Operation Fat Blaster - Special Ops Mission: Week 7

If you are a blogger on a weight loss and/or fitness journey and haven't yet discovered Operation Fat Blaster you might want to check it out. Here's a link!

http://operationfatblaster.ning.com/

ANYWAY, this week's mission is to review past goals and the steps taken to achieve those goals, and to update the goals, if needed.

PAST GOALS: I started at a body weight over 400 pounds and at THAT weight, a walk to the mailbox on the corner is an Olympic-class event. I started with a goal to lift weights 3 times a week to the best of my ability, walk as far as I can when I can, and work out with exercise DVDs as often as possible.

As the weeks wear on and you start to weigh less and become fitter -- the exercise starts becoming easier. A walk around the block used to honestly be a test of my endurance but it isn't any more. In fact, I went on a hike yesterday and steadily walked uphill to an elevation of about 400 feet. Such a thing would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago and it made me realize that I haven't been pushing myself enough--- not for the kind of results that I want, anyway.

I think that one thing a lot of us really overweight people do as a pattern is to start off strong and then as our strength and endurance increase -- we rest on our laurels and don't push ourselves to the next level. At each new stage of fitness, it is challenging at first but as our bodies adapt it becomes easier. Our progress will come to a standstill every time we refuse to move past our comfort zone.

Well, I have to admit that these past few weeks, although I have been exercising faithfully and staying on my "clean eating" food plan, I haven't been working out with enough intensity to push myself to the next level. Honestly, I've just been maintaining the progress I already made --- but I will never get this next 100 pounds off doing things that way.

So this special ops mission came just at the right time for me -- the synchronicity of it is almost magical as I have been thinking about where I am and overhauling my program so that I am genuinely challenging myself, once again, each week.

To be reviewing my goals and action steps publicly, with others, will be great! So here goes:

I'd been using these 20-minute aerobic DVDs that are geared toward beginners. Well, I got some Biggest Loser and Jillian Michaels DVDs and tried them the past week or so. They are so much more challenging than what I've been doing. it's a stretch of my abilities to complete some of the moves and to finish the entire 45-minutes-- which is EXACTLY what I need if I want to make progress.

So, new goal #1 is to put aside the "beginner" DVDs and focus on those that ask more of me than I want to give so that I will continually become fitter and lighter.

New goal # 2 is actually a commitment more so than a "goal," but beginning right now, at the end of each week I will post a recap of the week's exercise both in terms of time, activity and intensity. I am thinking that it will spur me on knowing that my efforts will be quantified publicly at the end of each week.

Anyway, I wanted to thank Michelle for this week's mission, it will really help me to keep making progress.