No Weigh-In Tonight

Happy Monday everyone!  I've been running around celebrating Christmas with my family and the in-laws.  Right now we're in Columbus, Wisconsin.  Unfortunately, I didn't pack my scale.  I'll make up for it by doing measurements when I get home.  I can't say I feel bad about not bringing the scale.  I'm not expecting a loss this week.  I've been doing a pretty lousy job of exercising and eating right.  I've been treading water for six months now and need to re-energize my life.

Once I get back in the saddle at home, I'm going to start a fresh three-week challenge at the gym.  For those of you who are new to my blog, last January I spent three weeks going to the gym every day.  They say doing something every day for three weeks builds a habit.  I'd have to agree with that.  Until my schedule no longer allowed me to, I made it to the gym four to six times a week. 

I need to make it a habit again.  Starting next Monday, I'll be going to the gym every day for three weeks.  No exceptions.

So there it is.  The promise that I'm going to get back on my feet starting next week.  It's hard to be confident because I haven't been able to make the scale move down substantially in months, but I need to remember that in 2010, I lost over 50 pounds.  I have been successful.  I will be successful again.

Weigh-In Results

It's been a week since my last post.  I always feel guilty when that happens.  I've been very busy though.

Things I did since my last blog post:
-Had two snow days at school.
-Put on an elementary school winter concert.
-Cleaned the apartment.
-Got a new computer.
-Installed windows on my new computer.
-Exercised by climbing the 5 flights of stairs in my apartment building 10 times.
-Went to the gym once.
-Started getting a really intense pain in my shins (probably from lack of exercise).
-Gained 1.7 pounds...

Things I didn't do this week:
-Exercise enough.
-Eat right.
-Make any attempt at counting calories.
-Pay enough attention to my incredible wife, Claire.

Blech.  Not a happy weigh in.  If you have any extra willpower, please send it my way.

Weigh-In Results

I'm feeling totally overwhelmed.  Not only by the weight gain this week, but by a winter concert that's only 3 days away.  I'm trying hard not to have a panic attack, but there's a lot left to do and I was cooped up all weekend due to the blizzard.  It was nice to have a snow day, but there's only so much I can do from home. 

I almost slid into another car on my way to the gym tonight.  We just got hit by a record breaking snowstorm.  If you don't believe it's bad here, just ask the Metrodome.

I'm trying not to feel like a failure, so I need to look at the brighter side of things.

A year ago, I weighed 296 pounds.  Today, I've still lost over 50 pounds.  The weight will come off. 

A little of this, a little of that.

It's no surprise I get frustrated from time to time.  Everybody does.  Tonight I'm feeling particularly frustrated.  I feel like I'm not making the kind of progress I want to make.  It's understandable.  I've been extra stressed lately.  I'm not getting enough sleep.  December is a particularly bad month for losing weight, etc. 

I don't want to use excuses though, so let's suffice it to say I'm frustrated.  The scale did go down this week, but I've had a couple days where I just feel like I'm getting fatter.  I don't like those days.

Recently, a friend of mine from college suggested I get a bodybugg or similar device.  I'd love to.  I really would.  But I can't afford to spend that kind of money right now.  I'm basically asking everyone for money this Christmas because I need to pay for my new computer (which should be shipping any day now).  I'm very excited about the computer, but frustrated because it's not what I wanted to be spending money on right now.

So I'm frustrated about that too. 

This afternoon something occurred to me.  I may be treading water, but I'm not sinking.  I've managed to hold onto my losses.  Maintenance is still at least 50 pounds away, but considering I've been less than religious in my diet especially, I should be happy that I don't have to re-lose any weight.

Weigh-In Results

Happy Monday!  I'm back after a weekend of not blogging.  Let's get into our results.

I'm not sure why it's horizontal, but I trust you can deal with it without freaking out (hint: turn your head to the left)

 242.6.  That's a loss of 1.1 pounds.  I'm still shooting for a 20 pound loss this month.  I still have 3 and a half weeks to lose 18.9 pounds.  I'm not discouraged.  In fact, I'm proud of my loss.  I put on a lot of muscle this week at the gym.  Every other day I start with a quick warmup, then bench press, move to a circuit with arm curls, lunges, and a shoulder exercise.  Then I move to the shoulder press and finish by spending 20-30 minutes on the elliptical.  On the other days, I do a lot more cardio.  I did some push-ups for the first time today in a long time.  I kicked some butt.  I did 25 without struggling.  My strength is improving, my endurance is improving, and my wife says my muscles are looking more defined.  I'm convinced I lost way more than 1.1 pounds of fat this week.  

I'm going to continue monitoring my intake and tighten up my calorie counting and make sure I get enough water.  Even if the number moves slowly, it's going to move in the right direction.

Life Expectancy

I just visited a life expectancy calculator to see, statistically, how much longer I'll live.  First I put in the information as I am now.  27, male, non-smoker, 0 drinks per day on average, 243.7 pounds.  The calculator determined I would live to be around 76 years.  Then I changed my weight to the weight I was when I started my blog a year ago.  It said I'd live to be around 72.

Now I know there are limitless confounding variables in estimating lifespan.  I could get hit by a bus tomorrow or I could live to be 100.  The bottom line, however, is that over the course of one year, I theoretically lengthened my life by four years.  When I reach my goal of 196 pounds.  The calculator predicts I'll live to be 85.

Losing 100 pounds could add 13 years to my life.  It puts the sacrifices I'm making now into perspective.

My motivation to lose weight is to live a long, healthy, and happy life.  What's yours?

Jumping on the Bandwagon

Steve at 265 and falling posted yesterday that he plans on losing 20 pounds in December.  Since my blog was built on audacious goals, I've pledged to join him.

On my last weigh-in, I weighed 243.7 pounds.  By January 1st, I will weigh 223.7 pounds.  I know it's an ambitious, if not entirely unhealthy, goal, but I'm going to shoot for the stars.  I'm through resting on my laurels.


I have to lose just shy of 5 pounds a week.  Cripes, that's a lot.  Here's how I'm going to manage it.

Count calories - I'm going to be extra diligent on this one.  Every time I count, good things happen.  Even if I go over by 100 or 200 calories.  I'll give myself 2400 calories a day.

Exercise - I'm going to need to do this close to every single day.  I did this in January for three weeks and it just needs to happen again.

