Junk Food Free July

Let it be known, if its’ not clear to you the reader already, that I am a nerd. There are positive and negatives to this. One of the negatives is the topic of this post – lack of physical fitness. I can definitely be better in this area of life. So that’s what I’m gonna be – better. I used to be in decent shape, but somewhere in my mid 20’s I started to backslide. With that said, now is the time to start reversing the trend. It begins with Junk Food Free July.

I was first inspired on the idea on a twitter post by SourJayne. She participated in Junk Food Free June. I should have tried it then, but I didn’t. Then, about a week ago, I read a posting on LifeHacker about someone using Twitter to build in accountability for their weightloss plan. That is a great idea. In order for this to work, I need to define some parameters. I thought about the things I’m doing regularly, that I know are the wrong things but they’re easy or convenient – and do them anyway. One is eating out. I do this everyday. This is due to 2 factors. The first is convenience. The second is a dislike for preparation and cooking. I dont enjoy the process like others do. Another bad habit is not eating fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. Also, its not uncommon for to get another mocha as i hang out at a coffee shop or meander about seattle. All bad things. On the upside I can run further than i could 2 years ago, and I’m playing (and enjoying) volleyball on a weekly basis. So I’ve done some good, but it’s just holding things level and not improving.

Since I’m a nerd, I created a guide where each item is based on a power of two. I call it the “Power of 2 Guide”. Pretty creative title, eh? It was designed to establish rules against the bad habits I’m currently implementing. The directives keep me on course. The items themselves are my todo items for a successful implementation. Without further adieu, here is the guide.

Power of 2 Guide

Directive 0 (The Prime Directive): Anything you consume must add value.
Directive 1: Cannot eat food from a restaurant by myself

• 1 salad per day
• 2 coffee drinks per week
• 4 fruits per day
• 8 ounces of fish per week
• 16 Km of running per week
• 32 ounces of juice per day
• 64 ounces (mininmum) of water per day

Now that I’ve got my plan, let’s discuss logistics. I need a target and some monitoring. My current weight is 271 pounds. To complete July 2008 junk food free is the short term goal. The long term goal is reach my target weight of 230 pounds by Dec 31, 2008. For monitoring, I’ll be using Twitter on a daily basis with daily result #PO2 PASS or #PO2 FAIL. I’ll write a weekly update on my blog. Tuesday July 1 is Day 1.

If you have any ideas/strategies on cooking/preparation, I’d be glad to hear it. I encourage you all to participate. If not, at lease cheer me on! Wish me luck!