Fitness goals 3.0
I feel like the title should really read “fitness goals 17.0″ since I’ve ‘restarted’ so many times in the last year, but we’ll go with 3.0 to be kind.
Here’s the skinny:
Fitness goals 1.0
Back in the day, a friend and I set the rather vague goal to “become skinny and tan.” Looking back, I think I really thought that all my insecurities would be solved by achieving both goals. (FALSE!)
To achieve these goals, I tried a wide variety of approaches. Most notable was my foray into a vegetarian version of the South Beach Diet (do NOT recommend), but I have to admit that it did help me jump start some healthy habits and reach some interim goals. I managed to lose some weight from my highest weight, but never quite reached the ‘skinny and tan’ finish line we had set for ourselves.
I’m most proud of never again reaching my highest weight, no matter how many stalls or reversions I’ve had in my fitness journey. Though I don’t recall the specific number, I recall a very specific memory - not being able to button the last pair of jeans that fit me. I spent a night in my bedroom, sobbing at having let myself get to that point.
Fitness goals 2.0
In the second stage of my fitness journey, I reached my lowest adult weight - 113 pounds - and maintained for several years between 121 and 125 pounds.
I lost the first bit of weight in this ‘second stage’ of my journey in law school. I was miserable as a law student, and started running on my mom’s treadmill as a way to deal. After choosing to leave law school, I took on a fairly physical job and continued to shed pounds (and gain some modest arm muscle, which is all totally gone). I also counted calories on and off during this part of the journey, but never very consistently.
One job later, in the summer after buying my condo, I reached my lowest adult weight ever for approximately 24 hours. I attribute that to all the physical work I was doing to rehab my condo and all the time I simply didn’t have to eat.
During this time, I never had an active gym membership or did any sustained working out. I managed my weight solely through eating, and having physical jobs (lots of standing, walking, or lifting) with very limited opportunities for mindless snacking really helped.
I couldn’t sustain this, though. I took on a new role with access to unlimited snacks, and I’m going out a lot more in the evenings and consuming high-calorie food. I’ve added in working out, but am definitely living proof that you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. I’ve put on about 10 - 12 pounds in the last year (20 pounds over my lowest weight, which I don’t really care about - my happy weight is definitely between 121 and 124 pounds), and not one lick of that is muscle that I can ascertain. It’s time for a well-intentioned reboot.
Fitness goals 3.0
I’ve attempted to start my 3.0 era several times, but haven’t been successful. Counting calories works for up to a month at a time, but I always find some reason to fall off the wagon. I go through spurts where I work out a lot, but then let long days at work get in the way.
It doesn’t help that I’m older now, and I’m sure my metabolism has slowed. Still, it’s all about CICO - calories in, calories out.
Frustratingly, I’ve lost and regained the same 5 or 6 pounds over the last six or so months. I know I can do this with some better consistency.
Here’s what I know works:
counting calories
spin
stairs
Heres what I want to add:
more strength training
The plan
Counting calories, even on days when I go over
Spin 2+ times per week to make the most of my membership
Gym 2+ times per week (stairs + express circuit)
The challenge
My job involves two weeks per month of new hire onboarding in which I am a lead facilitator. These days are very long days, and it can make it challenging to want to go work out.
Realistically, everyone has the same 24 hours in their day to make themselves a priority. I just need to stop making excuses and make my health a priority, even when it’s hard.
The commitment
I will post regular weigh-ins, meals, and workouts. My hope is that this small level of accountability to this blog will help me stay accountable to myself.
It’s time for a reboot!
