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I was inspired by the other 2 thread & decided I should find a place to talk as I find my way in thru the fitness maze. Figure out why works, what doesn't and how to improve.
Little bit about me: I have always been overweight, fat, obese ever since I can remember. I have hard time saying "no" to food. I see, I must eat has always been my habit. I have always been trying to lose weight and get healthy.
Goal: Find methods that works for me
Attempts
Jan - switch brown rice with white rice 2-3x/ week. Meaning cook brown rice once a week.
Feb - fill half plate with veggies then add rest of the food, could be anything as long as my 50% is taken up by vegetables
Mar - step up, increase steps to 7-10k/day
Apr - intermediate fasting to reduce appetite.
May -
Jun -
July -
Aug -
Sept -
Oct -
Nov -
Dec -
I have had 2 successful moment in past regarding diet/weight. 1st was in senior year of college when I had light load of class & my on campus work was easy, both allowed me time to attend campus fitness class in gym. I treated these fitness class as if its my real class and that's when I discovered my love for fitness class. I ended up taking 7 class/week without ever realizing how much I was doing. It was fun and way to hangout with friends. One day I realize I lose weight I lost weight to the point my mom was telling me to gain weight because I look bad. But it was great to lose so much. Then I graduated and realize how much gym cost. I figure I can wing it, I signed up for local dance class once a week but it wasn't high intense. Soon 6 month later I saw my weight creep up but I was between job n still not ready to pay gym fee. I tried at home DVD, tried running outside, tried walking n fixing my diet but the weight kept going up n up.
Finally after 20lb weight gain, I signed up at Fitzone. It was love at first sight, beautiful pink/purple color gym, very girly, where everyone knows your name. It was on my way home from work but at max I was able to attend 3-4hr/week. I couldn't get back to my old weight but I maintained a constant weight for 3 years following this 3 times week workout. I wasn't happy at lack of progress but little did I know, I could be so much more fatter. During recession the gym went out of business & I couldn't find any other gym I loved. So again I thought I will wing it: Sign up for gym few months year, give up, did at home, took class at community center.... But nope these uncommitted method didn't help. Instead I gained 28lb since my steady weight when I was regular at gym, 48lb more than my lowest weight
I am ready for change. So far I implemented diet, clean eating first quarter of this year. I lost 9lb so far, looking for bit more progress. I will update on what I tried this week and if it worked
The most important thing about getting in shape and staying healthy is finding the right process that works for you. This means finding something that motivates you to keep going and can adapt to your lifestyle.
I have many friends that tell me that I would get better results if I join a gym or crossfit, and while those are excellent suggestions, for me nothing beats being able to work out from home and do my workouts when I am able to fit them into my day. I live in West LA and traffic is horrible most of the day. Working out at home allows me to avoid the stress of driving in traffic and to have more time for other things. Plus, I completely remove any excuses that may prevent me from getting my daily exercise done.
Keep up the good work. I am looking forward to continue reading your updates and checking out your progress.
Last week of April - Giving a mild version of intermittent fasting a chance to try reduce appetite. Also getting kick started on May goal of getting real workout
Breakfast - the most important meal of the day (so I have been told) is very difficult for me to plan for & make the time to eat. I much rather sleep extra than eat that breakfast. Most days I grab a banana and eat while driving. But food I eat while driving or engaging in any other activity does not give the same "food" satisfaction & leaves me craving more "real food". It feels like empty calorie. So I decided to only give food to my body when it ask for it, not because I been scheduled to eat at certain time.
The sweet spot for me is 10am as I get to work by 9. Get my self set, have few sips of water or tea, answer few emails, make my to-do list, take a quick walk around building and finally sit down to eat. Delaying myself reminds my body that who is in charge, what is the purpose of food, and that delay gratification really sets the tone for rest of the day. I diverged from the plan 2 days to test a new theory. one day I delayed breakfast until lunch (basically skipped breakfast on purpose) and I did not like the feeling of that: I got full too fast at lunch, rest of the day I felt "off". At a morning meeting where there was muffin & other goodies, I gave in and had bad breakfast & notice the rest of the day I kept making bad decision and had less control of my craving. So NOTE TO SELF: Delayed breakfast lets body know who is the boss here.
Workout 20-30 min gym 4 days plus 7000-12000 steps/day
Strength - Kettle ball and upper body dumbbell. Tried running but I am not ready for real workout yet.
Last Week of April - To kick start my new goal, last week I started using the tiny gym I have access to at work. I followed workout from pinterest: kettle ball, upper body dumbbell work. I really tried running for half hour but I always found myself walking on treadmill. I figure something is better than nothing so kept walking until 10K steps. I spent 30 minx 4days doing basic workout.
First week of May - I still did not sign up with a gym yet. Still prepping myself to build a habit before purchasing a membership. Instead I am using community center fitness class & tiny gym at work with 5 equipment.
Weekly Goal
New habit: Attend 1 fitness class, 1-2 day strength train on my own & 1day walking/running/yoga whatever I feel like.
New habit: Pack container of salad that will last 2 days. Pack cut fruits that will last 2 days
Old habit: Maintain 10K steps/day by taking walk in morning and afternoon. Delay breakfast until 10 am & have something light. Replace dinner with breakfast food: yogurt or cereal or fruits
Wishful thinking: cook brown rice, make veggie dish, attend more fitness class and workout everyday
This weekly post is not working, I need to write more often or I forget. Plus the excitement is not there.
