We are already in May and looking very soon to arrive at the halfway point for the year. Am I any closer to my health or educational goals this year? Yes and no. So far, 2024 has proven to be a mixed bag of accomplishments and failures.
I will begin a positive, pursuing my Master’s degree in Learning Design and Technology. My spring semester has concluded with obtaining six more credits toward my Master’s Degree and my anticipated graduation with my Master’s degree in May 2025. Just about a year away! Next week I begin the summer semester and working toward six more credits.
Returning to college as a student after decades has been a mixture of pure terror and bubbling excitement and has given me a wonderful sense of accomplishment. Many of my friends have been supportive and voiced that they do not feel they would ever consider returning to school at their age. I feel very blessed that I am in a situation where I can return to college and pursue a master’s degree, and I am seriously considering pursuing a doctorate.
Health goals have been a little harder for me to work. Last year, I had lost 18 pounds, and after my bout with COVID-19, I had regained all but four pounds of the 18. I have now lost five pounds so far in the last six weeks. I am still eight pounds over what I weighed last summer but slowly chipping away. This time, the rough thing for me has been not being as active as before returning to classes and staying within my daily Weight Watcher points. Eating is critical as it is impossible to out-exercise a bad diet. I feel that losing weight is much slower for me now than ten years ago. I am sure age is a factor, but not the whole issue. My biggie is getting my head back into the “game.” The pandemic really messed with my head, and trying to refocus on my health has been rough.
I have set “summer” health/weight goals but am afraid of not accomplishing them. It is such a contrast to me being laser-focused on my academic goals and achieving them. For some reason, I have not been able to consistently put my health goals in laser focus. Getting my head right is my priority now. How am I going to do that? My first thing is to be more mindful of what and when I eat and track every bite. Every Weight Watcher knows that tracking is the key to success. This forces your brain to think about what you are doing and consider the motivation for having that bite or snack. I need to be forced to think more, and that works for me.
However, I do NOT like being forced to use a phone app when typing and entering information on a laptop, desktop, or another device that is more accessible. I feel Weight Watchers are losing out on this area by narrowing the types of devices you can use to track. It would seem wiser to embrace more types of devices to capture a bigger pool of clientele, but that does not seem to be their thought process. I am sure it was a “cost-savings” measure that made them eliminate the use of the website for tracking, however, in the long run I do not see it being cost-effective but more a subtle type of age discrimination. I will jump off of the soapbox and I am shaking my head about this change, but I am sure I will “assimilate” into the youth phone culture in time. There is no resistance! (Yes, it’s a Borg, Star Trek, Next Generation reference!)
Weights and Measures 