Sicko

Weekly Stats
Current: 260.4
Weekly Loss: 2
To Go: 85.4
Total 64.6

I should put an asterisks behind my weight loss for the week because it is an estimate. I have been weighing myself after the workout in the morning, but I have been sick since last Wednesday and was only able to get in three workout sessions. It's a good sign that you are making progress mentally and physically when you regret that you missed work outs! I hope I can get back to working out tomorrow.

We spent our Thanksgiving with our oldest daughter Hillary and her family. We had a nice time in spite of being sick. Both Corey and Emily came down with something as well, but I think we are all glad we went.

I could have posted another great week I think if I would have been healthy, but 2 lbs is still great considering it was Thanksgiving week.

Another good thing is that I got comments about my weight loss from at least three different people who don't know about my weight loss efforts. That means it is becoming a little more obvious that I am losing weight.

Hope you all made it past Thanksgiving without blowing it to badly! Keep up the good work.

Back on track!

Weekly Stats
Current: 262.4
Weekly Loss: 4.8
To Go: 87.4
Total 62.6

This week was great! I lost a good amount of weight and I passed my previous low from a couple of weeks ago. I think the transition back to losing weight has happened. I finally got my workout DVD in the mail. I think it is the slowest that Amazon has ever been getting me something. I guess that's what I get for going for free shipping!

I think the DVD workout has helped turn things around. I have found that the Biggest Loser exercise program is based in circuit training. The idea is to do weight-training, but at the same time keep your heart rate going. The DVD did just that by having you work out with dumb bells in had most of the time, but also doing lunges and squats at the same time. They also have a great warm up and cool down after. What I did was to do the warm up, then the beginner level, but then paused the DVD while I did twenty minutes on the elliptical. I then got the DVD going again and did the cool down. I think it has really given me a good work out and it ends up taking about 50 - 60 minutes from start to finish.

I was talking with the kids last night about all the different benefits I have had with both working out and eating better. Things such as sleeping better, less snoring, feeling tons better, being able to do more, more energy, happier, and on and on. It has been a great blessing for me. I am looking forward to feeling even better as time goes on.

I heard from Rachel last week. She is continuing to work out despite being busy with her boys and being the YW president in her ward. Keep up the good work. The rest of you be good during the holidays, keep working out and don't gain any weight and maybe even lose a bit! Let me know how you are doing!

A week of stabilization!

Weekly Stats
Current: 267.2
Weekly Loss: -3.4 (gain!)
To Go: 92.2
Total 57.8

You would think with my worst weight gain since I started that I would be a bit upset, but actually I'm not. Here's why. This was my first week off of my strict diet. I had a choice to go into maintenance mode or get back into exercising and eating right. I chose the latter and knew that I might have a rough first week weight-wise which I did. My body seemed like a sponge of taking whatever I ate and making the most of it. The great thing is, is that I have never had a more healthy eating week than I did this last week. I was really good about what went into my body. I didn't consume any more that 1800 calories a day, which at my weight and exercise plan I should lose weight. The biggest payoff however was exercising. I probably averaged 50 minutes on every day except Sunday. And I felt great! I haven't had this much energy in a long time. I figure this has to do with several things. The last diet took a lot of weight off, so I wasn't having to deal with 60 extra lbs. I also got off the sugar roller-coaster which has made me feel much better. Another benefit that has been hard for me to explain, but I know to be true, is that my metabolism has been out of whack for several years. I feel that the diet helped turn that around as well! It has been a great blessing for me. Disappointing about the weight gain, yes, but the overall benefits of eating right, exercising at the level I am and feeling much better offsets the negative.

Other benefits to me and others. I have been good about getting to bed early. I have been able to get out of bed every morning before the alarm went off! For me that is almost unheard of. Another great benefit is Barbara says she hasn't heard me snoring at all. Not only makes her sleep better, but mine to as I get more unobstructed air!

