Well here I am, Still trying to become a healthier version of myself.
I started my weight loss journey on 3/17/10 with a goal to go from 271 to 171. I've then modified my goal to just get out of the 200's.
I worked hard and was able to achieve a low weight of 217, then over the past 8 months or so, due to inactivity and undesciplined eating I've managed to put 24 pounds back on. I know :( Well, the good news is I'm still wearing size 38 jeans and XL shirts, but they are starting to fit pretty snug now. Not really liking this at the moment.
Why the refound motivation - well at work we are having a weight loss challenge; $20 to enter, winner takes all (based on % of weight lost in a 7 week period).
Now normally I subscribe to the slow and steady 0.5-1 pounds per week, but since I have been so lazy and not moving, that the increased exercise and attention to my diet I should likely be able to lose 2-2.5 pounds per week.
I'm planning to use this time to jump-start me back into a healthier way of living. I know that my biggest downfall was the lack of exercise. When I started working full-time+, I struggled with finding time. I'm spending 40 min in the morning working out on the elipital and home gym. Hopefully after 7 weeks this will be such a routine for me that it will once again become a way of life.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Oh Dear - What happened to a Year
Well, I have not been as dedicated as I have been a year ago. But I want to give a quick update.
I have been struggling with time to workout, and that struggle still exists HOWEVER, we have now setup a home gym which includes a weight machine and an Elliptical machine. Now I should be able to get down and workout at least 4x a week. But I am in excuses mode and got to get out.
The good news is that while I have not been all that active I haven't put ANY weight back on. I am sitting very happy at 217 which is 54 pounds less than ONE YEAR AGO!!!!
Now, I know my goal then was to drop 100 pounds, but really, I'm feeling so good right now, I would just like to get down below 200 for the first time since '99.
My successes are that I did not do a "Diet". Not atkins, or south beach or weight watchers or any program. All I did was counted calories and kept to the appropriate serving sizes. That was key. So now even without exercise I am able to sustain my weight - as I begin to use our new home gym I would hope to see the pounds start to fall off again.
I have been struggling with time to workout, and that struggle still exists HOWEVER, we have now setup a home gym which includes a weight machine and an Elliptical machine. Now I should be able to get down and workout at least 4x a week. But I am in excuses mode and got to get out.
The good news is that while I have not been all that active I haven't put ANY weight back on. I am sitting very happy at 217 which is 54 pounds less than ONE YEAR AGO!!!!
Now, I know my goal then was to drop 100 pounds, but really, I'm feeling so good right now, I would just like to get down below 200 for the first time since '99.
My successes are that I did not do a "Diet". Not atkins, or south beach or weight watchers or any program. All I did was counted calories and kept to the appropriate serving sizes. That was key. So now even without exercise I am able to sustain my weight - as I begin to use our new home gym I would hope to see the pounds start to fall off again.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
I'm BAAAAACK
Hey there, It's me again, the incredible shrinking man... haha.
Well, it's now 2011, and oh my where has the time gone, it has been a long time since I've last posted, so I'm just gonna jump right in.
Well, since the last time I wrote a lot has happened: I recovered from being very sick with whooping cough like symptoms, started working full time for a wonderful agency in Ann Arbor, the kids have gone back to school, I survived the holidays, etc. etc.
Previously my weight was 224, but I was able to get my weight down to 215, as of today I weigh 219. I put on 4 pounds through the holidays. I have redefined my weight loss goal based on my current state, and right now, I plan to be break the 200# mark by May 7, my 40th birthday.
Well, it's now 2011, and oh my where has the time gone, it has been a long time since I've last posted, so I'm just gonna jump right in.
Well, since the last time I wrote a lot has happened: I recovered from being very sick with whooping cough like symptoms, started working full time for a wonderful agency in Ann Arbor, the kids have gone back to school, I survived the holidays, etc. etc.
Previously my weight was 224, but I was able to get my weight down to 215, as of today I weigh 219. I put on 4 pounds through the holidays. I have redefined my weight loss goal based on my current state, and right now, I plan to be break the 200# mark by May 7, my 40th birthday.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Week #22
Ok, it's been a month since my last post and it has been quite a struggle. I was happy to announce on my last post that I was at 224 (-47lbs), which I was very proud of myself, and rightfully so.
