Sunday, February 9, 2014

Purging emails. Again.

I'm not sure why I can't seem to keep up with my inbox any more. It's a fact, though. I can't. Yesterday afternoon I noticed the number of unread messages had swelled to more than 600. Again. And I haven't even been traveling lately! (I rarely check my email when I'm on the road.)

So I began deleting. I still have nearly 400 to wade through.

I recently signed up for Lifehack's e-mail subscription, and while that accounts for less than one e-mail a day, it takes a little time to read it and a little more time to decide whether to click a link and read one of their lists or not. I should probably just mass-delete (not just Lifehack, but all of them) and begin anew.

That said, I'm glad I read this one.

Lifehack, in case you're not familiar with the website, offers advice. On just about anything. Much of the advice comes in the form of lists. 10 Things You Need To Do To Be A Gentleman. 21 Things You Are Doing Wrong Every Day. Not every article is in list form, but many are, and lists – to me, anyway – promise to be short, snappy and to the point. I like lists!

To get to the point, the list I zeroed in on this morning resonated because it illustrates what I've finally – after far too many years of struggle – done in order to be successful at losing some weight. If you don't want to click and read, the major point that hit me between the eyes was this:

I don't know what to do.

After a lifetime of yo-yo dieting AND after 10 years of steadily gaining weight – while all the time making efforts to lose it – 2013 turned out to be my year. It doesn't really matter why, but it's interesting.

To me, anyway.

"I don't know what to do" is last on the Lifehack list, but it was first on mine. I'd decided yet again to count calories and exercise in order to once and for all lose the lard, but three months into it I'd only seen a very slight downward trend. Admitting that what science said should work really wasn't working for me opened my mind. Throwing up my hands and realizing I wasn't sure what my next move allowed me to try something completely different.

I still didn't know if it would work. But nothing else had, and I was willing to try something different.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't want to. I had very negative feelings about restricting my food choices so severely. But knowing I'm not getting any younger (do any of us ever get younger?) and knowing I was only going to do the Whole 30 for 30 days (HAH!), I plunged ahead.

I'm glad I found that list this morning. I've been stuck at about the same weight since the beginning of November. I'd like to jumpstart the losing process and get to a BMI of 25. Some of the messages on that list have become pretty familiar.

Especially "what's the point."

My clothes – all smaller sizes than I used to wear – fit. They fit every time I put them on. I'm happy with the success I've had and feel good about how I look and feel for the first time in a very long time.

So what's the point of trying to achieve that normal BMI?

The point is to finish the job. The point is to not only feel healthy, but also to be healthy. I'm still not getting any younger. Imagine that. But there's still time. And for some reason, reading that list has been just the little kick in the ass I need – today, anyway – to keep on keepin' on.

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