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.

Day 3

Another great day yesterday. 1945 calories (spot on target) and felt good all day. A little bit of hunger, but nothing too intense. I got up early and went for my walk this morning. It was a great walk actually. The cool change came in over night and took the blinding heat and the humidity with it. This morning was just beautiful being out on the street. I also took a peek at the scales (I tend to weigh every 2-3 days) and am happy with the weeks progress so far.

Over the Xmas break I started planning for OFB. I put aside a day and did a big cook up so I have enough lunches for 3-4 weeks. I made spinach pie (absolutely to die for), a zucchini loaf (trying for the first time today) and a pasta bake. One of those with a small salad, a hard boiled egg and a meat-free patty (I pre-cooked a whole heap and froze them) and my lunches are done for the month. It is already making it easier than I have experienced before. I used to eat very little for lunch and spend the rest of the day starving (or bingeing) so this is working well for me.

One thing that is probably important to know is that I am pescatarian (life a vegetarian but I occasionally eat seafood). I was vegetarian for over 2 years but in the last couple of months have started having the occasional seafood meal. I can only tolerate small amounts of it (I stopped eating meat as it is the main aggravator of my IBS), but I am really enjoying the extra element in my diet.

I am also thinking of joining a gym again. I will be honest, I don’t like them. But I have absolutely no upper body strength and need to do some weights (upper body strength makes cycling easier believe it or not). Plus it takes the weather out of the equation. We have just had several days of 39+ heat and a gym will definitely make exercising in that easier. Plus they have classes, and Yoga and things, which I am interested in. I am looking at Goodlife. They have 2 gyms convenient to me (one close to work and one close to home). We will see though.

Day 2

Well, day 1 went pretty well. I did my exercise, ate only 1615 calories (which is quite low, but I saved a whole heap for night time which is my munchie time and then dinner was really filling so I stopped), and drank all my water.

I got up at 5.45 this morning (rude, I know) and went for my 30 minute walk. I am only walking a little over 2kms coz I am slow (had a torn Achilles tendon last year that took ages and ages to heal and it is still a bit sensitive), but it is still 30 minutes of movement, and I can only get better. I have made my lunch and it is in the fridge here at work ready to go. It will be another good day.

My exercise goal for this week is 5 x 30 minute walks. So far I am 2 from 2 which is awesome. Am going to try and get them done by Friday so I don’t have to think about it on the weekend.

There is not really much else to say today. I will probably only check in every few days or when there is something to report.

Till next time. J

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)