Dec 31, 2018

Last day of the month.
Last day of the year.

It was a good day. I started the day with 15 minutes on the stationary bike while watching news and drinking coffee. I'll need to get used to that early morning exercise. I want to do 30 minutes, but it didn't happen this morning.
I did get a 3+ mile walk in this afternoon and did 100 air squats. i still need a little over 300 steps to reach my new daily step goal. I decided to up my 10,000 step daily goal by 2,019 steps for 2019. Now my daily goal is 12,019 steps/day. That's really a big leap for me. Today will only be the third day this month that I make it, Most days I barely made the 10,000 steps.

I started with the food logging today and did well enough that I could have a piece of pumpkin pie for dessert and still be under my calories for the day.

I'm not expecting a great number from tomorrow's weigh in. The holidays have been pretty tough.
But it's a new month and a new year, so I'll put the past behind me and move forward.

Have a healthy New Year!

John

Dec 30 (end of day)

Good exercise day.
Decent food day.

I walked 3.86 miles this afternoon, but took my time. I encountered a few sprinkles along the way, but nothing that would send me in. I also added 30 minutes on the stationary cycle while watching last night's Fight Pass Prelims on TV.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all pretty good. We've just about finished the Christmas candy and sweet treats.

For January I'm going to try to do more to keep the metabolism up and running. I think I'll look to spread out my active time and start the day with a brief (30 minutes) ride on the indoor cycle before breakfast, and then still try to manage a walk (3+ miles) later in the day. I'm also going to add some simple body weight exercises like squats, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, etc. Maybe some dumbbell exercises, too.

Plus I'll be logging foods again.
That's really kind of a pain in the butt, but I do a better job of eating well and eating less.
I'll weigh in on Tuesday morning.

Be well,
John

Dec 28

I'm going to change things a bit on the daily posting. When possible, I think I'll post end of day rather than the following morning. Today's post comes mid-afternoon.

Yesterday I walked 3 miles, had a big breakfast (more like brunch) and a light dinner. I did have several sweets as there are still plenty of holiday goodies around.

This morning I pedaled 50 minutes on the indoor cycle. I've had a couple of handfuls of mixed nuts and two small slices of whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter. Dinner tonight will be pinto beans with ham, and cornbread.

I've decided that I am definitely have to go back to logging foods. I'll restart that on Jan 1.
I'm also going to try to work more towards an exercise routine and try to set a regular time for exercise that will include more than just walking or cycling.
Changes are hard.

John

Dec 27

I see that I missed posting yesterday.
My bad.

On Christmas day I did get a walk in before heading out to Christmas dinner.
Yesterday I used the indoor cycle. I'll probably do the same today.
Christmas day was a bust as far as diet goes. Yesterday was better.
We need to get rid of all of the holiday treats.

John

Dec 25

Yesterday was a bad day for exercise.
Allergies (or a one day cold) really bothered me and I was dealing with a runny nose all day. I started out for a walk anyway but decided against it because a blister that started Saturday was really bothering me.

I'll manage some exercise today and try not to over indulge at another Christmas dinner. At least I did manage to eat well yesterday.

We still have tons of Christmas candies and holiday goodies around, so it will be pretty challenging to end the month/year well. I may use a day or two of intermittent fasting. I may not.

The fight continues.

John

Dec 24

Ugh

Really bad food day, yesterday.
I did get my walk in and my 10,000 steps
I'm really going to have to buckle down this week -- including Christmas dinner tomorrow.

And if I blow a gallon of snot out of my nose, how come I don't lose 10 pounds?

John

Dec 23

Another day with the kids and a friend's birthday celebration means it was another tough diet day. I really did pretty well until the ice cream cake. Well, that and the late evening Christmas candy.

My walk was shorter than usual so I didn't get the 10,000 steps part of the day. Today is our Christmas dinner with the kids day, so another tough diet day. I'll need to get the walk in early.
I'm really looking to have a good last week of the month so I can begin January already moving in the right direction.

John

Dec 22

Well yesterday was a good day as far as exercise and activity. I walked 3.5 miles, logged just under 13,000 steps and was active for over 2 hours.

Then evening came. The kids came over for Christmas, and the cookies, truffles, and Christmas candy came out! Still feeling full of junk this morning so I'm skipping the Saturday morning weigh-in.

Ugh!

John

Dec 21

I got my active minutes in yesterday, but only took a short walk. I guess I could count it as my one day off for the week.
Diet was okay.
Still no more weight loss.

John

Dec 20

I'm experiencing some real frustration as scale fluctuations seem to be upward and not downward.
I do step on the scale most mornings, but only plan to record weight once per week. That tends to smooth out the daily fluctuations.

With the kids coming in tomorrow (for the holiday weekend), and with Christmas on Tuesday, I think I'll wait until Wednesday to start back to logging foods. I'm not a real fan of the work, but it's hard to argue with the results -- at least for me.

I did get my 3+ miles of walking in and my 10,000 steps yesterday. Even though the weight hasn't really started coming down yet, I'll start a little running in January. I had hoped to save some stress on the knees and ankle by waiting until I'd dropped around 20 pounds, so I'll go slowly and see how they hold up.

Lifestyle changes are hard.

Be well,
John