But this past month has been quite an emotional roller coaster. I've found myself hitting face first into a weight loss brick wall. I maintained 224 for a complete month. So the bad news is that I was not able to lose any way for 4 wks, but the good news is that I didn't gain anything either and I feel like I may have still lost inches. The "new" pants I bought are fitting much looser than they had when I bought them. So, I figured that I'm converting the weight from fat to lean muscle which is very good. But the emotional stress of not losing weight was hard.
Lots of people said to mix up my workout, and I tried, but I just found myself doing what I'm used to doing. However, I did try a new cardio machine and another weight training machine, but I haven't spent much time on either (not enough to make any real impact, i thought).
This past month has been a good month overall, very active, lots of parties and events and opportunities to be "bad". But since we're not on a diet, but rather a lifestyle change - I find myself seeking out the healthiest choice no matter where we go. For instance, we were at a carnival and carnival food is the best/worst depending on your mindset. For us it was brutal. We found a cart that was selling Chicken on a Stick - grilled chicken skews, with chicken fried rice Yum and we figured it was much better than nachos or elephant ears.
Took the kids roller-skating and they had pizza (2 pieces each), I had one piece and a unsalted hot pretzel with mustard, which was better than all their deep fried options.
So with a slight change in my workout and maintain my current nutritional plan I stepped on the scale again today, 5 weeks after I first weighed in at 224. In conversation I have been rounding up to 50 pounds instead of 47, but I knew inside that I was "lying" that I had not yet achieved that elusive 50 pounds...
Today I am happy to announce that I weighed in at 220 (-51)!!!! So after 4 weeks of no change, I lost 4 pounds this past week. I'm not sure what happened, but I am so excited. I've lost 51 pounds in 5 months - 10/mo. This is my drive and determination overcoming this minor hurdle.
But this past month has been quite an emotional roller coaster. I've found myself hitting face first into a weight loss brick wall. I maintained 224 for a complete month. So the bad news is that I was not able to lose any way for 4 wks, but the good news is that I didn't gain anything either and I feel like I may have still lost inches. The "new" pants I bought are fitting much looser than they had when I bought them. So, I figured that I'm converting the weight from fat to lean muscle which is very good. But the emotional stress of not losing weight was hard.
Lots of people said to mix up my workout, and I tried, but I just found myself doing what I'm used to doing. However, I did try a new cardio machine and another weight training machine, but I haven't spent much time on either (not enough to make any real impact, i thought).
This past month has been a good month overall, very active, lots of parties and events and opportunities to be "bad". But since we're not on a diet, but rather a lifestyle change - I find myself seeking out the healthiest choice no matter where we go. For instance, we were at a carnival and carnival food is the best/worst depending on your mindset. For us it was brutal. We found a cart that was selling Chicken on a Stick - grilled chicken skews, with chicken fried rice Yum and we figured it was much better than nachos or elephant ears.
Took the kids roller-skating and they had pizza (2 pieces each), I had one piece and a unsalted hot pretzel with mustard, which was better than all their deep fried options.
So with a slight change in my workout and maintain my current nutritional plan I stepped on the scale again today, 5 weeks after I first weighed in at 224. In conversation I have been rounding up to 50 pounds instead of 47, but I knew inside that I was "lying" that I had not yet achieved that elusive 50 pounds...
Today I am happy to announce that I weighed in at 220 (-51)!!!! So after 4 weeks of no change, I lost 4 pounds this past week. I'm not sure what happened, but I am so excited. I've lost 51 pounds in 5 months - 10/mo. This is my drive and determination overcoming this minor hurdle.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Week 17 Weigh In
Well, Summer is here and as you may have guessed by my infrequent posting, things are pretty hectic. Working from home and a houseful of kids means not much time to blog. But here goes...
My last weigh in was 2 weeks ago on 6/30 and I was at 227 (-41 pounds). Since I began my journey on 3/17 - I have consistently lost weight each and every week. It has not been too difficult for me as I have been following a very easy plan - smaller portions, adding exercise and drinking lots of water.
Over the past few weeks I feel as if I fell off the bandwagon, I have a ton of excuses, challenges rather that I don't feel that I handled very well. First of all, on July 4th my gym closed down for a week for it's annual maintenance and reopened on July 12th. So my plan was to get a temp membership somewhere else and to follow along with the Biggest Loser's Last Chance workout. Well, I didn't get the temp membership and only managed to do the last chance workout once and it really kicked my butt to the point that I really hurt the next 3 days so I didn't do much after that.
