All The Things I’ve Stopped (Part 2 of 9)

I'm going to bet that a few people thought that I failed at finishing this blog series, much like the projects that are going to be mentioned in this blog series. But that is not the case! I did want to finish the Blogging Heroes blog post before continuing with the series, and I got that done last week. Then, I decided to keep my personal blogging to one to two times a week, unless things change in my life. The last thing I need is to pile on more responsibilities, and I'd like to ensure that this blog doesn't end up in "failed and forgotten" bin again. So, I'm keeping my blogging schedule to something manageable so it fits in with the rest of my life and I don't get burnt out from overextending myself.

What Is SuperBetter Again?

SuperBetter is an online game designed to help players get better at "something." Since the founder, Jane McGonigal, founded the game after suffering a severe concussion, many of the "somethings" are health-related. For example, there is a "Power Pack" in the game designed for eating healthier and losing weight (and a multitude of other health issues) called the Full Plate Diet.

With this pack, the player completes a series of quests to help them get better at eating healthier and losing weight. There are bad guys that need to be overcome, such as drinking liquid calories or having no fiber-strong foods for meal. To help you complete quests and conquer bad guys, you can enlist allies (such as your family and friends, or maybe a nutritionist) to help you. There are also power ups, which are actions that the player can take to get stronger and to do better against the quests and bad guys. Hopefully, the player completes all the quests, has lost some weight, and is much better at eating healthier than they were before.

Naturally, those same steps would happen with any Power Pack. The only differences are the types of quests, the types of bad guys, the types of power ups, and perhaps who you might choose as an ally (like switching out the nutritionist for a physical therapist or life coach). The idea is to turn healing and recovery into a game.

Why I Stopped Playing the SuperBetter Game

To be honest, I got bored with the game. After I completed the Full Plate Diet pack, I found little value in continuing the game with the other packs. The Full Plate Diet pack was a great pack and I don't regret doing it, even though I still have room for improvement. The main complaint I have about SuperBetter is that there's very little "re-playability" after you finish or take on your primary health problem. There aren't many people who want to eat healthier, but also need to recover from a sports injury and work on their migraines. Once that person starts eating healthier, the other two problems may become less of an issue.

It's possible to create your own pack, and customize the game toward something that you do want to improve, but that takes time and research that I didn't really want to put in. As much as I liked the thought of, say, creating a Power Pack to improve my poker game, I wasn't enthused enough about SuperBetter to start "modding" the game. It would have been nice if a modding community formed around the game, so that half the packs available weren't geared towards those recovering from a concussion, but I didn't have the time, enthusiasm, or skill set to start creating my own power ups, bad guys, and quests.

I stopped in the middle of a Power Pack called, "Better Than a Chill Pill," which is meant to lower stress, to combat anxiety. or to relax more easily so that you can sleep better. I think I originally chose this quest to lower my stress and to sleep a bit better. I don't think I have a problem with either now. I would say my new problem is that I sleep too much. I need a Power Pack to help me get out of bed, start the day, and to be excited about the day. I don't need a chill pill. I need an awakening pill.

I Might Restart with SuperBetter

They have added a few new Power Packs since I stopped, and one of them looks really interesting. It's called "Make It Epic", and it's designed to help you improve your motivation and persistence. There's another one called "Absurdly Grateful", which is to help you focus on gratitude, which also looks pretty neat. But, instead of starting a new pack, I should probably restart some of the old packs. I could certainly use a reboot on the Full Plate Diet to improve my eating habits and to lose a little more weight. Naturally, I could always do another run of "Being Awesome", even though I haven't been diagnosed with depression or psoriasis, and don't have too many problems with anxiety.

But, then again, maybe not. I don't need more things to do. Besides, I am working with my business coach, and she's giving me plenty to help me get super better at all sorts of things. I don't need two tools in my life accomplishing the same thing. That's why I got rid of the bullet journal. I also don't need more tasks to add onto my to-do lists. My life already provides me plenty of quests, bad guys, and power ups.

