Weigh-In Week 11

OK so obviously I don't get this whole thing!



239.8! That's what it said on the scale this morning. A loss of 2.6 lbs. And the streak continues!

That makes 11 straight weeks of loss. Over the past 2 months my average weekly loss has been 3.24 lb.

I have to say I am shocked. My lovely wife and I had a quick chat about it this morning and she made some really good points. She pointed out that if I were doing Weight Watchers, my extra "Duluth" calories would most likely be within my allowable flex points for the week.

She also said I need to be careful not to become overly obsessed about food or I run the risk of developing a habit that could be as unhealthy as my overeating.

Maybe seeing that a few extra calories hasn't destroyed my efforts will help me to loosen up.

The more I thought about it this morning, I started to realize that part of my manic behavior this week may stem from the fact that I am approaching the three month mark. That being the mark where I have abanded every other effort I have made to start a healthy lifestyle. My lovely wife assured me that neither she or the rest of you will let that happen.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for...the big winner.

This weeks winner is Nana Heather with a guess of 2.2 lbs. For being so optimistic in the face of my own doubt, Heather wins a loaf of Low Cal, Low Fat Banana bread.

Thanks to all of you for being so optimistic this week and for all your comments and encourgment. As always I don't know that I could do this without you.

I have fallen behind on prize distribution.

Nate, you will hopefully get your Flat Bread this weekend. I just have to figure out where it is sold.

Em, Your prize will be sent out today or tomorrow.

Heather, Your bread will be ready for pick-up no later than Tues.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Tony
8/24: 239.8 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
19.8 lbs. to go

Guess How Much I Weigh Contest - Week 11

Here is the quick recap on the week.

Went to Duluth. Ate kind of bad. Didn't exercise. Came home. Ate good. Exersciesed.

I broke down on Monday and weighed myself. At my last official weigh-in on Friday I was at 242.4. By Monday I was back up to 245.4. I have not weighed myself since.

We will stick with the official weigh-in weight of 242.4. All guesses as to loss or gain should be based on how much my weight will change from 242.4.

And yes it is OK to guess that I will have a gain this week. I will not consider it rude or demoralizing.

Step right up, step right up.
Guess how much I weigh and win a fabulous prize.

To Recap:
Every Thursday I give you my stats for the week and you guess what you think the scale will say on Friday morning. Go ahead and click on comments at the bottom of this post and leave your guess.

I will post the winner when I post my weight on Fri. morning. If we get ten or more guesses I will have a prize for the winner.

Stats for the week of August 6th.
Walked / Ran: 4.6 miles

Calories Consumed: From Thursday morning through Wed. night I have consumed aprox. 17514 Calories.

Last week I consumed 12166 calories.

Calories Burned: From Thursday morning through Wed. night I have burned aprox. 27454 Calories.

Last week I burned 27860 calories.

35% of my calories have come from fat.
11% of those calories came from Saturated Fats.

43% of my calories came from carbs.

19% of my calories came from protein.

Let the guessing begin. Good Luck!


Tony
8/23: 242.4 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
22.4 lbs. to go

Recipe Wednesday

I am starting to get back on track. I had a good workout yesterday and ate well. But, I am still having some serious cravings and this week is causing me to second guess every food choice I make.

I had gotten to a place where I was past the whole debating with myself before eating, now it’s back to a democratic convention in my head. Should I have that Slim-a-Bear bar? If I do will I feel bad. It’s 100 calories for goodness sake.

For the record I did have the Slim-a-Bear bar last night and it was delicious and I don’t feel the least bit guilty about it.

Here’s what I think is really happening. As much as I have been a big talker about not fearing a weight gain this week, I am starting to realize there may be some false bravado involved. All of the internal struggle stems from the fact that deep down I really want to pull out a loss this week.

This is making the extra cravings even worse. Normally I would satisfy my cravings with a healthy snack alternative, Fruit, Slim-A-Bear bar, Wheat Thins, etc. Now, I debate about the extra calories and delay even the healthy snack. Which makes me hungry and makes it even harder to resist the cravings. Ahh the vicious cycle.

The good news is, now that I have figured this out I can hopefully get over myself and settle back down.

