15 Down, 70 to Go

I weighed in at 227 this morning - that's 15 down from where I started a couple months ago. Not too bad, I reckon.

I also got off to a good start this week with two hours of exercise yesterday - a 1 hour and 40 minute bike ride and about 20 minutes of stretching. I rode 18.6 miles, my longest ride so far.

I think I'm gonna stick with shorter rides during the week (about 10 miles) and then do a 20 mile ride next Saturday. Next week I'll be in Miami all week so I won't be able to ride. I'll probably do a lot of walking up and down the beach.

BLC part II

I mentioned a few posts back that I had started a "bootcamp" competition on the Biggest Loser Club website. I gave that up the first week because the point-system was really screwy. You could get nearly 100 points per week for posting on the forums (and chatting online) but you would only get 9 points per week for following your food plan perfectly. Very imbalanced.

I joined another group where the only thing we track is how much exercise we do each week and weigh in once a week. It's much better. The goal is to do 10 hours of exercise per week. So far, I've never come close - but this week I'll get it. Here's where I'm at:

Monday: 30 minute bike ride
Tuesday: 45 minute bike ride, 60 minutes karate, 15 minutes stretching
Wednesday: 30 minute bike ride, 30 minutes walking, 60 minute BL DVD workout
Thursday: 60 minute bike ride, 60 minutes karate . . .

As long as I keep getting two hours a day for the next couple days, I'll have it.

229

I weighed in this morning at 229. Same as yesterday. That's 13 pounds less than I weighed a couple months ago. It's not as much progress as I was hoping for, but it is a significant amount of weight. The good news is, I'm just getting started.

I bought a new bicycle this week (a Trek 2100 road bike) and have been riding every day. It's been difficult getting past the initial discomfort that comes from years of inactivity. My back and legs are very weak and I put too much pressure on my hands - even after multiple adjustments. So I get quite a bit of hand pain when I ride. I also get quite a bit of butt pain because my sit bones are not used to sitting on a bike seat (or any hard surface for that matter).

Despite these issues, I'm riding every day and hope to make this a permanent part of my life. I suspect it will be difficult to continue throughout the winter, but I'm hoping that by then it will be enough of a habit that I will be able to continue despite the cold weather.

I also started karate classes last week. I signed up my two oldest sons also. We go on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I am hoping to make this a permanent part of my life as well. In fact, I paid for a year in advance so I know it will last at least that long.

I am absolutely determined to be in the best shape of my life by next summer (2009). With cycling and karate I should be able to stay pretty active. I will also be lifting weights a couple times a week. That's the hardest one for me to get going. I don't enjoy weight-lifting like I do cycling and karate, although I do love how I feel for the next few hours after a good weightlifting workout. And of course I like the results I get when I make myself do it. I will also be trying to stay active in other ways, but these three activities will be the key to my success.

Finally Broke the Plateau

I finally broke my 16 day streak and weighed in this morning at 230.6. That's the first time in 16 days that I did not weigh in at 231-point-something.

I suppose it had something to do with the fact that I rode 45 minutes yesterday and spent one hour in karate class.

I am trying to get 10 hours of exercise in every week, but so far I've not even come close. I'm lucky to get 30 minutes a day. But I got 1 hour and 45 minutes yesterday.

Today I rode my bike in to work and will probably ride it home also - unless I get heat exhaustion and have to call my wife to come get me (it's supposed to be 90 something degrees here today, I believe). If I do ride home that will be nearly two hours again today.

I'll be down into the 220's very shortly. I am shooting for 215 by the end of June.

My New Obsession

Well, I finally got my bike out the other day and took a 6.7 mile ride. I made the boys come with me. They wanted to at first, but it really wore them out. They weren't too happy with the gravel road I took them on. But, then, neither was I. I thought it was gonna be about a 20 minute, four mile ride. It turned out to be a 52 minute, 6.7 mile ride. But, it was enough for me to get the bug again.

I really wanted to ride again Tuesday but I was VERY saddle-sore. So five minutes into it I decided to go home and wait another day or two. Wednesday I bought some padded bike shorts and Thursday morning I went for a shorter ride - this really was a 20-minute, four-mile ride. But, like in 2004, when I first bought my bike, I'm now dreaming of riding it on long trips. I'm reading cycling books and websites, etc. I can't get enough. People who know me know that I have a very obsessive personality. I jump from one obsession to another. But this is one I'd really like to keep doing permanently. It's much healthier than my recent 9-month World of Warcraft obsession.

In fact, if I had spent as much time biking over the past year as I spent leveling my WoW characters I'd be in great shape. I won't say it was all wasted time, though, because I spent many hours adventuring through the game world with my sons - and sometimes with my daughter. We really had a lot of fun together and I'm not sure I want to give it up entirely. But I did spend far too much time with it than was healthy.

