Results!

To all-

Claire again.  I have been successful this past week in keeping up with the 21 day challenge.  We are now half way through it.  The first 5 days or so were the hardest, but the last 5 have been invigorating.  After my body has gotten used to the workouts, it's not as painful, but I am requiring more massages.

I have NOT been successful at counting my calories, BUT I know I have cut back on my eating.  After about 5 days of counting I realized that it is not my meals that are too much, but the snacking between meals.  So long as I only have regular sized portions, I eat about 175 calories for breakfast, 300-350 for lunch, and about 400-500 for dinner.  So even at most the meals are only bringing in about 1050 calories a day - so even with a 120 calorie ice-cream treat during the day, I still have about 400 calories to work with.

However, that can be taken over quickly by a bite-size snickers here, a medium white mocha there, and some sweets later.  To solve this problem, I am allowing myself 2 or 3 snacks a day, my choice, BUT they have to be either a fruit or veggie based.  For example, celery with laughing cow cheese, or a banana with peanut butter.  This helps me to get enough servings of fruit and veggies, while still helping me to get whatever I'm craving (usually sugar or salt).

I'd have to say this system is working quite well for me so far.  This week I lost 4.7 pounds.  I will be reporting my inches lost every month, as that is the recommended reporting period.  I am very pleased with my results this week.  While I do not expect, nor think it good to have such a huge loss every week, it is wonderful to have such a great start!  If I can lose another 6 this month and then 1.5 or 2 pounds every week after that I will be quite pleased.

I have begun to notice the difference in a few shirts, and my goal is to lose about 2 pant sizes.  I would be thrilled with 3, but would feel I had truly succeeded if I managed to lose 2 sizes.

That's all for this week.  I hope to bring you good news next week!

and to all a good night,

Claire

Weigh-In Results

Well, it's Monday and I've been going to the gym every day for the past 7 days.  Let's see how I did.

Well, it's not my greatest loss, but since last week I've lost 1.1 pounds.  The scale is moving in the correct direction again.  It's now time to change velocity.  I gave in to the extra cravings I felt from burning more calories so even though I'm not doing my calorie counting challenge until February, I'm going to try to keep a closer eye on what I eat.  I'm also going to try to get more sleep and seeing as it's past my bed time I'm going to start with that. 

Goodnight everyone.

A Late Night

Last night, my wife, Claire, and I got rush tickets to see Billy Elliot.  First of all, if you haven't seen this show, it's a must.  The acting, dancing, music, and tech are all phenomenal.  The story is at the same time light-hearted and emotionally engaging. 

We got home from the play at 11:45 and hadn't had a chance to exercise yet.  Temptation was high to skip, but we stayed strong and went to the gym at midnight. 

It's times like these that really build a habit.  I wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed after an amazing night out, but I didn't give myself the option.  The only thing I regret about going, was how late we got to bed (2:30).  We were so jazzed from the play and then we got our blood pumping at the gym.  It definitely made it much easier to get off the couch and to the gym tonight.

The New Blogger

Greetings!

As tonight is my first post, I don't have any numbers to share with you.  I will be weighing myself and measuring and keep you posted on pounds/inches lost.  Maybe someday I'll share the starting numbers. :)

I have joined Andrew's 21 day challenge, like many of you.  I have been exercising before this, but after 4 days straight my body is already screaming for a break.  A few weeks ago I purchased a Malibu Pilates chair from e-bay.  The chair is good for resistance and toning.  It came with DVDs and they have been challenging and fun so far.  The best thing about them is they are only about 30 minutes each: just about the length of my exercise attention span.

I have also been counting my calories every day.  I have tried doing this before by myself but it is just too easy to lie to myself about what I really ate.  We've all done it: claiming only 1 bite-size Snickers rather than 3.  By lying to myself in the past nothing changed and I gained no positive results: only frustration.  However, this time there is a change.  I'm having Andrew help me.  While it is easy to lie to myself it is impossible to lie to Andrew.  I have too much love and respect for him to lie, even over something as little as how many bite-size Snickers I ate that day.  I don't mean to say that I hate myself, or I have low-self worth; but rather I can't lie to the love of my life.

Next week I will hopefully be able to share some lower numbers with you.

