My Weight Loss Journey - 'Operation De-Moob' continues

Restless Midlifer Chronicles, part 1

I've been thinking about these chronicles (my weekly e-newsletter - sign-up here) and it occurred to me that I'm not doing much 'chronicle-ing.’ So, i thought I'd share some of my own weight loss/ health journey and efforts/ set-backs here in a bid to offer some insight into the reality of this process and maybe you might pick up a tip or two in the process.

‘Operation De-Moob’ - Weight-Loss efforts

So, where to start? Ok, well i am still working towards my goal of removing the 'man-boobs' once and for all. I've entitled this goal 'Operation De-Moob' (listeners of the podcast may well recognise this). I won't go into the goal setting process here (check out episodes - 34 & 35 of the podcast for that), but suffice to say, it's a bumpy ride and there's been some tweaking and lessons learned along the way. I am not there yet, but, thanks to the Crossfit, I think the physique is coming along - just need to shrink wrap the coating over the top.

And that's where I have been looking at our meal and eating habits. This is something I include in the coaching programmes as it really can be enlightening to review our habits and routines.

For us, there is a fair bit of room for improvement - from an abundance of biscuits and jam tarts in the cupboard (they are like catnip to me), to lack of inspiration for meal choices to the all too easy takeaway option.

So, over the last few weeks and the next few ahead, I have decided to apply the sprout-sweater approach and tackle this bit by bit - meal by meal and day by day.

Reducing the Takeaways

First - takeaways. Ok, so they are too easy, but we do love our takeaways. It's a question of quality and quantity. We have a fantastic kebab place nearby - and I do love their Sheesh Kebab. So, we have adopted a flexible rule - one take-away during the week is fine. Weekends don't tend to be an issue for us. But week days - we can easily do 2 (and yes even 3 on occasion).

The one takeaway rule means we tend to pick the most challenging day ahead and identify that. For some reason Thursday seems to be the usual day. Perhaps it's a combination of hectic days building up until the battery is low?

Anyhow it has also added in the extra bonus of giving us an incentive - something to look forward to and, most importantly, to feel like we don't have to live like we are in a monastery.

This one thing has helped in a small but significant way, to manage and motivate ourselves to eat a bit healthier the rest of the week. It's not fool-proof, but then nothing is. The aim is better, not perfect and it really helps.

Next week, i'll share my foray into batch cooking and soup-making as a way of removing the friction from other meals. oh, and sing the praises of the slow cooker' too!

What One Change Could You Make?

My question to you is this. Is there one meal you could change that could make your week in general a little bit healthier? Could you switch the takeaway to healthier choices from the menu? Could you switch out a faffy cooked dinner with something seemingly boring but simple? It's surprising what you might find. We recently did that with one of our go to meals now being the simple jacket potato, tuna and salad with coleslaw. Nothing startling but actually pretty tasty and nice for a tea even.

Remember this one meal won't dramatically change things, but it can start the shift towards healthier. And subsequent sprout-sized changes can add to that leading to significant change.

That's my chronicle week for this week . let me know what you think and your meal change idea.

You can do this. Sweat the right sprout-sized habits, rituals and routines and improve your health for midlife and beyond!

Catch you next week.

In the meantime, check out the podcast to check out the episodes and if you want to learn more about the support I offer in relation to helping you achieve your health and weight loss goals sustainably, visit the Academy or learn more about my more intensive Re-Shape Accelerator programmes, designed to help you to get your health back on track and establish lifelong habits for a more fulfilling midlife.

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Dave

Dave Algeo, Restless Mid-Lifer
'It is never too late to get life back on your terms and have even bigger adventures!'
dave@restlessmidlifer.com

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