Not too shabby

I ran out of time to do a quick weight loss update yesterday, so here's one today.

Last week I weighed in at 219.6 lbs.

Yesterday I weighed myself, and I weighed 217.0 lbs. That's 2.6 pounds lost. NICE!

I'm really hoping to be at (or under) 215.0 next week!

I'm shooting for 200.0 lbs. by July 3rd. We'll see.

back to the grind

On monday I decided I needed to rededicate myself to losing weight. All the birthday coupons and deals had been used, so it was time.

I weighed 219.6 this morning. Last week I was 222.8. Not bad at all.

It's been a little tricky having a good breakfast the past couple weeks with taking Jennan to preschool. I feel that having it after getting home from dropping her off is too long after I get up. It's almost 2 hours. Not sure if it's a big deal, but I try to have breakfast within the hour that I get up, so my metabolism gets stoked before my body starts thinking it's not eating, and starts "storing".

So yeah, just trying to eat better, and make sure I walk at least 4 times a week. I'd really like to be under 200 by the time I leave for scout camp in early July. We'll see.

Not great, but good (kind of)

I weigh 222.8 lbs. today. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by that number. I thought I was, or would be, closer to 226. I'm still not 100% back on the diet. More like 70%. I think that after this weekend, I will be back to full blown dieting. Anna's back to full time dieting in hopes to winning more money at work's second round of biggest loser. She weighs in the first week of June sometime.

So yeah, back to the grind here pretty soon.

not even checking

Today is the day I would normally weigh myself to see what weight I've lost... But I'm not even going to check.

I've been having too much fun eating birthday dinners and other celebratory items to think I've lost any weight. Really it would be to see how much I've put back on, so... nah! Don't get me wrong, I'm not pigging out or totally eating bad stuff all day, but the burgers, fries, cake, and ice cream all add up really quick.

Once all the birthday stuff is over, then it'll be easier to get serious about weight loss again.

Good times though.

Still working on it...

Well, it was a pretty good week as far as eating goes... I did a pretty good job of walking... But I guess I can say I haven't been hardcore. And if I'm not being hardcore, how can I expect to see bigger results? But somehow, each so-so week, I'm expecting larger losses. Still not the case this week.

The lightest I weighed this week was 217.6 (or was it 218.4? I can't remember), on Wednesday before dinner. I weighed myself then because we were having Del Taco (had some expiring coupons) for Anna's Birthday Eve dinner. I think it was the next morning that I weighed 218.4. Anyhow, it's been two weeks since our week vacation in AZ, and I'm still not down below 215, like I was before we went. For shame. I'm not a big fan of going hardcore on the diet, but I have a feeling it must be done if I want to see some real success.

With that being said, We ate at Chili's for Anna's B-day dinner (had a coupon). Next week we'll be eating at Red Robin for Liam's B-day dinner, I'm sure we'll be eating out for my birthday soon after that... Not a good time to be struggling to lose weight.

I'm not being whiny or complainy, I'm just being matter of fact. I can't play the "I don't know why...?" I know why.

I'm going to try and not go over board this week. We'll see.

back on track?

Last week I didn't "weigh-in". I was in Arizona, eating like I was on a cruise... wasn't really watching what I ate. When we got home, I was about 10 pounds heavier than when I last weighed in (214.8). I was roughly 225 pounds. Yikes!

Well, we've been home for 4 days, and I'm down to 219.6 lbs. So that's good. Not sure how much of my "10" was what was sitting in my gut and intestines, and it's all just worked it's way "out", or if I've actually worked off those pounds. Maybe a combination of both.

Out of the 4 days home, I've walked on the treadmill 3 of those days.

Also, this marks the half way point of time I have to lose 40 pounds by the reunion in August. Luckily, I'm pretty much half way there (not counting my binge vacation weight- which put me a little bit behind).

We'll see how it goes in the next two weeks. There are a grip of birthdays and parties and the like, and it will be quite a challenge to stay on track... or rather not to get too far off track.

Some effort is better than no effort at all... right?

Doh!

Had a 50/50 week. Walked half as much, and indulged half the time... equals no loss this week.

