Week In Review: 417

"Better late than never." ~ Unknown

The last few weeks haven't been easy... as you can imagine. Most of my time has been spent between preparing for my move back to Ontario (3500 km away), and trapped in my head with thoughts/emotions of the current situation. Even though we're the best of friends and the split was probably the most amicable in human history, there's a fair amount of stress and emotion that accompanies such a situation.

As far as my relationship with food/exercise and healthy living, my current self is coping FAR better than my former self would've, which is success in and of itself, and it's something that I can be very proud of.

Here's a condensed version of my review for last week.

By The Numbers:

Weight Loss/Gain = -2.5 lbs.
Body Fat % Loss/Gain = -.8%
Lean Body Mass Loss/Gain = Even


Overall Review:

Last week still managed to go according to plan.  I maintained my routine with very little deviation and that is nothing short of spectacular considering my life at the moment.

I hope everyone else had a great week, and is currently having one (it is the weekend after all).

It's Time To Ramble On

"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

It saddens me to announce that Sherri and I after 8 years are parting and heading our separate ways. Our break-up is completely amicable, with no blame to be laid, and probably years overdue, but that doesn't make it any easier.

It's taken me over a week to build up the courage to talk about this in my blog, which shouldn't be that hard since practically no one reads it. We both still love each other very much, but we both understand that it's the right decision to make. We've started the preparation for my return to Ontario. Leaving Sherri, her family and Newfoundland behind will undoubtedly be the hardest thing I've ever done, and it's only a few weeks away.

My friends Tera and John have graciously offered me a room at their house, which is great since I'm not sure where else I would have gone, especially since my job with Canada Post will be in limbo until the transfer papers go through... which might be measured in months as apposed to days or weeks.

Sherri made me promise that I would continue my journey on the road to healthy living, and reminded me about how far I've come. I was greatful that she did that, and I fully intend to honour that promise.

Remembrance

"Tears water our growth." ~ Shakespeare

Two years ago this day my family, friends and I lost my father. It's hard to believe that two years have passed since that sad day.  I continue to strive to make you proud.

You are never far from my thoughts pops. I miss you dearly.

"The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it." 
~ John Ruskin

Well that and ice cream.

After lunch I went for my typical 6km walk.  I put in an extra 36 mins on the elliptical during the Leafs game to burn 400 calories so I could enjoy a single scoop of Pralines & Cream ice cream from "Bergs Famous Ice Cream".

Single scoop, no cone.... Delicious and due to the extra workout.... GUILT FREE.

Week in Review: 416

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

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

By The Numbers:

Weight Loss/Gain = -2.3 lbs.
Body Fat % Loss/Gain = -.5%
Lean Body Mass Loss/Gain = -0.4 lbs


Overall Review:

What can I say besides I seem to be on a roll.  The last couple of days during my weigh-in my BF% climbed by 1.5%  for some unknown reason. Overall for the week I still achieved a BF loss of .5%, but my lean body mass took a hit of almost a 1/2 pound.  If my BF% continues to trend high high my LBM could take a more significant hit this week.  I'm not overly worried, but it's definitely something I'm keeping an eye on.

As for my guidelines, things were pretty much the same as the week before, with an extra red (and a few yellows) due to cheat meals.  We ended up eating out 3 times this week, but I doubled my exercise on two of the cheat meal days to try and compensate for the transgression.  Theoretically the bump in my BF% could be due to this, but the meals in question weren't incredibly bad for me (okay... higher in salt/fat, but not fast food), and I made up for it with extra exercise.  I don't know... definitely something to keep in mind.

Another week down, another successful week to go.  Have a great week everyone.


Goals and Guidelines:

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

Here's how I did this week:

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.