Last Updated on April 1, 2024 by Michael Brockbank
This last weekend was Easter, and I gorged myself a bit on its goodness. At first, I was going to try to be good and record everything I ate. Then I thought, “Why?” As long as I go back to maximum effort, it’s all good…it’s a holiday, after all.
Of course, you don’t want to have this mentality every day. Otherwise, every day will be a “why not” day. And this can be quite the slippery slope, especially for those who already struggle with eating disorders.
How I Gained 2.4 Pounds This Week
To say that I ate all the foods yesterday would be an understatement. My second attempt at cooking a ham came out perfect, the potatoes were amazing, and we had deviled eggs galore. Not to mention a smattering of chocolate and cookies throughout the day.
So, I’m not completely shocked that I gained 2.4 pounds this week, most of that overnight. I’m actually amazed that it wasn’t more, given how much I consumed over the weekend.
But in reality, I’m not the fat kid I used to be ten years ago. Gorging for me is a fraction of what it used to be. I just can’t pack it away like I used to, which is a good thing. Over the years, I’ve not only shrunken the maximum capacity of my stomach but also trained my brain to realize when it’s too much.
Last night, my mouth was trying to talk me into having seconds, but my mind and stomach said, “Not tonight, dumbass.”
I also could have done better with keeping the calories in the green. I missed Monday and Friday by less than a hundred. And if I would have realized that, I would have gone out and walked more.
Now that all of the heavy holidays are over for a while, I can get back on track without feeling guilty. I suppose we’ll write the end of this challenge as “What can I accomplish for health and fitness in nine weeks?”
What Are the Goals for Week 4?
Alrighty, the goals for last week really didn’t pan out all that well. It’s OK, though, we’re still in the game. However, I’ll have to dial up the activity and effort if I want to hit my goal weight in nine weeks.
Besides, I’d love to start sharing some accomplishments instead of downfalls. So, I’m going to dial this up to eleven.
Keeping It Green for 7 Days Straight
As far as my diet is concerned, I think this latest challenge has the most “green” days I’ve ever had. This tells me that it is indeed possible to keep with my Net 600 Calorie Diet – should I give a damn to do so.
This week, let’s see if I can keep all seven days green according to my diet plan. That means if I want leftover Easter candy, I’ll need to work for it. This equates to more physical activity, whether it’s a 20-minute walk in the backyard or a bike ride (weather permitting).
I need to get myself back into the mindset of being afraid to see “red” numbers. It’s how I lost the vast majority of the last 80 pounds. It’s all about finding that part of myself that actually cares and wants to do great things in the future.
Like, I don’t know, live?
Crushing Week One’s Step Count
So far in this challenge, week one is the step total to beat. I only need to hit 9,303 steps per day, which is normally relatively easy for me to do. That is until the weekend. I wind up lounging around in my office all day without really getting much movement.
This is one of the reasons why I want to find something to do outside of the house on the weekends. Not only would I love to meet new people and go out to have fun, but I would also like to be more active in general.
It should be nice this weekend, so I should be able to walk around the lake. If not, then maybe I’ll see if I can scrape up a bit to go bowling or something – anything to get out of the house on a routine basis.
Carbs Below 200g
I know that I can usually shed weight relatively fast if I keep the carb intake to lower than 200 grams per day. Of course, I’m also contending with leftover Easter candy.
On days when I’m actually paying attention, I can hit this goal relatively well. Since this will be the first week that doesn’t have vacations, birthdays, or holidays, it should be easy enough to maintain my diet.
To keep it simple, though, I’m going to work on having fewer than 200 grams of carbs on average throughout the week. Since I’m a dork and have it set in my spreadsheet anyway, I’ll keep a closer eye on hitting those numbers.
Maybe I’ll do a protein day or a keto day if the average starts to slip a bit.
4 Activities Per Day – Minimum
The whole premise of the Net 600 Calorie Diet revolves around being physically active. I haven’t been as active as I could have been over the past few weeks. This week, let’s see if we can turn that around a bit.
Now, when I say “activities,” I’m referring to my normal things, like walking, playing the Oculus, playing the Xbox, going to the gym, or even using the Zaaz. Considering how much I walk during my breaks while working, it shouldn’t be all that difficult to hit four activities per day.
Not to mention that I go to the gym every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday anyway.
Just sticking with this goal would go a long way to crush the step goal I mentioned earlier. Then again, I often don’t record a lot of steps while riding a bike.
Tea and a Book (And Shorts Updates)
I am still trying to get into the habit of winding down at 8:45 with tea and a book. Last week, I was able to do so on a few nights and slept quite well afterward. It’s amazing how good you feel the next day if you get more than four hours of sleep.
This week, I’ll keep trying to maintain tea and a book at least until the weekend, when I have a chance to sleep in. Unfortunately, I didn’t do this last night, but I’ll see if I can at least wind-down Monday through Thursday this week.
Yes, that means I’ll get back to uploading Shorts updates tonight. It’s something that I just normally don’t think of during the weekends.
Getting the Engine Revved
Alrighty, the engine is revved and ready to go. I don’t foresee the remaining nine weeks being problematic, but this is me I’m talking about, here. I collect chaos like a powdered donut collects ants.
Nonetheless, I’m going to see if I can muster up maximum effort and get this going in the right direction. I would love nothing more than to share some awesomeness next week.
The only way to do that is by making that awesomeness happen.