361 Days To Go: And Counting

What does that mean regarding my challenge. Let’s do the math. To lose 40 pounds in 361 days I have to lose a little over a tenth of a pound a day. That doesn’t sound so bad. To lose 40 pounds in 51 weeks I have to lose about an eighth of a pound a week. That doesn’t sound so bad either. To lose 40 pounds in 12 months I have to lose about 3 and one third pounds a month. That sounds a little bit more daunting but doable. What about every quarter? To lose 40 pounds in a year I have to lose 10 pounds every quarter or 3 months. Okay so now it sounds a little tougher. We can go on but it is just going to sound worse the less we break it up. It is a mental thing. We want to speak of things in terms that sound easier not harder. I am going to set my short term goal in terms of months. I want to lose three and a half pounds in a month. That is a good solid number that sounds obtainable. So my next goal weigh in will be September 30th, 2009. At that time I should weigh 166 pounds or less. If I weigh more than that, I will have to make some changes in my diet and exercise to meet my goals. If I weigh less than that I will carry on with what is working. Maybe I can lose all 40 pounds well before my deadline and only need to maintain my weight until then. How’s that for positive thinking.

I have decided to report my weight twice a week for now. Weight fluctuates so much that I think over reporting may give the wrong impression. The trend in weight loss will definitely be seen better if reported on a weekly or biweekly basis. I am happy to announce that my weight is down slightly today. I will normally post my weight on Mondays and Thursdays. If a holiday lies on one of these days, I may not post until the following day.

So I started my two week cleanse today and it is already working. There is no pain, cramps, or continuous going to the restroom. There is simply movement and only one so far. To me, this is a very good sign of what is to come. I will feel better, lose weight, and look great. I am so excited.

Let's Talk About Food:

I realized today that I am nearly swallowing my food whole again. It is so easy for it to become a habit to eat in a hurry. We have teeth for a reason and it’s not just because we look good with them. Chewing our food is very important for digestive health. Our bodies are designed such that for optimum digestive health we need to chew our food and chew it well. It is a chemistry thing. Digestion is very much a chemical process. If you took Chemistry in school or had opportunity to see some chemical experiments you may have seen the copper experiment where the solid copper is broken down by the acid solution and the end result is a blue copper solution. Usually this experiment is performed using the same amount of copper but with different sized cuts of copper. The finer the pieces of copper are, the faster the chemical reaction. The larger the pieces of copper are, the slower the chemical reaction. This result occurs because the rate of the reaction is dependent on the surface area of the material being broken down into solution. The same is true for our food in our digestive system. We need to decrease the surface area by chewing our food more completely so that our digestive fluids can break down the nutrients and utilize these nutrients where they are needed more effectively.

There is a secondary benefit of taking the time to chew our food more completely before we swallow. The longer we chew, the slower we eat. It has been proven that when you eat more slowly you will feel full eating less food and still feel satisfied. Slowing down and taking the time to chew my food completely before I swallow will be my personal focus over the next week. I had success in 2008 when I used this knowledge to help me lose 20 pounds. I will use this knowledge to help me achieve my weight loss goal now.

Our Favorite Subject: Exercise :-(

I am still continuing to use my treadmill daily. I almost forgot to run yesterday and remembered at about 8:30 last night. Before I initiated this personal blog challenge, I would have just blown it off and waited to run until the next day. After all, one day wouldn’t hurt. Isn’t that right? No. That is wrong. Our metabolism will slow as we slow our activity level. It is that starvation mode, conservation thing that is meant to protect us from famine. Understanding why our body does these things can help us learn how to get our bodies to work with us instead of against us. I am not saying that everyone needs to be able to run a marathon. I am simply saying that we have to get our bodies moving. The less we move our bodies, the more we gain weight, the harder it gets to move our bodies. It is a vicious cycle. I am breaking that cycle for myself by slowly, and I do mean slowly, adding more movement and exercise daily. This action will kick up my metabolism, keep my metabolism out of starvation mode, burn more calories, and contribute to my weight loss.

That’s A Wrap: No, I Am Not Talking About Food.

Remember to focus on small achievable goals. Check with your doctor about your own personal digestive health and whether a cleanse* may be right for you. Slow down while you are eating. I know we are all very busy. We have to make it a priority for good health to eat more slowly and chew our food. It may save you time in the long run. Get that body moving. Our metabolism depends on our activity. The less we move, the more we gain weight. Break the cycle. We can all accomplish our personal goals to lose weight and get into shape by applying these techniques and moving forward one day at a time.