This Post is part of Project Weight Loss and a follow up to Day 2 & Before Photos.

Value of the Public Commitment

Making a public commitment on here to lose weight has been very motivating especially during moments of weakness. Over the past couple of days I caught a mild flu. As a result, I took some time off relaxing. While I did skip working out for a day, I was tempted to skip my workout the next day. Being reminded of my public commitment on here, helped me to get the workout done anyways. It was a much lighter workout, just a few minutes of walking, however afterwards I felt much better. While making clear specific goals is motivating, sharing those goals and making them a public commitment is even more powerful. This is why I recommend that you make your goals public commitments because during moments of weakness you will remember that if you give up you are not only letting yourself down but also others that you told.

Weight Check

Day 3 – 201.8 pounds 23% Body Fat
Day 4 – 198.2 pounds 23.6% Body Fat
Day 5 – 197 pounds 24.2% Body Fat

It seems that I’m losing weight a bit too quickly, this is probably due to my flu. The next few days will clarify if the weight change was actual burned fat or just water loss as result of catching the flu. Catching the flu generally cause fluctuations in the body’s water levels. While it might seem that someone with the flu is losing a lot of weight, most of this weight is water instead of fat. As a result, usually when a sick person is recovering, their body will start putting back some of the water weight slowly.

Exercise & Workouts

Day 3 – This is the first day I felt I was getting sick however I was feeling fine physically so I performed my regular 20 minutes of cardio followed by 20 minutes of weight lifting.

Day 4 – Due to my flu, I skipped exercising on this day. Since I’m planning to workout 5 days a week, this also made a great off day. Off days, or days that you don’t exercise, are important because they allow your body to recover. Additionally off days are good psychologically because they prevent exercising from becoming a boring everyday tasks. Taking an off days is like taking a short vacation, where you come back feeling more refreshed and focused.

Day 5 – I just walked for 20 minutes. Afterwards, I tried lifting weights, however due to my flu, I felt a bit too week and decided to skip the weights.

Supplementation

I have been taking a daily multivitamin. One thing that I noticed on day 3 of taking the multivitamin is my skin looking healthier, and feeling softer. This is why I recommend that anyone take a daily multivitamin.

Overall Feeling

Even with my flu, I have been feeling a bit more energized as a result of eating healthier foods and exercising. I also have this great 2-3 hour window after each workout where I notice I’m very productive.