Hyper-Focusing is my Super Power

Today,I have started on a journey to get healthy. It's not another diet or a quick get-thin scheme. I want to get into shape. I don't have to look like a super model. Hell! I don't even have to be skinny; mildly overweight would be fine with me. I am at the age-48-where the presssure to be perfect has lifted and an "I-don't-give-a-shit-what-you-think" attitude has taken it's place. I will never look 18 again and that's okay! The goal now is about health. I want to feel good and look as good as possible. I have a long way to go. I weighed in 15 pounds lower than my highest weight ever. I can't walk up an incline without getting winded. I have aortic valve stenosis and will need a valve replacement in 15 or so years. My sugar is borderline high. I am sure I am pre-Diabetic. My liver is fatty. I need naps more than anyone should. I have acid reflux that could make a dragon burst into flames. I have glaucoma currently being controlled by eye drops. I am in perimenopause, thanks to my uterus tring to kill me five years ago. My arms are jiggly, my thighs are wiggly. I have a gross double chin and the beginning of jowls. My stomach is forming an apron thanks to 4 kids and pure laziness. I am a mess. Despite all the negative, I am not done yet. I can still run short distances for about a minute without dying. I want to be able to run 5K's. I want to feel strong. I don't want to have aches and pains. I want to be the best me I can be and that means losing weight. I am not without resources and knowledge. I have been trying to do this for a long time. I have what I need to succeed. I have exercise equipment, workout DVD's and Youtube. I have read nearly every diet book ever written. I know a donut is around 300 calories, and a McDonald's double cheeseburger is about 400 calories. Dieting info is burned into my brain. The problem is...I am ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.) People with ADHD are more likely to have problems sustaining attention,to hyperfocus on a subject and then totally lose interest, to struggle with food issues,and to have more car accidents. All of the above describes me. I start diets and quickly lose interest or forget I am dieting and eat a cake. I start a plan to get healthy, hyper-focus, lose 30 pounds and then totally lose interest, and quit. I know what's good for me, but my brain will go into paralyzed mode- where I am unable to do the one thing I need to do (in this case, cook a healthy meal), and I will get hungry, give in, and eat whatever easy, processed junk is lying around. (I am way better about the car accident thing. No wrecks for awhile.) So what do I need to do lose weight? #1 Hyperfocus: Hyperfocusing is my superpower. Once I get focused on something it becomes a near obsession. I will live it, breathe it, build my life around it, until one day I wake up and suddenly, I am done. Losing interest is my kryptonite. Once I am done, I am usually done-forever. It is rare I can get myself to hyperfocus on the same thing twice. This is why I have had so many hobbies. I hyperfocus on something, make progress or get good at it, spend a bunch of money on it, then dump it. Past hobbies include: scrapbookimng, reborn doll making, doll collecting, genealogy, art, fitness; photography, gnome collecting, angel collecting, crystal/rock hunting and collecting, etc. So how do I get myself to hyperfocus on getting healthy? If I can get myself to hyperfocus on my health for 3 months I could make a real difference. I could lose about 30 pounds, tone up, lower my blood pressure, and cholesterol. Just feel better! Occasionally my hyperfocusing can last longer than 3 months, sometimes nearly a year or more. The trick is to not allow myself to get bored. So how am I gonna do this? 1. Watch tv shows about weight loss and getting healthy. 2. Read books- both fiction and non-fiction about weight loss. 3. Find a plan I am excited about. 4. Find a weight loss planner I am excited about. 5. Cool apps that help keep me focused would be beneficial too. 6. Start working out, logging food, and blogging about all of it. So that is the plan; to get myself to focus on my health and to work at it really hard for as long as my ADHD brain will allow me to. After the hyperfocus ends, I am hoping I will be able to at least keep going, even if I am not obsessed, as I have developed a little more balance in my life since starting medication. So I am hoping to be able to continue with the healthy changes. I hope you will follow along with me on this new journey. It should have plenty of laughs along the way.