Drink lots and lots of water - I need to consume at least 8 8-ounce glasses of water a day.  I have a 24 ounce water bottle that shouldn't be a problem to fill 3 times a day.  Maybe I'll even do 4.  It really fills me up around meal time too.

Get plenty of sleep - I've been fighting this one for a while now.  Sleep is one of the best things I can do for my health.  If I don't sleep, I can't lose weight.

So is anyone else with me?  Who wants to step it up a notch for the holiday season?  You don't have to lose 20 pounds.  You can lose 10 or 5 or 2.  Just dedicate yourself to something.

Staying Awake

I've had two Red Bulls this morning and I'm still ready to collapse onto my keyboard.

Given, I have a pretty high tolerance for caffeine.  It's the reason I never developed a taste for coffee.  Like many people in my generation, I spent my adolescence medicated with a fairly heavy stimulant.  I'm not sure if the Ritalin is the reason coffee doesn't keep me awake now, or if I just have a natural tolerance.  Either way, I'm tired.

It's important when you're exhausted to be extra vigilant.  I want to put everything in my mouth.  Cake, chips, the stapler.  Today is a day I really need to count calories. 

What food do you crave when you're tired?  How do you stay awake?

Snacking

I need to knock it off.  I've been munching all day.  Given, almonds are a pretty healthy snack, but I couldn't stop shoving them in my mouth.  I ate half a container of them.  I'm experiencing the same thing now with some baked cheddar lays.

I don't know if my body is responding to stress or the cold (since I don't have any heat in my car).  Maybe I got a visit from the metabolism fairy overnight.  In any case, I need to quit munching. 

What do you do to curb your appetite?

Weigh-In Results

It's Monday, day 366 of my weight loss journey.  It's weigh-in time. 

2 pounds even.  That's a solid loss over especially over Thanksgiving.  If I can do the same for the next 25 weeks or so, I'll be a happy camper.

I just want to thank everyone who commented on yesterday's post or sent me a message telling me I'm doing a good job.  In fact, I need to thank everyone who has commented on my blog over the last year.  You've kept me going.

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.

I'm Back

Yes, I had a crappy weigh-in this week.  There were a lot of reasons, but it boiled down to three things. 

1.  I got sick.  This was a big one because I eat like crap when I'm sick.
2.  I quit counting my calories.  I did this in part because I got sick, but you saw what happened when I counted calories and you saw what happened when I quit.
3.  I didn't bike to work on Monday.  Whenever I bike to work, I lose a lot of water weight due to sweat.  It's been pretty clear since I started biking that I lose a couple pounds of water on my bike.

So what am I going to do?  I've logged my calories the past two days and I'll be doing it tomorrow.  That's right, I'm going to try to write down everything I eat tomorrow.  That's right, I'll be counting calories on Thanksgiving.  I'm not going to deprive myself of anything I want to eat, I'll just be logging how many calories I consume.

Wish me luck.

Weigh-In Results

Eff... 

Cleaning Out the Closet

I've been sick for the past few days. You would think that being sick would make me lose weight, but I tend to take care of myself by shoving whatever I'm having even the slightest craving for directly into my face.

I can't take it back, but I'm eventually going to have to deal with this particular behavior.

I had a non-scale victory tonight. I cleaned out my closet and got rid of about 3/4 of my wardrobe because my clothes were too big. This I'd going to save me a ton of time in the morning.

I have a small problem now. I have no clothes.

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It's My Life

I used to think there was nothing I could do about my weight.  I tried diet and exercise and even slim-fast.  I resigned to believing fat was something that happened to me.  It was out of my control.

Have you ever felt that way?

Time and time again I resolved to change my weight.  To become thinner.  To look better.  I would become determined and... very little would happen.

I concluded that nothing I did could really push the scale down.  I was just destined to be fat.  This mentality continued for years until I got so fat I got mad.  I was fed up (pardon the pun).  I hated how I looked, I hated how I felt, and I hated that I had to present myself to the world as a huge tubby.

Things are different now.  I look better, feel better, and feel as though I'm presenting a better me to the world. 

I'm not all the way to my goal, but I have definitely learned that I am in control of my weight and my life.

Weigh-In Results

It's Monday!  This week I've been counting calories like no one's business using Fat Secret's Calorie Counter app for Android.  I lapsed a little yesterday, but not too badly.

I had a pretty epic bike ride in to work this morning.  For those of you who don't live in Minnesota, we had a pretty major snowstorm this weekend.  The ride was actually pretty easy with the exception of a bike bridge that hadn't been plowed and a patch of black ice.  Don't worry, all I suffered was a slightly bruised hip.  Note to self: If there's a puddle in the winter, don't automatically assume the wet ground next to it is also made of liquid water.  I don't think it will be long before I get the hang of this winter biking thing.

Alright.  Let's see how fat I am.

YES!!!  Counting calories is definitely the way to go!  I lost 3.9 pounds this week and this is the lightest I've been on my journey.  I'm only 8.7 pounds away from seeing the 220s.  I'm hoping to get there before the new year.  I've got a lot standing in my way; Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, etc. but I feel like this is the first reproducible loss in a long time.  Next week's weigh-in is going to be great!
 
This week's winner is Jill Dupuis with a guess of 237.5.  Only off by 1.1 pounds.  Though you flatter me by guessing lower.  Congrats Jill!  And although I'm not allowed to give you just the bacon from the chocolate covered bacon prize, I can give you bacon covered chocolate.  Enjoy!

A Quick One

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am rocking it this week.  Today is day 4 of logging my calories and I have been right around target (2400 calories) each day for how much I've been eating.  I didn't exercise yesterday, but I went to the gym on Monday and I've already biked to work today.  I may hit the gym this afternoon too!

I'm gonna rock the next weigh-in!

Weigh-In Results

Monday weigh-in time.  Let's see how fat I am this week.

Yup, it's a gain.  .8 pounds up.  However, I'm not discouraged.  I've completed two days of calorie logging and I'm going to do it again tomorrow.  I went to the gym tonight.  I'm on the right track, I'm just fluctuating a little.  I'm going to rock the next 20 days.

No more eating an entire bag of pita chips.  No more skipping workouts.  No more slacking off.  I want to see the 220s by 2011. 

