In reflecting upon the year that was 2021, I think about the people who impacted my life. Why are these people my favorites? What did I learn about them this year? The list is long and perhaps too long for a blog post. If a picture is worth a thousand words, this blog post is 1000 words long because of these people. My favorites in a picture.
There are others that make my favorite list. Rather than list them here, I will write notes to them over the next few days. Perhaps you can do the same.
As 2021 comes to a close, I plan to spend some time reflecting upon the year that was and the year that will be. Likewise, I plan to share some of my thoughts here. I also hope that you take the time to reflect.
This list is not exhaustive. It includes many of my favorite moments from 2021. My initial list was very short. But as I thought about the past year, I recognized all the great moments that happened this past year. What are your greatest moments of 2021?
“Forgiveness does not change the past but it does enlarge the future.” Paul Lewis Boese
I’ve written about the importance of focus and facts. The why and the how are essential to creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In future posts, I will write more on each.
Today, I want to briefly touch on the topic that brings it all together. Forgiveness is essential if you are going to succeed. There are too many distractions, temptations, stressors, and other factors which cause us to lose focus. You will stumble and make mistakes in this journey. You must be able to move on when this happens.
According to one dictionary, forgiveness is “to stop feeling anger about (something) : to forgive someone for (something wrong)” Christian tradition talks about the importance of forgiving others who commit sins. The forgiveness allows you to move past the incident in which you were wronged. Forgiving others is essential to a healthy life.
But this post is not about forgiving others. Others didn’t force you to make unhealthy choices. You make the unhealthy choices. You make mistakes. You must learn to forgive yourself when you make the mistakes. Learn from your mistakes but don’t dwell. Learning to forgive yourself slows you to grow your future and move on.
This time of year is challenging. Between the temptation of Christmas parties and Christmas cookies, weight loss is hard. I remember this time last year. I had made good progress in my weight loss journey. Then came Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I deviated from my meal plan. I ate mostly foods that are not healthy. They tasted good but they weren’t healthy.
After Christmas, I stepped on the scale and was devastated. I had gained 8 pounds in a matter of a couple of days. At that moment, I could have given up and said it wasn’t worth it. Instead, I forgave myself for over indulging. I reminded myself that spending time with people that I love eating good food is a good thing. Further, Christmas only comes once a year (except on the Hallmark channel). Fix the problem and move on.
I recommitted to my journey and began anew. I focused on eating healthy again. I explored why such a significant weight gain occurred in such a short period of time. Most of the weight was retained water. I’ve learned that some foods, particularly prepackaged and restaurant foods, contain a lot of sodium. When I eat this kind of food, I quickly gain a large amount of weight. Also, cheese. Really good cheese.
I continued to drink my daily water, eat natural foods, and control my portions. The result was instant. Within a few days, the weight I had gained over Christmas was gone. And I was back on the path to a healthy life. It set me back a week but that’s okay. What is a week compared to a lifetime.
I had a similar experience a couple weekends ago. My wife and I went out of town to visit our son at college. We ate out, drank beer, and had a wonderful time. Yet, upon my return home I was discouraged when I stepped on the scale. But again, I forgave myself and committed to eating healthy again. Things were back to normal within a couple of days.
As you wind through the Christmas season, take moments to enjoy friends and family. Go ahead and eat that cookie. Just don’t eat three cookies. And, if you do eat three cookies, forgive yourself and move on. Your goal should be excellence not perfection.
Over the past couple of months I have blogged about the mindset I needed to achieve my healthier life. In my opinion, mindset is the most important factor. If your mind is not in the game, you will never win.
I have been asked hundreds of times, “How did you do it?” My short answer is eat less. My body burns calories to keep itself going. I consume calories for my body to burn. If I can consume fewer calories than I burn on a consistent basis, I will lose weight. Unless there is some metabolic issue, it really is that simple.
However, there are challenges in finding the right mix of calories. You need calories that sustain you, satisfy you, and are good for you. You need to balance your physical cravings against your emotional cravings. This is not easy.
When I started this journey, I knew I needed help. I needed a tool. As I indicated in previous posts, I have read mini “diet” books. Those books provided short term but not long-term success. I considered Sanford Profile because it has a local presence. I know several people have had success with Profile. Many seem to have short term not long-term success. One person told me “Profile has worked every time I have used it.” After checking into it, I determined Sanford Profile is a solid program. It is backed by science and supported by health professionals. I did not go with Profile because I felt the upfront and ongoing costs were too high. Further, I did not like the calorie restriction that was recommended as I thought it was too restrictive. Finally, I am not a fan of shake based diets. With the above being said, I would encourage people to look at Profile as it may be a good fit for you.