Since I decided to take a break from it (about a month ago), I've been much more active and really have not missed it. Although I'm not spending nearly as much time with my kids as I was. I do miss that - so I'm trying to find ways to do more active things with them. I'm going to try to get them to ride with me once in a while. I'm going to try to plan a backpacking trip or two this summer (probably just short one-nighters) and I am going to sign them up to take Karate classes with me (although only the oldest will be in the same class as me).

Anyway, back to my biking obsession. Today I decided to ride to work - despite my concerns about doing too much, too fast. I made myself go slow and easy, even coasting downhill instead of trying to hit top speed as I usually do.

It took me just over an hour to make the 10 mile trip. So far, I have no regrets. Actually, I feel great! In fact, I'm wondering why I haven't been doing this all along. It seems like a great way to get in my two hours a day. Plus, I'll be saving the 40 minutes a day I usually spend in my car - not to mention the ridiculous amount of money I'm spending on gas these days.

Still, I don't want to overdo it and burn myself out. So today I haven't yet decided whether to ride back home or have my wife come and pick me up. I guess I'll see how I feel this afternoon.

I really do need to do something to get more exercise in every day. My scale is still stuck at 231. I believe this is the ninth day in a row I've weighed in at 231. And I know eating is not the problem. It really would not be healthy for me to reduce my calorie intake any more. So I have to burn more calories.

Next week, karate classes start. I'll have classes on Tuesday and Thursday. So, I'm thinking I will bike to work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But somewhere in there I need to get some resistance training. Maybe on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I haven't figured that part out yet. I just know I need to get more active and stay that way. As long as I'm doing things I really enjoy, like biking and karate, I should be able to incorporate these activities into my life permanently. That's the only way I'll ever be able to stay fit once I get there.

Plateaus Suck . . . Again

Ok, it's not so bad. I've only been stuck at 231 for four or five days, but it's time to move on. I am going to the gym during lunchtime today and I'll probably go for a bike ride this evening - if my butt can take it. I rode yesterday for the first time in several years and am rather saddle-sore. But it felt good to get out and ride again. I plan to start doing it regularly.

I am still doing fine with eating. In fact, I have been exercising more self-control than I thought possible. For example, on Friday I ended up going to a restaurant twice - once for an office lunch and once for a family dinner. For the office lunch, I ate halibut with very little sauce and a little bit of rice. I passed on the dessert while everybody else ate cheesecake in front of me. I've never done that before. It wasn't even painful. In fact, I think the satisfaction of having resisted the temptation felt better than the cheesecake would have tasted.

Then came the bigger challenge. We took the kids to Old Country Buffet for dinner. I have never been able to exercise control in that place. I always pig out on fried foods and many, many desserts. This time, I started with a very large salad with only a tiny bit of ranch dressing. Then I had a piece of salmon, without adding any sauce. By then, I was pretty much full. I decided to reward myself with a bit of dessert, so I had a tiny bit of ice cream and one cookie. Normally when I walk out of that place, I feel bloated and miserable. That night, I felt like a new person. Satisfied, but not stuffed - and very proud of myself for eating well in the worst possible environment.

Now if I could just exercise as much self-control with exercise. For some reason, I am having a really hard time getting up in the morning and getting exercise. I seem to be unusually tired in the mornings. It's very strange because up until about a month ago I was often playing World of Warcraft until 2:00 in the morning (or later) and getting up at 7:00 or so for work. But about a month ago, I decided to take a break from Warcraft and have since been getting to bed by about 10:00 or 11:00 most nights. So I would think I'd be able to get up at 6:00 and exercise. But most mornings I can't seem to drag myself out of bed before about 8:00. I'd even sleep 'til 9:00 if I didn't have to get to work. I've been eating better and exercising more, so it seems I should have more energy. Maybe I just need to take my vitamins more regularly.

I'm still planning to join a Karate class. It starts next week, so I will probably go down and sign up today. Coincidentally, my oldest son asked me out of the blue the other day if he could take a Karate class "or something." I don't think he knows about my plan, so it was rather surprising. When I thought about joining a Karate class a couple years ago, I took my older boys with me to the various dojos in town. I thought they would be excited about the idea, but they were not the least bit interested. It appears that may have changed - and that I may have to figure out a way to afford classes for more than just myself.

10 Down, 75 to go

Well, I weighed in today at 231 pounds. That's actually a little more than 11 pounds lost so far. I continue to eat well and try to get some exercise every day. I still don't get to the gym as often as I should. Nor do I get in the good cardio workouts that I need most days. But I have done a little jogging here and there and a lot of walking. Enough to lose over 10 pounds.

Now I really need to step it up and get to the gym at least three times a week for a good weight-lifting workout. And I should be getting a good 30-60 minute cardio workout in every day.

I am going to Miami Beach for a conference next month (first week in June) and I plan to spend some time on the beach. So, I'd like to lose another 10 pounds by then. I hate going to the beach and being embarrassed to take my shirt off. Maybe if I get down to 220, the flab won't be quite so embarrassing for me.

Of course, in the summer of 2009 I will be actively looking for opportunities to take off my shirt and show off my newly discovered abs.