Archive for the ‘accountability’ Tag
As we slide in to the end of the year I’m happy to report I’ve had great success this year dropping weight on the ketogenic diet. I’ll have one more weigh-in on Monday, the last day of the year, and barring any surprises I’ll be down just a smidge over 80 pounds for the year.
I’ve kept up with keto news all year long and the diet is only getting more popular as people see the success being had on it. And not just in weight loss. I feel so much better than I ever have. Energy all day long. No afternoon dips, or dragging my depleted body home at the end of the work day. Why I even just completed a 48 hour fast and felt great at the end, not hungry and exhausted. It’s just been my experience that being on the ketogenic diet is great for your body.
So perhaps you’re considering going keto for the New Year. If so, here are some suggestions I have to start the Keto New Year off right.
First things first. Before starting any new dietary or exercise program I’d be remiss in not encouraging you to discuss this with your doctor. When you go from a glucose fueled body to a ketone fueled one you are fundamentally changing how your body operates. While I’ve found it very safe and effective for me, I don’t know you or your current medical situation. So even if you have to put your start day off a little into the year, talk to a trained medical professional who is aware of your current medical situation.
Assuming you’ve already completed that step you have three days to go before January 1st, 2019. My advice, live it up. Probably not the advice you were expecting, I know. But going keto means you’ll be giving up a lot of stuff you enjoy eating. Sure you’ll get to replace it with keto friendly meals that are delicious so you will still eat well. But there are things you enjoy that will most likely be no-no’s on the keto diet. So take the next few days to enjoy those one last time before you commit to going keto. Plus this will help with the next step.
Get rid of all the temptations. If you have boxes of cereal you love to eat still in the house, you’re going to eat them. As you transition to ketones as your primary fuel source your cravings will go up. If the food you love is readily available you’ll fall into temptation. And if you’re absolutely certain you can go without these foods so they won’t be a problem if they’re in the house, then why would you have a problem throwing them out anyway? The answer is obvious, if you’re having a hard time convincing yourself to get rid of food you know you shouldn’t have, it’s because you’re inclined to have it. Fix the problem by throwing it away. If you’re uncertain if something is keto or not, there are plenty of online resources to answer the question for you.
After you’ve gotten rid of the bad stuff you obviously want to stock up on the good stuff. Again, do a little research on what you can and can’t eat. Create a short list of stuff on the “can eat” list that you love. Have plenty at the house. If you’re hungry and you have keto friendly foods that you love to eat already within reach you’re much more likely to stay on track.
The next step is important. Let the people in your life know you’re going keto. This helps for two reasons. First, it keeps them from being a stumbling block to you, even unintentionally. Let them know that for the next few months you have to restrict your food choices and avoid places where you’ll likely cheat. It takes several months of adaptation before you can safely take a keto day off and get right back into ketosis afterwards. So by telling them in advance it’ll help you avoid awkward moments when you’d have to say you have to decline their invitation out. The second good thing is accountability. If your friends and family are aware you’re going keto and what that means they’ll be there to help keep you honest. Accountability was a great tool for me when I first started. That’s why I decided to post progress pics on my Instagram. If I strayed too much the pics would show it. So I didn’t.
Which brings me to my next suggestion. The first day take a pic of how you look. You don’t have to share it on Instagram like I did, but I do think you’ll be amazed at how much support you’ll get if you do. At least have the pic for yourself so you can take a new one every month so see how you’re progressing. Going back and viewing my progress in pictures has been wonderful, and helps keep me honest.
Finally, mark March 1st on your calendar. This will be the point where you’ve gotten two full months of keto under your belt, which should be way looser by now. This is the amount of time you should be committing yourself to before entertaining straying from the ketogenic diet. While you’ll see results in the first week or two, it’ll take at least 6 weeks before you fully adapt and are experiencing all the benefits. If you just give the diet a week or two you’re not really giving it sufficient time to be completely effective. So spend the next few days mentally preparing yourself for two months of dedicated keto. And this means no cheating. I’ve said this before, if you start a diet looking for ways to cheat you should just not start the diet. You aren’t truly committed to it. Two months may seem like a long time but my first two months flew by. After your two months are up if you’d like to take a day off from keto to reward yourself, go ahead. Just don’t go crazy when you do, and I’d recommend fasting the day after to get your right back in ketosis.
