Weekly Weigh-in (Week 40)

Sunday yet again and time for another installment of my weekly weigh-in.

This week makes 40 since I started trying to manage my weight through progressive lifestyle change. That's a somewhat complicated statement so let me break it down a little bit. Firstly, I say manage my weight rather than lose weight, because at this time I feel that is a more accurate representation of what I've done. Though it started out as me trying to lose weight, that was honestly short-sighted of me. Losing weight is only a good goal if you are overweight, and if you are doing it right that will stop being true eventually. While that's great, it means you have suddenly run out of goal to achieve. Rebounding after a "diet" or the like is a big problem for many and as such I have made a conscious decision to try and avoid that and move forward now that I'm approaching my original target weight. As such, I'm out to manage my weight not lose it, to get to a weight I'm comfortable with and then work on not just staying there, but cutting fat and getting into better shape.

Then there is that second part, progressive lifestyle change. That's something I've been big on since I started this, I am not on a diet. Diets are something that generally people do until they are done with them and then stop. After that, where are you? You're back to where you started, having not really learned much about eating better than you were before you started and this is a big reason people tend to regain weight when they have reached their goal. I'm not on a diet, I'm actively changing my lifestyle to suit my goals for my life. Eating better is a lifelong change that I am making. And it doesn't happen all at once. It's been a process of learning what I should and shouldn't be eating, managing my portion size, what brings results that last and what brings only short-term benefit. It's a process that I'm not yet finished with, but am eager to see where it takes me.

There have been a lot of changes going on this past week that I'll be discussing in future installments of this blog, but this week I felt moved to explain what I did above instead.

So what does the scale have to say about my convictions and my recent changes? 220.6 pounds, down 3.2 from last week. Leaves me down 62.5 since I started in January, which is a great place to be right now.

Weekly Weigh-in (Week 39)

Tis Sunday yet again and time for another installment of the weekly weigh-in.

Feeling really good right now. Ate a lot of fruit this week and I think that helped. I've really been feeling great these past few weeks, lots of energy and really just feeling better all around than I have been. Made it out for a run this week, only the one sadly but it felt good and I am hoping to get in two or three this week. Once I'm actually keeping to it a little more I'll talk a bit about what I'm doing in terms of my workouts, but for now I'm not steady enough with anything to consider it a plan.

Got a new phone this week, shiny iPhone 4, and have a couple apps on it for tracking calories. I'm going to give them a try and see if they help keep me on track or not.

So, what does the scale have to say? 223.8 this week. Down 3.8 from last week. That puts me down nearly 60 pounds since I started in January. Progress is steady and rewarding, here's hoping I can keep it up.

Weekly Weigh-in (Week 38)

It's Sunday again and time for my weekly weigh-in.

Going to be a short post this week as I have work coming up in a little while.

In terms of eating I think I've been doing really well recently, making more food at home, eating a whole lot more fruit. I'm feeling really great both physically and mentally. This week will be the first full week of Lara's job waking me up early in the morning. Some would say that's an annoying thing and a problem, I see it as an opportunity to be up early to go for a good run, so tomorrow I'm going out for a run. I'll be sure to let you all know how that goes.

So, what does the scale have to say about me this week? 227.6, same as last week. Down 55.5 pounds so far since January, and only about 20 pounds from my current goal. I'm hoping the running can help me keep going on the push toward that goal, but only time will tell.

Weekly Weigh-in (Week 37)

It's Sunday again and time for the weekly weigh-in.

Feeling really good this week. Work has settled down into a slightly more predictable schedule, Lara looks like she's found not one but two jobs, and it's almost starting to cool off in Phoenix. My fruit intake has been on the rise, and I made food for dinner on Monday and Thursday. All in all, things are looking up.

So, where do I still need to go? I'd like to be cooking more and so far am making good progress on that but could always do better. For reasons both of finance and of health I'm going to start trying to take my lunches with me to work more, though we'll see how well that works out in practice. And hopefully with the weather becoming more cooperative some running will be able to take place in the next few weeks as well.

So, what does the scale have to say about my recent progress? 227.6, down 3 pounds from last week. Keeping up a much better pace than I expected I'd be able to at this point. Hoping it holds but only time will tell. For now, I'm well on my way to the best shape of my life and doing what I can to keep myself there, and that's not bad.

Weekly Weigh-in (Week 36)

Sunday again and time for another installment of the weekly weigh-in.

I feel like I did pretty well with the fruits and veggies this week, in addition to my regular eating for work I went out of my way a bit and got a salad from Paradise Cafe once or twice this week. One good thing I can say about work, it keeps me from eating too much for most of my meals as I don't have the time to eat more than a fairly healthy portion of anything.

