Day 18 of 100 Days to Thanksgiving

Day 18 of 100 Days to Thanksgiving
September 1, 2005
253/242/195

I got on my scale this morning and another pound was gone - so I have
lost 11 pounds in 18 days. I had about 900 calories yesterday and
that's better than the 1200 plus or so I've been having for a
while.

Went up my little hill last night without a backpack, and I had to do
it somewhat quickly so we could take our son to go to his Boy Scout
Eagle Board of Review. He has had a great time in scouts and sure has
learned a lot. Difficult to accomplish all the things he had to do. And
very, very nice people in the scouts.

In driving in early this morning to Portland, I crossed the Marquam
Bridge before the sun was up. Mt. Hood loomed off to the east and to
the north is Mt. St. Helens, or what is left of it after the May 18,
1980 explosive eruption. It still is a huge mountain but the top third
or so is gone. Impressive to realize the effects of the environment
around us. Terrible pictures of Louisiana and other affected areas in
the paper and on TV. I guess part of the problems for New Orleans is
that money was taken away from planning and refurbishing the dikes and
spent instead on the "war effort." This was in spite of the fact
that it was widely known that a large hurricane could have devastated
New Orleans and the surrounding area.

I was reading an article last night on prevention of relapse in
exercising behaviors and the authors found that positive
interpretations (e.g., "I remember when I ran that one time and I
started off feeling bad but I felt great at the end!") and the
rituals of exercising (such as laying out clothing to exercise in) were
associated with reduction in exercise relapse, and this was true for
both men and women. Makes a lot of sense to me - both that what we
tell ourselves internally is important and also what we do externally.
I think for me the positive interpretations may be something like:
"I've been a little weak at times lately but that just tells me
that I'm making progress on my diet and exercise program! At other
times I have more energy than I ever did before!" (Exercise relapsing
was correlated with bad weather, a bad mood, time restraints, etc.)

So I'm going to systematically try to employ positive
reinterpretations to maintain my motivation. Also, make sure my
exercise stuff is laid out so it's not difficult for me to
immediately exercise when I get home. (I also daily record my exercise
behaviors, as well as my ongoing weight.)

Have a great month ahead! Time to have one great day after another!

Yours,

Caleb

Caleb wrote in message
ups.com...

rituals of exercising (such as laying out clothing to exercise in)

My new exercise "ritual" is to ride my bike to work. Over the course
of a week, I burn roughly one pound of fat and save five gallons of
gasoline.
--
Matthew
Slow and steady wins the race.

On Thu, 01 Sep 2005 11:22:31 -0600, AT wrote:
My new exercise "ritual" is to ride my bike to work. Over the course
of a week, I burn roughly one pound of fat and save five gallons of
gasoline.

Not to mention the environment will thank you.

--
Disclaimer: Everything authored by me is my own opinion and personal
experience, unless otherwise indicated.

"AT" wrote in message
...

Caleb wrote in message
ups.com...

rituals of exercising (such as laying out clothing to exercise in)

My new exercise "ritual" is to ride my bike to work. Over the course
of a week, I burn roughly one pound of fat and save five gallons of
gasoline.
--
Matthew
Slow and steady wins the race.


I would love to bike to work but I have a 66 mile round trip each day and
the majority is interstate. I will be using the bike for errands around
town more often than in the past. Thankfully I live in a very bike friendly
community.

Beverly