Not bad for Week 48, Day 1

Unfortunately, for the first time since I started this journey I have to admit that I have a cold.  I really was hoping to go a full year without being sick.  I have felt colds coming on a few times during the past year, but I was always able to take care of them with one day of rest.  This one didn't go away after one day.  Oh well, I will just keep resting my body and in a few days I should be back up to speed.

Since I will probably be a bit limited in my exercise for a few days, I really have to watch what I eat.  I count calories every day.  Now I do it without really thinking about it.  I eat a pretty limited variety of foods, so I have memorized most of the calorie counts.  My goal during this weight loss phase is 1600 calories per day.  Yesterday, I consumed 1675 calories.  I tried to keep it at 1600, but a small snack of tortilla chips pushed me over the limit.  No big deal.

Since I was resting yesterday, I didn't train.  I have a court reserved with a ball machine tonight so I will get in an hour of tennis.  I want to focus on a few technical things so it won't be a cardio workout, but it will get me moving a little bit.  I will also be watching my calories very closely today.

Cheers.

Weekly Summary

Don't worry, this blog won't only include weekly summaries.  But right now that is all that I have had time for.  Week 47 is over and my exercise summary is below.

Sunday -- Rest
Monday -- Precore Eliptical Machine, 45 minutes, level 14, 4.0 miles, 540 calories
Monday -- Stairmaster, 20 minutes, level 9, 103 floors, 260 calories
Tuesday -- Precor Eliptical Machine, 90 minutes, level 14, 8.5 miles, 1200 calories
Wednesday -- Tennis (drop-in drill), 90 minutes
Thursday -- Rest
Friday -- Tennis (singles -- 3-6, 4-6), 90 minutes
Saturday -- Tennis (drop-in drill), 90 minutes
Saturday -- Tennis (ball-machine), 75 minutes

Total -- 500 minutes, 8.3 hours

Overall, this may have been one of my best weeks for conditioning.  It was also one of my worst weeks from an eating perspective.  On Sunday and Thursday, I completely let go and had total "free days".  I have only had a handful during the past 47 weeks, but several have cropped up lately.

I now have the house filled with good food and I will make eating right my focus this week.  If I had a scale, I doubt it would show a loss this week.  However, I still feel like this week was a victory.  When I had my "free days", I was afraid I was letting go and going to return back to my old habits.  However, I don't seem to be doing that.

For reasons I hope to post later this week, finishing week 48 will be a major milestone.  I had been planning on weighing myself (for the first time in almost ten years) next Sunday.  I am not so sure about that any more.  I know I won't weigh myself until I am sure that the number won't bother me.  I am not quite there yet.

Today will likely be a rest day.  I have come down with a mild cold.  The last time I was sick was last April 15th.  I went on this diet on May 3rd and was hoping to go a full year without being sick.  I don't think this will be a bad cold, but I think I need to let my body rest today.

I did find a yoga studio in town and have printed off their schedule.  Hopefully, sometime during the next month I will try yoga.  I also am going to try free passes at two local gyms.  I am not sure if I want to pay for a gym membership on top of my tennis club membership, but if I use the gym only five times a month, it will be cheaper than going to the local rec center.  Plus, it increases my options. 

I have targeted a 10K run on Memorial Day.  We'll see.

Cheers.

Weekly Summary

Well, week #46 is now complete.  Here is my workout summary

Sunday - 3.1 mile run in 29:02
Monday - Tennis (ball machine), 90 minutes
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Eliptical Machine, Level 16, 45 minutes, 6.83 miles
Thursday - Tennis (ball machine), 90 minutes
Friday - Tennis, Singles 6-4, 1-6, 3-6, 110 minutes.  What a horrible loss
Saturday - 4.5 mile run in 43:15

Total Minutes (rounded):  407 (6.78 hours)

It was also a decent week from an eating perspective until last night when I just let go completely.  During this long journey I have only completely let go about 3 or 4 days.  Based on how I feel now, I think it is out of my system for a while though it will probably take me most of the week to recover.

I can't believe the loss I took in tennis on Friday.  At the same time, 46 weeks ago I was sure I was never going to play tennis again.  I just have to keep everything in perspective.

The 4.5 mile run is not a typo.  I did it on a treadmill.  My intention was to run 4 miles.  I tried something I had seen someone else do last Sunday, I put a towel over the screen on the treadmill so I couldn't see how much time had gone by or how far I had run.  Then, about 10 minutes into my run, I decided to run until I had listened to 10 songs on my iPod.  Boy was I glad when the 10th song was finished.  I pulled off the towel and saw that I was 4.4 miles into my run.  I pushed it another tenth of a mile to hit the 4.5 mile mark.  I think I am training for a 10K race at the end of May.  I am certain I could have gone 5 miles at the pace I was running at today.  If I do go for the 10K, I want to be able to enjoy it.  But, I am not going to break my rule about running.  I don't go running unless I want to.  Perhaps I will run 3 times this week or I might not run again for 3 weeks.  I have to keep my exercise fun.

