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Introduction Text December 2020: what a year! After spending much of it just hanging on (hello 2020) I was finally able to motivate myself to get back on track with for planning and exercise. I've also been meditating regularly which helps with stress. 9.5 pounds down. I can do this! July, 2019: I'm 8 pounds down! Not halfway yet, but a good start. I'm planning and tracking, exercising and keeping track of it all. I'm working on building new habits, like not having a drink at weekday happy hours, and eating a lot more vegetables, both cooked and raw. I'm also working on including more non-meat proteins in my diet, like edamame and black bean pasta, beans and quinoa. Maybe even tofu if I get really wild! Gaining more consistency in exercise and not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. Taking a mile walk if that's all I have time and energy for, rather than the 3mile run I'd planned. Meditating more and sleeping more. I haven't been checking in here as often as before but I'll be back! January 2019. Next year I have a milestone birthday and I want to be the best me I can possibly be by then! This month I've lost almost 4 pounds by planning well and being consistent with my good habits. I'm going to continue using my Beck skills (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and keeping in mind that losing weight and being healthy has as much to do with what goes on between your ears as what you put in your mouth (and maybe more). And counting my blessings every day! June 2108: My habits have been less than excellent lately! Clearly, I didn't achieve my goal of losing 27 pounds, but instead gained 3. But I refuse to give up or give in! I have been getting back to exercise slowly but surely, and I got a personal trainer last month to help me with strength training and avoiding further injury. And I am joining the summer 5% Challenge, which is perfectly in line with my goal! I am not perfect but I am a very determined person and I will keep trying until I achieve my goals! January 2018: At the beginning of this year, I'm at my highest recorded weight ever. Last year was tough, with a neck injury and arthritis preventing me from working out or training for races or triathlons. But with the injury somewhat under control and a serious attitude adjustment, I am back on my program again. Planning, preparing and eating good healthy food in moderation and slow ramp-up of an exercise program focused on fitness, not competition. I want to lose 27 pounds by July and with discipline, I believe I can do it. 2016: Six years ago, I got serious about losing weight and taking care of myself, mind, body and soul. I stopped drinking alcohol and eating all manner of treats entirely for 3 months and trained for a half marathon. I lost 25 pounds! But over the next couple years, I regained most of the weight and have fluctuated up and down ever since. I developed a lot of good habits during that time, but I realized later that I wasn't able to keep the weight off because I couldn't keep up that high level of activity (injuries, etc), and I didn't want to limit my intake so drastically. I decided I needed to find a new way to achieve my goals. Now I'm focused on creating sustainable strategies and habits for losing weight, so they'll be familiar to me and help me maintain my weight loss when I reach my goal. For example, the Beck Diet Solution has a ton of strategies that are practical and useful - like reminding yourself of your motivation for losing the weight, making a food plan every day, giving yourself credit for the positve things you do ... And the trick is practicing these things regularly (like, every day!) I consider this a lifelong task. I never want to stop learning more about how to take care of myself as well as I can, so I can live a long and happy life! I've learned about meditation and I try to practice every day. I also love yoga and practice as often as possible. I love to exercise but that doesn't mean it's always easy to get myself out of bed and out the door! Another place where the strategies come in handy... remember your motivation and learn how to respond to the sabotaging thoughts! I want to keep on learning more about how to eat well while eating healthy and how to exercise in ways that prevent injury. My body isn't as resilient as it once was, and I want to be strong and active for a long time. For me, it's about recognizing that losing weight and maintaining that loss is more about the way you think than what you eat and how much you move. So, my goal is more about changing my habits than reaching a number on the scale. If I can successfully build good habits, step by step, I can achieve any goal I set for myself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ �Learn to be calm and you will always be happy� -- Paramhansa Yogananda �Peace is to be found only within, and unless one finds it there he will never find it at all. Peace lies not in the external world. It lies within one's own soul.� -- Ralph W. Trine

My overall goal is to make healthy living a habit in all aspects of my life: body, mind and soul. For My Body * Gain strength, endurance and flexibility * Lose 30 pounds * MAINTAIN healthy habits and a healthy weight for life. For My Mind * Reduce stress in my life * Increase my self discipline For My Soul * Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude! * Create beauty in the world.

*Follow the Beck Diet Solution principles, changing my thinking to change my behavior *Plan and prepare to eat moderately *Maintain daily caloric intake of approximately 1300 calories/day *Strength training 2 times/week *Cardio: 4-5 times a week: elliptical, biking, walking, and running * Yoga as often as possible! * Reduce my stress level through meditation, yoga, writing Reward myself: 165#: 160#: 155#: 150#: New workout wear 145#: 140#: New dress and work clothes

I am thankful for my positive outlook on life. I have two cats, two sons and a wonderful husband. I love travel and art.

The only things I can truly control are my actions and reactions.

Add a Link Kristin Maryland USA Eastern Time Zone We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. -- Aristotle
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