Summary of Week One

I started this change of lifestyle 6 weeks prior to starting this blog.  So I am just going to cut and paste small weekly entries I made in an online diary to summarize the changes I've made and the effects I've realized, and I'll elaborate later :)

WEEK ONE: 

Enough is enough; we've just embarked on the "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" of all diets.

One week ago today, I decided to commit to at least 30 days of clean eating and proper fitness technique to see if I am capable of achieving the results I've convinced myself I'm incapable of.  To start off, I didn't want to do anything too drastic; I have a tendancy to start big and exhaust myself into submission 2 weeks later.  So, I spent this week not cutting back on foods, but just being more aware of what I was putting in my mouth, and when.  This, in preparation for a stricter, cleaner diet, and understanding hunger patterns and energy efficiency. 

As for exercise, I dug out my old heart rate monitor and began to monitor the levels I was challenging my body at in the gym.  I also increased my cardio to 90 minutes (I don't recommend this, it's excessive and you can hurt yourself) but I felt motivated to do it and wanted to get a head start by preparing my body for handling tougher workouts in the near future.  I think it was more a mental preparation than a physical one.

I also committed to drinking 4 20-oz glasses of water each day.  I've never been a water drinker - fat free milk, diet colas, teas/coffees and juices mostly - but this diet is about following age-old nutrition wisdom and common sense in place of the excuses I've made to tolerate bad habits.  Bad habits may seem minor when looking at them individually, but they add up.  Milk and juice OUT, 80 fl. oz. of pure filtered water IN.

As for results, I haven't really seen many.  But it's only been 7 days.  One thing I've noticed though is that I am really motivated and excited to embark on this journey.  Comitting to something as simple as drinking 80 fl. oz. of water a day and sticknig to it - even if I had to force myself - is something new.  Small milestones lead to larger ones, not vice-versa.