Yep, a setback. I knew, based on what sort of activities I had planned for DAPGF and I, that the whole Valentine's Day weekend would be a veritable minefield of caloric bombs. And I stepped on a few. Last Friday's weigh-in was 281.6 lbs, a weigh-in of which I was justifiably proud. Unfortunately, by Monday morning's weigh-in I had ballooned up to 285.4 lbs. As I've noted previously when discussing such evils as Souplantation, if you eat enough of anything you're going to gain weight. Friday night was happy hour at a local Mexican restaurant (margies and flautas and cheese, oh my!). Saturday lunch was at one of our favorite restaurants overlooking the Pacific in Del Mar, Pacifica Del Mar (clever name, I know). Ahi salad and a bleu cheese steak panini (shared, of course). Dinner was at one of the best sushi joints in San Diego, Shien of Osaka (aka Akai Hana), which is where I took DAPGF on our first date, lo those many years ago. That was followed up with some sort of Death by Chocolate experience at Heaven Sent Desserts, in Normal Heights. I really worked hard to try and work it all off, and Monday and Tuesday helped erase some of the gains. By Wednesday, though, I had a road day and picked up some weight again. Thursday I committed a cardinal sin. I needed to stop at the store to pick up some dinner for myself (DAPGF was teaching), but I was unfortunately very hungry. As I walked past the deli case, I noticed these sandwiches that the deli makes. They're big, and consist of nothing more than bread, lettuce, swiss, and a literal pile of sliced turkey breast. As with the sushi and Souplantation experiences, it was apparently too big, and erased my earlier efforts entirely. End result, Friday morning weigh-in was back up to 285.4 lbs.
So what have we learned? First of all, I can at least predict when things are likely to be problematic. DAPGF's birthday is in the middle of March, so I'm likely going to suffer a similar set of events at that time, but beyond that I see nothing on the agenda that should cause any such repeats. I'm just going to have to knuckle down and get back on track. I've been pretty diligent in making it to the gym, I've been running every morning this past week, and I even made it to the driving range yesterday at lunch (if any of you think that it isn't a decent workout, go ahead and take 125 swings of a golf club and tell me if you're not feeling it and breaking a slight sweat). I just need to be that much more diligent on the eating. I've been better at the snacking thing, but I still occasionally find myself in the BK drive-thru for some cheezy bacon wrap goodness, and I eat more at dinner (even by myself) than I should. I could take the easy way out and say it's due to my getting over my cold and getting my appetite back, and there's probably some truth to that. But in all reality, I'm the one stuffing food down my neck, and I'm the one that has to put a stop to it. It ain't going to be easy, but it has to be done. 20 weeks to drop at least 45 pounds and get back down to 240. That's 2.25 pounds per week. If I want to continue the efforts of the first two weeks of February and shoot for 220 to 230, that's a little over 3 pounds per week. Neither one is going to be easy, but I still want to do it. The idea of being 220 lbs just seems way cool, and should look pretty good at the beach (not to mention my rapidly approaching 20th high school reunion). I want it, and dammit, I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen. Wish me luck!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
I never thought I'd be disappointed with this kind of progress
Yes, I am disappointed, but it's hard to be disappointed with this kind of progress. Last Friday, my weigh-in was 285.4, for a drop of 3.2 lbs since I started my revised efforts at the end of January. I knew that things were happening, not exactly according to plan, due to my illness last week, and I was looking forward to seeing how this week would shake out.
In a word (or two, I suppose), it started off en fuego! I actually managed to lose weight over the weekend, which is very much against the trend, and I was down to 281.6 lbs by Tuesday morning! Tuesday, though, I was feeling uber-hungry on the way to work, and caved in and hit the Burger King drive-thru for a couple of cheesy bacon wraps. They are yummy, only cost 2 for $3, but ring up at approximately 800 calories for the two of them. The rest of the day was according to plan, and I did hit the gym after work. Granted, "something" didn't agree with me during the day, and the accompanying biological activities probably helped things out. End result, I defied the odds and was down to 281.4 lbs on Wednesday morning. Wednesday was a road day, though, and again I succumbed to the siren call of cheesy bacon wraps (from a completely different BK, though). As before, the rest of the day went according to plan, and I did hit the gym on the way home. Again, though, I experienced digestive "issues" throughout the day. End result, Thursday's weigh-in was all the way down to 280.6 lbs! Holy IBS Batman! Now, to clarify, I've eaten the cheesy bacon wraps several times before, and never experienced any problems, so I'm not sure if they were the problem or not. In any respect, I was looking forward to Thursday. The final push before the Friday weigh-in, I knew I was going to stick to the plan. And I did. No cheesy bacon wraps, no snacking, the exact same dinner that I had Wednesday night. I figured that if I ate less than I did the day before, and still hit the gym, there should be no reason why I can't crack the 279 lb barrier. The only difference from Wednesday was that I did not experience any digestive issues. End result, Friday's weigh-in was up a pound from my low point, but it still rang in down 3.8 lbs for the week at 281.6 lbs. Disappointing when you're hoping to get into the 270s, but still a nice drop.
