With the week including the end of the month, I can also do a month-of-March in review. I’m going to do that as a bulleted list:
- Successfully got back into diet and exercise after a week on travel.
- Did one Watch competition with someone, and won.
- Got both my Watch March challenge (≥103.4 km) and Watch March award for filling my move rings each day*. (*So, there were some days that I decreased the move goal, usually because I was extremely close, or just the previous day I had done a lot more than the goal, or it was a travel day.)
- Watch move calories went from 629 per day on average in February to 746 on average in March.
- Watch exercise minutes went from 25 per day on average in February to 41 on average in March.
- Stand minutes went from 72 per day on average in February to 104 on average in March.
- Steps went from 4,734 per day on average in February to 6,702 on average in March.
- Floors climbed went from 24 in February down to 23 on average in March – almost entirely due to that week-long conference.
So, I’d say that in March, I did much better with fitness movement than in February, with only one arrow pointed down.
On to the week-in-review:
Food: On paper, I did a bit worse this week than last week with respect to food eaten, going slightly above my carbs buffer to 107%. However, three of seven days I didn’t not count things nor move food to a different day, so I suspect that this week is a more accurate tally and that I actually did better (last week, 0 of 7 days did that). It really seems like I deteriorate towards the end of the week rather than start off poorly, though this week in particular it was because of the bf’s birthday and food for that. Yes, I’m blaming him.
Exercise: I’m not 100% sure how to think of exercise this week. I got roughly the same calories from walking, but I only walked four of seven days (my goal so far’s points are concerned is ≥5 days for ≥40 minutes). And though “core” and “weights” are both listed as a fair number of calories expended, those were done moving asphalt. Not as traditional core nor strength exercises. But, they’re still exercises, right? My sore muscles would say they are. And my heart rate while doing them would say they are. So … I’m counting them. Which also then means that my calories from exercise this week far exceed – by nearly 25% – my now-next-highest week before my March conference: 2670 cal vs 2120 cal. And, points-wise, I summed to –1 from exercise this week, and my goal from last week was to do better than the –10 sum from it. And steps-wise, I was up compared to last week by almost 25% on that, too.
Sleep: Much better this week, averaging higher and only one night less than the goal 8 hrs. But, quality of sleep is a different issue, and I still had to nap a few days.
Weight and Bodyfat Measurements: I was on a roll, with weight consistently going down for 9 days in a row. And then Friday and Saturday hit. But, all my weigh-ins for this week are below my average weight from last week, and I lost an average of 1.4 lbs. Which is nothing to sneeze at, it’s just not quite as much as I’d hoped. I mean, if I consistently lose 1.4 lbs/week, then I’ll be at my goal weight in mid-December as opposed to my hope of October. Which, still, is nothing to sneeze at. Though getting down to the 205–210 range for my birthday in 6 weeks is looking less likely. As for bodyfat, as noted last week since I wrote that summary on Sunday and had already made this week’s measurement, it went up. I strongly suspect that’s because of the shifting around of food and so having had more to eat in the days leading up to Sunday, and it’s the trend that’s important. Of course, that said, my trend is basically flat with bodyfat. A big drop tomorrow would be nice.
Points: I got a big boost in points this week, +48 instead of +31 from last week. As a quick reminder, I give myself points for various things, such as recording a weight measurement, staying inside my food goals, exercising, and sleeping enough at night, and I take points away when I don’t do those things per day or week. So, I can get anywhere from –100 to +100 points in a week. The improvement this week is pretty much entirely due to the 3/7 days not shifting food around, and counting the asphalt moving as core and weight exercises.
Personal Accomplishments and/or Records: I have to say that food and exercise and sleep are all moving in the right directions, and while certainly none are personal bests or records, I’d say that they are accomplishments. I mean, I guess I could say that for this round, counting as starting December 26, 2021, I have a new personal record for low weight and for the calories burned from exercise in a week. Certainly my weight is not something to be proud of right now, so instead I’ll take the calories from exercise as a personal accomplishment. Looking at my records, I’d have to go back to the week of March 28, 2021 – a full year ago – for more calories from exercise (3220 in a week), and then August 02, 2020 at 2870 calories to beat this week.
Looking Over the Week: I pretty much already addressed this: I had a better week than last week. I still have a ways to go. I’m hoping that the weight continues to go down and that the bodyfat will follow. I suspect I need to seriously get back into traditional weight lifting to help that, though, which I’m not looking forward to. And at least for tomorrow, I will still be moving asphalt.
Looking Ahead One Week: Keep improving? Despite doing more cardio sessions, I’m not even close to where I “should” be with cardio, at at least 200 minutes a week (5 days at ≥40 minutes). I really need to exercise more control on snacking or eating two servings of dinner and not transferring things to other days, as that’s throwing off not only food and hunger issues, but it’s also affecting my weight that next day. So, no specific goals, just the nebulous, “continue to improve.”
Looking Ahead Several Weeks: I’m also steeling myself for what I anticipate will be a slightly more complicated few weeks. The bf’s mom is coming to visit April 15–19. We are going on a driving trip April 27 – May 01. I have a work trip May 01–04. I’m meeting my parents and we are driving to Colorado, where they’ll visit May 05–TBD (probably May 10). I’m not so concerned about exercise and food while the pseudo-mother-in-law visits, as I’ll do almost all the cooking and she needs high-protein food, anyway. Exercise might atrophy slightly but I’m not really worried about it happening. The road trip and then work trip are a different issue, that week is going to be tough to stay on-track. My parents visiting won’t be too horrible as my dad, who’s in his early 70s, actually exercises more than I do, and I’ll be doing all the cooking. The very slightly mild concern is that since my birthday is the following weekend, we’re going to do an “Observed” birthday and I have a few things picked out that’ll make for some higher-calorie days. I also revert to old habits around my parents, so, we shall see.
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