Searching for Happy

Well, what started 30 days ago in the post “Calories – how many per day” has finally come to a close. For the last 30 days, I have burned an average of 1000 calories per day, seeing if exercise is my keystone habit that bring all of my other bad habits into place.

So, was it?

Simply put – no.

I’ve dropped about 3-4 pounds over the course of this experiment, but I truly believe that for any meaningful weightloss, I would need to get better control over my diet. As some of my previous experiments have proven, I can drop a similar amount of weight with much less effort than exercising enough to burn 1000 calories per day. Heck, even putting a few simple controls on my diet might have had a similar effect in a much more time-efficient manner.

However, is the experiment a total loss? Definitely not.

Firstly, I’m stronger and more fit than I was 30 days ago. One doesn’t exercise for 30 days without some sort of benefit. Secondly, while I only lost 3-4 pounds, I did so while eating whatever I wanted. There’s a saying “You can’t outrun your fork” that refers to diet being the primary component of weight loss. Perhaps I can’t outrun it, but I did at least end in a tie *grin*.

It’s also important to note that tracking my diet for the last 30 days has led to me making some better decisions and being far more aware of what I’m eating than I was previously. This doesn’t mean I always make the best decisions for myself, but it does mean that I’m closer. I’m at least not making ignorant decisions anymore, which is a small victory.

Also, it’s important to note that I’ve lost a combined 4.5 inches from my body since I started this experiment. That’s probably the single most exciting accomplishment from the month. Quite frankly, I’m proud of that result.

However, I also need to acknowledge that my original logic behind the site still holds. Shorter experiments are more fun for me, and sticking with the longer experiment was actually a fair bit of work. So, in this next week we’re back to a shorter, 1-week experiment.

Conclusions on 30k Calories in 30 Days

Just trying to burn more calories does have a positive impact. It really does. However, it’s only part of the equation, and if you ignore the other parts of what makes you lose weight and be healthier, you won’t get results that are as dramatic as you might want for the effort you’re putting in. So, stack the odds in your favour and attack the problem from multiple directions!

I won’t be targeting a 1000 calorie per day burn anymore, but I will still be more active. The last 30 days has reminded me a lot of the joy I take in physical activity and I hope to keep it up!

Another skipped day, but it was all in pursuit of being healthy and busy!

Over this week I’ve been knocking a lot of things off my to-do list. Sadly, I don’t have pictures to post up quite yet, but I went to my first charity gala last night and had an absolute blast!

Yesterday, I burned 928 calories (bringing my deficit to 423) and I ate only about 1800 calories, putting me in a great position of weight loss.

Today, I burned 1100 calories (bringing my calorie deficit down to 323), but I ate a MUCH less reasonable 3400 calories. All the walking I did today really increased my appetite, and I didn’t snack in anything remotely approaching a healthy fashion.

Two more days to finish out this experiment. I admit, I won’t be unhappy to see it gone. It’s been a good challenge, burning this many calories on a regular basis, but it’s time for it to be done.

I can officially say at this point that exercise isn’t my keystone habit. While certain things are working better in my life, they haven’t all fallen into place the way they should if it’s a keystone habit.

Well, just a quick update for tonight, but a good day and one well-spent.

It was a day spent walking and window shopping though downtown Toronto. Not terribly exciting in the grand scheme of things, but it was EXACTLY what we needed. A relaxing day of being out and about, with no pressure of places to be or people to see. We just played it entirely by ear, and the results were wonderful.

If you want to see how the first few days of my vacation went, check out yesterday’s update in my keystone habits experiment.

Calories eaten and burned today

Well, I went into today running a 927 calorie deficit, and I burned 1022 calories today, shaving my deficit to 905 calories. Not a grand decrease, but the momentum is building.

Today I ate 2300 calories, so I kept my diet pretty much in check (though there is always room for improvement).

I got caught up in craziness yesterday, so I didn’t get a chance to post yesterday’s results, but I’ll keep it short and sweet.

Yesterday, I was sleep deprived and exhausted. As a result of this, I ate poorly – very poorly. I’m beginning to think that sleep might be my keystone habit. Sleep, or poor sleep to say it properly, seems to be the first tiny pebble that starts an avalanche of poor decisions.

Yesterday, I ate about 3400 calories and only burned 514. I used simple sugars to stay awake and reasonably alert. It works, but as a long-term strategy it’s particularly poor.

Adding in the 129 calorie surplus from yesterday, I was down 337 calories from my running average yesterday.

Today, I’ve eaten a MUCH more reasonable total of 1931 calories, while burning 872 up to now. It’s still early in the day, so there’s lots of time to eat more and exercise a LOT more. I’ll be going out tonight for walking and exercise, so we’ll update tomorrow with how things change.

On the good news front, I’ve started a week of vacation, so I’m in a MUCH better position to catch up on sleep and burn calories. We’ll see how the next week plays out! It is still a challenge to keep up with the recommended protein intake though.

Okay, I started today 170 calories behind my running average. Remember, I’m targeting a 1,000 calorie per day burn to see if the regular, extensive exercise can help me get the rest of my lifestyle habits under control.

To see how yesterday went, check out my previous entry in the 30,000 calories in 30 days experiment.

What were my calorie counts for today?

Well, I’m noticing that I’m looking at the calorie count and nutritional information of food a LOT more now than I was before. Tracking my diet, I’m definitely understanding how I put weight on in the first place. For example, I ate 2800 calories of food today. If I wasn’t burning an average of 1000 calories per day, I would definitely be in trouble at this point! Thankfully, I burned 1260 calories today, bringing me 90 calories over my running average.

Do I think that I can sustain this number of calories per day on a regular basis? Well, I’m not entirely sure. I’d have to make it something far more fun. However, I definitely do like not having any guilt about my daily diet.

I shall have to investigate some other fun ways to keep more exercise in my diet!