August 2023 – somewhere in the middle

My work colleagues and I have set ourselves a challenge, to walk 10,000 steps a day. But more than that – to effectively walk a distance between our offices (virtually of course). The 10k is a minimum – there’s also a prise (a chocolate bar) for whomever does the most steps by end of August, and then by Christmas.

It was all my doing – fed up of the fact that I’ve let my exercise slip and regained 6lb in weight. I seem to fare much better with exercise when there are others in the same boat as me, and if there is a competitive element attached to it.

Did I spend the entire 1 hour work call today, jumping up and down on the spot, walking back and forth and skipping, just to get my steps in and beat the competition?! Of course I did. I won’t be beaten. Well, even if I am, at least I’ve given it a good go.

I’m also 3 HIIT sessions in, in this renewed regime, and back to being ‘good with food’: i.e. chocolate allowed, but only 3 little squares after 9pm!

It’s only Day 5 in this new rehashed exercise drive – so early days. However, like before, I’m on scales every day, to monitor my exercise and importantly food intake. And here – like before – the scales hate me. Actually they don’t.

I’ve walked this path before – I know very well that for every 2 steps forward (lower numbers on the scales) – there is one step back (higher number on the scales). The trick is not to get despondent and frustrated and upset this early on. The fluctuations of the scales numbers up-and-down is a natural process of mixing exercise with good food watching. This is why crash diet over a period of week, fad diets, crash exercising – it doesn’t work. One week, or even 2 weeks, aren’t enough to really gauge how you’re doing with your weight and health goals. These things take time.

And point on those crash diets – where you literally starve yourself, and see your weight drop by 10lb in a week – guess what, your weight might have dropped, but have your butt inches dropped? Maybe a little, as you’re less bloated from reduced food – but how permanent is it. I go back to what I said above – it takes time to lose weight well, and to lose body inches along with it, that help you to reduce the size of your clothes in your wardrobe.

When I kick-started this healthy way of living back during the pandemic, it took a better part of 6 months, before it was worth me buying any new smaller clothes. I’m pleased to say, that despite the recent 6lb weight gain, I’m still in that smaller size – but the risks & issues log is telling me that if I don’t deal with these 6lb now, I’ll soon be buying clothes again.

Anyway, I get on the scales each day – it’s how I monitor my progress – and equipped with prior knowledge of how my weight loss works, I take a deep breath – and plan out my meals and snacks for the day. Things that will keep me full and happy, and that little snack that will give me that kick of chocolate I so crave.

I will gladly walk this path again, even though the scenery looks the same, because this time round I can see the gates of my goal up ahead, and maybe beyond those gates… the next goal, but lets not get ahead of ourselves….again.