Friday, November 25, 2016

Post Turkey Day

Well, it is the day after Thanksgiving and that means it is time for another weigh in. Boy, I was very bad yesterday and this is inexcusable. I have never had such a healthy Thanksgiving. Wait a minute, didn't I just say I was very bad. Yes, and I will explain shortly. First, here are the numbers.

Since the previous weigh in five days ago I have gained exactly three pounds. My current weight is 351.2 pounds. My total weight loss so far now stands at a touch over six and a half (6.6) pounds.

So, what did I mean about being very bad yesterday and yet also mentioning a healthy Thanksgiving? Let me explain. With regard to Thanksgiving, the options were super healthy. Cauliflower mashed potatoes (minus the potatoes), cauliflower stuffing, and turkey were on the table. So, how was I so bad? I drank way to much soda for one thing. I had a large coke from McDonald's in the morning after dropping the kids with their mom. I had one at the movies later that night. Then, I had yet another after going home from the movies. The other way in which I was bad was with desert. Boy do I love pie! Just to share one little stat from my Lose It app...I consumed 1,300 calories worth of cherry pie. Then, to top that off, after getting home from the movies I went ahead and had a late night meal. To think, my last blog post was titled "Killing My Old Man". So much for that. Apparently he is alive and well.

I have to be more disciplined. It is pretty embarrassing to have posted about changing behavior in the last blog post and then be admitting some key failures in this blog post. That is the way life is though. It has a way of humbling you. I did this to myself of course so it is not really life doing it to me, it me doing it to myself. I am committed though. This is just one minor setback on the path to my ultimate goal and I will not be deterred by it. Like I always say, I have to just get back up, admit where I messed up, learn from it (hopefully), and keep on chipping away.

The next blog post will be on December 1st and I certainly hope to be back below 350 pounds by then. I hope that you all had a happy Thanksgiving spent with friends and family. If anyone else is on this journey of weight loss and yesterday was a touch out of control, be like Dory, just keep swimming, just keep swimming. I am sure that last sentence had way too many commas in it. Let's do this! Until next time, goodbye!

Calories 11/25/16-11/30/16

11/25/2016: Consumed 2,009 calories.  3,159 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/26/2016: Consumed 3,372 calories.  3,203 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/27/2016: Consumed 4,476 calories.  3,849 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/28/2016: Consumed 2,251 calories.  3,762 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/29/2016: Consumed 2,828 calories.  3,700 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/30/2016: Consumed 4,449 calories.  3,747 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Killing My Old Man

Welcome back friends and family. Today is weigh in day and what a change five days can make! I applied myself and the results reflect the effort. You may be wondering about the title of this blog post. Do not worry, my father is in no danger. I will explain shortly. Before I get to that, here are the numbers for this weigh in period.

I am so excited! Since my last weigh in five days ago I have nearly achieved ten pounds of weight loss. The actual number is 9.6 pounds. My current weight is 348.2 pounds. Wow! I realize that this is not going to get easier but I am still encouraged.

Anyone recognize the title of this post? It is the title of one of the songs by the Christian rock band Petra from their album Never Say Die. I felt that the song's title was appropriate since the song addresses the issue of having to kill your old life in order to embrace your new life. One simply cannot do the same things over and over again and expect a different result. Well, you can but be ready for disappointment. If I eat the same things that got me to this point, it would be foolish for me to expect to lose weight. I have to change and thus kill my old man.

I purchased an Apple Watch to track my steps among other things. This makes it so easy to get a very good idea of how many steps I am taking per day and how many calories I am burning. I realize that this is a luxury though and was not necessary to accomplish weight loss. I would have needed to add some kind of activity device though as I have found from my own experience that when I utilize one it keeps me active much more than I would be otherwise.

I have started to blog my calories consumed as well as the calories that I have burned. That helps me to stay accountable. It can also help me to identify when I need to apply myself to either consuming less calories or burning more or both.

This journey will get more challenging as I proceed. My calorie allotment shrinks each time that I lose weight. I will need to be much more disciplined than I have been even during these past five days. This weight loss is great, but there is much that needs to be improved.

I am very excited and encouraged right now. I want to keep this momentum but I also realize that I need to stay grounded, keep my eyes on the prize, and kill my old man! The next weigh in will be November 25th. My goal is to drop below 345 pounds. Can I do it by the next weigh in? Check back soon to find out. Goodbye!

Calories 11/20/16-11/24/16

11/20/2016: Consumed 2,747 calories.  3,308 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/21/2016: Consumed 3,431 calories.  3,865 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/22/2016: Consumed 2,332 calories.  3,347 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/23/2016: Consumed 2,484 calories.  3,462 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/24/2016: Consumed 4,805 calories.  3,391 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

The New Plan

Well, here we are again. Another lapse of time between blog posts and more disappointment. I have had enough of this! My weight is out of control. I need to get a handle on this for multiple reasons.

Getting to the point, my current weight is 357.8 pounds. I am starting over. I cannot live like this anymore. I don't have the energy that I should. I can't do some things that I used to be able to do. I feel sick a lot of the time. It is just not a good thing.

So, what is the new plan? The new plan is basically the old plan that I was utilizing when I dropped nearly 100 pounds a few years ago. I will use different apps and devices this time. For my calorie counting, I will be using the app Lose It. For my step counting, I will be using the iPhone until I can pick up an Apple Watch.

I know that I have tried to start the weight loss blog several times over the past few years. The reality though is that I never counted calories or tracked my steps. At least not consistently. I am actually excited to get serious about this again. I enjoy technology and how it can help me. It has already opened my eyes once more to just how egregious my diet has become.

Today is my first day of using Lose It. I honestly started midday and upon logging my breakfast and lunch, I am at my calorie budget already. Wow! Don't worry, I can afford to skip a meal or two or three. If anyone reading the blog would like to friend me on the Lose It app that would be great. Accountability is always a good thing. That is the reason I write this blog. That and the hope that someday, I just might be able to help encourage someone else with their weight loss goals.

The next blog update will be November 20th. I look forward to reporting lost weight at that time. Admittedly, I weighed midday so it should stand to reason that my weight reported here on the blog is a touch exaggerated because of that. Still, I would love to kick off the implantation of the plan with a big number. Until then, goodbye!

Calories 11/15/16-11/19/16

11/15/2016: Consumed 3,132 calories.  5,063* calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/16/2016: Consumed 2,444 calories.  2,060** calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/17/2016: Consumed 2,997 calories.  3,900*** calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/18/2016: Consumed 3,180 calories.  4,184 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

11/19/2016: Consumed 2,918 calories.  3,684 calories burned according to Apple Watch.

* This technically was the day before I got the Apple Watch so I believe that it made some assumptions about how active I might have been that day and so this number is highly suspect as the other days this week will show.

** I did not have the Apple Watch for the full day and so these numbers are also suspect, but in this case, too low.

*** This was the first full day wearing the Apple Watch.