Last Updated on May 22, 2023 by Michael Brockbank
I highly doubt I will hit my goal of 200 pounds inside the next 7 days. That would mean losing nearly three pounds per day, which is unrealistic. However, I am still hanging around the 223 mark, which is impressive considering my lack-luster performance this last couple of weeks.
And even though I won’t hit 200, I’m not going to let that discourage me. I am still 70 pounds down from where I started, which is still a victory for a procrastinator such as myself.
This morning I weighed in at 223.4…which is what I weighed in June. Of course, I really haven’t done much to progress my weight loss. Which is a shame as it was such a wasted opportunity.
So, what can I do to lose as much as possible inside the next week?
Making a Deal with Myself for 7 Days
I made a deal with myself for my birthday. If I can maintain all of my goals for the week, I can go nuts when I turn 42. Sigh…still having a problem with the age thing.
In other words, I plan on making myself sick with all the food I am going to grotesquely shovel into my mouth.
Of course, this probably won’t happen like I think it will. Since I’ve lost weight, I’ve found myself eating far less than I did in the past – even on days when I try to gorge myself.
The point of this is to feel like I am rewarding myself for maintaining a certain behavior all week. The hardest part about this is being able to force myself to submit without just giving me the reward anyway.
It’s easy to break a promise to yourself – because you really don’t have any accountability other than you. But, I am going to put in the effort to keep myself true to the course over the next 7 days.
Sticking to Net 600 Calories
My Net 600 Calorie diet does have merit, from a scientific point of view. And I know how well it works as I have done it in the past for just over a week. I still have a problem with snacking and keeping focus.
A Net 600 Calorie diet doesn’t mean you can only eat 600 calories worth of food in a day. It’s based on physical activity. The more active you are, the more you can eat…it’s that simple.
I use MyFitnessPal in addition to Fitbit to track my burn and intake, which gives a report of how many calories I can have for the rest of the day.
In reality, I just need to stop snacking so much after 6pm.
Focused Mindset: Keeping it Green
I lost the first 20 pounds relatively quick. Mostly this was accomplished by making sure my calories were in the green in MyFitnessPal throughout the day. If I wanted something extra, I had to work for it.
I haven’t really put effort into this aspect for a very long time. I keeping getting into the wrong mindset of, “to hell with it.” Which doesn’t bode well for losing weight.
This week, I am going to really put in the effort to keep the calories in the green. And because they are set to 600, this means I need to be far more active throughout the day if I want those snacks later on.
It’s all about output vs intake and keeping yourself balanced. Which is exceedingly hard to do when you’re faced with depression and anxiety on a daily basis.
Starting a New Goal for Halloween
Now this has little impact on the next 7 days, but I am setting a new goal for Halloween. It’s always been my wish to dress up as a super hero. And I want to actually resemble the hero in question…outside of a flashy costume.
This means a bit more muscle work and definition if I want to truly look amazing. If anything, I just want to see if I can do it and prove it to myself that I can.
It’s 100% for me.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind looking like a sex symbol. But it’s not the driving force behind trying to get into shape. When your heart stops beating, it puts the fear of mortality into you.
In three months, I need to lose 20 pounds and develop a bit of muscle definition. That’s not really all that difficult. It just means I need to retain focus and quit talking myself out of things throughout the day.
Working on this goal will have an impact over the next 7 days, though. It means more core work and weights, which in turn will help burn off fat over the next week.
Moving to Nightly Soups
I am trying a small experiment on myself. I am going to go back to eating Progresso Soups for dinner and try to refrain from higher carbs and sugars after 7pm.
Why am I doing this? To give my body a chance to burn off any carbs I consume throughout the day. Carbohydrates are the primary elements to providing energy in the human body. If you don’t burn them, carbs will be stored as fat.
This is over-simplifying the process quite a bit. But the gist of it is scientifically sound. And since I like carb-heavy snacks late at night, I am confident this is part of why I still weigh 223 pounds.
Since most soups have far fewer carbs than I normally eat at dinner, I would simply like to see how much of an impact it makes by switching meals around.
Riding My Bike More Often
Now that my bike is semi-ridable, it’s time to start training. Unfortunately, I can’t go faster than 16 mph because the gears are screwed up. However, it’s fast enough to go for rides around the neighborhood.
This week, I’ll start by riding for a minimum of 20 minutes at a time. Since I am still trying to get myself into shape, I don’t want to push it too hard. Last time I did that, I nearly passed out from low blood sugar.
Something I wouldn’t want to do traveling down busy streets in Colorado.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. I’ll start riding every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Normally, I play the Xbox Kinect every morning, but I’ll switch it up to just Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
In reality, I am a bit excited for riding my bike again. I’ve grown so lazy and complacent that I almost forgot how much I love to ride.
Although this means I’ll only ride twice inside the next 7 days, it doesn’t mean that I can’t ride any time I want.
It’s All a Matter of Determination
It all boils down to determination. Unfortunately, I often have the hardest time keeping myself focused…on anything, really. It affects my weight loss, work and creativity.
I just need to hunker down and do what needs to be done. But that’s easier said than done from someone who is constantly exhausted to the point of not thinking straight.[template id=”3591″]
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