140 of 200 - Sixty to go

This fitness thing has become totally habitual. It's almost difficult for me to imagine waking up on on Monday, Wednesday or Friday and not doing pushups, then situps, then running for half an hour before I get ready for work. I mix in some 6.0mph "sprints" in to the run when I have the wind but it always beats me up when I do. Progress remains slow but steady. Now averaging 22 push-ups, 44 sit-ups, and running at least 2.6 miles in 30 minutes. While the time, place, and exercises are totally different, the rhythm of it feels just like going to football, track, or wrestling practice did in high school.

Current goals remain 36+ pushups, 42+ sit ups, 3 miles in 30 minutes, and 189 pounds fully clothed. I'm also flirting with the idea of running a half marathon this summer. We'll see.

Today, for the first time in my life since my senior year of high school, I weighed 249. The trend-line is at 252.9. It's still all about keeping my regular calorie intake below what I burn but I'm far less rigid about it these days. Loss rate per week for last week: 1.3; two weeks: 0.95; four weeks: 1.2; eight weeks: 1.0. I guess that puts me at about 60 weeks from goal weight. Will I ever break a year?

As my family and friends know, I've also taken on a challenge that requires quite a bit of walking through mid spring to see success. Walking in the cold is undoubtedly burning up a few more calories than normal and will continue to do so. I think it's helped with the diet flexibility I've been allowing myself of late.

Thanks for reading. Happy Holidays and wonderful 2008 to you all!

Did someone say a year?

Good grief-- I started journaling this journey a year ago. The aught-six spreadsheet says I weighed in at 361.6 that day. This morning, one year and three days later, I weighed a personal best low of 254.4. That works out to an average 0.3 pound per day loss. That's, again on average, a 1028 calorie deficit every day for the last 368 days.

When I started this thing the goal was to lose 200 pounds. That's 700,000 calories. Using more accurate trend-line numbers: 384.2lbs - 259.9lbs = 452,550 calories. There are only 247,450 left to go. 2/3 of the way there. Behind schedule but still making acceptable progress.

Some people say 200 is too much. Some people say, "You look great, don't lose another pound." Others say, "You look great, you're almost there, maybe another 20." Or some other number. I say 189 wearing clothes on the doctors scale was and remains the goal. Only muscle gain can prevent it.

1lb=3500 calories. Knowledge truly is power. Thank you John Walker for making the way clear. Thank you to every person who has supported me in one way or another. Thanks to the commenters. But most of all, thank you to my wonderful significant other. I realize there used to be more of me to love but what's left of me couldn't possibly love you any more.

Update

While posted mid-november, this entry is for at least a month prior.

My current weight is 268.8, the trend is at 269.5 that's .7 to the good, the 10 day average is 270.4 which is 1.6 to the good.

The 1500 calorie plan has shifted to a 100+800+700 (breakfast+lunch+supper) 1600 calorie plan a while back. Subway is still the anchor staple. But now I significantly vary my sub choice from among those with the right calories. The new sweet onion chicken teriyaki was a great addition to the lunch lineup. Monday is now club day.

I get dizzy when I stand up after a stretch of three or four slightly lower calorie days. Clearly that's not acceptable, so I now make a point of making sure I get at least 1500 every day. Problem solved.

I've also had-- umm-- poo issues. Too much fiber if you know what I mean. Subway (geez, it seems to be all about subway with me, I promise this isn't a sponsored weblog or anything...) introduced strawberry yogurt. This is now a part of my lunch nearly every weekday and has brought the issue to a more-- umm-- solid resolution. Ya, enough about that.

Annual physical went well. All of the blood work numbers looked good except for the good cholesterol being a little low. Doc says that this is the hardest number to move. Blood pressure continues to improve as I continue to work out. I have always been a salt eater but it just isn't showing up in the cuff anymore. The doc went out of her way to congratulate me on progress thus far and we agreed to go back to annual physicals.

While the nurse led me down the hall to the exam room, the doc said hello to me as she walked passed. There was zero recognition in her face. When the doc came in to the exam room, she apologized and congratulated me on my new and improved appearance. Many folks have been tossing out comments about how I look great and how I'm 10 years younger. Perhaps it's shallow of me, but this sort of encouragement is very appreciated. I believe every comment of this sort serves to reinforce the positive behavior.

On the workout front, I have been running as much as possible during Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning workouts. I run at 5.5 or 6.0mph for a few minutes and then slow to a walk when gassed. I always maintain a minimum speed throughout the workout and that's currently 4.7mph. Sometimes, I'll try for a distance run at 5.0 or 5.2mph, but I can never seem to make it for 30 minutes. I'm doing about 3 miles a day including warmup and cooldown on MWF, and a walking program for a little over 2 miles on TR. I also do push ups and sit ups on MWF, I'm averaging a little under 20 of the former and a few over 30 of the latter.