I'm still snacking more than I planned to (bringing two or three more 100 cal snack pack things than I should), but I can't argue with the progress. Hopefully I will be able to minimize the damage over the weekend...I'm not sure what's going on tonight, but DAPGF and I are having sushi for Valentine's Day which shouldn't be too damaging. And next week I'm going to be even more hyper vigilant on sticking to the plan. The goal I set for this round of efforts is 2.2 lbs per week. Normally, that would be a pretty tall order. But so far, I'm exceeding the goals substantially. I have no idea whether I can maintain this pace, but it sure would be nice. If I can average 3 lbs per week, by the end of June I would be down to a beach-tastic 220 lbs. At my best in college, I was decently cut and weighing around 235. 220 would freaking rawk! In any respect, I'm sticking with the 2.2 lbs per week goal, but going to make every effort I can to better that. Wish me luck, peeps!
In a word (or two, I suppose), it started off en fuego! I actually managed to lose weight over the weekend, which is very much against the trend, and I was down to 281.6 lbs by Tuesday morning! Tuesday, though, I was feeling uber-hungry on the way to work, and caved in and hit the Burger King drive-thru for a couple of cheesy bacon wraps. They are yummy, only cost 2 for $3, but ring up at approximately 800 calories for the two of them. The rest of the day was according to plan, and I did hit the gym after work. Granted, "something" didn't agree with me during the day, and the accompanying biological activities probably helped things out. End result, I defied the odds and was down to 281.4 lbs on Wednesday morning. Wednesday was a road day, though, and again I succumbed to the siren call of cheesy bacon wraps (from a completely different BK, though). As before, the rest of the day went according to plan, and I did hit the gym on the way home. Again, though, I experienced digestive "issues" throughout the day. End result, Thursday's weigh-in was all the way down to 280.6 lbs! Holy IBS Batman! Now, to clarify, I've eaten the cheesy bacon wraps several times before, and never experienced any problems, so I'm not sure if they were the problem or not. In any respect, I was looking forward to Thursday. The final push before the Friday weigh-in, I knew I was going to stick to the plan. And I did. No cheesy bacon wraps, no snacking, the exact same dinner that I had Wednesday night. I figured that if I ate less than I did the day before, and still hit the gym, there should be no reason why I can't crack the 279 lb barrier. The only difference from Wednesday was that I did not experience any digestive issues. End result, Friday's weigh-in was up a pound from my low point, but it still rang in down 3.8 lbs for the week at 281.6 lbs. Disappointing when you're hoping to get into the 270s, but still a nice drop.
I'm still snacking more than I planned to (bringing two or three more 100 cal snack pack things than I should), but I can't argue with the progress. Hopefully I will be able to minimize the damage over the weekend...I'm not sure what's going on tonight, but DAPGF and I are having sushi for Valentine's Day which shouldn't be too damaging. And next week I'm going to be even more hyper vigilant on sticking to the plan. The goal I set for this round of efforts is 2.2 lbs per week. Normally, that would be a pretty tall order. But so far, I'm exceeding the goals substantially. I have no idea whether I can maintain this pace, but it sure would be nice. If I can average 3 lbs per week, by the end of June I would be down to a beach-tastic 220 lbs. At my best in college, I was decently cut and weighing around 235. 220 would freaking rawk! In any respect, I'm sticking with the 2.2 lbs per week goal, but going to make every effort I can to better that. Wish me luck, peeps!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
It seems to be working!
I think my plan is working. It hasn't been a perfect application of the plan...I really haven't been to the gym since February 1, but I think my illness has further suppressed my appetite. In any respect, I established the plan on 1/30, at a weight of 288.6 lbs. This morning, it was all the way down to 281.6 lbs!!!!! Can a brother get a w000t! Now, I can feel my appetite starting to come back, as the cold loosens its grip on me, but as the cold fades away, my energy and lung capacity should subsequently return. This will allow me to reestablish the gym routine and make up for any lapses in willpower I might suffer. It's not been easy, but I'm doing it! Wish me luck in keeping it up!
Friday, February 06, 2009
Progress! But not exactly as intended...
So...last Friday I laid out my game plan. I was going to be super-dedicated to hitting the gym at every possible opportunity, and during the week (when I had much more editorial control), I was going to plan out my meals to a rough average of less than 1900 calories per day. Given that lately my daily intake had ranged anywhere from 400 to 1400 calories above that, I figured that effort alone would help with the drop. Last Friday's weigh-in hit at 288.6 lbs. This morning's weigh-in was down to 285.2 lbs, for a drop of 3.4 lbs! But all is not exactly what it seems...
