Okay, here I go again setting weight loss goals for myself. This time, the difference is…this time I am going to meet them. I have undertaken a project that is supposed to increase my income by more than $1,000 a month by the end of the next six months. So, I have decided to make a priority to lose 30-35 pounds in the next 6 months. Now, if it takes longer than 6 months, that is not a big deal. As long as I see progress I will eventually achieve this goal. The end result is to be able to have abdominoplasty, sometimes called a tummy tuck. My concern is more the excess fat around my stomach than having the stomach of a teenager. I believe I heard a rumor that the hospital that did my gastric bypass surgery performs this procedure for a very reasonable price for their weight loss surgery patients. There it is…what I want to do.

Now, some of things I am going to change or do to get there. Even though, I drink only diet pop, it is not something that is attributing to my health and something I can do without. I remember eliminating soda from my diet once before and it was a good time in my life. I weighed more, but I felt like I was making positive changes. I have already eliminated much of the sugar I had been eating, but unfortunately I have replaced it with other things that are now problematic. This is something that I will have to address in the next week. I have found that actually taking the time to evaluate how I feel and eat only when I am hungry goes a long way to helping me lose weight. The other thing I have done is gone back to my personal trainer. I feel like my muscles are weak and I want that gone. This is going to go a long way in getting me where I need to be as long as I stick with it. We will see. I don’t see failing as an option.

My job is something that I find stands in my way of living the life that I want. I make okay money, but I have excellent benefits. I have a business on the side that will give me enough money that I probably would not need a corporate job in 6 months to a year. But I have struggled with money for so long that I don’t want to find myself in that place ever again. And then there are the benefits…the medical insurance is adequate, I have never seen better insurance for prescriptions and my dental insurance coordinates with my husbands and I have double coverage. They also offer long-term care insurance at a group rate along with a few other things that most other companies do not offer.

Here is the problem. There is large amounts of chaos and drama. I have the capability to work from my home, but this company is “old school” and they do not feel that unless you are confined in a cube that you could be working. My drive is more than 30 minutes one way and the 60 minutes that I have to take for lunch all eat into time that could be better spent. The other problem is how I feel when I am there. I feel angry all the time. I make many of the decisions and solve many of the problems for my department. Yet, I report to someone else and it just causes stress that I do not need. The big problem is I can “retire” in 4 years and take all of my benefits with me, but I don’t know if I can hold out that long. And all of this has a big impact on my eating and my overall health.

I’ll bet I am the only one doing this…NOT. I am sure the number of people that have weight loss on their list of New Year’s resolutions is incomprehensible. And most of them will probably give up on it before the week is over. I hesitate to even refer to this goal I am about to set as a resolution. It kind of reminds me of calling a weight loss program a diet. When I hear the term New Year’s resolution, I just think of something that will be important for 3 days and then soon forgotten about.

It has been no secret that I have struggled with my weight for many years. My goal for 2010 is a weight loss of 35 pounds. But in order to accomplish this, I need a plan. I am going to try to eat 5 fruits and vegetable each day and drink more water. Hopefully, these things will make me feel fuller so that I do not eat things that will sabotage my efforts. I am hoping that if I write about this goal, it will hold me more accountable.

I feel my place of employment is one thing that presents problems to my efforts and I am not sure how to deal with it. One problem is things are really slow and it easy to have idle time. But the bigger problem is the amount of food that is always around in the office. I have never seen a place that has so much candy and whatever. There is always food around and I am the kind of person that does not manage this well. When it is not there, I won’t seek it out. But when it is there, I will not say no either.

I feel that if I had more to occupy my time, I would not be as distracted by all of this excess food. But I know this is not the answer. If I had more to do, I would probably blame it on something else. Exercise is something that I do regularly, but I would like to increase the amount of exercise that I do. Time is an issue here. But if I could eat a reasonable amount of calories, the amount of exercise that I get each week would be more than adequate for weight loss.

I always say losing weight is about 3 things…a sensible diet, regular exercise and managing your relationship with food and the last one is kicking my ass right now.

After gaining another half pound, I finally lost 3 pounds. This gives me a half pounds towards my 5 pound weight loss goal for the month. I am thrilled and still feel the 5 pounds is a very attainable goal. I have never felt better, despite the fact that I have pulled some muscles in my back.

I still managed to walk for 30 minutes today, but I think I will let my second 30 minute walk go for this evening. I attribute some additional exercise and a reduction in calories for a two day period with jump starting my weight loss.

I am ready to get started with some strength training and will try to work that into my schedule after the Labor Day holiday. I believe I will meet with my personal trainer and see what she recommends as a good strength program. I would like to work with resistance bands, but I am trying to figure out where I can attach them in my house.

I really feel that if I take small steps and increase my goals slowly, I will have my recent weight gain off by Thanksgiving and then I will be in a position to plan the next part of my move towards being healthy. I am amazed at how my desire for unhealthy foods is starting to disappear. My only hope is that I can maintain the motivation that I have at the current time.