Monday - on TRACK - Worked out (Zumba), ate less (had simple dinner of yogurt/granola & delayed breakfast until 10am) & slept like a baby. It was great.
Tuesday - Semi On Track - Worked out on my own (kettle ball 30 min + walk until 10K step), ate less (salad for lunch) but felt hungry thru out the day so finally gave in after lunch and had 3 Ferrora Rocher & chocolate crescent. Could have/should have/would have managed better by eating little bit more but the devil in me wanted something tasty. Due to light workout, i am having hard time sleeping.
Thought I nailed my diet last few weeks & i went to higher level by experimenting with intermittent fasting. But now that i upped my workout, my old diet plan doesn't seem sufficient. I am left hungry. Back to drawing board to balance out diet with energy required.
I have been so hungry today. With increase workout, I guess my old diet plan is not working. I spent month on adjusting my diet and cutting it down. Now I have to adjust again. I am sure once I nail my diet again i will see the need to up my activity while will require me to adjust my diet. And the cycle continues
Super motivated via my workout habit last 3 days, i really wanted to add another goal of building up to 5K run. But I stopped myself. Only 1 goal at a time. This week is to attend fitness class. Save the goal in my future
First week of May - Good week, great first half of the week. Happy I went to 2 fitness class, I almost missed the 2nd one but glad I forced myself to go. I should have spaced out my workout or did something on Friday but I was busy planning a graduation party. I also over ate 2nd half of the week & I was constantly hungry. I did really good by eating salad when I went out to eat on Thursday. But I was hungry every 2 hours until bedtime. Food wise, not only did I meet my goal I also completed my wish-list of making brown rice and salad and fruit.
New habit Gym: Attended Zumba on Monday & Total Body on Wednesday. Worked out on my own on Tuesday. Lost weight during these 3 days but gained most of it back during rest of the week when I did nothing
New habit Food: Made a large salad that lasted me 2 lunch. Made brown rice that did not taste good (need more water) but happy that I made that. Also cut cantaloupe which tasted great. Packed a container of Cantaloupe to snack at work. Happy with this week
Old habit: Had over 10K steps, most days 11-12K. Could not follow intermittent fasting 2nd half of the week, I was super hungry must be linked to working out 3 days in row.
Lost ~1lb this week => reward myself by getting eyebrow shaped & face waxed
Goal for 2nd week of May - Continue 2 fitness class and workout on my own 2 days, 10K+ steps/daily, make brown rice, salad, cut fruit. Keep track of food intake. Weight goal to be at 165lb this week.
2nd week of May - Experimented with being lazy when it comes to food & Impact of cloudy mind.
I am super lazy, I am always procrastinating. I never feel caught up. It is so hard for me to be productive. Last week I thought, why am I not procrastinating when it comes to eating when I do it in every other aspect of life. How about reverse the system? So I decided to be lazy when it came to eating. Saturday I did not get out of bed until 2pm so just lunch for that day. Most days I was too lazy to get to kitchen and eat. I waited until I was super hungry to feed myself. The results:
The GOOD - I ate less, much less. It showed me how little I actually need The BAD - I did lot less as well. I didn't hit my 10K goal, I usually didn't have lot of energy or interest to go to gym & I drank less water. Overall I ate less and did less, so it was a wash. THE UGLY - 2x last week when I was too lazy to eat & wanted to finish what I was doing before having the meal, I found my hunger level slowly increase & silly me I still ignored it only to find my body shaking slightly. Rest of the day I felt horrible because of this, even after eating.
Conclusion: I will try the lazy Saturday when I rather sleep than eat time to time. But I will never let myself get to super hungry phase where my body is shaking. Not good.
I linked my shopping list to weight loss in an effort to motivate myself & reduce spending. Lost 2lb -> get the dress I been eyeing, lose 4lb - > buy moisturizer, lose 6lb -> get that lipstick..etc. It was a brilliant idea except my list kept getting longer and longer while I was not losing weight fast enough. It got to the point where its blocking my thought process. I spent 3 days last week visit store just to look at items I want to buy but I can't because I didn't lose the weight. I wasted time browsing online & in turn I skipped on my workout because I JUST NEEDED TO TRY ON THAT DRESS ONE MORE TIME & see if I still love it. I couldn't think pass the shopping need. So I gave up and went shopping this weekend without restriction. No one item per lb but things I need/wanted. Now my head is clear, I am ready to focus on my health & when I do hit the next milestone at 2lb loss, I will treat myself but I will not create a long list again.
The GOOD - helped me save on spending & think twice about things I am buying, gave me extra steps from all the time I wasted browsing in store. The BAD - The list got too long, I was frustrated, all I can think about is "when will I be able to get xyz". My mind was cloudy up The UGLY - I missed workout session because I was frustrated
Conclusion: I will still use shopping as reward for weight loss but I will not put my essential on that list or create a list that has more than 2 items on it.
*This week goal is to be in 164#*
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I lost weight to the point my mom was telling me to gain weight because I look bad. But it was great to lose so much. Then I graduated and realize how much gym cost. I figure I can wing it, I signed up for local dance class once a week but it wasn't high intense. Soon 6 month later I saw my weight creep up but I was between job n still not ready to pay gym fee. I tried at home DVD, tried running outside, tried walking n fixing my diet but the weight kept going up n up. 
