Lucky 13
Today was my thirteenth weigh-in with Weight Watchers, and I have reached my penultimate goal: achieving the weight I was when I graduated from high school. I have lost 20 lbs, and have reduced my BMI from 25.8 to 22.6. I have lost more than 10% of my body weight, which translates to a reduced risk of health problems as I age. I have decreased my body fat, lost 3 inches from my abdomen, and increased my strength and endurance: I can now run 5 km in 30 min, 2.4 km in 13:50 min, and lift 65% of my body weight in the assisted chin and dip.
Most importantly, I've learned how to apply my knowledge about exercise and nutrition to my everyday life. I knew how to eat properly and how much exercise I should be getting before, but now I am a lot more conscious about what I put into my body, and how much. I have also become better at setting goals for physical activity and pushing myself to meet them. I have improved my quality of life and my outlook, without sacrificing a lot of the things I enjoy. It is a cliché because it's true: all things in moderation.
My ultimate, and on-going, goal is to maintain this healthy perspective. It will be difficult: we have a move coming up, which is always stressful, and next year I will be in school and spending a lot of time commuting each day. So, I am planning ahead. I've scouted out a gym in Belleville that also has a branch in Kingston, so I have no excuse not to fit in some form of PT regardless of where I am. I've collected a large number of healthy, tasty, tried, and trusted recipes that Capt Mike can prepare in my absence if I can't get home in time to make dinner. I will pack a healthy breakfast, lunch, and snacks for myself to take to school each day. And I will continue to give myself credit where credit is due.
Comments
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! That's awesome :-)
I've been doing pretty well on the exercise front - at least 4 times a week I work out intensely for 65 minutes including cool-down, on my elliptical. It's become habit, so that I actually am at a point now where I miss it if I don't do it.
I'm NOT doing well on the eating front. The foods I eat on a particular day are a total reflection of the amount of stress I am under that day. If I'm super-stressed, I make poor food choices because for the moment that i'm eating them, I enjoy them. Also when I'm super-stressed is likely also when I have the least amount of time to wait for or prepare food and those options tend to be less healthy although I know in my head that they don't need to be.
The regular workouts mean I do have more energy during the day. But the fact that I haven't yet really changed my eating habits means I haven't actually lost any weight or inches.
If nothing else, I am proving that it takes both - regular exercise AND healthy eating - to shed the extra pounds. Doing just one or the other isn't gonna cut it, but may prevent you from further gains. And so this month I am resolving to, now that I've got the exercise thing down to where my body requires it for me to feel good as opposed to dreading it or putting it off, I will now try and tackle the food part of the equation.
Posted by: heather at April 28, 2008 05:38 PM