Well, my wavering diet has finally caught up to me. Due to various Christmas parties, office treats (everyday someone else brings in a treat for the month of December), and random discretion's, I've finally had my first plus in the weight loss column.
After Week 5 I weighed in and was down to 217.8 lbs, a 1.2 pound loss. I was happy with that. But then this past Tuesday I weighed in for Week 6 and ended up at 219.2 lbs, a 1.4 pound gain.
That's pretty disheartening, especially given that Christmas is right around the corner and I'll be off work until January 2nd. We'll be spending Christmas with the in-laws, and they make so many delicious Christmas treats that they literally have to set up folding tables in order to lay them all out....it is awesome. I did plan for this, which is why I started in November and my end date is June. But nevertheless, I'm still annoyed with myself.
I really can't be surprised though, I haven't been working out like I should and eating like I should. I'm not sure what the next couple weeks will bring, but I'm guessing it won't be good for this venture.
....but at the same time, I guarantee it will taste real, real good.
Current Weight Loss: 11.0 lbs.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Week Three and Four
So I'm still here, still losing weight...just have been busy and haven't found time to update the blog.
I haven't updated since before Thanksgiving, so let's start there. I was TERRIBLE during the whole week of Thanksgiving. I was giving myself one cheat day for Thanksgiving and that ballooned into about 5 or 6 cheat days. I was really disappointed in myself, my will power is embarrassing. I didn't work out all week because the gym on campus was closed due to the holiday break, but I showed no initiative to exercise on my own, which was dumb. The whole week I was dreading stepping on the scale because of my stupid behavior...
So Tuesday rolled around, I step on the scale and....lost .2 lbs. I literally have no idea how that happened. How did I not gain weight, let alone lose weight (regardless of how minuscule that weight loss was)?! So my weight at the end of Week Three was 222.4 lbs.
This past week was much better, I got my diet back under control and really felt like I've recovered from my Thanksgiving binge. However, I still haven't worked out. This is mainly due to work being really busy. When the only time I can work out is over my lunch hour, going to the gym is at the mercy of my workload.
So that gets annoying. I'm hoping to get back there sometime this week. But, today was another weigh in day, and without working out and relying purely on my diet, I wasn't sure what to expect. 219.0 lbs. Lost 3.4 lbs.
I'm surprised at that, but at the same time not surprised. I know that dieting is more important than exercise, so it makes sense I lost a good chunk of weight without exercise. But I am surprised that I actually did it. I've historically always relied on working out to lose weight. I've never been a good dieter. So it's good to know that I am capable of losing weight just by dieting. And when life does get in the way of me working out, I don't have to stress out about it.
Total weight loss since the beginning of this project, 11.2 lbs. I'm down to the "teens". I haven't been there for at least three years.
Progress.
I haven't updated since before Thanksgiving, so let's start there. I was TERRIBLE during the whole week of Thanksgiving. I was giving myself one cheat day for Thanksgiving and that ballooned into about 5 or 6 cheat days. I was really disappointed in myself, my will power is embarrassing. I didn't work out all week because the gym on campus was closed due to the holiday break, but I showed no initiative to exercise on my own, which was dumb. The whole week I was dreading stepping on the scale because of my stupid behavior...
So Tuesday rolled around, I step on the scale and....lost .2 lbs. I literally have no idea how that happened. How did I not gain weight, let alone lose weight (regardless of how minuscule that weight loss was)?! So my weight at the end of Week Three was 222.4 lbs.
This past week was much better, I got my diet back under control and really felt like I've recovered from my Thanksgiving binge. However, I still haven't worked out. This is mainly due to work being really busy. When the only time I can work out is over my lunch hour, going to the gym is at the mercy of my workload.
So that gets annoying. I'm hoping to get back there sometime this week. But, today was another weigh in day, and without working out and relying purely on my diet, I wasn't sure what to expect. 219.0 lbs. Lost 3.4 lbs.
I'm surprised at that, but at the same time not surprised. I know that dieting is more important than exercise, so it makes sense I lost a good chunk of weight without exercise. But I am surprised that I actually did it. I've historically always relied on working out to lose weight. I've never been a good dieter. So it's good to know that I am capable of losing weight just by dieting. And when life does get in the way of me working out, I don't have to stress out about it.
