>A challenge.
Beginning November 1st I have been participating in a challenge at my gym. It will run for 10 weeks. The concept is to make it through the holidays within 3 lbs (+/-) of your starting weight. Tips given for this were to get plenty of sleep, exercise (at least 150 minutes a week), drink plenty of water and of course a sensible diet. They will check our weight once a week and keep track of our attendance based on how many times our card is swiped at the front desk. Easy enough, right!?
Having been at this weight loss thing a while and recently meeting with a dietitian to fine tune some things my goal with the challenge was to continue with my weight loss and work on my fitness during the holidays. I of course want to be able to lose weight during the holidays but even just maintaining is a huge success.
Our first weigh in was this week and I stuck with going on Monday mornings. I figured keeping a Monday weigh in would hold me more accountable on the weekends which is when I tend to get a little off track with my eating. So far my plan has worked and I have made it through the weekends just fine and without any gorging on unnecessary foods. I also committed to making it to the gym 4 days a week. I didn't want to say 5 and then have a week where something might come up with the kids or myself getting sick or anything else with our schedule being off. 4 feels like a safe number! And I can certainly get 150 minutes of exercise in 4 days especially since I usually run 3 days a week for over 30 minutes. You do the math. ;)
The water drinking I have down no problem at all. I carry a Camelbak water bottle with me every where I go. I rarely ever go a day without drinking 80 or more ounces of water. The only other beverage I drink on a daily basis is my morning coffee (an my smoothie, but that's breakfast. lol). I had given up diet soda completely but about once a week I have one can or less which is much much MUCH better than the 2 cans a day I was drinking.
With the tools I have from all my years at this weight loss thing, the info from the dietitian and just the fun of this challenge I do believe I can reach my goals during the holidays. So, all that being said here are some stats. I like to keep in mind that 1. my monthly friend decided to pay me an early visit the day before my first weigh in and 2. my gym scale is slightly off from my home scale.
Nov. 1 - (gym scale start weight) 179.3
Nov. 8 - (gs) 176.3
total loss week 1 - 3 lbs!
I was very excited to see a loss and a significant loss at that. I knew at home the scale read 177 the day of my weigh in when I started and that this weekend it read 174. I knew I was down according to my home scale so my only hope was to at least see that I had indeed maintained when I weighed in at the gym. But to have seen a loss was a big boost for me! Now my goal is to keep the momentum going and to lose a bit more before Thanksgiving. I already have a Thanksgiving day plan which includes a Turkey day race (8k...my longest race yet) and an eating strategy to keep me on track! Look for more details about both in the days/weeks to come.
My question for you is...
What are you doing to make it through the holidays to keep from gaining?
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