Weight loss and marketing

For the past couple of weeks I've been hovering around the 40 pound loss mark.  43 pounds one week, 39 pounds another week...it's all good, because during that time, I've continued to exercise and to eat right (most of the time!). I've mentioned in the past here on the blog, and to people that have asked me in person how I did it, about my need to track everything that passed my lips.  Whether I was being good or bad, the need to track it was important to me. This was reinforced recently at Content Marketing World during a talk by Ahava Leibtag.  She was discussing "Put your content on a diet" and mentioned the "5 Rules for Behavioral Change", abstracted from Weight Watchers.  Point #1 was "If you bite it, write it". Documentation in marketing is just as important as documentation in weight loss. Point #2 was "You can choose not to count it, but it still counts" True statement, and I chose to count it so I had no one to blame but myself if I did not make my weekly goals. It has also taught me a life lesson on how many calories are in food, but also what portions of that food I should be eating, and what, at the end of the day, would satisfy my hunger. Points 3-5, "Schedule it in your life", "Find a strong support group" and "Make it a lifestyle change"are equally important, but 1 and 2 have been my mantra during this time.

Last weekend I went back to Marietta College for homecoming.  When traveling and eating out, it is always a struggle to log the food I've eaten.  So I decided to take a break from it.  On Monday, I decided to continue not logging my food.  It's been harder than I thought. The good news is I still think as if I need to log it, so when considering seconds or grabbing that Mallomar, I think about what impact those actions will have on my weight.  My official weigh in is always on Monday morning, so I'm not sure how this experiment will end, but it has been a great experience knowing that I can do this and not be so anal about logging everything, every time.  Having said that, on Monday I will probably start tracking my food again!

I still have 15 pounds to go to my final weight, so I need to be focused on that, but I know once done, I can put the food scale and FitBit app away, and keep the weight off based on the lessons I've learned.

40 for 40 update

I've been "religious" (haha, get it?) about keeping to the plan.  Either on the treadmill or on the bike, I've done 40 minutes or more each day.  Unfortunately, I've only lost one more pound (for a total of 6 to date).  I've come to realize I don't have a craft beer drinking problem, but I do have an eating problem.  I can binge eat with the best of them.  And it is definitely triggered by stress.  I need to figure out how to work on that very quickly, because I can't exercise much more than I am, and most days I only have a beer.  So wish me luck as I try reduce the amount of food I'm eating.
In the meantime, there are only a couple of more days left in Lent, but I think this exercise thing is now part of my routine, I feel great afterwards, so I won't be giving it up (see what I did there?) anytime soon.

Workout motivation

Things are going pretty well on the weight loss front.  I'm down 5 pounds, and getting into a good routine on the treadmill each morning before work, now that I have given up my gym membership.  Also, this awesome weather has allowed me to get out on the bike a couple of times.

To get me moving early in the morning I've found a motivational song to start each work out compliments of Young the Giant:

"My body tells me no,

But I won't quit, 

Cause I want more,

Cause I want more!"

And yes, I really want "less" weight, but you get the point! 
Do you have a song that motivates you?