Another Star!

Weekly Stats
Current: 304.0
Weekly Loss: 4.4
To Go: 129
Total 21
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 40+ minutes

It's nice to have some good results after a disappointing previous week. Last weeks weigh in was quite weird. The day after being up 2.6, I was down 2.4. My body was doing quite the roller coaster. This week losing 4.4 lbs makes up for the bad week before. In a couple of weeks, I should be below 300lbs. That will be a good psychological boost I hope.

My workouts went well this week. We had something going on Saturday morning so I wasn't able to do my Dry Canyon hike, so I went on Friday morning before work. I am pleased with my progress. I didn't have to stop near as often and felt like I could have gone further if I had the time. I am still kind of worried about the hike though, it is coming up on September 12. That will be here before I know it.

Thanks again to everyone's encouragement in various forms. It has really helped and I know that being accountable has been good incentive as well. Hope your fitness and weight goals are going well for you all!

.... and Yet so Far!

Weekly Stats
Current: 308.4
Weekly Loss: 2.6 (gained)
To Go: 133.4
Total Lost 16.6
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 40+ minutes

Last week I was so close to the 20 lbs goal. This week I went the wrong direction! I was completely surprised because of all the activity I put in. So it's time to look at averages. I am averaging 1.28 lbs lost per week since I started. At that rate it will take me 117 weeks, or 2 years and three months) to lose the weight I want to lose. I don't think I want to take quit that long! I need to watch what I eat better. I think it is the hardest thing for two reasons. First is being aware of portions and second is estimating how many calories you are consuming. I have been most successful when I have tracked what I eat, but I don't want to spend money to track it online and I don't have a good way to track it any other way. Any suggestions?

For my main activities this week, I knew I wasn't able to hike on Saturday so I hiked to the "Y" on Friday morning before work. It is a steep trail, but well maintained. I made it to the small trail that cuts over to the bottom part of the Y. I had to turn around because I was tired and I also needed to get to work. I was happy with the hike though. Saturday was kind of a pay-off. We went to an Allen family reunion. D&D had a nice sports court. Many of us got involved in several games of Speed. I was surprised how long I was able to play. It was a blast to be able to do so. The exercising has paid off. I haven't just gotten out and played like that in a long time. I even had fun playing horse shoes.

Hope you all had a good week!

Sooo Close!

Weekly Stats
Current: 305.8
Weekly Loss: -4.2
To Go: 130.8
Total Loss: 19.2
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 40+ minutes

So close to the next 10 lbs star! I was worried about this week's weight loss since we were on the last week of having family in town and also a family reunion. It turned out I was quite busy as well and didn't miss any exercise so I it all came together for a great weight loss week. I feel like I can really start focusing in on eating right for a while now that everything is settling down now.

Yesterday, one of my daughters expressed a desire to eat better and exercise more. I hope to be a good example to her as well. It would make it all worth it if she can do something that I know is so hard! Hang in there Emily! You too Lisa H.! Mike, Sarah and Rachel keep up the great training! You guys are soon coming up on your half marathon run! If I missed anybody on my shout out, sorry but I am cheering for anyone who is trying to improve their health.

I am pretty committed to my Baldy Hike on September 12th. I have about half dozen people who said they will do it as well! Maybe we can have a beat BGoody contest. We'll see.

Two Legged Stool

Weekly Stats
Current: 310.0
Weekly Loss: +2.8 (gained)
To Go: 135.0
Total 15.0
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 40+ minutes

This week I feel like the contestant on Biggest Loser who gains weight for the week! Devastation! However I know where I went wrong. It isn't hard to figure out. I was perfect on my exercise. I made my 5/5 goal and exercised long enough. Saturday was a real hard workout! More on that later. I also did fairly well on sleep. Even though family was here, I tried to get to bed at a decent time. So that was a great accomplishment as well. That was two legs of my three legged stool that were solid. My missing leg was watching what I ate. We had several family get-togethers with lots of good food and I wasn't very careful. It ended up being my downfall this week. I need to be diligent in all three areas if I plan on being successful.

This Saturday's hike up Dry Canyon went well. Sarah came with me and was very patient with my slow hiking. It was raining a bit plus the steepness ended up making me soaked to the skin. I lost 5 pounds of water from the hike itself! It was great to have Sarah along. We had a great time talking and catching up. We even got passed up by a bunch of elderly Korean hikers. They opted for the steep ridge-line trail to get to the top of Big Baldy, but it proved to be too much for them and they turned around. We stayed to the right and we got further than I have been this year. I took the GPS and it looked like we had about a 4 mile round trip. Still a ways from the top of Big Baldy, but progress none the less.

I plan on giving a better accounting next week! Hang in there on your health goals as well!

