No. Calories Needed

Over at No Credit Needed, I’ve begun a series on Setting Personal Finance Goals.  I’m also giving away debt reduction books, so you might want to check out the site and put your name in the hat for a free book!

While writing about goal setting, I was reminded of the fact, that for some silly reason, I have been writing about weight loss, but I haven’t created any short-term or intermediate-term goals.  Sure, I’ve created a long-term goal of losing 90 pounds, but I haven’t broken that goal down into measurable, smaller goals.  So, here are my goals, for this week, and for today.

Goals For This Week -

I want to exercise six days this week, with four days of intense cardio (running) and two days of intense weight training.

I want to eat a balanced, vitamin-rich diet, avoiding starches, sugary foods, and sodas.

I want to consume several glasses of water, each day.

Goals For Today -

I am going to go to the gym today.

I am going to work as hard as I can, as smart as I can, for as long as I can.

I am going to focus, for the entire time I am in the gym, on creating a healthier body.

I am going to run two miles, without stopping, and then I am going to swim several laps in the pool.

I am going to stay hydrated, before, during, and after my workout.

I am going to eat four or five small, high-density, low-carbohydrate meals.

I am going to eat plenty of healthy protein.

I am going to take my multi-vitamin.

Man, that looks so good, there “on paper”.  Now, all I have to do is do it.  Take last week for example.  I started out strong, and then I got sick.  I was sick Monday and Tuesday, I felt a little better Wednesday, but then I felt terrible Thursday and Friday.  Sunday, I started to feel a little better, and now I am prepared for a much better week.  I’ll do my weigh in Tuesday, giving myself one day to get back in the groove of things before I step on the scale.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve decided to give the one hundred push ups program another shot.  The way the program is designed, you do push ups three days each week, for six weeks, until you can do 100 push ups without stopping.  Each week, you do more and more push ups, gradually increasing your power and proficiency.  If you get to the end of a week, and you can’t do the suggested number of push ups, you simply repeat that week’s routine, and move to the next week when you can.

During the month of November, I stuck with the Week 1 routine.  I didn’t want the one hundred push ups program to interfere with my regular weekly workout plan, so I had to learn how to incorporate it.  Basically, I’m doing push ups as part of my chest exercise routine, and I also do them on my cardio-only days.

It’s time for me to move up to Week 2.  Here’s the routine, with my push ups listed in the third column.

Tonight, I was able to complete Day 1 of Week 2.  As an added bonus, my daughter (9) and my son (4) joined me on the floor.  My son was able to do, by his count, 34 push ups.  My daughter was able to do 24.  Hers were legit.  His?  Not so much. 

A year or so ago, my little sister really got into running.  She has participated in several 5K races, and I promised her that, when I got into shape, I’d run in one with her.  When I made the promise, I had yet to fully dedicate myself to getting in shape an losing weight.  Now that The 929 Project is in full swing, and I’m exercising four or five times a week, I think I’m ready to honor my promise.

I need to pick out a 5K race, here in Georgia.  I want to feel comfortable, and I don’t want to feel like a “newbie”.  If you have any suggestions, I’m looking or a 5K race, in the Spring.  I’m willing to drive, but it needs to be in the state of Georgia.

I have no idea what to expect.  All I can do, on my end, is prepare.  Right now, I can pretty comfortably run a mile, maybe a mile-and-a-half.  I want to be able to do four miles, without stopping, before I try the 5K.  In other words, I want to be able to go and enjoy myself, and not worry about huffing and puffing all the way through.

Side note:  My little sister is going to have another baby, her third, a little boy.  So, I’ll run my first race without her.  Once she gets back into running, we’ll do one together – and she will crush me.

I’ve been thinking about my current weight loss plan, and my goal of losing 90 pounds by September 29, 2009.  (Click here to read the weigh in where I decided that 90 pounds would be my goal and September 29, 2009 would be my goal date.)  I picked September 29, 2009 because that will be exactly one year from September 29, 2008, the date that, in retrospect, I finally put everything together and got serious about losing weight.

I have decided that I need a name for my current weight loss plan.  Why?  I have been writing about my (failed) attempts at weight loss for almost three years, and I really can’t look back at January of 2007 as my starting date, because I never really focused or put my heart into getting in shape.  So, for all practical purposes, September 29, 2008 is my real starting date.  From now on, I will refer to my current weight loss plan as -

The 929 Project

I want to lose 90 pounds by September 29, 2009.

My starting date was September 29, 2008.  Weight – 252.2 Pounds

My goal date is September 29, 2009.  Weight – 162.2 Pounds

Total weight loss goal – 90 Pounds

Click here to see my most recent weigh in.

I do want to say one thing about my goal of losing 90 pounds.  If I succeed, I will weigh 162.6 pounds.  I haven’t been at that weight in almost 15 years.  After losing an initial 50 pounds or so, I will reevaluate my goal, to see if it is still realistic.  I am 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and 162.6 pounds is considered a healthy weight for that height, but I might find that I am much healthier and stronger at a slightly higher weight, say 175 pounds.  We shall see.