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February’s Goal

After January’s experiment I have recognized a couple of new things that are not working the way I need them too.

  • My exercise regimen is not working for weight loss.  Walking for 1 – 2 hours a day and yoga a couple times a week is great but it is not giving me weight loss.
  • I need to compress my workout to a shorter amount of time.  I don’t have a lot of time but need a higher return on my investment.  I have worked out for up to two hours per day several days per week
  • I still need to take the time to walk with Blaze, he will be 12 yrs old in April.  In January he had his annual check up and got a good bill of health.  I believe walking a mile every day has helped him avoid problems that a lot of older dogs have.
  • I feel less effective than I could be at work.  I think some of this is caused by habits established when I was tired most of the time.
  • My work / life balance seems a little out of balance at the current time.  Right now it feels like I have a lot of personal stuff on my to do list that is neglected.  My work to do list seems very lightweight right now; I need to plan out my work better so that I can get focus better on both issues.
  • I have made great progress but need to get the next level of benefit. In 2007 I weighed 229lbs with 32% body fat. This means I had about 156lbs of lean muscle; I have increased my lean muscle to 168lbs in the last year.

To address the issues I identified above I will need to work on creating a few new habits and routines.

  • I will start interval training to increase my metabolism. Interval training is a different way to workout. I will increase the intensity of my workout to the maximum I can output for a few minutes, continue with my workout at a much lower intensity.   I will repeat this for 4 – 10 reps to start with and see what feels right.  Several studies have shown interval training creates more muscle mass and improves metabolic function.  Since this workout will have a much higher intensity I will be able to work out less and achieve more.
  • I will continue to monitor my weight and body fat and food intake.  I will also continue to take a snack everyday to work.
  • I will need focus on getting my work tasks flushed out and getting into balance.  Looking for the best way to execute all my tasks.  My work will be changing a lot over the next few weeks.   So there will be new challenges in this area.

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January Review

January’s goal was to have a healthy snack handy everyday at work.   Overall I succeeded in this goal.   In the process of reaching this goal I tried new snacks like Bora Bora bars, lots of raw almonds, pears, apples, and oranges.   These are not food I typically ate prior to the experiment.

I did not loose or gain any weight while consuming more calories.  For most of the experiment, I think my hunger was under much better control than it has been in the past.   I would often find myself extremely hungry, craving carbohydrates in the afternoon.

Other accomplishments during the experiment

  • I started tracking my food intake and exercise using BalanceLog.
  • I purchased a new scale for measuring body fat and weight.
  • I increased my exercise by doing Yoga and walking more.

Other than regular drops in my energy level in the afternoon I have been doing really well.

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January 2009 Goal – Eat health everyday

Why am I doing this?

Starting off the new year I am going to declare war on junk food.  This is part of a long term goal to get down to 200 lbs.  I am currently 235lbs and want to get to 200lbs by the end of this year.   To achieve this goal I need loose about 2/3 of a pound per week.

A previous goal was to eat a good healthy filling breakfast daily.    I have achieved the goal for the past several months.  I have found this to work really well and keeps my hunger away all morning.

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup Pinto, Black, Cannelloni , or Kidney beans (from a can already cooked)
  • 1/2 cup Peas, Green Beans or mixed vegetables. (from a can or frozen)
  • A couple of drops of Tabasco

I put all the ingredients on a skillet and cook it using olive oil to instead of butter or vegetable oil.  I serve it up on a plate and eat it all together it is filling and very tasty.   I can change things around with different beans and vegetables.  The Cannelloni beans are my favorite by far.

For the entire month of January, I will bring 2 healthy well balanced snacks each day to work.

Some potential snacks:

  • Rice cakes with peanut butter and a piece of fruit
  • Unsalted whole raw almonds (or other nuts) and piece of fruit
  • Cheese + piece of fruit
  • Yogurt with flax seed mixed in and a piece of fruit
  • Carrots and yogurt

You may have noticed that most of the snacks include fruit and a source of fat and protein.  This is because a snack of all carbohydrates will force the blood sugar level to spike leaving you hungry soon after you eat it.   The all carbohydrate snack is typically found in the vending machine at work.

Here is how it works:  The fat and protein in the snacks will slow down the absorption of the carbohydrates.  The fruit is the main source of carbohydrates in the snack.  The fruit has fiber which will slow down the absorption of the carbohydrates in the fruit.   This will eliminate a spike in the blood glucose which may give you a short term boost followed by a crash.

For the rest of January I will post daily and weekly on my progress as I track this goal.

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