bad habit of being a quitter.  I am attempting to curb that.  I know it won’t be easy.   That leads up to my title, Motivation. 

The Bing dictionary defines motivation in these terms: 

•  The  act of giving somebody a reason or incentive to do something
•  ·         A feeling of enthusiasm, interest, or commitment that makes somebody want to do something, or something that causes such a feeling

I agree with both of them.  I struggle with motivation all the time and will be looking for ways to keep it up.  Anything to keep me from copying that top picture.  One of my favorites because it clearly describes me.  It is one of the many factors that has my life in the downward spiral.  Now  I think I am in what some people may call a holding pattern.  I believe that if I keep  talking and typing about these changes and mini epiphanies I will be able to achieve a positive lifestyle change.  

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