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Week 3 of My 12-Week Fitness Challenge: Not Doing Good

Need to get on the ball

By Michael BrockbankPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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Week 3 of My 12-Week Fitness Challenge: Not Doing Good
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Here I am, a quarter of the way through my 12-week fitness challenge and I've only lost 6 pounds thus far. And this past week was terrible in terms of eating and physical activity. The silly thing is that I know what my problem is, but I just can't seem to stay focused for longer than 12 hours at a time.

I guess I can't really complain. After all, I've lost 6 pounds without really putting in much of an effort to maintain a good eating plan or exercise routine. What worries me is gaining the weight back after I'm done. It doesn't seem like I'm learning much at all throughout this process.

Eating Way More Calories Than I Should

The idea of my diet plan centers around keeping caloric goals in the green in MyFitnessPal. It's how I lost the majority of the last 80 pounds, so I know it works for me. But for some reason, I can't get the same fear of seeing red numbers that I had once before.

Then again, I'm not nearly as busy or as stressed as I am today.

I have a lot on my plate, and that usually takes up the vast majority of my day. Then, I often stress and think about what I need to do next in order to accomplish the goals I have set.

In reality, I think I stress way too much throughout the week, though.

And being a stress eater compounds the problem. A lot of the time, I don't even realize I'm snacking until I am halfway digesting what I just ate. It's like a subconscious override and I start eating on autopilot.

Not Getting Enough Activity

I haven't been going to the gym or getting myself back in front of the Xbox Kinect. Hell, I haven't even been walking as much as I was. So, my step counts are incredibly low.

I just haven't been able to talk myself to get up and get moving.

I'm going to try to start a new Kinect case study for the next week. I'm hoping that focusing on the data and then writing an article about it on Colorado Plays will keep me motivated to actually put in the effort.

After all, data is what drives my motivation most of the time. I'm a bit of a dork.

Seriously, it's kind of hard to call Will Smith out on not being able to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks if I can't do it myself. And the stupid thing is that I know I can do it. I just need to get that passion back that I had before.

What Can I Fix This Week?

So, I know what needs to be done. And no matter what kind of plan I put on paper, it won't make a difference if I don't make a conscious effort to change. Otherwise, I'll keep bouncing in the 220s without really gaining the traction I want for fitness.

Running the Case Study

Setting up a proper case study, complete with a spreadsheet, often keeps me motivated to push forward. Especially if I emphasize to myself how important the data is for future content.

This time around, starting today, I'll set up a case study to see what 7 days of playing the Xbox Kinect and maintaining my Net 600 Calorie diet can do for weight loss. It'll give me an article for Colorado Plays, which I am working on fixing up anyway.

Get Myself Afraid of Red Numbers Again

Somehow, I need to get myself afraid of seeing the red numbers in MyFitness pal. When I weighed more than 300 pounds, I worked exceptionally hard to keep from caloric intake going into the negative.

What that means is that I have to work for my snacks if I want them. The hardest part is going to be monitoring myself closely at night. I may have to go back to streaming live at night as I refuse to eat on camera.

Stop Letting Work Interfere with My Plans

One of my biggest issues as of late has been letting work interfere and influence my physical activity throughout the day. I just have so much I want to accomplish. I think a big part of it has to do with adding a writing challenge this past month and trying to edit a friend's book on top of what I already do. This is, indeed, beyond the limits of what I can handle on any given day.

I would say that March will be easier, but I know me. I'll look for another writing challenge to see how far I can push myself again.

You know, if I had the same determination in fitness as I do with my writing career, I'd look like a Greek god by now.

I need to find a way to just stop when my allotted work time is up. Well, and not stress about it. I need some me time, actually. I don't take enough time off, me thinks.

Let's See How Well I Manage Week 4

I sound like a broken record. I know what I need to do on a day-to-day basis, I just can't seem to convince myself to maintain it. Like I said, though, I've never been this busy or stressed out about my success.

If I can find a way to break free, I'd be unstoppable.

Let's see if I can prove myself right by at least accomplishing my fitness goals for 7 days straight. It starts today by making sure the calories stay green in MyFitnessPal.

humanity
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About the Creator

Michael Brockbank

I am the owner and operator of several blogs including WriterSanctuary.com. As a freelance writer since 2012, I have covered a range of topics and completed over 8,000 projects for clients. Follow me @WriterSanctuary on Twitter.

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