Total weight loss since the beginning of this project, 11.2 lbs. I'm down to the "teens". I haven't been there for at least three years.
Progress.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Week Two
Okay...so I've been neglecting just about everything regarding this project. The blog. Exercising. Watching what I eat.
How you ask? How did the train fall off its tracks after just one week? See the previous post to a reference point...
This week at work has been one of the busiest and stressful times of my professional life (I'm not including the time I couldn't get home in time to watch Lost, mainly because I still can't bring myself to think about it).
Nothing really serious has happened, it's just those annoying things in life that randomly happen and stress you out. Things like: your dishwasher breaking so you have to buy a new one, or your dryer quits working and need it repaired, something at work breaks down and you spend all week trying to fix it while everyone is waiting (im)patiently for you to fix it, or your spouse gets in a fender bender and your car is in the shop for over a week. Any one of those things can be super stressful and super annoying.
When they all happened within a week of each other....that's when things like a "30 by 30" project fall off a cliff.
I did find time to weigh in on Tuesday. 222.6 lbs. A one week loss of 1.8 lbs. Hell, at least I was in the negative.
As for this week? Between home and work crisis', there has been no workouts, a fair amount of stress eating, and a whole lot of cantankerousness (30 by 30's word of the day) towards not letting outside forces thwart my goals.
Oh well, next week is a blank slate. Surely nothing worse can happen....SURELY..............
How you ask? How did the train fall off its tracks after just one week? See the previous post to a reference point...
This week at work has been one of the busiest and stressful times of my professional life (I'm not including the time I couldn't get home in time to watch Lost, mainly because I still can't bring myself to think about it).
Nothing really serious has happened, it's just those annoying things in life that randomly happen and stress you out. Things like: your dishwasher breaking so you have to buy a new one, or your dryer quits working and need it repaired, something at work breaks down and you spend all week trying to fix it while everyone is waiting (im)patiently for you to fix it, or your spouse gets in a fender bender and your car is in the shop for over a week. Any one of those things can be super stressful and super annoying.
When they all happened within a week of each other....that's when things like a "30 by 30" project fall off a cliff.
I did find time to weigh in on Tuesday. 222.6 lbs. A one week loss of 1.8 lbs. Hell, at least I was in the negative.
As for this week? Between home and work crisis', there has been no workouts, a fair amount of stress eating, and a whole lot of cantankerousness (30 by 30's word of the day) towards not letting outside forces thwart my goals.
Oh well, next week is a blank slate. Surely nothing worse can happen....SURELY..............
Monday, November 14, 2011
Life gets in the way
As far as the diet and exercise plan goes, it took a big hit this weekend. And with my pending weekly weigh in happening tomorrow, I'm a little afraid of what it will say.
You see, my wife got in a minor fender bender (minor enough that no one was hurt, however not minor enough that the car has been in the shop for over a week now), so we've been stuck driving a rental...of which we only have one key. So Friday morning my wife wakes up and takes the boy to daycare and accidentally takes the key to the rental with her. So I'm stuck at home, so my plan of eating a couple (four) slices of Casey's pizza for lunch were thwarted. So I instead ate a granola bar and fasted while being distracted by my new awesome video game.
It started on Friday. I took the day off to enjoy a little "me time"...which involved playing a new video game I purchased and cheating a little on the diet. I also had to clean the basement or else I would have been sleeping on the couch, but that's neither here nor there. However, life got in the way.
You see, my wife got in a minor fender bender (minor enough that no one was hurt, however not minor enough that the car has been in the shop for over a week now), so we've been stuck driving a rental...of which we only have one key. So Friday morning my wife wakes up and takes the boy to daycare and accidentally takes the key to the rental with her. So I'm stuck at home, so my plan of eating a couple (four) slices of Casey's pizza for lunch were thwarted. So I instead ate a granola bar and fasted while being distracted by my new awesome video game.
The wife came home and we went out for a late lunch to our favorite diner, Newton's Paradise Cafe. And because I was starving, I ordered their classically Iowan breaded pork tenderloin. This thing is as big as my head....and I have a big head, LITERALLY. I ate every bite...it was amazing.
