Geez! my posting here has been as erratic as my weightloss (correlation or coincidence... you decide)

The good news is that I've done a lot of experimenting and I've been eating with much more awareness.  I've also been working on my mindset a lot.  I feel like i'm in a really really good place.

Besides doing the NOBS program to get my head in the right place (and too many other things,... it would take hours to explain how I've gotten to where I am now mentally), I've also been reading a LOT of books :D two that I'm kind of focusing on right now are The diet fix and Atomic Habits

Now... if you are a NOBS purist (and I doubt anyone reads this that will care) you'll know that the program is 100% about intuitive eating.  Eat when hungry... stop when full - you can eat anything as long as you've planned for it in your 24 hour plan.

I've deviated from that slightly - I've been writing down my food and tracking calories AFTER I've eaten them.  WHY? cause I suspected that I was under eating.  Now, I hear you say, how can that be if you are following your hunger signals.  Well... let me tell you something about cronic dieters.   We often get REALLY good at ignoring hunger.  We don't realize we're hungry until our body YELLS at us.  Intuitive eating is more about waiting for that 'I think I could eat' signal.  The program used to say.,. if you hunger-full scale was from -10 to +10 then you should eat in the -2 to +2 range.  But, I usually didn't catch my -2.  And I would eat my 1/2 a serving so I could 'listen for enough', and could manage that through most the day... or maybe even for a few days but eventually, by dinner/evening when I was tired and worn down... out would come the feast beast... and I would make up for those missed early calories AND THEN SOME!  

Now, at first I was just suspecting this is what was happening.  But then I started tracking a lot closer and sure enough... that pattern emerged.  So, I set myself some 'minimum calorie' goals for a week and tried that.  I was...O.K. at eating at those goals some days.  On days I didn't eat early... evening overeats.  (though I also realized that overeating at night were worse when I was tired - and eating to try to get energy and stay awake)   my data also told me that my minimum calories could be much higher and I could still lose.  Anyway... I'm making a long story longer... The goal for this week is 2000 calories a day spread over the entire day, with the goal being to lose 1.5 pounds this week (while traveling)

I bring this up because a lot of these ideas came from the diet fix book... 

Now onto the other stuff.

One of my big shifts of late has been to try to take the focus off (just) weight loss (results) and instead on practicing excellent self care (action).  And Atomic habits has so many amazing ideas on how to build do goals that effect your long term goals and build them into habits that happen 'automatically' (or as automatically as possible) it also talks a lot about (as to a lot of other programs) figuring out who you want to be and building a lifestyle that supports that.  That is where I've decided.. what I want to be is someone who practices exceptional self care and I've tried to think of what that looks like.

I think a BIG one is self care means minimizing minimizing my chances for stroke, heart disease and diabetes.  

Self care also means:

Creating and maintaining healthy relationships with myself and others

Seeking Love, Joy, Peace, Patients, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness and Self Control

I know.. those are all VERY BIG.. VERY WooWoo goals to some extent.  But I plan on refining

as I said, the big one is #1 taking care of my health.  specifically around stroke and my blood pressure (which is not in a good place) 

My last home test had my three measurement average at 154/96 Goal #1 is  less then 130/80 ultimate goal 120/80

Most suggestions around lowering blood pressure involve implementing some habits...and so these are the ones I want to do:

1) Exercise More: 

American Heart Association (AHA) advises moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity for 40-minute sessions, three to four times per week

Becoming more active can lower both your top and bottom blood pressure numbers. How much lower isn't entirely clear, but studies show reductions from 4 to 12 mm Hg diastolic and 3 to 6 mm Hg systolic.

2) Lose Weight:

A 2016 review of several studies reported that weight loss diets reduced blood pressure by an average of 3.2 mm Hg diastolic and 4.5 mm Hg systolic (11Trusted Source).

3) Cut Back on Refined Sugar and Refined Carbs (may also help with #2)

A 2012 analysis of low-carb diets and heart disease risk found that these diets lowered blood pressure by an average of 3.10 mm Hg diastolic and 4.81 mm Hg systolic (13).

4) Eat more potassium

Many fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in potassium:

Bananas, oranges, cantaloupe, honeydew, apricots, grapefruit (some dried fruits, such as prunes, raisins, and dates, are also high in potassium), Cooked spinach, Cooked broccoli, Potatoes, Sweet potatoes, Mushrooms, Peas, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Pumpkins, Leafy greens

5) Eat less Process Foods

I need to define what this means...

6) Eat some Dark Chocolate 

(OK if you say so!)

But the dark chocolate should be 60 to 70 percent cacao.

7) Sleep

The national Sleep Heart Health Study found that regularly sleeping less than 7 hours a night and more than 9 hours a night was associated with an increased prevalence of hypertension. Regularly sleeping less than 5 hours a night was linked to a significant risk of hypertension long term (30)

8) Eat Garlic

One 2012 review noted a study of 87 people with high blood pressure that found a diastolic reduction of 6 mm Hg and a systolic reduction of 12 mm Hg in those who consumed garlic, compared to people without any treatment (32Trusted Source).

9) Eat Healthy High Protein

A long-term study concluded in 2014 found that people who ate more protein had a lower risk of high blood pressure. For those who ate an average of 100 grams of protein per day, there was a 40 percent lower risk of having high blood pressure than those on a low-protein diet (33). Those who also added regular fiber into their diet saw up to a 60 percent reduction of risk.

10) Drink Less Alcohol

It’s important to drink in moderation. Alcohol can raise your blood pressure by 1 mm Hg for each 10 grams of alcohol consumed (40). A standard drink contains 14 grams of alcohol.

What constitutes a standard drink? One 12-ounce beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits (41).

Moderate drinking is up to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks per day for men (42).

One drink a day means a weekly intake of seven total of the above....

Now.. to boil these into habits and apply the atomic habit laws to each.

HOWEVER!!! this is NOT going to be a pile on everything, do it all for three days and then have four days of 'fuck it' and then start over.  I'm going to take it slow.  as hard as it is for me to say/do that... I WILL take it slow and implement change within my tolerance apply the NOBS tools and the Think Feel Do Cycle as I go.