Author Archives: Jim

Week 9 Results: 0.5 Loss

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Starting Weight: 342.0
Previous Weight: 321.5
Current Weight: 321.0

Holy slacker this week….I started this on Sunday. You’d think I was writing some 50 page report on something. I really need to get my head back into this. I’m allowing this to not be THE PRIORITY for me right now. And it needs to be. It needs to be!

On the bright side, I didn’t think I had any weight change until I went to log this. Yay for 1/2 a pound :) .

I know my activity was low, stress level was high, and sleep was low. These are three big killers to a successful week.

But, this will not deter me. This is a crock-pot, not a microwave journey.

This weeks goal….to stay focused. I can see some mental habits trying to creep back in. I need to focus on the success I have had and remember what’s motivating me to continue. This week, I just need to stay on target.

More to come :)

Below is a screenshot showing what my daily averages are in the various categories tracked by my armband. FYI, I track my food in an independent app that is much easier than the app they have, but the caloric values are plugged into the BodyMedia app. Also note, I miskeyed the weight and can’t figure out how to correct it. Body Media could really improve their Activity Manager app to be a bit more user friendly for these types of things.

Week 9 Results

The List: Weight Goals…

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I think it’s best to establish a lot of obtainable goals with varying time committments related to them. I want short, quick, obtainable goals in order to have some short term success to envoke some form of self-motivation through success. I also want to define some long-term goals, so that I ensure that I have a solid footing on what the big picture will be.

I will create a tracking page for these, but below are some items that I look forward to acheiving.

Follow the link below to see my various lists of goals.

Continue reading →

Week 8 Results: 2.0 Loss

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Starting Weight: 342.0
Previous Weight: 323.5
Current Weight: 321.5

Broke the 20 pound barrier this week! And, I did make it to the gym this week. I enjoyed the elliptical. It was a nice change of pace, and I was able to challenge myself. I also hit the free weights a bit and was sore the next day (or two really). I haven’t felt a soreness like that since high school, when I used to lift weights daily. I had missed that feeling of accomplishment that comes with the soreness. You can be assured that I will be visiting it again for a similar session or two.

And, I did track most of my exercise this week, though I think I missed a bit and will give it another go this week. This is just supplemental information to help better understand the statistical information shown below (which I can get to a daily breakdown, even an hourly flow).

This weeks goal….to document some short, middle, and long term goals. Speaking of goals… 317 pounds will be a major milestone for me and it’s within my grasp now. It’s going to be an exciting week or two coming up!

More to come :)

Below is a screenshot showing what my daily averages are in the various categories tracked by my armband. FYI, I track my food in an independent app that is much easier than the app they have, but the caloric values are plugged into the BodyMedia app.

Week 8 Results

Make it a game…

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One thing that has helped me with keeping moving and having a daily focus on activity is the ability to make a game out of it.

Here are some ways that I do this….

    • Pedometer – Each day / week, I try to hit a best. Either beat the day before. The previous week. Can I hit my highest for the week today? It’s a small way to challenge myself. What if I park further away at work? How far from the church can I park before Gretchen comments? FYI, it turns out to be pretty far!
    • There’s an App for that!- Any of you that know me, know that I’m a technology buff. I love playing with new toys, gadgets, games, etc. So it’s in my nature to turn my journey into a game with my apps….trying this app….reviewing that app….looking for one that has all the features that I want. There are many that meet the basic needs, but I’m all about ease and speed of use.  I’ll write up some app reviews for those interested.
    • Find a Friend – If you don’t have someone already (I have Gretchen) that will push you to do your best, you need to find one. Someone to challenge you. Someone to set a target and see if you can beat it. Often Gretchen and I compare our daily step or burn rates and I know both of us often think, “HA! Beat you today!” It helps give me a target by keeping it a little competitive.

No matter the way you find to keep challenging yourself, part of the challenge has to involve setting short, obtainable goals.  Hitting a goal for the day will help keep you motivated and inspired to keep going on the journey.  If all you focus on is losing 150 pounds in the next year and a half, it will be a long and boring journey, which you will likely not finish.

Make it fun.  Make it a game.  Challenge yourself.

