First Monthly Goal Achieved

So this week I upped my walks from 30 minutes to 40 minutes. I am still not fast, but I felt ready to go for longer. Out I headed. At the 21 minute mark (I walk faster on the way back so always head out for 1 minute more than the half way point) I had gone a lot further than I expected. But I turned around and got home in 20 minutes. Out of curiosity I used mapmyride.com to see how far I went.

3.28kms!

Yay! I am really happy with that distance. And that is January walking goal achieved. I am now aiming for 4kms by the end of Feb.

5 days walking

YAY! I made it through 5 days of getting up early and walking. And now I have 2 rest days and I am SO excited by that! My legs are incredibly tired and fatigued, but it is a real accomplishment for me to have achieved this.

I had another good food day yesterday - 2020 cals. The weekend is going to be harder. No exercise so only 1800 cals, plus I will not have the structure of a work day. But I will do my best and see how I go.

Last night I was absolutely STARVING! But instead of reaching for the food I reached for the phone and sent a text to my OHB Buddy. She talked me through the hunger and I went to bed dead on calories. I love having a buddy to help me through this.

As promised, here are my monthly goals so that I will be on track to meet my 2 major goals for the year. Yes, I am starting small, but I am incredibly un-fit, and you gotta start somewhere.

Walking to 21 kms

Monthly goals
January - 3 kms
February - 4 kms
March - 5 kms
April - 7 kms
May - 9 kms
June - 10 kms
July - 12 kms
August - 14 kms
September - 16 kms
October - 18 kms
November - 21.1 kms

Cycling to 100 kms

Monthly goals
January - 10 kms
February - 15 kms
March - 20 kms
April - 30 kms
May - 40 kms
June - 50 kms
July - 60 kms
August - 60 kms
September - 70 kms
October - 80 kms
November - 90 kms
December - 100 kms

I thought I would show you an example of what I am having for lunches. I mentioned the other day I did a big cook up. Todays feast includes a pasta bake cooked with TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein for the non-vego's out there), a garden salad, a hard boiled egg and a meat-free patty. If I am still hungry after all that (which can happen) I also have fruit with me. :)

 

Day 1

I have been planning on starting this path to fitness for a while. But getting on the scales today was still a rude awakening....

But first, a bit of history.

I have been a fatty my whole life to varying degrees. 4 years ago I lost 45 kilos and was well on my way to getting fit and healthy. A variety of life issues pushed my focus and I turned back to food to cope. Last year the life issues had all passed and I was taken down with a torn Achilles tendon. Due to my weight it took a long long time to heal (and I still need to be careful) and a year of inactivity on top of 2 years of comfort eating has left me back at the starting point. Actually, I am heavier than ever.

I turn 40 in 12 months. I want to be fit. I don't really care about the fat too much, but I know that in order to be fit I need to drop a lot of it.

I have 2 fitness goals for 2012:
 - to cycle 100kms in a day
 - to walk a half marathon distance (21.1kms)

As for my weight, I need to lose over 90 kilos. This will take 3-4 years. I am fine with that.

My plan will be reviewed monthly. For January my plan is
 - 1800-2200 calories (depending on activity levels)
 - 1.5 L of water a day
 - 5 days exercise (gradually increasing in type, length and intensity)
 - lose 8 kgs

First weigh in - 166.3kgs (366.6 lbs)