Last week I wrote about my new challenge. Here’s an update. Pretty much a fail on the bed time thing. I was aiming for 10pm, but we were all over the place depending on what was going on. We were usually much later. One night I wanted to finish a great book. Another night Davin’s volleyball match went late and we were all pumped up once we got home. I’m disciplined in some areas of my life, but this is one that I’ve always struggled with. We’re going to shift it to 10:30 for me and Lianne, and try again. I usually get headaches if my sleep schedule is way off, and I haven’t had any headaches, so I guess I’m doing OK. On the tracking side I did a pretty good job. As you can see here, I missed 2 days out of the last 10. It really is revealing when you start logging what you eat, or tracking how many steps you take. Much like a financial budget shows you where your money is going, a food journal shows you where all your calories are coming from. Here’s what I discovered.
I’ve been listening to some Paleo podcasts, and they talk about Intermittent Fasting (IF). The idea is that you fast once a week, or you skip a meal, to try to match up your lifestyle with the way your body is designed to consume food. There’s not a ton of science to back it up, but one study does indicate some health benefits. I don’t really like breakfast anyway, so I’m skipping it. The result is that I’m not getting quite enough calories. That’s the first thing I noticed. At this point I’m not trying to lose weight, I’m just trying to be healthier. I need to add some food in somewhere so I can maintain weight.
The second thing I noticed is that my macro nutrient percentages are not where I’d expect. I have way more fat (50%) and carbs (35%) than I’d expect, and less protein (15%). I’m not too concerned about the fat, because it is almost all healthy fat, but I think I can switch some of those carbs out for protein. I may add in some eggs, chicken, or fish going forward.
Third, I absolutely must make my salad the night before, or first thing in the morning, otherwise I don’t make a salad at all. This is another discipline thing. I know that a big bowl of leafy greens, onions, and carrots (and whatever other veggies I can throw in there) is good for me. I just need to buckle down and make it a priority.
The fourth thing I learned is that if I don’t have a planned activity, I don’t move around much. Some days I wouldn’t do anything other than walk the stairs to my office and sit at my desk. On those days I probably average around 3,000 steps. On the days I had a planned workout or activity, I did much better. I need to make sure I move around some every day. For example, I didn’t have anyone to work out with on Wednesday morning, so I made it a point to recruit the kids. We did a good circuit routine and they are still complaining about being sore, so it was a success!
Here’s the week 2 challenge.
- Continue week 1, to include working on bed time consistency.
- Tweak the diet a little.
- Pre-make a salad every day.
- A little less carbs.
- A little more protein.
- A little more calories each day.
- Plan to move around every day.