My wife & I thought that the gym opened up on the Sunday, but learned otherwise when it was locked up tight, so we did walk a mile around the track - which felt really good. But it doesn't compare to the workout we get in the gym.
So needless to say, our activity has gone way down as compared to the previous 15 weeks - how was the eating... well not as bad, but we did have a wonderful time a BBQ with friends, and other than a few "drinks" were doing very good eating chicken and salad and fruit, with only 1 small treat. As the night went on my wife and I were playing texas hold'em and both were doing very good (we both made the final table). However, I took an early hit and then drove out by an overaggressive player who had no business being in that hand, yes I'm still bitter about it. But anyway, it's just a game right - well, it put me out of the game and I was really bummed so I went upstairs and there sitting there is the buffet of food - and I wasn't good, wrong foods - large portions - I pigged out. :(
The next day I felt awful, bloated and gaseous. OMG, I will never do that again. My tongue loved it, my body hated it. So now Monday morning at the gym, good workout. Really feeling everything as my body has not really been in motion the past week. So I was eager to get to the gym and get back to work. It felt really good. So now was the moment of truth what damage did I do??? I had to know, so I stepped on the scale and it read 230... OH NO!! I put on 3 pounds. Now I actually thought, it could be worse and counted my blessings - just time to buckle down and get to work.
Kept my calorie intake in check and another workout Tuesday morning indicated that I have now lost 2 of the 3 pounds I put on. This is my body getting rid of the water it was retaining and all the junk I ate over the weekend (no offense Rob, it was delicious).
So I was really hoping that today I would be back to 227 then I can work hard to drop my last 6 pounds of my short-term goal over the next 2 weeks. Well, I stepped on the scale and it read..... 224!!! Yeah, I lost the 3 I put on plus 3 more. I am so happy that my small deviation didn't have a lasting effect because I maintained good eating habits during the rest of the time and I think that I have done a lot to speed up my metabolism during this lifestyle change.
.
My last weigh in was 2 weeks ago on 6/30 and I was at 227 (-41 pounds). Since I began my journey on 3/17 - I have consistently lost weight each and every week. It has not been too difficult for me as I have been following a very easy plan - smaller portions, adding exercise and drinking lots of water.
Over the past few weeks I feel as if I fell off the bandwagon, I have a ton of excuses, challenges rather that I don't feel that I handled very well. First of all, on July 4th my gym closed down for a week for it's annual maintenance and reopened on July 12th. So my plan was to get a temp membership somewhere else and to follow along with the Biggest Loser's Last Chance workout. Well, I didn't get the temp membership and only managed to do the last chance workout once and it really kicked my butt to the point that I really hurt the next 3 days so I didn't do much after that.
My wife & I thought that the gym opened up on the Sunday, but learned otherwise when it was locked up tight, so we did walk a mile around the track - which felt really good. But it doesn't compare to the workout we get in the gym.
So needless to say, our activity has gone way down as compared to the previous 15 weeks - how was the eating... well not as bad, but we did have a wonderful time a BBQ with friends, and other than a few "drinks" were doing very good eating chicken and salad and fruit, with only 1 small treat. As the night went on my wife and I were playing texas hold'em and both were doing very good (we both made the final table). However, I took an early hit and then drove out by an overaggressive player who had no business being in that hand, yes I'm still bitter about it. But anyway, it's just a game right - well, it put me out of the game and I was really bummed so I went upstairs and there sitting there is the buffet of food - and I wasn't good, wrong foods - large portions - I pigged out. :(
The next day I felt awful, bloated and gaseous. OMG, I will never do that again. My tongue loved it, my body hated it. So now Monday morning at the gym, good workout. Really feeling everything as my body has not really been in motion the past week. So I was eager to get to the gym and get back to work. It felt really good. So now was the moment of truth what damage did I do??? I had to know, so I stepped on the scale and it read 230... OH NO!! I put on 3 pounds. Now I actually thought, it could be worse and counted my blessings - just time to buckle down and get to work.
Kept my calorie intake in check and another workout Tuesday morning indicated that I have now lost 2 of the 3 pounds I put on. This is my body getting rid of the water it was retaining and all the junk I ate over the weekend (no offense Rob, it was delicious).
