Weigh-In Results

Happy Monday everybody.  Before I get started with my post, I'm going to make one more appeal.  I'm trying to raise money for the Special Olympics by jumping into a frozen lake next Saturday.  For those of you unfamiliar with Minnesota, it's a little chilly here this time of year.  I'm still $130 short of my $400 goal and I really need your help.  Every little bit helps and it's for a really great cause.

Click here to donate!

Or just click the polar bear.

It's been a rough weekend food-wise.  On Friday we dropped a friend of Claire's off about 45 minutes away.  We decided to grab dinner before we went back.  We found a Mongolian buffet, which, while delicious, was not a good place for me and my unhealthy relationship with food. I did manage to limit my intake.  I started with a salad, then had a couple small plates.  Still, I felt extremely guilty afterward.  I went to the gym that night and ran a treadmill 5k.  That made me feel a little better. 

The rest of my weekend continued on roughly the same course.  We were bad and ordered pizza.  We also went to an Oscar party last night.  That's right, only people named Oscar were invited.  I got there to find a musical theater legend, that guy from the office and a muppet who lives in a trash can. 

Anyway, our hostess made turkey burgers and made sure we had healthy options, but the dessert was amazing.  I ate way too much.

So that was the cycle of the weekend.  Eating things I shouldn't have then kicking my ass at the gym.  Let's see if the exercise outweighed the overeating.

Nope.  I mean I definitely didn't hurt anything by exercising so much.  I no doubt would have posted a gain if not for all the exercise.  I'm still frustrated.  I want to be losing weight a lot faster than .2 pounds a week.  Losses like this make me want to just give up and eat an entire Dairy Queen ice cream cake, but I'm not going to let that happen.  I worked very hard this week at the gym and I'm proud of my efforts. 

I really needed a victory, so I decided to take measurements and see if there was any progress there.  The last time I took measurements was January 28th.  The red numbers are changes.

Neck: 17.5" -0.5"
Shoulder: 51" -0"
Bicep: 14" -0"
Chest: 45" -2.5"
Waist: 44.5" -0.5"
Hips: 44.5" -0"
Thigh: 20.5 -2.5"* (New measuring spot)
Calf: 18" -0.0" 

So there is progress being made.  Sometimes I feel like losing weight is like trying to cook a steak by having a succession of people breathe on it.  Nevertheless, I am going to win this war.  Two-tenths of a pound at a time if that's what it takes.

Check-in

Well, I didn't post last week - and not because I gained, which I did, but I was too darn busy.  Oops.

Sorry 'bout that.  But this week I did lose weight - 2 pounds!  February has not been as successful as January was.  I managed to lose about 6 pounds in the month of January, but only about 3.5 pounds this month.  I am .5 pounds away from a total loss of 10 pounds. 

I had wanted to reach the 10 pound mark this week, but with last week's gain I knew that would be tough.  Here's hoping I can make the 15 pound mark for the month of March.  It's ambitious, but if I work hard I think I can do it (or at least get close).  Thankfully March has 5 Thursdays, so it's only a loss of 1.2 pounds a week - very manageable.

As frustrating as this weight loss journey has been - a good loss one week, followed by a slight gain the next week - I have to keep reminding myself that it took years to put on this weight, and even if it takes an entire year to lose it, that's still better than SEVERAL years.

However, I have noticed a HUGE difference in my clothes this past month.  I have lost an entire pants size AND an entire shirt size.  This I am quite proud of.  I don't think I'll lose much more in the chest/arms to lose an additional shirt size, but I do hope to lose at least one more pants size, if not two more.

Here is where I have lost the inches this month:
Chest: -1"
Biceps: -.25" (each arm)
Waist: -1"
Hips: -0
Thighs: - 1" (each leg)

I have mixed opinions of these results.  I've lost the most from my chest in the past two months (-2.5") and I didn't really have much to lose there.  However, I am VERY happy with my lower-half loses of waist (-2"), hips (-1.5"), and thighs (-1.5" each leg).

Soon, I'll post another picture as a visual reference.

Thinking happy thoughts this week,
Claire

Thanks For Your Support

Thank you all for your comments on Monday's post.  I can be really critical of myself sometimes.  I spiral pretty quickly and it feels really good to have some encouragement when I'm frustrated. 

Shabby Chic Mom - Susie, Liza, and S all suggested doing measurements.  I did them a few weeks ago and I'll be sure to do them again soon. 

Amanda @ Diary of a Mad Fat Woman suggested I take stock of my calorie intake.  I'm going to switch from 2400 calories a week to 2200 a week and see if that has a measurable impact.  I'm also going to try to use the kettlebell workouts to supplement my cardio exercise rather than replace it.  I can see results with the kettlebell workouts, they're just not pushing the scale down.

Julia made a very good point when she said "treading water at least keeps you from drowning"

I have a much better outlook now.  I just ran two miles at the gym tonight and feel like a new man.  I'm going to do this.  I'm going to lose this weight.  I'm going to end this plateau.  I'm going to win. 

