Week 4 of 6 week committment

Tonight, I realized my week count was off. I think that's because I referred to the end of the week as the week # of that previous week? Anyhow, week 1 was count carbohydrates consumed through snacks and limit daily snack carbs to 135 or less
Week 2 was exercise at least 10 minutes per day at least 3 days per week
Week 3 was to drink at least 6 cups of water daily

What about week 4? Well, I told you last week; it's time for me to kick up my exercise routine. I decided to increase the time spent exercising instead of increasing the pace of my walks. A regular exercise routine is important for maintaining good health. Although it would be easy to focus on a 10 or 15 minute increment, I need to learn to incorporate exercise into my weekly schedule. Self-care. Heck, that was even part of the message at church this morning at First Congo. Week 4's commitment is to exercise at least 17 minutes per day at least 3 days per week.

So, how am I doing with the commitments?
1. I tracked my carbs in snacks 6 out of 7 days. Excellent.
2. I stayed within my 135 daily carbs in snacks limit on 5 out of 6 of those days.
3. I averaged 90 carbs in snacks per day and frankly, my overage was  "1" carb over when using the diabetic count on the day I went over (i.e., I hit 143 carbs).
I count this as a success for the week. Before the 6 weeks ends, I plan to reduce my carb count to 100 per day. Making that commitment terrifies me. I've been achieving it while my goal is 135, somewhat, so one would think it won't be too hard. But I know me. We'll see.

Exercise was good. I did an official 10 minute routine on three days this week, 2 on treadmill and 1 via youtube. I even got in some lovely child play this weekend. Small as this goal has been, there have been multiple moments when I was aware of the cardiovascular improvement due to these simple walks. Bodies are meant to move. It's been a process of shaking off the cobwebs and telling mine it's okay to move. I've also been pretty faithful to ice my legs after my short workouts. I really, really, really don't want a repeat like before.

The water goal has been great. It took a mental adjustment to get those 6 cups in and sometimes I've definitely skipped something flavored in order to press towards this goal. But it's been met almost daily. My log verifies goal achievement 5 out of 7 days. I logged 4 one day, and 5 another. I sure felt like I smashed this goal but I admit that 5 out 7 ain't bad. Plus, there's no guarantee that I logged everything. I don't log everything but I do try to log the first six cups.

In closing, let me share that my scale believes I dropped 5 lbs this week. I won't argue ;).

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.