My Goals and Plan of Action

At 226lbs, what are the things I cannot do?

1) Cross legs (well, I can certainly cross my legs like a man often does, but I cannot cross my legs like a fine lady does).
2) Climb the stairs without panting and catching my breath.
3) Walk long distances at the pace of a person lighter than I am.
4) Buy clothes at a tiangge (unless they sell clothes from the US that I can fit into).
5) Wear high-heeled shoes. (correction - I can wear high-heeled shoes, the problem is I can't walk wearing it because I can't balance myself.)

Those were superficial and shallow answers, yes, but that's the truth. I have struggled with my weight for so long, and for a change, I really want to know how it would feel doing these five items I pointed out (actually, there are still so many things I cannot do right now, but that's the only five I could think of at this very moment).

Reading the February 2011 issue of the Kris Aquino Magazine, there was this article there entitled Rewrite Your Life (by Maricel Moreno-Laraya), and in it, she mentioned about the SMART Format. She said, when creating a goal, we should follow the S-M-A-R-T Format.

• S - Specific. What exactly do you want?
  
• M - Measurable. You should include a way to measure your progress.
  
• A - Attainable. It is within your capabilities, and is it reasonably possible?
  
• R - Relevant. Why is it important to you? Do you care about it enough to make it part of your priorities?
  
• T - Time Specific. When will you start and when will your deadline be?

With that, I'd say that my goal is to be at 150lbs by May 2013. That may be a long time if you'd look at it, but I personally don't want to pressure myself so much because I might hate myself if I don't get to achieve it. Come to think of it, there are some health issues that are hindering me to lose weight as quick as possible namely Slow Metabolism and PCOS. To be at 150lbs, I have to lose 76lbs, and since I am physically on this journey alone (I am considering the idea of entering a gym, but at this point that is still hazy so it's out of the picture yet), losing weight will be twice as difficult. Add to that my very destructive habit of procrastination, I surely had so many things to work out on in order to be victorious.

Of course, I know I can do it. The time frame is just a time frame - something to guide me as I go through this journey. Last August, I was actually able to lose 6lbs in 3 weeks (last week of August I was out of town and wasn't able to exercise), so if I just keep my focus and lose at least 4lbs per month, I will reach my goal in 19 months.

So.. now that I know what my goal is, what now?

First order of business is to set my food intake. This is something I know I can do, if I don't let the demons in my head control me. From here on out, here's my base plan for my food intake:

• Breakfast - 30 grams of Fitnesse Cereal with 1/2 cup low fat milk and 1 piece of fruit OR 1 cup of rice and 1/2 cup of viand (if it's with sauce or broth) or 70 grams of dry viand (like cold cuts) OR a bowl of oatmeal (4 heaping tablespoons cooked in water) and a piece of fruit. OR 2 slices of loaf bread with 1 teaspoon butter or spread, 1 cup of coffee, and 1 piece of fruit.
  
• Lunch - 3/4 cups of rice and 1/2 cup of viand - with meat (pork, chicken, beef, or seafood) at 70 grams, 1 piece of fruit or 1 tablespoon of dessert (we rarely serve desserts anyway, so 1 tablespoon would be enough)
  
• Snacks - nuts, or a small pack of crackers (no spreads and/or cheese) in whole wheat
  
• Dinner - 30 grams of Fitnesse Cereal with 1/2 cup low fat milk and 1 piece of fruit OR 1/2 cup rice and 1/2 cup of viand - with meat (pork, chicken, beef, or seafood) at 70 grams and 1 piece of fruit.

Things to know: if the viand is fish, I can go until 150 grams provided my rice stays the same. You might think 70 grams of protein is minuscule, but believe me when I tell you that it's enough to make you full. Actually, before I wrote this, my last meal consisted of 1/2 cup of rice and 70 grams of shrimps, and 70 grams of shrimps (with shells and heads) was about 7 medium sized pieces. What I ate was less than 70 grams actually (because I don't eat or sip the juices off the heads), but I didn't feel I was cheated. Anyway, rice is one of my biggest poisons, I really have to battle this rice addiction and turn rice into an ally and not an enemy. Also, I really have to learn how to take away the pork fat or the chicken skin. I just love fatty food, but if my brother was able to train himself to take away the fat and skin, I sure can do it, too.

One time, I put on a Facebook status update saying if I want to lose 1lb per week, I have to consume 1700 calories (I forgot the exact digit, but is within that range) a day and burn at least 2700 calories per week. It's quite difficult to use the calorie calculator because most calculators online measure US-based food (you do know that 1 cup of low fat milk has different calories depending on its brand). How can I compute the calorie content of 1/2 cup of ginisang munggo with spinach and ground pork then? I may not know my exact calorie intake, but knowing I have cut back on food intake (as I can normally consume an average of 2 cups of rice per meal), can surely help me lose the weight.

Before I forget, water is a very vital part of this journey, and I am setting myself to drink at least 12 cups (that's 2 1/2 liters) of water everyday. I can go beyond that, but... I really have to keep 12 cups as my base count.

