Two weeks... slow start but learning.

It's been a little over two weeks since I started our Chairman's Health Challenge at work. And while it's been a slow start, I feel like I've learned some things already that will help me on my journey.

Some things I've done well:

1. I'm doing a good job of keeping up with tracking my food. Weight Watchers makes this easy, of course, with their online tools and mobile apps. And it's easy to see where I could save my points.
2. I've made some good choices, particularly at breakfast and lunchtime during the week.
3. I'm doing a better job of bringing my lunch to work. Not every day, but moreso than before. Which reminds me, it's the end of the month, so I need to rescue my salad dressing from the refrigerator before it gets tossed.
4. I did a Zumba routine this week and had a blast.

Some things I could do better:

1. I made a few bad breakfast choices, particularly on Sunday morning when we leave the house extremely early and generally have to eat on the go. I could certainly do better with some fat-free Greek yogurt or other portable non-restaurant foods.
2. Snacking less. Snacking at my desk during the day is a killer.
3. Weekends in general. It's too easy to just splurge on the weekend, and those points really add up. Two weekends ago I used all my extra weekly points in just two days.
4. Get moving more. Find some time to walk, either early in the mornings, at lunchtime, or after work. And of course, more Zumba!

At the end of week two, I'm down a pound. But hey, every pound counts.

The good news is I have things I can deliberately improve upon for next week. And tomorrow I plan to take the bike out and burn some calories on one of the local, flat trails.

Onward and upward!

P.S. I forgot to say thank you so much for all your encouraging notes!

Committed!

Today, AT&T's chairman issued all employees a Health Challenge, to set a goal (actually a TARGET) and work toward it for the next six months.

I decided to take him up on that. Guess that mean's I'm going to have to get serious about eating right and exercising.

My specific goal is to lose 30 pounds in six months following the Weight Watchers online program and participate in a 5k event somewhere along the way.

Here's why I'm doing it:

1. I was already overweight and gained 30 more pounds after getting married 6 years ago.
2. I'm tired of having hundreds of pieces of clothing in my closet that I can't fit into any more.
3. My two grandfathers and one grandmother died in their 60s or 70s of heart-related issues. That age seems to be approaching more rapidly every day.
4. My dad, turning 71 this year, has already had two heart attacks and a triple bypass. (counting on my mom and grandmother's genes... both healthy as horses and Granny Dot made it to 93!)
5. My last physical indicated elevated triglycerides, a precursor to diabetes. Time to get that under control.
6. I failed the "atheletic" part of the corporate athlete assessment. Miserably. Everything else was great!
7. I'm tired of being tired all the time, out of breath when walking out to my car, etc.
8. I'm completely lazy, but I figure if I put myself out there in front of thousands of co-workers, I'll truly be committed and there'll be no backing out of it. With this blog, I'm out there in front of the WORLD with the same goal!

Here's what I need from you (my friends and co-workers) to be successful.

1. Encouragement. Just knowing you're on my side will help.
2. Lack of temptation. Weight Watchers will give me flexibility to splurge now and then, but I can't do it every day. Don't bring me a cookie and I won't be tempted to eat it.
3. I'd say a training partner, but I wouldn't wish my schedule on anyone, so pairing up will be hard. But maybe virtual partners would work... we can keep each other posted on progress.
4. I don't know yet but I'm sure there's more!

Anyway, there it is. I'm committed and I'll probably blog some of my feelings along the way. Say a prayer for me that this actually works and maybe next time you see me, I'll be approaching a more healthy weight and level of fitness.