As I continue on the path to losing weight I have a few observations:

 

-          Reading food labels is addicting.  Went food shopping this evening and looked at the food label on 75% of the items I “checked out”.  Many items I said to myself, it is not worth the calories and put the item back on the shelf.

-          My clothes fit better already.  As I gained the last 20 pounds over the past 6 months I swore I would not buy larger clothes.  They just got tighter and more uncomfortable.  As I lose weight I have a much wider choice of clothes in my closet to choose from.  This is already a boost for the self-confidence.

-          People are pulling for me.  Co-workers have included me in workouts and keep me focused on the long term goal.  Not only do I not want to let myself down, I don’t want to let them down.

-          I have trouble keeping up with the food tracking with weight watchers.  Need to take time every day to do it.

-          Having trouble getting the amount of water in daily that I should… need to find a creative way to get this accomplished

-          Trying to focus on getting more sleep… lack of sleep will not allow the body to recover and will hasten weight loss.

-          I actually feel better internally eating the “right stuff”.  Who would have thought it?

-          Having an office that is focused on “wellness” and losing weight is a big help….

 

Getting into it…. Will try and enjoy the ride…

 

Kenneth Kukral

Overweight Mentorite

(for now)

 

 

I have been looking forward to 2013 as a fresh start.  At 51 years old I hope I am at the half way point in my life and I would very much like to make better choices in the second half of my life.  There are no guaranties but I hope to stack the deck in my favor.  With a number of friends experiencing health issues at my age I feel lucky to be in decent health.  I currently have high blood pressure, sleep apnea and had my first “elevated” reading for my blood sugar.  Not wanting to have a chronic health condition like diabetes I have to do something now about my health.

 

I set January 2^nd as my start date and lost 12 pounds even before the initial weigh in for Lighten Up 2013.  It is not so much about winning the contest but is more about an extra added layer of motivation.  I hope to eventually lose about 40% of my body weight and be in a long range stable weight for the rest of my life.  With my daughter’s wedding in just under 2 years I want to look my best and have her be proud of me.  I already joined Weight Watchers Online and have been tracking my food for a few weeks.  It has been tough to discipline myself to timely record my meals even though I have it on my phone.  This is definitely one of the areas I need to work on.  It does make me accountable and I think twice about eating something I shouldn’t since I know I will have to write it down.  It is also amazing when you look at the labels of what you are eating how many calories something can be.

 

One of the additional tools that the Lake County General Health District gave us participants is the Vitabot online food tracking system.  Where this goes over and above the Weight Watchers online system is that it will give me an assessment of how healthy I am eating and not just the calories of what I am eating.  I am hoping this will help me towards building healthy meals and not just looking to stay under the calorie goals.  It will give me a good picture of the vitamins I am getting and let me know where my food plan is deficient.

 

What really gave me a kick in the pants lately was an “elevated” blood sugar reading a couple weeks ago.  My doctor was not alarmed yet but wants me to nip the chances of becoming diabetic in the bud by losing weight.  There is nothing I want to avoid more than having a truly chronic health condition.  I hope to learn more how to control my blood sugars, lose weight so my body will better receive the insulin that it produces and reduce the chances for other circulatory, blood or sight issues that can result from being diabetic.

 

Finally, this is something I need to do for myself.  I can enjoy life more when I don’t have to carry the extra weight around.  Besides, you really live once, so better make the most of it.

 

Kenneth Kukral

Overweight Mentorite

(for now)