Congrats Colleen for guessing closest to my actual weight.  Candy will be shot into your mouth at near the speed of light very soon.

A Small Victory

I did it.  I logged everything I ate yesterday.  I took in 2,620 calories total, which is 220 calories over my goal.  It doesn't matter though because I managed to record everything I ate and that's the real victory.  I picked up some more jalapeno and cilantro humus and pita chips and managed to eat only one serving!  Logging my calories made me aware of what I was doing and kept me from binging.  Let's see if I can do this again today.

Don't forget, my weekly weigh-in is tonight.  If you want to guess how much I weigh, keep in mind that I weighed 241.7 last Monday.  If you win, I'll send you a bag of pretzel M&Ms that have been shot through a particle accelerator in order to rid them of their calories without sacrificing flavor.*

Good luck guessing.  See you tonight.

*candy may cause nausea, some forgetfulness, and gastrointestinal black holes.  If you experience weightlessness for more than four hours, stop eating the candy and consult a quantum physicist immediately.  In the event that you start floating toward the ceiling fans, try burping to return to the earth.  Consume at your own risk.  100 Pounds in a Year is in no way responsible for Oompa Loompa related injuries.

One-Day Goal

Yesterday I ate close to an entire bag of pita chips and cilantro jalapeno humus. I couldn't stop.

Today's goal: log everything I eat in a calorie counting program. Wish me luck.

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Sleep

I'm exhausted.  Plain and simple.  Too much to do and too little sleep.  I used to think that working out instead of going to bed was a good idea.  For the record, it is not.  Sleep is a crucial part of losing weight.

Here's a snippet from a 2004 USA Today article:
Scientists have found that sleep deprivation increases levels of a hunger hormone and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full. The effects may lead to overeating and weight gain. 

The article also asserts that the rate of obesity in America (65%) mirrors the rate of people not getting a full night's sleep (63%).

I read another study recently that claims sleep deprivation causes the body to metabolize muscle rather than fat.  Two groups of people got the same amount of exercise and calories.  One group got 8.5 hours of sleep a night.  The other group got 5.5 hours.  Both groups lost the same amount of weight but half the weight lost in the 5.5 hours of sleep group was muscle.

A problem that plagues many overweight people (myself included) is sleep apnea.  This disorder tends to be a double edged sword.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with sleep apnea, it's the medical term for snoring.  When you snore, you're actually waking yourself up many times each minute (it was over 100 according to my sleep study).  Sleep apnea worsens with weight gain.  As the previous studies showed, sleep deprivation leads to more obesity.  Downward spiral.

If you think you might have sleep apnea, go do a sleep study.  The subsequent rest I've gotten because of it was worth the testing.  I don't think I would have been able to lose the weight I've lost without treatment.

Everyone else, get a good night's sleep.  It will help you lose weight.

http://www.sleep-deprivation.com/articles/effects-of-sleep-deprivation/weight.php
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-12-06-sleep-weight-gain_x.htm

Weigh-In Results

Welcome to the weigh-in results show.  I overdressed for my bike ride on the way to and from work today so I got a great sweat as well as some quality cardio.  I also got to work before sunrise this morning for the first time since I started biking.  I'm proud of what I accomplished today. 

Speaking of proud of what I accomplished.  Let's take a look at my weigh in number.

Six pounds down.  My weight has been fluctuating like mad recently and I'd like it to be pointed in one direction.  28 days from now is the 1-year mark on my blog and I want to see results this month.  That means exercising nearly every day and counting my calories.  Time to kick some butt.

Oh and the winning guess for my weigh-in this week is Anonymous with a guess of 239.  Fitting that the author of an anonymous comment wins a prize that doesn't exist.

I'll leave you with a comment left by MizFit.

"Lets.ROCK.These.Next.28."

1 rocked, 27 to go.

Candy and Beard Faces

Things are winding down a little bit.  I lost 6 students from my initial 13 so I can start biking on Thursdays again.  The weather, however has other ideas.  I just bought a pair of cycling tights online tonight to wear under my jeans and over/under my long underwear (I'll do a little experimenting there).  I've got to pick up a balaclava pretty soon.  I'm considering getting this beardhead.

I'd look so good.

I've been utilizing the gym a bit more recently because I realized my upper body was atrophying a lot.  All that cycling has given me amazing legs but wimpy, flabby arms and saggy man-boobs.

I'm pretty sure after almost a year, that's the first time I mentioned man-boobs.  Hmm... maybe I had bigger fish to fry.

I had a couple pieces of Halloween candy tonight.  I'm not doing as well at saying no to desserts as I was in the spring.  During Easter, I had half a Reese's egg and threw the other half away.  Tonight, I ate two peanut butter cups and wanted more.  It was easier for me to correlate my weight with snacks than it is now.  What's worse is now, when I'm getting less exercise, is precisely the time I want to be able to control what I'm eating.  It seems that the two go hand in hand.  When I'm at the gym every night, I remind myself how hard I'm working and I don't want to undo my progress.  When I'm sitting on my duff all the time, I think, "well, I'm not working as hard toward my goal.  I need to exercise more so that I can muster the strength to control my diet.

Well, I've got a weigh-in tomorrow.  See if you can guess my weight.  This week's winner gets a trip to the past in my own personal time machine.*  Good luck.

I have 28 days until I hit the 1 year mark.  Obviously, I'm not going to lose almost 50 pounds in that month, but I'm going to push during the month of November.  I'm over 50 pounds thinner than I was at this time last year and I'm going to keep this train moving.

*Disclaimer: I haven't built a time machine yet, but as soon as I do, I'll go back in time to pick both of us up and take us on the adventure of a lifetime.

Weigh-In Results

Yes, I know it's a Wednesday.  Yes I know I haven't posted in 9 days. 

I did weigh myself on Monday.  247.7.  I'm not happy about it, but instead of dwelling on it, I decided to go to the gym.  It felt good.  I think I'll go to the gym now.

My goal is to lose weight.  I need to make this happen.  Reflection is great, but I want something positive to reflect upon.  The time for action is now.  The time for blogging is later (meaning expect more tonight or tomorrow).

Weigh-In Results

Hey it's Monday.  I know I haven't posted for a week, but no regrets.  Actually, I have regrets but I want to look forward rather than dwell on my missteps. 

Let's get to the weigh-in.

