Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Monthly Update: February

Yes, I know March is almost over, but I forgot to post my progress in February. March update will be next week.

Things that went well

Started lifting again, doing the TT Intermediate workout, which was a good workout, I can see the results.

Things to improve

Well, I didn't lose a whole lot of weight in February, less than 5 pounds. I think it was a combination of my body having less weight to lose, plus me relaxing a bit and going out to dinner a few times. I had one week where I didn't lose any weight, and that threw the numbers off.

More veggies are needed.


OVERALL PROGRESS

Weight as of 3/3: 169.6
Total Weight Lost: 37.16 lbs (4.56 this month)

Total reduction in measurements as of 3/3

Neck: 1.75 inches
Chest: 5 inches
Bicep: 3.125 inches
Gut: 9.125 inches
Waist: 6.750 inches
Thigh: 1.5 inches

Monday morning update

OK, so I've been gone for a while. Both Billy and I are alive and well, I assure you.

3/10 Report:

So back on 3/6, I went on vacation to Tampa on a golf trip. I think I did very well in balancing the "Hey I'm on a diet!" with the "Hey, I'm on vacation!". We had a suite with a kitchen, so we made breakfast every morning, so I basically at the same breakfast that I do at home (Eggs, Turkey Sausage, Kashi Cereal). I packed a Tuna wrap every day for lunch while we played golf, plus a protein bar. We went out to dinner every night, which is where I relaxed a little. I had a big nasty steak every night, except for one night where I had Ahi Tuna, another favorite. But I always made sure to order veggies instead of the potato side, and no dessert.

So here are the 3/10 stats:

Weight Average: 168.6- loss of 1.04 pounds this week (38.2 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.25-No Change
Chest 37.75- Gain of 1/4"
R. Bicep 12.625- Gain of 1/4"
Gut 32.375 - Gain of 1/4"
Waist 33.625 - Gain of 3/8"
Thigh 22.5- No Change

Even though it says I lost 1 pound, that's more a function of the averages. I weighed in at 167 on the day I left and weighed 171.2 when I got back.

3/17 Update:

So I get home on 3/10, and then on 3/11 I had to get on a plane to go to Madison WI for 3 days for work! So I was good there as well, I did most of the same things that I did the last time I was there (I posted about that trip in January).

When I got back, I was at 169.8, instead of 171.2 when I got back from Tampa, so that was a relief.

Weight Average: 169.28- Gain of .68 pounds this week (37.5 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.25-No Change
Chest 37.625- Loss of 1/8"
R. Bicep 12.375- Loss of 1/4"
Gut 32.500 - Gain of 1/8"
Waist 33.375 - Loss of 1/4"
Thigh 22.5- No Change

So the rise in the average is once again due to the high weights early in the week, so this is the vacation/business trip coming home to roost.

3/24 Update:

So you would think that now that I am back home and things are back to routine, that this would be a good week. But something happened this week that really got my attention: Easter. Now, we aren't very religious, so Easter is no big deal to our family. So I didn't focus on having a plan or being ready to fight the temptations that were going to be present.

Friday: We went out to dinner at a restaurant called The Melting Pot (fondue). Almost impossible to eat healthy there, as the first course is dipping stuff in melted cheese (I did mostly veggies, not much bread), the second course is salad, the third course is meat cooked in veggie broth, and the fourth course was melted chocolate fondue. Now, I usually don't eat dessert, but if you put a hot pot of melted chocolate and a plate full of stuff to dip it in front of me, I can't resist. At least I dipped mostly fruit (strawberries/bananas).

Saturday: We had a pot luck dinner at my Grandfather's house, where there was Ham and something called baked macaronis, which is macaroni, butter, cheese, bread crumbs and tomatoes. I had 3 helpings. Out of control.

Sunday: Easter Brunch. Huge buffet with anything you want. I managed to control myself here, but the damage was done.

Weight Average: 168.40- Loss of .88 pounds this week (38.4 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.125-Loss of 1/4"
Chest 37.375- Loss of 1/4"
R. Bicep 12.500- Gain of 1/8"
Gut 32.00 - Loss of 1/2"
Waist 33.125 - Loss of 1/4"
Thigh 22.125- Loss of 3/8" (Huh?)

I'm falling behind my weight goals (I should be 1.5 lbs lighter), so I'm really focused this week on eating properly.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Monday morning update : Under 170!

I lost 1.9 pounds this week, and today was the first day that my average has gone under 170!

Another milestone, by both the caliper and web site methods of measuring body fat, I'm now at 15%! My scale, however, says I'm 20.9%, what the hell?

I have noticed that my neck and chest measurments have not changed for 3 weeks, so maybe they are settling in at the sizes that they will be when I reach my goal. I've noticed that there is not much fat on my chest anymore.

Weight Average: 169.64- loss of 1.9 pounds this week (37.2 lbs total)

Measurements (Losses/Gains are for the week, not total)

Neck 14.25-No Change
Chest 37.5- No Change
R. Bicep 12.375- Loss of 1/4"
Gut 32.125 - Loss of 1/8"
Waist 33.25 - Loss of 1/4"
Thigh 22.5- Loss of 1/8"

I leave for vacation on Thursday. I've got a plan in place, but I will not be trying to lose weight, just trying to make enough good decisions to come back and not have gained a whole lot.

Just for fun, here is how many days I've spent in each "decade" of weight:

Days in 200's (started at 206.4)
40

Days in 190's
39

Days in 180's
43

Days in 170's
51