3 Things I Could Do to Come Out of My Comfort Zone

In a previous post, I discussed how I was supposed to do something that takes me out of my comfort zone. I did that something, but felt like I could have done something more or better. I still feel that way, but I haven't taken any time since then to think about the risk I should take. So, I'm taking that time now, and like with my to-learn list, I'm going to commit to one of them and come up with a short action plan to take this risk. Below are a few ideas:

Learn to Drive Stick with My Fiance

I hate driving. I really hate driving. I hate driving more than cleaning up my cat's poop. My fiance has offered several times to teach me how to drive stick so that I can use his car when I need it. I haven't taken him up on the offer because I hate driving. If I learn how to drive stick, then going to the bank wouldn't be such a hassle. It would also be easier to get to new coffee shops and to review them.

Work at the Library

I got to the library regularly, but only to borrow books. I've never actually gone there to spend a few hours getting some work done. This would be something new for me, and would be out of my comfort zone because I'm afraid the library might be too quiet. When it's too quiet, research has shown that it's not good for creativity and concentration. The library is probably not that quiet, but it's worth a shot to work here, especially since I don't have to buy anything to stay awhile.

Organize a Private Screening of Half the Sky

As a Half the Sky Ambassador, one of the things that I'm supposed to do is organize a screening of the movie. I'm in the middle of doing that now with the St. Louis chapter of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, but I do need to do a screening on my own. I think I could do a private screening with a few friends, or with my old business coach and a few others from that network. Or, I could break the mold even more and do a public screening.

What I'm Going to Do to Come Out of My Comfort Zone

I think I'm going to do the first one: Learn to Drive Stick with My Fiance. I think it's the one that I need to do the most, and at least with this one I get to do it with someone. Once I get used to driving stick, then perhaps the next thing to do to come out of my comfort zone is to drive to the office or to drive out to the county to review a coffee shop. Or, I could drive somewhere at night. I haven't driven at night for a really long time.

I've Completed One of My September Goals!

Now that I've gotten through the tough stuff, let's talk about the fun stuff. Last week, I made a list of my September goals. I've made progress on some of the, but I actually completed one of them: I have over $100 in my poker bankroll! I've moved up in stakes and it's a wonderful feeling. Creating those charts has helped, and I've made one per day for the past few days. I think I only have one left, and I still haven't created a chart today, so once I finish this chart I can continue reading Harrington on Hold 'Em. It's awesome to accomplish goals.

Why It's Easy to Overeat When Eating Out

And 7 Solutions to Keep Your Appetite in Check

My SuperBetter quests to eat healthier have come back, and today's question is to evaluate why it's so easy overeat when eating and to come up with solutions to those reasons. For the purpose of this exercise, I'm going to define eating out as actually sitting down at the restaurant or fast food joint to eat. This isn't going to include takeout, delivery, or eating the leftovers the next day. Here are two main reasons why it's so easy to overeat, and 7 solutions you can do to stop yourself from eating too much the next time you choose to indulge (hint: one of these solutions isn't to stop eating out all together. That's just no fun and everyone deserves a little fun in life):

Portions are Huge, and No One Wants to Waste

Sometimes, the best places to eat out offer huge portions at a great price. Others upsell, where for just a dollar more you get a larger drink or an extra side. Every now and then, it's just a lot of food. The point is that it's easy to overeat when eating out because, well, there's a lot of food to eat. Here are a few solutions to the huge portions problem:

1. Don't Go for the Upsell - Sure you get something more for just a dollar more, but you also save a dollar by sticking with your original order.
2. Cut the Liquid Calories - Drink water and water only. It fills you up without adding to the calorie count. A bonus trick is to drink a whole glass of water before having your meal, whether at the restaurant or before you go.
3. Be Willing to Take Something Home - Some people have a thing against leftovers, which is just stupid. Another excuse I hear is, "this doesn't reheat well." If it's delicious, and you can't eat it all, then just take it home. I like the idea of having a second meal that I don't have to cook and can just throw in the microwave.
4. Stop Eating When You Are Full - If there isn't enough there to take home for an additional meal, then you don't have to eat it all. The best way to avoid overeating is not overeat, and to not force yourself to clean your plate because that's the right or polite thing to do.

