My total weight loss for the month of March is 3.8 pounds. I am now 197.2, which means I’ve officially lost 64 pounds! I wish the total weight loss were higher, but as long as I don’t see a gain, I’m happy. Since starting this journey, I’ve never weighed more at the end of the month than I did at the beginning of the month, so I’m definitely trending in the right direction.
Here’s how I did with my goals for March:
1. Exercise at least 1200 minutes.
STATUS: I ended up with 1133 minutes, which is close but not quite enough.
2. Burn at least 3000 calories each week.
STATUS: I only did this 2/4 weeks. That’s pretty sad.
3. Drink 80 oz. of water daily.
STATUS: I think I did this about half of the time.
4. Consumer 60g of protein daily.
STATUS: I DID do this every day!
5. Begin Couch25K program. I tried this sometime last year, but I don’t think my body was ready for it. I’m determined to keep at it this time. At the end of 9 weeks, I should be able to run a 5k. I think running would be a great addition to my cardio regimen, so I really want to make this happen! My Couch25K days will be every Mon., Wed., and Fri.
STATUS: Did it and still working on it.
6. Strength training for 3 sessions a week. I am good at getting in 2 sessions per week, but I’d like to increase to 3 because strength training is so important for building muscle mass and losing inches. I will strength train every Tues., Thurs., and Sat. unless I decide to pair the strength training with my Couch25K sessions.
STATUS: Only did this for the first week. I think it’s too much for me to do 3 sessions a week on top of trying to run, so I’m okay with only doing 2 sessions a week.
7. Read 2 books. This one isn’t fitness-related, but my reading has been pathetic lately, and I want to remedy that. The books I plan to read (but of course this may change): The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller and The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey (given to us by my mom). I think Stephen and I are pretty good with our finances, but my mom insists this book is a must-read for young couples like us, so I’ll give it a shot.
STATUS: I did this! I read both of those books, and I’m currently halfway through a third one called Three Cups of Tea. I loved The Prodigal God and would definitely recommend it. The Total Money Makeover had a lot of good information in it, and even though I don’t agree with everything Ramsey says, he’s very practical and no-nonsense in his approach.
Looking at the month overall, I’m not very happy with how I did with my goals. I think the main problem is that I forgot about a few of them (namely the first two), and there were also perhaps too many for me to focus on all of them. I also don’t think it’s realistic to expect myself to burn 3000+ calories every week, since doing that requires more time than it used to now that I’ve lost a considerable amount of weight.
With simplicity and sustainability in mind, here are my goals for April:
1. Exercise between 225-250 minutes a week.
2. Do 2 full body strength sessions each week.
3. Continue with Couch to 5k.
4. Read 2 books.
That’s it! I’m keeping it simple, and hopefully this month will be more successful than last month!
Erin Mount 
congratulations! i’m always impressed when i read about your progress, its hard to stay so disciplined! i like your book reading goals too, do you know what you want to read this month? since its National Poetry Month, i recommend reading a poetry book—if you want to read something really good “Crossing the Waters” by Sylvia Plath is the last one i read, and it completely blew me away!
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dang you are awesome and I am jealous
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That is so awesome!! CONGRATS!! Focusing on only one or two goals… I think I might have to figure out a good one and plan for it. (Perhaps making a plan is my problem.) The way you are doing things seems to be working. I think I am going to have to adapt some more of your methods for myself! Thanks!! š
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you’re awesome! i need to do better w/my willpower–i have stayed the same for the past few months. blah.what is that tea book about? sounds interesting…i on the other hand need to spend less time reading and more time working out!
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Three Cups of Tea is about an American who is in Pakistan on a mountain climbing expedition, gets lost, and stumbles across this isolated Pakistani village. He is completely changed by his encounter with the people there, and he promises to build them a school because they don’t have one. It’s a really fascinating story. I don’t know the ending, but I have a feeling he ends up building more than just one school.
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