Thanks again everyone.

Weigh-In Results

Right to the chase.

I lost .9 pounds this week.  I'm not happy with this at all.  I ate right, I exercised, I logged calories.  Something needs to change.  I need to be better at this.  I don't have a plan yet, but I will. 

I feel stuck.  I feel trapped at the weight I'm at now and nothing I do can really make that scale move.  I feel like I've bitten off more than I can chew and no matter how hard I work I'm only capable of treading water. 

A Quick One

Alright, it's been almost a week with no posts.  This is ridiculous and needs to stop.  I'm going to try to blog as much as possible this coming week.  Maybe I'll make it every day.

So I'm almost finished with my 21-day challenge of logging my calories every day.  It's been a challenge, I really needed to subject myself to.  I really think this is going to be the key to losing the next 50 pounds and beyond.  It's crazy that I'm talking about losing additional weight after my goal of 100 pounds, but that's the kind of optimistic mindset I'm in.  Ideally, I think I'd like to weigh about 170 pounds.  I still really don't know what's under all of this fat, but I'm anxious to find out.

Well, I know it's been a short post, but I'm going to get to work on some intense exercise.  Wish me luck.

Oh, I've pushed my exercise pledge off to Sunday afternoon, so if you still want to get my ass in gear on the treadmill, just leave a comment on this post.  I'll count it for 30 seconds of exercise.

Weigh-In Results

Hey everybody, happy Valentine's Day.  I'll get to the weigh-in pretty quickly, but before I do, please leave a comment on my Workout Pledge post to make me get in some serious cardio.  Thanks.

Alright, now that you've done that, let's get down to brass tacks. 

The exact same weight as last week.  I'm not sweating it though, I was over on my calories 4 days last week and I was too sick to exercise for five days this week.  I'm counting treading water as a victory though for two reasons.  I didn't gain, and I didn't stop counting my calories when I didn't feel like it. 

Now to avoid the chocolate that will be everywhere at work for the next week or so.

Bike Ride and Work-Out Pledge

I am so lame.  It's been almost a week since I posted last.  I need to not do that.  So what's happened since I've been gone?  I got sick again.  I even went to the doctor on Wednesday to have a throat culture.  Don't worry, I don't have strep.  Not that it's contagious over the internet (I think).  I'm feeling much better now though.  I am kinda bummed I didn't get to exercise until yesterday.  I'm doubling up today by doing Kettle Worx and going for a bike ride. 

That's right, I went on a bike ride.  It was about 45 degrees today so I decided to fill up the tires and hit the road for the first time this year.  The roads were really good but when I went to go take the bike trail around a nearby lake I discovered the pedestrian trail wasn't plowed so everyone was using the bike path.  It was a mess.  I nearly fell off my bike a couple times to avoid pedestrians who suddenly moved in front of me to avoid puddles.  I'm sticking to the roads for a while.

I've been thinking I should do another exercise pledge.  It's been a long time since I've done one of these and I could really use a hard-core cardio session so here's how it works.  You decide how long I work out for by doing certain things.  You can follow me on facebook or twitter, leave a comment, or donate to a charity.  As of right now, I have 212 followers on facebook and 138 followers on twitter.  For each additional follower on either of those two, I will add 30 seconds to my work-out.  I will also add 30 seconds for each comment you leave.  It could just be words of encouragement or maybe some advice or even your life story. 

I'll also be adding 30 seconds for each dollar donated to the Special Olympics for my Polar Bear Plunge on March 5th.  If you don't know the details, I'll be jumping in freezing cold water (I live in Minnesota) as a fundraiser.  You can donate here!  Just let me know you donated so I can add your dollar amount to my total time.

Here's a picture from last year's plunge.

That's me on the left.  Yeah, the fat one.

So there it is.  Four ways to get me to bust my hump cardio style next Friday at noon.  Follow on Twitter, "like" me on Facebook, leave a comment, and donate to my Polar Bear Plunge effort.  If you did all four, that would be awesome, but I'd be happy with a comment. 

See you tomorrow for the weigh-in!

Back on the Wagon

This post is going to be short and sweet.  It's been a very long week, and I still have another 10 days of intensity before it begins to taper off.

I lost 2.3 pounds this week.  I'm very proud.  My goal for next week is to reach the 10 pound mark.  I am continuing with the KettleWorx work-outs and they are TOUGH.  I can tell they are working though, I've seen a difference in how I look and how my clothes fit.

Below are two pictures: the first from a month ago, and the second from this week.  Can anyone see a difference?

Cheers,
Claire

Weigh-In Results

Happy Monday!

I'm nearing the end of day 8 of 21 of counting calories.  I've been hungry all week.  I've been very anxious about whether or not I lost weight this week.  My brain has trouble with things like logging calories so this week has been a real victory for me. 

Let's see if my effort has paid off at all.

That black blob in the upper right is a curious cat.

