And so it begins...

Sunday was the beginning of my lent and I christened it with a drive out to Anza Borrego with Kathryn. We did the Palm Canyon hike out to the oasis which is impressive in itself however the hike out ended up being far more interesting. As we turned a bend about a quarter mile in we surprised 4 male big horn sheep. They eye-balled us a bit suspiciously and then commenced with some head butts. Pretty awesome sight and sounds. I even have the photos to prove it if I can figure out how to post them.

A goal I have during this lent is to exercise everyday and to lose a few pounds. It is always easy to come up with excuses to take a day off or to eat something I shouldn't but I know I need to take this seriously. No excuses! My other goal is to see if I can keep my fat intake under 20% which should be harder than it sounds. Dr. Dean Ornish, a renowned heart specialist, believes that heart disease can be reversed following a strict dietary plan which limits fat intake to under 10%. He emphasizes avoiding saturated fats. The RDA is to keep fat intake under 30%. I think the average American takes in about 40% of calories from fat.

It takes 3500 calories to lose a pound. In order to lose 10 pounds this month I need to create a calorie deficit of about 35,000 calories. This works out to about 1200 calories per day. I use a body bugg to measure the calories I burn (http://www.bodybugg.com/). I also log the calories I eat.

Sunday June 5
Weight: 189lbs
Calories burned: 1813 (this seems to low so it may need some tweaking)
Calories consumed: 2100

Protien: 16%

Carbs: 65%

Fat: 19%

I am posting my results from June 5th but today is actually June 6th. This is relevant because this is the 19th anniversary of my mom's death from a heart attack. She died at 56 - far too young.