Weight Loss Update – October 2016

I began to believe this a couple months ago, but it’s becoming abundantly clear – my weight has settled between 139-143 lbs.

Could I restrict carbs to a crazy level and attempt shedding even more body fat? Of course.

But I don’t want to do that. I found a good balance between eating the correct macro composition, enjoying the foods I eat, and having extra carbohydrates on certain occasions. Rarely do I take an entire “cheat day” from morning to night stuffing my face.

Instead, I stuff my face for 2-3 hours after intermittent fasting all day until late afternoon/dinnertime. This usually makes me feel terrible for the rest of the night, and I wake up the next day ready to start a streak of low-carb days.

At this point, getting back on track doesn’t feel forced at all. I do it because of how much better I feel throughout the day when I control my carb intake!

What has been positive?

I’m getting very consistent with morning physical activity.

This doesn’t mean I’m lighting the world on fire or vigourously sweating, but I find at least 15 minutes 6 days out of the week to do either pushups, kettlebell swings or resistance band training.

I’ve since added two new pieces of equipment that fit with my minimalist vibe: door frame mounted pullup bar and ab wheel.

These cost about $35 total, and with Amazon Prime I received them within 2 days. If you didn’t know, I love Amazon.

Having a handful of workout items in my home allows me to get after it at random times, sometimes even as I’m walking from room to room.

The pull-up bar is the entrance to my home office, and I’ll often bang out a set of 10 before proceeding to the computer (which is a standing desk).

I’m all about low-hanging fruit. Take any small victory you can, and let it build up. My entire workout routine began with pushups and kettlebell swings only. I started with sets of 20-30 each. I didn’t have many workouts longer than 20 minutes.

Now I have a lot of variety, going between sets of push-ups, pull-ups, a number of exercises with the kettlebell, or simply scheduling difficult yard work (there’s 4 tons of rock in my driveway currently).

I don’t think I would be sticking to an exercise routine if I wasn’t a) getting up early and b) working out within 30 minutes of getting up.

Start small, have a vision, and let the minor victories lead to major changes.

Numbers:

Starting Weight: 143 lbs

Ending Weight: 142 lbs

Monthly Weight Loss: 1 lbs

Total Weight Loss (Since 11/1/2015): 34 lbs

Noteworthy

• It’s roast chicken season! I make whole chickens and use bones for stock.
• Instead of giving out candy on Halloween, I golfed for the 4th year in a row.
• Planted out arugula, spinach and lettuce greens (probably should have done this sooner).
• Managed several higher carb days (100-150 grams) without much weight fluctuation.

Monthly Meals

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