Week 7 Results: 2.0 Loss

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Starting Weight: 342.0
Previous Weight: 325.5
Current Weight: 323.5

I’m pleased with the results. I continue to log my food daily. My app (Lose It!) has reminded me of that achievement too, as I’ve logged 8 weeks in a row now. I will say that many days I ate more than my target calorie consumption, but I did up the activity quite a bit. Activity was boosted, as we had another weekend at Cub Scout Camp (which is why this log entry is a day late).

My goal for this week is to utilize the gym twice this week. I am paying for it after all. Today is my off day, as I’ve logged 15-20k steps over the last 4 days, much less the cardio activity I had with playing some sports, hiking, etc. My goal is to hit the elliptical on Wednesday and Thursday this week. My goal is also to log my actual activity this week, instead of just monitoring my calories burned through my gadgets :P .

More to come :)

Below is a screenshot showing what my daily averages are in the various categories tracked by my armband. FYI, I track my food in an independent app that is much easier than the app they have. I will review what it will take to just post calories themselves into the BodyMedia app.

Week 7 Results

Week 6 Results: 2.0 Gain

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Starting weight: 342.0
Previous Weight: 323.5
Current Weight: 325.5

So…my sense of control went into the shitter this week. While I did have control over my consumption, I did have a big setback and interruption to my routine. It was due to an issue at work that caused me to work a lot this week to correct (60-70 hours this week) and to boot, it was a problem that I caused and it had very high visibility. To say that this caused some stress is an extreme understatement. I’m sure this impacted my progress significantly, but I do think that I have corrected the work issue and things are calming down / getting back on track.

The other post-mortem I can comment on is that due to my work week being what it was, I chose to half-ass a lot of the workouts I did do. While I did do my routine amount of exercise, I really did not hit my “normal” target burn. I know during my working hours, my step count was horrid (usually run about 7-8k per work day and it was half of that).

To boot, I did have a cookout with some neighbors where I had a few beers, some chips, and I failed to journal all of it. I’m fairly certain I ate about 1-2k more calories than I had budgeted for the day.

I can also comment on the following thoughts….

  • I believe I will encounter times like this for the rest of my life, but as long as I actively monitor and react daily… overall, that’s success.
  • That 2 pounds is nothing in the grand scheme and once I hit my summit, +/- 2 pounds is an acceptable maintenance fluctuation.
  • I need to evaluate how much I will let sudden “distractions” like work, emergencies, etc, impact my journey.
  • Better planning and follow through on short-term goals (ie. last week targeting hitting the 20 lb lost mark).

    • It’s like I said to Gretchen last night. It is what it is. I will continue to execute the journey and continue on with my focus. Just like the last “hiccup”, this will not deter me from my path.

    I’ll also get back to posting some additional log entries this week (at least one general post and one food log from last week, in all it’s glory)…

    I am going to hold off on progress photo’s this week. I will post some next week.

    More to come :)

    Week 5 Results: 0.5 Loss

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    Starting weight: 342.0
    Previous Weight: 324.0
    Current Weight: 323.5

    I had a good week overall. Feeling in control. I will say that I did not focus on activity this week. While I did achieve daily activity, I half-assed the intensity of the activity. This was mostly due to the recovery my feet needed after the the weekend of walking at the camp. I am looking forward to doing that again at the end of the month when we go to family camp.

    I also pushed my calorie limit closer to my daily target (and a couple days over). To date, I was having a tendancy to eat several hundred calories under and I’m not sure what I feel on that. FYI, my target daily calories is 2,100, but I was typically eating 1,600-1,800 calories in past weeks, with this week hitting 2,000-2,200 calories. I understand the concept that I’ve read about putting my metabolism into a survival mode when not enough basal ratio of calories are consumed. But, I fight against getting into the habit of eating healthy, nutritious food (including what I want even if it’s not the most nutritious thing at the moment) and stopping when I’m comfortable versus eating to a target number and stopping then. I prefer the former, and I think this factored into my results this week. I’d also state that I’ve spent 36 years of eating well over the point where I’m comfortable and it’s tough for me to rationalize that it’s OK to eat beyond comfort, “but not too much, as I only need 400 more calories”. There’s a lot of food / crap I could fit into 400 calories and get back into the habit of eating when / what I don’t really want to eat.

