But I have done the 5-factor fitness diet before - they have a "cheat day" and I responded very well with that, so I'm not sure what my problem is now... probably because I just recently moved to Japan and living by myself for the first time. I definitely know that I eat sugar to alleviate the loneliness. And I have been a "sugar-holic" ever since I can remember!!
Also I've always snacked (on sweet things - forget chips, give me chocolate!) so I'm not too sure how it's going to turn out. In fact my mom (who is a nurse) used to wonder if I was hypoglycemic because if I don't eat for several hours I get really shaky and irritable, weak and dizzy. But she always checked my blood sugar levels and they were within normal ranges, so... perhaps I'm just not eating enough at meals? I could never eat very much in one sitting, but I'm going to try starting tomorrow!
As for exercise, although shovelglove looks really interesting, I think a sledgehammer would be kind of out of place in my small Japanese apartment. I couldn't even imagine the looks I would get walking home with it... lol. So I have been doing the Ladder Exercises from the Hacker's Diet (a really awesome system, I suggest you google it... but the diet requires counting calories, and it was driving me crazy!!), and it's been working pretty good for me!! Same sort of premise as shovelglove - 15 minutes a day of progressive calisthenics/aerobic exercise.
Reasons for doing this: I realize eating sugar every day like I do is not healthy... and my parents are both fine unhealthy examples of what will happen to me if I don't change my habits now. (My dad is worse than my mom - he had quadruple bypass surgery! He's doing fine now and eating healthier though... my mom eats like crap but gets a lot of exercise at her job so she's in better shape.)
Another reason is my weight. I look chubby now - I'm about 5'3" with a large-ish frame and weigh 140lbs (64kgs). A lot of people say they would never guess I weigh that much, maybe because of my large frame, but I definitely see the excess fat, esp. in photographs. ugh. So it's partly for looks, and also because I want to feel better in my own skin, if that makes sense. I want to feel light and energetic like I used to when I was about 16. I weighed about 120~125 lbs then, so that's my long term goal.
Wow, this post is kind of long - more of an introduction. Well, starting tomorrow they'll be check-ins!
Thank you Reinhard for creating this! It's very common sense, and I could really use some of that. I'm looking forward to doing it!
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)