Just shy of the new milestone...

but I'm celebrating it anyhow.

I lost 3.4 at WI today after 2 weeks of really solid workouts and tracking. Recently, I've added 30 minutes of recumbent bike to my workout. It seems to have helped me along, and I'm happy with my progress on the elliptical as well, where I've been pushing my intensity ever so slightly.

To reach 125 lost, I needed to lose 3.6. I was seriously 0.2 shy. Oh well.... Enjoy!

Progress so far: 124.8 pounds.

Really wasn't expecting this one

Wow. Just... wow. I know I kicked it into overdrive after the slip-up last Friday, but I completely surprised myself at weigh-in today.

Down 3.2 since last weigh-in (4 weeks ago). Just 6 days ago, I was fully prepared to face a gain. Color me impressed. Now To prove this is for real. Time for another week of solid focus and determination.

Progress so far: 121.4 pounds.

I should be committed

Yesterday, during another energizing elliptical workout, I got a little bug in my ear that I should really thank my gym for all the help and support I've gotten in my weight loss journey. Letting my mind wander like that and think about what I'd say really helped me blast through the rest of my workout at a slightly higher-than-normal intensity without even really noticing.

When I climbed off, I wandered over to the trainers' desks and asked one if she had a moment. She's definitely one of my favorite staff at my gym, particularly when I lost my membership card and asked her if I could get another, she told me they would normally charge $15 for a replacement, but then she saw I was sporting an "I voted today" sticker (this was super Tuesday 08) she said she couldn't charge someone who had done their civil service.

Truth be told, everyone working at my gym is like that. From the moment I walk in the door and hear "have a good workout" from the person at the reception desk, to the knowing, encouraging nods I get from trainers as they walk by me sweating it out on the elliptical, to the "have a great day" as I head out the door, I just know I'm in my gym.

Anyhow, I sat down and told her how my journey started 20 months ago, and I didn't step foot in the gym until I was already 2 months and 30 pounds into it. I told her how grateful I am for my gym and the supportive staff there, how I couldn't have lost the additional 90 pounds without them and how I am confident that I will continue on to goal, maintenance and a lifetime of improving my fitness as long as I have such a strong system behind me. I could see in her eyes how much it meant for her to hear that. She pulled the GM of the club over to hear me tell him the same thing and he encouraged me to send in an email. He told me that more often than not, the people who speak up are the people who are unhappy with something because the majority that are pleased with their experience don't really feel the need to give feedback. I could just tell that sharing my story with them really brightened their day.

I was also handed this t-shirt, which I'm told is a very limited edition prize that only the most dedicated individuals earn. ;) So I sent my email. I hope it helps those trainers realize they are appreciated.

This morning, I hopped on the scale for a sneak peak and I may not be showing a gain after all. I still have 7 hours to go till WI, but right now, it's looking like I may maintain or even lose a little bit. Awesome! If I lose even a hair of weight, I'll be in the 230s for the first time, barely there, but there nonetheless. I'll just have to keep working it this next week and get a more solid grip on the new weight decade next week. It's gonna be a challenge this weekend, too. Tomorrow night, we are headed to a French bistro with some friends. Saturday, we head to the KU game and will be grabbing dinner at a BBQ joint, then it's make-up Christmas at my dad's Sunday.

I'll update this evening with the official result. Lates.

I feel so incredible

Today has been one of the best days I can remember recently. I woke up feeling fresh and ready to face the day. I started cleaning up some dishes and for one reason or another I got a fire lit under my ass. I spent 2 and a half hours cleaning behind, around and inside the oven, the kitchen counter, sink and floor, the bathroom sink, toilet, floor and (with a lot of tilex and bleach) the bath tub.

After a great lunch and some more cleaning, I added 50 songs to my workout playlist, which I must admit has been getting a bit old after a year and a half of the same 36 songs. I headed to the gym later than usual. I got there smack in the middle of the evening rush. It took me 5 minutes to find a parking spot. Not a nearby space, just any space. By the time I was ready to work out, it was 5.30 and there wasn't a single Lifefitness elliptical open. None of the 18 treadmills were available either. I grudgingly climbed on a Precor elliptical and got to work. It was different, not too difficult, just awkward and unfamiliar. I kept glancing over my shoulder to see if anyone was leaving my preferred machines, and a couple of times I spotted an open machine, but didn't bother heading over to it because I could see someone headed for it already.

Finally, 11 minutes in on my slightly clumsy workout, one opened up right behind me and I lept on it right away. The rest of my workout was familiar and focused. I really enjoyed my new playlist tracks as well.

After I got home, I took advantage of my freshly-cleaned tub and took a nice, long, extremely steamy shower. I reheated some delicious steak tips and peppered mushroom gravy (courtesy of my fiancee's new Cooking Light subscription), curled up and started watching Biggest Loser.

I had this feeling just wash over me. I don't know if it was the housework accomplishment, the solid workout, the comforting shower or the delicious dinner (most likely the whole day coming together), but I just felt extremely good. The only way I can describe it is the polar opposite of a wave of nausea. What a fantastic day.

