One of the hardest things I find is trying to keep myself active and holding myself to account. Losing weight for me was not about rules, but more around changing underlying behaviors and beliefs.
To do this I end up getting an addictive personality to a set of fundamental systems that change the way I think and adapt what I do to fit that framework. These principals will hold me to account, and i need to be accountable for at least 3 months to ensure i build the correct behaviors!
In my world I use a set of beliefs and structures, for example;
- I need to perform some physical activities per day that make me sweat or challenge me – This could be yoga, sauna, walking, cycling, swimming, but something
- I need to control my calories I consume – This could be via intermittent fasting, calorie intake being constricted, a high plant-based diet, just something to restrict my consumption
- I need to program my mind to make the right choices vs the easy choices – This could be as simple as rejecting an offer for a drink or food.
Physical Activities
There will be several activities I will be active with;
- DDP Yoga – My username here is zarbie if you use the platform. My goal initially for the beginning of this year is to run with the “Intermediate 2” program and get through that twice will adding a few extra sessions. I have officially kicked into this now
- Walking – One of the key activities I do is walking, I do this while I work on my treadmill desk. I try to average anything between 10k to 20k steps per day and log that on my Garmin Fenix 6x
- Sauna – I have just invested in one of these infrared sauna blankets. It’s one by MiHigh. The research demonstrates that saunas are good for weight loss but more importantly other body functions such as high blood pressure for which i have identified in myself. I want to try and do this 4-6 times a week (bearing energy costs!)
- Peloton – I have a peloton bike, in fact i originally shifted away from DDP Yoga to the bike as i loved cycling and wanted to get stronger on my cardio. However, this time i want to balance the cycling with the many other peloton classes, strength and weights classes are necessary for me. Again, if you want to connect with me on peloton my username is JustinZarb
- Cycling – I do love cycling, but my flexibility has gotten a bit tight over the last few years and I need to fix that. Before the pandemic I used to cycle back and forth to the office, it was c12 miles each way. However, life not going into the office has caused that to be taken away. I need to consider how i address that. I will log all of this either to Garmin or Strava.
- Swimming – This is a long shot, but i would like to get more into swimming. It was a great form of exercise, but it requires a gym membership which i am not overly keen to waste money on given i have other items.
Calories In
This is probably the hardest area! My diet! I have just gone off the rails from what i consume. So i need to establish some good practices and it will take time for me to get my behaviors in place
- Intermittent Fasting – I am going to look to only eat for 8 hours of a day. In my earlier life i hardly ever ate breakfast, so i am going to try and only eat from 12pm – 8pm.
- MyFitnessPal – I am going to try and limit myself to 2187 calories per day, this may have to be reduced further. Again, you can follow me here
- Carbonated Drinks – I really need to cut this, coke zero is just a weak spot for me, i need to drink more green teas and water
- Protein Drinks – I am going to try out some of the meal support methods such as Huel and Manual.co , they have high protein drinks to help with hunger and not snack on the wrong things.
- Plant Based – I use to have a really high plant-based diet back in 2017, and this has gone astray, too many vices such as chocolates and sweets from the kids getting consumed and need to restrict or remove them all together. My mindset works a bit binary, i am either fully In (not eating rubbish) or not, i can’t just allow a few small treats else I just go off the rails.
These are just some of the things I am thinking of controls for me to keep me focused! I need to get under 100kg! It’s just been too many years and I need to get to that goal!
Jan 1st allowed me to complete my first DDP Yoga course, I am at 164,436 points with DDP Yoga and by the end of the year i want to get to 265k points!
Next update tomorrow
JZ