Throwing down a challenge for anyone interested in getting into a different shape than round–or for those who just want to tone up a little bit too.

Last year I decided it was time to get a little more serious about my health, however, since about my college days I hadn’t been all that great about the ol’ eating habits or exercise disciplines.  There were seasons when I was great about one, but not the other.  I had tried Weight Watchers, and for those who don’t mind counting calories (points) it is a great one to do.  I found great success in losing pounds that way, but whenever I tried to add exercise to that discipline, I got too hungry for the points I was given. Then, whenever I have done really well on the biking or basketball (my two favorite ways of exercising) I found that I lacked discipline on the eating side of things.

Knowing that I have a little bit of the “buck the system” in me, I thought I’d create something that didn’t really have a lot of hard and fast rules.  Just some general standards with some nice flexibility.  So, I created my own “loose” plan last year.  And it is what I am going to do starting tomorrow again.

Here is what I did last year: Between Memorial Day and Labor Day (approximately 100 days) I was going to try to exercise at least five (5) times a week (for about 30 minutes).  I started by walking (not even 30 minutes to start), then graduated to faster walking (and gradually got to 3o minutes) then began riding my bike (at first fairly slow and short, then got longer and more aggressive). Besides this, on the food side of things I simply cut my carbs in half right from the start.  Whatever I would normally eat on the carb-side of things I just generally cut in half.

I loved this because I love carbs and I still get ’em!  For instance, instead of having a full bagel for breakfast, I would still have a bagel, but just half (thus the “50” in the number equation), and then I’d add a banana or something to help make me feel a little more full.  Same thing with lunch, instead of a Ham and Cheese Sandwich, I would do an open faced ham and cheese.  If eating out, I’d still get a burger, I would just take off the top bun and eat it with a fork.

It is an easy “diet” to follow.  You still get to eat what you want, you’ll just want to get more “full” on the protein side of things.  The key is to grab less.  I still even snacked on chips, but I just did approximately half of what I normally would do.  The first few days are really the only hard days, because your stomach needs to shrink a little and so you’ll want to load up a little more on the veggies to still feel more full.

So, here is the simple equation (100five50):

• 100 days (start whenever, but I’m doing the day after Memorial Day to the Sunday before Labor Day)
• Five Exercise days a week… not stringent, some weeks I can do every day, some weeks it is only three days.
• 50, as in 50% of the carbs you normally would eat.

Before 100five50

Last year I started at about 245 pounds.  I got down to a consistent 210 and stayed around there until just recently.  I have crept up only over the last five or six weeks knowing that my schedule was going to be very hectic and knowing that I was going to do this 100five50 thing again.  So this year I start at about 220 and the goal this year is to get to and stay at about 200, but even this is just a loose goal, I just want to be in a good condition, regardless of the overall weight.

After 100five50

Anyone else in?

I’d love the accountability, no need to disclose weight or anything else, just let me know you’re in so we can pray for each other!  Let the challenge begin!  That is, right after I enjoy one last high-carb meal tonight!

Grace,
Brian