10 Pounds, 10 Weeks

My mom is still kicking it. She has lost a total of 17 pounds this year. She is now setting a goal of losing 10 pounds in 10 weeks. She is also changing her focus to getting stronger by eating right and exercising. Weight loss will be a side benefit. Fantastic attitude, if you ask me.

She is pushing me to get a personal trainer, like her. I think I may stick with taking yoga classes. I finally started on a local project a week ago and will be working in town for the next three months. That means that I can take yoga lessons during the week! A luxury.

My mom is now up to walking/running an average of 3 miles. Great progress! This week her exercise included:

• Walking on Monday
• Core training Tuesday
• Walking after work Wednesday
• Thursday core training
• A long walk this weekend

Working Too Much and Weight Gain

My grandmother sent me the link to an interesting article. (That's right. My grandmother is more tech savvy than your grandmother.) The article highlights a study that found that 1) more than 40 hours per week and 2) work fatigue lead to weight gain.

These findings are completely in line with my own experiences. I find I tend to gain weight and/or hold weight I want to get rid of when I am working a lot of hours (tends to be steady-state for my job). This is especially the case when I am travelling.

The article notes four suggestions for avoiding weight gain:

1. "Take a break from your television"
2. "Simplify and consolidate"
3. "Evaluate your work schedule and tasks"
4. "Take a good hard look at your job"

#1, check. I don't watch too much television... perhaps, it is the Internet I need to stay away from... The other suggestions are worth consideration.