Today marks the completion of two full months of phase one: weight reduction.
When I started this program, I set out a goal: I wanted to be 200 pounds on Christmas Day, which was five months, to the day, from the day I started. To make that, I would have to average 17 pounds of weight loss a month. Honestly, I had not a clue how I would get there. I had tried exercise as my driver to a failed program in 2011 and an unfocused "I have to eat less and more healthy" driver to a failed program in 2010. The key to this program to date has been that I have a diet plan that I have stuck to religiously. This has helped me tremendously. I have also worked out frequently (including again this morning) and that has helped. While the 2010 effort failed and the 2011 effort failed, the 2012 effort has not failed.
I weighed before the workout this morning and I was just short of breaking through the 250 pound barrier. I weighed again after the workout to see a 4 as the middle number and was not disappointed. But, that doesn't count, the first thing in the morning weigh-in is what counts. Through two months, I have lost 34.4 pounds, right on target.
Day 63
Weight: 250.1
Total Loss: 34.4
Loss in the second month: 17.6
Congrats, Stick. You've produced some very impressive results, doing it the right way. Here's to sustained success.
Roughly in parallel to your efforts, I've (slightly) ramped up my health consciousness. I've cut out my daily soda from my routine and gotten back to my saturday/sunday workout routine. In addition, with the Boy gone to college, it has become much, much harder to justify cooking meat in my household, which has meant a tightening up of my cooking routine, on a lower-caloric trajectory (tragic-story?). More plant-dominant meals.
Good work, Stick. Very impressive.
XT today with easy laps in the pool + hot tub at the club.
Re: working on traveling days - I spreadsheet my workouts (have for 11 years now), and a long while back, noticed I would miss working out on a travel day.
Now I make a concerted effort to get it in - if traveling to Cambridge I go swim at MIT or spin at the Cambridge Athletic Club. If working remotely in Minny, I will get out in the hills at Wm O'Brien. If in Dublin, I invent a 10-bridges run. I find myself planning for it in advance so it happens.
Re: vegan - yeah, we've been tossing in a vegan nacht 1-2 times a week for a while.
First thing I noticed in doing this was that the Whole Foods bill was around $14.29 instead of around $45.38.
When I do V. meals, they are usually substituting tofu for meat in stir frys, or cold dishes where WF has done the work for me. Other dishes that have worked are Dal Mahktani (lentils), black-beans/rice, and pasta with roasted veggies. Last nite tofu was the star but the foil was falafel.
Nice work, SBG.
Yesterday was back squat day for me. 5x20(kg), 5x40, 3x56, 3x65, 4x73. This seemed harder that usual, probably because I'm down to 165 pounds (post-workout) again. Conditioning was about 12 minutes total of rowing, kettlebell swings, and walking lunge. To finish, I did 9 sets of 30 jumps on the jump rope (starting to feel more comfortable on it) and 6 single pull-ups. My glutes were mighty sore this morning. Overhead press is on deck this evening.
On Sunday, I mapped out my meals for the week and went on a big grocery shopping trip--lots of fresh veggies. This is the first time I think I have ever done this, and I'm hoping it'll help me be more consistent with my diet. In some situations, I thrive on structure, and I'm hoping that having some structure will keep me from eating out so much. So far this week, so good.
Let me add my congratulations, SBG. Keep it going!
Remarkably, after a hectic last week which left me no time for exercise and not eating as I should, I did not particularly gain any weight. I am back on the bicycle this week, though.
We have a good line on an apartment. We hope to be able to move in by Thursday. Once that happens, I look forward to going for jogs to get the lay of the land.
I feel like a slacker. While I'm still going to all of my cardiac rehab workouts, over the past two weeks I've only managed a few of my personal workouts at home. Part of this is due to a bout of stomach flu, the bloody workload I'm shouldering right now (we're a month away from our annual user conference which is a BFD for marketing) and the fact that by the time I get home these days it's nearly dark. The last couple of weekends have also been very hectic with family commitments, housework and takehome work. I guess it's time to start making indoor workouts the norm, and that's going to mean finding a decent used treadmill I can set up in the basement. I'm just not coordinated enough to use the wife's Nordic Trak.
Tomorrow is a travel day, Twayn.
Roger that.
Twayn, I've always had a hard time convincing myself to work out at all unless it was going to be a balls-to-the-wall, 2+ hour affair. But the lesson I keep seeing in the press is that every little bit matters. and shorter, moderate workouts might actually be better for weight loss.
On Sunday, I plan to discuss some of the collateral benefits that I've seen, one of them being that I have more energy to do other things. It was the case that I was pretty burned out after the painting project this weekend. But, the early morning workouts, I think, will lead to more activity as I will have time in the afternoons to expend on physical projects around the house.