Living Victoriously

UPDATE ON MY 

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

Well guys, I am still working on it.  My New Year's Resolutions are below and then I will tell how I am accomplishing it so far.

1.  Lose 20 pounds and keep it off.
2.  Communicate better with family and friends
3.  Draw closer relationship with God

LOSE 20 POUNDS

Now, before I tell you how I'm losing it, I want you to understand how difficult it is to lose weight for myself... because of certain health issues.  I have some physical ailments that causes me every day to have some kind of pain:  muscle, skin, nerve and colon pain in all different areas of my body.  So, it hurts to move.

So, what weight have I lost and how am I losing it?  Well so far I've lost about 7 pounds.  With me, because of the hypothyroidism, it is almost impossible to lose weight unless I go to the extreme because my metabolism is soooo slow.  I usually will tell people that it is soooo slow that I don't have one... : ).  So, this is what I've been doing.

1.  I started a 40 day fasting and prayer with my church:  At first I started just juicing vegetables.  It lasted for about a week and then I got seriously sick and was taken off of the fast by my doctor because of a stomach virus, flu, and bronchitis.  My body needed more to heal.  So, I had to change my fast to similar to a Daniel diet but not as strict.  I've been sticking to that and it is day 23 of the prayer and fasting.  So, my diet is healthier because I'm not eating as much fast foods, fried foods, and snacks.  I'm eating more vegetables, fruits, grain, and nuts.  Also, I love to eat in the middle of the night.  It can be 2-3 in the morning and the night owl starts to snack!  So, I've curbed my eating time to no later than 10:00 p.m.  That may still seem late to a lot of folk, but for me, if I make if too early, then I know that I will fail!

2.  Drink water:  I've been double checking the amount of water to be sure that I'm getting it.  I still don't get enough and am working on that.

3.  I've been walking about 3-5 miles, 2-3 times a week, for the past year.  So, I've been continuing that.

4.  I've been doing martial arts for 2-3 hours 2-3 days per week for the past 1.5 years.  So, I've been continuing that.  I've added doing some martial arts practicing at home for 1 hour about 2 days per week also.

5.  I've been doing Zumba for 1 hour, 2 times per week for the past 2 years.  So, I've been continuing that.

6.  As you see, I'm a night owl... and an early bird.  I can stay up late and my body will wake me up early.  Well, that isn't good if you are trying to lose weight.  It is a known fact that when your body gets the night time rest that it needs, it is able to burn the fat and function more efficiently.  So, I make sure that I'm in bed by 12 midnight... yes that is early for me who was an insomniac... and my body wakes me up between 5:30-7:30 a.m.  That is more rest than I use to get.  Now, I get between 6-7 hours depending on the season.

Even though I've been doing all this working out... I've been at a plateau for the past 6 months in not losing any weight.  I had to add the fasting and prayer to go to the extreme for it to start kicking in again.

As you see, every day I am doing something physical.  Does it hurt... YES!  But if I don't move, it becomes more difficult to move and more difficult to accomplish my goal.  IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO MOVE!  It is said that you should actively move atleast 15 minutes every day.

Join me next time and I'll share with you how I'm doing in keeping in communication with family and friends.

Ciao!