Last week maybe went a bit better than week 1 of the 6 weeks of commitment. I tracked my carbs consumed in snacks for 5 out of 7 days, I think. It continues to be difficult to know for sure when I've logged everything since myfitnesspal won't allow me to close out the day due to the low number of calories consumed. This week's tracking solidified my belief that I tracked more than 1 day last week. I only went over the 135 once, averaging 95.4 carbs in snacks per day.
This week's goal was to exercise for at least 10 minutes three days per week. I exercised twice. Today was day 1 of exercising for this week. I will do better this week with goal two, much like I did better with goal 1 the week after it debuted,
Week 3's goal is to drink at least 6 glasses of water daily. Thus far (3:30pm), I've consumed 5.5 glasses of water. A few weeks ago, I purchased big bottles of Dasani because they were on sale. They are perfect for now. The 1 bottle is nearly 6 glasses; 2 bottles will easily exceed my 10 cup goal that's to come.
Although I am comfortable with the progress I'm making, the commitment, my scale did not tell me a happy story on Friday. I had gained 1lb for the week but the most alarming thing was to generate the grid to see my weight for the year. It's gone up and up and up, about 12-14 lbs, I believe. Disheartening. Then again, that doesn't sound right. I believe I'm 6 lbs away from my high so I guess the 12-14 is the increase from my recent low. I find the graph to be a bit motivating. It's a fact that weight loss does not tend to motivate my actions, only health. But seeing the increase from my recent natural weight-loss (side effect of going gluten-free) made me want to go back to my previous weight. Truly, my low made me want to lose a few more pounds to cross one those theoretical weight line (increments of 25). I'm not jumping up and down to become a calorie counter with an intense exercise schedule, but I am hopeful that weight-loss will be a byproduct of my simple, gradual, intentional changes. Next week's goal is going to be to exercise 17 minutes a day at least 3 days a week; funny how the goals are coming to me faster than the weeks are passing.
Here's to strength and health....
Monday, May 30, 2016
Sunday, May 22, 2016
2nd take of 2016
My job has been sending e-mails trying to hype employees up
about a new fitness/health program being offered to employees. I believe it
incorporates nutrition, exercise, and mental well-being into its curriculum.
It's distinct from Weight Watchers, which is also offered. I admit that I’ve
given thought to joining this group. Problem 1 is I’m stationed off main campus
and really don’t like the hassle of getting to campus to participate in a 30
minute group. It takes about 30 minutes for me to complete the round trip
traveling. Problem 2 is I haven’t fully committed to anything health positive
recently. I believe the time my body fell apart every time I exercised is the
last time I was committed (February 2016). Well, one of the e-mails encouraged us to make one
change per week. Slow and steady. It’s the kind of thing I would come up with
myself while everyone else looks at me like I’m crazy, lazy, and uncommitted
(Problem 3, BTW). Although I haven’t joined the class, I made the commitment to
change 1 thing per week for 6 weeks and told my wife to encourage her to keep
me accountable (I don’t think that part is working though, as she is not making
the same commitment). My changes?
Well, post-Easter I went crazy with the candy, especially
those of the pure sugar variety. As peeps continued to be on clearance, I began
thinking about my diabetic status and what my snacking was likely doing to my
A1C (average blood sugar reading). How to scale back? Figure out how much
damage I was doing and work from there. I managed to track my carbs consumed as
snacks for 5 days and had an average consumption of 169 carbs per day (in
snacks). I want to get down to no more than 100 daily and therefore decided to
set my first goal at 20% less of original consumption. Goal 1, week 1, was to limit
my carb consumption through snacks to 135 carbs or less. To help reach this
goal, I realized that 135 carbs divided across morning, afternoon, evening, and
night snacks allows up to 34 carbs per time of day period. That was manageable.
If I wanted to eat a Snickers at 11am, I’d look and say, “Okay. It’s 11. How
many carbs in snacks have I had today and how many do I have left before noon?”
Sometimes, it was necessary to wait a few hours before getting that snack.
Manageable. But how’d I do? Well, let’s start by saying I did not carb count
one day this weekend—not Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Friday I went to an
outreach event at work and had access to a ridiculous amount of sugar while
there. No restraint. Strike out. Bad. Saturday, I went to a wedding. That
allowed for a slice (and half) of cake but didn’t involve a whole lot of
sweets. Today, I am craving but the day’s guilt is about pizza + sweet bites +
blended coffee in one sitting. Besides
that, I tracked my carbs through snacks 2 full and 2 half days out of 4 days last week and stayed
within my limit one of those days. Wow. I thought I did a better job tracking my snacks last week. My gut says I tracked for 3 days but myfitnesspal won't let me mark the day complete when my log says I didn't eat enough calories per day.
Week 2 begins tomorrow but I began my action today. This
coming week, I commit to walking 10 minutes per day on at least 3 days. Today,
I walked for 10 minutes at 2.0 miles per hour. Around minute 4 or 5, I had great
leg pain. That’s when I knew that this week’s goal would be 10 minutes, not 15.
I still remember last time. I also experienced hip and back pain at the speed I
figure is about as slow as I can go while still moving. Session over, I applied
ice packs to my calf muscles. I’m trying to stay “healthy” and stable with the
exercise this time. I will also continue to track my snack consumption.
6 weeks. I haven’t given much thought to what goal I will
set per week so this journey will be interesting to see unfold. Also, I’ve been
having issues with my shoulders, which have prevented me from spending time on
the mat. I’m still in the phase of nursing my right shoulder and don’t think it
wise to balance my weight on it. Some days, I put too much on my left side which
then screams in ways similar to the right. The doctor says if I don’t get
better with the shot he gave me and meloxicam that I’ve opted to take, that I
seem to be a surgery candidate. I sure don’t want or plan to have surgery.
Maybe rotator cuff exercises should be a week 3 goals. Lol. Namaste and Peace.
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