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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