As
of time of writing I’ve got that back down to 13st 8lbs, or 190lbs, but
it’s still a bit of a let-down for me personally. I’ve also not really
been going to the gym or playing squash regularly
enough to make up for it so I’ve plateaued in my weight loss. I’ve got
complacent and comfortable in my eating, dietary, and exercise habits
which is not good – as an ever changing and constantly evolving process
it is something I should be very proactive
in monitoring and keeping up with. Lent also started on Tuesday; I can
smell an opportunity here.
I’m a
big believer that ‘giving something up’ doesn’t have to be a passive
process of self-denial. I’m already on a pretty stringent diet ( if I
keep to it :/ ) so giving up more food-related things
is probably not the best way to go. I am planning to abandon desserts
entirely however – it won’t be any great loss to me and it’ll be a good
way to care for my calorie intake a lot more. So what am I going to do?
Be more proactive about it – specifically,
be more active.
My
exercise regime has suffered greatly over the last fortnight. I’ve
destroyed the habit of going to the gym and I can’t always find a
partner for squash even if I try to get different people
to come down to the courts over the course of a week. The massive
advantage of the gym is that I can do it when I’m alone rather than
squash which I will only do if I have a friend – partly because I’m not
motivated, a lot of which comes from the lack of competition
and the knowledge that technically I could be spending my exercise time
in a more calorie efficient manner upstairs in the gym
in the same Goddamned building.
So,
having found a very reliable rock and two birds in need of stoning this
is the plan I shall enact: For the next 38 days (and 38 nights) I will
be doing at least a twenty minute run every day.
I will make time for this in and/or around my schedule and I will not
postpone or cancel it for any non-emergency reason. I can think of no
reason my exercise treason should be forgot or forgiven and this is how I
will make amends to myself through this manner.
This I solemnly swear upon the virtual altar of the internet, etcetera,
etcetera, ad nausea.
So
that’s my challenge which I will meet. I would encourage anyone who is
trying to lose weight or get fitter (or both) to do something similar.
It doesn’t have to be a twenty minute run every
day – it could be a twenty minute walk, or two lots of fifty star
jumps, or some other quick and easy addition to your schedule which is
doubtfully so busy you could afford to spare the time. Do you really
need to keep up with every episode of that soap opera?
Is it really so heinous that you cut into your
reading/gaming/embroidery/other hobby time slightly to improve yourself?
I find it unlikely. In my other blog I wrote about making time for the things we really want and I’m sure I’ve mentioned it in this
one at some point. A friend at work was saying he couldn’t find any
time around a job, sleeping and eating for the things he really wanted
to do. After he argued for a bit he admitted he probably had around
forty hours a week to play around with. Twenty minutes
every day only costs about two and a half of those hours, to put it in
perspective.
Start taking the stairs everywhere you have the option. Walk to the
shops and back rather than drive. Stop making excuses to be lazy. I wake
up at 7am every day I work and don’t actually get out
of bed until about 7:45am, because I’m lazy, enjoy pretending to have a
lie in and stay up too late the night before to qualify as a
responsible adult. Without any major change to my schedule I can wake up
at 7am, go for a twenty minute run, shower and still
have an extra ten to fifteen minutes floating in the morning. So before
I even go to work I could call my day productive! How awesome is that?
I will not be running every day before work, but I will make sure
I am running every day. This is on top of squash or gym or any
other exercise I do – as I said, it is and addition to my lifestyle and
week-by-week living. This is what I am doing for Lent for my diet. I’ve
given up other things that aren’t really relevant
but I can already tell lunch time is going to be a trial; triple
chocolate brownies are making an appearance on the menu today. Lo,
though I walk through the valley in the shadow of fattening foods I will
fear no calories…
