My Fitness Manifesto

fugaj01
fugaj01 Posts: 171 Member
in Motivation and Support
I am a person that when decides on a process, if I stray even a little, I consider that a fail. That is just the way I am. The first step is to acknowledge it. I have been seriously trying to lose weight since January. MFP has been great. I met friends from which I have learned a lot. As my knowledge increases, my goals have continued to change. One day I felt guilty about eating something, and my friends quickly smacked some sense into me. It isn’t a cheat, or a fail if it is occasional, and I need to look at the big picture. From that, I realized that I put the label of success or fail on myself based on goals that I derived that are really not sustainable for me. So I thought about this a lot and came up with my Fitness Manifesto.

What I am going to do: I will lose fat and be healthy and fit.
Weight will be lost as a result of this goal. I choose this focus because the goal of losing weight has an ‘end game’. I have in the past done this and succeeded and failed, of course. I succeed at losing the weight, but I gain it back because it was not a lifestyle change. The end goal was to weight x amount. When I got there, I gradually ate the way I did before, and exercises not at all or the way I did before. Ending up back where I started.

How I’m going to do it: Lifestyle Change
I am the kind of person that sees what great work others are doing and think I must do that too to be healthy and successful in this journey. Then I realized everyone has his or her own journey, and I cannot just catch a ride on someone else’s. So I built goals that I know are sustainable for me over the long haul (forever). These goals are in order of priority. Having these goals built and organized will help me to focus on the best work for me, not in comparison to someone else. In turn, I should no longer feel guilty about having a treat from time to time. After all, it would be unrealistic, and I would set myself up for failure, if I really believed I would ban some foods forever.

Food Goals
1. always eat more than 100 g proten a day
2. stay under 150 for carbs
3. keep carbs from fruits and veggies
4. stay close to my calories for the day
5. keep processed food to a minimum (20% or less a day)
6. Increase primal eating (as I am learning about it)

Exercise goals
1. Workout three days a week, more for me is not sustainable
2. Alternate between weight lifting week and cardio week.

I will invoke the 80/20 rule on these goals, as I know that if I follow this 80% or more of the time I will be successful in gaining health and fitness.
What is your Fitness Manifesto? :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • fugaj01
    fugaj01 Posts: 171 Member
    Bump
  • NancyNiles
    NancyNiles Posts: 145 Member
    Great goals!! Sounds like you've got a solid plan to follow. I wish you the best of luck <3

    I don't have a manifesto, since I've only been doing this for three months and I'm still learning what works for me and what doesn't. Right now I'm in "try everything" mode. If it sucks, I don't do it. Doing sucky stuff isn't sustainable for me. For instance, I don't really like running/jogging, elliptical, etc. for cardio. I can only do them for 5-10 minutes before I get bored. But I discovered I can swim laps for 30-60 minutes with little trouble.

    But I really enjoy watching what others are doing and borrowing ideas and learning from their successes, so I will enjoy seeing how this all works out for you and maybe learn from it, too!!
  • hellokaryn
    hellokaryn Posts: 8
    Be very careful with such harsh guidelines. I say this because I'm the same way and it can end badly. Good for you for such goals. I would be careful about the protein goal. Protein in general is hard to take in and the body can only take in 40g a meal. Have you talked with your doctor? I've found ISO pure whey proteins to be little carbs and sugar... considering my weight loss journey that's pretty amazing. The protein bars are the same way. Good luck!
  • fugaj01
    fugaj01 Posts: 171 Member
    Nancy, I am with you on that. I have been in that trying everything mode too. And changed my goals and methods several times since January. Lol. I think this is where I landed. I do think that everyone needs to find the right thing that works and is sustainable for them. Oh. And I am not a big card fan yet. I do Jillian 30ds or zumba or walking for my card week. That is all I can tolerate so far. But Maybe that will change as I start to get leaner and so I am flexible with the workout contents.I always wanted to be a runner but never really enjoyed it... For now ;). maybe later I will lol
  • fugaj01
    fugaj01 Posts: 171 Member
    @hellokaryn. I gave myself the 80/20 rule so it isn't too strict. I know if I do this 80% of the time I should find success. Gotta leave room to live a little. :drinker:
  • squishycow7
    squishycow7 Posts: 820 Member
    Love ! Well put, and most importantly, practical! Too many people are in the trap you mentioned; getting to X weight, then resuming life as per usual.

    Your goals and my own are quite similar. Maintenance of a healthy lifestyle is my focus ...weight loss is just a side effect. I wasn't always in that frame of mind, but I am so much happier and dedicated now that I am!

    Keep it up :)
  • jonski1968
    jonski1968 Posts: 4,490 Member
    Go for it Fuga...Find what works for you and stick at it...If you start to plateau, mix it up a bit...

    Good luck
  • JOEYJACKMOM
    JOEYJACKMOM Posts: 72
    I am so happy to read your manifesto! You are such an inspiration to me. Keep up the great work!
  • fugaj01
    fugaj01 Posts: 171 Member
    thanks for all your support! you are all great friends! :happy:
  • jmw01
    jmw01 Posts: 1
    fuga01 you are very wise for your age. I have always been so very proud of you. Ever since you were little if you set your mind on something you always succeeded at it. You are inspiring me to get healthier too. Thanks for always answering all my questions. You are a big help!! I just have to ramp up the "move it move it move it", and healthy proteins.
  • SteveTries
    SteveTries Posts: 723 Member
    One of the things I see absent by people on here is (ironically) observation, conclusion and adjustment. You see this every day when someone posts "I've not changed weight for a month, I upped my cardio last week and still no change, what should I do" 2 minutes lates "ok thanks I will up my calories by 500 and double my water intake and start lifting weights and I'll use a different TDEE calculator from another website and I'll get a HRM and and and"

    Your manifesto and rigidity are the baseline for you to be able to properly observe progress by having the same things occur. You can then draw conclusions based on progress (or lack of) and adjust a variable accordingly and then observe again.

    If I might suggest it, why don't you create a blog post using this manefesto and use it to also capture progress? Could be educational or at least interesting.

    We need more of this kind of thinking and less obsession with formulas and calculations based on statistical averages in the population. Or at least that's MY opinion :-)

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