No Looking Back

Alright, so just finished vacation with some friends, and we did not even try to worry about our weights this week. Should have, but didn't.

So, tomorrow's weigh-in will likely be NASTY - I'm thinking 306-ish. But Beck and I are pretty fired up, and we're hitting this HARD in the morning. We allowed ourselves to take a week off, now we just need to get back into the fitness mindset.

So away we go!

Really, really quick update...

Weighed 299.0 today. Been doing well.

See? Told ya it was quick.

Later!

My Jacked-Up Body

That pic pretty much describes my weight loss to a T. I was back down to my low-mark, 303.0 this morning.

Here's what I've learned over the last 96 hours:

- Screw lame diets. The low-carb thing worked for 48 hours, but my body doesn't like it.

- Normal eating is key. Yesterday I did nothing special, just kept it clean and ate something every few hours.

- Gotta be active. Again, nothing special, but went out and tossed the football in the heat, just to do SOMETHING.

- I'm a very impatient person. I still don't get why my body added weight those four days, but I know better than to panic like that.

So, tonight is a cheat meal day - our first in over a week. We're having pizza, and I'm having three pieces. That's it. I would very much like to be at 299 early next week. I'm sick of seeing a 3 on that scale every day. Driving me nuts.

Have a great weekend...

Read the post below this one, too

Week One Summary

Starting Weight: 310
Ending Weight: 305.2

Total Lost: 4.8

It looks good on paper, but the frustration is that I was at 7 pounds lost four days ago, and I put in 2.2 pounds over those four days. It's frustrating as crap, as outlined in the post below this one...

Up, Up, and Away

I need to step away from all of this for a while. I have some intense personal stress right now, and that may be contributing to this, but I also can't stand to keep seeing this scale go up for no reason. I'm up another 1.2 pounds today.

Not going to say I ate perfectly yesterday, but I didn't go much above my calories, and most of what I ate was salad. Nothing in my diet yesterday should have resulted in bouncing that high.

I'm beginning to think that I just can't lose this weight this time. I dropped 96 before, and it was almost easy, but I was four years younger. Now, I've spent the last two years not being able to break back into the 200's for more than a couple days - especially in the last 12 months. I get to about 302, and that's as far as I go - my body just stops losing, no matter what.

But I have too much going on right now to be able to handle seeing that scale go up every morning. For anybody wondering why I weigh every morning: http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog/archives/006851.html

I really don't know what's next. I have zero motivation to keep working only to see no results, but I also hate being who I am right now. If I could afford a trainer, or some Muay Thai lessons to whip myself into shape, I'd be all over it. But it's just me, my diet, and my basement, and that's not enough, it seems.

I just don't know...

BREAKTHROUGH!!!!

I dropped back down by 0.2 pounds!!!! That's right!! ZERO-POINT-TWO pounds.

Screw this.

Stupid

Right. So, another day of clean eating, a 4+ mile bike ride, tons of water...

...up another .8 pounds.

I've now gained 1.2 pounds the last two days.

A little too ticked off to blog right now. 

A Kick in the Gut

OK, so it's only 6:30, so a lot could change in the next 90 minutes. But, as of right now, I am 1.2 pounds up from yesterday. I still had fewer than 30g of carbs, I went on a 1.9 mile ride, and a casual .75 mile ride with the family later. I forgot to do my 100 push ups, but I did get in 30. I also had fewer than 1,700 calories (which might be the problem, actually).

All of that, and I ADD over a pound to my weight?

Man, do I hope that weight doesn't hold. Ick.

***EDIT***
Not AS bad. I leveled off at 304.4 this morning. So, still up, but nothing panic-worthy. I'll stay clean, stay active, and see what tomorrow brings.

Quick Sunday Update

Started sliding the carbs back in yesterday. Went to a salad bar, and had a cup of pasta salad with egg noodles, so not the healthiest stuff. Still, kept it around 50g of carbs for the day, which I can deal with.

Weight this morning was down another 1.4 pounds. Not sure if the slow in dropping is from the carbs, or from eating too little, as I only had about 1,500 calories yesterday.

Still, I sit here at 303 pounds, lowest I've been in a long time by .8 pounds.

This morning I went for a quick 2-mile bike ride, and I'm going to do 100 push-ups through the day - 30 down, so far.

Hoping to get these 300's behind me very soon.

**ALSO** Congrats to Beck for dropping back under 200 officially for the first time in a long time! Check her blog out on my sidebar, "One More Round."