And finally, a story about my best friend. I've always had the bigger physical body. Mostly just because I'm taller. But because I was a high school athlete and he wasn't, I have-- at least in my mind-- also been stronger and faster than him too. He too is a programmer and he too became a big, soft, mushy, overweight person sitting in an office chair and eating free food. In any case, we have been competing on the weight loss thing. He's been working out and losing inches without losing as much weight. Makes sense because his workout includes weights, mine doesn't. He came in to town and several of us went out to a local pub. We were a-drinkin' away. (There is no calorie counting on special occasions.) Fun was being had by all and we ended up arm wrestling. The bastard toyed with me before putting my arm on the table. I may still be faster but no longer am I stronger. I salute you, sir! (I'm still kicking your ass on weight loss though.)

Be well and thanks for reading.

Progress report

Here's where I'm at:

One week: lost 3.1. Two weeks: lost 2.15/wk. Four: 2.2/wk. Eight: 2.1375/wk.

Trend line said 275.7 this morning. The scale said 271.8. Assuming two pounds a week, I'm 43 weeks away from goal weight. My loss rate has finally plateaued enough that goal weight isn't a year away every time I check.

Today I opened the treadmill with a 14 minute run and finished with three minutes of a planned five minute run. I'm now consistently running over half the half hour workout. I stop when my heart rate hits 170 now, so it is getting easier. (Even if it does still suck.)

On Wed, increased push ups and sit ups to twice daily on MWF and treadmill time daily M-F. Next week will be the first full week, we'll see how the body holds up. Feels fine after three days straight.

Here are notes I jotted down while sweating my ass off after a workout late June:

-----8<------
Me: Can I use those stairs to work out tomorrow?

S: Sure, you can use them.

Need to find a way to work out after
all day at ORD w/ airport food.
(Nachos, salad, bad Uno pucks)

Walked through double doors to stairwell.
Sheet rock, joint compound- steel steps.
on 15, up to 16; down to G, 3 minutes;
up to 16, 5mins; down to G 10 mins;
up to 16, 15 minutes down and up.
Still time left, up to 7-- done
time to cool down. Down to g
find a door. Opens to street and alarm
goes off. Quickly close. Walk around block to front door - FOB in - tell
guard about the alarm - he tells me good
job. Back to 1508, ask SO for pen- find
one on the counter- sheet of paper from fax machine- write

Steps up: Sheetrock, joint compound, black philips drywall screws. Landing with concrete walls, sheetrock again. door w/ a number, sheetrock, joint compound drywall screws. 5/8 Fire Resist___ can't make it out. Ugly patch, third floor, probably something from construction. 5 screws in a row.

7th was a wall- 14th
double wall-- 16th top, down is
hard with weak legs.

50 flights up
1 + 17 + 17 + 17 + 7
one extra to sidewalk
16 pu & situps
-----8<------

And now I can finally throw those notes out. If you made it this far through that drivel, you are to be commended. Thanks for reading.

Half way to goal.

Good grief, my thoughts are all over the place as I sit to write this post. I think I'm just going to dump some thoughts out there and then try to tie this thing together.

Weight update - Assuming clothes accounted for 5 pounds when I weighed in at 389, a 100 pound loss is 284. The trend line today says 291.9. I refuse to call the journey half way complete until the trend line says 284. Even so, the scale read 283.8 today. This is a record low for me and signals that I really am closing in on the half way point. Progress hasn't been consistent week to week but it keeps happening. (Weekly average loss for the last eight weeks: 2.1, four weeks: 1.85, two weeks: 3.3.) Increased activity has apparently made an impact.

Fitness - 17 real push-ups and an eight minute run to start the workout yesterday. The SO and I took a 90 minute bike ride this morning. I feel pretty strong all the time now. My energy gauge is no longer stuck on sedentary. To borrow a word I'm seeing frequently these days, I feel needful of exercise and activity. Especially on days when I don't have a scheduled workout. Clearly the fat reduction is making exercise easier but losing weight and/or exercising is making me crave more activity. Long bike ride today, ship wreck diving last weekend, and I'm thinking about taking up Aikido again on the evenings I can fit it in. I feel FANTASTIC!

