Sunday Reflections: Slimming Down And Shaping Up
My relationship with food has been rocky over the years. Because of that, my weight has gone up and down. Unfortunately, it kept going up in the latter half of the 2010s. In November, I committed to reversing that trend. And it’s going well. I’ve dropped more than 63 pounds in less than nine months. This is not a brag; I’m sharing my experience and trying to hold myself accountable by being open. (It is a little embarrassing to have to lose so much in the first place.)
I couldn’t be where I’m at today without my supportive family and the health plan I’m using, Profile by Sanford. Checking in with a coach on a weekly basis has been great. Getting tips and buying a few of their food products as well as adhering to a detailed meal plan is working. I’m focused on exercising almost every day (I like to hike), drinking water and staying away from bread and carbs. At the same time, I don’t deprive myself of those treats. I just eat a lot less of that stuff now, and I avoid getting too self-critical for indulging sometimes. I’m excited to see what I can accomplish by the end of 2020. Thanks for reading. –Jason
MY FAVORITE READS THIS WEEK
Civil Rights Icon, American Hero and Committed LGBTQ Ally John Lewis Dead At 80 (Towleroad’s Andy Towle). Rest In Power, Congressman.
Inside Trump’s Failure: The Rush To Abandon Leadership Role On The Virus (New York Times’ Michael D. Shear, Noah Weiland, Eric Lipton, Maggie Haberman and David E. Sanger). No words. Just a complete abdication of responsibility and detachment from reality.
Laura Ingraham’s Descent Into Despair (The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum). This is scary stuff.
How A Middle School Principal Used The Ocasio-Cortez Playbook Against A 16-Term Incumbent (Washington Post’s Jada Yuan). I’m so excited about what’s happening in NYC politics.
Slack Is Fueling Media’s Bottom-Up Revolution (Digiday’s Steven Perlberg). A fascinating development, indeed.
Have Subscription Fatigue? The Head of NBC’s New Streaming Service Thinks He Has The Answer (CNN’s Frank Pallotta). I still think that’s TBD.
Black ESPN Employees Talk To New York Times About Network’s Lack Of Diversity Behind The Scenes (Awful Announcing’s Ian Casselberry). There’s lots to unpack here.
Time To Face Reality: ‘No One Is Playing College Football In The Fall’ (Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel). That’s what I’m thinking.
Here Are All 30 Teams, Ranked Into 7 Tiers (MLB.com’s Mike Petriello). The Braves are in the “Strong Contenders” Tier. Sounds good to me.
Former Employees Say Ellen’s ‘Be Kind’ Talk Show Mantra Masks A Toxic Work Culture (Buzzfeed News’ Krystie Lee Yandoli). Yikes.
Alex Trebek Is Still In The Game (New York Times’ Alexandra Alter). That’s what this country needs to hear.
The ‘Dixie’ Is Gone. The Chicks Are Forever. (Washington Post’s Emily Yahr). Amen.
Review: New Name. New Sound. But The Chicks Still Sound Like The Truth. (Washington Post’s Chris Richards). I agree. I can’t stop listening to Gaslighter. Relatedly, I’m also loving the Harry Styles single Adore You.
MY FAVORITE PODCAST EPISODES
Pop Culture Happy Hour (Wednesday, July 15) – Floor Is Lava
Fresh Air (Thursday, July 16) – Why The U.S. Prison System Makes Mental Illness Worse (And How We Might Fix It)
Recode Media (Thursday, July 16) – Hank Green On Everything YouTube, Tik Tok, Podcasting And Montana
TV’s Top 5 (Friday, July 17) – An Interview With ‘P-Valley’ Creator Katori Hall, How Coronavirus Continues To Impact The TV Industry And Remembering Naya Rivera
The Big Picture (Friday, July 17) – Top Five Summertime Movies