As with most of my plans, something always comes out unintended. And this particular "unintended" happened to be the wicked cold that is currently going around San Diego (and probably has variants in other parts of the country). I think I was infected sometime on Thursday, as both one of my co-workers and my father were both suffering from it. I first noticed the throat tickle Saturday morning at the gym. By Saturday afternoon, it was a full, dry, hacking cough and an all-over body ache. I actually did go to the gym Sunday morning, but could only manage a half set of abs, no weights, and about 10 minutes on the elliptical before I had to call it quits. My joints were killing me, I was feeling the fever/chills combo, and my cough could've scared a buffalo (which was ironic, since DAPGF and I shared a Buffalo breakfast quesadilla at the Tractor Room for breakfast). I must have really seemed sick, because DAPGF let me just lay in bed and watch the SuperBowl all afternoon. We did go out for dinner to this road house bbq place in El Cajon with some friends of hers (see, the weekends are harder for me to control), but I felt awful enough that I hardly ate any of my dinner. We went home and I promptly went to sleep, deciding at that point that there was no way I was going to work on Monday. Interestingly, I did better than I planned from a meal perspective, because I did absolutely no snacking. It's hard to snack when you're asleep. Tuesday was more of the same, except I did snack a bit (ironically, there was little to no nausea associated with this particular cold). I would've preferred to stay home on Wednesday also, but there were some things that I actually had to get done at work. This was the first chance I had to try out the diet plan on the road, and aided by my diminished appetite, I stuck to it. I also went to the doctor who said I was turning the corner and gave me some wonderful drugs. Thursday was almost as successful, except for one minor issue. Or rather combination of issues. By the end of Thursday, I was feeling somewhat better and getting my appetite back. Plus, I had to go to 4 different stores, at rush hour, in the rain, to get groceries on the way home, so in a weak moment I bagged on having a Lean Cuisine-type meal and went for the guilty pleasure Red Baron deep dish frozen pizza singles. Those rang up at probably 500 calories more than what I should've eaten.
So there's the first week. Successful, but not quite as intended. I haven't really gotten my energy back yet, and I haven't cleared enough crap out of my lungs to feel comfortable doing my usual gym workout. I will probably try to go in and do a light workout on the lifecycle, just to keep the metabolism going, but it's not going to be anything substantial. That being said, when I have a chance to fully implement my plan, I think this is going to work. Wish me luck and stay warm and dry out there!
As with most of my plans, something always comes out unintended. And this particular "unintended" happened to be the wicked cold that is currently going around San Diego (and probably has variants in other parts of the country). I think I was infected sometime on Thursday, as both one of my co-workers and my father were both suffering from it. I first noticed the throat tickle Saturday morning at the gym. By Saturday afternoon, it was a full, dry, hacking cough and an all-over body ache. I actually did go to the gym Sunday morning, but could only manage a half set of abs, no weights, and about 10 minutes on the elliptical before I had to call it quits. My joints were killing me, I was feeling the fever/chills combo, and my cough could've scared a buffalo (which was ironic, since DAPGF and I shared a Buffalo breakfast quesadilla at the Tractor Room for breakfast). I must have really seemed sick, because DAPGF let me just lay in bed and watch the SuperBowl all afternoon. We did go out for dinner to this road house bbq place in El Cajon with some friends of hers (see, the weekends are harder for me to control), but I felt awful enough that I hardly ate any of my dinner. We went home and I promptly went to sleep, deciding at that point that there was no way I was going to work on Monday. Interestingly, I did better than I planned from a meal perspective, because I did absolutely no snacking. It's hard to snack when you're asleep. Tuesday was more of the same, except I did snack a bit (ironically, there was little to no nausea associated with this particular cold). I would've preferred to stay home on Wednesday also, but there were some things that I actually had to get done at work. This was the first chance I had to try out the diet plan on the road, and aided by my diminished appetite, I stuck to it. I also went to the doctor who said I was turning the corner and gave me some wonderful drugs. Thursday was almost as successful, except for one minor issue. Or rather combination of issues. By the end of Thursday, I was feeling somewhat better and getting my appetite back. Plus, I had to go to 4 different stores, at rush hour, in the rain, to get groceries on the way home, so in a weak moment I bagged on having a Lean Cuisine-type meal and went for the guilty pleasure Red Baron deep dish frozen pizza singles. Those rang up at probably 500 calories more than what I should've eaten.
So there's the first week. Successful, but not quite as intended. I haven't really gotten my energy back yet, and I haven't cleared enough crap out of my lungs to feel comfortable doing my usual gym workout. I will probably try to go in and do a light workout on the lifecycle, just to keep the metabolism going, but it's not going to be anything substantial. That being said, when I have a chance to fully implement my plan, I think this is going to work. Wish me luck and stay warm and dry out there!
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