Thursday, October 14, 2010

Public Goals Revisited

Some time ago, I wrote about my hope that stating some goals in public might assist me in achieving them. In particular, I mentioned a desire to shed 10 kg in 100 days and invited people to keep on my back about it.

As it happened, this wasn’t interesting for many people and just one friend did remind me and ask me how I was going at suitable intervals. I’m very grateful for that. The sad thing is that it doesn’t seem to have worked for me. The 100 days ended at the start of this month and my weight is unchanged. To be specific, the day I started it was 78.8 kg and it was 78.8 kg this morning. In between, it has fluctuated between 76.7 and 80.0 kg. I think it’s fair to describe that as “no change”.

So what’s next? I still wish to lose that weight, but it is clear that I will need to adopt a better strategy to accomplish it. While I was away in Sydney recently, I managed to get in some decently long walks and thought I might be able to make a specific time for walking every day back at home. I have now been getting up at 5:00 every morning and immediately going for a brisk one hour walk. It is too soon yet for that that have made any impact—as the scales make clear. However, I am hopeful that, by doing this walk regularly, I might make some progress.

9 comments:

  1. You find this interesting: http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself.html

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  2. I had seen that Ted talk just recently, and did find it interesting. I'm not really sure what is the best way for me to go, but there are clearly a variety of approaches.

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  3. Try cycling. It burns lots of energy (can be equivalent to a Mars bar every 20 minutes) gets sthe heart and lungs running well and finally can be done indoors effectively by use of one of the "high end" trainers (those with a fluid load to simulate road energy requirements). I managed to drop 20kg in 12 months and now have a resting heart rate of 35-38. I does however take sufficient effort to keep the heart rate in the 85% zone for around 40 minutes a day; ie lots of sweat making.

    Peter Bullen

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  4. I consider cycling from time to time, but keep seeing examples of the dangers of road riding and I don't think I could find a way to persevere with a stationary exercise bike, although your results are most encouraging. More thought needed.

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  5. i have been in (almost) exactly your situation - 78kg and wanted to loose 9 kg.

    cut out sugar and eat as much as you want, being sensible with fat. hell, i even bought a deep fryer on my diet and i lost 9kg in 100 days.

    sugar is evil
    no need to exercise either on this diet.

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  6. just a further note.

    when i say cut out sugar, i mean ALL sugar! no beer, no fruit (well this is impossible for me so stick with 1 piece, 2 maxx a day) juice is a killer - all sugar!

    do some research on sugar you will be surprised at how insideous it is. not to mention the slave trade it supported

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  7. Thanks for the ideas about sugar. I'm not sure that the sugar I eat here has connections with slavery, and I'm not sure about the wisdom of avoiding fruit (although I never touch fruit juice). But I might do some more reading and experimenting.

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  8. Weight may not be the indicator you need. A dress makers
    measuring tape may be a better indicator.

    I have been focusing on aerobic improvement for the past
    year (3 x40min seesions a week on average) and have lost
    only 2kg, however I have removed 50mm on average circumference.
    Better still is I can now run for the full 40min without
    having to sit down.

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  9. Yes, I agree that weight is not the only indicator. I haven't used a measuring tape, but do take notice of which hole in my belt I use and that has stayed the same for many months. I'm starting to think I might need to do more aerobic stuff, but not yet sure how to find time when it's not too hot. With summer just around the corner, that might be a problem. Thanks for the comment.

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