It's Easy to Go Overboard with Dessert/Appetizers/the Free Bread etc.

Another way to overeat is to order too much food by having additional courses, or not paying attention to all those rolls, bread sticks, fill-in-the-blank free food in the basket. Here are a few solutions to that problem:

1. Split the Dessert- Sometimes, the desserts can be pretty big themselves. Desserts are part of the fun when eating out, and eating out should be fun. To avoid overeating, split the dessert with someone. If it's something like cake or cheesecake, then only eat half and save the other half for another day (I grant that might be hard to do with ice cream).
2. Skip It All Together - Part of the reason to eat out is to have dessert, or to try that delicious new appetizer.  But, the additional courses don't help if you're trying to watch your weight and not overeat. Instead, pass and eat all of your main course.
3. Ask the Waiter/Waitress to Stop Refilling the Bread - No one thinks to do this because it's turning away free stuff, and probably because no one thinks to do this. But, if you're full, or if you want to avoid overeating, then let that food go to someone else.

Thinking about Being Awesome, and About Doing It

Lately, it's felt like I've lost identity capital, that I haven't done or accomplished much over the past few months. I've actually completed my SuperBetter quests to be more awesome (it was a very small Power Pack) and I don't think I'm any more awesome than I was before I started. Granted, I still haven't done the task to come out of my comfort zone, and that's probably part of the problem. But, that's certainly not the whole story here.

I Think I Need to Revisit My Empowering Beliefs

It's been a long time since I recited my empowering beliefs about money and my empowering beliefs about myself. I think I've lost touch with a lot of things, which is mainly why things have gotten a bit out of control. Yes, one of the things I lost touch with was time, but I think I lost touch with a lot of things over these past few months. To get back into gear, here are my empowering beliefs about myself, of which I need to read more often. At the very least, this establishes more control over my thoughts and self-confidence.

• I, hereby, delete these negative beliefs from my system at the source. Now, I can replace them with empowering beliefs about myself. J
• I am awesome. I am an amazing human rights activist, a phenomenal writer, and an even better person. I am destined to change the world.
• I am agnesamurphy, a budding poker phenom who is constantly improving at everything she does. I am well-liked because I am lots of fun at the table and away from the table.
• I am a great businesswoman running a great business. It’s only a matter of time before it’ll be unthinkable NOT to care about Stirring Media, LLC.
• Someone I don’t even know loves me right now. I do more for this world and for people close to me than I could ever imagine.

I Think I Need to Revisit Identity Capital Too

When that was the theme of this blog, things were going well here and I felt like I had a lot more to say too. I tried to change things up because I didn't like the idea of turning this into a personal diary, but in trying to change I haven't actually changed the scope all that much. I might go back to that topic, as there is something valuable there for people and something that I can discuss and chronicle in a way that's helpful and engaging. The idea of building identity capital is one more thing that I can add to my life to bring it back together and to go back to setting goals, revisiting my marketing plan, measuring what I'm doing, and improving my skills. I could also use a coaching session with my business coach for good measure, or even just a good lunch.

Building identity capital, one day at a time, isn't a bad idea right now for this blog (and my life).

Streamlining Your Awesome

Supposedly, there are only two things you do each day: things you like doing/are good at and things you hate doing/are not good at. Streamlining your awesome(ness) means thinking about the things that fall into the latter category and finding a way to do them less or to have someone else do them. As part of today's SuperBetter quest, I am to write down three things in each category, and for one thing in the hate/not good at category, I am to delegate it or stop doing it all together.

