Howdy!
Today I want to talk about what the project, in this initial phase, actually means, plus adding some information about myself (weight, height, what I have done so far, etc).
My ultimate goal is to make exercises part of my everyday routine, eat better (healthier, and less - I do eat a lot) and feel better about myself.
I've tried many things, and the ones the showed better results were always the small changes that with time became part of what I do normally, so I decide to use this approach.
To show how the "baby steps" approach works better the full change one, here's a little story:
When I was younger, my mom started dieting and suggested I changed the sugar I added in the morning coffee latte for artificial sweetener. She always added on hers 2 packets, but I found out early enough that i didn't like the residual taste sweeteners have, so I added only one packet. It took me a a couple of weeks to really get used to that, but eventually lattes with sugar were waaaay too sweet for me. Years passed, and today I'm not a fan of sweeteners (because of many studies showing they don't really help in weight loss, and because everything tastes funny with that crap), and I started using small amounts of sugar in beverages that are way too bitter to be drank by themselves (like coffee). But with the latte, considering I'm adding milk to coffee anyway, I decided to drink it without any kind of sugary boost. I'm not going to lie, it took me some months not to squint when I gave the first sip every morning, but now I'm totally used to it.
I'm not saying that if you're really motivated the radical changes don't work. But the key here is to keep yourself motivated even when results are not seen. When you cut out everything that is unhealthy from your diet, you'll get depressed eventually, SPECIALLY when you don't see any change in weight/clothes sizes. You eventually get yourself thinking that "all that sacrifice I'm doing is not paying off", and then when you next check you had ate a Big Mac with big fries and a big Coke. Some people manage not to loose their motivation, but I'm not one of them.
Enough of stories now, let's get to business.
My workout plan is simple enough (although it is NEVER simple when you spent the past 15 years sitting in front of a pc instead of exercising):
-Walk at least 2x per week, for at least 30 min (aiming for an hour, including walking up hills). Try to jog as much as I can, the final goal is to be able to run these same distances.
-Be able to do push-ups
-Go to Aikido at least once a week.
Aikido is something I started training when I was 20, and I managed to get my yellow belt by the Federação Paulista de Aikido. But after that I would stay months away, come back for 3 or 4 weeks, and disappear again. Then, when I moved to Canada, I found out the downtown's YMCA have twice a week Aikido training. The sensei is really nice and knowledgeable, but because I've been away for so long, I continued doing the "come one week, disappear for 5". It bugs me when I roll over on the ground, something I never had so much problems, and my knee starts aching. I know that if I go more often, the problems will mostly go away. But, for now, I just want to make sure I go once a week.
For walking, I want to enjoy the nice weather that Edmonton lacks so much. The short term objective is to be able to cross the bridge and do some pretty massive stairs climbing (I'll put pictures in the future).
And for the push ups, I will do the one hundred push ups program. I don't think the 7 week goal will work, but I'm positive that by the end of summer I'll be really good, and even able to do it.
Ok, enough of talking, where do I stand now?
As of 18th of May, 2014 I am:
-260 lbs (118 kg)
-able to walk fast, but to jog for less than a minute
-able to do less than 3 push ups without collapsing on the floor.
Yeah, it is a pretty lame start, but let's see how it goes, ok?
I'll give at least small updates through the week, and a long post over the weekend. So, wish me luck but also will power!
Kissus!
No comments:
Post a Comment