Let's try this again

Day 3.

I've been not nearly as effective this year as I was last year at losing weight and getting in better shape.  I think part of it was that last year I made it very simple; do SOMETHING every day.  My minimums were 1 mile run, or 30 crunches, or 10 pushups.  As you can see, pretty much the absolute minimum.

I think part of why it worked last year was mostly because it was so minimal, that there was literally no excuse not to do one of those three things.  I'd forget and nearly fall asleep and realize I didn't do my daily workout.  I could pretty much roll out of bed and do the crunches or the pushups and head right back to bed and check off the day.

Additionally, knowing that I was working out (to some degree) every day would inform other decisions, like eating better, or not having an extra portion.  It kept it front and center.

So, with help from my friend Sam, I'm staring fresh.  This time last year I was just about at 200.  Today I'm at 217.  My goal is to break 205 by the end of the summer.

On the plus side, I've maintained 217 (+/- 1-2 lbs) since about March.

Let's do this.

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Why I Post About My Weight

So most of the posts thus far have been on Facebook, but I've decided to push back more into the blogging realm.

The short summary for those who aren't on my Facebook is the following:

In November (2014) I weighed 227.5 lbs and entered into "Weight Loss Bet 2.0" with my friend Dani.  We had previously done this bet back in 2010 (March - July) and I went from 213 to 188.5 for a loss of 24.5 lbs.   I "lost" the bet because Dani hit her goal, but my goal was 185.  I said then that it was worth the $100 I had on the line as I was happy to "lose" when it meant losing almost 25 lbs.

For the new bet, we set our goals for mid-March, again giving ourselves about 20 weeks.  My goal was 200.  As we neared our goal, I knew I wasn't going to make it and Dani wanted to keep going past her goal, so we revised it and set our new date for August 5 with new goals.  My new goal was 185, which you may note is my original goal from the first bet in 2010.

Additionally, my friend Sam and I had a side bet that we put together.  As of January (2015) I was struggling and had lost much of my early progress between Thanksgiving to New Year's.  To help us both keep active and fit, we committed to a daily exercise minimum, and if we didn't hit that minimum we'd owe $5 into a "penalty jar" and at the end of the bet, which was until March, we'd tally it up and donate it to a charity of our choosing.  Well, we both ended up with $0 in penalties by March.  My minimum daily routine was a 20-30 push ups or 1-2 miles.  By March is became a habit, and as of today (Day 163) I've only missed 3 days (I don't count the days I missed because I was sick - important not to over exert yourself when you're health is not up to the task).

My recent mini-goal has been to get to 200 (which I just realized was my original mid-March goal) by Pride (June 13, 2015), and as of this morning, I'm 198.6 which, while not an "official" Wednesday weigh in, is a legit pre-workout weight.  I was 199.8 yesterday, but I wanted to get two full days in under 200 before I said anything.

The encouragement, kind words, tips, and feedback I've received over the last 7.5 months been very helpful, and greatly appreciated.

What I want to do is take a moment, though, and explain what my motivation is for posting about my weight loss journey.  I have a couple of reasons that drive why I do this.

1. It keeps me honest.  Many of you watch and comment on my progress and having to report both the good and the bad helps when I'm eyeing that piece of cake or that cocktail.  My friend and I that are losing weight together have been brutally honest with each other about what is going right, what isn't, and when we've cheated and we know it.  That kind of communication and honesty helps during the bumps and plateaus.
2. You've told me it's helpful to you.  I have a number of friends who are on their own health initiatives (staying active, losing weight, gaining muscle, etc) who've publicly and privately said that my posts have been good at helping them stay motivated.  They've also stated that they appreciate the posts when I'm not doing as well, when I don't hit my goals and when I'm backtracking.  The main thing there is I try to show that this is not a short term "always successful" endeavor.  There WILL be failures.  There WILL be set backs.  There WILL be times to say "screw this" for a few days.  The important thing is to understand that in the long term process there will be short term disappointments, so it is important to keep an eye on the bigger picture.  So in that vein, I'm going to be honest and put it out there when I go weeks without a loss, when I gain for seemingly no reason, when I gain for reasons I absolutely know (like saying "screw it" and having that slice of cake or have that tasty cocktail), when I'm tired of the work and effort, as well as the times I lose the weight, have a great workout, and days that I feel much much better.

