Wednesday, December 29, 2010

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.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

8 comments:

  1. Your posts the past few days have been great for me to read. I have really been struggling with goals lately and reading through your thoughts has helped in my own goal making strategies, so thanks! Have a Happy New Year.

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  2. I got the Bodybugg for Christmas. It helps you figure out your actual calorie deficit. It's the thing the contestants on the Biggest Loser wear. Just throwin' that out there for ya. :)

    Happy New Year!

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  3. have a great New Year Glenn! see ya at the races. have fun!

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  4. Any strategic implementation ideas for making sure you have fun? Don't want to burn up on running because the other junk gets out of whack. Add it to the plan or it won't happen...

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  5. Omg, I'm mentioned!!!! *blush*

    1) It's only 11 miles up Whitney? What's the big deal then, besides that it's straight up and at altitude? And maybe cold?

    2) You hit another nail on the head about looking at a monthly calorie deficit. Yup, look at the big picture, not day by day, especially since you'll have big deficit (hiking) days, and even or losing (rest) days. I read years ago that one should really look at RDA of vitamins and minerals as RWA, because you aren't going to get exactly what you need each day, there will be variations.

    I love the way this is unfolding day by day, keeping me on the edge of my seat. It also seems more deeply thought out than your previous running goals.

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  6. Great points! Also I feel that building habits that produce the kind of change required by your goals is one thing a lot of people have ignored. That also applies to removing some of existing bad habits.

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  7. Sorry if I missed out on anything of late man. Best of wishes to your losing weight and may you devise a strategy that will ensure that success. I gained all the weight that I lost, well, a third of it anyways. lol. Damn Damn Damn. You do know that when I have an apple fritter in the morning, I think of you, and think to myself, that it's ok, Glenn does it, and He is an elite Marathon Man. Take care bud.

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  8. this is by far the most intellectually written goals for 2011 post ever. all these 'big' words, yikes. princeton dictionaries? don't you know i only use urban dictionary? ;)

    kind of along with what you're saying... it's like how the majority of people think there's an "easy button" for losing weight/getting in shape. in reality, it's not rocket science and there is no fancy answer. put in the work, watch what you eat, and you will see results.

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