Continue

Sometimes, my weight loss is in a zone where nothing could derail me. It is during those times that I will lose fierce amounts of weight and my motivation will soar. So why, if the weight loss is a strong cycle of effort, reward and drive do I so frequently halt that solid progress and lapse into a period of negligible loss (or worse, gain)? I have a compulsive need to celebrate and reward those periods of focused loss with a short (sometimes just a single meal) relaxed grip on the program.

Most recently, I gave myself permission to indulge on Christmas. I knew it was going to slow down my solid progress, but it hit me hard. I worked my butt off and was hoping to weigh in on the 8th with at least a maintain from my previous weigh in on the 17th. Well, that didn't happen. I was facing a gain and let myself get talked out of going to weigh-in. Weather, gain, first meeting of the new year... blah blah blah. Instead, I went to a buffet and indulged again.

The following morning, I felt that all-too-familiar remorse and was certain I was going to get back on the wagon full force and post a loss at the next upcoming weigh-in. Well, then an email arrived that delivered some bad news on a job that I thought for sure I was going to get. That would have been the end to a four-and-a-half-month stretch of unemployment. I responded by devouring the remains of a bag of tortilla chips and half a frozen pizza, then a burrito from chipotle. Had I not felt stuffed to the point of pain, I would have eaten 800 Calories worth of monkey bread as well.

I know I'm still an emotional eater, but I also know that I've fallen 142 times in this weight loss journey. I've stood back up and dusted myself off 142 times too. That's all I can ask of myself. I know I'll never be able to be the perfect loser that can go from huge to tiny without a single hiccup along the way. Instead, I have to be the loser that can recognize his mistakes and continue the process.

So here I am, freshly back on the wagon and determined to succeed. I'll likely post a gain this Thursday, but so what? At least it won't be a 40 pound gain, right?

My first trip to the gym all year

It's January. Everyone is ready to lose some weight. It makes it a lot harder to find a open parking spot, an open locker or an open machine, but letting that stop me would just be an excuse. I've got a bag full of those, so I really don't need another. Yesterday, I stepped back into the gym for the first time since last year (ie last Tuesday), and got the stare-down from my old buddy, the elliptical.
I respectfully climbed on and got to work. I haven't changed my routine up for a while now. I was briefly doing interval training last fall. This routine had me warming up with a 75rpm sprint for 8 minutes, then dropping to a 60rpm jog for 2 minutes. After that, I'd just go from 70 for 3 minutes to 60 for 2 minutes back and forth for an hour, but I kept increasing the duration of the sprint until I had worked my way up to my current workout, which is an 80rpm sprint long enough to get my heartrate up to 180, then drop down to 71-73rpm for the rest of the one-hour workout (with random bursts of 77-80rpm charged by whatever song happens to come on the mp3 player).

The workout was pretty brutal after my lack of consistency over the Christmas season, but I survived it at full force and am very happy with that. I'm still sucking at incorporating weights into my regimen and am starting to think I may just need some trainer assistance on that front. That may need to wait until I have a job. In the meantime, I think I'll just keep doing what I'm doing on the elliptical and start increasing intensity in one way or another, possibly by adding 5 minutes to the duration over the next few months like I did when I first started. That is, after all, how I worked my way up from 30 to 60 minutes.

I'm really happy with where I am in the weight loss arena right now. My eating and tracking are spot on. My workout intensity is right where I want it. My motivation in general is at an all-time high, and my urge to binge is reasonably low. I'm thinkin TwentyTen is gonna be a good'n.

Another New Year

What does the new year mean to me? Remotivation toward my weightloss? The beginning of something new and exciting? The start of the year I reach my goal/get married? All of those, to be sure, but unfortunately, I'm a curmudgeon and the first thing that enters my head is the rush of people with resolutions cramming themselves into my gym and my meetings. It's crazy. It's going to be crazy until Valentine's Day. Ugh. But then, I'm repeating myself.

When I posted at this time last year, I was 8 months and 72 pounds into this weight loss journey. Now, another year later, I've learned a lot about myself and my weight loss. I've slipped heavily and recovered from it. I didn't hit my goal last year like I thought I was going to as 2009 began, but I have managed to lose another 46 pounds. Considering I gained back 40 pounds in the middle of the year, I'm very happy with how I handled myself with the whole thing. Do I regret letting myself get that out of control? Certainly, but in the scheme of things, I am going to have to learn how to live in the real world and maintain my weight for the rest of my life.

I know it's going to be a very big challenge. It's going to take a lot of education and feeling it out for this whole thing to become intuitive. I have a lot of tools at my disposal. Some of those, I've taken for granted these past several months. That's the past. This is a new year. I'm going to put a real effort into keeping this blog more active. If nothing else, I'd really like to update weekly.

Speaking of updates, I survived the holidays and am still working off a little bit of Christmas gain, but it really wasn't that bad and I think it will be all gone by my next weigh-in on the 8th. I may even post a loss, which would be fantastic. I'm just 1.8 from hitting 120, another 5 from my 5th trinket and just 8 more from there to the "final goal" I set for myself 20 months ago when I started this journey. That's incredible.

I'll be interested to see how this year pans out for me. I'm definitely ready for it.