Week 9: Almost there and keeping it going
Nine weeks ago Amanda and I began the Get Healthy Guilford Challenge to eat more fruits and vegetables, exercise more and, hopefully, lose ten pounds in ten weeks.
We began a blog called Cheesefry Nation to share our progress (or lack thereof). It's been excerpted in the News & Record's Life section, which has added print readers to the online folks who've been giving us tips, encouragement and the occasional scolding.
With one week to go I'm at 210 pounds - one pound from being ten pounds lighter. I've lost about two inches off of my waist and am back in the pants and suits that were fitting too snugly before. I'm feeling better, sleeping better and looking better.
But I've decided that when the ten weeks is up, whether I'm ten pounds down or not, I'm going to keep it going. I'm going to try to lose another ten pounds in ten weeks. Because I can, I should and what made this ten pounds hard (to the degree it was hard) was trying to change bad habits I'd accumulated over the course of many years (too much fast food, soda instead of juice or water, eating too much meat and not enough everything else, eating in front of the TV). I haven't completely licked all of those - though I do have the soda monkey off my back at long last. But I've licked enough of them that I think the next ten pounds would come much easier. That would put me down to what I think was my best all time weight -- around 200 lbs, much of it muscle. Getting that muscle back will be a major part of my next ten pound leg of this thing -- and I think it can be done.
Week in review
Joe
Exercise: No days at the gym, but lots of apartment moving and some push up, sit ups.
Weakest moment: Ate out a number of times as we packed up our kitchen.
Soda: none
Pounds lost last week: 2
Weight: 210 lbs.
Total pounds lost: 9 lbs.
Amanda
Exercise: 1 day at the gym, three days moving apartment stuff (great cardio)
Weakest moment: Not a lot of snacking (snacks packed up), but milkshakes...oh, the milkshakes.
Soda: none
Pounds lost last week: O
Weight: 189 lbs
Total pounds lost: 7 lbs