Week 16 End - Really Starting to Feel the Benefits

It was a busy weekend so I have been slow in getting my weekend post done. I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with my Motorcycle Club members honoring military veterans and currently deployed military. As a bonus, I discovered that you actually do burn calories riding a motorcycle. You burn them at a rate of between 200 and 300 calories an hour. That's not a lot, but for amount of time I sometimes spend in the saddle, it is good to know it is doing me some good.

This week was successful as far as I'm concerned. I posted a loss of 1.8 lbs and I switched up my exercise routine. I was going to the gym pretty much 7 days a week and putting in a good hard hour+ of cardio. This past week I switched up and started walking outside. I have been doing 3.7 miles in just over an hour. Not an earth shattering pace, but, it's up and down hills and out in the real world. I did missed a day or two as conflicts in my schedule didn't allow the hour (I wouldn't have been able to make the gym either) and there were times when I cut the walk short because of knee and back pain, but, this is where I really need to be getting my exercise. Not in an artificial environment on a machine. Certainly when the weather is bad it is a viable option, and at some point I would like to get back to some weight training as well. But, my goal right now is to increase mobility and help with my weight loss, and nothing is better than just getting out there and moving.

I have mentioned before that I was talked into signing up for a "color run" in June. This is a 5k walk/run to promote exercise and a healthy lifestyle. It's billed as the "Happiest 5k on the planet".  I looked up the conversion and 5k is 3.1 miles. I was very worried about signing up for this event, but now I am doing that distance on an almost daily basis. A year ago that would have been impossible.

I was reflecting on this journey the other day. I have crossed the halfway point in my initial goal of losing 100 lbs in 1 year. When I look at where I was and where I am now, it's actually amazing to me. I was having a very difficult time walking and standing for any period of time. My blood sugars were all over the place and I just felt bad in general. Now I am able to walk miles, stand for hours when necessary and my blood sugars have been great. I've had several conversations with friends and co-workers about how and what I am doing. It has all come down to motivation. I was bending down to tie my shoes the other day and realized that it was not painful nor was I forced to hold my breath. Sort of one of those "aha" moments. My clothes are fitting looser and I am able to wear a size smaller shirt (down the 3x from 4x). It won't be long until I will have to be looking for new clothes, but that's alright with me. The key to this journey over all the others I've tried over the past years, is that this time I am in it for the long haul. No more... when I reach this goal I can eat this or do that. This time it's a real lifestyle change. I'm not looking at an end. Sure, I will at some point reach me goal weight and won't have to have a 7000 calorie a week deficit to lose my 2 lbs.. But, what I am striving for is to create good eating and exercise habits that will allow me to maintain my weight. I am trying to train myself to make the best choices for my meals as a matter of routine.

The benefits I am already seeing as a result of losing 1/3 of my overall goal just motivates me more. It's great to not have to worry about how far I might have to walk when I go somewhere, or if I'm going to be able to fit in a seat (and don't even get me started about restaurant booths). In talking to a friend at work I mentioned that I should write a book disclosing the things that only fat people know. It would be sort of like the masked magician revealing how magic tricks are done. Maybe in the future I'll share some of those secrets here. You will likely find them amusing and maybe a little sad.

Until the next time my friends, be safe and eat well!

Week 15 End - Pushing Through to Success

4/16/2016 54 lbs. lost

Week 15 was a rousing success. I had a great week of workouts and great weight loss. After a very disappointing week 14, it was a real pick-me-up. I knew last week was a fluke with actually gaining 2 pounds. After reviewing my sodium intake for the week I was way over the allowances (over 4x) and was definitely retaining fluid. This week I recorded a 6.4 lb. loss. Of course I'd like to claim that as a one week loss, but in reality, once I cut back on the sodium and flushed the fluids out of my system, it was really a two week loss. It just goes to show that the scale doesn't tell the whole story. If you know you have been doing the things you should and you have a setback, you need to look into what you might be missing along the way.

The upside to last week is that it did make me take a closer look at my overall nutrition and not just the calorie intake. It is important to maintain a balance, and I am now trying to be more aware of the content of the food I eat and not just the calorie count. Those big Kosher Dill pickles I love to snack on, while virtually no calories, contain almost an entire days allotment of sodium (2000 mg). I've had to give up my daily snack in favor of more heart friendly choices. While I will still occasionally indulge, I realize that it's counter-productive to eat things that will not get me to my goal of an overall healthier lifestyle. One of my goals is to get off blood pressure medication, and eating huge amounts of salt will not get me there.

I took a few days away from the gym over this past weekend as well. I have had to adjust to not having those extra calories available, but I have found that I can continue to do this without being tied to the gym. I met my exercise goal yesterday mostly by working around the house and in the yard. It didn't give me the 11000 steps in an hour that I am able to get at the gym, but I still logged over 13000 steps by the end of the day. Now that the weather is getting nice here in Central PA, I am looking for ways to get my exercise outside so I am not chained to a machine at the gym.

54 lbs. gone only 96 more to go! I'm now a "double digit midget". The next big milestone for me will be breaking the 300 lb. mark. I'm looking forward to that! Hopefully I will be claiming that victory in about 2 months.

Week 14 End - Disappointment and Analysis

Well, for the first time since starting this journey I have had a bad weigh-in. I logged a 2 lb. gain for the week. What is most disappointing about that, is the fact that I did not miss a day at the gym and I was consistently below my calorie allowance for the day each day.