So I was really hoping that today I would be back to 227 then I can work hard to drop my last 6 pounds of my short-term goal over the next 2 weeks. Well, I stepped on the scale and it read..... 224!!! Yeah, I lost the 3 I put on plus 3 more. I am so happy that my small deviation didn't have a lasting effect because I maintained good eating habits during the rest of the time and I think that I have done a lot to speed up my metabolism during this lifestyle change.
.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Week 14 Weigh-in
I haven't gone anywhere, have just been very busy. So I will say that with the busy schedule, it hasn't been easy to get to the gym and eating right has been a challenge from time to time.
We are learning better ways to stay within our healthier lifestyle while eating out but it still isn't the best choice when changing a lifestyle as many places offer oversized portions and are cooked in butter or oil.
Two weeks ago, we've purchased the Wii Fit Plus and playing on it about every other day along with a couple days of some serious manual labor so I'm really hoping that I was able to see a positive difference.
Last week I weighed in at 233 pounds, and I'm really trying to get to 231 which will be 40 pounds since St. Patrick's Day. Today's results are in - the scale tipped in at 229 - That's right, I've lost 4 pounds this week and am now in the 220's.... only 8 pounds away from my half-way point of 221 (-50 lbs). I am so excited. I will continue to work hard and my goal is to drop those 8 pounds over the next 6 weeks (by 7/28).
My next goal is to be more disciplined and get to my blog more frequently.
We are learning better ways to stay within our healthier lifestyle while eating out but it still isn't the best choice when changing a lifestyle as many places offer oversized portions and are cooked in butter or oil.
Two weeks ago, we've purchased the Wii Fit Plus and playing on it about every other day along with a couple days of some serious manual labor so I'm really hoping that I was able to see a positive difference.
Last week I weighed in at 233 pounds, and I'm really trying to get to 231 which will be 40 pounds since St. Patrick's Day. Today's results are in - the scale tipped in at 229 - That's right, I've lost 4 pounds this week and am now in the 220's.... only 8 pounds away from my half-way point of 221 (-50 lbs). I am so excited. I will continue to work hard and my goal is to drop those 8 pounds over the next 6 weeks (by 7/28).
My next goal is to be more disciplined and get to my blog more frequently.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
I'm back - 3 weeks later
I apologize for the brief 3 week hiatus; it was not intentional but I do want to take this time to catch up since my last post, which was 3 weeks ago today.
First off, the last time I posted I was down to 246, which is 25 pounds from my original starting weight of 271. I was feeling good, eating right and going to the gym almost every day. We've decided to take one weekend day off from the gym and that would be a day we would enjoy the weather and do some geocaching.
May 1st, Friday night. We had a date night (first one in I can't remember how long). We went out to eat at a crab house - Angela had a platter with crab cooked different ways and I settled into a serving of Alaskan King Crab legs and according to the menu from the Dutch Harbor fleet (featured in the deadliest catch). I might've seen my dinner caught :) Anyway, it was delicious and not very high on the calories because we had salad and asparagus with our meals. From there we went to Hamlin Pub to watch our friend's band - there were a lot of people there we knew. We had a great time and it was smoke-free as it was the first day of the Michigan smoking ban - no more coming home smelling like an ashtray.
5/5 was another weigh-in and I'm really getting settled into this 2 pounds a week - slow and steady - our path to success. Friday 5/7 was my birthday, I actually had cake - but Angela found some cake that was well within our calorie objective. Sunday, Mother's day: Angela was up and gone to the gym - I quickly got up and began making her breakfast. While it wasn't breakfast in bed, it was a hot breakfast as she walked in the door from her work out. Then she decided she wanted to go geocaching all day. It was a beautiful day so we packed lunches for everybody - and took off towards a state park to find some geocache. We ended up walking completely around a beautiful marsh and collected 6 geocache along the way, walking almost 2 miles only stopping to have lunch while looking out over the water and the wildlife.
5/10 was Ange's birthday, we had dinner at home and both felt that we need to tighten things up a bit after a weekend that we kinda pushed the envelop. So we each had intense workouts Monday to Weigh-in Wednesday.
5/12 - Next weigh in and another 2 pounds - now at 242 (29 pounds)
Still watching what we eat - limiting fatty meats and white potatoes. It really is amazing the selection of foods that are available that are lower in calories, fat, sodium, sugar than the foods we are so used to eating. By simply replacing those with the healthier choices makes a huge difference.