So that’s my list. If you have any other ideas, please leave them in the comments below. Agree/disagree with anything I’ve said, comment on that too. I’ve had great success with the ketogenic diet, and understand it pretty well, but I wouldn’t consider myself the final say on these things and would love to discuss any differences of opinion. I hope you had a great day today. I hope you have three more wonderful 2018 days. And I hope you hit the ground running come 2019. See you soon.
Time for the weekly weigh in. Good news this week. As you know I actually gained a pound last week during the weigh in, and for the monthly update no less. This week I’m happy to report that I’ve bounced back. Last week I weighed in at 272.2 pounds. This week I weighed in at 269.6 pounds. So I not only lost the pound I gained last week, I lost an additional 1.6 pounds on top of that. Sweet. On top of that I’ve breached 270 pounds which means I’m either at, or very near, what I used to weigh in high school.
For muscle mass I was 27.7% last week and 27.9% this week. In terms of pounds that’s 75.4 pounds last week, and 75.2 pounds this week. Lost a little muscle possibly, but at .2 pounds that could be a measuring error. Not too worried about it, although I’d be happier if it were definitively climbing.
For body fat I was 36.4% last week and 36.1% this week. In terms of pounds that’s 99.1 pounds last week and 97.3 this week. So 1.8 pounds of fat lost. Between that and the muscle loss that still leaves about .6 pounds of weight to account for which I would assume is water weight.
So exactly three weeks from today will be December 31st. Last day of the year and last weigh in of the year. If I lose another 7 pounds between then and now I’ll have lost 90 pounds on the nose for the year. 7.5 pounds a month on average. I’d be very happy with that goal. To have lost a full 100 pounds this year I’d have to lose 17 pounds, which I don’t see happening.
Not a lot of change in my meditation or exercise routines this week other than small incremental increases. Same with mood and mindset. Just a little better than last week, nothing major to report.
When it comes to finances I have to admit I’ve slipped a little. I purchased an LED salt lamp I didn’t need, I just wanted. I justified it by telling myself that it was for creating a better ambience in the room while I meditated. The reality is that I don’t need to create ambience, especially since I meditate with the eyes closed most of the time. Other then that I’ve done well with spending and getting debt paid off.
YouTube is going pretty well. Nearly at 200 views. Excited about that. And I’ve begun recording an extra video on Wednesday’s to put up later in the week. Starting with the new year I’d like to make a goal of getting at least two videos up a week. I think that by doing so my views will go up a little quicker which brings me that much closer to being monetized, which is a big goal of the channel. The primary being to put out videos that reach people and help people. I’d like to spend more of my time doing that and that’s why I want to monetize. If I could make a living off of it I could devote myself full-time to it.
The book has been revised a bit, but I should be putting in a bit more time on it. With the end of the year three weeks away I’m working under the assumption that it won’t be out for sale by end of 2018. But it still should be out early 2019. We’ll see how it goes.
That wraps up this weeks update. Let me know what you think. The final goal I’ll mention this week is doing better about getting a post up every day here. It may just be to get a quick thought up, but I’d like something every day. So to that end I’ll wish you a good day and plan on seeing you tomorrow. Later.
Sorry for the delay. My brother is visiting from Alaska so my schedule is a little off. But I wanted to make sure to get my weekly update on my progress posted.
This past week is of course the week that Thanksgiving occurred in. I took my day off from keto for this month for Thanksgiving so I was prepared in advance to be forgiving of myself when I weighed in yesterday.
Turns out it wasn’t needed. I weighed in at 271.2 pounds. That’s down .8 pounds from last week. So I enjoyed the holiday with the family and still managed to go down in weight. Something to definitely be thankful for.
