Week 7 Review

My goal weight for weigh-in this week was 223, an expected loss of 2.2 pounds.  

I weighed in at 222.2 this morning!  

A loss of 3 pounds.  This may have something to do with only getting one workout routine in this week.  Goal for next week, 220!

This week has really been a test on my new life.  I have made many attempts to uphold my routine with little to no success.  This is not a game breaker by any means, only a great chance to reflect on how I can improve.   I have upheld the food portion of my routine, the exercise, not so much.

EXERCISE | FORCED, YES. STRUCTURED, NO.

Bath-time workouts, no more!  With the addition of a 2nd child in the house, the ability to work out during one child's bath time has become very challenging. This has become very apparent in less than 2 weeks of having 2 children in the house.  So, I need to commit to a new option.

The week my son was born was planned to be the first week I would start doing morning workouts.  The day before my son was born, I got in one morning workout.  See: Lights, Colors, and Compartments. Starting my day off on this foot felt great!  My plans are to revisit this routine when I return to work.  So, starting on Monday morning of Week 8, I will start doing my workouts first thing in the morning.  At this point in my life, this is the perfect time.  It is the only time (excluding late night) that I have solely to myself.

I was almost certain that the two weeks off from work would have presented me with numerous opportunities to work out.  Not so much.  It was a combination of dramatic changes in the household dynamics, vacation syndrome, not having solidified exercise routines, and a complete disregard to structured routine. My focus turned to developing healthy exercise habits only a week or two before the little guy arrived.  I am not surprised I was unable to follow through while on leave.  This was all a little expected. It took me about a week before I took a deep breath and told myself that normal life will resume shortly, at which point I will find myself back in routine.

REWARDS | YES PLEASE!

Obviously I feel like I have already rewarded myself with one of the greatest gifts ever, the day I flipped the switch to an optimal lifestyle will be one of the great milestones in my personal life.  However, I believe it is important to reward one's self when they reach pre-determined goals.  Over the past month or so I have been expressing my excitement to my wife in the form of how I am going to reward myself when I reach milestones.  There have been a number of different things that have come across my mind; a pair of nice track style pants, new flip-flops (it takes a lot for me to spend any money on shoes), a wifi-scale (I am a geek and these things make me giddy.) 

I have decided...

When I reach 220 I will be rewarding myself with a digital food scale.  This device will allow me to better hone my skills at determining proper portion control.  It appears many people successful with losing weight swear by their food scales.  Furthermore, MyFitnessPal allows you to enter servings based on weight.  This will become crucial as I refine my diet for the upcoming maintenance and muscle toning transitions.

When I reach my goal weight of < 200, I will be investing in a FitBit Flex.  This little device will come in handy when I turn my focus from weight loss to maintenance and muscle toning.  I am a bit of a data junkie and this things really gets me excited.  It is not available for sale as of today, but I have a pretty good feeling they will be on sale when I reach my goal weight.

PARTNER | WELCOME

My wonderful wife, the person responsible for building my son over the past 40 weeks, has decided to join me in a lifestyle of optimal health.  She has been witness to the changes that have taken place in my life over the past 7 weeks and she is excited to share in those.  We are already talking about doing a triathlon together, possibly this summer or the next.  We are both aware of the positive effects this will have on our marriage, positive influence on our children, and increase in overall satisfaction of life.