Three Tasks and Activities that I'm Good At/Like Doing

1. Blogging - I love writing and blogging, which is obvious. I wouldn't do it as a hobby, and for a living, if I didn't love it. I also wouldn't be able to make any money from it if I wasn't any good at it.
2. Poker - Naturally, poker would be on this list. I'm better than most, and I'm working very hard on improving my skills and building my bankroll. I do need to work on taking time to study the game, as I still need to finish Harrington on Hold 'Em, take time to review hands and work on my ranges.
3. Goal Setting - I love setting goals, thinking about the future, and taking small action steps toward my goals. Being driven and hopeful hasn't exactly been a problem for me.

Three Tasks and Activities that I'm Not Good At/Hate Doing

1. Accounting - I'm not too good at the bookkeeping when it comes to the business. I often miss an expense, and never have the final total quite right.
2. Setting and Keeping a Routine - I've never been one for routines, doing the same thing day in and day out and keeping myself to a structured schedule. It was easier to do while I was in school, since someone is expecting you to be there
3. Cooking - I'm not very good at cooking, and I'm not fond of doing it either. Never been all that interested in it, even when I went vegan and focused on changing my diet. Cooking makes a vegan diet easier to adhere too, but cooking often takes a lot of prep work. That's the part I really don't like.

What Will Be Delegated or Stopped

Well, I'm not delegating or stopping the cooking, that's for sure. Both are too expensive in the long run, and not cooking means I'll be eating out and eating processed foods. Either of those aren't all I can't stop the accounting either. I could delegate it to a virtual assistant or something, which wouldn't be too expensive, but that's money the business doesn't have right now. It's something that would be doing in the future. So, I guess that leaves the routine, which I feel is somehow the hardest to stop/delegate, even though it's the only option of the three listed.

Between stopping and delegating, I supposed I'm going to have to stop having a routine, which actually sounds confusing. It sounds like I'm going to have no schedule and no control over my time, which doesn't seem healthy or constructive in any way. I certainly can't delegate my routine, or delegate that task to someone else. It's a burden no one wants; keeping track of my schedule and telling me to do certain things and certain times. I don't think I have enough going on and enough strains on my time to have such an assistant.

So, how do you stop having a routine? There's still things that you have to do each day and have to do on certain days. I suppose I can change it up and do something new or different every day. But, if I did that every day, then doesn't it become routine as well? I don't know how this is going to work.

I Don't Think I Took a Big Enough Risk

As part of my new set of SuperBetter quests to be better at being awesome, I am to reflect on my experience coming out of my comfort zone. Quite frankly, I think I need to this whole thing over because I didn't take a big enough risk. I need a bigger risk, something that is a big more challenging to my comfort zone.

What I Actually Did

For my "risk" and 'coming-out-of-the-comfort-zone' task, I decided to go to Lab1500 for my early morning meeting. I haven't been to Lab1500 for a while, so going there has become something that would be out of my comfort zone. Also, my early morning meeting is also part of that as well, since I don't do much in the early morning and meetings are always nerve-wracking for me.

Even though my meeting went well, and was very auspicious about the future, the entire risk and task was awful. Since I've been on a night owl schedule for about four months now, doing anything at 8:30 a.m. is very difficult. It was especially difficult that day because I didn't really sleep. I got into bed and tossed and turned for several hours, only to give up, get up, and do what I need to do for this meeting. Because of this, I wasn't at Lab1500 for all that long. I was too tired to be productive, and I could tell. I felt tired, I acted tired, and I looked tired (that was the kicker that told me I needed to go home).

How It All Was

The meeting was totally worth it. I got some free coffee samples, of which I will review in the coming weeks and publishing onto Gateway Grounds. It's likely that I'll get some additional samples in the future, as well as some much-needed traffic as part of this partnership. Going to Lab1500 was also worth it, as I was able to sort out some event planning logistics for the St. Louis chapter of the Young Ambassadors for Opportunity. It was also nice to be back there, even for a just a short while, since I hadn't been there in a long time. Good things happened as a result of this 'risk', except for the lack of sleep. Emotionally and mentally, I was fine with the whole thing. I'll do it again, but I'd like to do something different and/or bigger that doesn't involve a lack of sleep or a huge disruption to my schedule.

