Walking Challenge 2012: August puts me two-thirds of the way through my goal…

~Friday~ 
 

July's Challenge Entry | All Challenge Entries | September's Challenge Entry
2012 is two-thirds of the way through, and another month is behind me in my goal to walk at least 30 minutes each day of this year.

I’ve managed to walk 221 of the 244 days so far this year, missing 23 days—22 in May due to lingering knee pain from my March 15 arthroscopic surgery, and 1 in July due to my back being out.

Walking

I’m happy to report that I was back on track this month, getting my 30 minutes (or more) in every day of the month.

Here are the walking numbers for August (click to enlarge):

Background photo: August is back-to-school month at NC State, where I work, and this shot is from a late-in-August lunchtime walk capturing the hustle and bustle of the students on The Brickyard during that time.

Eating

Here’s the August chart for calorie intake and calories burned.

The calories burned include those from both my daily walks, and for other exercise I do at the gym, 5-7 days a week, including: 3 stretching exercises, 300 ab crunches (with weights added to the bench), and then either an upper body or a lower body workout.

Weighing

Thank goodness I managed to meet my goal of getting through the summer without putting a bunch of weight back on. I’m pretty much where I was at the beginning of the summer, and I hope to work on losing a few more pounds this coming month.

Here are the official August weigh-in numbers (click to enlarge):

Background photo: Scraps in my sink as a result of healthy eating: celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots.

Reflecting

Here are some reflections about this month's experience:

• I’m happy about my recovery from that spike in weight. This weight range that I’m in now, is the one from which I traditionally blow back up over the course of the following year. I’m thankful to be doing this challenge, which will be critical in precluding me from doing that again this time.
• My knee is still not completely pain-free, and in the back of my mind, I’m considering giving some physical therapy a try, but I’m not ready to do it just yet.
• I added another five-pound weight to the ab crunch bench—bringing me up to 25 pounds—for my regular 300-crunch ab workouts.
• I’ve also upped the weight (another five pounds) on several of the machines I do as part of my upper and lower body workouts.
• I’m enjoying my Facebook “check-ins”—consisting of quotes or jokes about exercise and gyms—which I post each time I go to the gym. It makes me look forward to getting there, and it’s fun to check the “Likes” and comments on them when my workout is over.

Concluding

As I mentioned, I’m hoping to lose a few more pounds in September, especially since I suspect October is going to be a little challenging for me, particularly in the eating arena.

I’m going to a conference in Seattle the first week in October, and I’m going to New York City for a long weekend in the middle of October, when I’m sure it’ll be hard to keep on track with my dieting.

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July's Challenge Entry | All Challenge Entries | September's Challenge Entry