It’s hard to believe that it has already been two months since I started My Fitness Journey! I challenged myself over a period of 6 months (okay 5 months and 2 weeks) to not only focus on my weight, but also on my nutrition.

It’s been a really interesting experience. Since New Year’s Day I have lost almost 14kg. In January I lost 10kg and in February I lost 2kg. I actually thought that I would have lost more in February, so in some ways this is disappointing. But on the other hand, one of the reasons I like to write about this is because it forces me to do the math and to be honest with myself. I have set my goal to lose a kilogram a week, and it seems like I am only doing half as much.

The really frustrating part is that in February, I kicked up the intensity of working out. A couple of days a week I added morning and evening training, and I have been making sure that 3 workouts a week are strength training (Body Pump). But I also know where I could do better:

• I have been travelling a lot, and I have been a bit too generous with the plate portions on more than one occasion
• When I travel, it disrupts my workout routine. I have to stop ‘trying’ to get to the hotel gym, and just go and do it. I think buying a slightly larger carry-on case will help me out here.
• I have to make sure I don’t get discouraged and keep the longer-term view. I am not prepared to give up on reaching my goal in June!

In the larger context, I have remember that after 8 weeks, I am down 12kg, which means that overall I am slightly ahead of my target. And so far in March I am down another 2kg, which puts my even more slightly ahead. According to my Fitbit Dashboard, I am at 48% of my goal. If you had told me that I would be this far along after only 9 weeks, I would have been a bit skeptical. So the lesson I am taking from this is that:

• I need to do  better job of logging how I feel when I go off plan (sometimes I purposely eat/drink more for special occasions). What things are stressing me out and what foods am I using to react to that?
• I have to stop stressing out when I do go off plan. I keep on forgetting that it is marathon and not a race.
• I should seriously consider a personal trainer for intermittent check-ins after March (we’ll see how I do). What is powering me through this first 48% may not be what is needed to power me through the remaining 52%. And some independent advice on my workout would be welcome.

But seriously, I feel good overall about where I started from and good about where I am going! I just have to keep pushing forward 🙂