Today was just another stressful day. There's no doubt I'm a little more short tempered at work since I quit smoking. Quitting drinking isn't going to help either. You know what though... I really don't care. I'm not going to smoke or drink or overeat just so I'll be more likely to spare people's feelings. To be honest I'm starting to wonder if I was a little too nice to people and most took advantage of it.
Anyway, not what I really wanted to talk about. I know that I'm taking this journey day by day, but I couldn't help to think forward a little towards March. By March I will have quite smoking for almost 2 months and I will have quit drinking for several weeks. If I want to have a chance at 100 pounds lost this year (my third and final goal) I feel like I'm going to need to add more focus to weight loss. So far I'm trying to contain the damage while I focus on the smoking (and now the drinking), but I have to start sometime. So far I've only lost about 5 pounds.
I'm thinking about dedicating March towards getting back on my carb cycling diet. I figure if I go hard all month I could probably drop about 30 pounds especially since I'm taking a week off during the month to remodel my bathroom and bedroom; activities that will require some hard physical labor. I also think it's a good time as spring begins to show signs of coming and my mood generally improves when that happens.
Like the rest of this journey I'm actually thinking things through instead of just making arbitrary decisions. There are some pros and cons to doing my own "March Madness":
Potential Benefits
A successfully 30 day stint could jumpstart my weight loss and help carry me through the year. 30 pounds (or even close to 30 pounds) would be noticeable and help boost my confidence. Additionally, shifting focus away from smoking and drinking could be a welcome distraction and adding exercise to my already busy routine could prove to be a stress reliever. I have no big projects or travel plans so the month of March would be a good one to start.
Potential Drawbacks
Even if I'm successful, it could backfire on me if I feel burned out afterward and go right back to eating like a pig. I might lose a bunch of weight in March only to gain it back and get depressed in April. Also, I have to ask myself if I'm ready to add the weight loss burden. Worse than not losing weight would be if I fell off the smoking wagon in the process. That would hurt me mentally right now.
March might be a little too soon, but then again I might be giving myself excuses and not pushing it a little. I know that I do much better when I get out of my comfort zone.
Anyway, I still have another full week next week to think about it. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think.
Stay Strong!
Hi fogdog. Very well done in keeping this up for so long now! For all it is worth I DONT think you should go all in on weightloss in March! So what if you only lose 30 ppounds this year? (5pounds times every 2 months in a year). You would arrive in the next year with a real lifestylechange, having lost the 10 percent nost important for health improvement. Also you have a history of burning out -dont let it happen again. Maybe just try to increase physical activity WITHOUT eating more/worse than you do now. Then you can lose a bit faster than now. You are an inspiration the way you do it now!
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You're doing incredible things, FD. You gotta know you're doing what you can do at the pace and in the time you can do it. This is a very smart approach. Your goals are important in all areas-- breaking it down and prioritizing your approach...and breaking those down into manageable actions, is going to give you incredible success across the board. Very inspiring trek, my friend. Keep on keeping on.
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