Steady as He Goes

Weekly Stats
Current: 304.4
Weekly Loss: 0
To Go: 129.4
Total 20.6
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 40+ minutes

Not much progress the past few weeks. I have for sure put my exercising in. Hopefully the scales will crack here soon.

I have enjoyed going up the canyon for my daily walks through the summer. With school now in session, I have to make sure I get out the door so I can get back in time to get the kids off to school. That makes it pretty dark when I start. Don't know how much longer I will be able to go. We'll see.

My hike of the week was to the Y. My son Corey went with me and we had a nice time together. We took in the great view and talked quite a bit. I was able to hike at a pretty good pace. I just have to keep in mind how much I have improved over the summer as far as being able to hike.

A couple of shout outs. First one to Martha for losing 4 lbs! Way to go! Gordon gets one for his awesome bike rides! He is definitely in great shape and is lean and mean! Haven't heard from others who are on track for getting in better shape. Keep on trying!

A Bit of A Setback.

Weekly Stats
Current: 304.4
Weekly Loss: .4(gained)
To Go: 129.4
Total 20.6
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 40+ minutes

Saturday was a day of reckoning for me. I had the time to see how far I could be up Dry Canyon. I was hoping to make it to the saddle. I hiked for two hours made it to just over 7000', but still was about a mile short of the saddle when I knew I needed to turn back. I had a hard time making it back to the van because I was so drained. I realized that I better not try to make it to the top of Baldy in two weeks. I would be putting myself at risk if I pushed it to the top (over 8000'). I will now aim for a late spring / early summer attempt after the snow is all but gone. In ways I am disappointed, but I when I think how far I have come I should be proud of the progress I made at the same time. I did make it up a couple of miles on a fairly steep hike. There is no way when I started this that I could have done it. On my first hike with my son, I didn't even make is a quarter mile before I turned around. Now I can make it that far with out too much effort. My hope for the postponing the hike is to take off quite a bit of weight and keep working out for an even better fitness level.

As far as my weight goes. It looks like a similar thing that I saw a couple of weeks ago. The hard work out on Saturday seems to make my body hold on to the weight. I was 302 yesterday morning and I would be surprised if I dropped back down tomorrow somewhere around there.

Lisa H. is doing well in her weight loss. Way to go! Keep up the great work. Sarah and Mike ran 12 miles on Friday! That was awesome. Gordon G. is keeping up on his biking and I suspect Martha is doing well on her goals! Everyone hang in there and I will too!

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!