FatBlogger

June, June Bug, Juno

May is in the bag now, 85.78 miles behind me and I am ready to do more.

OK, this is the weirdest thing, last night, or actually early this morning, I actually had a dream that seemed to go on all night, and it was like everywhere I went there was this calender superimposed over people and things, and 30, 30, 30 everywhere. Weird right? Yes, there are 30 days in June.

So what should I do to ramp it up a bit more, take it to a whole- 'nother- level?

• More walking, faster walking. Last month I wanted 3 miles a day, in June I am aiming for 4 miles a day and to pick up the pace as well.
• The upper body needs work too. Push-ups, sit-ups, yoga. I need to begin doing something above the waist. I have no major goals here, just want to get started.
• Curb the late night eating. This is the BIG step for this month! Most, if not all, of the added calories I put on each day (around 500) is at night...that over portioned bowl of ice-cream, that second helping of dinner, the late night chips. So I am really going to make an effort to simply not eat after dinner, period. I am not going to say, eat this or eat that yet, what I am saying is, eat what you want still, just don't eat it after dinner. I might adjust this to a certain time, like "don't eat after 9 pm.
• My goal for June is 6 pounds of fat loss, double what I did for May.

The most important thing is that I just want to take another step forward, no matter how small.

85 down, 915 to go!

Well May has come and gone and I think my little walking "experiment" has been a complete success. Not on a grand scale mind you, I only lost 3 pounds, but there was other insight gained and I am ready for "the next step".

During the month of May I tried to walk 3 miles everyday, but there was 6 days I didn't walk. To compensate I would walk 4 miles the next few days. At the end of it all, I averaged 2.75 miles a day, burning about 350 calories each time. My last walk was Friday, and I went 6 miles.

What I was trying to accomplish in May was to establish a new habit, independent of diet and the weight-loss mentality, that exercise is going to be a part of my life regardless of what I eat or where I am on the "not ready to diet" scale. I think it has worked. I REALLY looked forward to just the simple act of walking for an hour, really looked forward to a rather secluded time by myself, just me and my Nano, thinking about stuff, working stuff out...and I came away with some rather interesting conclusions, not the least of which is WHY I AM FAT AND WHY I WANT TO BE, a topic I am eager to share with you in a post in the near future.

This task was NOT EASY, despite the very simple premise. For the first two weeks every fiber in my being kept saying, "stop walking, this is stupid unless you are going to diet". It was a real mental challenge to NOT equate exercise with diet, it was very hard to separate the two on a daily basis. But by the end of the month, I succeeded and never the two shall meet again. Diet and exercise work great together, but you CAN do one without the  other...and you should.

Besides, for many obese, the stress of dieting AND exercise is too much, many quit after three days. Why the all at once mentality when you have waited so long anyway? What is a few months of gradual steps compared to years of being fat and miserable?

The daily walking really jogged loose a few things about me and my weight-loss anyway, things that would never have surfaced if I had been trying to "not eat" things. I ate like I normally ate, which is not all that good to be honest. I just wanted to see if exercise can be successful with out diet, and it can.

Yes, you can lose weight just by walking. It takes A LOT of walking, but it can be done. Particularly when you do it at night or in the evening when you would normally be eating poorly anyway.  Transfer time and energy away from eating and use it for something good for you, a win-win situation.