The Post (#1)
A big reason for starting this blog was the fact that I was not finding resources for many of the challenges I was facing at mid-life.
Some of them were related to career skills and job opportunities. Others were related to unexpected health challenges and how to best deal with them. While I’ve worked at creating some of those resources, I’ve realized I drifted off track with many others.
My Wax on Wax off moment
Everyone loves the scene (or I hope everyone does) in The Karate Kid movie, where Mr. Miyagi teaches Daniel to wax cars to build “muscle and memory” and improve his reflexes. It’s been used in many motivational seminars. If you’re not familiar, you can check it out here. I’m going to throw in a bonus link to one of the key songs of the movie…”Cruel cruel Summer.”
After returning inspired from #Fincon19, I realized I had allowed a lot of time slip by while still not creating some of the content that was lacking. This series is going to be a personal challenge that I set for myself and hope will have some appeal to others in their efforts to set goals. My goal is to write 20 new blog posts (what I consider a valuable job skill) This will include a LOT of “behind the scenes” skill honing that I’ve probably done halfheartedly in the past. That includes, scheduling regular posts, developing a “work flow” template, SEO, building graphics, Email newsletters, and many more items. That’s wax on. That stuff won’t be specifically featured here…I’m just committing to 20 new blog posts.
Wax off is going to be improved health and weight loss. When I was working full time, I would often be on the bus to work and I would see a solitary jogger out at an odd hour and I would wonder to myself…”Why isn’t that person at work?” Now we all know that might be true for a number of different reasons, but I was projecting my own fantasy of NOT being on my way to work and trading places with that person at that very minute. I was so happy after my hip replacement about being “pain free” again, that I lost about 17 pounds! I must have gotten even happier after I started to move around, because I went back to bad eating and drinking habits and put it all back on during the next 3 months. Not a good cycle, and a bit out of the ordinary for me. (i.e. I rarely yo-yo…either high or low…I’ve usually maintained a steady weight).
When my sister was diagnosed with cancer, she was in the middle of trying to lose some weight. Her doctor told her, at age 57, that if she didn’t get it off by the time she was 60, it would be unlikely that she would ever get it off. I don’t know if that’s true or not or even if that is accurate, but I’ll be creeping up on that birthday in less than 10 years, so I don’t want to find out! You might be rolling your eyes and saying “All of this is common sense!” but as we start to age, our metabolism changes along with our lack of focus on health as a priority.
The Pounds
In this section, I’m going to post a number of benchmark items and will try to be as consistent as possible.
I came up with the idea while hurtling down the tracks on Amtrak toward New York City, and was anxious to get on the scale when I arrived home.
The FIRST thing I did when I walked in the door, was strip down and get on that scale. The number? 225 pounds! Historically, that’s kind of high for me. However, since I was less mobile with my hip problem, it’s been a reasonable “average” for the last year and a half. Here are some of the benchmarks I will try to calculate and share, when practical.
Current Weight
Pounds Lost or Gained
Tot. calories consumed since last post
Tot. Fitbit steps since last post
Tot. servings of alcohol consumed since last post
CPAP hours used since last post (another area for accountability)
Maybe I’ll touch on some of these tools I’ve used for years, but with only partial success. Maybe I’ll touch on some of my own personal observations of what tripped up, or what worked.
My goal is to post between 2 and 3 new posts per week. Since their might only be a couple days between those posts, the numbers might not look significant, but I will report them here.
This isn’t meant to be a “quick weight loss” thing. When you commit to something, and don’t follow through it damages your credibility with the most important person, yourself. All of this is meant to create a virtuous circle that will get me moving toward my goals. I hope that it might help you with some your own goals or inspire you in some way. Regardless, here we go!
