Project One Five - Day 001 (Actions 001-005)

With a single Tweet, this project has now gone from "I wonder if I should" to "so this is happening." And that increases my likelihood of sticking with it.

Not everyone is on board with something like this, so why engage with them when I'm trying to focus on doing something good for myself? Nope, no need. So it's time to clean up my social media feed and make sure it's positive and affirming.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Working while standing is a great way to increase my energy levels, burn more calories, and feel better all day. It's a win/win.

I'm not pretending to swear off junk food completely, but today, I'm choosing a better lunch option.

This is the start of this one hundred day journey, so I'm making an exception to my once-weekly planned weigh-in. This is embarrassing to admit, but the truth is the truth. This is what I weigh. Catch me again a week from Saturday and we'll see some changes. Count on that.

And that's Day 01.

#ProjectOneFive

Project One Five? Yes, Project One Five.

There is a craziness about doing the same things over and over despite knowing they don’t work. I mean, repeat the same behavior and you get the same results. It’s that simple. And when the behavior is bad or ineffective, the results will be poor.

What hasn’t worked

Quick fixes. There is no way instant solution that fixes everything. Expecting that to happen leads to disappointment and I ultimately fail.

Extreme shifts. All or nothing behavior isn’t sustainable in the long run. I change drastically, then cave back to my previous behaviors and ultimately fail.

Scale-based challenges. As much as I want to see my body weight numbers fall, I know that physical health is more than digits on a scale. Sooner or later, the scale stalls, sending me into a tailspin and I ultimately fail.

Myopic changes. Being focused on just one piece of my overall health means that other areas are neglected. I become unbalanced and ultimately fail.

Small goals and short-term plans aren’t cutting it. They all lead to failure.

What has worked

Back in 2012, I signed up to run the Pasadena Marathon. But at the beginning of the year, I knew I was in no shape to run it. I had put on weight since running the Marine Corps Marathon in October 2011. I was (not) dealing with depression. And I felt completely adrift from training and preparation. I was just stumbling from day to day, honestly.

But I found a way. I created Project One Five, a hyper-focused training program to prepare me for Pasadena. I made a one-hundred-day commitment. Each day, I would find five different ways to help me get ready for my upcoming marathon. Items would include physical training, emotional recovery, spiritual study, and mental planning. Anything counted, provided it moved me from where I was to where I wanted to be.

It was a total success. Without working on a specific weight loss goal, I still managed to drop to 182 pounds. I raised more than $2500 for Semper Fi Fund Injured Marine Fund. And I ran a 4:40 marathon, beating my previous PR by nineteen minutes. By all measures, Project One Five helped me get completely back on track and reach all of my goals.

All that said, it’s clear to me that I need to kick off another Project One Five if I am to be successful again.

It sounds intimidating, I know. Five hundred actions between now and June 16, 2017. But when I break it down to one action at a time, five actions per day, it becomes possible. And when I look back on my previous experience, I know it is more than possible. It’s absolutely doable.

Wednesday morning, March 8, 2017, is day one. Feel free to follow my progress on my blog (Runner12) or on Twitter (@JohnHulsey).

I can do this. Again.