Then the next morning the wife had a craving for pancakes at our favorite diner again (see above). So because I have no self restraint, we go (and unlucky for us, the same waiter was working....we felt sheepish).
Then Saturday night we met some friends out for dinner out our favorite restaurant in town, Montage. I had the Hoison Pork Loin with their Montage Potatoes (think shredded potatoes with cheese and sour cream baked in a ramekin...delicious).
That's a lot of eating out and a lot of me not caring what I eat...
BUT, not all was lost! Because my weigh in days are Tuesdays, I have Monday to make it all right in the world!!
Which brings me to the second, less fun part of the weekend...
You see, on Friday, our dryer quit working (broken belt). I mentioned the fender bender (sun in wife's eyes). Also earlier in the week our dish washer went kaput (water tank is leaking into the basement, need to buy a new dish washer). So this weekend we went to Lowe's and ordered a new dish washer (and since it was 18 months no interest, we decided to replace our old refrigerator too...I'll buy close to anything with no interest for 18 months).
Which brings us back to Monday, where I was going to make up for my transgressions during the weekend. The appliance repair guy who we've been waiting on all weekend calls me 10 minutes before I was going to work out and asked if I could be at the house in 15 minutes for him to fix our dryer. To which I had no choice but to reply "of course......"
So...the weekend-saving work out never happened. And even when I was 80% good last week, I only lost 5 lbs. I'm not looking forward to that scale tomorrow...
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Week One
My weight this morning was 224.4 lbs...that is a seven day loss of 5.8 lbs. One thing I have noticed is my appetite seems completely under my control. I don't have the urge to over eat and I don't crave greasy bad-for-me food. That surprises me that out only took one week, I was assuming that part would take multiple weeks to get under control.
With that said, the weekend wreaked havoc on my diet. I didn't over eat, but I didn't exactly eat healthy when I did eat. It was circumstance based. I was at a party that had ham balls, what was I supposed to do, turn down ham balls?? I'm not sure if ham balls are really the healthiest item to stuff in my face...but man they are good.
Side note: I used to think I hated ham balls. It was one of the five foods I refused to eat (along with sweet pickles, olives of any color, the bagel chips in store bought Chex Mix, and the Brazil nuts in a can of mixed nuts...). I remember when I was a kid, let's say 1990-1995 somewhere, we were vacationing with family in Colorado and my aunt made everyone ham balls. But as memory serves, she accidentally screwed up the recipe and they tasted awful. That was the first and last time I had ham balls until 2007. That was when my now wife reintroduced me to them...and good God was I missing out. Ham balls are delicious, period.
Anyway, so 5.8 lbs with room to improve on my dieting. I'm feeling okay about that. I was hoping for a pound a day, but I'll take it.
Now because the purpose of this blog is for me to be open about everything surrounding this process, even the bad stuff, I need to relay this information to clear my conscience. One of my overall goals during this was to give up soda. I did really good all week last week, then on Friday afternoon at work, I just had to have one. So I gave in and bought a Diet Mountain Dew. Granted, it's zero calories and does basically nothing to damage my diet, it is still an unnecessary substance I'm putting into my body and adds no nutritional benefit.
......that's not all. Yesterday I forgot my contacts (I can't work out in my glasses, it drives me nuts when sweat drips on the lenses), so my routine was thrown off and I got another Diet Mountain Dew out of nowhere. I have no idea where it came from. BUT THAT'S THE LAST ONE THIS WEEK. It's disappointing, but the way I look at it, if I can go from two sodas a day down to 1 a week...that's pretty good.
And I still haven't succumbed to greasy fast food. So back off on the soda thing.
With that said, the weekend wreaked havoc on my diet. I didn't over eat, but I didn't exactly eat healthy when I did eat. It was circumstance based. I was at a party that had ham balls, what was I supposed to do, turn down ham balls?? I'm not sure if ham balls are really the healthiest item to stuff in my face...but man they are good.
