Gain HP: Day 9, Quest Log #1

I’m only 9 days into the fitness challenge I wrote about a short while ago, so there’s not much to report on. But what there is to report on is fairly significant: I feel a whole hell of a lot better. 

For the challenge, we weigh in every Saturday night and report our weights and any bonus experience we earned. On Saturday evening, I weighed in at 208 — only 2 pounds shy of my start weight, but it’s nothing to shake a finger at. Today, however, I weighed in at 206, and I’m confident that I’ll continue shedding the pounds at this rate. 

For one thing, I’ve been eating significantly less. It’s insane how normal “America-sized” portions have become in this country, and how normal (and delightful!) they had become in my life. No more! Eating smaller portions of more colorful, interesting, and creative foods can be a joy. Especially if you enjoy shopping for it and preparing it. For example, I’ve been snacking on carrots and spinach that I bought from Wichita’s cute little natural food store, Food for Thought. I’ve been eating at least one banana per day. And even for dinner tonight, the boyfriend and I had gluten-free rice pasta with an all-natural sauce and covered it in broccoli and giant chunks of this zucchini we bought at the local Farmer’s Market. 

And finally, to compliment the better eating, I’ve of course been going to the gym 5 days per week. While I’m there I usually do 3 or 4 miles on the elliptical to burn about 400 calories, and then do about 20 or 30 minutes of weight training (every other day). 

Here’s hoping for a very successful remaining 11 weeks of this challenge. If they’re anything like this one was, I think I’ll do just fine. 

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the reason the boyfriend and I ate so many veggies tonight is because we’re officially participating in Meatless Mondays! It’s a fantastic way to force some new foods into your diet, not to mention lower your carbon footprint and teach you to appreciate meat more. I strongly encourage everyone that reads this to consider joining in on Meatless Mondays!

EDIT 2: I also forgot to mention that the official site for the Gain HP Fitness Challenge is up and running, so you can check it out, read up (and join in on your own!), and even track the leaderboards. Do it all here.