Sunday, November 28, 2010

100 Pounds in a Year?

Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone.  I'll tell you more about my weekend a little later, but first, I have a bigger landmark I'd like to talk about.

Today is the 1-year anniversary of the beginning of my journey.  365 days ago I started this blog with a simple and incredibly ambitious goal, to lose 100 pounds over the course of a year.

So, a year later, how have I fared?  When I started 52 weeks ago, I weighed 296 pounds.  I was ashamed of my weight.  I felt unhealthy.  And I was extremely frustrated.  A year later, I weigh 245.7.  I've lost 50.3 pounds.  I didn't make my goal of losing 100 pounds in a year.

I started my first post by posing the question, "Am I being too ambitious?"  It's a year later and I know the answer.  No.  If I hadn't set the bar so high, I wouldn't have lost anywhere near the 50 pounds that I lost.  It doesn't matter that I missed my goal.  My health, my looks, and my self esteem are all 10 times better than they were a year ago. 

Where does this leave me now?  Well, I'm not giving up on my goal to lose 100 pounds.  I'm halfway there as it is.  In the next few days I'll put together a new time-line to reach my goal.  Over the next few months, I'm going to redouble my efforts and really work for weight loss.  It's very clear that I've done some coasting, but I'm going to change that. 

I'm also thinking of changing the name of my blog since I didn't lose 100 pounds in a year.  Any suggestions?

I have had a busy weekend.  On Thanksgiving, we went over to Claire's aunt and uncle's house.  I didn't restrict my eating but I logged everything I ate.  I noticed that even though I didn't restrict my diet, sometimes writing things down made decide not to eat them.  The extra step it took to eat food made me think twice about snacking.  For your scrutiny, I present my thanksgiving meal.

3 pieces of my mother-in-law's delicious s'mores fudge.  Yum!
3 servings of crackers
2 servings of cheese (cheddar and pepper jack)
1 handful of mixed nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews, brazil nuts)
3 pieces of almond bark
1 brie and chive biscuit
2 cups of mashed potatoes made with sour cream and butter
2 cups of turkey
1/2 cup wild rice stuffing
3/4 cup bread stuffing
1/4 cup gravy
1 piece of dutch apple pie
2 tablespoons of whipped cream

I also had two blueberry muffins for breakfast that day.  The total calorie count was around 3500 calories.  That's almost 300 calories below the average American's daily caloric intake. *  It is kind of gross that the average American eats more on a regular day than I ate on Thanksgiving.

I woke up early on Friday morning to stand in line for a Black Friday deal on a printer.  I was extremely cold.  Extremely cold.  I think that here in the northernmost contiguous state, we should move Black Friday to August. 

After a morning of shopping, I headed to the gym to get the most intense workout I've had in a while.  Since the weather has turned inhospitable to my ability to stay upright on a bike, I've started to lose some strength and endurance. 

I performed "poor" on the treadmill fitness test.  Last time I scored "fair" (which sounds mediocre, but was really a big deal for me).  Afterward, I did bench press, curls, shoulder press, and lunges, then spent 20 minutes on the elliptical.  I thought the muscles I built in my legs from cycling so much the last few months would help with the lunges.  Nope.  I can barely walk now.

Yesterday, we went to my parents for Thanksgiving part 2.  We had a nice lasagna with wheat noodles, 93% lean ground beef, and cottage cheese.  Very healthy.  Thanks mom!

I'm really not sure what my weigh in is going to look like tomorrow.  I know one thing, no matter what the result, I'm proud of how far I've come in the last 365 days.  Let's see what I can do in the next 365.

*I was unable to find a primary source on this number.

12 comments:

  1. Andrew, you SHOULD be proud, 50 pounds in a year is fantastic. I need to lose a hundo as well but realistically I would be ecstatic thinking about losing 50 pounds next year. You know what you need to do, now go do it! The only thing I wonder, and this is something I'm going to think more deepyly if I get to your point, is whether you need to mix things up a bit for your next 50. I've dropped a chunk of weight twice before and both times I gaineds it all back before I got all the way to goal. I think if I did something totally different at the halfway point, like get a trainer, for example, that I may have done better. Something to think about.

    Good luck!

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  2. What a successful year, Andrew! I'd say that the 50+ pounds you've lost this year show how successful that was--but more than that, I'd say that your dedication to biking to work as much as possible and your outlook on fitness is the key indicator of your success this year.

    Oh, and nice eating on Thanksgiving--no doubt that having to record every bite you eat made a huge difference in your intake.

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  3. Fifty pounds is awesome. I know the frustration--I wanted to lose 85 in a year, hit 50 at the five month mark, and didn't lose anything after that. Still struggling, but hey, I LOST 50 POUNDS!

    We should be fricking PROUD of that!

    The blog name...maybe just "100 Pounds" or leave it and just add a little to your "about me" explaining the goal and the result--and the determination to not give up.

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  4. Tralle, it has been great reading your blog. An idea for you: have you thought about doing Power 90 or P90x? I'm doing P90x now and it is fantastic. Power 90 is a little easier version of the exercises I believe (haven't done that program myself). It would help you kick the last 50 quick. I've lost almost 20 in the first 30 days of P90x. It helps with the eating too because you work so hard you really watch what you eat almost unconsciously. I know we live close so if you ever want to work out together let me know.
    Matt Eull

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  5. How about just "Losing 100 lbs - one man's journey day-by-day"?

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  6. Fifty pounds in a year is still fantastic. Go Tralle! <3

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  7. Congratulations! I think you've been such a motivation for us all! Thank you! Looking forward to the next journey for 50 pounds!

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  8. SO PROUD of you honey! I think you've done amazing this year. Most importantly, you have made it a way of life for us to talk about our work-outs and to buy lots of healthy food rather than the fatty, greasy food.

    You have made BOTH of our lives better, and I thank you for that.

    I think you should modify the name to "100 Pounds."

    I'm really proud of you, and it seems like everyone else is too!

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  9. Sam

    Well done, I caught onto your blog this fall and its been inspiring ...keep the name of the blog the same.
    Thanks for being descriptive with the gym as its good to know what others are doing.

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  10. I like 100 Pounds. You should do that. :)

    Keep working at it! This is the time of year where it gets difficult-even for those of us who just maintain our health. Finding the motivation to get out in the cold is an uphill climb until Spring starts sprouting!

    Great job on Thanksgiving! Sometimes it's just being able to admit that your food won't be all healthy and perfect, but you still need to write it down!

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  11. I'd definitely look into changing up your workout. I've also heard great things about P90X, but haven't tried it. I know you need about a hundred bucks in equipment. That why I favored doing "Insanity." There's no investment required beyond the price of the DVDs. It is absolutely grueling, but it helped me trim down several inches, gain strength & a LOT of endurance. (Check my blog for more details.)

    I also have an account on dailyburn.com which makes calorie-counting extremely simple. It has a searchable database containing thousands of common store-bought foods, as well as chain-restaurant fare. It has totally changed the way I eat.

    Good luck on the next 50.

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  12. Keep it up Tralle, good work!

    -Stefan

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