Kelly's World

This morning I awoke to the news the 5% body weight challenge was over; Kim had reached 5.04%. My other friend had dropped out after the first week, so I had beaten him at least (hurray). But props go to Kim, she was dedicated and took the goods. Congratulations!

As for my performance I’m disappointed to say in the least. I’ve been very cautious with the foods I ate, and made sure I was exercising in some form every day. My weight loss chart went as follows:

I think you can see where I experienced that monthly “girl” time! Overall it’s been positive, I’ve lost a total of 3.7kg, which over 3 weeks is nothing to be sneezed at. That’s pretty damn good! I think I’m just disappointed because of the curve for the last week, it never really dropped much.

After discussing it with some friends I’m going to change some things, and see how my body reacts. For example, one of my gym sessions each week consisted of a class called “Body Pump”. You have weights on a bar, and do various exercises with light weights and high reps. I think my body still might be gaining a bit of muscle from that, and therefore not losing weight. I will try sticking with cardio for the next week, and see how that goes.

Also, for lunch I had been having the wholemeal bread option from my eating plan for lunch each day. For this past week I’ve felt like I wasn’t eating enough fresh produce (even though I was having a salad each night for dinner, and tomato/celery/carrot for afternoon tea. So this coming week I will try switching back to salad for a couple of those days and see how that goes. Perhaps my body just loves bread so much it grabs it and holds onto it for dear life? I am a big sucker for the smell of fresh bread, yum.

I should point out though, that I’m a little worried we’re putting so much of a fixation on the scales. When I visited weight watchers a few years ago I had gotten the “weight” mentality out of my head. It was about the body fat percentage, not your weight number. I think that’s what caused a bit of a mood swing for me this week, I had put far too much emphasis on weight. My scales at home are meant to calculate body fat percentage as well, however that function hasn’t worked for a good year now. Also, each morning when I weigh myself for the challenge I have to step on at least 5 times before I find a consistent number. I think it’s time to buy some new scales. Then I will be able to track my body fat percentage as well, and that will be the number I will become fixated on.

Kim and I agreed that at the completion of the challenge we would take a week’s break before resuming for another 5% challenge. To that end, I think I will be enjoying the odd treat or two this week, but nothing crazy. I would hate to undo what I’ve already lost, and I want to keep going with being cautious with what I’m eating. After all, being health conscious is a great habit to get into.

So, let round 2 begin!

I’m currently on a challenge to lose 5% of my body weight before two of my friends do. You can see more information about the challenge here. It’s only the first week and I’m already experiencing tremendous success, more than I could ever have imagined.

I thought I would share my diet plan with everyone, so if anyone else wants to try it out they can.

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Tomorrow morning I will weigh myself in what will become a race to be the first to lose 5% body weight. I’ve taken up the challenge with a couple of people, two friends of mine, for which I have individual bets. With one, if he wins he gets a WOW subscription. If I win, my Flickr pro account will be extended. With another friend, the winner gets lunch at our favourite mexican restaurant. While it’s ironic that by winning a weight loss challenge you get a fatty meal, it’s my thought that such a major treat after eating only the healthiest of foods will make us all the more keen to get to the finish line quickly. Following the celebratory lunch, we will resume for another 5% competition, or at least until I reach my goal weight anyway (which is almost a 20% decrease in body weight – I won’t know myself).

Why the competition you ask?

I need to lose weight. I’m slightly overweight, I’m not happy with the way I look, and I need to be at a weight where I will pass a medical test as part of the application process for the police service. Plus my health of course; it deserves a mention somewhere.

I’m by no means a lazy fat person. I go to the gym 3 times a week, I walk my dog, and I ride my bike to/from work most days (roughly 9km round trip). My problem lays with my eating – I make all the wrong choices. I’m a big fan of carbohydrates, and that is my biggest downfall. It’s the overload of bread and pasta and all those sweet sweet calories that gets me. So for me to win this challenge I don’t need to concern myself with exercise, I already do that. I really need to focus on what I’m eating.

After all, calories in < calories out = weight loss, right?

Another friend of mine is in the middle of a 9 week boot camp in which she is put on a low calorie diet for 9 weeks (with the meal plan changing every fortnight to keep things interesting) as well as 3 personal training sessions a week. She’s kindly shared the meal plan with me, for which I am happy to pass on if anyone is interested. The fantastic thing is there’s two choices for meals each day and a total of 6 meals each day. I know I won’t be going hungry, and in return I will learn how to eat well.

From previous experiences I know that publicly sharing my challenges reinforces my will to succeed. More than anything, I fear failing in public. I hate to show people that I’m weak. I’ve proven that with absurd challenges like giving up my iphone for a week, and going without chocolate for a month over Easter. While they were individually challenging tasks, I never feared failure, I knew I could do it. This one has me worried. My willpower with food is not great, I give in far too easily (as evidenced by numerous offers of weight loss challenges before, which I bowed out of early on). I hope that by publicly declaring my challenge I will reignite the desire to succeed, no matter what it takes.

So bring it on! I won’t be sharing the details of my weight (I’m not THAT open and honest on my blog) but I will be sure to keep you all updated with my progress in the form of a % lost each week. Heck, I’ll go all graphic and plot it all on a chart for you (hopefully it’s an extremely steep decline). If I have the pleasure of being the winner, I will also make sure I take plenty of photos of my victory lunch, fatty foods and all. So bring it on!