Perfection

Well, my goal with the whole no-carb thing was to get back to where I was a few days ago when I let myself go and piled on some quick poundage.

Mission: Accomplished.

I was 303.8 about five days ago, then I topped off as high as 311.6. On Thursday morning I was an even 310, and today, after two carbless days, I'm back to 304.4. Exactly what I planned.

So today, I'm going to gradually re-introduce healthy carbs. I found a site last night that said if you're eating about 2,000 calories a day, you should be taking in around 250 grams of carbs. I've done less than 10g the last two days, so I'll up it to maybe 40-50 today, then 75 or so tomorrow, and so on, until I'm up to my 250.

The long-term goal here is to drop to 295 by July 31, the day on my foundation's big event. I needed to lose 15 on Thursday, and today I'm 9.4 away. Not a bad jump-start.

Have a great weekend!

The No-Carb Re-Boot

So, day one of going carbless was a success. Was a little hungry last night, but fought through it, and didn't give in.

I dropped 2.2 pounds yesterday. Yes, I know it's mostly water weight and excess carbs, but that's all I want to do, really. I ate HORRIBLY early this week, so I want my body to level off to where it should have been, had I not eaten like total crap those days.

While I assume I'll drop another couple pounds tomorrow, and the temptation to keep this diet going full-time could be strong, I already see how going no-carb is really unhealthy - at least for me.

I ate 500 calories of eggs, bacon, and cheddar today for breakfast. No carbs, but I just feel greasy. For lunch, it'll be cheddar wrapped in bacon, wrapped in lean roast beef, then microwaved for a few seconds to make it all gooey and awesome. Sounds great, but also gross at the same time. Dinner will be a grilled chicken breast with lemon pepper, and a salad with an oil-based dressing, and a little shredded cheese. Snacks through the day will be cheese sticks.

I mean, I just don't think I could do that long-term. I need some whole grains. I need a little BBQ sauce. I need miracle whip on my bread.

So, the plan, as it's always been, is to gradually re-introduce carbs tomorrow morning. Only good carbs, of course - whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc. We'll see how it plays out.

Just hoping this is a nice 2-day jump start to getting me back on track.

No More Stupididty

Does this sound familiar?

Do well, lose weight, get happy, celebrate with pizza and cookies...

Yeah, that's been me, jumping between the weights of 312 and 303 for the last...I don't even know...maybe 18 months? It's a stupid cycle that I need to break. I need to FORCE myself out of it.

So, I'm acting desperate. I am going 100% carb-free for the next 48 hours, starting this morning at 8am. So, that means only lean meats, and some veggies and fruits until breakfast Saturday. Not going to be easy, as I LOVE me some bread.

We shall see how it goes. It needs to happen NOW.

No more being stupid.

Aging like a Fine Whine

So the frisbee thing was going well. We'd toss it, drop to do a quick push-up, hop up, and chase down the frisbee. After 5 or 6 tosses each way, it started getting tiring. Unlickily for us, we were playing on a wet patch of grass.

Long story short, as I chased down an errant frisbee toss, I went to plant my right leg, which slid out in front of me. My left leg bent back behind me, and my foot hit the back of my shoulder, twisting my knee up. I came out of it ok - I think I strained my right hammy, and I twisted my left knee.

Just a reminder that I'm not as young as I used to be, I guess.

The good news is that my weight continues to drop. Here's the update:

Starting: 308.2 on June 7, 2010
Current: 303.6 on June 17, 2010
Total weight lost: 4.6 pounds
Pounds per day average: .46 pounds lost

I can deal with that. If I can maintain a .4 pounds per day average, I'll drop a total of 18 more pounds by my July fundraising event.

As for today, it's a birthday cheat day - dinner and cake. I'll try to keep the damages minimal, but don't count on it. :)

Peace out!

33 and 364/365ths

Well, tomorrow I turn 34, and today I'm down 3.2 pounds in my most recent attempt to attain fitness. Nothing to write home about, I know. Still, seeing a 305 on the scale this morning was a nice feeling, as it's the lowest I've been in a while.

Today it's going to be 92 and sunny in Denver. Beck and I are going to go throw a frisbee in the heat, but to add to the workout, we'll be dropping and doing a push-up between throws. Should make it more effective, I'd think.

So, the train keeps moving...

Who else is on board?

Week One Done

Well, the bad news is that it wasn't a great week. The diet still struggled, I didn't feel 100% health-wise, and we had a lot of personal and business stress to fight through. So, I could have done more, and done it better.

That said, I enter week two down 1.8 pounds from my starting point of 308.2.

