26th

I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas.

Today is the 26th and I promised myself and you as well that I would weigh myself on the 26th of every month. The month has gone by fast.

Here are today's stats:

309 pounds
21.13 stone
140.1 kg

I've lost 6 pounds since last month. At my current weight, if I had strictly dieted, I would have probably dropped about 20- 30 pounds. But the mere mention of the word, 'diet' produces a nervous tic. I'm more interested in lifestyle changes than dieting. Now I can beat myself up for lack of perfection (as I would have done in the past) or I can celebrate the baby step of progress. I choose the latter. Besides, it took 30 years to get to this point, so I've accepted the fact that it won't be resolved overnight.

I did achieve my main goal of going cold turkey off the Galaxy chocolate bars. To cope with a stress level in the stratosphere, I comforted myself with 2-3 family sized Galaxy bars a day. I'd always have a supply of 6-8 bars on hand and when the last bar was finished, I'd start to get anxious and restless, which would only be relieved by a trip to the store to stock up and at 1.50 a crack, it wasn't cheap. I felt that before I did anything, I had to break this habit first. Initially it was very difficult, and I did slip up, but since that slip up, I haven't had any of the Galaxy bars. There was an immediate impact from this: my ulcer calmed down. Previously, every bar eaten induced terrible gastric pain and a lot of acid reflux. The pain is gone and the reflux has lessened.

It hasn't been an easy month. A disappointing court decision led to my head being buried in a Dorito bag for 2 days. And then there's the whole Christmas season, which I love and all those Christmas cookies. But let's face it- when is life not stressful? But this last month is behind me and now, I look forward.

As I head into my second month, I want to concentrate on two things. I want to drink more water and I want to move my body. Pulling myself up to a stand or getting up from a chair does not constitute a work out, no matter how much it feels like one. It's time to start some form of exercise that will be gentle on my joints.

Start weight: 315 lbs
Goal weight: 284 lbs (10% weight loss)
Current weight: 309 lbs.

There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no insurmountable barrier except our own inherent weakness of purpose.

Elbert Hubbard