Irony

I've spent the last week psyching myself up for going to the gym. I went out and bought two new fitness outfits and a new combo lock.
I pep talked myself, read fitness blogs, looked at photos of fitness models and got excited about getting into working out again.
Ironically, I did something strange to my lower back yesterday and now it hurts to stand up and even walk.
I guess the pep talks will have to continue for a while longer.

Shift of focus

I'm terrible about keeping up with blogs. I have the attention span of a housefly, coupled with extreme laziness.
However, I find that my weight loss journey completely stalled right around the time I went to Burning Man.
You see, I knew that I would not be able to manage what I ate very effectively in such a hostile environment. Who wants to think about how many sodas you've consumed when you're in the middle of the desert and your whole body is busy freaking out about theheat, sun, and dust storms?
I naturally assumed that this week of hardcore living might actually be good for the waistline, seeing as how food is usually fairly spartan in preparation and availability there and you ride your bike around everywhere.
Sadly, this Burning Man was also the year that we expirmented with storing meat in the deep freezer and bringing out a portable gas grill.
I gained 8 pounds while at Burning Man.
Shortly after Burning Man, I was surprised with a trip to Paris for my birthday, which included several fine dining experiences.
I sort of gave up trying to count and monitor what I ate at that point.
Life just... you know... gets in the way, sometimes.
Keeping a regular fitness regime is even harder for me, seeing as how I've always been sort of pre-disposed to long naps and bouts of excessive laziness.
So now, it's time for me to jump back into healthy routines and goal-setting.
I don't want to be obsessed here, but I also don't want to live with the same looming beast of obesity that my mother and granmother do.
I truly, deeply want to be that super energetic woman who truly loves working out and being physically active.
It's time to catalog what worked for me in the past and what didn't and see if I can make some sense of what I'm doing here, and what will work best in the future.
In a sense, I'm fortunate.. I have a max of 50 lbs I should lose, and only 30 to be considered within the "normal" range... This is a very small number when compared with the weight loss challenges some people face.

So, let's start with what's worked for me in the past:
1. Eating Clean.. making 70% or more of my meals consist of fresh fruits and veggies and/or whole grains. Cutting dairy down to 1 serving a day and meats to less than 3 times a week. Refraining from processed foods and refined sugars whenever possible
2. Bringing lunch to work so I know exactly how much is in what I'm eating
3. Moderate working out with an emphasis on strength training at least 3x a week
4. Counting everything that goes into my mouth. Not eating it if I don't know how to count it.
5. Staying active and interested in fitness, nutrition and weight loss communities online

What hasn't worked:
1. Gluten-free, Vegan, or No carb diets
2. Hoodia
3. Telling myself that appearance doesn't matter (it may not actually matter in the great grand scheme of things, but I'm kind of shallow, and it matters to me A LOT)
4. "Intuitive" eating. Sadly, my intuition tells me that it's ok to eat pizza and cheeseburgers every day.
5. Obsessive self-recrimination. Unsurprisingly, this is demotivating.