(Photos taken at the Jellyfish Exhibit at the Shedd Aquarium this April, by me.)
Yesterday was our weigh-in and measurements for the Bottom Line Challenge.
I recorded 885 minutes of aerobic activity (walking, stairs, more walking, a little dancing around).
My blood pressure went down 4 points.
I lost .6% body fat.
I lost 6.5 pounds. (I enjoyed my extra-long weekend a little too much, LOL.)
I lost 4.5 inches from my waist, 2.5 inches from my hips, 2 inches from my thighs, 1 inch from my chest.
I wasn't enough to win a t-shirt, but it was enough for me. YES!!!
I came in 3rd on my team for success; Phillip was really motivated and dedicated, and lost 28 pounds, our admin was also fantastic at exercise and lost 11. The other 3 sort of forgot about it mid-challenge. :)
(I am going to do another photo shoot with Phillip at work -- he may let me do a follow-up post on his weight-loss success -- and he proudly informed me that he lost so much the blue sweater is too big on him now. Woohoo!)
Bottom line (ba-dum-bump), I am glad they coerced me into it, petulant attitude and all. As I said to my friends in email, all I really did was get off my dupa a little bit, and ate a whole lot better. And it worked.
I am really glad I didn't take an all-or-nothing approach to the exercise; I was completely daunted by the 30 minutes a day requirement, but instead of just giving up entirely, I did as much as I could. I take the stairs now every day, and it doesn't hurt my knee. I walk further to my car (boy, that asphalt project sure helped!), or I schedule plans on the weekend that involve a lot of walking (Botanic Garden, farmer's market). Like I said in my foodstyle reflections, those little pieces of routine have become habits, and now that it is summer there were will be more walking events (or downtown yoga trips) on the weekends.
My next challenge to myself is to start including more consistent exercise on the weekdays as well. I really, really, really want to swim, and now that my new boss is not a fan of us working so late anymore, I think I might be able to do something after work. Time to start investigating lap times at gyms and pools nearby!
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY ME!!!
Yay you!
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Kristen!!! All of your changed added up to some nice results - and look, you're also motivated to cook more AND exercise, which is a nice bonus!
ReplyDeleteFirst, oh man, those are some gorgeous pictures. Wow.
ReplyDeleteSecond, congratulations to you and all the other participants! Well done! I love that you're just doing what you can, and not giving up entirely. It's really the small changes that make the biggest difference over time. Yay for stairs!
Woo hoo! Well done on your successes. I've been enjoying your food-related posts too, and I always enjoy your photos.
ReplyDeleteCindy
SUPERB. Yay you indeed!
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Kristen! That's awesome! Getting out there and moving at all - even a little bit each day - is all anyone really has to do to get started, and I'm glad that challenge was there to help motivate you. Good luck with your weekday exercising, I know you can do it!
ReplyDeleteFour inches off your waist is impressive!
ReplyDeleteWay to go, I'm proud of you! Not being all or nothing is really key for me. If I can't be perfect I tend to scrap the whole thing which is just ridiculous. Awww... moderation.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Keep up all those good little changes. It's amazing what big results you can get from such simple swaps.
ReplyDeleteGood going on the weight and exercise challenge!
ReplyDeleteThose aquarium photos are really gorgeous. Photo #3 is spectacular.
Congrats on sticking with the challenge and coming in third!
ReplyDeleteYour results would have made me happy too :)