1 month and 17 lbs

So... This last month at work there was a slim down competition. Teams of 5 people would get together and challenge other teams of 5. The competition would consist of points earned for doing exercise. (cardio and strength training)1 full point for an hour of cardio and an additional 1 point for a half hour of strength training. As well as a half point for 30 mins of cardio and 15 mins of strength training. Well how it works out is that no one added me to their team so I decided to do the competition by myself. My goal was to get every point possible. The total points possible in 29 days was 66 points. 2 points daily for exercise and 2 points MAX for 2 pounds lost a week (1 point per pound). They only allowed 2 points for 2 pounds because they stated that losing more then 2 a week is dangerous. Well anyways I set my own personal goal of 12 pounds. By some stroke of luck I managed to reach that goal in 3 weeks of the competition start. Also by some miraculous fashion I reached a total weight loss of 17 pounds by the end of week 4. I did not starve myself, I did not crash diet, and I did not only eat salad. Actually I ate no salad :) I had started changing the way I ate last year, and just continued to follow those guidelines all along. I did try to be a little more mindful of what I ate however. Skipped a few snacks, but never went hungry! But the exercise is where all the magic happened. I do know that an hour and a half daily of exercise is not really sustainable, so that cannot continue to be part of the equation. But I do know that exercise is the key to it all. You can starve yourself or eat a bunch of stuff you will not continue to eat, but that of course will never stick. Is much as I have heard "it is a lifestyle change", in fact the truth it is that, a life style change. I will not get onto a soapbox or rant for lines and lines. (I have defiantly not lived the way I should for long)But the most I can ask is that you try your best, be mindful of what you eat and what you do. Every little bit does help.

*disclaimer*
On the days of weigh in I would get McDonalds to eat. Just yesterday I also purchased a McFlurry to top off the end of the competition. That McFlurry contained 540 calories. That coupled with meal I purchased, probably contained every calorie I needed for that day, plus a few days worth of fat.

Be wary of Fast Food although delicious it is very full of calories and fat. One thing I will not say is that you cannot have it anymore. That is just crazy talk. The more you tell yourself you can't have it, the more you will want it. If you want some Burgers or something, go for it. Just don't go for it everyday. The same will go for whatever you crave, be it ice cream, candy and what not. During my month I did eat a candy bar or two, and did have some ice creme as well. As well as one night of drinks and pizza rolls :0 !