weight loss 1 Comment

The Challenge: Week #1

Week 1 Summary:
Diana: 0.5% body weight lost
James: 1.5% body weight lost

The good news is that I got back on the wagon. I lost one pound in one week, which is healthy and sustainable. I became more aware of my eating habits.

The bad news is that, while I became more aware of my weekend eating habits in particular, I failed to change them this week. This allowed James to pull ahead. Had I not regained weight over the weekend, I could have potentially tied James with a 1.4% loss (or more) in the first week. I did see 209 on Friday, but I said goodbye to it on Saturday with my day of Indian and Mexican food, and continued to wave farewell with Sunday’s lunch of Chinese.

My strategy for the coming week is to only eat out once over the weekend, and to make it lunch, not dinner. That will give me the chance to burn off any evilness during the rest of the day. Usually, Aaron and I will eat out for three out of four meals during the weekend, only eating Sunday dinner at home. That’s going to change. I’m going to be trying out some new healthy recipes this weekend, to make eating at home fun.

I’m going to continue my current plan of eating 1400 Calories per day, broken down into 40% carbohydrate / 30% protein / 30% fat. I’ve been doing fairly well with not overeating in the evenings, thanks to my DietOrganizer application. It’s like Deal-a-Meal: when my DietOrganizer Palm app says I have no calories left, I’m done eating for the day.

I’m also going to continue attending two aikido classes per week (Wed and Sat) instead of just on Wednesdays, although that has more to do with my upcoming test than the weight loss challenge.

I’m surprised at how much a challenge can motivate me. When I found out today that James had lost a higher percentage than I had, that immediately intensified my resolve to improve in the coming week. I know that I should be able to just compete with myself, go for a new personal best, make it a game, all that self-improvement stuff… but that doesn’t seem to work for me. I always rationalize that it doesn’t matter if I screw up, because it’s not like there’s anything at stake in the short run.

But now? Now, there’s bragging rights to consider. And a dinner. Preferably steak.

health & fitness

January Thaw

I always find it fascinating how many people go outside to walk during lunch when it suddenly becomes unseasonably warm. I’m one of those who will bundle up and go on my walk regardless, whether it’s 30 degrees (which is normal for January) or upwards of 60 degrees (like it was today).

When it’s cold outside, the outdoor contingent along the Maumee River downtown seems to be myself, one or two middle-aged men, and a few joggers of each gender. Today, I lost count of how many people were outside. Some were walking, some jogging, and some just looking out over the river.

If you’ve never gone on a walk in the snow, I highly recommend you give it a try. It’s quite invigorating, even if you’re like me and absolutely HATE the cold. Love the briskness, hate the physical pain the frigid temps can cause. Love getting my sunlight on, ramping up the Vitamin D and the serotonin and all the other goodness sunlight provides. Plus, the physical activity ramps up the serotonin by itself, giving me one seriously undepressed lunch hour.

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