After the first fall comes the first rebound

Two weeks ago was a disappointment, but I had no one to blame but myself. I accepted the blame and said I would refocus myself. And I did.

I was dreading today for a few reasons. Weight loss and mental health can sometimes go hand in hand. I'm not going to lie. I was in a dark place for the past few weeks. I even said that I might skip the weigh in because I couldn't handle more bad news. But I didn't.

And I'm glad I didn't. 

I believe two weeks ago I chickened out and didn't post the actual number from my weigh in. It was up about two pounds. 

Well not only did I lose those two pounds but I lost another 2.4 pounds. Down 4.4 in a week. Part of that may have been due to the time I was sick last weekend. But as of right now, I'm down to 178 pounds. My goal is still 150. I've dropped 9 pounds since the first of the year. 

9 pounds down, 28 more to go!

The First Fail

Good morning. It's been two weeks since my last weigh in so you know what that means, right?

Well, unfortunately for me I have some bad news. The streak has ended. A month straight of losing weight? That's over. And I have no one to blame but myself.  I snacked this week, more than I should have. 

A lot of factors went into the past two weeks. I'm not going to make excuses. I didn't hold myself accountable over the past two weeks so as a result, I gained weight. 

I'm not proud of myself. I admit to struggling with a lot of internal and external issues which led me to eat the way that I did. 

I knew there would be failures along the way. I got the first one out of the way. And now I'm back to being focused again. CLEARLY what I was doing was working. So I just have to keep myself focused again. 

And while I failed, I also succeeded. I still haven't touched fast food. I still am averaging a soda a month, which is a drastic cutdown from before.

I'm not going to post the number. Just know it definitely could be worse.... I guess.

Thanks for the support!

Three hardest times to lose weight

There are three times of the year that it's hard to lose weight. I'll tell you what they are and you try to guess what the three have in common? 

Valentine's Day. Halloween. Christmas.

Go into any supermarket or CVS/Walgreens and you will be greeted by the answer. It's the time for candy. I want to eat it all. Valentine's Day might be the worst time for it. Why? Because one of my favorite candies are only available this time of year and they are pretty terrible for you. It's the little conversation hearts. That are nothing but pure sugar. 

So far I've been good. I haven't had any a single piece of candy since they rolled out into stores. But as the old saying goes... the struggle is real! I want it. I keep trying to convince myself one piece of candy won't hurt. The same way I try to convince myself a McDonald burger won't hurt.

I'm trying not to look at as a drastically as recovering alcoholic, but I'm using the term "falling off the wagon." I've stayed on the wagon so far. 

I even made the Super Bowl part of my workout this year. When the Chiefs scored a touchdown I did a seven second plank. When the 49ers scored one, it was seven sit ups. I did more planking this year. 

While looking at Twitter this evening I found a six minute exercise. I can spare six minutes a day to get into shape, right? Well it's 2 minute exercises done 3 times a day. And it all involves different forms of planking. 

Weigh In Check in # 2

Happy Wednesday everybody. Today was weigh in check in day # 2. Again before I reveal my number I want to once again thank everyone showing me support. It definitely is going to help! I've been doing this for just under a month now. So it's baby steps, right?

There is good news and there is bad news as I step down off the scale. And the bad news really isn't all that bad. The bad news first, I didn't lose as much weight as I did after the first weigh in but the good news is that I did lose weight again. That's a streak of 2!

I was down three pounds two weeks ago when I stepped on the scale. Today was down only two pounds.

But I refuse to be down about that. I'm down five pounds in under a month. Considering I'm only hoping to lose 37 pounds (In a row!) and I'm down five already.... it's a success.

I know what I need to do. I go for walks and that's fine. But I do need to do other forms of exercises as well. And I will. 

Here's hoping the next weigh in brings me to the 170s.....

Still going strong

Happy Monday. Hope you had a good weekend! I'm still going strong. I haven't had fast food in nearly a month now. I've also only had one soda in that time. I am giving myself one cheat meal every two weeks, but still nothing too bad. Maybe I'll be able to ween myself off that as well. I guess it all depends on this week's weigh in. Regardless I'm proud of myself for maintaining my discipline. It's not always been easy, but nothing worth doing is.

