Week 20 Update

There has finally been some positive movement in terms of my weight.  It was stalled at 415 for a few weeks, but I got on the scale and it said 410!  That is a 5 lb. loss and I am happy with it.  That puts me down 48 lbs. so far.

On the movement front I didn't improve on my step average.  Last week I averaged only 4,496 steps per day.  That is below what I was aiming for by a large amount.  This week I will do better.  In terms of calories, I was much better.

Looking ahead it is going to be a busy time as we prepare to move into a new place.  The lease on our current place is expiring the end of July and they are wanting to raise our rent $50 per month.  On top of that we don't need that large of a house so we are looking for a new place and will end up moving in the next 5 weeks.

Weight loss and dieting

So, since the first of the year I have been mainly trying to count my calories and basically eat healthier than I had been.  I've been trying to also increase my weekly step count which means an increase in my daily physical activity. I've been using MyFitnessPal (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/) to track my food intake and my FitBit (http://www.fitbit.com/) to track my daily steps.  This combination has been working as I have gone from 470 lbs on January 1st to 429 lbs on 2/28. Now the majority of this loss was the fluids from when I was in the hospital.

Unfortunately as I got into March, I wasn't quite as disciplined as I should be and the Biggest Winner competition, part of the Corporate Challenge 2014 appeared.  Because I wanted to do my best in the competition, I was a bit liberal with the food and drink leading up to the initial weigh in on March 4th. My starting weight per the official scale was 440 lbs as detailed here. Since then I've lost some weight, but the results have not been as good as I would like seeing as this is a competition.

With that in mind, I have changed my eating.  Instead of simply limiting my caloric intake to 2000 calories per day, I have changed my diet back to a low carb one.  I started this only 4 days ago and I am already seeing very nice results.  I made this decision because this is a weight loss competition.  Am I going to eat like this for the long term, probably not.  I enjoy too many fruits and vegetables which are high in carbohydrates.

This is a short term adjustment to push for rapid weight loss. I know this is not a permanent change and once the competition is over, I will go back to a slow and steady, sustainable eating plan, but for now I am doing what I can in order to lose weight quickly.

Saturday is the track and field competition and I hope to do well in the softball throw and shot put but we will have to see.

The other thing I really need to do is to get on my bike and ride!!!!

2014 Biggest Winner Challenge

This year I am once again the captain of my company's Biggest Winner team as part of the Corporate Challenge here in the City of Las Vegas.  Basically we have a 5 member team and the goal is to lose the highest total percentage of weight over the next 10 weeks.  Our final weigh in is on May 12.  Having participated in this challenge in the past I understood how easy it might be to "stack the deck" a bit in our favor by gaining a bit of easily loseable weight.  One of the easiest things to do is to drink as much water as possible the day of the initial weigh in to increase your starting weight.  Eating like a pig for a couple of days before and the day of prior to weighing in helps too.

I'm here to let you know I was very successful in this regard.  My Friday weight was 429 lbs. and my official weigh in weight was 440 lbs.  I got on the scale this morning at home and it showed 436.4 lbs.  My goal over the next 10 weeks is to lose one percentage of my starting weight each week for a total of 10 % for the competition.  Do I know this is faster than recommended as a good, steady amount to lose?  Sure I do, but it is a competition and not a lifestyle.  I do hope that the change will carry forward, though.

So, 4.4 lbs per week between now and May 12.  I know I can do it by staying focused, eating right and getting my butt moving!

It takes balance

Most everything in life takes balance.  Whether its riding a bike, work, family, walking - everything is more enjoyable and works out much better if its in balance.

Weight loss and getting healthy takes balance as well.  I'm guilty of trying to make a single change and hoping that it will balance things out, but I know it won't.

For the last few months I've quit focusing on what I've been eating and focused almost exclusively on riding my bike. While this is certainly enjoyable, and it has led to increased fitness on the bike, it has not led to any significant weight loss.  Eating just as many (if not more calories) than one burns in a day will at best maintain your current weight and at worst allow you to gain weight.

Fortunately for me I haven't gained any more weight over the last few months, but I certainly haven't lost either.  I know I have to work on the other side of the equation and reduce my caloric intake in order to see my weight reduced.  Its time to do just that again.

I'm starting to log my food into MyFitnessPal again.  I'm still using my FitBit to track my daily activity as well.  With the longer rides I've been doing in the mornings its easier for me to hit basic goals of 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day.  now I just need to limit my calories to 2,200 or so and I should start to see a loss of 2 to 3 lbs per week.

Balance.  Life is so much better with it than without it.

Eat Better.

Get on your bikes and ride!