Accountability: Goal Checkup after 6 months

I cannot believe that 2016 is half over.  Where did the time go?  It is time, once again, to check in with you, my accountability partners, on my 2016 goals and to confess how I am doing.  After 6 months, I still do not have the ripped body in the picture above, but I am still working on it.  This is the longest that I have stuck to a New Year’s resolution and feel physically, emotionally and spiritually great.  Let us start with the visual proof:

Here are some of the statistics since I started at the beginning of the year – I have lost 12 pounds, reduced my waist by 4 inches (the same since March), and 2 inches have gone from my hips (the same since March).  In terms of body fat percentage, I have gone from 18.5% to 13.4%.  I still exercise at home 15-20 minutes 4 days during the week and go to the gym with Debbie on the weekend.  This past week, however, I have had some knee issues; so I have done no exercises and was surprised to realize that I missed it from my routine.

Exercising has been important to transforming my body (and the continuing improvements), but there was definitely a change in my eating habits that have helped significantly.  I have read a few books on eating healthy, listened to people talk and have some modified version.  My basic diet is:

• 2 eggs for breakfast – this is seven days a week.  I mix it up with scrambled (plain or seasoned), hard-boiled or an omelet.
• Salad for lunch – this is what I usually get during the work week.  Includes a hard-boiled egg,  broccoli, black beans, and then a variety depending on the day.  There is no meat in the salad and no fruits.  Good for roughage, which I found out that my body might need some help with as I get older.
• Chicken, fish or beef (with veggies) for dinner.

I have done away with the sugars (for the most part) from my eating habits.  Ends up that is the one thing that added to my girth.  I have not removed completely.  I do have one cheat day (or as a friend refers to as a Treat Day), where I might have a small scoop of ice cream.   The same goes for starches and carbs.  I am not running, will never fool myself into being a runner, so there is no need for me to have the quick energy blast.

What it really comes down to is making wise choices.  What we put in our mouths, how we treat our bodies and have the mindset to stay focused on our physical outcomes, is what makes the biggest differences.  We are constantly bombarded by commercials showing food advertisements to places I will not eat at.  We constantly see places that might not sell the healthiest of foods as we walk down the street.  Is that food VERY TASTY – yes.  Is it healthy for you – not as much as you might think.  It all comes down to choices.  If you choose to become a healthy specimen, you have to do what is necessary.  I was once taught 3 key words – Be, Do and Have.  To be what you want to be, you must do the things (i.e., make appropriate sacrifices) so that you can have what you want.