4/9/2016 +2 lbs. 

While statistically I should have had a 3-4 lb loss this week, I have noticed some swelling in both my hands and feet throughout the week, indicating water retention. I drink a gallon + of water pretty much every day. That's a liquid on-load of about 8 lbs. If that water is not disposed of via perspiration or other bodily function, it remains in the tissues and can account for rapid weight gain or loss.
I know that I have been guilty in the past of "doping" myself for a weight loss contest by drinking large amounts of water prior to weigh in and restricting fluids for 24-48 hours prior to final weigh in to boost my numbers by 8-10 lbs.. While this is a handy trick for a contest, it's not real weight loss and for my purposes here is of no benefit.

I went back and reviewed my sodium intake this past week, and a couple of weeks prior (that's where the food logging with MyFitnessPal comes in handy) and I found that my sodium intake, particularly in the middle and end of the week was pretty high (31,950 mg over 5 days where recommended is 11,500 mg). That's nearly 3x the recommended amount). This likely explains the retention of water. Up to now I have pretty much ignored the amount of sodium intake, concentrating on calories alone. I think maybe I will have to think about that a little more since I have been actually experiencing some swelling in my hands and feet. It's not really a factor in my overall weight loss goals since water weight is easily lost. But, for my overall health goals, it is a real consideration, since I hope to eliminate blood pressure medication at some point.

I choose to view this as a bump in the road. It is not a defeat. I certainly would like to have seen some loss, or at least not a 2 lb. gain. But, I think without the gain, I might not have taken a serious look at my sodium intake and identified the fact that I need to be more cognizant of the nutritional value of what I am eating beyond just the calories.

On to next week, where I guarantee I will be reporting the fall of the 50 lb. barrier. As always, thank you to all who are so encouraging each week. It means a lot.

Week 13 End - Perseverance is the Key

It has been a very tough week. At the end of last week I caught a miserable cold that just left me with no energy, sinus pain and chest congestion etc.. You all know the drill. I had a 4 day stretch where I wasn't able to go to the gym and get my workout in which of course led to a much lower calorie burn for the week.  I did get to the gym several days this week, but missed again on Thursday with chest congestion that just didn't allow for me to breathe well enough to work out. The odd thing is, on the days I did get to the gym, I had some of the best workouts to date. I logged the most miles and highest calorie burns ever. Had this been a normal week with workouts every day, I would surely have broken the 50 lb. mark. As it stands right now, I have lost 49.6 lbs. or just 4/10 of a pound short of the halfway mark for this year. While I really was hoping to break that milestone mark, after the week I had, with one day even being over my calorie allowance, a weekly loss of 2.6 lbs is acceptable.

None of us likes to be sick, and especially when we are on a "mission" and it interferes with that mission. One of the keys to continued forward movement is to push through these tough times and find ways to adapt so that you are always making some effort toward the goal.

When I was unable to workout at the gym, I had to adjust my meal plans to account for the loss in calorie burn. While I don't necessarily eat my workout calories, I count on them for an extra boost in weekly loss. Normally I try to eat around 2000 calories a day. It may be 100 or 200 + or -, but in general, about 2000. This past week, I found that with several days of inactivity (going from 13000-15000 steps a day as recorded by fitbit to 3000-5000 steps a day) and dropping my calorie burn from averaging 4000+ a day to under 3000, I had to make adjustments. You need a 1000 calorie a day deficit to lose 2 lbs. a week. If you only burn 2800 and eat 2000, you will not gain, but you certainly can't expect a big payoff at the end of the week. I adjusted my eating, and was still able to achieve 2.6 lbs. for the week. For the most part, my adjustment came in my snack allowance. I usually plan 3-500 calories of snacks when I am working. This past week, I cut that back on days where I didn't have the burn at the gym. Of course, choice of meals plays into it too. I chose lower calorie meals or smaller portions of those meals as well.

Some may look at my food/calorie intake and wonder how I manage to lose weight on that (I know my wife is frustrated by it). The fact is, I am just bigger all around than the average person (especially woman) and naturally burn more calories even when I am sedentary. That is probably the ONLY advantage to being fat. I am 6'3" tall and even after a nearly 50 lb. weight loss, still weigh just under 326 lbs.. If you weigh 160 lbs, try picking up another 166 lbs. and carrying it around all day and see what your calorie burn is. As I continue to lose weight and near my ultimate goal of 225 lbs., My burn will also decrease and my calorie intake will have to reduce as well. Of course the converse of that would be that as the sedentary burn decreases, I can also increase my activity to offset it and continue to eat what I eat now. I anticipate a combination of both.

The key to seeing this thing through is going to be pushing through the bumps in the road like illness or external interruptions that break my routines. If one thing doesn't work or can't be done, I must find an alternative. I'm happy with the fact that I was able to do it this past week (Lucky week 13). In the week coming up I hope to get back to my normal routine and crush the 50 lb. mark so I can then set my sights on a real milestone, dropping below the 300 lb. mark (something that I haven't seen for more than 10 years).

Thank you again to all those who have shown encouragement and support. It is a difficult personal journey, but the support and encouragement of friends is so very helpful. You can't do this for me, but you can help hold me accountable to my stated goals, and that is a lot.