Side note: I used to think I hated ham balls. It was one of the five foods I refused to eat (along with sweet pickles, olives of any color, the bagel chips in store bought Chex Mix, and the Brazil nuts in a can of mixed nuts...). I remember when I was a kid, let's say 1990-1995 somewhere, we were vacationing with family in Colorado and my aunt made everyone ham balls. But as memory serves, she accidentally screwed up the recipe and they tasted awful. That was the first and last time I had ham balls until 2007. That was when my now wife reintroduced me to them...and good God was I missing out. Ham balls are delicious, period.
Anyway, so 5.8 lbs with room to improve on my dieting. I'm feeling okay about that. I was hoping for a pound a day, but I'll take it.
Now because the purpose of this blog is for me to be open about everything surrounding this process, even the bad stuff, I need to relay this information to clear my conscience. One of my overall goals during this was to give up soda. I did really good all week last week, then on Friday afternoon at work, I just had to have one. So I gave in and bought a Diet Mountain Dew. Granted, it's zero calories and does basically nothing to damage my diet, it is still an unnecessary substance I'm putting into my body and adds no nutritional benefit.
......that's not all. Yesterday I forgot my contacts (I can't work out in my glasses, it drives me nuts when sweat drips on the lenses), so my routine was thrown off and I got another Diet Mountain Dew out of nowhere. I have no idea where it came from. BUT THAT'S THE LAST ONE THIS WEEK. It's disappointing, but the way I look at it, if I can go from two sodas a day down to 1 a week...that's pretty good.
And I still haven't succumbed to greasy fast food. So back off on the soda thing.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Delayed onset muscle soreness
Three days into it and I can already see myself putting much more emphasis on cardio than weights. I will still work in some lifting every other day, but I am enjoying running more. I ran a little at the end of yesterday's workout because I got bored with lifting.
I am definitely sore today. The thighs are really sore from three days of running. Today I tried to mix up the treadmill and add in some inclination (basically simulating running up and down hills)...big mistake. I had to stop multiple times to catch my breath and give my legs a chance to stop screaming. I eventually decided to do 10 minutes of random inclination and then 10 minutes running level....otherwise I'm not sure I'd be here to type this right now.
Yesterday I had my first "I'm a big dumb idiot who hasn't been in a gym in a while" moment. So, there's a piece of equipment in the gym called a Decline Sit-up Bench. It's a bench that's declined and has braces at the top for you to stick your legs through so you can do sit ups (or other exercises) in a declined position. And for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to get on this machine...
So I perched myself at the top, manipulate my legs into the braces so they are locked in place, then start sliding down the declined bench into place. However I didn't think it all the way through and as I slid down, my shorts starting sliding off. So as quickly as I could, I unlocked my legs and awkwardly removed myself from said machine. Pulled up my shorts, looked around the gym, and did the patented "I meant to do that" stretching and pacing.
I'm a moron.
I did eventually figure it out and got in my declined ab workout. And I'm positive I looked cool doing it....
I am definitely sore today. The thighs are really sore from three days of running. Today I tried to mix up the treadmill and add in some inclination (basically simulating running up and down hills)...big mistake. I had to stop multiple times to catch my breath and give my legs a chance to stop screaming. I eventually decided to do 10 minutes of random inclination and then 10 minutes running level....otherwise I'm not sure I'd be here to type this right now.
Yesterday I had my first "I'm a big dumb idiot who hasn't been in a gym in a while" moment. So, there's a piece of equipment in the gym called a Decline Sit-up Bench. It's a bench that's declined and has braces at the top for you to stick your legs through so you can do sit ups (or other exercises) in a declined position. And for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to get on this machine...
So I perched myself at the top, manipulate my legs into the braces so they are locked in place, then start sliding down the declined bench into place. However I didn't think it all the way through and as I slid down, my shorts starting sliding off. So as quickly as I could, I unlocked my legs and awkwardly removed myself from said machine. Pulled up my shorts, looked around the gym, and did the patented "I meant to do that" stretching and pacing.
I'm a moron.
I did eventually figure it out and got in my declined ab workout. And I'm positive I looked cool doing it....
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
In the books....
Well, day one has ended.
I got in a good introductory workout at the gym today, logged everything I ate (even the stuff I didn't want to log...like a handful of my son's Teddy Grahams...don't judge), and I came in under my daily caloric allowance.
