The challenge

So it's 5 days into the $500 challenge and I have to say it's going well, although it's early days yet. I'm about the lowest weight in 2 weeks, and I've yet to go full low carb which results in a loss of about 1kg. This means that I've put on 2-3kg while I went high carb. I only lasted 1 day without sugar, which is really bad, hopefully I'll train myself to go without sugar quickly. Details:

Sat 90.9kg didn't run, so $5 owed
Sun 91.1kg, 22 minutes running
Mon 90.6kg, 19 minutes running
Tue 90.8kg, didn't run, so that's $10 owed in total
Wed 90.1kg, will run later on today.

So weight, at the moment isn't an issue, but running is. I need to run earlier on in the day, that way I don't put it off, then get too tired.

The $500 challenge

You've probably guessed that I'm having trouble with losing weight, I haven't updated the graph at the top of the blog in 5 months, I'm not losing weight any more, and I'm breaking my rules about when I can see a film, buy coffee or go swimming.

That's not good.

I know that when it comes to motivation for weight loss, it can come and go. Wait a while, and it's bound to come back. So what can be done about it in the meantime? I know that money can be a huge motivator, so that's what I'm going to use. I'll fine myself $5 each day for the next 50 days when:

I am not lighter than what I was 3 days ago
I don't go for a run

So that's it, I need to run every day and lose weight at least once every 3 days. In order to see how I go without sugar, I'll add some incentive: whatever I owe in fines can be reduced by the number of days in a row without sugar at the start of the challenge, and similarly for the end of the challenge. In other words, at the end of the challenge I owe $85 in fines. However, I had sugar 3 times in the period, first 10 days into the challenge, second 15 days, and third 22 days. That means that I get to pay 85 - 10 - 28 = $47. What do I do with the money? I give it away. Leaving it places for random people to pick up seems the easiest idea.

There is an exception to this however: if something unexpected and bad happens, I'm allowed to stop. It's unlikely, but I don't want to have to deal with something bad and have to give away hundreds of dollars.

I'll post again in a few days to say how it's going.

Day 1 revised

As you can see, I've stopped posting. I do seem to have trouble doing it every day, don't know why, I don't think it's worth trying to see what's stopping me. Anyway, I stopped running. I vaguely remember from years ago that if I ran every day, it was a lot easier to stay motivated to keep on running. So that's what I'm going to do. Run every day. That may become hard to do when I have to work, I'll figure something out. Take today, for instance. It was cold (perfect for running!) and dark (not so perfect) when I went out for my first run in over a week, but the cold killed the battery of my hand held timer (it's too dark to see my watch). However, I did manage 2 minutes, which is fine. Just keep aiming for an increase, and I'll be okay.

Today I ate well, I'm going low carb, and as a result I'll weigh myself on Monday and Tuesday to see how that's going. I may not post every day, we'll see.

Day 5 & 6

Day 5
Weight: didn't weigh myself
Eating: bad, lots of carbs
Exercise: none, too hot again

Day 6
Weight: didn't weigh myself again
Eating: again, bad, lots of carbs
Exercise: 15 minutes, until ran out of light to see my watch. It was about 15 degrees when I ran, it is much easier running when it's this cooler.

Day 4

Weight: didn't weigh myself

Eating: had a bad carbohydrate splurge

Exercise: warmer than yesterday, so didn't go for a run.

All in all, a bad day.