What I'll Do for My Next Risk

What I did was a good start, and it would have been a better start if I committed to going three days in a row (which I still might do). However, I think I need to do something that's farther out of my comfort zone, as this last one was just a kind of coming out. I don't think it was really hard enough. I need to do something like go for a run at Tower Grove Park, or hop on the bus to review a coffee shop, or perhaps set up some phone interviews for some blog posts. All of those would be coming out of my comfort zone, as they've all been things I've been putting off or have been thinking about doing but haven't done yet. The magic happens when you venture outside your comfort zone. I need to do more magic and make more things happen.

Me and My Comfort Zone

I'm pretty much done with using SuperBetter to eat healthier, and as a whole, I think I've established a few more good eating habits. I'm conscious of including a fiber-rich food with each meal and of avoiding processed foods since they don't have fiber (or much of anything when it comes to nutrition). I've finished all the quests for the Power Pack, so I've started a new Power Pack on being awesome. One of my quests is to evaluate my relationship with my comfort zone. In a nutshell, I've always been in favor of coming out of my comfort zone and of avoiding the safe and easy routes as much as possible. However, I do think I could do a better job of coming out of that zone.

Falling into a Routine

In regards to my comfort zone, I think that it's very easy to fall into a routine or a normal way of doings things. This makes things that are out of that routine a bit stressful, even if they are small things or things that I've done before. For example, phone calls, meetings, and interviews are always stressful to me, even though I've done them many times before and have done them well. They're only stressful because I don't do them all the time, but because they overwhelm me, I might put off that phone call or find a way to email that person instead of calling them. I do need to work on this. I don't know if having them happen more often will help. I used to cold call people as a part-time job. It never got any more fun or less stressful with each day of work.

I think this is also the case in normal business operations and getting a startup going. It takes innovation to make something happen, but it's very easy to get caught up in what needs to be done with each day. It can also be tough to take chances since you don't want to lose everything you've built up to this point, or to waste money on something that doesn't work or that doesn't end up as successful as you hoped. It's true that starting a business requires a huge leap out of the comfort zone, but I do think it takes subsequent leaps and jumps to keep that business going and to turn it into something big.

How Often am I In the Comfort Zone?

Probably more often than I think, as you can jump out of it to do something, but then if you don't make any more leaps after that, you essentially just move the comfort zone instead of coming out of it. I suppose the tricky thing is keeping track of the line and knowing where your comfort zone is and whether or not you actually come out of it. For example, I put off going to the bank because my bank closed the branch that was closest to my office. To go to the bank, it's now about an hour one way by public transit to spend five minutes depositing a few checks. Now, I wouldn't call this an unwillingness to come out of the comfort zone, but a dismay regarding the hassle it is for me to go to the bank. I know i could just switch banks, but I just bought a whole new box of business checks. If I switched banks, then I'd have to spend more money on business checks. My point is that, with the comfort zone (and the way it can move if you choose to leave it from time to time), it can be difficult to figure out if you're back in it or not.

5 Natural Strengths I Have

As one of today's SuperBetter quests, I am to write down five natural strengths, or five things that I am good at, and then relate those strengths to my goal of eating healthier and losing a few pounds. So, that's what I'm doing. Here are five things that I'm good at, and how each one could possibly help toward my SuperBetter goals:

Writing

Writing, like I do here, helps because I can chronicle my journey as well as use my blog posts as a way to hold myself accountable (it's why I'm doing so well on my summer reading list). If I write in a blog post that I am going to do something, then I feel extra compelled to do it because people will see and will know that I said I was going to do something. I don't want people to see that I've gone back on my word. I also don't want people to see me fail, or to have to say that I failed, so that's extra motivation as well to get this done.