Last week: 214.6
This week: 214.8
Pretty much the same.

It's 0nly going to get worse. Easter this weekend. Anna's on spring break starting Friday evening and we have trips to Bullhead, and Queen Creek planned. Makes it harder to eat "right".

We'll see what happens.

milestone met

Lets look at the numbers right off the bat:

Last week: 217.0
This week: 214.6
total lost : 2.4

Last week, being only 2 pounds away from losing 20 pounds, gave me some motivation to be good with my eating habits. I still had some cheats, but I tried to make up for them by being more strict on other days, and not skipping any opportunities to walk on the treadmill.

Now that I'm feeling a lot closer to breaking 200, I feel that motivation still brewing inside. I think I can best describe it as being "excited" to reach those desired milestones.

I'm also just now starting to "feel" less fat, which has also been a motivator. It's still harder to "see" (at least for me) any changes, but I think I need to add a hole in my belt very soon. It's not holding my pants up like it used to.

Total weight lost so far: 20.4

that's more like it

I was a little worried that I over did it last night with the corned beef, potatoes, cabbage, and Irish soda bread at dinner. (After all, it was a holiday.) And that I would still have a lot of that food sitting in my gut when I got on the scale this morning. But I was pleasantly surprised that I weighed the same this morning as I did yesterday afternoon.

The numbers:
Last week- 219.4
This week- 217.0
total lost- 2.4

That's more like it. Two weeks ago I weighed 218.2, then put on 1.2 to put me back at 219.4, and now being at 217.0, I think that puts me back on track. I'm going to try and get to 215 by next week. When I get there, I'll have lost 20 pounds since starting my weight loss plan. I'm looking forward to reaching that milestone.

could have been worse

It just didn't seem that I had the discipline this past week.

-Ate refreshments at a scout function last Saturday.
-Had the YM presidency and their families over on Sunday for dinner. Tried to limit my carbs and calories, but... nah. Had the extra rolls, and cake.
-Had the sister missionaries over for dinner on Monday. Same story as Sunday.
-Been munching on Honey Roasted Peanuts since Sunday. Bought them to snack on while watching some rugby with my presidency on Sunday after dinner.
-Missed one of my walking days.

So yeah, not too hard core this week.

Last week: 218.2
This week: 219.4
Gained: 1.2

Oddly enough, 219.4 is exactly what I weighed two weeks ago. With all the extra eating I did, to only have gained 1.2 pounds back isn't too bad. I'm going to try harder to be better this week. (But I guess I always say that.)

slower than I thought

This week, I'm starting with the numbers-

Last week: 219.4
This week: 218.2
Loss total: 1.2

Any weight lost is better than no weight lost... but... I thought I would lose it faster than I am. I thought I'd be averaging closer to 3 pounds a week instead of about 1.5 pounds.

I'm sure the bottom line for that is my eating choices. If I ate strictly my diet foods, I'd probably see larger losses. But when Farmer Boys has cheeseburgers for 99 cents like they did last Saturday... . You get the idea.

So yeah, I'm only slightly flustered because I know it's me. I guess the real test would be to be hardcore on eating only my diet food for a week and have no "cheats". But, no "cheats"?! that's just crazy talk.

Hi Thursday...

Hey look, it's thursday.

I've decided to change the day I talk about losing weight to thursdays. Tuesdays can be pretty hectic because that's our ward's mutual night, and I'm usually preparing during the day, for that evening.

Anyhow, it's been a pretty normal week, food wise. Except for the weekend (that tends to be the pattern), and the Cub Scout 'Blue and Gold' dinner, I was able to keep my calorie and carb intake in check.

I continue to do my best to get in at least three walking sessions of 30 minutes each on the treadmill each week. If we go to Disneyland during the week, I count it as a bonus, and still do my three. I still need to start using weights. I need to decide if I want do them on the same days I walk, or on the alternate days.

The numbers:
Last week- 221.8
This week- 219.4

I'm happy with a 2.4 pound loss. On Tuesday, I weighed 220.2, so the extra couple days helped with the lower number. That brings my total weight loss to just over 15 pounds. I'm happy with that. I'm sure it would be more if I didn't have those "cheat" meals, but that's fine with me.

heading in the right direction

The first half of this week, I was very good about staying on my diet. The weekend was a different story, but it was still ok.

