G’s Driver’s License Weight Challenge – The Start and End Date, The Goal, and Day 2 Results

Why did I start on a Sunday?

It took only 2 steps to start this challenge:

And once I was ready, there was no turning back. Mentally, I was excited. It also helped that I had already scarfed down all the junk food in the house – I wasn’t craving anything and if I was, I wasn’t sending Farhad out to get it (#stayhome).

If you noticed, I started this on a Sunday. I don’t like waiting for a Monday, or the 1st of the month, or the New Year to start something. When I got on this fitness journey almost 5 years ago, it happened to be on a Monday simply because I wasn’t ready until then. But it was the 2nd of November and I had decided not to wait until after the holidays were over to get started.

It was also completely random that I happened to like a friend’s post on Instagram this past Saturday, which unbeknownst to me had strings attached to it! I received a private message saying So….you liked my post so you have to post an embarrassing picture of yourself, for the caption you’re ONLY allowed to write “until tomorrow”. Well, the only embarrassing picture I had on my phone was one that Farhad took of me a few weeks ago while doing sumo squats. I swear, the faces I make when I work out! Anyway, a picture of me exercising with the caption “until tomorrow” just seemed like a sign that starting the next day was the right time.

“Begin with the end in mind.” Stephen R. Covey

Determining the End Date

The first thing I did on Day 1 was weigh myself, and I weighed in at 141 pounds. (I was 136 two weeks before, then we did our Spring Break/COVID-19 food shopping, and here I am. Hopefully, most of these 5 pounds is water weight.)

Anyway, the last time I did a similar challenge, I calculated losing an average of 1.75 pounds per week. So with my goal to be 115, I’m looking to drop 26 pounds. Divide that by 1.75 and I need 15 weeks, making the estimated* End Date Saturday, July 11, 2020. That’s 105 days by the way!

Why Just a Weight Goal?

I have other goals than just being 115 pounds:

• Be toned
• Lower my cholesterol levels
• Don’t have asthma attacks

These being said, they come inherent with dropping my weight, but only if I reach this weight by the specific nutrition and exercise plan I put together (which I will explain as I continue to break down this plan).

Note: I started writing this entry as I was walking around our community to get my steps in. I’ve already made a tweak in the plan – I increased the amount of LISS to 7 days a week since it’s the only way for me to get 10,000 steps in daily.

Day 2 Results

• Weight: 140.6 pounds (25.6 to go!)
• Steps: 10,124
• Lows: I woke up around 10am and still couldn’t get 5 meals in. I ate a healthy breakfast but it still wasn’t according to the plan (I needed to finish an open can of spinach and am still working on finishing a carton of egg whites).
• Highs: Motivation is still high and I’m enjoying documenting this process! Nikolas walked a “lap” around the community with me (with a couple “visits” from Dominik on his bike), then Farhad walked another lap with me.
• Nutrition:
  • Breakfast – .75 c egg whites and half a can of spinach
  • Meals 2, 3, and 4 – .5 c steamed white Basmati rice, 4 oz boneless, skinless, chicken breast, .5 c onions (chicken and onions boiled in water, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, ginger powder)
  • All other markers checked.
• Exercise: (1st number is the number of reps, 2nd number is the weight on each side, 0 means bar only for curl/barbell moves or body weight for others)
  • Dumbbell flys drop set – 15-3, 15-5, 15-8, 15-10, 15-8
  • Barbell bench press – 15-0, 12-2.5, 10-5, 8-7.5
  • Dumbbell bench press – 15-10, 12-12, 10-15, 8-20
  • Reverse bent over dumbbell flys drop set – 20-4, 20-5, 20-8, 20-4
  • Standing dumbbell lateral raises – 20-3, 15-4, 12-5, 10-8
  • Dumbbell front raises – 15-4, 15-5, 15-8
  • Military press – 8-12, 8-15, 8-15
  • LISS – walked for 75 minutes

Don’t forget to recognize and deliver love today! ❤ G