Fifteen Pounds Down, Y'all

It's another Monday and another weigh-in! I may be doing everything else in my life wrong, but I'm still dropping weight. Some of it may be from all the skin peeling off of me from last week's sunburn (sexy, I know).

278.2 lb.

Weekly Loss: 2.0 lb.

Total Loss Since 8/17/2015: 15.0 lb.

That's another five-pound milestone in the BANK. But with each week it gets harder not to hit a plateau. Just gotta keep up the slow-and-steady wins the race good diet choices mentality, while stepping up the increased activity.

Personal goal is to shave another ten pounds of lard off by Halloween minimum, which is roughly within the 2ish pounds a week range. Seems doable. Then I have to keep my hands off the candy.

Thanks for the messages of support, everyone!

Savannah Sunburn

I confess to being a little nervous in stepping on the scale this morning, since I spent the weekend in Savannah attending a wedding and over a three day period really wasn't following the "plan" but was in vacation mode—though I did imbibe less drinks and order lighter than I would have two months ago.

Plus side? We went to the beach on Tybee Island midday yesterday before heading home and I got in the ocean and didn't get out of the water for several hours. I swam out past the edge of the pier and back several times, body-surfed the waves, played with my daughter, and got a delightful sunburn. I'm sore this morning, but in a good way.

So back to that "stepping on the scale" part:

280.2 lb.

Weekly Loss: 2.2 lb.

Total Loss Since 8/17/2015: 13.0 lb.

Boom! While the loss of lard is less dramatic than the previous weigh-in, it's in the recommended 2-3 pounds lost per week range. I have no doubt that all that swimming yesterday played a significant role, and I need to keep up a higher level of activity to counter the fact that my job involves me sitting on my ass all day.

Thanks again for the encouragement and support. I'll post a picture of my sunburned self on social media later today when I've had a chance to clean up a bit. You might be able to see the difference!

Achievement Unlocked: Ten Pounds Down

Dear Diary:

Labor Day and Dragon*Con caused me to miss my weekly official weigh-in and report, but now that Monday con-holidays are over I'm back at it. I've been counting my WW points and taking my vitamins and following my doctorly advice, and it's paying off!

To recap, this is where I started about a month ago:

August 17th:

293.2 lb.

And here's what the scale told me this morning:

282.4 lb.

Weekly (x2) Loss: 7.6 lb.

Total Loss Since 8/17/2015: 10.8 lb.

So my first milestone — 10 pounds of lard shed — has been achieved within the first month! I have a full physical coming in the next few weeks (yay 40, can't wait for that prostate exam) and I'll keep talking to my doctor about how to keep up the progress in a way that's healthy.

The first part of this process has been through diet alone. Phase II begins this week by incorporating increased calorie-burning activity, including long walks and doing some much-needed yardwork as an excuse to get more physical. If I can prove to myself that I possess the discipline to do certain things daily I will eventually be joining a gym, taking advantage of my early-morning schedule to add some weight training. I want to tone and get in better overall shape in addition to just dropping pounds.

Thanks to all who support me as I try to reduce my waistline and accompanying health risks, so I can live to see my unborn son graduate from high school one day. Tune in next week to see how I do, same bat-day, same bat-blog.

Back on the Wagon

... and I'm back. With the bad news/good news thing. In just over a year I let stress and excuses knock me off the health wagon and my weight shot up as a result. I kept procrastinating focusing on a healthier lifestyle after the next trip, after school starts, after whatever I could think of to keep me from dealing with it.

Looking back to May of last year it's sad to realize just how much weight I put back on, getting me back to Square One when it comes to a healthier weight. But a trip to the doctor put the smack-down on me and I am now official re-lighting Health beacon, and just like before I'll be tracking my progress out in the open—support from my friends and loved ones makes all the difference for me.

I didn't do an official weigh-in last week, but I did two weeks ago, which will be my starting point:

August 17th:

293.2 lb.

(Ugh)

Yep, that's bad. But I've lost this before and I will do it again and not hit a stopping point—just a point where I'm ready to maintain a healthy lifestyle and understand that some bad habits just need to be gone for good. I don't want to get Type 2 diabetes. I don't want my back to get so bad that I need surgery. I want to be healthy and have the energy for the new baby on the way. I want to look in the mirror and not be disgusted with what I see.

So here we go. Week One of Year One of the New Era, and my results from my doctor-recommended methods of healthier living:

290.0 lb.

Weekly Loss: 3.2 lb.

Total Loss Since 8/17/2015: 3.2 lb.

283.2 lb. is the first celebratory milestone — the first ten pounds of lard dropped! And it's not that far away and I know it's very achievable. Historically the first 10-15 lb. come off very easily once I make it a priority, and then things get trickier.

I'm beginning with diet only, working in increased activity, then work my way to structured exercise and eventually some weight training.

Wish me luck. Here I go!

Uncharted Territory!

Ahoy! It was a very busy week, as late April through early June is "the Gauntlet" in my family—filled with birthdays and special occasions. But even with family meals and cake, I managed to stay strong and moderate my intake without starving myself. So this morning ...

262.6 lb.

Weekly Loss: 3.4 lb.

Total Loss Since 1/25/2014: 16.4 lb.

265 pounds was my first big milestone — representing the lowest weight I had achieved since before 2001. And now I've sailed past it by a few pounds. It's exciting! Now that I've hit the first big goal primarily by diet I'm going to ramp up physical activity and soon start some weight training to tone up. Already I'm getting remarks about how now that my waist is slimming up a bit it emphasizes my broad shoulders and makes me look taller.

 (Taken yesterday at my nephew's birthday lunch.)

Not only am I starting to feel better about the guy in the mirror, but I know that both my sleep apnea and lower back issues will be helped by getting to a healthier weight. I'm hopefully dodging adult onset diabetes that my Dad once dealt with, high blood pressure, etc. I'm going to keep at this for the long haul.

Thanks to my family and friends for their support and encouragement. See you at next week's weigh-in!

One Mile to the Milestone

Okay, so after the being a bit naughty for the Easter holiday I've been careful about food journaling and better choices for the past week, so instead of another slow-crawl week I shot down.

Quick aside: Back around the time my daughter Liz was born in 1997 I was about 260 pounds. For the next seven years I would only gain weight because of near-constant eating to stay awake while suffering from untreated sleep apnea, combined with bad habits and lazy lifestyle ... well, I got way-big, way-unhealthy. Since then, the lowest/best weight I've achieved was 265 lb. a few years ago. Well, this is what the scale said this morning:

266.0 lb.

Weekly Loss: 7.4 lb.

Total Loss Since 1/25/2014: 13.0 lb.

So if I lose even one pound over the next week, I will have tied for the best weight I've had since sometime in the late 90s! It's my first major milestone on this road to better health and self-confidence. I'm excited to blaze past it and into awesome uncharted territory.

Thanks for the love and support, everyone. It all keeps me going!

Movin' On Down!

While I'd done pretty well during the course of last week, I was concerned that I'd break even or—worse—have gained slightly because I allowed myself to indulge at the annual Easter family feast. I prepared two hams (declared by Mom to be the best hams ever) and the remaining food, wine, and dessert was also delicious. I actually didn't eat nearly as much as I once would have stuffed into my face-hole if only because my stomach can't handle the amount of food that it once could.

So this morning I weighed in, prepared for the worst ...

274.4 lb.

Weekly Loss: 1.0 lb.

Total Loss Since 1/25/2014: 16.6 lb.

Whattaya know! I managed to still lose a pound over the last week. Not bad—and thankfully no more feast temptations for a while!