Well, I lost .8 pounds this week.  I didn't deserve it.  I ate poorly and didn't exercise for an entire week.  I've felt crappy this week and spent a day home from work.

I find myself hoping this coming week will be better.  Hope is the wrong verb though.  If I want this weekend to be better, I need to make it better.

Make it a good week.  I'll do it too.

Weigh-In Results

It's Monday and I'm exhausted.

I lost a lot of weight last week, so I wasn't expecting a loss.  Still, it's a little disheartening to see a gain. 

I weighed in this week at 243.5.  Yup.  That's a gain of 3.9 pounds.  I'm not happy, but I've still had a two-week loss of 3.1 pounds.  I can live with that.

I'm not totally disheartened, but I'm ready to move forward.  Or downward.  Or some direction that isn't upward in weight. 

Guest Post

From time to time I like to get a different point of view on my blog.  It's nice to get away from me complaining about my weight or rambling about something not worth rambling about.  Today's post is brought to you by Marin Olson.  I've known Marin for a long time.  Her family went to the same church as my family growing up and she graduated high school with my younger brother.  Marin has lost 65 pounds since January and isn't anywhere near stopping.  It's so much fun seeing other people succeeding at making themselves healthier.

Hi All!

Andrew asked me to share about my recent success with weight loss.

Not going to lie, it has been an uphill battle but inch by inch (or pound by pound), it isn't impossible!

I have lost 65 lbs. since January and I couldn't feel better!

My diet is probably the thing that has made the biggest impact. I eat A LOT of greens, they make me feel full, plus provides me with a lot of vitamins. I found a good snack are snap peas, it gives you something to chew on, not unlike a potato chips, minus the empty calories. Other than that I reserve red meat for special occasions and NEVER miss my oatmeal and blueberries for breakfast.

I also joined the Y and even though the stair stepper is intimidating at first, it is one of the best workouts you can have! If you're looking for something a little more upbeat, body step is AWESOME! Definitely makes you sweat and gives you a whole body workout.

I still have 35 lbs. left to go, but Andrew has been an inspiration to me, and I'm sure he has done the same for you.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK GUYS!

Marin

If you're interested in writing a guest post about weight loss or fitness for me, please let me know.  You can guest post if you're just starting your journey or if you've reached the maintaining stage or anywhere in between.  Just email me if you're interested.
 

Blog of the Week

I was looking at my side bar and realized I have been neglecting one item: Blog of the week.  This may be indicative of my overall ability as of the last few months to read weight-loss blogs.  Reading other blogs is one of the things that keeps me going.  It's comforting to know that I'm not the only person in the world struggling with my weight and it's really nice to have a support network that encourages me and calls me out when I'm lying to myself.

This week's blog of the week is Learn Fitness.  This blog is informational and fun to read.  I like following Sean's journey and learning at the same time.  Check it out.

Doing and Being

All my life, I've been haunted by a noun: fat.  I carried so much extra fat in my body that it became part of my identity.  I didn't have fat, I was fat.  The noun became an adjective.  The adjective became me.

When I looked at myself I saw fat.  I didn't see smart or funny or caring or kind or talented or anything else.  I saw fat. 

I'm changing that.  I'm replacing the fat with fit.  Another adjective?  No.  A verb.  Fit isn't something you are, it's something you do.  I am doing fit today.  I will do fit tomorrow.  I will continue to do fit as long as I am able.

The second you start doing fit, you cease being fat.  So get up and do it.

Weigh-In Results

It's Monday and to be completely honest, I wasn't looking forward to stepping on that scale.  I haven't had much luck on the scale the past couple weeks.  I was nervous.  But I sucked it up and stepped up.

I'm glad I did.

I don't know how, but I lost 7 pounds this week.  If there were any mountaintops in Minnesota, I would shout from the top of one! 

I'm now 4.6 pounds from the weight at which I started college.  I've reversed 7 years of weight-gain.  I'm stoked and I'm not stopping.  I'd like to see the 220s before the end of October.  I'm going to push hard this month.  I'll be paying close attention to my diet.  I'll try to exercise more consistently too.

I know this is just one weigh-in, but it's the boost I needed.

If you're following me on facebook, you may have noticed that I promised this week's winner the opportunity to skype with my cat in exchange for the closest guess to my actual weight this week.  This week's winner is my mother-in-law, Kate Stover with a guess of 244.6 pounds.   Congrats, Kate.  The cats are waiting for you.

How do I look?

I don't want to be premature or anything, but I think i'm down to one chin. What do you think?

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How many hours are there in a day?

Yup.  It's a huge cliché, but it's true.  There aren't enough hours in the day.  My fall schedule is in full swing and it feels like I don't even have time to blink, much less exercise.

I teach private lessons on band instruments at a music store in a suburb of Minneapolis, where I live and work.  When a student rents a band instrument from this music store, they have the option to pay an additional five dollars and receive a month of weekly private instruction from one of the lesson teachers like myself.  $1.25 a lesson is one heck of a bargain.  After the month of essentially free lessons is over, the students have the option of staying on with their instructor for whatever the instructor charges.

Giving lessons to paying students is the highlight of my week.  The money is good, they work hard, and I get to guide them toward musical success.  The trouble is in order to get paying students, I have to take on a lot of rental students.  A lot.  Last year I took on 8 rentals and ended up with two paying students.  So taking that into consideration, I made myself available for a total of 18 time slots this Fall.  Oh boy.  It's fun working with all the kids, but it's tough being gone from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm twice a week with an additional 3 hour commitment on Saturday.  I'm also in choir and jazz at church.  Why do I let myself get so busy?

Sleep deprivation seems to be a natural side-effect of this lifestyle.  I'm tired all the time.  Tired when I wake up.  Tired when I go to work.  Tired when I go to bed.  Tired when I sleep (okay, maybe not that one).  Tired when I eat.  Tired when I eat.  Tired when I eat.  Notice a trend?  A couple weeks ago I wrote about how I eat like a zombie when I'm tired.  It's so true.

I just can't make myself care about my weight when I'm tired.  I don't know how the bloggers with kids out there do it.  I really don't.  You people are amazing.

