Last Updated on October 1, 2024 by Michael Brockbank
Maintaining my Hot 4 Halloween challenge has been especially difficult the last few weeks. It’s been a mixed bag of various elements, and all of them unique. Still, I’m not giving up.
Although I haven’t entered data into the spreadsheet for several weeks, it’s still on my mind. I’m trying to think of ways that I can still progress in the challenge while keeping things simple around the house.
Because of recent events, I don’t know if I can actually put a solid 12 weeks into anything. More of the dust needs to settle before I can really dive head-first into a long-term fitness challenge.
At least I’m not moving backward. I’ve lost a few pounds since starting this latest challenge, but have maintained my weight throughout some difficult moments here. So, I suppose I can call that a win to some degree.
At least I didn’t binge eat to the point of weighing 240 pounds again.
What Can We Do to Get Back on Track?
First, MyFitnessPal started recording incorrect data from Fitbit. Now, my Fitbit won’t even connect to my phone. I’m starting to wonder if putting faith in Fitbit is misplaced. It’s sad when good companies get corrupted by corporate greed.
Anyway, I’m trying to figure out a few ways to at least finish the last four weeks strongly. And I’ll have to figure it out without a few pieces of data that I was crunching. Luckily, I know where a lot of my physiological levels are in regards to burning calories. So, I should lose a few more pounds before the end.
It’s just kind of a pain when all of the things I thought were fun are now defunct. Time to start looking for new fun things to explore, I suppose.
What can we do when technology fails?
Shorter Challenges with Focus
One thing I can do is set up shorter challenges. Instead of one day screwing up an entire week’s worth of data, perhaps just three-day runs of something would be easier to manage. For example, I am going to try three protein days again on Friday complete with step count.
I didn’t hit my step goals last time, and it’s not good to stick to only eating proteins for more than a week. The human body needs a few more nutrients than that to maintain itself.
Anyway, shorter challenges might be the way to go to keep the flow for the main Hot 4 Halloween goal. So, I could focus on three days of playing the Oculus at least twice per day just before the protein day challenge kicks in. I can’t really go into heavy challenges mostly because I still need to drive people around this week. But something simple like playing the Oculus or the Kinect is doable.
Sticking to New 1800-Calorie Diet
Due to issues with my Fitbit sharing data with MyFitnesspal, I decided to set a goal of 1800 calories throughout the day for eating. I know that if I sit on my ass all day, I still wind up burning more than 2,000 calories just being alive. That means setting it to 1800 all but guarantees some kind of weight loss.
Of course, that really depends on the foods I eat. A ton of carbs would make it difficult to shed the fat if I’m not moving around the house or exercising.
Get Back to Recording Data
Starting today, I’ll get back to recording the data in the spreadsheet. It seems that seeing the numbers helps keep me focused and motivated. With everything that has been going on lately, I have been slacking.
Well, I suppose that really depends on whether my technology will continue to work for me or not. It’s been all kinds of squiffy for the past couple of weeks. I’m not sure if I can trust the numbers I am seeing.
Perhaps I’ll just keep recording the food, at least. That way, I can see how my food goals are going.
Update: Phone Fixed – But I’m Skeptical
As I was publishing this post, I finally got my phone and Fitbit figured out. After reinstalling everything and eventually doing a firmware update, it seems things are working again. But for how long?
I did change the goal in MyFitnessPal back to my Net 600 Calorie diet numbers, but I’m not really adhering to the diet per se. Sure, I’ll see what I can do to burn everything according to MyFitnessPal, but I’m more focused on hitting below my 1800-calorie cap.
Oftentimes, I think we put too much faith in technology. There are all kinds of instances online where technology has failed humanity.
For example, I use Life 360 to monitor a few very important people in my life. But when Verizon had a hiccup for several hours yesterday morning, that app was useless. The result was someone very close to my heart getting lost in Denver.
Not only could she not use the Google Maps system to get home, but I couldn’t even track her on Life 360 because it relies on data. If Verizon (her carrier) had a nationwide shortage, all of those tools would be trash.
Despite everything seeming to work today, I’m not putting stock in the tech. I’ll wait for a few days to see if things are actually settling down. For now, I’ll just stick to the initial plan of eating fewer than 1800 calories and playing the Oculus twice per day.
Hopefully, I can get back to some kind of normalcy next week. I say that too often, nowadays.
Never Give Up, Never Surrender!
Even if technology is screwing with my Chi, I have no intention of giving up on this challenge. It just means I have to make some creative adjustments. I won’t hit my goal weight by the end of the month, but I should still be lighter than I was this time last year. And that is a win, in my book.
Technically, I’m 80 pounds lighter than I was in 2014.
Let’s just hope some of the dust settles from all the chaos. I’d like to at least see the damn path I’m walking.
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