Day 78 of 103in365: Weigh-in Monday 33/103

Hey There!

The result are in! ( I am cutting right to the chase this week)

I lost 4 LBS this week! That puts me at 33 lbs lost, thus the 33/103 in the title of this post.

I realize that I have not posted any pics since my first blog. I will post a October 1 pic next to a current pic of me soon.

It turns out the the re-commitment to my goal last week really worked. It got me fired up and ,,, well,,, re-committed. (Funny how that works) I payed more attention this week to what, when and how much I was eating. I also worked out or was active, in some way, everyday. That helps too!

I still am going with the "shorter work outs are better than longer workouts" concept and it is really working out for me. I am not doing what I have done other times I have lost weight where I do 30 - 45 minutes of cardio and then maybe some lifting of heavy things. I am spending no more than 15 minutes of either the bike or the elliptical, (sometimes only 5 to 7 minutes) and then spending another 10 to 20 minutes lifting heavy things. Because I am not crazy exhausted and spent, I am not making bad food choices after or before my workouts as I have done in the past, and I am often finding the energy and motivation to work out more than once a day. (or at least be more active and less sedentary)

I read an article early in October that really got me thinking about this theory, Here is the link to the article, but I will share with you what I found most interesting too.

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/losingitwithliz/how-your-workout-can-sabotage-weight-loss

When I read this part, I had one of those "the clouds parted and God's voice boomed from the sky while angles sang" kind of moments. It really made a insane amount of sense and I have been following it ever since.

"One small study published last month in the American Journal of Physiology found that overweight men who exercised 30 minutes a day burned more calories and lost more weight over three months compared to a second group who exercised for 60 minutes a day over the same time period. The shorter workout may have left participants with more energy to do other physical activities throughout the day; the longer workout may have triggered the impulse to eat more to make up for the extra burn. The takeaway? Cutting your workout time in half may yield even better results for weight loss and body fat. "

That is so brilliant and makes so much sense to me! It also fits in with one of the things I try to live my life by. "Work smarter, not harder." If you Google "shorter workouts better results", you find all kinds of info that supports the idea that many people (including me in the past) are stuck in the learned "Work harder" mentality. I am willing to work hard. I am willing to work really hard! Even more than I am willing to work hard, is my drive to work smarter.

Keep finding and doing the activities and exercises that are fun for you and get you motivated to move! This is one of the most important things I have learned and gotten better at so far in this journey. Another, is what, when and how much you eat is maybe even more important than what you are doing for exercise. Eat better and exercise more and better to be sure. But I think that sometimes, so much effort is put on the exercise part, that what, when and how much you eat is not emphasized enough. (Big mistake Sulu!)

Soon I will post at least some pics (maybe short video) of me doing some of the exercises and/or activities I am having fun and getting better at doing. 

Have a great week and "Work Smarter not harder!"

Scuba