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I looked at the calendar and I was around 150 days out of July. I started to think about previous years. July is a tough month for me. I feel like I hold it together until July, then I crash. I run fast and by the time I cross the July mile marker, I am just tired.
I overeat. I allow stress to overwhelm met. This year I thought I could do better, so I made a plan. That's how the 10-week summer health challenge started. Weeks 7-8 were critical to this challenge.
My husband works out of town for quite a bit of time in July. This change of routine is tough. I tried and failed to stay focused on my health goals before.
This year, I followed these steps:
• 1 year ago: I did not like the results I got every July. I signed up for the Ranting Watcher's Consistency Challenge. I learned how to be sure the food I consumed was weighed and measured consistently.
• Spring of 2024: I envisioned what I wanted to see in July and planned the 10-week health summer challenge. I signed up for the Ranting Weight Watcher's Redemption group, which is a greater layer of accountability for my goal.
• The past two weeks: my husband was out of the country and I went on vacation with our kids. I'm glad was able to accomplish the challenge. I tracked and focused on the right things each day. I learned not to be too restrictive but to fuel the life I want to live. Furthermore, I rested a lot (I was failing quite a bit in that department) and fully recovered from being tired.
• The challenge is over in 13 days but so far, here are some results:
1 - I'm getting stronger. I was able to workout with a 35-lb dumbbell.
2 - I greatly decreased the amount of post-meal eating. NEAD (no eating after dinner) is the key to my success!
3 - I learned to take better care of myself. Other than my faith walk, exercise, and food, I needed more care. I am enjoying being outside often, whether gardening or enjoying nature.
4 - I became better at saying "no" to sweets. Last July I made a rule of "no sweets" for 10 days. My brain heard this as "bring on the sweets every day." Needless to say, it was a complete failure. This July, I naturally said "no". Having a solid plan really helped me to turn down needless calories. I learned that consistency helped me manage sweets in a way that works for me, not against me. Working for me meant saying "no" a lot.
5 - I weigh less today than I've done for 4 years! What a win!!!
I am definitely on the path to success. It all started with identifying the correct problem I needed to solve: consistency.
Thank you for reading and for your encouragement!
10-week Challenge:
• Weigh/track/measure foods
• Stop eating after dinner
• Complete 50 workouts *
• Sleep at least 7 hours a night *
• Drink at least 40 oz water + electrolytes *
* Adapt these to your level of fitness, current needs
Start: 5/20
End: 7/29
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