I'm nervous for Wednesday's second weigh in. Here's hoping that I'm still losing weight. I feel like I am. Jeans that used to be snug are starting to feel loose on me. 

Another thing that has inspired me to keep walking for long distances is Pokemon Go. It's a silly game, ultimately but I want to Catch them all! Yup. I totally went there.

See you Wednesday

Weight In Check in # 1

Well, I did it. I stepped back on the scale for the first time since I started this. It's always nerve wracking to do it, especially the first time to check your progress. You don't know if what you're doing is actually working or not.

The good news is in my case, it is. I'm down 3 pounds in just about 2 weeks. Not a huge amount but I also look at it as being a process. I'm not going to hit my ideal weight in a short amount of time.

I also found an old record of my weight loss the last time I tried this. At my heaviest I was at 200 pounds. Luckily when I started the journey this time around I wasn't at that level. At my lightest I was 154 pounds. That's near what my goal is this time as well. But this time I don't plan on putting it all back.

Thanks for all the words of encouragement!

Walking for Miles

I've been good. So far. I've heard McDonalds and Burger King calling my name. But I haven't gone in. I keep rationalizing with myself "One cheat meal won't hurt" but it will. So I'm being good.

Been making sure I've been more active lately despite the cold temperatures in the northeast. The last 2 days have consisted of walks of 13, 790 and 11,622. Combined I walked over 11 miles in 2 days. Today will be a shorter amount but still a good amount.

My step goal is always 10,000 steps a day. Most days I'm more in the 7 to 8k step range which is still a decent amount if you ask me.

There's a part of me that wants to step on the scale already, but I know I still have another week to go before my regularly scheduled weigh in. 

Not Fat, Not thin

Welcome back to the Weight Loss Guy Blog!

I just want to say that I'm not fat, nor am I thin. I have one problem area. I don't have chubby cheeks or arms or legs that are bulky. But my one problem area has always been my stomach. I always joked that I don't have a six pack, but it's more of a keg. Part of it is I love pasta. The carbs though. Same thing with beer. It's a bad combination. 

So yeah, I'm continuing to work on losing it. I lost it once. It was from a combination of better eating and going to the gym. The gym isn't an option right now, hopefully soon though.

I decided to tempt myself. Just one day into the weight loss, I purposely walked by McDonalds and Burger King. And sadly I almost lost the battle. "One more burger won't kill me" I tried to ration with myself. But I know it's a slippery slope. So I just kept going. It's a small victory, but a victory is a victory. 

I'm also tempted to jump back on the scale, but I won't. Not yet. I'm planning on that being a bi-weekly thing. 

Thanks to the people who reached out with words of encouragement after the first blog. I greatly appreciate it!

The Journey Begins

I know what you're thinking. I can hear you. It's terribly cliché. And it is. Everyone single person says "I want to lose weight in the new year". And you're right. It is. I'm not going to lie. But I don't care. I want to lose weight in the new decade! HAHA! 

I'm not proud of my eating habits in the past year. I treated myself to too much McDonalds and Burger King and even Starbucks. It's terrible. But it's true. If that was all I was doing, it might not be so bad. But it's not. But that's a story for another time.

I stepped on the scale for the first time in probably a year. And to my surprise I didn't balloon as much as I thought I would. Somehow I pretty much stayed at about the same level I've been for a while. So that's a win? I think?

But now I'm focused. So yeah, back to that scale. I'm not going to give you a specific number, but my weight just committed a murder. Not the heaviest I've ever been. There was a time I was in the early 200s.  But I'm close and I don't like that.

I figure the best way to hold myself accountable is to create this blog. Maybe no one reads it. Maybe a few friends do? Who knows. 

My goal? Drop 25 pounds over the course of the next year. I think it's doable.

What brought this on, you ask? I recently saw a picture of me that was less than flattering. I look pregnant. I look like I could use my stomach as an entertainment center and stack a TV on it. Wouldn't mind that, to be honest. But it's not a good look. 

You see those cupcakes in the logo? It's the closest I'm going to get to a cupcake or a donut for a very long time. Wish me luck.