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Die

–noun
small cube of plastic, ivory, bone, or wood, marked on each side with one to six spots, usually used in pairs in games of chance or in gambling.


That's right.  I'm talking about dice.  Or, rather, a die.  This will dictate a lot in the next (at least) 10 weeks of my journey.  Please just bear with me as I explain my thinking and why I have such a random "tool".

In the bible, a lot is made of not knowing when things will happen.


"For you do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36lest he come suddenly and find you asleep." Mark 13:33-36 (ESV)

"43But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Matthew 24:43-44
And I think I have found a way that this concept of being prepared relates to my weight-loss. 

Here's how my week normally goes:
Sunday: weigh-in; eat more than ususal, not much exercise
Monday: workout, but not as hard as I am proud of, and watch what I eat but not as much as I am proud of.
Tuesday: a lot like Monday.  Maybe a little better.
Wednesday: think to myself that I should kick it into gear, but don't really.
Thursday: pick up the intensity.
Friday: start to freak out that my weigh-in is coming up and try to have a "last chance workout"
Saturday: limit my water intake in some stupid attempt to make sure that my weigh-in is good.
Sunday: repeat

And let's be honest. I don't think that's a way to live a healthy lifestyle. I mean, I do a pretty good job limiting my portions, getting some activity in, and drinking water--most of the time.  But my schedule is all based on the knowledge that my weigh-in is on Sundays. I think, if I take those verses to heart and implement them, that I need to live in a way that I'm always "prepared" to weigh-in.

So, my new plan? For the next 10 weeks, I'll live by the die. So, on Monday morning, I'll roll the die. If it shows a 1, I weigh-in on Monday. If it shows any other number, I wait until the next day. On Tuesday morning, I'll roll the die. If it shows a 2, I weigh-in on Tuesday. And so on through Saturday. Then, if I don't weigh-in based off the roll of the die, I'll weigh-in on Sunday. What do you think of my plan? Is it overly-complicated? Is it relying too much on chance? I'm not sure. But I think I really like the idea.

Up to Monday:
4.5 miles ran (in 35:03!!)
50 situps
50 push ups
prayed
read the bible
read my devotion

3 comments:

  Anonymous

August 3, 2010 at 10:06 AM

I think it is a great idea for the short term. It will be fun to see how it works for you.

Thanks for the genius idea about getting the eggs Benedict served on tomato slices.

  Alison

August 3, 2010 at 10:40 AM

It might be overly complicated and how much does a weigh in on Monday mean if the last one was on Sunday. Conversly if the weigh in happens on Monday you know you have at least a week.

What about not rolling until Wednesday, not really enough time to limit water (so funny you do this I drink twice as much to flush any salt out of my system...) Then you have at least 3 days between.

I indulge on Saturdays and I always weigh more on Sunday and Monday but it is gone by Tuesday, which is good since it's salt not real weight, that works for me, not having the opportunity to indulge relatively guilt free would feel too restrictive for me. Also what about weighing in on Sunday and one other random day during the week, tues-thurs, again preventing the slacking, hopefully. Not sure but I think if you weigh in on Monday by luck of the draw your week mentality will just slip by a day...

Good Luck however you decide to do it.

  South Beach Steve

August 3, 2010 at 5:37 PM

Not overly complicated at all Beej. I think it is a great way to keep you on your toes.