Sunday, December 6, 2009

Changes: Week 1

I've mentioned that I gained 10 lbs after I moved here to Sydney in August. I have been really down about the weight gain; part of moving here was an attempt to lose some extra weight, not gain more.

I thought without a car, living in a sunshine-filled city, and being generally more active than I was in DC that I could lose the last little bit of extra weight that I gained last year working two jobs and not taking good care of myself.

Since that didn't happen, I've decided I have to take a more proactive approach to helping myself feel better and be healthier.

I tend to be one of those extremist people who thinks I can magically do everything all at once: eat better, work out more, make big lifestyle changes and then everything will be all better, real fast! Which usually just results in my failing, terribly, because its the exception, not the rule that you can overall everything at once and it'll all work perfectly and everything will be good.

Incremental changes seem to be the way to go. Start by changing one thing this week and then next week, continue with the change from the first week and add another change, until you've managed to improve all the different areas you aimed for.

I started this approach this past week. I can't do just one change though [not enough of a challenge for my super competitive personality] so I started with two changes:

1. Walk to and from work = 5 miles a day, roundtrip. The weather is perfect; there are no excuses for taking the train or a bus.

2. Limit myself to ONE cup of coffee per day. Instead of my usual 2 - 3, which is not good.

I've been really successful with these changes this week. Even when I was running late Thursday morning, when normally I would take the train, I forced myself to walk and stayed a bit longer at work to make up for the time difference [I realize I have a flexible job, so this works for me, but maybe not for other people on a stricter time schedule].

I have also treated myself to a $3 AUD soy latte at the bakery on Riley Street on my way to work, as extra motivation to walk. Instead of getting coffee in the afternoon I have brought peppermint tea bags to my office to use as an afternoon pick-me-up. If I start thinking that cheating on the one coffee rule is okay, I remind myself that not only is this healthier for me- I'm saving heaps of money by not buying/consuming so much coffee.

I'm going to keep up with these changes next week [and the week after, and the week after that ...] and set one or two new goals for next week. I'll keep you posted!



[PS Latte photo is not from the bakery on Riley Street- it was from Artisan Focaccesia 230 Palmer Street Darlinghurst, in case you're curious.]

2 comments:

  1. Hey congratulations on your first week, know that someone is cheering you on :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you! That really means a lot to me! :)

    ReplyDelete