The program I chose was Noom. I had seen multiple advertisements for it. I researched it by reading several articles and reviews. All of the reviews seemed to check the boxes that I was looking for. First, Noom appears safe and backed by proven scientific methods. Second, Noom provides good results. Third, Noom is a fully supported and integrated app. Fourth, Noom doesn’t require subscription to special supplements or shakes. Fifth, Noom is affordable AND there was a 14 day trial period.
If you are interested in using Noom, you can use this link to sign up. This link will give you 20% off and you get a free trial. If you use this link and become a subscriber, I do receive a benefit. I will use the value of any initial proceeds to pay for this subscription to host this blog. All further proceeds will be donated to Dakotabilities where my brother lives.
Over the next few entries, I will write more about Noom. It is not a “perfect” system. However, it is a very good system and it worked for me. Recently, I resubscribed to Noom to help me lose the last 15 pounds of my new goal.
A couple of things about Noom. First, it is based on psychology and science. There is time spent setting goals and discussing the battles inside your mind. Second, it requires a commitment of 10-20 minutes per day. In addition to daily short readings, you must track your food, water and exercise. For many this can be daunting. Third, the app is very good. Having tried to track in the past, Noom is the easiest app I have used to track food. Most of the food at my local grocery stores are in the Noom database. Finally, a favorite feature of the app is the green, yellow, red food categories. Long story short, you want to eat more green than yellow or red. Further, there are no “prohibited” foods.
We often overlook the people that we care about the most. Perhaps we take these people for granted. Take time today to be grateful for family. Tell them how important they are to you and how grateful you are to have them in your life.
Today is Thanksgiving. It is a day where we celebrate the blessings of the last year. I plan to spend the day eating with my family, watching football, and cleaning the house for The Gathering. I’m going to take several moments to be grateful for the gifts of the last year.
Here are a few things I am grateful for, over the last year:
I am grateful for those who read this blog. What are you grateful for? Today, I challenge you to make a gratitude list and post it.
“To live would be an awfully big adventure.” Peter Pan
Today focus on the greatest gift we have – the gift of life. Simply being alive is a gift. The world isn’t perfect nor am I. It is easy to focus on the negative and what we don’t have. Today, take moments to be grateful that you are alive.
Short post today – Today, the weather forecast for the upper plains is unseasonably warm with no precipitation. I am grateful for this weather today. My youngest son is driving home from college. Additionally, my students will driving home for Thanksgiving break today. With the great weather forecast, my son and my students should have fewer problems getting home. For that, I am grateful. I also hope to take a walk outside and enjoy the weather.
Everything is better after the Minnesota Vikings defeat the Green Packers. Also, it is Thanksgiving week. For many in the US, this means at least one day off from work, spending time with family and friends, shopping, and overeating. It also means that one can begin to listen to Christmas tunes.
My Thanksgivings as an adult are not the same as those of my youth. Growing up, our family celebrated Thanksgiving with another family (in later years, we added another family). We rotated which family hosted the meal. After the meal, the kids would play games while the adults debated and solved the problems of the world. I really miss those Thanksgivings. I am so grateful for those Thanksgivings.
In recent years, my family and parents in-law have gathered for a Thanksgiving meal often while watching the Detroit Lions play. We will do the same this year. In addition, my wife’s extended family gets together on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for what is known as The Gathering. The Gathering usually consists of three generations brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins. Usually there are about 25-30 people in one place telling stories, eating, and laughing. Though it has been a part of my life for over 20 years, it still feels like a new tradition to me.
This year, we are hosting The Gathering. It is a lot of work to prepare for the event. My wife does an amazing job of coordinating all the details. And so our week will be spent preparing and gathering with family.
This year, I am looking forward to this week. Our youngest child be home for a few days. We will get at least two fantastic meals. We will spend time with family and friends. So today, I am grateful for the week to come. I am also grateful that Vikings defeated the Packers What’s something you look forward to in the future?
I read this quote the other day “When in doubt, just say thank you. There is no downside. Are you honestly worried about showing too much gratitude to the people in your life?” It made me think do I say thank you enough? The answer is no. There is little downside to showing too much gratitude
Today, pay attention to how many times you say thank you. Make an effort to say it more often and see what happens to your mood and those around you.
Thank you to those who read this blog. It probably helps me more than it helps others. But I am grateful to be able to share some of my stories.
Sireadh Toileachas 
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