The key thing with all of this is that everyone's body is different.  My successes can't be compared to your successes.  What I consider a bad day, might be someone else's amazing step forward.

So bottom line, I do this to be supportive as well as get support.

Good luck to everyone on keeping up healthy, satisfying, and productive lives, however that may play out in your world. :)

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Kickboxing and weight

So I noted in my last post that I'm not kickboxing any more.  While that is true it doesn't entirely explain the situation.  Last November, I switched from the kickboxing class to the Wing Chun martial arts class at the dojo and have beeen taking that for almost a year now.  This past may I successfully tested for my yellow sash and I'm working towards my orange sash. 

I've really enjoyed the classes and the process of learning the various forms and techniques within Wing Chun.  I feel since I've been taking it, I'm strong, more balanced and more confident. 

The only downside is that it is nowhere near as aerobic as kickboxing was (at least not at such a beginner level; we don't do sparring at this point) so a major workout that I had 2-3 times a week is gone and replaced with something I love, but not as much of a workout.

Add to this the fact that in the spring I broke my foot and have been trying to stay off of it enough to let it heal, which takes running out of the equation for the moment.  I'm awaiting results from my doctor to know that it's fully healed.

Really the hardest part with the weight loss is motivation and I just have not had it lately.  Life is good, but I am in a bit of a rut I think when it comes to motiviation.  I'm hoping to work on that over the fall/winter.  We'll see how it goes.

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On with the show

It’s been a bit since my last post and it’s been quite a busy, busy summer.  So where to begin…

Well my laptop finally got fixed.  Turned out it needed a firmware update in order to make the touch screen work correctly.  Now I’ve fully moved over to it and am loving being able to use a touch screen to get things done.

As to the weight loss and running, I’ve pretty much been on a hiatus since July ended.  Part of it was to let my legs recover after pushing them a bit too much, part was just being super busy with work and visiting with friends over the summer.  My weight ended up back at about 193, but I was able to maintain there throughout the summer and through the beginning of A term at WPI.  That’s still a solid 20 pounds lighter than I was in March.

I’ve begun running again, and I’ve maintained at least one night a week of kickboxing, if not two.  Once the show is over I’ll be back to 2-3 times per week.

What was really good was being able to go to Old Navy to pick up new jeans yesterday and fitting back into size 32 jeans.  I had to get a pair of size 34 back in February which was one of the final straws to losing the weight.

I also got a new pair of glasses :)  I have a very slight prescription so I only need them for times when I’m viewing things from a distance such as a lecture hall or if I’m at the theatre.  As such, they need to look good.  I took my friend Dani with me to make the final determination between two pairs of glasses I had decided between.  She vetoed both of them. :-P  Actually, that’s not entirely true, but after going through a number of other frames, we found a pair she liked and I told her that they were simply a larger lens version of one of the first pair. Turns out she liked them because they were brown and the original ones (in black) could be had in brown.  Here’s what we got:



Finally, my life is currently owned by the fall musical at WPI.  This year I return to the stage and am playing one of the leads.  We are doing Guys and Dolls and I play Nathan Detroit.  You may know such songs from this show as “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat”, “Luck Be A Lady”, and “Adalaide’s Lament”

Well that’s enough for now.  I will try to write again soon!

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One of those days…

So we’ll get back to the back-posts soon enough.  Trust me there’s more to catch you up on.

At any rate, things have been going well.  I finished the bet and did well will the weight loss – 25 lbs in 4 months.  I want to lose another 13-15 lbs and these are going to be the really hard ones as I get closer and closer to the goal.