A bientôt,
Claire

PS
I thought I'd share a thoughtful picture with you.

Day 4 of 21

Sorry it's been a few days.  I've been meaning to post every day, but getting to the gym has been taking top priority.  That and sleep (which I haven't been getting enough of).

I'm pretty worn out.  It's hard to make yourself go to the gym when you get home at 9, but I did it last night.  The only time I really feel like myself though is when I'm exercising.  It really makes me feel good.

Lately, I've been using the treadmill a lot.  I've been warming up with a 15 degree incline at 3 miles per hour for 6 or 7 minutes, then I'll do a little strength-training, then go back to the treadmill and put in some slow running.  Slow because I'm a slow runner.  Very slow.  Did I mention I was slow?  Slow.

I've been working up a fierce sweat and I'm really hoping it pays off on Monday's weigh-in. 

And don't forget that my wife, Claire, has her first official post on the blog tonight.  I'm looking forward to reading it.

New Year, New Blogger (Plus Weigh-In Results)

Happy Monday!  If you're here for the weigh-in, we'll get to that in a little bit.  First I'd like to talk about some changes to the blog.

My amazing wife, Claire, has agreed to be a weekly guest-blogger this year.  Why?  You might ask.  I'll let her answer that.

This year I have decided to get serious about weight loss.  When Andrew started this blog a little over a year ago, I was not capable of being a full participant on his journey.  I was in my first semester of law school, had just lost my best friend and was adjusting to married life and a new city.  While I encouraged Andrew, I really just was able to do the bare minimum for myself.  I exercised when I could and tried to eat healthy. I gained and lost weight, but essentially my weight and waist remained static.
 
This year I am in a much different head-space.  I have the whole law school-thing (basically) figured out, have settled into the city and married life, and I'm generally more self-confident.  I, too, am ready to begin my weight-loss journey.

I do not have as much weight to lose as Andrew.  I don't mean to be inconsiderate.  I can (should?) lose some weight and some inches; and that is exactly what I plan to do.  I will be blogging once a week to share my experiences from a female perspective, but I won't be sharing any starting numbers.  I will share my progress, but some things are better left to the imagination.

Claire will be writing a guest-post each Thursday so you only have to wait a few days to hear from her again.  I'm so happy she's joining me.  It's going to make it much easier to stick to a plan if both of us are fully on board.

As I promised, I have a weigh-in number for you.

I'm not going to pretend I'm not disappointed by this week's weigh-in, but it's not unexpected either.  I've been incredibly sedentary for the last two weeks and it shows.  Lots of driving, sitting, christmas cookies, eating out, etc. are some of the culprits.  The scale has been moving in an upward direction for a while now, but this reading marks the end of the upward trend.  I'm back in the saddle and today marked the first day of my three weeks of going to the gym every day.  Since I started my blog, the single most productive thing I did for myself was exercising every day.

I've got a new lease on life (or at least remembered an old one).  And I'm not the only one. Claire and a few commenters on my blog let me know they are with me.  I'm going to officially challenge you.  Can you exercise every day for 21 days?  No excuses.  Just make it to the gym (or whatever exercise you have available to you.  Who's with me?

It Starts Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life.  Tomorrow is the day I step back on the scale and gear up to take another big chunk out of the fat I've been carrying around with me.

In 2011 I want to meet my goal of losing 100 pounds (from a starting weight of 296).  I'm not big on new year's resolutions, but this is a good time to get back on the horse. 

How will you accomplish this?  you might ask.

I've got a strategy.

Phase 1:  Go to the gym every day for the next three weeks.  It takes three weeks to establish something as a habit.

Phase 2:  Track my intake every day for three weeks.  This is probably the single most helpful thing you can do to lose weight.

Phase 3:  Drink 64 or more ounces of water every day for three weeks. 

I'm thinking I'll do one phase each month but I may feel ambitious and start phase 2 as soon as I finish phase 1.

I'll still be weighing myself once a week, but on the first Monday of each month, I'll do measurements too.

What else should I be doing?  What has helped you lose weight?  What's your goal for 2011?  How will you accomplish it?

And now, I'm heading to the gym.  Time to kick some ass in 2011.