Fresh Start (again)

I am definitely in need of a fresh start, as you can probably tell by my extreme lack of posts lately.

The past couple of months have had me thinking about and reflecting on pretty much every aspect of my life. I've come to the sound conclusion that, at least in the diet and exercise portion of said life, I've been very lacking.

While my initial intention when I started this journey a couple of years ago was good, I discovered that I missed the mark entirely. Yes - I agree that any effort is a step in the right direction when it comes to our health, but I've also come to realize that it has to be a complete package to instill lifelong, lasting changes.

So - in typical "me" fashion, I hit the books. In this study, I'm using two books - the first is "The Runner's Diet" which covers the biological part of this venture. The second is "Made to Crave" which cover the spiritual part. Both parts make up the whole, so it makes sense to work on them both at the same time. Not only that - but I really do feel like I am developing an eating disorder and that just has to stop.

I decided to start with "The Runner's Diet". I'm dividing this study into two steps based on the visualization of a very simple store/business. [Hey...gotta use that MBA for something!]

The first I call "Taking Inventory".

The author is wonderful about taking the reader through various steps to determine where change is needed.

Step 1: Take stock of your diet. (Score = 14)

After taking a short quiz it was determined that my eating is out of control. Translation = I do a lot of mindless eating. TRUE

Step 2: Take stock of your exercise habits. (Score = 21)

Again, after a short quiz, it was determined that I lack consistency and will need to work on getting regular, modest activity as well as packing more into a limited time. The side note here is that I will also have to focus on my eating so that I can achieve a balance between the two.
Translation = Make more of my workouts so I don't feel overwhelmed.

Step 3: Overall score is a 35. A consistent plan will cause scores to be upwards of 45 and in the 50's most of the time. The goal is to have the score increase by 5 every two weeks until it stays at or above 45 each time.

Motivator #1: BMI = 38.65

Class II Moderate Obesity. ONE level away from morbidly obese. UNACCEPTABLE.

Ideal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9 to be within a healthy weight range for my height and frame.

In conjunction with this book, I've also read the first couple of chapters of the book Made to Crave. While I haven't gone back to answer the Personal Reflections on the first chapters yet, I have tried to apply the first nugget of advise.

Basically - when I am craving something I need to check on whether I really need it. If the answer is no, then I find something to occupy my toddler mind until the craving goes away. Since I haven't been able to put the suggested prayer into practice, I have tried to focus on something else for a while e.g. drink a glass of water/tea/coffee and work/read/etc. If the craving does not go away, I have to work on finding a suitable, healthy replacement. Case in point - chocolate. I could have attacked a 6' walking chocolate bunny in broad daylight and not felt the slightest twinge of guilt today. However, I had a big glass of 2% (homemade) chocolate milk after dinner instead of reaching for M&Ms etc. It worked.

Like I said - I need a fresh start and I want to make this one work! I'm so tired of starting....and stopping....and starting....and stopping....ad nauseam.