This Week's Goals

Not much to report (except that I need to get a scale). Per usual, my diet goals were kept. More of my pants are fitting looser. While 2 of the 3 exercise days were left open, 1 was reasonably kept.
New goals this week:
-Exercise at least 3 hours.
-Drink only 1 Coke.
The rest of the previous weeks' goals remain.

Not Beat Yet

(Disregarding the reason, I didn't make it to a scale this week. I don't have one at home. However, my pants are noticeably looser and, as I mentioned last week, I am on the skinniest notch on my belt. So all is not lost.)

The trouble I'm finding with this whole life change thing is the change part. It's not easy to schedule change. It doesn't accomodate long-set plans or daily chores. Change doesn't attach itself to your already well-established routine and tag along. Change, especially to the extent I'm attempting, dismantles the day-to-day to create a new routine.
I guess I'm passively fighting the change required to create new habits, especially exercise ones. I can't seem to work the necessary time in my daily agenda (which includes unplanned responsibilities) to make it a regular part of my day. Between work, an infant in the house, husbandly duties, two church callings and the unexpected time commitments that pop up unannounced (like putting down your pet chicken so that she doesn't keep suffering) I'm too exhausted by the end of the day to fit in a workout plan. I'm not making excuses. I just find it necessary to detail the obstacles keeping me out of the gym. By locating the problem, I can start to fix it.
Maybe I need to treat the physical part of my plan like I am the diet part. It should be gradual changes leading to massive ones. Instead of expecting 3 full workouts a week in the gym, maybe I should just plan an hour total of exercise a day at home. I can combine yoga DVDs, push-ups & crunches, dog walks, etc. to start on the right path. That's what I'll try this week.
So, as you can tell, I didn't keep my workout plan once again. But, I kept the dietary goals and am feeling better than I did a couple weeks ago because of them. This week, I will not add any dietary goals so that I can focus on the exercise. I need at least 4 45 minute workout sessions to reach it. (The sessions can include any of the things I mentioned; they just have to be set aside blocks of time that are dedicated to specific exercises.)
If anyone has any suggestions for effective starter workouts I can do at home without any equipment, please let me know. I'm willing to try anything to get the ball rolling.

Goals for June 12-18

Another week without significant progress (any progress, really) on the exercise front. I failed to get in one scheduled workout. It's really not surprising, however. With so many demands on my time nowadays, it really is difficult to nail down at least an hour and a half to get to the gym. This doesn't excuse my failure in these goals; it just means that because of this I need to make more sacrifices for it to happen.

The good news: I kept to all of my diet goals. And, despite the lack of good exercise, I feel last week was a success.

So, for this week here are my goals:
-No more than two Cokes.
-No more than one snack per day.
-Three workout sessions. (Although I haven't kept any of the workout goals they are still doable and absolutely necessary.)

With just the diet changes I'm feeling better. I don't think I look any better, but I did have to move to the last notch on my belt (that is the good last notch, not the bad one ).

This week's weight: 243

Well, that wasn't too bad. I know where I stand. I know where I need to be.

Goals for Week of June 5-11

Last week was somewhat tough. I started out strong, but the going got a little rough in the second half. I twice ate after 9 PM. I really only exercised once (again, softball doesn't count, and no matter how much I want to convince myself it does, neither does mowing the lawn). I'm sure it will show on the scales.
However, I kept my Coke consumption to where I wanted it. Plus, I only had two fried foods. So, it wasn't a complete failure.
Therefore, this week I really need to focus on exercising (I think the eating after 9 nights were flukes). I will make an actual plan for exercising and will stick to it. So, in addition to the original three goals, this week's goals will be:

• Only 3 Cokes. (This is a two-weeks at a time kind of thing.)
• No fried foods. (This will be an every-so-often type of goal, since it would be unsustainable to do this indefinitely. I am not a lunatic.)
• Workout three days with a plan and incorporate weights.

Discouragement happens. I have no reason to get caught up in it. Overcome is an intimidating word for a reason.

Weight Loss Isn't A Competion

(Note: this post is not meant as a critique for those who find true success in competition. This is just my thoughts on why they usually don't work, especially for me.)


We have all had opportunities to participate in assorted weight loss competitions through work, school, family, etc. For me, and I suspect most of us, they cannot effect a lasting change. I think that change, real life-altering change, can only come by way of pure motivations. What is pure is different for all of us. I think these motivations are deeply ingrained in our souls by the time we reach maturity (whatever that is). Competition is rarely a pure motivation for anyone. Unquestionably, it's not for me.
I understand the potential for a weight loss competition to help jumpstart better habits. Any path to better health is a good path, right? It has to be. It's not. The lure of the prize, no matter how large the lure or the prize, to motivate a demanding diet and exercise schedule (especially when such a schedule didn't exist before) is unsustainable. Once the incentive is removed, even if you win, the motivations to maintain good habits will invariably dry up. Every competition has a time limit, a defined end; good health has no set time.
Then, in order to begin establishing better habits one must pinpoint what motivates them towards true, meaningful actions. My purest motivations (as far as I understand them now) are family (I lump religion in with this one) and intellectual pursuits (writing (among other creative outlets like baking), reading, films (translation: movies), television, music, and making fun of Lady GaGa and her ilk). Now that I'm finally understanding the importance these things hold in me, I'm finally feeling the pull of getting healthy, so that I can be an active father and so that any self-imposed obstacle towards intellectual growth is removed.
I'm waxing philosophical here because I want this to stand as extra-motivation when keeping my goals gets hard. (I've had a couple hiccups already.) I need to acknowledge what is driving this whole thing. It's not a pathetic plee for attention or a vanity project. It's an attempt to chronicle my changing habits for myself and my family (especially Stella and Jess).

241 Pounds. Man, Water Weight is Easy to Lose

So, that's all it took to see some results: two weeks of less Coke and a little more control over when and how much I eat. I can do this, right?
I did about an hour of cardio on a stationary bike that felt good, but I know it's just a start. For my other workout this week I'll incorporate some weight training and maybe in a few weeks I'll take on a real bike. (You know, the kind with one really big wheel out front and two smaller ones behind and when you pedal the big wheel turns to propel the two smaller ones forward and since the one wheel is big it provides a lot more thrust, even though the control can be a little wonky because of the big wheel. I forget what they're called. Ah yes, The Bike that Couldn't Slow Down.)
As a side note, plain Low Fat Cottage Cheese is not the most appetizing dish in the world. Man, I wish I hadn't run out of peaches.