I'm also really looking hard for time to exercise.  I get a good workout on Mondays and Wednesdays with my bicycle commute, and I usually get a good, long ride in on Fridays, but I'm struggling to exercise at all on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

So for someone who has never had the best luck with time management, how do I keep going?  How do I get exercise in my jam-packed days?  How do I stay focused?  How do I succeed?  If there were 30 hours in a day would I still be complaining about lack of time?

When I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Weigh-In Results

For the first time in three weeks, I have the means to get my scale reading onto the computer box.  I still have two broken computers, but at least I have something I can blog on now.

The results tonight aren't pretty.

Not cool, scale.  Not cool.  Gain of 1.6 pounds this week.  I've been discouraged lately, but I expected a gain this week.  Ugh.  I'm going to get back on track.  It's going to happen.  It has to happen.  I biked to work today and I'll do it again on Wednesday.  I know you've heard it before but I need to say it.  I'm going to lose 100 pounds.  I'm going to live a long and healthy life.  I'm going to get my ass in gear.

Feeling Fat

I feel fat.  I feel like I'm neglecting my blog.  I feel tired. 

Some days I feel like I'm on top of the world.  I've come more than half way toward losing 100 pounds.  I'm rocking clothes that I wouldn't have come anywhere near fitting into a year ago.  I feel healthier.  I'm more active doing things like going to the gym and biking to work.  Going up stairs and walking quickly are immeasurably easier.  I look better too.  I'm definitely moving toward my goal.

But days like today are hard.  I feel like I'm neglecting my body and my blog and resting on my laurels.  I feel soggy.  I feel like I have so far to go and I'm frustrated.  I know I hit a standstill because of my own laziness and I don't like it.  I want to be motivated like I was in the beginning.  I'm disorganized.  I'm tired and overwhelmed.  I need a boost and I don't know where it's going to come from.

Where do you get your inspiration when you're feeling drained?

Quick weigh-in

I was busy tonight so I have to give you a very quick update.

Every computer I've touched lately has malfunctioned in some serious way so I'm blogging from my phone.
I weighed in tonight at 245. It's a gain but I was expecting one. See my last post for details.

I got a new (used) bike. It's a Hosteler from not this decade. The thing set me back $25. It works pretty well though. All the gears work, the wheels are almost entirely unbent, and the frame is solid. I do need to tighten the brakes and raise the seat a few inches.

It's now bed time for Bonzo (and for me too). I do have a picture of this week's weigh-in, but you'll have to wait for me to blog from a proper computer for that one.

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Rambling (with some zombies in the mix)

Note: Since I haven't posted in almost a week this blog entry contains far more rambling than normal.  Sorry.

Hey Andrew, where did you go?

Good question.  I hate dropping off the radar like that but I was feeling pretty worn down this last week.  I had some kind of bug that left me with a sore throat and the desire to sleep all the time.  I was essentially a zombie all last week.

What is the one thing zombies do?  They eat.  Usually brains, but they'll settle for other body parts as well but that's not my point.  My point is the singular ambition of a zombie is to eat.  So when I was running on fumes this past week, I did not put good things in my body.  I tried to make good choices, but more often than not, I made a poor decision.  I'd probably say more in quantity than quality.  You know, an extra helping of brains here and there.

I've got a sneaking suspicion that I'll pay for it on the scale this week and I'm mostly okay with that.  I could make excuses about being sick, but I'm not going to.  I neglected my blog, my diet, and exercise this week and that's going to show up on the scale.

On another note, I went on a pretty awesome bike ride yesterday.  I biked the southern-most part of the Grand Rounds trail.  I managed to bike the wrong direction on a one way bike trail, got in some guy's picture of a waterfall, and rode past two idiot teenagers smoking pot.  Let's make this clear.  I don't think they're idiots because they were smoking pot, I think they're idiots because they were doing it in a fairly high traffic, brightly lit park at 4 in the afternoon.  I know I don't have that many readers, and these particular gentlemen probably aren't in my demographic, but I'd like to address them directly for a moment.  Don't you guys have a parent's basement or at least a grouping of trees you can go get high in?  A park bench next to a paved walking/biking trail with only some mowed grass in between you and the nearest street is not the smartest place to toke up.  Next time try to find somewhere less obvious like... anywhere else.

Alright, now that I'm done solving the problems of today's youth, I can get back to the blog.  I'm beginning to realize how awesome the city of Minneapolis is to bike in.  Unless you're on a freeway, you can't get in or out of the city without going through or very near (over or under usually) a city park and major bike trail.  It's pretty spectacular.

I just bought some new headphones for exercise since one of my cats ate my old pair.  In honor of my new, awesome purchase I need your advice on some pump-up music.  I am seriously clueless when it comes to pop music (and I'm a music teacher).  So what music inspires you to turn it up a notch?

One last confession before I go.  I effed up 30 days of biking.  I was too sick to go for a bike ride one day and on top of it, it was raining.  So do I need a note from my doctor or meteorologist?

Quick Weigh-In

I'm a little strapped for time tonight seeing as I want to get to bed in short order.  My card reader is otherwise occupied with my sister-in-law's senior pictures so I can't bring you photographic evidence tonight.

I'll put the picture up later, but for now, you'll have to believe me that I weighed 242.6 when I weighed myself today.  I'm actually a little irked at the scale.  I weighed 242.2 when I got home from work but didn't want to take a picture until after I got back from my bike ride.  When I got back from biking 11 miles, I had somehow gained .4 pounds.  I don't get it.  The first reading must have been inaccurate.

That's all from me tonight.  I'll bring you a picture and get more in-depth tomorrow.

The Weekend and Biking

I was doing a really good job of watching my intake and staying within my limit this week.  Until the weekend.  I should have kept track but I didn't.  My fault.  I snack more when I don't keep track.  I eat larger portions when I don't keep track.  I eat out of the garbage when I don't keep track.  Okay, maybe that last one isn't true. 

Lesson from this weekend:  I need to log my calories ON THE WEEKEND too.  It's harder, but it needs to happen.  I should probably blog more on the weekends too.

I've been keeping up with my 30 Days of Biking.  Although I only biked about a mile today I still got on my bike.  Other days I'm biking upwards of 20 miles.  I'm hoping to get my stamina up so by early October I'll be able to survive the Grand Rounds, 50 miles of bike trails around the city of Minneapolis.  I've invited my brother, Erick, to come down some weekend to ride the trails with me.