I've been running at the indoor track at Bally’s lately and been feeling pretty good about how I’ve been doing.  My speed has been good and my distance has also been good.  Or has it….

Come to find out the track at Bally’s isn’t exactly an eighth mile track.  Apparently it’s a ninth mile track.  So I’ve been miscounting my laps by one for every “mile” I thought I ran.  That means my stellar 7:45/mile 2 mile run is only an 8:44/mile for 1.78 miles, and the 3 mile run is merely a 9:30/mile run for 2.67 miles.  And my beyond excitement single mile at 6:44 today?  Simply a 7:34/mile pace for 0.89 miles.

Now granted, those are still pretty good times all things considered, but when you think you do a lot better, it’s a bit of a let down.

Oh and that mile I did today?  I was trying to change things up and really push it on a single mile and go back to a longer distance tomorrow or Thursday.  Yeah… not the best idea.  I might have pushed the legs a bit too hard.  We’ll see tomorrow.

Leaving the gym I left to go to Trader Joe’s to pick up some of the Greek yogurt that Dani turned me on to.  It’s quite good, even plain.  I like it with cinnamon.  Well I get to Trader’s at 9:05 only to find out they close at 9:00.

Finally, I got my new laptop today at work and it ended up having a faulty touch screen.  There was a dead zone about an inch square in the upper right corner.  Now I have to wait two days for the repair depot shipping box to arrive, ship it back, wait another 5 days or so for them to repair it and then a few more days for it to come back.

So yeah… it’s been one of those days.

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The Bet: After

So I realized I never said if I won or lost in my last post.  As it turned out, I “lost”.  I use quotes because I lost the bet, but I also lost 25 lbs, so I really can’t be too upset.  As I told Dani, $100 is the cheapest personal trainer for 4 months of training ever.

So these are initial after pictures.  I’ll post more as I get them.  I’m hoping I’ll have some good candid shots from events over the rest of the summer (and as I continue losing more weight).

First off, on MSN they had an article about how betting on losing weight makes you more likely to succeed.  So go all-in on your health.

And now, the after pictures and more notes.

 

Now this picture shows two shots of me.  Me on the left in red is now.  On the right is a totally different “before” picture.  Dani sent me this picture that she took back in 2005 when we first met.  From my calculations I was about 186 when we met and this picture was motivation to get back to that size. 

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The Bet: The Story and Before Pictures

We interrupt the backlog of posts to bring you some current news.
So, some of you are aware that I’ve been in a weight loss bet with my friend Dani.  Dani has been going to the gym and doing kickboxing since last November and has really enjoyed it.  At about March, after losing about 10 lbs, she made me an offer I just couldn’t refuse.  She said that she needed some motivation to keep going further along than the 10 lbs, and she figured I needed motivation to finally get it in gear and get to the gym.  What resulted for a series of conversations around that topic was that

1. We were going to have a joint birthday party with a Toga theme
2. We were going to have a weight loss bet to May 1 (the day of our party) to lose 15 lbs each.

To speed through some of the story, we ended up having the party mid-April and we changed the terms (balanced the weight loss goals between me and Dani – about 1 lb a week for her and 2 lbs for me) of the bet and extended it through July 1.

On March 1, I weighed in at 213.  That pretty much is the high point of weight for me since I started keeping track back in 2004.  The lowest recorded weight I have was 181 on April 10, 2004.  One final weight reference point is that when I met Dani in March 2005, I was close to 186.

Additional measurements I take are waist, stomach and chest.  On 2/22/2010, right before the bet, I was 39, 42 and 40.5 inches respectively.

I will now take a cue from Dani’s recent posts (before, after) at this point show some of the least flattering pictures of me I can find.  Tomorrow I’ll post some after photos.

My 30th Birthday Party (March, 2009)

Missa Gaia Trip with Glee Club (October 2009)

 

AXP Thanksgiving (November 2009)

Fraternity Composite Photo (December 2009)

Horribly unflattering “before” picture #1 (April 2009)

Horribly unflattering “before” picture #2 (April 2009)

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