Slow Progress, Flagging Commitment

So how well did I do in February?

Using my averages, I lost less than two pounds for the month.  Considerably under my hopes.  I have excuses, of course. Even some good ones. But looking over the statistics, there are some real clues about what is going on.  There are some things I may be able to fix relatively easily, others will be harder.

First the excuses.  February was a weird month.  The snowiest on record for our area.  The snow created disruptions and displacements. It kept me house bound. It prevented most forms of outside exercise - everything except shoveling. Because it was so VERY deep, it made it impossible to struggle through to play much.  I could have used the opportunity to get on the NerdicTrak every day, and have a vigorous workout with the weights and floor exercises, but I passed most days. NOT a good month for the exercise stats.

Being housebound made eating more of an issue, all day every day.  I'm good on regular work days, because I don't have the choices or access to tempting food. There is often food around the office, but mostly it is (currently) easy for me to resist.  My early success made me arrogant about my ability to eat moderately of sweets; the weather made me rush to stores when possible and hoard up goodies for the snowbound days to come. I had only a couple of days where the eating was MUCH more than I planned, but those days took a toll. My evening snack has crept up, and stayed up, to be more than the 100 calories it should be.

Of course, emotional issues crop up and creep in, affecting my mood and then my tendency to eat or be a slug.  There were specific things this month, each novel and unique, that sometimes felt like punches in the stomach.  But that is always going to happen. Nothing this month rises in retrospect to the level of epic tragedy - more like normal life as a guardian of adolescents recovering from tragedy. I need to be resiliant in the face of these issues which will continue to appear with no warning. There is nothing in eating, or lying on the couch, that will make those situations better.

According to my detailed statistics, on average for the whole month, I expended 471 more calories than I consumed each day.  I only had three days where I ate more than I expended. I guess that kind of balance leads to the slow progress I'm seeing.

What have I learned that I can put to good use?  Several useful things that can be turned into new rules.

I do not have yet, and may never have, the self control to eat moderately of certain kinds of sweets in the house.  Rule:  Don't buy that stuff unless I intend to eat it all.

Moving frequently during the day - walking, housework, stairs, chores - has a greater cumulative impact on calories burned than twenty minutes on the NT followed by a day on the sofa.  Rule:  Get off my duff and move!

Aerobic exercising - NT, elliptical, walking, leads to clarity of mind and renewed sense of peace. Being outside especially nourishes my soul.  Rule:  walk outside as much as possible.

Knowing that I am reporting here, and that some people are reading it, is keeping me honest.  This post, for example, is motivating me to get up and start the day. I've got lots more thoughts on how to do better, but now its time to get going.  Rule:  keep posting - do not let more than a couple of days go by without reporting.