But what am I doing other than just eating more fruits and veggies and managing my portions? Working of course. At first I didn't really think that what I'm doing for work was going to be doing that much to help my weight loss, but recently I've been reevaluating that assessment.

Since sometime early this summer I've been carrying a cheap pedometer with me on a daily basis. It's not calibrated properly as I've never found the time and initiative to line up together, and it's not very accurate either, but it at least gives me a rough estimate of how my days compare to one another. My average day at work is averaging about 4-5 times what my days at work this summer were running. Lots of moving around and being on my feet means more calorie burn, and it's apparently a lot more than I realized.

That said, I can always do more. In addition to the running I've still not managed to start doing due to a combination of weather and scheduling, I'm looking around for a place to study martial arts again. I did some martial arts training when I was younger and liked it a lot, and I'd like to get back into it for the health and fitness benefits and a number of other reasons besides. So that's where I am with that for now, looking around and trying to see what I can find and afford.

Well, now the big ending, what does the scale have to say this week? 230.6, down 3.8 pounds from last week. This puts my overall weight loss since I started tracking my weight regularly at 52.5 pounds, around the weight of a 7 year old child. Keeping a good pace so far, hoping I can keep it up.

Weekly Weigh-in (Week 35)

It's Sunday yet again, and time for another weigh-in.

This week was a lot better in terms of over eating than last week. I was a lot better about keeping on top of my portions, which was helped by work since it's hard to overeat when you only have enough time to go to Subway and back. The Subway also helped me with my veggie intake. Bell peppers, onions, and black olives may not be much variety, or really enough in a single sandwich to do much, but it feels better having at least some token amount of veggies on a regular basis.

The other big thing that changed this week is the amount and frequency with which I got fruit. At least every day or two I got at some fresh fruit, be it an apple, a plum, or a peach. Much like the veggies, it may not have been enough to really be useful in realistic terms, but at the least it was enough that I feel better about how much fruit I've been getting in my diet. My diet in general has been looking up of late, and that's something I very much am glad for.

I'm looking forwards very much to when it starts being cool enough around Phoenix for me to go out and get to running. I'm hoping to work on getting some more physical activity into my life outside of just work once the weather works more in my favor. I'm hoping to get to a point where I can successfully run 3 miles. Plotting a route is going to be the hard part, but I'll get that done by the time the weather cools. The other thing I've been looking into is the possibility of getting back into doing some martial arts. I feel like they were a good thing for me both physically and mentally, and something I'd like to get back to doing. So that's where I've been recently in terms of my diet and my exercise.

So now we're down to the numbers again. I feel like I did alright this week, so let's see what the scale says: 234.4 this week, down 5.4 pounds from last week.  Big progress this week, here's hoping I can carry that momentum into next week. Until next time readers, eat well and work your way to the you you want to be.

Weekly Weigh-in (Week 34)

Sunday morning again and time for my weigh-in.

Well, this week wasn't too bad in terms of how busy I was. That's a bit surprising, but sometimes it happens. Finally got all the wedding pictures uploaded to Facebook, so that's something. Sadly, I didn't get to as many fruits and veggies this week as I had hoped, though I did get some veggies on my lunches I suppose. Will have to try harder on that next week.

What I wasn't quite so good about this week was eating within my calorie goals. My track record with eating too much has historically been abysmal. Since January when I started actively trying to manage my weight I've been working very hard to force myself to watch my portion sizes. Sometimes I do much better than others with it. This week I've not done quite so well, and I recognize that. I even knew I was doing it when it happened and should have done better policing myself but I just didn't. I guess I just figured "it won't hurt as long as I only do it once or twice", but we'll have to see how that turns out. Either way, I know I shouldn't be doing that and I'm going to need to work that much harder in the future to make sure I don't do that again.

So now, let's see what the scale has to say about my portion control issues. 239.8 this week. Up a pound from last week. So it looks like the scale is in agreement that my portion control was probably not in my favor this week. Just have to stick to it and do better next week. So until then, eat smart and put in the work it takes to get what you need.

Weekly Weigh-in (Week 33)

Well, it's Sunday yet again and that makes it time for my weekly weigh-in.

This week I feel like I did alright. At least partly that was due to the fact that most of my days went about the same. Get up, have a granola bar, go to work, have a 6" sandwich at Subway (either oven roasted chicken breast or buffalo chicken), finish my shift, come home and then have a small, simple, and delicious dinner. Sometimes the shift is in the evening so the dinner at the end becomes lunch in the middle, but for the most part, that's been how things have gone. Fairly consistent and low calorie intake, fairly consistent and relatively high compared to what I had been doing calorie output.