5.4 pounds!  YEAH!!!  If you have any question about how to lose weight quickly, you need to count your calories.  And be honest with yourself.  Seriously, I may have worked out hard this week, but I would have seen a big goose egg in the loss department this week without calorie counting.

I'm stoked and I'm optimistic.  After months of not being able to move the scale the way I wanted to, I feel like I found a recipe that works.  I'm on the road to big losses.  196, here I come!

Calorie Counting: Day 7 of 21

I'm a third of the way there! Just two more weeks of logging my calories every single day. Actually, the more I do it, the more I see the value of continuing the habit. I'm eating less and only went over my self-imposed limit of 2400 calories one day. We went to see my parents and they fed us dinner. Now, I may be able to resist a lot more than I could a couple years ago, but Mom's cooking is still Kryptonite. She is very good at making sure the meal isn't too fatty. I just eat too much because her food is delicious.

Today was the Super Bowl. Now I'm not a big sports fan, but GO PACK! My wife, Claire, is a cheesehead through and through. I guess you can take the girl out of Wisconsin, but you can't take the Wisconsin out of the girl.

Anyway, we needed a healthy Super Bowl worthy dinner. I came up with a way to make low-fat boneless buffalo wings. Now keep in mind these aren't what you would find at the bar, but they sure hit the spot.

I coated some boneless chicken breasts in Frank's Red-Hot Buffalo Sauce and pan seared them. That consists of frying the breasts in a little olive oil for three minutes on a side and popping them in the oven for six-seven minutes. Then I cut them into boneless wing sized strips and coated them with more of the Frank's. Then I served them with a hefty side of cauliflower and some low-fat bleu cheese dressing. I'm making myself hungry again just describing it.

I doubled up on work-outs today. I did the kettlebell resistance workout today, which in my opinion is the easiest of the three I've done, but it made me the most sweaty. Then Claire and I went you the gym and I tran for about half an hour.

Any guesses as to a weigh-in result for tomorrow? Winner gets their weight in chocolate covered bacon (i hear it costs the metabolism... or something.

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Lacklustre Weigh-In

I'm just going to cut right to the chase.  I gained 1.4 pounds this week.  I can make as many excuses as I want (I've been sick, I'm tired, it's been a long week at school, I've been worried about my mom and her broken wrist), or I can just 'fess up to it, suck it up, and work harder for next week's weigh-in.

I'm trying to look at this positively.  I was still able to lose over six pounds for the month of January.  My hope is that I can continue that in the following months.  Because that still averages to a 1.5 pound weekly weight loss.

Also, as Andrew mentioned in passing, I have completed the first week of the KettleWorx six-week challenge.  It is probably the best work-out I've ever done.  The three best things from the work-out are:

1.  The work-outs are only 20 minutes each, but you're sweating the whole time.  You really feel like you've accomplished something.

2.  Of the six-week series (18 work-outs), they are all different work-outs.  So I don't need to worry about boredom or repetition.

3.  I'm able to do them in the privacy of my own home.  So I don't need to worry about being judged by others.

That's it for me tonight.  It's been a long week.  I'm gonna go hit it hard.

Workin' it,
Claire

Calorie Tracking: Day 3 of 21

I did a good job counting my calories the last three days, but now my body is begging me to feed it.  It seems the worst time is about 9:00 in the morning.  Maybe I need to move a little calorie consumption to breakfast and away from dinner or lunch.  One of my co-workers pointed out to me today that I was walking funny.  I'm still sore from Monday's foray into the kettlebell DVD adventure. 

It still feels like a big chore to count my calories, but I'm trying to stay dedicated to it.  I have to keep telling myself that this will pay off on Monday's weigh-in. 

I'm a little frustrated that I'm re-losing weight.  I worked so hard to get this weight off in the first place and what happened?  I got complacent.  I still exercised, but I didn't push myself.  This kettlebell program is reminding me that exercise should be work.  I don't mean work as opposed to play.  You can get some great exercise playing.  Think of basketball, not chess.  Lots of fun can be had while getting really intense exercise.

That's it for me tonight.  I'm worn out from too much everything.  In what ways do you have fun burning calories?

Calorie Tracking: Day 2 of 21

I'm sore in muscles I didn't know I had.  It turns out the kettlebell workout I did yesterday kicked my ass (and my abs and my legs and my back) much more than I realized.  Now, I understand that the soreness I'm experiencing is muscle activation and I won't hurt this much every time I exercise.  It's still going to be tough to put in the DVD tomorrow and hit it again.

So far so good in the calorie counting department.  I came in about 150 calories under my 2400 calorie goal today.  I made the mistake of packing too small of a lunch, so I was redonkulously hungry until the Chipotle burrito bowl I had for dinner (I would have eaten a whole second one if left to my own devices).  After I added that to my food log, I realized I had enough extra calories for a dessert, so I had one of those 150 calorie microwave brownie bowls.  They're really nice for me compared to regular brownies because I don't eat 5 brownies worth of dough before they go in the oven.  Anyway, I feel really balanced now.  Happy I got Chipotle, and happy I'm not filled to the brim with snack food.