Ritual - I heard someone talking about happiness and ritual on NPR last week. I think it was a Harvard professor. One of the points he made was that athletes don't have to think about working out. It's just something that they do. They walk in to the gym without thinking about it. I immediately recognized this as being a huge part of my success thus far. I consume 100 calories every day for breakfast with my vitamins. I do sit ups, push ups, and treadmill time Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays without fail. I eat in six hundred calorie chunks. My success is based not just on behavior changes, but on ritualistic behavior changes.

Impersonal support - When the DVR scoops them up I watch The Biggest Loser while on the treadmill. There is no more motivating television for this fat person. The images are all of fat people losing significant pounds from show to show. Yes, there's drama. Yes, there's the game aspect. But at the end of the day most of the people on that show make positive changes and see positive results. These total strangers continue to inspire me.

Interpersonal support - It is huge when someone asks, "Have you lost weight?" or "My goodness, how much weight have you lost?" This sort of positive reinforcement that comes out of left field just helps to keep me on track.

Personal support - No, we're not talking jockstraps or braziers here. My significant other has been so very supportive. The pantry is stocked with snacks and foods in amounts highly compatible with my 100+600+600 diet. Dad asks about my weight every day he swings by the office to visit and encourages me no matter if that days change was up or down. An old friend and I have a competition going on Fridays. Everyone in my life has been so greatly supportive.

So... Things are good on the fitness front. I'm approaching half way to goal weight and more fit than I have been in years. At first, this was all thanks to redirecting personal anger and frustration toward forcing myself to develop exercise and eating behaviors-- I've since come to recognize as ritualistic-- that caused success. Positive messages from media, friends and family have very strongly reinforced those lifestyle changes. And you, dear readers and commenters, you too have helped to cause my success. As always, thanks for reading.

Two-Something

Yesterday I may have finally passed a significant milestone. My weights yesterday and today were 298.6. The trend is still at 302.8 but I think there's a good chance that I will never, ever weigh three-something again. Hard numbers wise, this milestone is nearly meaningless. It is totally arbitrary, but none the less still has this strong psychological impact. Two-something is a long, long way from three-something. Perhaps it's the same psychological impact of when an odometer flips to a one with all zeros behind it or even when we hit the year 2000.

Six gallons, 299 pounds, and iron.

The pint of blood I left behind last week apparently puts me at six total gallons donated. I hope that one of the benefits of a more healthful life is that I'll end up being one of those people that donates 20 or 30 gallons before they make me quit due to some age ailment. I suppose I'll have to volunteer to work the desk or canteen at that point. If a needle in your arm for ten minutes doesn't bother you and you can deal with several highly personal questions, then please consider donating blood today with the Red Cross or whoever handles that in your neck of the woods.

One of those personal questions they ask donors is their current weight. I was at 308.8 that day and am always honest because other people's lives are on the line. Unfortunately, their automated program requires a supervisor override for those folks over either 299 or 300. The nurse wasn't sure which. Either way, it's a very real possibility that I'll be under that mark when they call again to set up an appointment in eight weeks. That makes me smile.

However, there is a matter of concern. One of the pre-donation tests they perform is for iron levels. I have been at the low limit these last two donations. I am adding a women's daily multivitamin which contains iron to my morning routine. I was already taking a multivitamin for men, but it doesn't have iron listed on the label. Given that I'd like to get up to 30 gallons some day, I sure hope that does the trick.

As always, thanks for reading.

Q2 Report Card

2006-10-02 - 389.2 - Peak weight.

2007-01-02 - 351.6 - First quarterly checkup.

2007-04-10 - 317.3 - Second quarterly check up.

Blood work improved. Hopefully it's not an anomaly. Everything but the cholesterol stuff is in the desirable or normal range but it's improved too. Doc and I agreed that six months is soon enough for my next visit.

A few quick numbers. The trend line has me at 313.9 today and I was at 370 on 5 Nov when I started recording daily. So, I'm averaging 0.334 pounds/day or 2.34 pounds/week. With 130 pounds left to travel, I'm looking at 389 days to goal weight. Calculations for last week (1.8 ppw) and and last month (1.28 ppw) demonstrate this slowing progress. Using that miserable four week average, goal weight is 721 days way. Someone please remind me not to go hog wild again. It is a little frustrating that I have been a year away from goal weight for months but everyone said progress would slow.

Ran for 4:00 at 5.0mph yesterday and HR peaked at 175bpm. I return to walking if I hit 180 or feel strained. Until a week ago I'd been doing modified push-ups on and off because I could only do three real ones. Managed 7 real push-ups yesterday. I am getting stronger but shedding pounds has made exercise much easier.

Travel and social eating.