I'm learning a lot about cycling and lusting after a new (used) road bike.  I've been keeping an eye on Craigslist and I'm hoping to pull the trigger soon on buying something.  I have an idea about how much I'd like to spend, but I don't know how much of a project bike I want.  Then again, I've only been biking for about a month.

The bike I have now is fine.  I just want something that is better designed for the kind of biking I'm doing.  Should I stick with what I have or should I take the plunge and get a new (used) bike?

Giveaway Winner!

Wow, 133 entries for the giveaway!  That's amazing!  Thanks everyone who entered.  It was really fun to get this many comments on my blog (116).  As of writing this, I have no idea who the winner is.  I'm going over to random.org right now to generate a number between 1 and 133.  So hang on just a minute.

Alright.  Now I just need to count to 39 in my comments section.

And the winner is (drum roll) Erika.

Congrats Erika, please email me your contact information (I just need your email address) so i can get you your gift certificate. 

Thanks everyone for entering.  Tomorrow I'll go back to complaining how fat I am (and a few Non-Scale Victories to boot).

Busy Busy Busy

This week I have been Busy with a capital B and that rhymes with T and that stands for trouble.  Harold hill (or at least my strange paraphrasing of the song "Trouble" from The Music Man) got it right on that count.  Being overly busy can really get in the way of attempts to lose weight. 

Today, for instance, we bought a car.  On the way we stopped and had Dairy Queen.  I know we could have done better, but DQ was there and we didn't have time do do much else.  Did I go over on my calories today?  You bet I did.  600 calories over what I wanted.  I'm still confident because I know how much I went over.  I also know that I biked to work and back today, burning somewhere in the ballpark of 550-800 calories (depending on which exercise calculator I use).  If I had it to do over, I'd probably go to a different restaurant but it's in the past now.  It's up to me to make good decisions in the future.  Not to agonize over a meal that's already been eaten.  I was plenty upset with my lack of self control when I weighed 313 pounds.  It took time, but I learned that self-hating didn't get me anywhere I wanted to be.  Hard work and good choices did.

So what have I done to keep focused even though I've been busy this week?  I've been using Calorie Counter by fatsecret.com on my Android phone to keep track of my calories.  It's much easier than hauling my languorous posterior to a computer and punching all the information in.  Here's the QR code if you're tech savvy.

The bicycle commute has really helped too.  Sure I add 20 extra minutes to my commute, but I add 80 extra minutes of cardio a day.  That's a big win in my book.  It's like going to the bank and handing the teller a $20 bill and them giving you $80 back as change.  My only complaint is if it gets any colder my ears may fall off.

Weigh-in Results

It's Labor Day, and, more importantly, Monday.  That means it's time for another weigh-in.  But first, don't forget about my $50 giveaway if you haven't entered yet, get on that.  I'll declare a winner on Friday so stay tuned.

244.5 down from 244.8.  Pfff... .3 pounds lost.  Oh well.  I'm hoping to see my calorie counting rewarded next Monday, but the scale was not on my side today.  I've only been counting calories for a couple days anyway.  Hopefully by this time next week I'll be able to post a more substantial loss, but .3 pounds is still something.  Julie Mead wins with her guess of 243.  She was off by 1.5 pounds, but she's still the closest.

I went for a pretty nice bike ride today on day 6 of 30 Days of Biking.  I did a nice 10 mile loop around a few lakes near my apartment.  Click here to see it on a map. 

Here's to a strong showing this week.

5k at the gym

Shortly after my last post, I made my way (by bicycle, of course) to the gym. I wasn't planning on doing much but when I stepped on the treadmill, the 5k button seemedto be taunting me. I set the machine to 4mph and 45 minutes later I was finished running 5k! Now I know I can run a 5k.  Here's what I looked like afterward.

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Day 3 and Improved Eating

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my $50 giveaway. 

If you're a long-term reader of my blog, you are probably sick of hearing about my inability to count calories.  It's really amazing that I've been able to lose as much weight as I have without counting calories, but lately I've come to the realization that I won't lose much more weight without counting.  It seems I fail every time I try but that's changing right now.  I've always tried to log calories as I eat them, but today I have a plan.  I wrote down everything I'm going to eat today and so far I've stuck to it pretty well.  I allotted myself 2400 calories for today and it's cut out a lot of snacking.  I still get to have a bunch of almonds and a Weight Watchers ice cream bar tonight.  I do have to reign in the subconscious snacking (I've had to put back a handful of almonds three times today).  I'm really hoping this will help do some serious damage come Monday's weigh-in. 

It's day 3 of 30 Days of Biking and my thighs are burning with the fire of a thousand suns.  I'm excited at the challenge, but I can tell I'm not in the best biking shape.  Hopefully, that will all change before the end of the month.  Today I think I'll just be biking to the gym to get a nice arm-workout in.  Maybe I'll do some treadmill stuff if my legs are cooperating. 

Here are some pics from the 30 days of biking kick-off ride.  Enjoy!

Don't forget to enter in my $50 giveaway and check back in next Friday to see if you won!

Giveaway!!!

Hi, if you're new here, feel free to check out some of my older posts.  I've lost 50 pounds in the last 9 months and won't stop til I've lost 100 pounds!  Good luck with the giveaway!

I'm happy to announce a partnership with CSN Stores to bring you a $50 giveaway.  That's right, $50 off your online order!  If you order something $50 or less, it's free!  You could get some Corelle dishes, though you may want to opt for something a little more fitness related.  They've got a lot of cool fitness equipment. 

So here's how it works.  Do one of the things below, and I'll enter you in a drawing using random.org.  I'll announce the winner after the contest is over and if you win, you can email me with your contact info.  I just need your email address so I can get you the code for $50 off your order.  The contest will end next Thursday, September 9th at midnight.  I'll probably announce the winner the next day.

Here's what you need to do to enter (you can do just one thing or all five if you want):
1) Leave a comment.  Say anything you want to say.  Maybe a favorite post, or what's helped you to lose weight, etc.  You can even just say hi!  You can leave as many comments as you want, but I'll only count the first one toward the giveaway. - 1 entry

2) Leave a comment telling me what you would buy from CSN Stores with the $50 you win. Again, just one entry here will count. - 1 entry

3) Post a link to this giveaway on your blog.  Leave a link for me in the comments section so I can see the entry. - 2 entries

4) Tweet this giveaway.  You can just copy and paste from below.  - 2 entries

@100_Pounds is giving away a $50 gift certificate to CSN Stores.  Check it out here:http://bit.ly/aJ9EEu #100lbsgiveaway

5) Share the link for this post on Facebook. - 2 entries

That's it.  All you need to do.  I'll announce the winner next Friday.