I really feel that if I keep on eating healthy, watching my calories (including keeping a detailed food log), and exercising, things will soon turn around and I will see a the consistent and healthy weight loss that I am looking for.

Keep up the great work everyone! Let me know how you are doing on your health, diet and fitness goals and programs. Gordon had a great trip down to Moab with a bunch of biking buddies. Sounds like they had fun! Hang in there everyone!

Six Week Milestone - One Sack of Concrete!

Weekly Stats
Current: 263.8
Weekly Loss: 4.6
To Go: 88.8
Total 61.2

Yeehaaaa! I finished up my six week strict diet and lost 42 lbs during the six weeks. Was it hard? Yes! Was it worth it? Yes! I posted another gold star for losing another 10 lbs as well! And as I noted a few weeks back, I have lost one bag of quick-set concrete!!!!! I can really feel the difference.

Now what? This is a critical part of any weight loss. What do you do when you go off a diet? If you just have the attitude that it's over and let up, guess what happens? Yup! Kaboom. Back up you go. I don't want to do that again! I definitely need to lose more weight. I still have 15 lbs to go to make it to half way! So this morning, after a lot of research I have decided to get back into exercise and keep losing weight. My new goal is to lose 10 lbs a month which works out to about 2.5 lbs per week. It seems doable. As many of you, I am a fan of the Biggest Loser. I looked around and found out some of the strategies for at home loss.

In a nutshell, times your weight by seven and that is your daily caloric intake. Do a 4-3-2-1 as far as eating. Four servings of fruits and vegetable. You can have more if you want, just make sure that you have equal serving of vegetables and fruits and don't go over your daily calories. Three servings of healthy protein. Two servings of high fiber grains. Lastly, one serving of extras, such as healthy fats. You are supposed to eat three meals a day, plus two snacks. It is important to keep a food log to track calories and the 4-3-2-1.

I started out this morning by exercising for 40 minutes (much to my surprise)! I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and then headed out the door for a 20 minute walk. I couldn't believe the difference doing both having dropped the lbs over the last six weeks. And it was great to have breakfast!

I have talked to several over the past couple weeks. Most are still on track of maintaining and improving the health. Chris and Rick have both done well on losing weight. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it has been an impressive amount for both of them. Mike and Sarah ran about 4 miles on Saturday! Great job! Bill H. is always inspiring on the amount of work he puts in! 16 miles on Saturday. He has qualified for the Boston Marathon two years straight now. I hope he gets a chance to go this year. Way to go Gordon on keeping the bike rides up. I have enjoyed looking at your ride logs. Hope to be going on a couple with you this summer! Sorry if I missed any deserved shout-outs. Hope the rest of you are doing well!

Heading down the stretch

Weekly Stats
Current: 268.4
Weekly Loss: 6.0
To Go: 93.4
Total 56.6

Another good week. I have been on this strict diet for five weeks now. I am pleased with the results. Even though it has been a challenge at times, it has paid off. This is the last week, and then I need to make sure that I replace it with a plan that will not only maintain the weight loss, but continue to lose. I have noticed with each successive week on this plan that even though I continue to lose at good numbers, the weekly results are getting smaller each week. My plan is to increase what I eat, but make sure I get good exercise as well. I hope to be able to lose about 2.5 lbs a week. If I do this, I can lose another 60 lbs my the end of April! The holidays are up ahead. That will be the biggest challenge for sure.

After I stabilize and get some exercise behind me, I will be curious how I do going up the initial stairs at Dry Canyon. I am about 40 lbs lighter than the last time I went up. I may not be able to try this though, it all depends on the weather which has been a bit finicky for the past month. I do have several options for getting in some good workouts both at home, around the home and I even have a few months left on my gym membership.

Thanks again for all the encouragement from many of you. Keep up exercising through the holidays and be careful of what you eat. This is an easy time of year to put on several unwanted pounds. Think things out before you put it in your mouth!