Okay folks, it's been almost a year since my last post. In that time, I've not only not lost any weight, but I've actually gained weight. Now, I realize that sometimes it takes a few tries, so I don't beat myself up too much, but it's still a little depressing. I've heard that it takes a smoker an average of seven attempts to quit smoking. Maybe it's the same with weight loss.
Well now I'm devoted to another (and hopefully final) attempt to get myself to a healthy weight. I've got a small support system in place around me, and I'm taking it slow and steady in hopes of not burning myself out. Since the reboot, I've already gotten back down to my previous starting weight of 265 (I topped the scales at 272.5!), so I'd say I'm off to a good start. Today wraps up my first week of diligent exercise and of journaling my diet at MyFitnessPal.com.
A close friend of mine has suggested a routine of three sets of 10 push ups and 33 bicycle crunches every morning for a total of 30 push ups and 100 crunches (the last set has 34). To his suggestion, I've added a final set of push ups to failure and 30 minutes of light/moderate cardio every other day. It was a bit tough at first, but I've stuck with it for a week and it's getting easier. My wife tells me that you have to do something 21 times for it to become habit, so I'm a third of the way there.
Another big change that we've made as a family is our budget. We were at a point where we were dining out for most of our meals. One, it was costing us WAY too much, and two, it was much harder to make healthy choices. So not only has adhering to a strict budget helped us stop living paycheck-to-paycheck, it has also helped us all make smart choices in our meals since we make the majority of them at home now (and we don't waste our grocery money on junk food, either). The budget has helped in another way: budgeting calories is very similar to budgeting dollar bills, so it has gotten me in the mindset of watching how many calories I'm "spending."
That's all I've got for today, folks. I'm going to try to post more often so those of you who are interested can follow along (and encourage me if I start to slack off!).
Before you go, check out these websites/mobile apps:
MyFitnessPal -- http://www.myfitnesspal.com
EEBA (amazing budgeting tool!) -- http://www.eebacanhelp.com
-Kevin
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