So I'm now 7 weeks into this since I really started hitting the gym and watching my food intake, and it already starts to feel like what I am doing is becoming habit, and is ingrained in the fibre of my being.
They say that for a behaviour to become second nature takes 12 weeks, well I suppose I am now over half way through that process, and it's these next 5 weeks that are going to be the most crucial to cement and embed what I am doing!
Now as a 20-something management type with a degree in business, I like my Excel Spreadsheets, I like my KPI's and my SMART Objectives (Key Performance Indicators and Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Time, Realistic...cos I know some people will have gone "eh?") and my Outputs, these are the things that I get results with in my job, and well with 7 weeks worth of data to pour over, these are what I can start to measure in my Quest for Slimming Success.
My key KPI's are obviously my actual weight, calories consumed, calories burnt, but taking this a step further into my actual work outs, distance, time, heart rate and weight pushed (or pulled) are all critical.
I have already mentioned MyFitnessPal (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/) and I cannot stress how much of a simple one stop shop this little app is, and its associated website. Some of the calculations are not 100% especially as we get into the bigger ranges of weight, but they give you the general trend.
The next set of KPI's, about physical activity I can strongly recommend Nike+ (http://nikeplus.nike.com/) which with an Iphone or Ipod, you can track activity as you do it, I am lucky as I go to a Virgin Active gym we have TechnoGym cardio equipment which interfaces directly with your iPhone and your workout and a whole raft of stats about your workout.
The major output are two fold: 1 - my weight, and 2, something that has always been close to my heart - clothes!
I have started to feel a difference in my clothes, I have had to downsize considerably in the trouser department already, and my work trousers have had to be binned as they won't stay up any longer!
My weight, although I don't know for definite what my starting weight was is now being measured, and in the past week I had lost 11 1/2 pounds! Now extrapolating (big word alert) that back, I must have lost at least the 3 stone mark by now!
Now I have set myself a short term goal to see me through till Christmas.
Loose 4 Stone (56ibs) by 21st of December. Its specific, measurable and will be done so weekly, the time is 8 weeks, based on performance to date it is achievable and it is realistic.
This ties into my other Output, clothes, when I lost all of my weight before, I went mad, spending £1000s on anything with a name on it from Prada and Versace to G-Star and Diesel, fashion might have moved on, but my love of it hasn't, so I've bought my self some new clothes to get into when I hit that target of 4 stones!
Now, I have been plugging websites and app's galore, but this is the biggest one, and a thank you to the new lady in my life, Allison. The one thing that I got from wrtiing my last blog was that I need support along this journey, and so I have joined Slimming World with a friend. Alison, our consultant, has given me some fantastic new ideas for healthy eating, and proved to be a real dynamo of motivation and support! (https://www.facebook.com/groups/314882326512/?fref=ts)
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