Not thrilled with it, but a loss is a loss, so I'm going to hold onto it, and try to build on it.

Becky and I are hoping to start some basic MMA training at a gym here in town. There, we'll go through their Fight Camp. As their website says...

Fight Camp provides you with instruction in boxing, kickboxing, and grappling techniques in order to build functional, dynamic strength. You will experience a combination of grappling drills, heavy bag striking, focus-mitts, and a large range of plyometrics rather than traditional gym routines. You will develop base grappling techniques such as escapes, defense, position control, submissions, and the opportunity to safely roll (grapple sparing). More intense and combat specific than fitness boxing or kickboxing, Fight Camp will help you safely attain functional fitness through martial concepts as an alternative to typical gym workouts.

So, we're hoping this really lights that fire that we need to really get this train moving.

What's YOUR Solution to a Lack of Motivation?

I'm fat, again. But that's just not enough for some reason. I don't WANT to be 308, but I also don't want to be 250 bad enough to do anything about it.

I know we've all been through this before. I have, and I was nearly always able to fight my way through it when I lost my first 96 pounds. But since then, I just haven't been able to fight my way out of this funk.

So, to anybody who is currently having weight loss success, how are you staying out of these ruts?

Spread the Word, FAT

It's time we all got back on the wagon. I think we can all agree that we had our best success in numbers, and as I look at the other dormant blogs, and at myself in the mirror, I realize that it's time we went back to what worked.

Yes, it was our own effort that burned the calories, and I can't speak for anybody else, but I know that the motivation, encouragement, and even the occasional reprimand from the Coalition is often what pushed me.

So, let's get the band back together, people.

If you're in, comment on this post and let me know. Be sure to head by Becky's new blog, too, as I'm sure she could use the moral support.

I have no problem admitting that I need this extra "umph" as I fight to get this fat back off. So, let's get this Coalition back to doing what it does best.

The FAT Coalition has re-opened for business.

WTF is my Problem??

I just can't stay on track. I have no strength and no willpower. It's driving me crazy.

Beck is Back

http://beckant.blogspot.com/

As for me...I derailed badly, but that's in the past. Today, I had my first real cardio workout in MONTHS. Ran a medium-sized hill 10 times up, 10 times down. Nothing major, but you have to (re)start somewhere.

Gotta do this for real this time. Have to.

The Mental Game

What a great first week I had!

And what a way to ruin it.

My mind isn't in this - not at all. I do great with my diet for a week, then I make a bad choice that sends me on a downward spiral. I didn't even bother weighing in this morning, but I have no doubt that I'm, at least, back up to my starting point from last Monday.

I don't know what the issue is. I love to eat, especially when it's junk or sweets. But I get into these phases where I just lose all self-control. I'm just not as mentally strong as I was when I dropped my 96. Back then, even cheat days were kept in check. Now, a cheat day turns into a cheat weekend.

I need to get out of this. I need to break the cycle. My body is willing, but my mind isn't. And, at this point, I'm not really sure how to get it there.

Ugh.

The First Five Days

Just a quick update...

Weighed in at a nasty 308.0 Monday morning, hoping to get to 304 by today. My official weigh-in this morning was 301.8.

So, not a bad first week.

The Ugly Numbers

Not shockingly, my starting weight was pretty nasty.

In the last couple of months, I had screwed around and got myself as heavy as I'd ever want to be again. WAY too close to that 366 I started at a few years ago. I was briefly as high as 315.

On Monday, when I re-booted for real, I was a still-nasty 308.0, meaning that I needed to lose 58 pounds to get to my goal weight of 250. My plan was to drop a quick four pounds by this Friday, and then level off at an average of 2.4 pounds per week. Not going to be easy to keep my average up that high, as even at the peak of my weight loss, I was only dropping 8-ish pounds per month.

Going to take some focus and determination, but it has to be done.

So far I'm well on pace to lose the first four pounds, as I weighed in at 304.6 this morning. My goal was to be at 304 on Friday morning, so I should be able to make that happen.

It kinda sucks to post such depressing numbers publicly. Embarrassing, really. But maybe that's the fuel I need, right.

We'll see. Here's to the voyage...

I'm Baaaaaaaack!

Screw this. I've been lazy. I've overeaten. I've quit. I've started again. I've quit again.

I need to get back to where I was in September of 2007. I had lost 96 pounds, and I was on my way. Now I'm back up 30+, and I need it back off.

I had another blog where I found some success, but at the end of the day, I just needed to get back to...

Square One.