Will-ness Overtime Report - Week 3
The Bad News is I gained weight. The Good News is that after taking a 4-day vacation from tracking calories, I only gained one pound, so it could have been much worse.
Current Weight: 173 pounds
Net Gain: 1 pound
TOTAL LOSS: 14 pounds
Calories Burned: 1085 calories
I fell 68 calories short of making up the short week, but I did manage to burn slightly more than my weekly minimum in dedicated exercise. I know I actually burned even more than that because we spent most of the weekend walking around in museums (7 hours at the Art Institute of Chicago and 4 at the Milwaukee Public Museum) and at the Milwaukee Zoo (5 hours), but the deal was to burn 1000 calories in "dedicated" exercise activity, not just as part of our routine chores or casual recreational activities. No doubt the increased walking this weekend is why I only gained one pound instead of several pounds, but I'm still a little bummed that I have yet another pound to lose all over again.
This week is already off to an uneven start. In finishing off some leftovers from the weekend, I've consumed more calories than I would have normally, but now that the rich food is gone (and not wasted - I can't stand throwing good food away if it's still edible) it should be a little easier to get back on track. My exercise this week was also stalled by a migraine on Monday, but I made up for it last night and this morning, so I'm about halfway to my weekly goal and hopefully I can burn up those extra 68 calories still looming over my head.
Lent is coming up soon. One might think that this would be a perfect time for sticking to a reasonable diet; after all, Fridays are supposed to be "meatless," right? However, the modern Catholic tradition of weekly Fish Fry dinners during Lent - with macaroni and cheese, french fried potatoes, and creamy coleslaw for sides - are one of the major temptations of the season for me. While many Catholics apparently think of eating fried fish on Fridays as some kind of sacrifice, I think of that as a heavenly banquet that I could eat to my fill. I am therefore going to attempt to eat truly meatless meals on Fridays and consume as many legumes and other vegetarian protein sources as possible during the entire season. If the idea is physical sacrifice for spiritual gain, then pigging out on seafood that's been submersed in fat until it turns GBD really doesn't fit the bill physically or spiritually. Not that I intend to make dieting the sum total of my Lenten observance, but it is a factor in my overall attempt to make Lent a physically and spiritually rewarding challenge.
That's where I'm at right now. More updates to come.
Current Weight: 173 pounds
Net Gain: 1 pound
TOTAL LOSS: 14 pounds
Calories Burned: 1085 calories
I fell 68 calories short of making up the short week, but I did manage to burn slightly more than my weekly minimum in dedicated exercise. I know I actually burned even more than that because we spent most of the weekend walking around in museums (7 hours at the Art Institute of Chicago and 4 at the Milwaukee Public Museum) and at the Milwaukee Zoo (5 hours), but the deal was to burn 1000 calories in "dedicated" exercise activity, not just as part of our routine chores or casual recreational activities. No doubt the increased walking this weekend is why I only gained one pound instead of several pounds, but I'm still a little bummed that I have yet another pound to lose all over again.
This week is already off to an uneven start. In finishing off some leftovers from the weekend, I've consumed more calories than I would have normally, but now that the rich food is gone (and not wasted - I can't stand throwing good food away if it's still edible) it should be a little easier to get back on track. My exercise this week was also stalled by a migraine on Monday, but I made up for it last night and this morning, so I'm about halfway to my weekly goal and hopefully I can burn up those extra 68 calories still looming over my head.
Lent is coming up soon. One might think that this would be a perfect time for sticking to a reasonable diet; after all, Fridays are supposed to be "meatless," right? However, the modern Catholic tradition of weekly Fish Fry dinners during Lent - with macaroni and cheese, french fried potatoes, and creamy coleslaw for sides - are one of the major temptations of the season for me. While many Catholics apparently think of eating fried fish on Fridays as some kind of sacrifice, I think of that as a heavenly banquet that I could eat to my fill. I am therefore going to attempt to eat truly meatless meals on Fridays and consume as many legumes and other vegetarian protein sources as possible during the entire season. If the idea is physical sacrifice for spiritual gain, then pigging out on seafood that's been submersed in fat until it turns GBD really doesn't fit the bill physically or spiritually. Not that I intend to make dieting the sum total of my Lenten observance, but it is a factor in my overall attempt to make Lent a physically and spiritually rewarding challenge.
That's where I'm at right now. More updates to come.