Self-Motivation

As for how this strength will help me eat healthier and lose weight, I think it speaks for itself. As long as I want to eat healthier and lose weight, and set goals for myself, then I can do it and it will be done.

Thinking Outside the Box

I think differently. My mother and father will tell you. They'll also say that the world needs people that think differently. I think this strength can help me in finding ways to keep myself motivated, productive, and making progress. For example, I have my inferno of productivity game, which is really awesome and I've been getting lots and lots of points in recent weeks. I am on track to be have enough points to get my file cabinet at the end of next week. Exciting! Anyway, if you do what you've always done, you will get what you've always gotten. Thinking outside the box will prevent that from happening. The results from my Fascination Advantage test would call this, "a fresh interpretation of the details."

Planning and Organizing

I love making lists (as the photo on the left explains). I also like thinking about the future, and planning for the future, and seeing everything come together when it needs to. This skill makes it easier to think about what it takes to reach my goals and to make those necessary steps. It also comes in handy when I plan meals for the week, go grocery shopping, plan for the next day, and organize myself and my thoughts for important moments and meetings. This skill also helps make the goal more manageable. Instead of it being one big, lofty idea, planning and organizing can make it a little bit easier to attain.

Fearlessness About Failure

I don't let a fear of failure, or the possibility of failure get in the way. I've never been one to do projects that I knew I could get an A on, where I took on something where I was sure to be successful. I just do what I want to do. I realize that not everything works, and that failure is inevitable at times. I suppose I'm not worried about failing at eating healthy or about losing weight because there's no way I can fail now. I still have kept off the weight I loss when I went vegan about eight months ago. The only way to go is up, you know?

Empowering Beliefs about Myself

Using the empowering beliefs about money as a springboard, I have created my empowering beliefs about myself as a way to have more confidence and to delete those negative thoughts and emotions. It takes abut 66 days to turn something into a habit, and I haven't quite had these beliefs written down for 66 days quiet yet. Even if I have, I don't think I've written them down 66 times yet, since I don't write them everyday. So, well, here they are. I think it's a great way to end this post as I focus on my strengths and have them at the top of my mind.

• I, hereby, delete these negative beliefs from my system at the source. Now, I can replace them with empowering beliefs about myself. J
• I am awesome. I am an amazing human rights activist, a phenomenal writer, and an even better person. I am destined to change the world.
• I am Pocket Aces Agnes, a budding poker phenom who is constantly improving at everything she does. I am well-liked because I am lots of fun at the table and away from the table.
• I am a great businesswoman running a great business. It’s only a matter of time before it’ll be unthinkable NOT to care about Stirring Media, LLC.
• Someone I don’t even know loves me right now. I do more for this world and for people close to me than I could ever imagine.

I'm Back into Playing Poker

And Other Things that Are Happening This Week

I feel like I don't have one big thing to talk about today, but several little things. As I write this and prepare to do this blog post as a weekly roundup, I also feel like this post will also end up as one big post about how a lot has happened this week and there's no way I can talk about just one single thing. I think all those previous words are just a long-winded way of saying I am very crazy.

About the Poker

I have played four nine-top sit-n-gos over the past week. I have made the money in three of them, and in all four of them, I got my money in with the best hand only be to be outdrawn by my opponent. It happens. It's only a matter of time before my hand holds up and that I win a sit-n-go. I've won them before, don't get me wrong. It's just that the trend for me lately has been to do real well, only to lose it all (or most of it) in one key hand where my opponent gets there by the river. It's really the reason why I haven't taken a first place yet. I haven't made any huge mistakes. I will play three more sit-n-gos tomorrow and see if this changes.

I Need a Dining Table

My next quest for SuperBetter is to commit to eating at a table for the next two days. No eating in front of the television. No eating in front of the computer. No eating in the car (although I don't have a car so I can't ever do this). I'm supposed to help myself by making this table more inviting. The only problem is that I don't own such a table, unless I want to eat outside in the summer heat, quite possibly with Oden.