This is the section where I go into detail of all the "bad" stuff I ate this week. Well, I'll spare you the boring details, but I will say, we went to a wedding reception with good food, and better cake! Then the next day, ate at Ernie Jr.'s Taco House, where I limited my chip intake, but ate a pretty hefty carne asada burrito. Then Yesterday, Anna and I used a B1G1 free coupon for Macho beef burritos at Del Taco.

I didn't get to walk on the treadmill as much this week. Instead, we walked at Disneyland, and the LA Zoo.

The numbers:
Last week- 225.2
today- 221.8

That's 3.4 pounds lost. I'm very happy about that. I'm looking forward to being in the "teens" next week.

how bad is it?

I spent most of last week helping out some good friends, the Bocanegras, with their new house. We've done hours and hours of painting, installing laminate flooring, etc. etc. While I've been helping out at the new house, Anna's been watching not only our kids, but their kids, as well.

Since I've spent a great deal of time working, our friends have been feeding me while I'm there. Subway sandwich one day, burrito another day, KFC chicken, pizza, and so on. I knew I was working hard, and hopefully burning lots of calories, so I ate what they brought me. Also, when ever Anna has their 10 year old daughter over, they always bake some kind of goody for everyone. So add some sweets to the mix.

Saturday, we invited the Bocanegras over after church on Sunday, for lunch/dinner since they're old house is in shambles, due to packing. We had chicken enchiladas ready to go. Anna prepared 4 trays! At church, we were invited to eat later in the day with some Tongan friends, the Moalas, in our ward. They blessed their new baby, and had a lot of family in town, and only invited a handful of ward members to have some food. We were lucky enough to be invited... but we already had plans... but I couldn't say no. We decided that I would go by myself, so it wouldn't be weird for us to tell the Bocanegras we had to leave to go have food somewhere else. Plus, this way, we're still honoring the invitation.

I showed up to the Moala's gathering by myself. I got a barrage of questions about why my family wasn't there with me, so I caved, and told them we had invited the Bocanegras over, and didn't want to be rude by changing our plans. Then Sis. Moala said she invited the Bocanegras too! So I had her call Anna and tell them all to come (I forgot my cell). They all came. Turns out, both us and the Bocanegras were among the families invited, but because we had made plans with each other the day before, and not knowing if we were each invited, had not said anything about it. But it worked out.

The downside, to going to the Moala's for food, was we had just finished eating enchiladas at our house. We were already full. But there's NO WAY to get out of eating at a Polynesian gathering! It's IMPOSSIBLE! I tried really hard. Not only is there pressure to eat from the family, but it all looked so good, too! Needless to say, I was hurting by the time I got home. I knew there was no way I was going to have lost any weight this week. In fact, it was really just a question of how much did I gain?

In addition to helping out at the Bocanegras, I was still able to get in 3 sessions of walking this week, including last night. That may have helped keep my weight gain at bay.

I weighed in at 225.2 pounds. Surprisingly, that's actually .8 pounds less than last week!? I was really surprised. It's actually quite encouraging. I won't be able to help as much this week at the Bocanegra's house, so that means I'll be able to eat more "diet" food. I'm hoping to lose a few pounds by next week.

over indulged

Well, I weighed in this morning, and it's not good. I added some weight back on. Oops.

The two days to blame are Saturday and Sunday... ok, and Monday, so that's 3 days.

On Saturday, I started off well- eggs and bacon for breakfast, and a good lunch. But the second half of the day was not as good. The scouts had a pizza fundraiser that evening, and during the activity, we ate some pizza. It was also a "date night" for Anna and I. Our friends in the ward swap babysitting with us, and it was our turn to go out. I had a coupon for Red Robin to get a free appetiser, so we went there. We had a chicken quesadilla for our appetiser. I ordered the turkey burger (kind of on the diet, but not really), and Anna had the Royal burger. But the real down fall was having the refillable rootbeer float! They're nice and big, and oh so good. We put three of them down between us.

