In this journey, as you can imagine, I have many goals to set, attend to, and crush. One thing I am required to do is to attend 3 months of weight loss classes. As you might guess, I started out a little snobby about that. There’s not much someone can teach me about losing weight. Got that. Done that a bunch of times in a bunch of ways.
Yesterday I sat down to read the rules and requirements of the classes — ohhhhhhh — they center around behavior modification — well, that IS something I need to learn.
The paperwork came with a goal sheet — or shall I say a suggested goal sheet to focus on for each month. You pick one suggested item from the “eating goal” list and one from the “movement goal” list. There are a surprising number to chose from. And way more than I thought I would relate to.
Things like no drinking fluids with a meal. I tend to eat fast and wash things down. Won’t be able to do that anymore. Or using a small v. large plate to set out a meal. I chose one I think will be hardest for me to master. Taking 20 minutes minimum to eat my meal, but no more than 30. So, I have to chew and eat very slowly and, whether I’m finished with the food or not, stop eating at 30 minutes. That is so powerful to me and somewhat scary.
Like I said I am like “stormin’ Norman” when it comes to eating food. It’s serious business. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced a lukewarm meal that was served to me hot! It’s always gone before the cool down sets in. And NOT finish my plate? Insanity. So seldom do I leave scraps behind. So you can see why I thought this would both be a good place to start, and why I chose it for month one. It’s a skill set I will probably need the whole 90 days to achieve.
As for movement…These feel simpler to me, because in truth I like to move. I killed it at PT yesterday. Squats with TRX assist, leg lifts while standing, even rode the bike a bit. But since surgery I haven’t moved as much as I should so that is what I selected. Getting 10,000 steps a day on my Garmin device.
And though classes for me don’t start until March 10th, I’m just going to go ahead and get into practice mode now. I will need a week or so to work up to the steps goal anyway. And the more practice I have at slowing down my eating, the better off I will be. So much new territory ahead.
Shrinking Shay 