For all that, I feel good. I've got lots of energy, despite the fact that I've had almost no soda or other caffeine that wasn't part of a mixed drink in almost literally months. I'm sleeping well, for once in my life, and that's helping me to be less tired. I want to try and force myself to eat more fruits and veggies I think. My diet has long been lacking that and since the move I've been doing rather well with that. Still not where I'd like to be but making progress. I also want to be cooking more, both for my diet and because I just love cooking. With my work schedule the way it is that may be difficult for now, but I'm hopeful that things will settle down a bit and I can get to the cooking I'd love to be doing.

Well, that's enough about my life for now, and plenty of musing about what to do in the future. So, what does the scale have to say today? 238.8 which is down 1.2 pounds from last week. Continuing in a good direction. So far I'm down 44.3 pounds, which is the approximate weight of a five and a half year old child. That's a good place to be I feel. So for now, I'm just gonna mostly keep what I've been doing, try and work on the fruits, veggies, and cooking, and watch where it takes me. So far, it's been going in the right direction.

Weekly Weigh-in (Week 32)

It's Sunday yet again and time for my weekly weigh-in.

Late this week due to work all morning. Hectic week this week with the new job starting and all. Things seem to be settling down a bit in that regard. Lots of time spent on my feet working, with a lot of running around as a result, to help me burn off calories. The only thing I've found in the food court so far that I'm willing to eat is Subway, so that should help with my weight as well.

With work changing how my schedule is going to fall out for the foreseeable future, I'm going to just have to put up with it and do the best I can. Thankfully I have the self-control, and lack of desire, built up to keep me from taking advantage of the free soda I'm allowed when on break so that shouldn't be a problem for me. My only real concern when it comes to my calorie intake is that I may get into a cycle of healthy breakfast and lunch and then gorging on dinner when I have opening shifts like I have been having. That's just something I'm going to have to keep on top of, hopefully by putting together meals in advance for dinner so that I can eat something that's tasty, good for me, and quick. That's something to work on for the future though I suppose. For now I'm just going to have to do the best I can with what I've got and hopefully squeeze some fresh fruit into my diet when I have the chance.

Now, time for the numbers. This week the scale tells me I'm 240 even. That's down 1.2 pounds from last week. Seems as though what I'm doing is continuing to work, if slowly. Slow isn't a problem though. I'd much rather slow progress that I can keep up than sporadicly high progress with nothing in between. Just going to keep at it and one of these days I'll find myself at my goal and having to figure out how to maintain my weight instead of keep dropping it. That's a problem I look forward too.

Weekly Weigh-in (Week 31)

After a week off I return this fine Sunday morning for another installment of my weekly weigh-in.

I return this week different a somewhat different man. I say this because a number of big things have been happening all at once in my life. The reason I didn't make a post last week was due to the fact my summer job was ending and I was having to move and finish that up all day Sunday leaving me no time to get to the scale, let alone the computer. The previous Monday, I got married to the most wonderful woman I have ever known. Now I am typing this from Phoenix where we are currently living while searching for work and trying to get by on what we've got. So far we're doing alright with that part, and hopeful about the jobs part. But enough about my personal life, that should go in another post anyway, on to some stuff about me and losing weight shall we?

The past couple weeks I've done decently I think. In the name both of saving money and saving calories Lara and I have been splitting more entrees between us when we go out to decent places, this is something that has worked out well because she doesn't eat much in general and I really shouldn't. Plus, because we are only buying one entree instead of two we can afford to get something nicer than we might otherwise which seems to have the effect of making the food seem that much more filling somehow. All in all that's been a good strategy.

The part that I think I've done less well with is that we ate out almost exclusively for most of the last two weeks, due to moving and what not we didn't have the time or a place to cook our own food until late this last week. However, by splitting as I said above I think I made out alright for myself. I had a lot of very nice dinners out with friends from Tucson we may not get to see again for a while.

Now comes the real question though, what does the scale have to say about the last couple weeks and the many changes they have brought? 241.2 is what it has to say about it. That's down 8.2 pounds from 2 weeks ago when I last weighed in here. As I said then I suspect slightly that the scale I was using then may have been slightly different from the one I normally use, so this may not be entirely accurate, but even still the numbers are good. That leaves me down 41.9 pounds from when I started in January, slightly more than the weight of an average 5 year old child. Seems like whatever I've been doing all this time is really working out fairly well.

Until next week, eat well and eat smart.