On Sunday, a banana for breakfast. A good start. After church, for lunch- pizza (bought from the scouts). Not so good (for the diet, but a really good pizza). Then, that evening, we went to a baptism for Jenny, who lives with my grandfather and his wife Maggy, in Hemet. After the baptism, we went to their house for dinner/refreshments. Cheese tray, fruit tray, homemede chili, sherbet punch, and SANDWICHES! It's been so long since I've had a sandwich, that I ate a bunch of them. Some on crescents, and some on rye bread... all good. Plus there was really good cake. So yeah, not too good for being on a low-carb diet.

It also didn't help that we were sent home with a plate of sandwiches either. I ate a couple for lunch yesterday too. Though I did refrain from eating cake.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Anna was given some cookie dough on Saturday. It's REALLY hard for Anna to pass up cookie dough, so we took it home. We baked them for our family night treat yesterday, and I couldn't resist either. I ate a few too many.

I did get on the treadmill three times this week, including last night (with an additional 10 minutes to boot)... but it wasn't enough to counteract my intake for the week.

I weighed in at 226 lbs. Last week I was at 223.4, so I put 2.6 pounds back on. A lot of that is the caloric and carb intake, but I think most of that is also just the pure weight of the food I ate, and I hope to "drop" a lot of that soon. (What a lovely way to end this post.)

Hope to pull big numbers for next week!

upgrade

I finally broke down and purchased a new digital scale. The old dial scale was just too inaccurate and jumpy. The digital scale measures tenths of pounds, in increments of .2. That means the tenths will always be in even numbers.

This week had a lot of "cheats". I had a coupon for a free taco from Del Taco, with any purchase. I purchased a "macho" taco, and got my "classic" taco for free. I was pretty darn hungry, and running errands, so I ate the classic taco with the shell to hold me over till I got home to eat the macho taco without the shell. I didn't know the macho taco had sour scream... but it was sure good.

There was a District Scout recognition dinner on Saturday. I was asked to present an award, so that meant going to the dinner. I ate the garlic mashed potatoes, and rolls with my roast beef and veggies. Also ate the apple cobbler and ice cream.

Our good friends in the ward invited us over after church to hang out and have dinner at their house, but Tegan had just gone down for a nap. So we invited them to come to our house instead. The only cheats I had were eating the spinach-artichoke dip with bread and/or tortilla chips, and the lemon squares we made.

Had a little bit of ice cream at FHE. Plus I probably had other small infractions over the week. But they do add up in the long run.

Other than that, I think I did pretty good about keeping with my diet.

I walked on the treadmill twice since last tuesday. That's pretty ok, but 3 would be better. I also need to start working with my weights as well. Even if I can't go "heavy", something would be better than nothing. I'm not interested in losing muscle, so I need to work them out. Plus, muscle is the only thing that burns calories, so they should be maintained.

I weighed 223.4 this morning. That's only 1.6 pounds lost this week. A total of 11.6 pounds lost. By the way, I eluded to not being satisfied with only losing 3 pounds. After thinking about it, 3 pounds is about right on, for my goals. If I lost 3 lbs. a week, that's 12 lbs. a month. I'd be at my goal weight in about five months. So 3 pounds a week is fine with me (of course that's easily said after only losing half of that this week). Just so long as I'm not adding any weight, I'll be happy.

It's Official...

I've started a weight loss program. What's the program?... Eat what Anna eats. It's working for her, so now I'm getting on the wagon. Wish I had a lump sum of money waiting for me at the "end", too. But I don't.

I do, however, have a 20 year high school reunion in August, I'd rather be slimmer for, so that should keep me on track. (I hope.)

My starting weight is about 235 lbs. (though our scale says 225, but it's about 10 lbs. on the light side.)

My goal weight is 185. I can't imagine being lighter than that, even though most height and weight charts would say that someone that's 5'6" should be between 155 and 170. I'd like to lose at least 40 lbs. by the time of the reunion. That would put me at about 195.

They say goals only count if you write them down... well consider this one written. And as you can probably guess, I'll try to update every week on my progress.

Let the weight loss begin!

(btw- there's not a "before" picture, because all pictures I've been in for years could be my "before" picture. No need for another one.)