This weigh in my muscle mass was 27.8%. That’s the same as last week. So the difference in pounds is negligible.
Body fat percentage also stayed the same as last week at 36.3%. This, plus a little water weight, would account for the .8 pounds lost.
So while the overall results barely moved the needle, it still did move in the right direction.
I was very good about exercising and closing my rings. I closed all three rings on 6 of the day this week. I closed the stand and move rings every day of the week. I missed out on closing the exercise ring once because I only did one workout on Friday. I didn’t complete the second because that was the day my brother flew in to town. On my days off I got three exercise sessions in each day so my average was over 30 minutes of exercise a day.
Not a lot to say about meditation. Same smooth, but slow, progression there. This is in regards to both quality and quantity. It is also a good description for my improvements in mood. Getting just a little bit better every day.
Some of that has to do with the job hunting as well. That’s been ramped up, including going for an interview tomorrow. Wish me luck.
This brings me to my final update, sleep quality. I’ve noticed that I’m getting better rest. Even on the nights I get up more often because I’ve had too many fluids during the day, I still get a good night’s sleep. I wake up rested and ready to go. So when I’m sleeping I must be sleeping deeper. That no doubt is improving my mood as well.
Speaking of sleep, because I do have the interview tomorrow I’m going to keep this post short so I can get to bed. I’m not sure if I’ll know right away if the interview was successful in getting me the job but I’ll post how I felt it went either way. If I do get the job I’ll need to wait a day or so to post on here as I will need to notify my current employer first. But after them you guys will get to know as well. Hope you’re having a great day and I’ll see you soon.
It’s easy in a moment to make a quick decision based on what’s expedient in that moment. And while that quick decision might work in the short term it can have long term repercussions. Stop and consider the long term ramifications of your choice before implementing it.
As an example, you’re tired and on the way home from an exhausting day of work. You don’t feel like cooking and you know there’s nothing meal ready at the house. In that moment it’s easy to decide to stop off at a fast food drive thru and get something quick. It’s only one meal after all. How much can that hurt?
Well, it can hurt a lot down the road. If you’re on keto, as I am, you’ve just knocked yourself out of ketosis. You’ll have to get back into it which takes time and slows progress. Also, if you’re having to tell yourself it’s ok it probably isn’t. Which means you may feel bad about yourself later. Finally, every time you take the easier route you make it that much easier to do it again later.
The decision took care of an immediate issue but created three more to deal with later. Kicking the can down the road only works for so long and then you run out of road.
It’s your decision though. You’re an adult. Make your decision and own it. But do yourself a favor and stop a moment to consider the long term ramifications of your short term decisions. Have a great day.
Made a little progress with today’s weigh in. Last week I was 273.0 pounds. This week I weighed in at 272.0 pounds.
For muscle mass last week I was at 27.7%. This week it went to 27.8%. In pounds that’s 75.6 for both. Not a gain, but not a loss. I’m good with that.
For body fat last week I was at 36.6%. This week it went down to 36.3%. In pounds that’s 99.9 last week and 98.7 this week. So while I dropped a pound of actual weight, I lost 1.2 pounds of body fat. So I must have put on a little water weight.
Progress was made, so that’s good. Would have liked a little better progress but I’ll take what I can get.
Strategies for getting the ball moving faster again include kicking up the cardio. I mainly walk which keeps using extra fat, but I want to burn faster. So I’ve gone from using just the basic step to adding the first set of risers for it. So now it sits 2 inches higher. And while I do more body weight exercises, I think I’ve been doing it a little too haphazardly. Now I intend to do them more on schedule. That way I’m both being more consistent and more accountable to myself.
In the mindset game, positivity is paying off. I have decided to be out of my current job and into a new job by the beginning of next year, before January is over. I’ve been keeping a positive outlook about my chances, and I’ve just gotten positive feedback. A coworker clued me in about a job I was completely unaware of. It doesn’t pay as high as my current salary, but it does have benefits, and I think I’d be happy doing it. It also strikes me as a job where I might have free time during the job to work on my writing, which is also good. So a good lead, out of the blue, on a job that’ll pay pretty well for what I’m doing, and is located where I work now so it’s a commute I’m used to. I’m very grateful for this lead, and my application has already been submitted.