5/14 - busy day scheduled, going down to my parents for the weekend, but I still wanted to get a workout in. I found on Comcast On Demand an exercise station which included Jillian Michael's Last Chance Workout. I figured that should be a good workout for me to replace going to the gym once a week. Well, it totally kicked my butt - in 30 minutes there are 6 circuits and I had to stop after the 5th circuit. I hurt in new places, I was dripping sweat - it was FANTASTIC!!!
The weekend of 5/15 the kids and I went to visit my parents in Ohio, while Angela stayed to honor another commitment. My parents have the same types of food and snacks that we have so maintaining the diet was very easy.
Back home Sunday night and back to the daily routine. Gym in the morning then work. Yesterday I had a lot going on so I did the Last Chance Workout and completed it - doesn't hurt as much but I was still soaked from perspiration - it was another great workout.
Today I hit the gym - only 40 minutes because I had a busy morning and an equally busy day planned - plus it is Weigh in Wednesday. Today I weighed in at 239 - Yeah!! 32 pounds gone - almost a third of the way there.
I promise I will update this thing more frequently.
First off, the last time I posted I was down to 246, which is 25 pounds from my original starting weight of 271. I was feeling good, eating right and going to the gym almost every day. We've decided to take one weekend day off from the gym and that would be a day we would enjoy the weather and do some geocaching.
May 1st, Friday night. We had a date night (first one in I can't remember how long). We went out to eat at a crab house - Angela had a platter with crab cooked different ways and I settled into a serving of Alaskan King Crab legs and according to the menu from the Dutch Harbor fleet (featured in the deadliest catch). I might've seen my dinner caught :) Anyway, it was delicious and not very high on the calories because we had salad and asparagus with our meals. From there we went to Hamlin Pub to watch our friend's band - there were a lot of people there we knew. We had a great time and it was smoke-free as it was the first day of the Michigan smoking ban - no more coming home smelling like an ashtray.
5/5 was another weigh-in and I'm really getting settled into this 2 pounds a week - slow and steady - our path to success. Friday 5/7 was my birthday, I actually had cake - but Angela found some cake that was well within our calorie objective. Sunday, Mother's day: Angela was up and gone to the gym - I quickly got up and began making her breakfast. While it wasn't breakfast in bed, it was a hot breakfast as she walked in the door from her work out. Then she decided she wanted to go geocaching all day. It was a beautiful day so we packed lunches for everybody - and took off towards a state park to find some geocache. We ended up walking completely around a beautiful marsh and collected 6 geocache along the way, walking almost 2 miles only stopping to have lunch while looking out over the water and the wildlife.
5/10 was Ange's birthday, we had dinner at home and both felt that we need to tighten things up a bit after a weekend that we kinda pushed the envelop. So we each had intense workouts Monday to Weigh-in Wednesday.
5/12 - Next weigh in and another 2 pounds - now at 242 (29 pounds)
Still watching what we eat - limiting fatty meats and white potatoes. It really is amazing the selection of foods that are available that are lower in calories, fat, sodium, sugar than the foods we are so used to eating. By simply replacing those with the healthier choices makes a huge difference.
5/14 - busy day scheduled, going down to my parents for the weekend, but I still wanted to get a workout in. I found on Comcast On Demand an exercise station which included Jillian Michael's Last Chance Workout. I figured that should be a good workout for me to replace going to the gym once a week. Well, it totally kicked my butt - in 30 minutes there are 6 circuits and I had to stop after the 5th circuit. I hurt in new places, I was dripping sweat - it was FANTASTIC!!!
The weekend of 5/15 the kids and I went to visit my parents in Ohio, while Angela stayed to honor another commitment. My parents have the same types of food and snacks that we have so maintaining the diet was very easy.
Back home Sunday night and back to the daily routine. Gym in the morning then work. Yesterday I had a lot going on so I did the Last Chance Workout and completed it - doesn't hurt as much but I was still soaked from perspiration - it was another great workout.
Today I hit the gym - only 40 minutes because I had a busy morning and an equally busy day planned - plus it is Weigh in Wednesday. Today I weighed in at 239 - Yeah!! 32 pounds gone - almost a third of the way there.
I promise I will update this thing more frequently.
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