The last weight loss update!

Ok, that's sort of a trick. Starting tomorrow, I'll be calling them 'Live healthy' ;-)

You see, today is September eve. Good bye, August. You weren't too bad. I worked pretty hard at living healthy and I saw some benefits. Today's the day to evaluate and reload for September, including a new 'Live healthy' contract. Oh, yeah: and I lost a few pounds, too ;-)

Had to be intentional to not put the weight loss first. It's still on the front of my mind. And it's still probably the number one reward I want to reap from living healthy. Little by little...

Some more detail:

1. My first goal was to wake up at 6 everyday, rested and ready to exercise. This was probably the goal I missed on the most. However, it also, ultimately, had the least effect. Its purpose was to facilitate exercise, and I did really well with my exercise. The few days I didn't exercise in the morning I was able to rejigger my schedule to make it up.

This goal will fade for September. It's starting to get a little cooler in the mornings, so I don't have to work out as early to keep from melting. The sun isn't rising until almost 7. And I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be riding my bike on weekday mornings anymore. (I'm going to try my neighbor's recumbent stationary bike as a replacement.) For September I will still plan on exercising before work. By the time we get to winter, in case you're curious, I'll be doing any outside cardio over lunch when it's warmer.

2. My second goal was to exercise 12 times a week and, if you've been following my progress, you know this is the goal I blew out of the water. I probably missed a couple times biking but, overall, I did really well with exercise. Good job myself! What should I do for a reward? ;-)

I'll probably keep this goal essentially the same (granting the cycling switch). In fact, I may even add a Thursday night workout (pushups, situps and squats). I probably either need more reps or less rest between sets on my pushups. You can always do more situps (abs recover faster and I didn't like my average test result). And I might do more squats just for good measure ;-)

In the challenging category here, Elizabeth's dance schedule (4x/week!) is in full swing and Wil is going to try going back to fencing (which is a 2-hour, twice a week trip, home to class to home). Caution to myself: don't fall for all-or-nothing thinking, as you're wont to do; if you can't do 30 minutes, do 10.

3. Weight loss and calorie control was probably my second weakest goal. I wanted to lose at least a pound a week and my average loss was only about a half a pound. I think I gave myself a little too much credit for eating moderately when I was actually picking up a hundred extra calories here and there. And, while I agreed with the 'Weigh Down' approach and thought 'Ok, I can do this', I somehow didn't actually embrace it and do it very much. So, I need to re-commit to these principles: 1. Seek God's help and then listen to my body ('Weigh Down'). 2. Count the calories as a record and for added accountability.

4. As hard as I worked on it, motivation was still my weakest aspect of living healthy, I thought. If you suffered through all of my posts, you're probably thinking 'Then why did he subject us to this!' ;-)

Here's what I mean: my motivation and mindset did not carry me through calorie control and weight loss and sometimes left me feeling disappointed about my efforts and prospects. This component is going to become my first priority for September.

For all of the good and great ideas I had in my motivation and method category a month ago, I just did not revisit them enough or keep them in mind enough. I defaulted to my unconscious impulses a lot. They are so much stronger than my conscious intentions. I will do a lot more mindset work in September (but mostly in private, so don't worry ;-)

Of course, they are going to be some disappointed, not fun or boring days. That's a given. I'd like to reduce them a little in September.

That's enough assessment for now. Tomorrow you'll get my September Live Healthy contract. Want to join me in making a healthy change in your life?

Until then, enjoy your last day of August! :-)