A couple of my friends on Facebook recommended Live Strong's MyPlate page. It allows you to log your food in take and seems to have an enormous database of food so you're not guessing how many calories were in what you ate. And the best part, the free version has a lot of functionality and features that I find useful. I may or may not end up purchasing the subscription to get the full version, but right now, free is good.
Some notes from today...
I got in a good introductory workout at the gym today, logged everything I ate (even the stuff I didn't want to log...like a handful of my son's Teddy Grahams...don't judge), and I came in under my daily caloric allowance.
A couple of my friends on Facebook recommended Live Strong's MyPlate page. It allows you to log your food in take and seems to have an enormous database of food so you're not guessing how many calories were in what you ate. And the best part, the free version has a lot of functionality and features that I find useful. I may or may not end up purchasing the subscription to get the full version, but right now, free is good.
Some notes from today...
- Ran 2.2 miles on the treadmill at 6.0 speed, honestly wasn't sure I was going to get past one mile.
- Tried to do a little stationary biking after the treadmill, but my thighs were pretty shot, only lasted about 7 minutes.
- In total, I consumed 2710 calories (258 less than my allotment giving my size) and burned 419 calories during my work out. Not huge numbers, so there is definitely room for improvement.
- Overall today I was tired (from working out), hungry (from not over eating like I love to do), and basically had a headache from 2:00 on (due to the lack of Big Gulps of Diet Mt. Dew consumed...and by "lack" I mean zero). Maybe I should have weened myself off caffeine instead of stopping cold turkey?
Question to anyone reading this. I've always heard "calories in calories out", that's the key to weight loss. So does this mean if I'm eat 2800 calories a day that I have to burn 2800 calories a day? Because if that is true, then I have a LONG ways to go in pushing myself in my workouts...
Thanks for any feedback!
Day One
Week 1 has begun. I weighed myself this morning and tipped the scales at 230.2 lbs. My membership to the rec center on campus begins today and....I forgot my work out shoes. IDIOT.
So I'm banking on my wife actually checking her email before she comes to work to save Day 1 from going down the tubes.
The diet today will be emphasizing portion control. I will be eating something every 3 hours (6:30am, 9:30am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm, 6:30pm, 9:30pm). Three meals and three snacks. The reason I am emphasizing portion control and not necessarily what I'm eating is because we still have leftovers to eat. Cheesy potato soup and leftover pizza doesn't really scream "diet food"...but I live in the real world and in the real world, we eat what's in the fridge. I'll work on healthier options for meals once we clear out the fridge. As for snacks, I'll be having some yogurt, raw almonds, fruit, cottage cheese, etc. The snacks are easier to plug in healthy food. And of course, I will be going no where without my Nalgene water bottle.
I'm a little nervous about working out. It's not going to be pretty. I haven't done anything resembling exercise for quite a while and I'll be working out next to 18-23 year olds. Oh well, hopefully those students don't mind a 6'6", overweight, out of shape, sweaty mess of a human being doing his best not to biff it on the treadmill...
Don't forget to check out the About section at the top of the blog! And thanks for reading!
So I'm banking on my wife actually checking her email before she comes to work to save Day 1 from going down the tubes.
The diet today will be emphasizing portion control. I will be eating something every 3 hours (6:30am, 9:30am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm, 6:30pm, 9:30pm). Three meals and three snacks. The reason I am emphasizing portion control and not necessarily what I'm eating is because we still have leftovers to eat. Cheesy potato soup and leftover pizza doesn't really scream "diet food"...but I live in the real world and in the real world, we eat what's in the fridge. I'll work on healthier options for meals once we clear out the fridge. As for snacks, I'll be having some yogurt, raw almonds, fruit, cottage cheese, etc. The snacks are easier to plug in healthy food. And of course, I will be going no where without my Nalgene water bottle.
I'm a little nervous about working out. It's not going to be pretty. I haven't done anything resembling exercise for quite a while and I'll be working out next to 18-23 year olds. Oh well, hopefully those students don't mind a 6'6", overweight, out of shape, sweaty mess of a human being doing his best not to biff it on the treadmill...
Don't forget to check out the About section at the top of the blog! And thanks for reading!
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