Week in Review: 413

"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results."
~ Winston Churchill

 
~ Nick D. Kim (strange-matter.net) permission obtained.

As stated from the get go my overall goal is "To achieve mental & physical wellness by leading a consistent & healthy lifestyle". To be able to accomplish this goal I will have to focus on three key area's of my life:

1. Nutrition - 1st component of physical wellness
2. Fitness - 2nd component of physical wellness
3. Mental Health - the path to mental wellness

:Met/exceeded guideline
:Met or Almost meet guideline every day
:Failed to meet guideline


Nutrition Guidelines:

1. To log my meals and snacks daily. (Using BodyMedia "Activity Manager")
2. To drink +8, 8 oz glasses of water each day.
3. To eat 5-6 times daily.
4. To eat slowly, chew more and enjoy my food.
5. To consume 5-10 servings of fruit and vegetable each day.
6. To reduce sugar intake as a whole, with focus on reducing/eliminating refined sugars.
7. To reduce sodium intake to below 2300 mg/day.
8. To reduce/eliminate Saturated Fat and Trans Fats.
9. To reduce/eliminate MSG, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated & Fractionated Oils,  Artificial  Flavours and Colouring, as well as any ingredients that sound like they belong in a chemistry lab.
10. To prepare and eat more meals @ home, while reducing dining out.
11. To eliminate visits to Fast Food Restaurants when dining out. (Banned List)
12. To find healthier alternatives to food I already consume.


Fitness Guidelines:

1. To upload my BodyMedia collected data daily.
2. To burn +2950 calories each day.
3. To burn +750 more calories than I consume.
4. To get +60 mins exercise each day (50 mins moderate & 10 mins Vigorous).
5. To walk +8000 Steps each day.
6. To purposely park father away from my destination.
7. To allocate 1 day a week to rest.


Mental Health Guidelines:

1. To get between 7-8 hrs sleep daily.
2. To allocate +15 mins daily to reading.
3. To listen to music often.
4. To research and start practicing meditation/relaxation techniques.
5. To take 2-3 mins every hour or so to take few deep breaths/stretch.
6. To organize and complete a weekly To-Do list.
7. To maintain my blog and relationships online.
8. To keep contact with my friends and family.
9. To have 1 cheat meal and desert each week.
10. To leave work @ work.


By The Numbers:

Weight Loss/Gain = -4.2 lbs.
Body Fat % Loss/Gain = -.9%
Lean Body Mass Loss/Gain = +1.3 lbs.


Overall Review:

I couldn't be happier with the success I had this week.  The numbers speak for themselves, but more important than the numbers is how good I feel.... and look.  My energy has increased, I feel lighter on my feet, I look slimmer, I sleep better, my stomach feels better, and I look forward to starting my day more.

I passed the dreaded 230 lbs. mark that I tend to bottom out at, and I've now 1.3% below my original starting body fat percentage all those years ago.  Everything just feels right this time.

As for the red X's above there are a few that I didn't focus on enough and a couple that I just plain neglected.  The only one that I made some improvement on was eating more fruit and vegetables.  I really struggle on this one because I really don't enjoy many vegetables and I'm picky when it comes to fruit.  This is one aspect that I can't change overnight, but I am trying to make changes daily.  It's my hope that in a few weeks I might be able to move this over to yellow, and then continue to make additional changes to hit green.  As for the other red X's, I'll be putting more focus on them this week.

A lot of my success has come from being diligent with recording my meals, and looking for healthier alternatives to some of my staples.  It's amazing how much you can be off if you're guessing, which I plan to discuss soon.

I plan to keep things pretty much the same for the next week. I hope everyone else had a great week!