I am still not ready to get on the scale yet and the overeating I have done in the last 12 hours isn't going to help. After eating all of that bad food, I feel like crap now.  In a weird way that does give me some confidence that I will be able to keep this weight off.  I really don't want to feel this way for a long time much less every day.

It is weird.  Whenver my stomach is a bit more than full either from eating too much or drinking a lot of water, I "feel" like I have gained all the weight back.  Sometimes, I even try on my "goal clothes" to make sure I haven't gained it all back.  Intellectually I know I can't gain all of the weight back in 12 hours but my emotions seem to enjoy screwing with my mind.

The Anti-Jared is right.  Approach every day like it is Day One and define your own perfection.

Cheers.

Weekly Summary

There has been a lot going on and I haven't had a chance to post for a few days.  Each week, I want to post a workout summary.  Here is the first summary.

Sunday - Tennis (Ball Machine) - 60 minutes
Sunday - Running - 2 miles - 18:49
Monday - Running - 3.1 miles - 30:10
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Tennis (Drop-In Drills) - 90 minutes
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Home Eliptical Machine - Level 16/6.43 miles - 45 minutes
Saturday - Tennis (Drop-in Drills) - 90 minutes

Total Minutes (Rounded):  334

My eating went fairly well.  I basically made up the extra calories I consumed on Monday night and stayed on plan for the rest of the week.  I am averaging 1600 calories per day.

I did accomplish one of my goals today.  I ran 3.1 miles in 29:02.  My goal was to get below the 30 minute mark.  I think 27 minutes is definitely within reach now.  If you see me start doing 4 mile training runs, it means I have decided to go for a 10K sometime this Spring/Summer.

I need more tennis time.  I am completely changing some of my ground strokes and now my timing is off.  Hopefully this week, I can get some quality time with a ball machine.  I also need to mix in one of my 20 minute High Intensity Interval Training sessions on my home eliptical machine.  It is also time to take another shot at the 1.5 mile run to see if I can get below 11:20.  Finally, I need to hit my standard 45 minute eliptical machine workout a little bit harder.  Anything over 7 miles is a good workout.  My record is just under 8 miles.  My last several workouts have been around 6.5 miles

I am getting very close to the point where I want to weigh myself.  That is a bit scary.

I promise more interesting topics later this week.

To My Belt, "Thank you for a job well done."

I ended up not working out yesterday.  I felt a cold coming on so I decided to give my body rest.  I am on the road this week and I am hoping to fight this cold off.  Also, I have the opportunity to play tennis tonight so I wanted to get as much rest as possible.

I did make up 400 of the extra calories I ate on Monday.   Yesterday, I only had 1200 of my 1600 calories.  So, I am 100 calories over for two days.  I can live with that.  I don't like borrowing from one day to pay for the previous day.  Over the past 311 days, I have only done that a handful of times.

I think this has to be the last trip for this belt.  Even though I am not at the last notch yet, the belt is clearly too big.  I will keep it around until I can fit comfortably into the last notch.  However, this weekend, I will buy a new belt that fits.  The old belt will go where dozens of pieces of clothing have gone over the past several months, into the donation bin. 

I love making trips to that bin.

I guess I am training for a 10K

Yesterday, I was able to get in a decent 5K run (30:10).  I really want to get my 5K time to at least 27:00 -- maybe even 24:00.  I have never been a big long-distance runner (not that 5K is really a long distance).  I am definitely built for sports that require short bursts of speed and quickness like soccer and tennis.  However, sometimes I like to run.  I have always thought about doing a 10K and have been slowly incorporating more running into my fitness routine.  I haven't made a firm commitment to run a 10K, but I suspect one may be in my future this summer.  I have some higher priorities; but if I can work my way up to a decent 5 mile run, I will probably go for it.  It will definitely be a one-time only thing if I do go for it.  I'd rather run sprints any day.

I didn't do so well on the eating front yesterday.  I ate good food, but I went 500 calories over my 1600 calorie/day limit.  Today was going to be a rest day, but I think I will get in 45 minutes on the eliptical machine to burn the extra calories I took in yesterday.

I really cannot wait to get to my goal weight.  It is week 45/day 3 of my journey and it is starting to drag on a bit.  When I get to my goal weight, I will be able to adjust my calorie intake and 2000 calories per day will not be a problem.