    This week…

  • I will strive to hit my daily target for intensity (30 min per day moderate activity and 15 min of vigorous activity). This is achievable.
  • I will eat to my comfort level and let the calories lie where they may, as long as I don’t go over.

    • This week, I will reach the 20 lb mark.

    Week 4 Food Log

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    Below is what I ate during Week 4 up to the weigh in day (I weighed in Sunday morning as soon as I got back from Cub Scout camp).

    Feel free to review and comment.

    Sunday

    • Breakfast – 540 Calories – Homemade Waffles w/ Spray Butter & Low Cal Syrup (Low Cal recipe that Gretchen found)
    • Lunch - 468 Calories – Smoked Pork Ribs, Raw Carrots, Fig Newton Minis
    • Dinner - 577 Calories – Tossed Salad w/ Blue Cheese Dressing and Grilled Turkey Sausage
    • Snacks - 140 Calories – 1 slice Banana Nut Bread

    Monday

    • Breakfast – 540 Calories – Homemade Waffles (leftovers) w/ Spray Butter & Low Cal Syrup, Coffee w/ Crm & Sugar
    • Lunch - 460 Calories (Subway) – 6″ Subway Club; Baked Potato Chips
    • Dinner - 351 Calories – 4oz Grilled Chicken Breast, Rice, Grapes

    Tuesday

    • Breakfast - 580 Calories – Egg Sandwich (1 Egg, 1oz Shredded Low Fat Sharp Cheese on Big Marty Bun); 6oz Greek Yogurt; Coffee w/ Crm & Sugar
    • Lunch – 900 Calories (Subway) – 12″ Chicken Teriyaki Sub; Baked Potato Chips (should have had a 6″, as I felt yuck all afternoon)
    • Dinner - 627 Calories - Veggie Pasta w/ Homemade Tomoato Sauce and Grilled Turkey Sausage; Asparagus; Breadsticks w/ Butter; Rhubarb Sponge-Cake

    Wednesday

    • Breakfast – 610 Calories – Egg Sandwich (1 Egg, 1oz Shredded Low Fat Sharp Cheese on Big Marty Bun); Grilled Turkey Sausage; Coffee w/ Crm & Sugar
    • Lunch – 747 Calories (Subway) - 6″ Veggie Delight; Sun-Chips; Pepper Jack Cheese
    • Dinner – 627 Calories – Veggie Pasta w/ Homemade Tomoato Sauce and 10 oz Grilled Chicken Breast; Breadsticks w/ Butter; 5oz White Wine; Fun-Size Butterfinger

    Thursday

    • Breakfast - 552 Calories – 1 Egg; Small Bagel w/ Shredded Low Fat Cheese; Banana; Coffee w/ Crm & Sugar
    • Lunch - 491 Calories – 4oz Grilled Chicken Breast, Rice, Grapes; Tostitos Bite-Size Corn Chips
    • Dinner - 612 Calories (Wegman’s) – Sushi (6 California Roll, 6 Spicy Shrimp Roll); Side Salad
    • Snack – 370 Calories – Chocolate Protein Bar; Lance Crackers

    Friday

    • Breakfast - 340 Calories – Greek Yogurt; Quaker Cinnamon Roll Bar; Coffee w/ Crm & Sugar
    • Lunch - 400 Calories - Veggie Pasta w/ Homemade Tomoato Sauce and 5 oz Grilled Chicken Breast
    • Dinner – 700 Calories – 2 slices pizza (1 cheese, 1 pepperoni)

    Saturday (was at Scout Camp and Burned over 5,000 calories this day)

    • Breakfast - 303 Calories – 2 mini powdered donut; 1 large Orange; 1 Banana
    • Lunch - 854 Calories – 2 x Grilled Cheese Sandwiches; 1 cup Grapes; 1 cup Baby Carrots; 1 oz Doritos
    • Dinner – 565 Calories – 2 x Cheeseburgers w/ Lettuce, Tomato, and Ketchup; 1 oz Doritos