Now That That is Done

Thanks for sticking with me this far. I fully expect my blog readership stats to suffer by the time I'm done, but I guess that's the price I'm willing to pay to keep 2010 from happening all over.

So yesterday, I set my two goals for 2011:

(1) Lose 40 pounds by 12/31/2011, and
(2) Make it back up to the top of Mt. Whitney by Labor Day

Today I want to touch on the second thing that will help insure success in the goal department - strategies. "Strategy" is defined as An elaborate and systematic plan of action.

I'm going to start today with a quote from my blog, Facebook, and real life pal Slomohusky

"I say all this knowing many who have met weight loss goals, changed eating habits and lifestyles just by doing the above. Without beating themselves up doing/training Marathons. Which less face it - if you do NOT like/love it - why on earth would anyone do it! Running 26 miles is HUGE! It really is and nothing short of that. I would not think about doing it, if I did not love doing all this. Complete waste of time if I did not."

Thanks for being the straight man Slomo. You are absolutely right. There are many ways to skin a cat. I can lose weight by watching my calories. Or by hitting up the gym every night. Or by taking up cycling. Or by going on Nutrisystem. Or by getting a gastric bypass. All are legitimate methods to lose weight. Each is a strategy to achieving my goal of losing 40 pounds.

The point here is there is no one right or wrong answer when it comes to devising a goal achieving strategy. One of the keys though is to realize that a strategy is a long term plan of attack. It better be comprised of things you like doing. Not only for a week or two. For example, a strategy of cutting sugar out of my diet as a means to reduce daily calorie intake isn't going to fly. Likewise, a calorie deficit that leaves me eternally hungry isn't going to cut it either.

The bottom line is that to be successful, my weight loss strategy will need to involve the following:

(1) Combine diet and exercise to create a weekly calorie defect resulting in a 3.5 pound per month weight loss

There's also a second goal that I need develop a strategy for as well. Suffice it to say, if I'm going to hoist a 30 pound backpack 11 miles and 6500 vertical feet to a 14,500 foot summit where the is 20% less oxygen, I better be in great cardio shape. So this strategy should involve:

(1) Undertake an exercise program that provides excellent cardiovascular benefits. The program should also provide opportunities to strengthen muscle groups involved in hill climbing and provide opportunities to exercise at altitudes exceeding 10,000 feet.

Combine the two and the plan is becoming pretty clear:

(1) Develop an exercise plan that delivers cardiovascular benefit, hill climbing, altitude preparation, and calorie burn.
(2) Implement a calorie tracking system that allows accurate tracking of intake and burn resulting in a caloric deficit of 10,500 calories per month.

Yes Carol (another of my blog, Twitter, and real life friends). Starting to look more and more like your suggestion.

Tomorrow: putting it all together. Tactical plans.




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