Week 22: Pounds +0.3; Points +41; Activity +17; Workouts 2 (plus moving!)

Week 21 Summary:

Hmm ... does packing, cleaning & moving (well the pieces the movers didn't!) count as exercise?

Pounds ... my Monday weigh-in had me up 0.3 pounds ...annoyed at myself because 1) I've been working out & tracking again the last 3 weeks & while my increases are small ... they are increases, not decreases!

Points ... went 41 points over my daily allowance & activity points ... still not tracking 100% as well as I should ... and a chuck of this was alcohol points Saturday night ... (although was planning not to drink til post-race ... so a bit of a failure here!)

Activity ... earned 17 points (2 jogs & some walks)

Improvements vs. prior week ...

1) I need to track daily ... I kept a list on a post-it with my food from the week, but forgot some items & didn't have all the nutrition information beside me to calculate correctly
I did better ... but still not tracking in the moment, so probably don't catch 100% & not 100% accurate either.

2) I am still struggling with my frequent chocolate cravings & had quite a few treats this week I need to cut out in future weeks (I am trying to replace sweet cravings with 70% dark chocolate) 
Switched over to dark chocolate, but still indulging too much!

3) I need to increase to at least 4 workouts a week, my body seems to respond better to more frequent, shorter workouts vs longer less frequent workouts
Nope!  But I blame the move for this!

Learnings:


1) When work offers a celebratory free Friday lunch of pizza, curly fries, chicken wings, chicken tenders, and cake ... no matter how good I've been for the week ... I shouldn't eat away all of my successes from the start of the week!

2) I can not try to keep up with my boyfriend in terms of types of food eaten, quantity of food eaten or speed of food eaten!  (I do a pretty good job here generally, but something to keep a watchful eye on)

3) And again ... I need to increase to at least 4 workouts a week, my body seems to respond better to more frequent, shorter workouts vs longer less frequent workouts

Week 21: Pounds +0.2; Points +35; Activity +16; Workouts 3

Week 21 Summary:

Overall, an "acceptable" amount of food and exercise, but also lots of room for improvements.  

Pounds ... my Monday weigh-in had me up 0.2 pounds ... no issues there, essentially flat 

Points ... went 35 points over my daily allowance & activity points (Weight Watchers Points) 

Activity ... earned 16 points (2 runs & 1 elliptical workout)

Learnings:

1) I need to track daily ... I kept a list on a post-it with my food from the week, but forgot some items & didn't have all the nutrition information beside me to calculate correctly

2) I am still struggling with my frequent chocolate cravings & had quite a few treats this week I need to cut out in future weeks (I am trying to replace sweet cravings with 70% dark chocolate) 

3) I need to increase to at least 4 workouts a week, my body seems to respond better to more frequent, shorter workouts vs longer less frequent workouts

A Goal Without A Plan Is Just A Wish

Mission ... 

To lose 25 pounds (eat healthier & work out more), complete a race (original goal was a 5K, revised goal is a half marathon & a triathlon), inspire someone (as I've been inspired!)

Status ... 

Lost 7 pounds ... 18 to go, I jogged my first race in April, a 10k (I'll write a post on that) and signed up for my second in June (taking a hiatus from drinking for 4 weeks until post-race).

Plan ...

I've had some ups and downs (see chart below) but this is the most consistent I've stayed focused.  Slow and steady ...

Pounds to go ...

In the past I might have had a health kick for a few weeks, maybe even few months but then might fall off the wagon for the better part of a year or longer ... But, as time has gone on, my length of staying focused on being healthy have gotten longer and my spans of being unmotivated have gotten shorter.  

On top of that, for the first time, I've actually started to enjoy running ... 18 months ago jogging for even 10 minutes was a struggle and now I can jog a solid 60 minutes.

Title quote: Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Although, per wiki "The earliest appearance yet located of this statement is in 50 Ways to Lose Ten Pounds (1995) by Joan Horbiak, p. 95, where it is quoted as an anonymous proverb. It seems to have circulated as such for a few years before it began to be attributed to Saint Exupéry around 2007."

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Per usual, I've been over ambitious!  

Well firstly, I've signed up for a 10K (my second ever race), 4 weeks from now, number 345.  I planned to do a 8-10 week training plan originally, but similar to last time I think it will be a few sporadic runs to prepare!  (I did my first jog today in weeks of just over 5k with LC).

Secondly, my over ambition on how much I can achieve impacts all aspects of my life ... Such as this blog & how I thought I'd find time to write!  But I have a few draft topics and more ideas ... So I'll get there!

Trying to start a new hobby (blog writing), boyfriend moving in (finally an end to long distance!) searching for a new apartment to move to (unfortunate timing and not planned to need to move), trips away (every weekend!) a birthday surprise for my boyfriend (he loved it!), and starting back to school (does online/self-study count as going back to school?) ... all in the same 4 weeks is a recipe for failure :-)

Hopefully once we are moved into the new place June 1 and I find a good exercise and study schedule, then my blog writing will find its way into my hectic schedule!

Until next time ...

"If You're Tired Of Starting Over, Stop Giving Up"

Writing my first blog post feels a bit to me like I’m opening a crisp, new Moleskine journal (or a brand new Five-Star notebook in school!), my pen hovering above the page as I try to figure out what my first word or sentence should be ... or maybe that's just me because I can be slightly OCD about certain things!

I have so many thoughts and ideas for how I can start this blog ... In school I felt like the 5 W’s were always a good way to cover all the bases to explain something … so here it goes!

The “Who” - My inspiration for starting my blog is “whatredread” a true & dear friend for the past 10+ years who thought blogging could be a good new hobby for me after moving to a new city in a new country.

The “What” - My inspiration for the topics I’ll cover are multi-fold, but a few key people over the last year have driven my ever-growing interest in fitness & nutrition.  The things that consume the most of my attention & time that I plan to write about are fitness, finance & traveling.

· Fitness … My ever-growing interest revolves around being more health focused, learning more about nutrition & exercise.  I’m working to develop a new  & healthy lifestyle.

· Finance … My career as well as my personal drive to try and help people learn more about better financial decisions, budgeting, and savings.

· Traveling … My favourite pastime which has brought me to 30+ countries (so far) and main area I splurge my finances on.

The “Where” - My life & career have taken me across the globe and I’m now “settled” in Belfast, at least for the moment.

The “When” – My “free” time always seems limited between work & travel the hours are limited, but curious how much of a fleeting a hobby writing my blog will be … but, only time will tell!  The time spent blogging will largely depend on my work schedule.

The “Why” – My new focus on health & nutrition has led me to spend a significant amount of time researching various health topics online across multiple sources and trying to broaden my knowledge base about multiple subjects.  Ultimately, I’m learning a lot and think there is no harm in sharing my learnings with my peers.

The “How” – My approach in what I cover & what I write about will probably vary … but I have a plethora of ideas that I’ll explore and see what ends up being the best fit for me & any followers that I end up having. 

And … so my new hobby as a blogger … begins!

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Title quoted from: Caits-Corner

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