I also realized today that I’m back to having fun at work again. At least with a few of my coworkers. Which shows a mindset improvement of its own. I am where I am and will be for a few more weeks so why not make the time happy? All the work I’ve done with meditating and positive affirmations has sure made it easier to be happier in all situations.
So to wrap things up, I’m very happy with the way things are going in my life right now. It looks like things are only going to get better. Stress is down and fitness/overall health is improving. And I look pretty well set up to hit the upcoming 2019 year running. Hope things are working out well for you, too. Have a great day.
Did my weekly weigh in this morning. Last week was a disappointing gain in weight. This week was a triumphant comeback. A week ago I weighed in at 277.2 pounds. Today I weighed in at 273.0 pounds. A 4.2 pound drop for the week and that places me 1.4 pounds under what I was 2 weeks ago.
For muscle mass I was at 27.2% last week, and now I’m at 27.7%. In pounds that’s 75.4 pounds last week and 75.6 pounds this week for a gain of .2 pounds of muscle. Not a lot, but a gain none the less.
For body fat I was at 37.3% last week, and now I’m at 36.6%. In pounds that’s 103.4 pounds last week and 99.9 pounds this week. I’m down 3.5 pounds of fat. More importantly I’m now under 100 pounds of body fat. So very excited about that. I even had to redo the math a second time when that came up because it surprised me so much.
Exercise wise it was a great week. I closed all three rings every day of the week. I got in 2 workouts a day of fifteen minutes, or more, each. I’ve been including more body weight exercises in there, which explains the slight gain in muscle. I feel stronger and healthier each day.
Mentally, it’s been a very positive week for me. I’ve noticed at work that I’m not letting things that would have gotten under my skin rattle me anymore. I respond better to customers who are being difficult. And the few times I did start to lose my cool my mind immediately jumped in to remind me I’m a happier person now and it diffused. I’m reading more, and I think a little quicker. As I approach the end of the year I just feel better and better.
Finance wise not much to report. I’m doing better with my money and haven’t wasted it on silly things. I catch myself when I want something and think about whether it’s really a necessary purchase or not. The answer is mainly that it isn’t. Bonus time at work is coming up soon and I plan to use the bonus to pay down credit cards. Overall I feel a lot more positive about my finances.
And I feel a lot more positive about my life in general. I’m less than 2 years from turning 50 and the road ahead of me looks better to me every day. And I’m more confident about my long-term goals, like enjoying life on the road going from place to place as I get older. Kind of a vacation that’ll last the rest of my days.
I hope things are going well for you all, like they are for me. If not, hang in there. With time and patience it can get better. I know because it has for me. Have a great day.
Time now for the monthly update with pics. I weighed in this morning and the news was not good. Last week I was 274.4 pounds when I weighed in. This week the scale read 277.2 pounds. I gained 2.8 pounds. Not sure why or what caused the gain. I didn’t fast this week, which could be the issue. I tried a new keto shake, which also could be. I’m thinking more the former then the later as there’s nothing in the shake’s ingredients that would be any different from stuff I’ve already taken without any issues. As always I keep in mind that it’s just a number and not a judgement. And it’s one point on the journey, not a reflection of the whole trip. So by next week we’ll see if this gets turned around. If not I just look at the situation harder and come up with a plan. But I’ve definitely decided not to let it stress me out.
Mainly because at the start of last month I was at 279.8 pounds. So even accounting for the gain this week I’m still down 2.6 pounds for the month. Not as much as I’d have liked but down is down. And I started out at 352.6 pounds so I’m still 75.4 pounds lighter than I was when I started. It does bring my monthly average down to 7.54 pounds, but it’s still a respectable average.
