M.lb. - Week 4
Day 22
April 21, 2008
Weight: x - 8
Progress: At last! The wall I've been waiting to break through has officially been busted open! I definitely thought I was in for it this weekend, what with going home to visit the family and not having access to the gym, but I guess my eating habits made up for it because my body finally realized I'm serious about slimming down.
This is a really good feeling, obviously. But I'm trying to temper it with just a little bit of disbelief, so that I understand things won't be progressing at this rate for very long. In fact, I was so stunned by what I saw when I jumped on the scale this morning that I stepped off, recalibrated it, and tried again -- only to find the same number staring me back in the face! (Of course, I didn't dare try a third time, lest I unduly tempt the weight-management gods.)
I finally feel as if my work is paying off, and I certainly didn't get punished for my trip home this weekend. On the ride back to Jersey, I stopped off at a Cracker Barrel, where I ate about half the meal I was given and took the rest home. On Saturday, at my cousin's First Communion, I had a little bit of everything, but emphasized the "little" bit: it allowed me to try it all, not feel stuffed, and still feel free to enjoy a little bit of cake in the end. Sunday was little more than my dinner, which was substantive but not my usual stuff-your-face-before-the-drive-back meal, and now I find I have not paid for missing out on the gym these past few days.
Frankly, this is the kind of change I've been waiting for: knowing that I don't have to rely entirely on getting to the gym in order to lose weight. When I saw the cardiologist back in September, he had told me about this. He mentioned that cardiovascular exercise is never a bad idea, but that losing weight for real is more about what (and how much) one eats than is it about getting regular exercise. So even though I haven't been to the gym for three days, a trend I will kick later today, it still has worked out that my eating habits have continued to drive my weight loss success.
Goals for the Week: This week's goals are surprisingly modest, because it's gonna be a doozy for the next seven days. With all the things I need to work on for classes, I'm sure I'll be tempted to fall off the wagon a little bit, but I need to resist that temptation. In addition, this weekend is The Weekend, when I go to visit Alicia and see a bunch of totally awesome bands and engage in other such craziness. Knowing this is coming, I need to be as diligent as possible for the remaining five days so that I don't go overboard and blow it. Friday I know I'll be hitting the gym, so I'll be alright that night, and Sunday I won't be drinking because of the need to drive home -- so if I can moderate Saturday okay, I should be fine for the week.
In all honesty, my goal for the next week is to simply not gain. With all the possibilities present for not sticking to the plan, but with a strong new resolve to remain focused, I just want to minimize the damage I'm sure to partake in this weekend. It'll be interesting to see how drinking affects my plan: I've been noticeably alcohol-free for the past three weeks (save for a couple of screwdrivers on Saturday and some beer at poker), but I anticipate there will be some degree of intoxication involved this weekend, which translates naturally to empty calories. The key, of course, will be to exercise moderation as best I can and try to move around a bit on Saturday to offset the beers preemptively. (Perhaps I might be able to convince Alicia that [at least] one venture to the gym is in order?)
I truly feel that if I can get through this week and not gain any of what I've already lost, I'll be in really good shape to work hard for the last two weeks of the semester and begin parlaying the new diet and exercise regimens into a summer of healthy eating and continued success. My goal for this project all along has been to try and lose 1-2 pounds a week, which would result in a loss of somewhere between 20 and 40 pounds by the tux fitting and, if I kept it up, about 25-50 pounds lost by Tony's wedding.
If I were to hit the high end of that tux-fitting mark (which would put us some time in August), I would once again be back around that mark I hit junior year, when I weighed the least I had since high school. That would be a damn good feeling to have again. And that's going to be the motivation I use to keep at this plan and stay driven.
April 21, 2008
Weight: x - 8
Progress: At last! The wall I've been waiting to break through has officially been busted open! I definitely thought I was in for it this weekend, what with going home to visit the family and not having access to the gym, but I guess my eating habits made up for it because my body finally realized I'm serious about slimming down.
This is a really good feeling, obviously. But I'm trying to temper it with just a little bit of disbelief, so that I understand things won't be progressing at this rate for very long. In fact, I was so stunned by what I saw when I jumped on the scale this morning that I stepped off, recalibrated it, and tried again -- only to find the same number staring me back in the face! (Of course, I didn't dare try a third time, lest I unduly tempt the weight-management gods.)
I finally feel as if my work is paying off, and I certainly didn't get punished for my trip home this weekend. On the ride back to Jersey, I stopped off at a Cracker Barrel, where I ate about half the meal I was given and took the rest home. On Saturday, at my cousin's First Communion, I had a little bit of everything, but emphasized the "little" bit: it allowed me to try it all, not feel stuffed, and still feel free to enjoy a little bit of cake in the end. Sunday was little more than my dinner, which was substantive but not my usual stuff-your-face-before-the-drive-back meal, and now I find I have not paid for missing out on the gym these past few days.
Frankly, this is the kind of change I've been waiting for: knowing that I don't have to rely entirely on getting to the gym in order to lose weight. When I saw the cardiologist back in September, he had told me about this. He mentioned that cardiovascular exercise is never a bad idea, but that losing weight for real is more about what (and how much) one eats than is it about getting regular exercise. So even though I haven't been to the gym for three days, a trend I will kick later today, it still has worked out that my eating habits have continued to drive my weight loss success.
Goals for the Week: This week's goals are surprisingly modest, because it's gonna be a doozy for the next seven days. With all the things I need to work on for classes, I'm sure I'll be tempted to fall off the wagon a little bit, but I need to resist that temptation. In addition, this weekend is The Weekend, when I go to visit Alicia and see a bunch of totally awesome bands and engage in other such craziness. Knowing this is coming, I need to be as diligent as possible for the remaining five days so that I don't go overboard and blow it. Friday I know I'll be hitting the gym, so I'll be alright that night, and Sunday I won't be drinking because of the need to drive home -- so if I can moderate Saturday okay, I should be fine for the week.
In all honesty, my goal for the next week is to simply not gain. With all the possibilities present for not sticking to the plan, but with a strong new resolve to remain focused, I just want to minimize the damage I'm sure to partake in this weekend. It'll be interesting to see how drinking affects my plan: I've been noticeably alcohol-free for the past three weeks (save for a couple of screwdrivers on Saturday and some beer at poker), but I anticipate there will be some degree of intoxication involved this weekend, which translates naturally to empty calories. The key, of course, will be to exercise moderation as best I can and try to move around a bit on Saturday to offset the beers preemptively. (Perhaps I might be able to convince Alicia that [at least] one venture to the gym is in order?)
I truly feel that if I can get through this week and not gain any of what I've already lost, I'll be in really good shape to work hard for the last two weeks of the semester and begin parlaying the new diet and exercise regimens into a summer of healthy eating and continued success. My goal for this project all along has been to try and lose 1-2 pounds a week, which would result in a loss of somewhere between 20 and 40 pounds by the tux fitting and, if I kept it up, about 25-50 pounds lost by Tony's wedding.
If I were to hit the high end of that tux-fitting mark (which would put us some time in August), I would once again be back around that mark I hit junior year, when I weighed the least I had since high school. That would be a damn good feeling to have again. And that's going to be the motivation I use to keep at this plan and stay driven.
posted by Dave at 4/21/2008 09:07:00 AM
1 Comments:
You are an inspiration, my dear! Keep up the good work--can't wait to see you soon!
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