Good luck!

30 Days of Biking

It's September!  That means 30 Days of Biking kicks off today.  In honor of this event, which is worldwide in the respect that you can participate from anywhere, I'm bringing you a short guest post by one of the founders and organizers of 30 Days of Biking, Zachariah Schaap.

Zach on today's 30 Days of Biking kick-off ride.

30 Days of Biking is the challenge to ride your bike somewhere, everyday, for thirty days! Admittedly, many people who participated in round one noted their life had been permanently changed. A change that filled their life with more energy, a greater sense of community and mountains of fun.

Personally, 30 Days of Biking has changed my life. There's just something about it—biking—that makes a person want to be active and enjoy life. Not only while on a bicycle, but in all aspects of life.

We at 30 Days of Biking urge you to try this challenge, and see what it does for you... to you. You may be surprise; you will be happy.

Join the challenge! Careful, though, it'll change your life.

If you'd like to know more about 30 Days of Biking, follow this link to a Minneapolis Star Tribune article about 30 Days of Biking.  Or you can go straight to 30daysofbiking.com and sign up.  If you want to follow on twitter, you can use the hash-tag #30daysofbiking or follow @30daysofbiking.

30 Days of Biking is my challenge for the month of September.  Will you join me?

30 Days of Biking Starts Wednesday!

Happy September everyone (almost).  I'd really like to see the 230s this month and I'm going to do that by participating in 30 Days of Biking which starts today.  I'm kicking it off with a bunch of other people with a 10-mile ride that does a figure 8 through historic Northeast Minneapolis and Dinkytown (the college part of town).  The camera's coming with.  I'm stoked.

I'm considering doing a ride called the Greenway Challenge.  The city of Minneapolis is very bicycle friendly.  Despite her blustery winters, Minneapolis was actually named the #1 bicycling city in America by Bicycling Magazine in 2010.  There are even people who bike year-round.  I don't know if I'm that crazy yet, but we'll see.  Anyway, a few years ago, Minneapolis put in a 5.5 mile bike/pedestrian trail that runs across Minneapolis from east to west (or west to east, depending on which way you're riding) called the Midtown Greenway.  

The Greenway Challenge is a bike ride and benefit for the Midtown Greenway Coalition (the good people that brought us the Greenway).  I'd have to raise $250 in order to enter, then ride four round-trips on the Greenway for a total of 44 miles.


I only bike about 10-12 miles a day as it stands right now.  I don't know if I have the stamina for a 44 mile bike race (especially on a mountain bike).  It would have to be something I worked up to over the month of September.  


What do you think?  Would you chip in a couple bucks to help me participate?  Could I even stay on my bike for 44 miles?

Weigh-In Results

Happy Monday!  Let's get right to the numbers.

 

 244.8.  I lost .7 pounds this week.  Weak.  I'm not really happy about it but a loss is a loss.  Let's move forward and downward.  Esther from The Fox Trot guessed 244.2.  That's right, she wins Carl Kasell's voice on her home answering machine.  

By the way, I got the glass out of my foot.  I didn't have to chop off my foot (which would have resulted in a better weigh in).  

Coming up this week, I'll have a guest post by one of the organizers of 30 days of biking.  He'll tell you how you can participate (even if you don't live in Minneapolis).  I'll also have a giveaway to the tune of a $50 gift card!  Stay tuned!

Almost a 5k!

I didn't get a bike ride in today because my hip was bothering me a little.  Luckily, Claire convinced me to go out for a run once it cooled off a little (high of close to 90 today).  We ran for 20 minutes and turned around.  When I plugged our route in to google maps, I discovered we'd run 2.6 miles.  Half a mile short of a 5k! 

My running was nowhere near epic as this stock photo suggests.

This has me thinking I should enter a 5k race sooner rather than later.  I'm going to start shopping.  There are a couple races in two weeks I'm interested in.  One is called the Blubber Run on September 11th.  Another 5k is part of Greek Fest in Uptown Minneapolis on the same weekend.  I'm leaning more towards Blubber Run right now because it looks more casual and I'll get different scenery than I do normally.  Any suggestions on a 5k in Minneapolis or the surrounding area to run?  Anyone want to run a 5k with me?

Don't forget, tomorrow is my weigh-in.  Last Monday, I weighed 245.4 pounds.  Make sure to guess how much I weigh this week and tune in tomorrow night!

Name Badge NSV

I got my new name badge at work yesterday.

It's hard to tell from the picture but the gentleman in the green shirt is nearly 50 pounds lighter than the gentleman in the orange shirt.  And that handsome devil in the navy blue shirt?  6 pounds lighter than the man in the green shirt.  I've come a long way since that first blog entry 9 months ago.  I'm over half way to my goal and I'm blazing ahead now.

There are some awesome things on the horizon.  30 days of Biking begins September 1st (more details to come) and I'm working with a sponsor to set up a giveaway.  I'll also have a review of an Android app coming up as well.

Stay tuned!  Big things are happening.

Oh, I almost forgot.  I may not post tomorrow, so now's your chance to guess Monday's weigh in result.  Will I continue blazing through at 3 pounds a week or have I slowed down?  Heck, maybe I'll rock some Biggest Loser weight loss and lose like 10 pounds this week (probably not).  Comment below!

Stay tuned!  Big things are happening.

Glass

So I've got a piece of glass embedded in the bottom of my foot.  Not fun.  I was cooking dinner and a can of soup fell out of the cupboard directly onto a glass on the counter.  It cracked, fell on the floor, and shattered.  I, of course, was barefoot.  I'm trying not to let it hamper my exercise.  I still managed to bike to work today with relative ease.  The glass is in my heel so pedaling is fairly unimpaired. 

I still don't want it in my foot.  I've tried a tweezers but it's really stuck in there.  Any suggestions?

