Week One - Choices

I lost 13 pounds!

Well I can’t say my first week was unproblematic but I am really happy with my efforts and results. I am making changes here and there and although there was a meal or two I could have done better, there were many that I think I did great.

I went into my first week knowing that exercising several times a week was going to be hard, but not only is it getting easier by the day, I am finding myself excited about doing it.

Another huge motivation for me is figuring out how many calories I am burning. I found a Calories Burned Calculator online which allows me to enter my weight, the duration of my exercising, the type of exercise I did and of course my energy level; and with a push of a button my totals are calculated. I figured out I burned a little over 5000 extra calories this week. I say extra because this calorie calculator can compute totals for things like shopping and sleeping, which I am not counting. Here’s how I did for my first week:

06/19 Walked neighborhood for an hour; 517 calories burned
06/20 Zumba class for an hour; 887 calories burned
06/21 Zumba class for an hour; 887 calories burned
06/23 Zumba class for an hour; 887 calories burned
06/24 Zumba class for an hour; 887 calories burned
06/25 Yard work for an hour and 15 minutes; 1016 calories burned

I started wondering how many calories I would need to burn to reach my goal of losing 75 pounds. The answer, thanks to Natural Physiques is 262,500! Knowing that I have a long way to reach my goal doesn’t scare me cause I know I can and will do it, and when it comes down to it, it’s all about choices.

Speaking of choices, I finally finished The Choice by Nicolas Sparks. It’s been on my to-do list for quite some time and I gave myself a goal to finish it this week. If you haven’t read it, I recommend it. The book is based on a man named Travis Parker who is faced with many hard choices throughout his life. Reading this book made me realize just how indecisive I am. I don’t know why but I have the hardest time making the easiest decisions: what movie to rent, what to have for dinner, what to serve at a party. Last night I had to decide if I was going to stay at my parents to look after my mom who wasn’t feeling well or go home to my apartment, exercise and attend a party I was looking forward to. I decided to keep my mom company. It turned out that I could keep my mom company and work out as well – I ended up working in the yard for a little over an hour and what’s really funny is that this morning I figured out how many calories I burned and it was more than I would have burned at my Zumba class! So not only was I able to be a good son, but I was able to get a better workout in and save myself the sixty dollars I was going to pay the gardener to come do it this weekend.

Somebody once said the biggest room in the world, is the room for improvement. I know that every day, in every way, I am getting better and better. And although I did a lot of activities by myself this week, I know I am not alone. I think pretty much everyone I know is trying to better him or herself in some way. Whether they are trying to overcome an addiction by tackling a new hobby, hiring life-coaches, talking to debt consolidators, checking into rehab, training for their first triathlon or just trying to jog for thirty minutes here and there so they don’t become “grande”...

If there’s one thing I’ve learned this week is that there are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.

A Man With A Plan

There are 28 weeks left until the end of the year. I figure I can do a lot in 28 weeks, I mean after all that is almost 200 days.

I know that a huge portion (pun intended) of my success will not only be what I eat, but more importantly how much I eat. I have enlisted My Choice Fit Foods to help with that. Their meals are pre-packaged, pre-measured and pre-tty tasty. Although they say 80% of my weight loss will come from what I consume, I know I'm going to have to exercise too.

Actually tomorrow I will be signing up for Zumba classes which are held several nights a week. I really enjoy taking these classes because (a) you sweat your ass off and (b) because they are so fast paced I feel like the class is over before you know it. But if I get bored with Zumba I know I can substitute my daily exercise regimen by hitting a couple buckets of balls at the driving range, playing tennis, walking the park and trails, swimming laps in my pool or finally utilizing my building’s gym that I pay for.

So with eating less and moving more I hope to see great results. Honestly I would like to lose 75 pounds by the end of the year, which is only about 3 pounds a week. I know I will feel healthier, become physically and probably mentally stronger and if I happen to drop a few pant sizes - I guess that wouldn’t be so bad either.

Emancipation Day

Today is Juneteenth, which is not only a celebration of the abolition of slavery, better known as Emancipation Day; it is also my parent’s anniversary.

I looked up the word emancipation and when you dissect it, it really comes down to freedom. And when I think of freedom, words like choice, freewill and self-determination come to mind.

Well in the spirit of Emancipation Day, I am freeing myself from yo-yo diets and unrealistic weight loss goals.

Today I start my journey for a healthy lifestyle. I know that I will have setbacks and obstacles to overcome, but I will try my best to not look at them as problems, but choices because I have the willpower and self-determination to change.

So for now on, Juneteenth will be the day that I said goodbye to my Umpteenth diet attempt and hello to my first real plan.