Last night I was reading a book, trying to get myself motivated to really take some weight off this summer. For years and years, I've started every summer saying that this will be my summer to lose weight. Last summer I was on the right track - particularly by taking on the Great American Eat Right Challenge - but I think the knee injury really got me down.
Anywho, as I was reading the book, weightloss just really seemed simple to me. The best way to lose a pound a week? Cut 300 calories out of your current daily eating and burn 200 more calories. So if I just walked 20 minutes and cut out that nighttime snacking, I'd be on track to lose a pound a week!
I think what's intimidating about losing weight is that there's so much information out there. Do you eliminate carbs? Do you try a liquid diet? Count calories? Eat three meals a day, or six small ones? How do you even know what to put in your body?
This summer, I'm going to try to get back to the basics. I'm going to try working out for 30 minutes most days of the week, whether it be a brisk walk with my dogs or a heavy weight-lifting session at the gym. I'm also going to listen to my body when it comes to eating. I'm surprised at how much healthier when I feel after I eat an apple as opposed to a cookie. I need to start paying attention to whether my body actually needs seconds, or if I just want seconds. There's a difference.
To start, though, I'm going to implement these things slowly, going back to the Eat Right Challenge. I'm not going to overhaul my entire lifestyle at once. I'm going to take it one day at a time, rewarding myself for what I can do, and not beating myself up for what I can't do. It's a process, and I'm ready to take it on.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Here we go again
Just this past weekend I injured my other knee. For more frequent readers, you may remember a few posts last summer about how I tore my right MCL. Now I've injured my left knee, although I'm not quite sure what the diagnoses is. I'm hoping it's just a sprain or bruise, particularly since I'm hoping to walk in the graduation ceremony next Saturday sans crutches....
Once my knee is all healed up, I'm making a personal goal of bettering my body. Did you know that just by shedding one pound you can take off around four pounds of pressure off your knee? For someone with knee injuries like me, that's huge!
I just keep thinking back to what I could have done to prevent the knee injury. For one, I should have really focused on strength building. I know because of the way my knees are, I need to focus on building inner thigh muscle. Despite doing that through physical therapy for four months and knowing the importance, I haven't done much with it. I need to get back to strength training to make sure my knees don't have to provide all the support.
I also need to be more strategic in my workouts. Perhaps strategic isn't the right word, but I do need to get into a routine of have shoes with good support, warming up, and cooling down. This are things I typically ignore. My workout shoes? I've had them for over a year now and they look like I've had them for seven. It's bad. I know they're not giving my knee support. And I know wearing flip-flops while walking all over campus isn't helping them either.
Isn't it amazing how you know what you should do to better your health, but it's not until after the fact that you actually want to do it?
Consider this a lesson learned.
Once my knee is all healed up, I'm making a personal goal of bettering my body. Did you know that just by shedding one pound you can take off around four pounds of pressure off your knee? For someone with knee injuries like me, that's huge!
I just keep thinking back to what I could have done to prevent the knee injury. For one, I should have really focused on strength building. I know because of the way my knees are, I need to focus on building inner thigh muscle. Despite doing that through physical therapy for four months and knowing the importance, I haven't done much with it. I need to get back to strength training to make sure my knees don't have to provide all the support.
I also need to be more strategic in my workouts. Perhaps strategic isn't the right word, but I do need to get into a routine of have shoes with good support, warming up, and cooling down. This are things I typically ignore. My workout shoes? I've had them for over a year now and they look like I've had them for seven. It's bad. I know they're not giving my knee support. And I know wearing flip-flops while walking all over campus isn't helping them either.
Isn't it amazing how you know what you should do to better your health, but it's not until after the fact that you actually want to do it?
Consider this a lesson learned.
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