2020 Goal: Half My Size

2020 Goal: Half My Size

I have big dreams for 2020 – to officially be half my former weight!

That probably doesn’t mean being on the cover of next year’s People Magazine’s “Half My Size” issue. But it does mean finally conquering my weight issues and at least joining that elite group of people who have accomplished their big weight-loss dreams.

My name is Karen Kehler and I am starting this blog to keep myself accountable for making this dream come true. I am 58 years old and my highest known weight was 310 pounds. It may have been higher as I rarely stepped on a scale but I will use that as my starting point. In the last 30 years, I have managed to lose 90 pounds but it has involved lots of unhealthy ups and downs. I don’t want to take another 30 years (even if I’m lucky enough to have them) to release the rest of my excess weight. I want to lose 75 pounds this year (which will bring me to 155 pounds) and be at my goal weight of 130-140 pounds by the time I reach my 60’s (October 2021). I want to start my senior years feeling young and being in the best shape of my life!

My mantra for 2020 is “what if”:

what if I loved myself unconditionally
what if I didn’t give up on myself
what if I gave up sugar for a year
what if I was proud of myself
what if I said yes to things that scare me
what if I became addicted to exercise
what if I believed in myself
what if I were no longer limited by the size of my body
what if I didn’t care what other people think of me
what if I felt strong – physically and mentally

What if I reached my goal for 2020: Who would I be? How would I change? What would my future look like?

How will I get there?

In theory, getting there is simple – eat well and move more. However, I know full well that simple and easy are not the same thing. I have struggled to do those two things – sometimes successfully, sometimes not – for the last 40-50 years. I know it won’t be easy … and I know that, even if I am successful at meeting my 2020 goal, I will always need to be aware that getting and staying healthy and fit is a lifelong mission and not just a one-year project! I know that my goal is a stretch but I believe it is possible to achieve – and as the saying goes: Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.

How did I get here?

I was a chubby baby, a chunky toddler, a fat child, an obese teenager and a morbidly obese adult. Weight has been an issue my entire life – and I have been aware of it – and felt like a failure because of it for most of my life. I tried to lose weight – time and again and with every diet plan ever introduced. Even if I had short-term success, though – which I usually did – I was never able to maintain the program, the momentum, the motivation or the results. Which, of course, only reinforced my feelings of being inadequate.

So what’s changed?

In September 2019, I started my 4th Epic Life Challenge, a 90-day weight-loss contest sponsored by Epicure. On two of those Challenges, I had lost over 30 pounds and had lots of NSV’s (non-scale victories), including a 22 km walk with my sister a couple of months earlier. I’d even been asked – twice – to be used as an inspirational story for the Challenge newsletter. However, after both of these successes, I fell back into old habits and regained the weight and lost the level of fitness that I had worked so hard to achieve. I was certainly not feeling inspirational in any way! The September challenge got underway but I just could not get myself motivated. I had, however, bought myself a beautiful journal … so I started using it to do some serious soul-searching.

Soul-searching results

Through journalling, seeing a physiotherapist and deciding to try a different “diet” approach, November and December were fairly good months – I lost a few pounds and gained some insight:

Keto was not for me – although I lost a few pounds at the beginning, I stayed at a weight plateau for most of the 8 weeks and I knew I wasn’t eating as healthfully as I should be.
Sugar is a drug and I’m an addict – the couple of times I indulged during this Keto period, I was completely unable to have just a bite or two of sugar. Even the smallest bit left me wanting more.
That I already knew how addictive sugar (and other carbs to a slightly lesser extent) was but had never been willing to entertain the idea of giving it up long-term.
My knee pain was not knee pain at all. I went to a physiotherapist for the first time ever – who diagnosed it as weak and tight hamstring muscles.
That following the physio exercises made a big difference in my pain level – which allowed me to start ramping up my exercise.
That I had all the tools and much of the knowledge I needed to make significant and long-term changes to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
That if I didn’t find a way to make a healthy lifestyle permanent, however many years I am blessed to have left would be full of pain and disease instead of health and vitality.
That I am worth the effort of investing the time, money and energy to become the best version of myself that I can be!
That Epicure’s Good Food. Real Results. program works for me and, although I may tweak it a bit for personal preferences, I don’t need to keep looking for the next new weight loss plan.
That 90-day Challenges only motivate me for 90 days and I need to find a permanent source of motivation and inspiration.
That anything I can do to be accountable – telling people, submitting Challenge stats, journalling, Facebook groups, blogging, etc. – helps me.
That frequent weighing – and inevitable plateaus – drive me crazy and serve to demotivate me.

My Plan

Taking into account the things I know about myself from my soul-searching, my plan revolves around the following guidelines:

Healthy eating – which will include meeting with a naturopathic doctor to analyze my diet and discuss potential improvements.
Quit eating a Keto diet but continue to have a bulletproof cocoa for breakfast. This apparently gives 90% of the value of intermittent fasting but does not affect my vision. I tried IF twice before but noticed a deterioration in my visions so will not risk full IF again.
Continue to use my gym membership and increase visits to at least four per week.
Continue walking at least once a day.
Consult with my physiotherapist about increasing length of walks and potentially training for a 10 K walk.
Sign up for January Epic Life Challenge.
Join “My Peak Challenge” for full-year support and motivation.
Find ways to be accountable for going after my goal.

