Last Updated on July 8, 2024 by Michael Brockbank
Another holiday down and I really didn’t put in a lot of effort this week to lose weight. Mostly because I wanted to enjoy the holiday and was visiting with ALL of my children for a few days.
In reality, family is far more important than trying to slim down.
Although I was in the red for a couple of days and really didn’t track much during the 4th and 5th, I still managed to lose 1.8 pounds. I didn’t exactly crush any goals, but I had a great time with the kids and kept myself from going hog wild with the goodies.
I’m pretty good at keeping things in check when I actually have the right mindset going. I was quite surprised by the scale this morning, to be honest. I thought for sure I’d be a couple of pounds heavier.
How I Lost 1.8 Pounds This Week
I went to the gym on Monday and Wednesday but didn’t bother going on Friday. For one thing, I woke up at around 9 am or so, which is past my window of opportunity. Still, I racked up quite a few steps in comparison to what I have recently.
As I said, I kept my eating to logical levels and stuck with my normal meals. The only difference was indulging a few times with Culvers, Taco Bell, and Dominos. Not to mention the 4th of July cookies and such.
The bottom line is that I still lost weight this week not because I was pushing my diet or exercise. It all came down to regulating my intake while keeping a conscious mind about making sure I get any kind of physical activity. In this case, it was all about making sure I took a few walks here and there.
Now that the holiday is over and everything is back to normal (whatever the hell that means), it’s time to kick things back into gear. I only have eight weeks left and I’ve only lost six pounds.
What Are the Goals for Week 5?
So, I have two weeks until my birthday. Then, I plan on going to Utah for Grandma’s memorial at the end of the month. That means I really want to burn as much as I can with what time I have left. It would be awesome to camp at the lake without worrying about wearing a tank top while swimming.
I’m a bit self-conscious about being topless in public.
Anyway, I’m relatively certain I can drop quite a bit in that time. It all comes down to keeping the carbs low and the activity high. I’ve been known to disintegrate more than five pounds in a single week.
I’m not going to list keeping the calories in the green in MyFitnessPal. That’s a given throughout this entire challenge. Also, my default gym days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so I won’t list that, either.
40 Minutes Per Day Oculus/Kinect
Now that I have my bedroom and living room back, I can really start to throw some time into the Oculus and Kinect. I’m looking forward to strapping the weights on and playing some games. And yes, either one of these systems can provide one hell of a workout when you throw yourself into them for 20 minutes or so.
The goal this week is to average 40 minutes per day or more. It should be relatively easy as that is only two sessions per day. Of course, I still have to clean up the living room a bit as I have a lot of Grandpa’s stuff that needs to go to storage. Regardless, there is no reason why I shouldn’t be able to load up either of these game systems.
Getting Back to Sleeping…Again
The goal is to surpass my average hours of sleep throughout the week. Now that things are settling down a bit, I can get back to a semi-regular routine. That means having my tea and reading before 9:30 pm.
Out of all of my fitness goals, sleeping is perhaps the most difficult to achieve. It’s a mixture of not wanting to miss anything and having such a hard time sleeping on a stone slab.
I’m not in my 20s anymore.
As long as I remember that I WANT to sleep earlier and drink my Sleepytime Tea, I shouldn’t have too many issues going to bed. Knock on wood…
12,500 Steps Per Day
Given all of the activities I have planned, it shouldn’t be that difficult to hit 12,500 steps per day on average. In fact, I am already at 4,054 after the gym and plan on going for a short walk after this blog post.
I don’t rack up as many steps playing games, but I burn more calories. So, I’ll have to make a few plans for walking throughout the day if I want to hit 12,500 steps.
Why is 12,500 such a key number for me? Well, I found that I wind up losing the most weight by hitting more than 12,000 steps on any given day. Obviously, that means I’m grinding out some activity. But there is a huge difference between getting 10,000 and 12,000 in my world. I don’t know why, exactly, but it seems to be a key number for this aging desk jockey.
I mean, I’m pushing 48 this year. And I remember my grandparents being this age, but don’t remember them being nearly as physically active. I suppose that’s a big difference from the 1980s and 2020s.
What is it, 50 is the new 30? Or something like that? I don’t know, but I know what works best for me.
Keeping Average Carbs Below 125g
I don’t want to go on strict Keto, but I know that decreasing the carb intake makes a massive difference in how much I lose throughout the week. I don’t plan on dropping goodies completely. But reeling back on the cookies and ice cream is always a good idea.
That will probably mean more chicken salads for dinner, which is fine with me. I like salads, especially with onions and mushrooms.
I suppose if I want to melt the fat quickly, I could set the goal to 50g per day. But there are some foods that I thoroughly enjoy, and I don’t believe in restricting myself to meet my goals. I’m patient and know that health and fitness isn’t a race – it’s a lifestyle change over the long term.
Time is Ticking Away
I suppose I can’t be too hard on myself. Between dealing with Grandpa’s issues, holidays, and having the kids for half the week, there have been a lot of extenuating circumstances that have thrown a wrench in the works.
It’s kind of hard to have a Summer of Effort when you get sidetracked by dealing with life.
Regardless, I’ve lost six pounds thus far, so I’d still call that a win. As long as I keep the weight loss going in the right direction each week, that’s all I really care about. But let’s see if I can hit all of these goals and share some awesomeness next Monday.