Second plan of action is to set my work out. At the Pinoy_Blogfest 2.0, I learned that one has to work out at least 30 minutes on most days of the week, but since most people have sedentary jobs, the speaker suggested working out 1 hour on most days of the week. If one cannot do 1 full hour continuously, then one can do 30 minutes in the morning, and 30 minutes in the afternoon (or breaking it into different time frames). What the speaker was saying was that, we all should just learn how to insert some minutes of movement into our very busy lives. Well, I do work at home, so I had the ample time I needed, so doing 1 hour of work out during the weekdays is something I can most certainly do. Instead of breaking this into different exercises I can do, I decided to just lay out my proposed schedule:

• 5:30 AM - Wake up | Drink 2 cups of water | Do personal matters (pee, wash face, etc) | Pray.
  
• 6:00 AM - Hips, Buns, and Thighs exercises (30 reps each - will add reps as time pass) | Elliptical Machine for 3 1/2 minutes | Eat breakfast.
  
• 7:30 AM - Dumbbells (30 reps each set) | Work / blog / edit pictures.
  
• 9:00 AM - Hip Hop Abs (cardio) | House chores (sweep the floor, water the plants).
  
• 10:00 AM - Work / blog / edit pictures.
  
• 11:00 AM - Hip Hop Abs (Ab Sculpt) | Quick Shower | Cook and eat lunch | Dumbbells (30 reps each set) | House Chores.
  
• 1:30 PM - Work / blog / edit pictures.
  
• 4:30 PM - Hip Hop Abs (Hips, Buns, Thighs) | House Chores | Shower
  
• 6:00 PM - Cook and / or Eat dinner | Dumbbells (30 reps each set) | Elliptical Machine for 3 1/2 minutes.
  
• 8:00 PM - Work / blog / edit pictures.
  
• 10:00 PM - Elliptical Machine for 3 1/2 minutes | Personal matters (very quick shower, toothbrush, etc) | Pray | Sleep.

That's my proposed schedule, but of course, I am not going to box myself into this schedule, let's just say this is just my guide. I plan to do this during the weekday, and on weekends, I will not do any of the listed exercises to allow my muscles to heal, but I do hope to go out and jog at Colinas Verdes every weekend morning (provided there are no rains). In case I needed to attend an event and my schedule will be compromised, I will do whatever exercises I can fit into my schedule - before going out. Bottomline, I need to do at least one kind of exercise every day.

Like I said, I am not going box myself in this schedule - of course I would still find ways of changing the exercises so I won't get bored doing the same routine over and over. I personally love doing "Hip Hop Abs," but I am also on the look out for this fitness videos:

• 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels. Already trying to find ways of talking to pals and family members in the US if they can purchase this for me.
  
• Sensual Aerobics by Cindy Kurleto. This one's locally produced, but I doubt if the video shops still have a copy of this because it's already old. I actually have a copy of this, and hoped to do this as my weekend work out, but sadly, my copy was a rip-off, and the audio doesn't match the video (pfft).
  
• Zumba Dance Workout. There are many zumba dance workout videos available via YouTube, but I am finding ways how to download or maybe purchase videos so I could watch it from our television and not from my 10-inch net book monitor.

As for sports, well, I still am not sporty sporty (and I am not competitive either), but once, I did receive an invitation from Singles for Christ friends for an afternoon of badminton... if I receive another invitation, I'd go and try it out.

Gym? I seriously am considering it, but I need to find one that is not too far from our place. Currently, the ones I've seen were patronized by men. I would also consider it's fee, because I want to lose weight without losing that much money.

Just to clear it up, I am losing weight NOT because I hate myself nor I don't accept myself. Come to think of it, I LOVE MYSELF, which is why I am doing this. If I let myself be like this forever, then that would mean I hate myself. Losing weight, wanting to become slender isn't all about wearing clothes people deem as sexy. Losing weight is deeper than that. You might say I don't love myself because I want to get rid of the body that God gave me. That's where you're wrong. God didn't give me an obese body. I gave the obese body to myself - because I hated myself and I sought refuge to eating and being lazy. Whatever our arguments would be, I will lose weight because I love myself and I want make me the best person I can be. If you think I don't accept and love myself, then I'd leave that up to you. I'd lose weight and wear my two-piece swimsuit once I reach my goal. Hahaha.

Going back to the article on the Kris Aquino Magazine, it said, "Our past is valuable. It helped shape who we are. However, it is not a 'life sentence.' The difference lies in our attitude. Hope and optimism are free and abundant resources." I know I have been overweight, and I know I am not walking on a yellow brick road. This might be the biggest challenge I set on myself, and as much as a lot of people will cheer me on, a lot of people will raise their brows and bet that I can not do this. Let me answer that with an image that I grabbed from a friend's Facebook wall...


...and close this post with a quote from Steve Jobs:

"You can't connect the dots looking forward.
You can only connect them looking backwards.
So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever –
because believing that the dots will connect down the road
will give you the confidence to follow your heart
even when it leads you off the well-worn path,
and that will make all the difference."