Day 4 of 84

It's day 4 of my Body-for-LIFE Challenge. I've officially entered the Challenge on the last day to enter for the final round of this year's judging.

On my first day, I had a small medical procedure done that's knocked me off my feet for a few days, but my eating has been clean. I should be able to double-up on some workouts today and tomorrow so I won't miss any.

My weight is up and down and I'm resolving for the rest of the Challenge to only weigh in once a week. The ups and downs send me on a roller-coaster ride that logically, I know is unnecessary.

I know that I've attempted this Challenge a million times before... it's almost like an albatross around my neck. I need to finish it! This time, I will finish it.

Each time I attempt it, I invariably end up changing things up and doing my own thing. That never works - that's why I'm in this predicament! I'm doing it by the book, with supplementation this time around. In addition, I've discovered transformation.com which Bill Phillips appears to be involved in. It includes 18 weeks of assignments that tackle the mental side of a lifestyle transformation. That element was sorely lacking in any of my previous attempts.

I have very definite goals this time around as well and will continue with my posting of daily, weekly, monthly and long-term goals.

So far, so good.

Here are my long-term goals ("long-term" in this case means the end of the 12 week Challenge):

1. Lose 30 lbs.
2. Run 5 km non-stop;
3. Run 5 km in under 30 mins;
4. Submit my official entry packet;
5. Find an area where I can help others with their transformation to a healthier lifestyle.

My goals for this week are:

1. Get all of my workouts in;
2. Lose 2.5 lbs.

One of my pitfalls is eating. I work in downtown Toronto. There is an underground shopping world beneath my building that goes on for miles. There is a food court at every turn and any restaurant you can name is there. That doesn't include the tons of great restaurants and street food vendors that are on the street level! Just getting off the train and walking the short distance to my office, I pass a Mrs. Field's cookie vendor, Dairy Queen, Cinnabon, McDonald's, Laura Secord (chocolate and ice cream shop), a croissant bakery, a muffin bakery, and about 10 more restaurants. I call it "running the gauntlet" when I have to walk through there. I could walk on the street level and that would eliminate some of the temptation (you wouldn't believe how tempting Cinnabon and Mrs. Fields' smell). I also need to bring my meals to work (something I hadn't been doing) to keep me out of the food courts. I often go there with the best of intentions as there are healthy choices, but end up getting something that's terrible for my body. I'll bring my meals and eat on the outdoor rooftop patio (when the weather is nice) so I can avoid the food courts.

We have a long weekend here in Canada, so tomorrow, I'll plan all of my meals for the week and pack up what I need so it's ready to grab in the morning.

Weekly Goals - August 8-14, 2009

1. Lose 3 lbs to finally be at 200 (would love to be at under 200, but think that's a bit ambitious for a week - maybe it'll happen anyway);
2. Run 5 times this week for 30 mins each session at 3 mins running, 2 mins walking intervals;
3. Weight train twice this week for 30 mins;
4. Save any 'cheats' or unclean eating to 1 day, and even then, limit it to one cheat meal, instead of blowing the whole day;
5. Eat super clean for 6 days;
6. Cut out sugar and salt;
7. Up my water intake to that glass bottle on my desk. Have at least 1 of those a day.

Today: Ran 30 mins, 2.48 miles, 3 mins @ 6 mph, 2 mins@ 3.5, repeated