It is already the second week of 2018 and things are really heating up for me in my Operation Melt journey.  My cold is pretty much gone and I am making things happen.I am in a much better spot this week than I was last week.

Here are some of my highlights this week.

Returning to the gym

Through the entire first week of 2018 I skipped out on the gym. I have plenty of reasons (or excuses) including that I was sick and that it was really cold (single digits) in the mornings. But, mostly I found that my morning choice was snooze button over working out. Fortunately, I started reversing that trend this week.

Throughout this week, I went to the gym 3 times. The 3rd time was on Saturday after we had received 6 inches of snow. The roads were mostly snow covered and were very slippery. Plus, it was like 16 degrees and wind gusts of 20 MPH. I actually had to wear boots and change shoes at the gym. But, I guess that is what commitment looks like!

I have altered my gym routine a little bit. Instead of just running on the treadmill for my first 30 minutes, I am now doing an interval run on the treadmill. I have adopted something called a pyramid interval and it goes like this:

• 2 minute warm-up walk building from 2.5 MPH to 3.5 MPH
• 1 minute run at 6 MPH
• 1 minute walk at 3.5 MPH
• 2 minute run at 6 MPH
• 1 minute walk at 3.5 MPH
• 3 minute run at 6 MPH (or 5.5 if 6 is too much)
• 1 minute walk at 3.5 MPH
• 4 minute run at 6 MPH (or 5-5.5 if 6 is too much)
• 1 minute walk at 3.5 MPH
• 4 minute run at 6 MPH (or 5-5.5 if 6 is too much)
• 1 minute walk at 3.5 MPH
• 3 minute run at 6 MPH (or 5-5.5 if 6 is too much)
• 1 minute walk at 3.5 MPH
• 2 minute run at 6 MPH
• 1 minute walk at 3.5 MPH
• 1 minute run at 6 MPH
• 2 minute cool-down walk at 3.5 down to 2.5 MPH

The result is that my heart rate stays up the whole time and I feel like I have had a VERY solid workout. Then, depending on day of the week, I move to weight training for another 15 minutes or so. Then, 5 to 10 minutes of cool down stretching.

Weight loss accelerates

Another interesting development in my journey is that my weight loss has significantly accelerated in the new year. Nearly every day, I see a loss of some amount and have started minimizing the daily ups and downs. Even when I drink alcohol, I usually still see a drop in weight unless I drink beer.

Since the beginning of this year, I have lost 9 pounds and I am quickly approaching the 85 pounds lost mark. I don’t know how the acceleration happened, but I am assuming it is related to my metabolism. I guess I really don’t care how it happened as long as it continues!

Daily calorie target falls… again

Unfortunately, there is definitely a downside to the acceleration of the weight loss. It means that there has also be an acceleration in the decreases in my daily calorie target. This week is the first time that my daily calorie budget has fallen below 2000 calories. I am currently down to 1981 calories per day.

I am calling this a downside because calories add up very quickly. So, it is very difficult to stay within my calorie target and still consume enough food that my brain (not body) is satisfied. I think a lot about this when I eat 2 pieces of pizza and drink a glass of wine and it adds up to a third of my daily calorie target.

This is where exercise comes in. My daily calorie target is based on my base metabolic rate (BMR) or the number of calories my body will naturally burn at rest. If I have a good workout that burns another 700 calories, I can increase my consumption a bit. So, sticking with my workout routine is a pretty big deal!

New healthy recipes

The other way I continue to react to my decreasing daily calorie target is by continuing to ramp up the healthy eating. I have been collecting recipes and starting to try a few here and there. A couple of my recent wins include overnight oats and buffalo cauliflower.

When I go to the grocery store, I load up on fresh produce without having a well-defined plan for what I am going to do with what I purchase (in the last trip I bough a parsnip and an avocado). So, I have to find creative ways of consuming the produce before it goes bad or I have just wasted money and food.

My plan is to start sharing some of the recipes on my blog so you can try them too. Plus, I share the ones that I borrow from to create my own via Twitter on a regular basis. So, make sure you follow @OperationMelt.

Opportunities to talk about the journey

One other great thing that has happened over the past week is that I have had MANY opportunities to talk about my journey. I have had lots of random people at work or at restaurants that we frequent come up to me and say “hey, have you lost weight?” Then, they want to know how it happened and what I am doing.

People always ask me “what’s your secret” like there is some magical pill that exists. I don’t know if they are happy or sad when they hear the truth that it is simply a commitment to knowing what I am consuming, managing it in a healthy way and layering on exercise. Then, I direct them to OperationMelt.com to learn more.

I am starting to see lots of interest in my journey online too. OperationMelt.com traffic is steadily increasing and coming from all over the world. When I shared my weekly post on LinkedIn last week, I received over 2000 views of the post. So, lots of people are seeing my journey and I am just hoping that it is helping them be successful with their own journey.

Disclaimer: Everything Isn’t Perfect

I know that this week’s post was pretty much only good news. But, I don’t want to be one of those people who tries to live only a perfect life on social media. Not everything is perfect in my life and I have many of the same trials and tribulations as other people. There are some areas of my life where I am not being successful and some that are just balls of stress. But, I am choosing to focus on my commitment to getting fit and trying to use those positive results as momentum to keep moving forward.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.
Helen Keller

Check back next week for more!

Last week’s stats (1/1 – 1/7):
Distance walked/run: 21.6 miles
Total calories burnt: 24,320
Total calories consumed: 10,109
Weight change: 5.8 pounds lost