Mr. Dee Hyde Ration

Weekly Stats
Current: 307.2
Weekly Loss: 2.2
To Go: 132.4
Total 17.8
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 40+ minutes

Good week for several reasons. First I had a decent weight loss. There were some definite challenges with family in town for several weeks and lots of good food available, but I tried not to eat after eight and it seems to help.

I got to exercise with one of my daughters (Rachel) this week. Well kind of I guess. She would drop over and pick me up and we headed over to the canyon. She would walk a bit of the way with me and then off she would run and leave me in the dust, but just being together for a bit was fun.

Firday into Saturday we went camping at Blackhawk campground. The loop was so big that it was easy to get in enough exercise on Saturday morning as Rachel and I walked the loop twice. I got a taste of what Rachel was experiencing with the altitude change. Blackhawk sits at about 8000' so I was really huffing and puffing especially up the inclines. It was also a bit warm and I couldn't get enough water the rest of the day. We all had a good time of while we were there.

With the temperatures hitting the century mark over the past few days, I need to be sure and drink plenty of water. Make sure you are getting enough water too!

Good Things Come in Three

Weekly Stats:
Current: 309.4
Weekly Loss: 3
To Go: 134.4
Total loss so far: 15.6
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 40+ minutes

Good week in many ways. One of my originally stated steps is to lose 2 lbs a week, but I also know that with a bit of focused effort I can do a bit better on occasion. With that focus this week, I was able to loose an extra pound and that is great. I think this is significant since I had several food challenges this week. We had a ward party, I went to a family party and we have had family from out of town come in as well. All of these meant good food and lots of it. I tried to be conscience of what I choose to eat from the food tables and came out without any damage. Fortunately there was lots of fruit and vegetables which could fill my plate with, enjoy and not pile on a lot of extra calories.

A little tweak in my exercising was helpful as well. I still walked or hiked for exercise, but some days I worked on speed and cut the time, on other days I slowed down a bit but worked on length and time. Both have their place in the workout and they complement each other.

I think the biggest change I made this week was cutting back on desserts. There were several days I didn't have any desserts or snacks all day. The other change was not to eat any thing after 8pm. Both of these have helped in the past and this week bore it out. I wasn't perfect, but because of those days that I did, it made a big difference!

This week's hike was Dry Canyon again. I made it further than I have in the past and with less stopping. I made it up to the first split from the Dry Canyon trail to the top of Big Baldy. From what I remember though, I don't want to take this trail to the top. It climbs steeply up the front of Baldy. I think I want to make it to the saddle behind Baldy and take another trail to the top from there. I need to ask around to see if I am right.

Lessons learned this week. Avoid eating late, cut back on the snacks and keep doing a little more each week and over time you will be amazed how far you have come.

Your Darn Well Shootin!

Weekly Stats:
Current: 312.4
Weekly Loss: 1.4
To Go: 137.4
Total Lost: 12.6
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 40+ minutes

Lost weight in spite of a long holiday weekend! That is great for me! However, in the same breath, I could have done better by passing on a few things. We went camping for a few days and had a lot of good food, but we also hiked (more on that later) and I kept active doing other things as well. The water tap wasn't right handy so we had to make several trips to fetch water for the dishes and such.

Physically I amped it up on my walking during the week. I was averaging about three miles each time, but I was really exhausted heading into the three day weekend. I was able to get a lot of good sleep when we camped and that helped out quite a bit. Also being away from the stress of everyday life helped out as well so I did come back refreshed and happy that we went.

On Friday, we decided to hike to Buffalo Peak. It is a good hike because you can get to the back side of it from the Squaw Peak road. It is about a mile, but the last part is fairly steep so you get a good workout. Everyone did well, there were some yellow flowers in bloom throughout the hike and the overlooks into Rock Canyon, Squaw Peak and Utah Valley make the hike very enjoyable. Everything was great until we headed down. There were people camped down by the road that were doing target practice. I was a little concerned, but it looked like they were shooting into a solid background. Everything was OK until we heard the sound of semi-automatic gunfire. It first sounded like bottle rockets were going overhead, but we soon figured out they were bullets zinging through the air and trees. I started whistling, but the gunfire continued. I thought our best option was to get down of trail as quickly as possible. The trail went on the other side of the ridge from where the gunfire was coming from. Emily was probably the most upset of all of us and was right behind me in coming down quickly. She said a prayer and after a bit yelled, "WE ARE PEOPLE, WE ARE NOT ANIMALS!!!". I don't know if they could hear her or not, but the gun-fire stopped right after. I think her prayer was to much avail! We were down of the mountain in record time I think. I drove down to where we knew one group was firing, but they were only shooting shotgun and 22 rifles. When I told them about the semi-automatic firing, they said they heard it too, but it was further down the road and they were unsure exactly where. We never did figure out who or where was firing.

Lesson learned this week: Increase your cardio rate by exercising in a war zone!