Week in Review: 415

"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 = -2.0 lbs.
Body Fat % Loss/Gain = -.6%
Lean Body Mass Loss/Gain = Even


Overall Review:

Yet another successful week.   Once again I accomplished what I set out to do.  I managed to get a few red to yellow, and let a couple greens slip to yellows... not to shabby.  I'm still doing a really crappy job of managing my time.  I've been working pretty hard on trying to get my new website set up, and I've been pouring time into that when I could've spent some time posting on this one, and addressing other things like updating/completing my to-do list.

I changed the order of this review around a bit.  I figured that most people only have a 30 second attention span, so I moved the "By The Numbers" and "Overall Review" up top before all the extra detailed stuff which everybody probably skips anyways.

It's actually Wednesday as I'm finally completing this, but through the magic of the internet I backdated it to Monday... Yay Interweb!

I hope everyone else had a great week!  Keep on trucking.


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.

Goals & Guidelines 2013

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps." ~ Confucius Well here we are coming up on the 8th year of Bornsquishy... oh how time has flown by.  Many moons ago I created some basic goals and guidelines, and I have built upon that foundation as the years have gone by.  I realize that it's almost May, but it's still important to know what I wish to try and accomplish for the remainder of the year.  The following are my updated Goals & Guidelines for 2013 which still focus on 3 categories: Fitness, nutrition & mental health (BALANCE).

At some point in the near future, I'll create a new post dedicated to each of the 3 categories outlining how I plan to accomplish the goals specific to that category using the S.M.A.R.T mnemonic.

Overall Fitness Goal:  With my new job as a Mail Carrier for Canada Post, the need for improvement in my fitness level has become paramount.  Being a Mail Carrier is a physically demanding job that will ultimately help me achieve my weight loss & fitness goals, yet it could also be my downfall if I don't lose weight to keep the abuse to my knee at a minimum.  I need to increase my strength, stamina,   

Fitness Activity Goals:
1. Complete the "One Hundred Push Ups Training Program"
2. Complete the "CIBC Run for the Cure"
3. To start rollerblading.
4. To start hiking (local trails).
5. To start Kayaking.
6. To start Snow Shoeing.

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.


Overall Nutrition Goals: I recognize that this is one area that needs to be completely overhauled in my life. The funny thing is that I actually well read and educated on the topic. My goal is to successfully use this knowledge and put it into action.  Increasing my intake fruits and vegetables will be my biggest challenge.

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 & Colouring, 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.


Overall Mental Health Goals: In the past I've allowed stress to build up without a means of coping with it beyond the comfort of food... I've always been an emotional eater. My new goal is a two pronged approach. Firstly I need to reduce the overall stress in my life. Secondly I need to create new coping mechanisms to deal more effectively with stress. Achieving/following my above fitness goals/guidelines would be a great start.

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.

P.S: Sherri wanted to know where the "Sherri" category was and I had to explain to her that she was an integral part of the other 3 categories.... to which her response was "but where is the buy Sherri presents goal?". It's going to be a long year....lol.

I plan to update/modify this list throughout the year!

Blazing a Trail

"Yay me." ~ BornSquishy

I'm so proud of myself today. I went for my regular 5.9 km walk, but I decided to really push myself.  I started off walking as fast as my legs would carry me.  I didn't really intend to blast through the whole walk, but that's exactly what I ended up doing.  My poor calf muscles and shins were screaming at me to slow down, but I dug down deep and power through the pain.

Here's what I have to show for my effort:

I managed to set an average pace of 6.75 km/h or 4.19 mph which is pretty dam quick for walking.  I have no intentions of trying to beat this time for at least another 3-6 months.  To be honest I don't think I can walk any faster unless I grow longer legs or start doing that crazy speed walking.

I didn't think it was possible to sweat sooooo much from walking.  People watching me must of had a good chuckle seeing my arms pumping like mad, and the look of pained determination on my face. 

Blast From the Past

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” 
~ Mother Teresa

One of the recent documentaries that I watched recommended gathering up photographs from a time where you were happier with your self image to help you visualize what you will look like as you progress towards your weight loss goal.

Easier Said than done.

It took me awhile, but I was able to dig up 2 photographs that I have always been happy with.  Here they are:

1998 Photo: was taken the day my brother was getting married.  I was 25 years old at the time and I had recently lost about 20 pounds.  My self confidence was pretty high and although I still had a high body fat percentage, I was far more at ease in my own skin.  This was also the only time in my life where my weight remained below 220 lbs. for an extended period of time.

1989 Photo: was taken on a trip to Virgina Beach.  I was only 16 at the time.  The picture is a bit blurry because the picture was taken from a long distance away, and in reality I'm only about 3/4" tall in the picture.  I cropped the photo and zoomed in to obtain what you see above.

It was during my previous 2 years that I had put on a ton of weight, but by this point I had really started to come around.  I was far more active and I had also near the end of my last growth spurt (I was only 5 feet tall when I started High School and I was probably about 5' 9" in this photo).  This photo is the only picture I have without a t-shirt on past the age of around 8.  This was also one of the only times I've ever gone shirtless in public.  I can remember being surprised at just how athletic I looked in the image (remember I was only 3/4" in the real picture) and I felt good about myself.

Body Fat %:  Although the listed weight is almost dead on, the body fat percentage range listed represents my best guess based on the many years I've kept track of my BF% since obtaining my scale, and from the following image found here:

I'm keeping both of these pictures at my computer desk to help me visualize what I will look like in the not too distant future.  Visualizing a better you helps to break down the self image barriers that those of us who struggle with weight tend to have.  Hopefully these pictures will help me do just that. 

Week in Review: 414

"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 = -3.0 lbs.
Body Fat % Loss/Gain = -.5%
Lean Body Mass Loss/Gain = -2.9 lbs.


Overall Review:

Another successful week.  I ate well, I exercised, I recorded my meals, and I was rewarded with a 3 lb weight loss and another .5% of body fat loss.  I did however take a rather large hit to my LBM, but my hope is that it's more of a fluctuation rather than actual muscle loss.  I'm not too concerned right now, but I'll definitely keep my eye on it.

As for the red X's above there are quite a few that were repeats from last week, but a couple I managed to move over to yellow.  I'm not overly concerned about this right now as I don't want to try and change every aspect of my life all at once and overwhelm my efforts.  Baby steps will get me there eventually and it's working well so far.

Full steam ahead... I hope everyone else had a great week!