jeklynhyde

See Me
in a Year

Posted by Jeklyn Hyde on 2023-08-14
Read Time: 3 Minutes

So, I'm 35 now. I've been letting myself go a lot recently. It came to head a couple days ago when my sister and I weighed ourselves when she was visiting for dinner. She was in the 190 range and I was 188. This is after eating a full dinner and dessert and having many drinks around the table. But it helped to serve as a wake-up call.

See Me in a Year

I don't know what switch flips in my head that I can start to take care of myself more easily, but it certainly does feel like a toggle of some sort. I go from feeling unwilling or unable to practice moderation in alcohol and food consumption, to being filled with willpower and determination.

I weighed myself again on a subsequent morning after a bowel movement and was closer to 182. Just now I measured myself with skin fold calipers and am somewhere between 33 and 34% body fat.

My goal is to make my 36th trip around the sun to be my best shape year (which means I have to start working on it now). I want to aim for 140 lbs with body fat around 20-25%. That gives me a year to drop about 40 lbs. My long-term goal, as always, is to instill myself with better habits for a more natural, easier to maintain healthier lifestyle. I have gotten down to 140 before as an adult. Here's my chance to do it again.

Image Date & Alt Text: 2023-07-28

A selfie of Jeklyn Hyde in a public restroom mirror, standing at a sideways angle so that part of their backside is visible. They are wearing a pink motorcycle helmet with the purple face shield opened so you can see their face, leather chaps over black leggings with the text “Just Don’t” in red on the waistband, and a Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon album graphic T-Shirt.

For a long time, I have wanted to be fit and muscular. I go through bouts of regular exercise and meal planning and then end up falling off and letting myself go again. 

I don't think I want to go for pure bodybuilder status, because although it's nice to look at, it's not a practical lifestyle for me. I'm willing to commit 30 minutes a day to some kind of exercise activity. I haven't done this yet, but I think walking every day is a really good idea.

As a work from home employee, my amount of movement in a day has been wildly reduced. I wasn't getting much before, but now it's almost zero except for the activity I choose. Another point to note to myself: I used to drive an hour to and from work four days a week, I can afford to spend a fraction of that time to devote to self-maintenance.

In the same vein, I think I should start my day with a walk as if I am walking to work. If I do nothing else, I will at least have done that bare minimum. Maybe it will help wake me up too. I don't know, I've never tried it. Then I could potentially do another walk after work if I'm feeling like it, as it would be a good separator between working hours and free time.

That and I really do need to wake up earlier. I've always been a night owl, but I would really benefit from getting up earlier and maintaining that time on free days.

I am naturally inclined toward improving myself and my surroundings, but I often find myself floundering because I don't have specific goals set or a priority order for the things I want to accomplish. I get distracted from things frequently and have trouble staying with my determinations for the long run. So I am hoping that setting this 36 goal will help keep redirecting my focus back to my goal and keep me on target.

When I hit that mark, I will reassess and set additional future goals to help keep myself on a healthy path.