There is some decent patio furniture on our porch that was here when we moved in, which I could theoretically clean up, move into the apartment, and use as a dining table. The only problem with that is that I don't have anywhere to put it. There's no room for it. I might have room for it in my office if I didn't have half an l-shaped desk (kind of a long story on that one). There's also no place to make more inviting as each room has a computer and/or television. I could eat in the bedroom, but that's kind of awkward. I don't know what I'm going to do for this quest.

Two More Days Until I Can Redeem Points for Video Games!

I am so excited! I really want to get Rogue Legacy, and I saw on Steam that there is a Grand Theft Auto pack that has four or five of the Grand Theft Auto games! I have a $30 budget for the video games, and those two things might take up the whole budget. That's okay though, because that will be five or six new games that I can play, and that's plenty to keep me occupied. I've been really productive this week too, earning about 12 points each day. This will put me in a good position to continue for my file cabinet after I redeem the points. I think I'll break even once the week is over, the points are tallied, and I redeem the 60 points needed to purchase video games. I might even be about 10 points ahead of last week. I'll take it for the sake of a few new games, especially since Rogue Legacy and Grand Theft Auto are awesome!

Getting My Fabulous Fat A$$ in Gear

I've barely done anything today, so I really need to do something to get me started and to make me productive. I understand that it's a Sunday and that I don't have to be productive, but if I don't get a few things done then all those things will be put off until tomorrow. I really don't need to put off more things to tomorrow. I also need to accumulate points so that I can get my file cabinet. I had to dip into my point stash a few days ago because I needed to head to my Amnesty International meeting and I haven't had dinner yet. I needed my points so I could eat out for my meeting.

Getting Real about Weight Loss

What I really need to do is to plan my meals out for the next week so that I can make sure that I'm getting that plate full of fiber and am on my way to making my own meals and being vegan (the two life goals/bucket list items that I am working on for the SuperBetter project). This way, I won't be tempted to eat out or to eat more of those dreadful taquitos. Maybe I will do this today, even though I won't go shopping until Wednesday because this coming Wednesday is the day when everything is 10% off at Local Harvest Grocery. You can't pass up 10% off on your entire bill.

Part of my SuperBetter quest for today is to write an honest paragraph about being above your ideal weight. I am much closer to my ideal weight than I was before I went vegan, and I really think I can lose another 10 to 15 pounds and get myself to what I weighed in high school. That would be amazing, since in high school there were P.E. classes, 10K runs, band, and athletics, although I wasn't eating all that well at all. It would be great to get there simply by changing my diet and eating better, without adding any exercise regimen or daily gym visits or anything like that. I think it would also be great to be at my high school weight almost 10 years out of high school, which is something a lot of people can't say.

What You Can Do When You Lose Weight

Also part of this quest is thinking about what you can do once you lose the weight, or what losing weight could help you achieve. Here's what I think it can achieve, besides the obvious things of better health, improved body image, boosted self-confidence etc. etc.

1. Eat All You Want Once You Know to Eat the Right Foods - Dieting and weight loss is always associated with skipping dessert, smaller portions, and exercising all the times. Although those things aren't bad, it does make the idea of losing weight one that involves a lot of pain and sacrifice, when it doesn't have to be that way. Once you know what the right foods are to eat, you can eat as much as you want and never have to worry about gaining weight or burning off all those extra calories. Once you are eating the right foods, you don't have to think about smaller portions or even skipping dessert. You can have a full plate and still eat dessert. It's just that the dessert and that plate will look a little different from before.
2. Get New Clothes - This is the best part because once you lose a significant number of pounds, you're old clothes won't fit and you'll have a very good excuse to get new clothes. It's always nice to get clothes that are smaller, instead of having to shop because you need clothes that are bigger. Also, since you've made it a necessity to get new clothes, this little shopping spree doesn't turn into a luxury or into something you're doing to make yourself feel better. You already feel better because you lost the weight, so you feel better while already looking better.