A-MAY-Zing May

 Welcome to A-May-Zing May.  Catchy huh?   Ok, I admit, it's a bit corny, but hey, that's just who I am!  But regardless, I am going to try to make May my most amazing month yet!

Before we can get into May though, lets talk a bit about April.   April did not go as I had planned.  I finished off that 75 Hard challenge early in April and I was gung ho!  I was going to carry on with those habits that I had set and I was going to rock out April.   I even called it my 'one month of winning'.  Except that I didn't quite have  month of winning.  My plans got shot to smithereens the moment I got sick.  I should have only lost one week to being sick.  However, I struggled to get my mojo back after being sick.  Exercise at 5AM never recommenced.   Water consumption was slow to pick back up.  Afternoon walks were non existent.  I tracked very little of what I ate.  Naps became a common occurrence and probably the worst thing of all was the addition of TV into my daily routine.  Yes, the person that used to never turn on the tv while home alone now turned (turns) on the tv at any chance! It was a disaster waiting to happen. It wasn't a stellar month in terms of my efforts.

What WAS a success is the fact that I did manage to lose 8 pounds. (Or should I say I managed to maintain 8 of the 12 pounds I lost while I was sick.)   I managed this simply because after I was sick and my involuntary fast of 3-4 days that I was much more in tune with my bodies signals in terms of hunger and fullness.   I started to notice that I wasn't hungry half of the time when I was eating.  I was eating because it was 'lunchtime' or because I was bored.  I also started to notice that I could feel my body telling me that I was getting full and to stop eating.    I have long struggled with these feelings and signals and it was a 'weird' thing for me to experience.   But I really stopped to listen.  I really stopped and tried to heed these signals.  I won't say I was successful all the time, but I can say that I really think I made some positive steps toward being more cognizant.   For that reason alone, I call April a somewhat successful month.  

 

So as April came to a close I started to really think about where I was.  I'm happy with the 8 pounds, but I need to lose a whole lot more than 8 pounds!  I know I can do it and I know that May can be A-May-Zing for me.  But if I want it to be amazing, I need to stop being loosey-goosey with my health practices and get serious.   For a hot fleeting moment I thought about doing another 75 hard.  But before the thought was even fully in my head I knew that this was not the time for that.  Instead I decided to focus on basic principals and to not even focus on them 7 days a week!   I decided to go for the sustainable route for this month.  So here are my plans!

1. Steps.   My goal is 5,000 steps daily.  I have been watching a lot of tv.  You don't get steps when you watch TV, so my step count has been somewhat lower in April.  It's time to work on it.   Sure I WANTED to say I would do 10K  but I am going for sustainable so for now it is 5K steps for six days of the week.  Yes, I am giving myself a pass one day of the week.  It's the first of the month as I write this, of course I am in the back of my head thinking "I really want to do it each day, but I also know that the moment I miss a day I will give up because all will be lost.  It's an all or nothing mentality.  SO 6 days a week....just 5K steps.  That's it!

2. Water.  Of course water is going to be part of this challenge. The goal, 64 ounces a day.....or should I say 64 ounces of water 6 days of the week.   If it's 7, awesome.  If it's 6 that is still a great, and still puts me right there at the 80% perfect mark.

3.  Calories.  I need to start tracking  my calories.  I am aiming for 1400-1500 calories daily.....or should I say 6 days a week. :-)

4.  I am going to be doing some intermittent fasting during the month.  5 days a week I want to do a 16:8 fast.   I will be fasting from dinner until lunch the next day......at least 5 days a week.  

 So you can see, there isn't anything  earth shattering about my plans.  If I feel motivated, I can definitely add some formal exercise. But if I get my steps from working outside that's still good.   If I want, I can do more steps.  I can even eat lower calories or drink more water.  But if I follow my plan, I will have taken some great strides toward being healthy.

So what is next after the 75 Hard

 It is crazy to think that the 75 hard challenge is just about over!   It seemed so long ago when I started it! 

 I mean really.....it was stinkin' cold outside  when I started!