However, before I hop on a scale I need to:

1.  Fit a bit more loosely into my size 31 jeans.  I can't describe it, but I will know when I am there.
2.  Get to the last notch on my current belt.  I am using the next to last notch and I am about 66% of the way to the last notch.
3.  I want to run a 5K in 30 minutes or less.
4.  I want to get my 1.5 mile time below 11:30 (for reasons I will go into later, the 1.5 mile time is my real running goal.  I eventually want to get it down to 10:30).

I am thinking it will take me about two weeks to get there.  When I do, it will be interesting to see how close I am to my goal weight of 155.  Depending on the results, I may adjust my goal weight because I am not sure how much smaller I want to get (I can't believe I just said that).

Yep, this is a weird way to approach weight loss (never getting on a scale).   But, it has worked for me.

308 Days and Counting

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I started this journey 308 days ago. Over the next few weeks, I will post the details of my various weight loss adventures over the years. This latest adventure is by far the longest and the hardest.

How much weight have I lost? I really have no idea.

I haven't been on a scale since 2002 and I do not even know what it said (more on that in future posts). I go by how my clothes fit. My current journey started with me wearing size 43 pants, dress shirts with an 18 inch collar, 2X t-shirts, and XL shorts.

I was one Bacon Double Cheeseburger away from having to start shopping at Big and Tall stores. I was one order of scattered, covered, and smothered hash browns away from not being able to fit into an airplane seat (and since I travel A LOT for work, that would have been a big problem).

Oh, I am 5 feet 9 inches tall.

Today, I wear size 31 pants, dress shirts with a 15.5 inch collar, large t-shirts, and medium shorts. Somewhere along the line I lost at least 1 shoe size.

How am I doing it? It isn't that complicated. I eat 1600 calories per day and I workout 5-6 days per week. No food is off limits. However, in order to not be hungry all of the time, you have to eat fairly healthy food (future posts will contain the basics of what I eat). Most of my exercise has been cardio.

So, I can't tell you how much weight I have lost. I have been at this for 44 weeks. I know I have lost more than 1 pound per week and probably haven't averaged 3 pounds per week. So, I am going to guess that I have lost about 80 pounds plus or minus 10 pounds.

How did I let it get so bad? More importantly, how do I keep it from getting that bad again?

One part of my plan is going to include weighing myself. Sometime before the end of this month I will go to WalMart, purchase a scale, and weigh myself. Of course it will be posted here.

My goal weight is 155 lbs. I know this is a good weight for me. It will be interesting to see how close I am when I weight myself for the first time. Once I weigh myself, I will figure out what my target weight is and try to stay within 5 pounds of that number. I will weigh myself every week and all of you will see if I am "maintaining" or not.

I hope you enjoy statistics since I am going to be measuring everything (well, almost everything) and posting it here. This blog is going to be my fitness/nutrition/wellness/goal tracking log. I think measuring everything is the only way I can transition out of weight loss mode without falling back into the habits that made sumo wrestling a viable career alternative.

During the past 308 days, I have not kept a fitness log. I do count calories every day. In fact, I am constantly finding old Post-It notes that show my tally for various days. I knew that if I stuck to 1600 calories and exercised hard 4 to 6 times per week the weight would come off. I was right.

However, now I need a new approach.

By the way, I hate the term "maintenance mode". Someone please give me a better term to use. I am not planning on maintaining. I plan on living. I also plan on getting fitter and achieving more goals. I strongly believe that if you are not moving forward, then you are moving backward. But, there are many ways to move forward besides losing weight.

Sunday was a good workout day. I got in 60 minutes of tennis with a ball machine (during this process I discovered that I had not gotten competitive tennis out of my system) and then I went for a two mile run in 18:49. Of course, before I left the gym -- swish.

This is definately the better problem to have as long as I solve it.

Welcome.

I am a man in my early 40's. I live in the United States. I was the fat but athletic kid in school. I have struggled with weight issues all of my life. I have been fortunate enough to have lost weight on several occasions. However, I have also been unfortunate enough to have gained it all back (and then some) each time.

Today, I am fortunate.

On May 3rd, 2009 after having gained significantly more weight than I have ever gained before I decided to take the journey one more time. Three hundred and eight days later I am closing in on my goal weight. I have been working my ass off for over 44 weeks and the work has paid off. I am thinner and in better shape than I have been in 10 years. It feels amazing. Yet, I am not done.

Now, I need to finish achieving my weight loss goals and figure out how to not only keep from gaining the weight back but also continue to improve my fitness and achieve more of my goals.

The purpose of this blog is to document my progress. I will be using this blog as a place to log my workouts, my weight, my successes, my failures, and whatever else comes to mind.

Why is this blog titled Three From The Corner? Well, whenver I workout in a gym with a basketball court the workout isn't over until I take a few shots and hit a three-pointer from the corner. Nothing (well, almost nothing) feels as good as being drenched in sweat after a great workout, launching a shot from the corner, and hearing the best sound in the world.

Swish.