“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” – George S. Patton
I think at one time or another, most people have set some sort of goal for themselves. The goal may be social related, health related, intellectual related, or any one of another few dozen subjects. The goal might be a group goal where there is a bit more accountability or it might be personal/private goal. Regardless of the type of goal or the situational circumstances for implementing the goal, I’m going to assume that most people attempt to come up with some sort of plan.
A plan. Most people can develop a plan. Does it have to be a perfect plan? No. It just needs to have an end goal. So we can develop another plan. We all experience plans both on a professional level and on a personal level. Not taking away from anyone’s planning skills but developing the plan is the easy part. Executing the plan is somewhat more difficult and what eludes many of us.
So people, with that theme in mind, this is my attempt at an inspirational and slightly motivational post. If it helps one person. Great.
I woke up Sunday morning and had my coffee with creamer. My wife and I were getting ready to go exercise down near the river. She was going to walk and I was going to run for a while then double back and walk with her. As I logged my drink into an app I use called MyFitnessPal, I was greeted with the following information:
Two hundred days in a row. I made a plan and executed it, adapting and readjusting as needed.
For whatever reason, last year I gained weight. It’s probably the 4th or 5th time that has happened in my life and each time it has, I go through a short period of losing weight to get back to where I was. It has been somewhat easy for me to do that since I have participated in athletic activity most of my life. A few years ago that changed for a number of reasons I don’t care to get into and as a result of that, I became the heaviest I had been in years resulting in a number of medical issues, most of which were being attributed to that extra weight.
If you’ve been reading me at all, you know I quit smoking in January of this year and have been on a hiking and walking craze for a while. Two hundred days ago today, I came up with a plan and executed it. It involved changing my eating habits and exercising, which really is not rocket science. Numerous meals throughout the day, increase in metabolism, the right nutrient balance, and get off my ass and exercise like I use to. Yes, I planned on a caloric deficit to do this but I planned to do it in a safe and nutritional way, hence the food and exercise tracking app to support it.
Over that two hundred days I have lost 52 pounds. That’s 52 pounds over 28 weeks. About 1.86 pounds a week. Slow and safe weight loss.To some people that might not seem like a lot and in reality it’s not but try strapping a 50-pound bag of dogfood to your back and see what toll it can take on your body just walking.
The fact that I’m bringing up weight loss as a measure of success is only for a means of what those 52 pounds mean. Those pounds mean my blood pressure has been normal for months now. Those pounds mean clothes I had put away now fit. Those pounds mean my back isn’t hurting everyday like it was. They mean I can walk or run without putting extra stress on an older body that has seen its fair share of abuse over the years. And no I won’t discuss the eighties. They represent hours of sharing in cooking duties to avoid the easy out of getting fast food. They represent hours of lifting weights and miles walked or ran. Those 52 pounds simply mean that I executed the plan. And I was rewarded for it.
A perfect plan? Who the hell knows but I can tell you it’s worked for me and that’s exciting. More importantly, I see excitement in the eyes of my wife, or my kids, or my dogs each time we are going to go do something involving physical activity. Just as importantly, I see excitement in my own eyes when I look in the mirror.
In doing this, I owe my family many thanks for participating in this journey. My wife has her own story and I’m loving watching her write it each day. She’s also shared her Fitbit friends with me. Long story but it makes the journey that much more accountable.
I think the journey has to be unique for each person. What I can tell you though is that it is doable and there are plenty of tools, resources, and people for support. I can also tell you that it gets harder each time to lose weight. My reality is that I will always have to always exercise which really isn’t a bad thing. I will also need to eat healthy foods. I read once that that isn’t such a bad thing either.
Now on to more exciting goals like reading four books this month or get a couple thousand words written this coming weekend.
B
Great job!?
Thanks Erin!
Well dobe Bill.
Agree to write a goal us easy. To make it happen us something else . Baby steps allow me to achieve my goals
Motivation ,determination and courage aling with will power
Great post
Regards bella
Thank you!
Right on! I’m embarking on a similar journey in October… I’ll be happy losing 25 lbs … Will be writing about it soon 🙂
You can do it. Just make it fun!
Congratulations! Mobility issues stop me from doing exercises I know would help my health and weight. I’ve become extremely careful with my diet and use cognitive techniques to prevent myself from doing the emotional eating.
I’ve found that eating is a huge part of being healthy. Simple portion control goes a long way.
52 pounds and 200 days, what an accomplishment ! Congratulations!
Thanks Dena! And thank you so much for yesterday!
Thanks so much for sharing this post, Bill! I lost 85lbs with Weight Watchers over a year and a half, but then I couldn’t shed that final 15. I got sloppy with points, and cancelled my subscription. Now I’ve been waffling with this 5lb gain/loss/gain/loss.
You’ve reminded me that the small losses DO add up when we take them seriously, and to take them seriously means taking the process seriously. I stopped caring about the process, yet lament over the lack of result.
Thanks for reminding me to get my a$$ in gear and DO something again. 🙂
I did WW years ago and loved it. We had the program available at work so it made it very convenient for meetings. Doing it the way I did it now using free apps, and joined by few family member and friends, was a little harder but accomplished the same thing. Exercising is the key. It just makes one feel so much better. 🙂
Congratulations, Bill. Not only for losing weight, which is an accomplishment, but more importantly, for sharing that healthy living isn’t just about losing weight. It is a complete lifestyle change. Great job getting back to your active, more healthy self and inspiring others to do the same!
Thank you so much!
Check you – 52 lbs is loads – well done! Very inspirational post. Glad to hear all is well, Sooz
Damn… I missed this comment. Thank you! Back to business here now that surgery is done.
Yes, 52 pounds is amazing over that time period. I will consider myself extremely successful if I lose 20 pounds in 28 weeks. I’m almost halfway there. But oh those plateaus..
And another comment I missed. I’ve been absent for a bit. I hope 2017 finds you well Paula and that you got through that plateau…!