Body fat this week was 37.3%. Last week it was 37.1%. Last month it was 37.8%. At the beginning of the year it was 52.0%. In pounds that’s 103.4 this week, 101.8 last week, 105.8 at the beginning of last month, and 183.4 at the beginning of the year. So up 1.6 pounds from last week, down 2.4 from last month, and 80.0 from the beginning of the year. An average of 8.0 pounds of body fat lost a month.
Muscle mass this week was 27.2%. Last week it was 27.4%. Last month it was 27.0%. And it registered as 25.0% at the beginning of the year but that’s because 25.0% is the lowest it’ll read. In pounds that’s 75.4 this week, 75.2 last week, and 75.5 at the beginning of last month. I won’t do the yearly because it’s not an accurate number. So slightly higher than last week, and slightly lower over the month.
Overall when it comes to exercising I’ve gotten better since the beginning of last month. I put more minutes in. I close the 3 rings on my Apple Watch more consistently. In the time I exercise I’m working harder on average by including more time on the steps and jump roping.
Meditation wise I’ve reached the point where I’m not making big progress. It just gets a little easier each time to clear the mind and stay focused. In other areas of mental health I’m doing much better. Like this morning when I weighed in and saw the number had went up my total reaction was just “Huh.” Didn’t get mad or upset or down, just was a little surprised and moved on. I’m also finding myself less inclined to respond back to every perceived slight. I just say “Ok” and move on. Things that used to really irk me now don’t even move the needle. Some areas, like my patience behind the wheel, could still use work. But for the most part much better at reacting with calmness and kindness.
So now for the photos. The one with the neon yellow top is the current. The one with the gray sleeves is the last month pic. The plain red top was my first monthly pic. The flash top is my “starting” pic taken a little over a week after I started. And the final pic is from 2013 at the bottom of the Staircase of death. Hope you’re having a great day.
Have you ever walked up to someone and told them how fat they look? Have you ever let someone know, after they’ve made a mistake, how stupid they were? Have you ever told someone they should just accept that this is as good as they’ll ever become?
I’m guessing probably not on all three. Most people would view that as mean or cruel. You may have even cringed a little bit reading the questions because it’s hard to imagine how someone could be so insensitive to someone else. You’d never treat another human being like that?
Or would you? You’re a human being after all. Has there been a time when you looked in the mirror and felt bad about what you saw? Maybe you made a simple or easy to understand error, but were quick to judge yourself as stupid for having committed it? Have you ever looked at the life of someone you felt was better off and wished you were them? Right after wishing you were them did you tell yourself to get real?
We’d be so upset with ourselves if we ever treated someone like we sometimes treat ourselves. But have you ever felt bad about treating yourself bad? If it isn’t acceptable to treat others that way, then hold yourself to the same standard.
The next time you walk by a mirror, smile to yourself and let yourself know you look good. Made a silly mistake? Then why not chuckle a little instead of berate? Afterall shouldn’t a little silliness bring a smile to your face?
And here’s the big one, just be happy where you are, but always work to be a little better. The first step in getting a little better every day is first accepting you can be better. This isn’t a negative judgement about where you are now. Remember in the progression good, better, best you’re starting out with good. But why just be good when you can be better. Why settle for better when you can become the best version of yourself?
When listening to your self-talk this week remember to ask yourself “would you ever say that to someone else?” And if you wouldn’t, don’t accept that language for you either. Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t judge yourself harshly. Just be kind. That’s all it takes. Be kind. Just as you would treat others and would have others treat you. Have a nice day.
I did my weekly weigh in this morning. I came in at 274.4 pounds. I’m very happy with that as it’s a 2.2 pound loss from last week. My muscle mass went from 27.2% to 27.4%. In terms of pounds that’s pretty much the same muscle weight, but it is the one percentage I do like to see go up. My body fat went from 37.5% to 37.1%, or from 103.7 pounds to 101.8 pounds. So most of my weight loss this week was body fat. Great news there, and I’m excited to be so close to having less then 100 pounds of body fat.