 

I have to be honest and say that there have been quite a few times during this challenge that I have have thought about "the next time"  in terms of doing the 75 hard challenge again.  I would do things a bit differently:

    * I wouldn't give myself the 30 minute bail out option for the outdoor exercise (which was given mostly because it was REALLY cold when I first started this challenge)

    *  I would do this challenge in the summer where cold wasn't an issue and if it did rain where it would be a nice warm summer rain.

    * I would also make myself drink the gallon of water versus reduce it to the 64 ounces.

    * I would build in more rest days. Still exercise and have the two required 45 minute segments of activity, but I would put a plan in place for once a week those would be more 'rest'.  Yoga maybe.  This time I felt guilty when I did something lighter.

    *I would make a more strict diet routine.  I made this one at 1500....even though I know that I don't typically lose weight at 1500. (I also don't weigh my food, so my 1500 is probably a bit higher for those of you how are gasping at the not losing at 1500).  I would make it a more difficult 'diet' to follow.

But all that said, an immediate repeat of the 75 hard challenge is not in the cards for me right now.  I want to rest my body and I want to focus on getting this weight off.  The 75 hard challenge built a good foundation.  Now it's time to build upon that foundation.

I know that I am not going to continue with 7 days a week exercise because I think my body needs rest days.  But I also know that I don't want to go to nothing.  I need to find the happy middle ground.  I enjoy the outdoor walks...especially when it's not brutally cold....or windy....or rainy...or snowy.  I may not be as intent on doing it each day but I do believe that I will be continuing my walks (most likely in graveyards) at least until I get a job.  

Post 75 Hard I am going to lower my daily allotment of calories to 1400 and start working on 'weekly' calories and not daily.  So I will start with 9800 calories for each week.  I believe I am also going to adjust my weigh in day.  

I used to weigh in on Fridays.  But I stopped that.  My weight was always so much lower on Fridays and I thought that I was 'cheating'.  I figured my Wednesday weigh in would be the most accurate.  But after reading the book Eat It  (Technically listening to it) I decided that the up and down and the low weight on Fridays/Saturdays is perfectly normal for someone that will be doing a diet that is more closely in tune with calorie cycling (typically one day up one day low....or in my case...all weekdays low and weekends higher).  I want my higher days at the beginning of the caloric week, so that I know what I can eat the rest of the week.  And I want my weigh in at the end of that caloric week.  So Friday/Saturday it is.  

I know that I need a challenge.  So I am taking all of this information and I am doing a challenge for the month of April.   Yes, I will be starting it on the first of April (The weekly calories actually start on March 30th to coincide with my shift in weigh in days.) and I am aware that the first of April will only be the 73rd day of my 75 hard challenge.  But my  new challenge, the 'One Month of Winning' challenge really does go hand in hand with the 75 hard.   It actually has so many of the same principles, just offers a bit more flexibility and freedom!  SO as long as I don't utilize the flexibility during hte first three days of April, I will be find with sharing those days with both challenges!

One Month of Winning

* Weekly calorie goal of 9800.

* Formal Exercise (like with a video) each weekday.  Furthermore, two days  must include strength training.  (I am aiming for Tuesday and Thursday at this point)  Each session must be at least 30 minutes. Two rest days

* Informal Exercise (walking, working in the yard, etc) 5 times a week. It doesn't matter what days...I just need 5 days! Two rest/lazy days.

* Water - 64 ounces daily

* Steps - I need to clock at least 5K steps.  I originally was looking at more, but I know for me that if I focus too much on steps that I will pretty much ignore strength training because it doesn't generate as many steps!  So I am pushing for a lower step count.

So each day I have 5 things.   5 possible check marks on my calendar.  For the weekly calorie  goal, as long as I am under that goal at the end of the day it is a win! 

  If it is a perfect day, I will be putting a sticker on my calendar.    Perfect would obviously be 30 stickers at the end of April.  HOWEVER, I am not worried about perfection.  So to WIN will be to have 80% perfection.  So my magic is 24 stickers at the end of the month!!!!

 I am on a roll with the 75 hard.  I have exercised more consistently (I have never not taken a rest day) in the last 10 weeks than I ever before! While I know I need rest and I know that the 75 hard is a bit extreme, I also know that I don't want to lose the momentum that I have gained.  So Here goes the One Month of Winning!