When traveling, I lack discipline and motivation to regularly work out. Even when my father was seriously injured not long ago, I still-- having had very little sleep-- got up and walked on the treadmill the next day. But I just don't seem to care enough to consistently get it done while in a hotel.

When I hit the road on Sunday I was at 313 which was three pounds below trend. By Friday, I'd eaten my way up to 320 which was over three pounds above the trend. Several folks came down for that first week. We went out for lunch and supper every day. But once they left, I was eating alone and fell back in to that familiar 100+700+700 rhythm. By Wednesday I was down to 315 and a pound below the trend.

Interesting how that worked out, no? When left to my own devices in a city that is not home, I still fell in to counting up to 1500 calories a day. But with the opportunity to break bread with my friends and colleagues also comes this odd sort of willing sacrifice where I choose to eat more and differently simply as a part of sharing that time with those people I care about. I think it's most frequently the same reason that I overeat when at home. I guess that cultivating relationships with co-workers, friends, and family is just worth temporarily overeating to me. Perhaps it's because I know I can just get back on my 1500 a day plan later to make up for it.

Yes, as you can tell by reading this, I packed the scale. To be specific, I took the battery out, taped it to the scale, and then packed it. It was part of what put my bag overweight and made it cost an extra $25 each way. It was worth every penny.

One of the highlights of this trip was not having to ask for a seat belt extender on the airplane. For a while I was getting close to needing an extender for a standard coach seat. I have needed one for the commuter planes for years but this trip I had four or five inches to spare. Also, I used to have to guard the seat back button by putting my fingers on either side of it or my cell phone next to it during takeoff and landing to make sure my fat leg didn't depress it. Now my leg doesn't even touch it.

This Good Friday morning was good to me with a record low of 312.6 which puts me back where I was before I left home: three pounds below the trend line.

The significant other and I have both lost significant amounts of weight. So, to mark our achievement, we've decided to have a "two something" party this summer. Named to mark my crossing the 300 mark from "three hundred and something" to "two hundred and something". Since there will be friends and family around, I expect I'll eat more than 1500 calories on that day.

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it and happy weekend to those who don't. Thanks for reading.

Calculators

My sister asked me to post the calculators I like.

Ideal weight calculator with multiple formulas.

Weight maintenance calculator.

Sixty Down, One Hundred Forty to go

First off, I should tell you that this entry was originally titled "Fifty". If anyone is actually following along, sorry about the long time between posts. It might have been started Jan 20, but it was finally finished and posted Feb 17. Now, on to the post...

I just calculated my weight loss rate so far this year. While still progressing, the pace has slowed. I'm still doing the 100+700+700 formula but eating out more frequently now and exceeding the 1500 daily limit when I do. Projecting this rate out suggests that I will hit goal weight in 364 days.

The SO and I were talking about the changes going on in our lives as a result of my progress.

Benefits:

• Time in the bedroom has improved in multiple ways. For one, the loud snoring is gone. For another... lets just say that my energy level is improved.
  

• I'll always wear a tall but am down to 2XL now. I'm back in to 46" waste pants.
  

• The SO is losing too. Apparently my bringing food in to the house was a negative influence on my better half. I guess this is a statement about how oblivious I can be.

Downsides:

• Baggy clothes. Luckily, we didn't throw much out so I'm just rotating the smaller old stuff from over the last few years back in.
  

• Loose skin. Yup, the skin that was stretched out over my belly is starting to hang a bit. It's going to hang a bunch after 200 pounds. I'm thinking there's plastic surgery in my future.
  

Report card time.

It just isn't reasonable to count calories for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years. This policy resulted in five pounds while out of town for Thanksgiving and seven more over the vacation spanning Christmas and New Years. The food was fantastic but throwing caution to the wind slowed progress significantly.

While I have kept pretty good records, I'm happy to report that my doctor's scale agrees. Here are the dates and weights recorded in my file:

2005-09-28 - 372.2 - Several months after this we bought the treadmill.

2006-10-02 - 389.2 - This is the day I freaked out.

2007-01-02 - 351.6 - Today was my first quarterly checkup.

The goal of losing 200 pounds puts the finish line at 189. Somehow I had 186 in my head so the journey just got a tiny bit shorter. Since I managed 37 pounds even with all the holiday cheating this last quarter it seems possible to average 40 pounds a quarter. Assuming that's true, I may hit a buck eighty-nine this year. It'd be nice if that turns out to be true but I'll keep going as long as it takes.

The doc and I agreed to meet again in three months to see how things are going. Labs on Friday to recheck border line high cholesterol and blood sugar. Hopefully they are improved.