Today I did my final weigh-in for a weight loss contest I started with Praveen last year. I lost. But here are the highlights and lowlights:
- I had a great first 90 days. I was exercising 5 days a week for 30 – 45 minutes. It was a combination of strength and cardio. I loved it.
- Then I got sick for a week, and I massively fell off of that bandwagon. I’ve not been able to get back on, and hopefully the 30 minutes of activity goal for this year will help (so far, it hasn’t)
- Ramadan really got me this year. I lost a ton of weight, and then piled it back on.
- Traveling got me a bit too
- In September, I got a real downer bit of news at work, and that just sent me for a spin. I didn’t really recover from the emotional rollercoaster and stress that caused.
- I can’t do weight loss by just dieting. I have to have an element of exercise. Even the lowest impact thing (such as Yoga or walking to the grocery store) helps a ton. There just has to be something.
What I’d say if I were to do it again is to not do a contest against someone who can radically change their life pattern in ways you can’t. Praveen killed it in Berlin, and then in Machu Pichu where he had two massive step functions down in weight loss.
The other thing I’d say, even though I didn’t see it for long, is that when I’m below 185 lbs I have way more body confidence than when I’m above 185 lbs. So, having peaked at 199 lbs in 2015, and been as low as 183 lbs at one point I think I can realistically say this year that I’m starting at 188.5 lbs, and that I’ll end the year at 175 lbs.
Here goes nothing 🙂