Weigh-in Results

Happy Monday!  Sorry for the overall lack of post quantity last week.  I spent the weekend camping with my parents in Duluth.  The trip involved a nice, leisurely 14 mile bike ride and a little too much eating.  I wasn't capable of controlling myself the way I'd like to, but at one point, my brother said, "Do you need that?" 

Let's get down to business.

Three pounds!  Alright!  I'm keeping the train moving.  Good job, Liza, with a guess of 246.9.  I'm happy to say I came in way under the lowest guess.  This was also a huge milestone: I'm half way to my goal!  I've lost 50.4 pounds in 9 months.  I'm not quite on track for 100 pounds in a year, but I'm not going to let that stand in the way of getting what I want.

I think the biking to work is paying off.  If you haven't tried it, I'd suggest biking for exercise.  I've added 20 minutes to my commute (both ways) but added 80 minutes of cardio to my day.  

It is tricky though.  Since I started biking, I've felt bullet proof.  I feel like I can eat anything I want and be just fine.  I know that's not true and a very dangerous mentality to have, so I've got to be vigilant.  I'll be focusing on putting more fruits and vegetables into my diet.  I'm eating salads for lunch this week.

The other thing that's been happening since I started biking to work is I'm hungry all the time.  Seriously, all the time.  I'm trying to resist, but it doesn't always work out. 

I'm not always going to do this perfectly, but I'm going to do more good than harm.  100 pounds lost, here I come.

Success and Failure

Sometimes I feel like I never succeed.  I've had a lot of failures in my life and my self-esteem has suffered because of them.  I try to stay positive and hold my head high, but there are times that the voice inside my head that says "you're no good at anything" gets too loud to ignore.

Don't get me wrong, I've succeeded in a lot of ways.  I managed to marry an incredible woman (my wife, Claire), I have a job teaching music with the greatest kids in the world, I've co-written a musical, been the music director of the Music Man, graduated college, made the dean's list, gotten my Eagle Scout award way back in boy scouts, qualified for Mensa, played lead trombone in my college's top jazz band for 3 years, etc.  I've had my fair share of successes, but I still can't shake this feeling that I'm a screw-up.

I'm tremendously disorganized and that has hurt me quite a bit in my life.  I was diagnosed with ADD at the age of 10 and if you know me personally, you probably aren't surprised (if you didn't know already).  I'm very easily distracted, disorganized, and manage time terribly.  Seriously, I'm very good at procrastinating.  I'm often unprepared (shame on me, especially after all of that boy scout training).  I often feel as though I'm not good enough or not capable of accomplishing great things.

That's why I get so frustrated when things don't go the way I want them to go in my weight loss.  I want to be doing something without screwing it up for once.  When I stall or backtrack, my inner critic gets very loud.  I want to show it who's boss.  I want to make huge leaps in my weight-loss.  I want to be successful.  I want to have one thing in my life that I don't fumble.  One big thing that I can really be proud of.

After reading through what I just wrote, I realize that I probably put too much pressure on myself to succeed.  Losing the weight probably won't change how much pressure I put on myself, but hopefully it will be one more thing I can really be proud of.

Weigh-in Results

Hey everyone, it's Monday.  That means one thing, I hop on the scale and expose my fatness to the world.  That's coming up in a bit.

First, I want to tell you how my bicycle commute went today.  I sat on my bike seat and instantly pondered taking my car into work today.  Not because I was afraid of the ride ahead, but because I instantly realized that a certain part of me was very tender.  Holy crap that bike seat was not very friendly.  I love going through downtown Minneapolis.  Minneapolis in the morning is quite beautiful.  I got to work 20 minutes early.  I was hungry all day and when I got home I snacked quite a bit.  I should have just started making dinner earlier, but I got drawn in.  All-in-all, I feel pretty good about today.  This is the start of something awesome!

Now, on with the show.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been working so hard to break the 250 barrier.  I'd consider this smashing it!  Kudos to Jo at Weight on Me at 50+ for guessing 248.2.  only off by .2 pounds.  Pretty good.

I'm back on track.  All I need to do is repeat this week's progress every week until I weigh 196 pounds.  Wow, I can't believe I'm looking at that number and actually believing it's possible.  I'm 2.4 pounds away from the halfway mark!  I'm stoked!

Bicycle!

I decided if I'm going to move the scale, I need to think of ways to get more exercise.  My workplace moved to a new location about six miles away (across Minneapolis) and it takes me 25-30 minutes to drive there.  It turns out biking takes 35-45 minutes.  I tested it out tonight and provided I'm capable of using my legs tomorrow (I haven't biked in a while) I'll be bicycling to work tomorrow and every day after (weather permitting).  That means by adding an extra 10 minutes or so to my commute (each way) I'll be adding 70-90 minutes of cardio every day.  I feel that's a wise use of my time.  Plus I'm being green and saving money on gas and car maintenance. 



Awesome!

So, I'd like you to guess what my weight will be this Monday.  If you want more to go on, check out my cheat sheet by searching #cheatsheettweet on twitter.  You can guess via comment here, on twitter (@100_Pounds), or on facebook. 

Good luck guessing.  And wish me luck tomorrow on my weigh-in.

Just Say "Nein"

So I think I have this shin problem in the bag.  It seems to respond the best to heat.  I've also been exercising more and I think that's actually improving the situation.   My legs did not like it when I stopped exercising for a week and a half. 

One thing I've been doing that seems to have served me pretty well on my weight-loss journey is cutting out alcohol almost completely.  For me, it's not worth it to have just one beer.  While I do miss the delicious taste of a nice, snobby microbrew, I don't feel any effects of alcoholic beverages until beer number 2 or 3.  Every now and then, I'll have a beer just to have a beer, but it seems to be the easiest thing for me to turn down out of my own volition.  Food on the other hand, is just about impossible to say no to if someone is offering.  I wish I could do the same thing I do when my father-in-law offers me a beer that I do when a coworker offers me a brownie, say "no thanks" and feel absolutely no remorse. 

Alcohol is very bad for your body when you are trying to lose weight.  I read a while back that when you exercise after consuming alcohol, your body is dehydrated and metabolizes muscle instead of fat.  So not only is your caloric intake absolutely ludicrous (yes, alcohol has calories, and lots of 'em), but you can't burn fat nearly as efficiently the next day.

So the next time someone asks me if I want an Oktoberfest or Maibock, I think I'll just say "nein."