Title: I SUCK at making posts … lately.

Hey did you know … it’s

Google image original source here: Stock photo

I know that is a bad title, but it is correct.  I haven’t even been posting on FaceBook … and that doesn’t require much thought.  All you do is post a status here, a make comment around on blog buddy pages there, and share a ‘that’ photo or fitspiration here ‘n there and you are all up to speed.  I couldn’t even do that.  For me, in 2012, life kind-of ran over me–lots of it was good.  Life has a way of just being life doesn’t it?  🙂

I’m not big into New Year’s resolutions since I find ‘now’ is always the best time to start regardless of the day of the week or month of the year.

I do believe in Goals.  My goal for 2013 is:

• To keep pushing forward.  (in all aspects of my life)
• Not to give up
• To focus/Celebrate/rejoice over my Wins, and learn from my failures.
• Love my Husband.
• Love my Children and Grand Children.
• Cherish my friends.
• Laugh as much as I can.
• Ride my bike more.
• Walk every day.
• Make my exercise more like play.  (seriously I love exercise period so this is an easy one)
• Write more.  More posts, more stories, more poetry, …. just more.
• Do More Facebook Challenges — they are FUN!  (love squatting with friends and planks).
• Live with gusto … savoring my moments of bliss, and rolling with my blows.
• Keep pressing in with my diet/lifestyle changes until I get the right balance for my body and the level of play I like to maintain.

Recap of 2012.  By the start of 2012 I was down 107 pounds.  I rebounded to what number I do not know. Mike still has not told me.  I am good with that.  It is recorded.  I am accountable, but I just focus on living not the scale.  My fat jeans are super loose–I even dried them in the dryer to make them fit.  So these are very good things.  I know that I am back down 23 pounds as of this morning, after my 5 pound jump yesterday from my 26 pound loss low.  A 5 pound jump just about broke my heart.  YIKES.

What am I doing you ask?  I am doing my own version of a rotation diet–I varying calories over three 3 week periods.

1. FOOD: Very restricted for 3 weeks (mostly paleo–think Gaps Diet strict/first week transition OptiFast low fat-lean meat about 3 to 4 ounce portions of meat, and simple veggies (one veggie with mega amounts of herbs)–click the links for more info on these diet plans).  I eat large quantities of veggies during this stage of my eating to keep my calories down and my belly full.  Works pretty good for losing.  Can’t keep it up for long–that is why I came up with 3 week segments. WORKOUTS: During this phase I do very light workouts: walking, very short bike rides, light weights, and reformer classes.
2. FOOD:  Then the next three weeks I reincorporate more foods (still lean meat majorly with a touch of higher fat meats) and I mix my veggies — but NO STARCHES.  Not even complex ones.  This is where I am right now–this is almost a true paleo type diet.  I add a touch more fat back into my diet here–just not much because then I gain more than I want.   This stage is so much easier to do than the first stage.  Still eating a ton of veggies. If I gain, like I did over New Years when I took a break, I fast (I eat restricted calories kinda fast or go all day and have a nice meal that evening), and my weight drops back down.  I’m going to do that tomorrow to kind of keep my body where stabilized where I had lost the 26 pounds before the holiday.  Probably won’t make it all the way down three tomorrow, but thats ok.  WORKOUTS:  Yea, during this phase back to the heavy weights!  Fun long bike rides.  😀
3. FOOD:  Last three week stretch I eat all the choices above while working on adding back in healthy starches like sweet potatoes, and butternut squash, then I watch how my blood sugars do.  That is usually a great indicator if I am going to gain eating something if my blood sugars spike. I still eat a ton of greens and veggies.  I eat my colors. Still watch my fat intake.  I will eat fat, just not as much as I would like, because I tend to really get carried away with fat — so I watch it.   I have treats (sweets too–just very small portions).  Again I fast if I gain over my 26 pound loss and then after a bit, if I want to lose more, I will start the losing phase over again.  I just can’t do the whole losing constantly any more.  Shoot me, but I find this so much easier for me to work with.  WORKOUTS:  can be as hard as I want.  😀  YUM!!  This one is my fav!

As you can see it is mostly just eating real food.  I watch the fats and the carbs in the first and second periods and the third I add the both back and watch how my body acts with this.  I tried this when I first got off OptiFast and it worked like a charm, but then life kinda crept on me and I started losing focus of how to manage me.  My plan is to follow this rotation until I get to the weight I feel best at.  Working my weight loss this way I am not on a LONG drawn out diet with too little exercise for my life enjoyment–or health.  😀

So there you have my update.  Life is good, hard, full, chaotic, and I love the gift.  Plan to use it wisely … how about you??  What are your plans for the New Year?

Mike and Me on a walk over the New Year weekend. 😀

P.S.  By the way I am praying that you ALL have a SPARKLY New Year.

😀