Reporting Week 11

This week was good. Sunday was Fast Sunday and we participated in a Break-the-fast at the church. I think potlucks are good to have once in awhile. The hard part is portioning things out. However, I feel that my new attitude toward food is working for me. I do not starve myself. I am conscious of calories, but not obsessed by them. I pay more attention to how I feel as I am eating. I never have eaten a ton of junk food, but I have cut back considerably. I use to drink a can or 2 of soda per day. I don't do that anymore. Water is good too me and good for me. I am not afraid to drink a soda once in awhile, but I can't think of why. We as a family are eating better, not a real big change in menu, but have added a few more vegetables to our plates.

Moving more has come to mean more in that I am realizing that you have to mix things up or not just move more, but move in more different ways. Thus far in my journey I have done cardio, Tai-Chi, exercise ball, yoga, upper body, lower body, abs, swimming, walking, and jogging as an arsenal of methods to move more. I still have other methods that I think I will explore. As I get lighter my ability to move in different ways increases. I do not have money for a gym membership so I am doing this all on my own. So, if I can do it just about anybody can do it with a little self motivation. I am not generally a self motivated kind of guy so it does not take a lot if you focus on the feeling of being healthier. I look forward to hiking this summer.

As I have watched myself melting in the mirror I can see the vision of what I saw from the beginning happening. As I shed pounds I have found that I have lost more than weight, I have lost some bad habits along the way. I have also lost some poor self images that I have created for myself. There is a lot of work still to go, but I am beginning to see myself as capable of more than I thought I ever could be before.

This week my primary form of exercise was jogging. It started off slow with a .5 mile jog, but increased everyday until Saturday when I jogged 3miles without walking and at the end of each run this week I ended by running the last 75 to 100 yards. I thinking that I might be able to enter a 1/2 marathon by Fall of this year.

This week I also actually added sleep as part of my routine. I set 10:00pm as my goal and made it to bed before 10:30 nearly every night. I still had a hard time waking up in the morning, but I felt better all day long.

Some of the benefits I have found so far. I don't huff and puff walking up stairs. I can touch my toes without interference. I can tie my shoe while standing up. My asthma has decreased significantly. I can get closer to my wife when I hug her :) I can fit in clothes that I have not been able to wear for a long time. In fact, I may have to go shopping soon. I feel like healthier. I feel more capable of dealing with things more often. I feel younger, more agile, and limber. I have more energy, and I sleep better.

262 lbs still dropping.
That makes my running total 38 lbs lost since January 15th of 2011

Eat Less, Move More. Becoming Physically what you already are Mentally.