Exercise wise I was a bit under expectations. I traveled to Nashville on Thursday and caught a bug while I was there. Spent a couple of days in bed, so very low activity level. On the plus side, being in ketosis I weather being in bed much better. Back on my glucose diet that would have led to me being starved by the end and making really bad food choices the day after recovery. On the ketogenic diet my body just relied a little more on itself for fuel, which explains the 2 pound fat drop, even though I didn’t exercise as much.
Meditation wise I did improve. When you’re laying in bed for a couple of days you have plenty of time to get some done. I think that also made the recovery a lot more agreeable. Even when sick, if you’re keeping a positive, meditative mindset you still feel happy overall.
On the YouTube channel, I’m doing really well. Already up to four videos and I’ll post my fifth in two days. View wise, things are going well better than I had hoped. I had planned on real slow going at the start. Maybe 5-10 views tops per video. My lowest views is the last video I posted at 13. Altogether I’ve gotten 116 views, nearly triple my highest expectation. As of last night my videos have been watched for a total of 385 minutes. I even have 6 subscribers, and I thought it would take a month or two before getting my first. This is a situation like I talked about in yesterday’s post. I just set an intention for success on my YouTube channel instead of specific benchmarks and the universe is providing better results than I imagined. I still understand that this is a long-term success project, and I’ll keep putting up new videos every week, but I’m certainly satisfied with how things are starting.
On the book front, sadly the results aren’t as good. When I got started on the YouTube channel I let that take priority. And it became my sole focus. While the book is mostly complete from a first draft perspective, it should be in the final draft stage by now. Since the YouTube channel is moving along nicely I’ll devote more of my time in the next few weeks to the book.
On the money front, some old habits crept back in. Mainly in the form of books. I enjoy downloading samples to my Kindle so I get an idea if I’ll like a book before I buy. Unfortunately some habits die hard. After reading a few samples and liking the books I jumped on Amazon and bought them. Although the books are ones that are good reads for being a better person, they weren’t necessary purchases so they were a violation of the rules. So I’m posting it here for accountability reasons.
That wraps up this weeks update. Had a few shortfalls but mainly I feel like this week was a move in the right direction. I’m focusing on keeping it going and closing the year out strong in these last two months. Next week will be my monthly update with pics. See you then.
Another week of progress, which surprised me as I had my day off from keto this past week. Usually this results in a weight gain, but I still managed to lose weight. I came in at 276.6 pounds, a 1.2 pound drop from last week.
My muscle mass went from 27.1% to 27.2%. That’s from 75.3 pounds to 75.2, so a slight loss there. Body fat stayed consistent at 37.5%, but in terms of pounds went from 104.2 pounds down to 104.0 pounds. So closing in on carrying less than 100 pounds of body fat. Very excited about that. So basically I dropped about a pound of water weight. Again this was surprising as the intake of carbs during my day off from keto should have resulted in my retaining more water.
I closed all three progress rings on my Apple Watch every day except one last week. So doing well with the exercise program. I’ve included more jump rope sessions into the mix. That might explain why what should have been a minor back slide week turned into progress one.
On the mental front I’m doing much better. I meditate every day and I feel I’m going deeper each time. I also started a positivity journal a bit back and I’m doing better about listing my small victories in it. This has definitely helped with the positivity. Seeing a list of good things grow is a wonderful reminder to be happy with your life. It’s easy to do and I highly recommend it. Just get a journal or small notebook (or like me you could use a separate notebook in Evernote on my phone) and just log the positive things that happened to you that day. Doesn’t have to be anything major, just anything you’d identify as positive.
I’m also reminding myself to smile more. And for no particular reason other than to smile. It’s especially nice to remind myself to smile when I’m looking at others. They, for the most part, smile back and that reinforces the happiness. And it makes their day too, so bonus. Along with the smile I think a positive affirmation in my head. It’s having noticeable improvements on my disposition.
So another week of moving forward on all fronts. Sure I’d like it if the progress were faster but on the whole I’ll take any forward movement, no matter how small. And I try to take the lessons I learn and reapply them to my life. The cumulative effect is amazing. Each day I try to be a little better and I think I’m succeeding. We’ll see next week I suppose. Have a great day. See you in a week.
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