Progress Report – January 20, 2020

I am pleased with my progress for these first few weeks. I know that the beginning (when the weight comes off more quickly) make it easier to stay motivated. I am trying to only weigh in every 1-2 weeks so that I do not get discouraged when that slows down. My results/progress from my first three weeks:

I have been eating healthfully and not feeling deprived in any way.
I have lost 10 pounds. Based on losing 65 more by the end of the year, a continued loss of 1.4 pounds per week will get me to my goal. I truly believe this to be achievable.
My physiotherapist has cleared me to increase walking times and set a goal of walking the TC10K at the end of April.
I have been exercising a minimum of 45 minutes per day and have had several days with 90 minutes or more. I’ve been going to the gym about 4 days per week for a varied workout (recumbent bike, weights and swimming).
I’ve bought a Fitbit.
I had my consultation visit with a naturopath – no major adjustments needed, just a bit of tweaking.
I joined My Peak Challenge. Even though the program doesn’t officially start until February, I am enjoying getting involved with the Facebook group.
I went out of my comfort zone and joined several women from the Vancouver Island Peaker group for a walk and lunch. They were very welcoming and I was really glad I went!
I have told several people about my goal – including Sarah, Sierra, customers and MPC Facebook group.
I’ve started this blog to keep myself accountable and to journal about my journey.

January – month-end check in

I’m very happy with my progress this month. Of course, I always want the pounds to fall off more quickly but know that 11.4 pounds down is a great start. In addition to the weight loss, my eating habits were on point. In fact, the only “cheat” was three tempura shrimp that I bought to tide me over to a late supper. I’ve had virtually no cravings for sweets – if I’m hungry between meals, a few nuts is usually my go-to snack.

Excercise-wise has also been at or beyond my basic goal of 30 minutes a day. I even hit 3 hours of activity one day! My stats are:

Exercise days – 31/31.
Gym days – 17/31 (reached goal of 4 visits per week.
Steps – average 11,926 per day.
Exercise minutes – average 58 minutes per day.
MPC Peak Streak – 20 days of 20+ minutes activity – accomplished.
Registered for TC10K walk (April 26).

My Peak Challenge

Created by actor Sam Heughan (who portrays Jamie Fraser in the binge-worthy “Outlander” series), My Peak Challenge is a unique and inspiring program to help raise funds for several charities while helping people all around the world set and meet personal goals. Although these goals can be for anything, most people are drawn to the program to pursue health and fitness goals. The program is very well thought out – with instructional workout videos (with variations for different fitness abilities), a comprehensive nutritional guide and an extremely positive and supportive members-only Facebook group. There are also lots of local or special interest “Peaker” groups that you can get involved with either online or at special events.

Good Food. Real Results.

As it has proven itself to work for me, I am following Epicure’s “Good Food. Real Results.” food program. The guidelines revolve around three healthy meals and a small dessert. I do a bulletproof cocoa for breakfast so do sometimes have a small handful of nuts at about 11 a.m. to tide me over until lunchtime. Lunch is generally a salad with a protein, a smoothie or a loaded yam (with shredded cabbage, ground turkey and Asian dressing). Supper is more varied but is usually a complex carb (yam or quinoa are my favourites) with veggies and protein. I also use the Epicure meal solutions packages regularly. Dessert is either fruit, Greek yogurt with fruit or occasionally a hot chocolaté or chai tea.

Sugar – my all-time nemesis!

I’ve said it before but will say it again: sugar is a drug and I am an addict! As an addict, I know that I can never be cured. However, recognizing the addiction is the first step in controlling it. I would love to get to the point of being able to have the occasional sweet treat without it derailing me with constant cravings for more. For 2020, however – and forever if absolutely necessary – I am just going to try and avoid it entirely!

A stressful few days

Here is the Coles notes version:

I went to the clinic to get my blood pressure medication renewed 2-3 weeks ago- I don’t have a doctor so hadn’t had bloodwork for a couple of years
Lab work showed overactive thyroid – doctor sent me for additional bloodwork and an ultrasound
Followup appointment on Monday – ultrasound results not in but he gave me a requisition for an ECG – Saanich Hospital was just down the road so I went straight there
Technician did the ECG twice and then strongly recommended that I go down to emergency
I spent 3 hours hooked up to a heart monitor and blood pressure machine as my heartbeat was in atrial fibrillation (not firing normally)- this can apparently be one of the side effects of hyperthyroidism
Once My heart was behaving normally after a couple of IV drugs, they sent me home with three prescriptions – a beta blocker, blood thinner and thyroid medication
I have an appointment with an internal medicine specialist on Friday and may need to be referred to an endocrinologist
Another appointment with the clinic doctor. The ultrasound shows two nodules in my neck. They may benign lumps but he wants to send me for a needle biopsy. I’m not sure when.
I’m trying not to let my brain go to worst-case scenarios – especially as Sarah has already done some research and texted that the Mayo Clinic says 87% of nodules are benign – but I think that is human nature.

Specialist appointment

I met with an internal medicine specialist – a lovely doctor who calmed my fears significantly. Highlights of the consultation:

Tests – more bloodwork and a heart ultrasound.
Additional bloodwork and follow up visit in 5-6 weeks.
Continue thyroid medication at current level and reevaluate after next testing.
Can go back to previous activity levels.
Confirmed that nodules are likely benign and have probably been there for years.
She did a phone consult with an endocrinologist so no need for further specialist visits.
Reassured me that risk of heart attack or stroke is extremely unlikely, even when they discontinue blood thinner meds prior to biopsy.

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