I’m going to do what I can to avoid a gain this week or to keep the gain to a minimum. But, if I do have a gain this week I’ll step off the scale, put on my white t-shirt like a man and use the gain as motivation for next week.

Recipe Wednesday
Low Fat, Low Cal Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1 mashed banana
1 Tablespoon of Melted Butter or Margarine
1 teaspoon of Rum Extract
1 cup of Splenda
Dash of Salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons of Skimmed Milk
3/4 cup of White Flour


1. Preheat oven to 350° and spray two mini-baking pans with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Place the following ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl and gently mix by hand until smooth

3. Add Flour

4. Cook about 20 minutes - or until golden brown.

The Whole recipe is only 500 calories!

This recipe comes from Diet Bites. Click on the link to head over there for some recipe alternatives.

Tony
8/22: 242.4 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
22.4 lbs. to go

Going To Bed Hungry

So getting back on track is proving harder than I expected. I am hungry. Last night i had a very sensible dinner,chicken, salad and stake fries , and I went to bed hungry for the first time in 2 months.

And now the guy in the next office over just walked in with a greasy Egg McMuffin like sandwich. I don't even like Egg McMuffin sandwiches and it's still making my stomach beg like a little puppy at that dinner table.

It's like I am going through detox. Not that I know what detox is like. My body got a taste of all the things I used to crave, Ice Cream, pizza, grease, and it wants more. Hopefully things will settle down as my body gets used to eating fewer calories again. In the meantime I guess I need to fall back on some old tricks. Some fruit for a mid morning snack, chewing gum and drinking lots of water.

I did do my strength training for the first time in a week last night. It hurt but I felt good once I was done.

I stayed home with the girls yesterday and got about half my walk in. Today, I forgot to bring my running clothes to work and was thinking about not going out for my walk. But I can't afford to take another day off. So I am going to head out on my lunch break in my jeans and t-shirt. It might be rainy and muggy and I will spend the rest of the day a social outcast in yucky, sweaty jeans, but it is a sacrifice that I must make. Both for my health and my mental dedication.

Tony
8/20: 242.4 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
22.4 lbs. to go

The First Big Bump In The Road

Up until now this whole thing has been pretty smooth sailing. This week turned out to be the first major gale. I am not sure how it happened but I went a little off the rails this weekend. (Sorry for mixing my metaphors.)

I take that back, I do know how it happened. Sometime on Friday afternoon, I made the decision to stop worrying about my calories and enjoy myself for the weekend. A rational decision after 11 weeks of counting every little calorie. I was on vacation after all. Unfortunately, giving myself permission to stop counting calories some how translated into giving myself permission to stop working out and to stop watching what I eat.

The point is I ended up gaining back the three pounds that I lost last week. And it is looking very likely that I am going to have my first gain in 11 weeks.

I am not so worried about how much I ate this weekend. In the grand scheme of things it wasn't horrible. I didn't sneak snacks or eat any more than everyone else. I even made a few smart decisions (Turkey brats instead of regular, etc.)

I'm not even that worried about the possibility of a gain.. beyond being disappointed at breaking my 11 week streak.

I had a great weekend with my family and I didn't let the weight gain ruin it!

Here are the two things that really worry me.

1. After feeding my body at something approaching my old rate of calorie consumption, my body is seriously joensing for more, more, more. I am having cravings like I haven't had for nearly two months now. I hope that getting back on routine this week will help settle things down, but it was a challenge not to break down and snack for snacking sake. In fact, I made a solo trip to the grocery on Sunday and I was moments away from buying myself a candy bar. I have no clue where I summoned the willpower to resist but I did. Although, I did dig into a bag of chips that I had bought for the barbecue on the way home. A bad sign that I couldn't wait the 10 minutes for lunch to be ready.

2. It was way to easy to not go out for my run on Saturday and Sunday. Sure the weather was lousy, but I had plenty of opportunities to get out and walk and I didn't take them. Instead I sat around watching TV all day.

I thought I was beyond this point. I thought it would be harder to back slide than it turned out to be. And that is what really scares me.

If I am someone who is truly addicted to food, then my vigilance will need to be a life time thing. It is not something I will be cured of after I get to my goal weight. I had started to think that I was invincible to food. I got cocky and now food has put me back in my place.

So we start over, get back on routine and hopefully take heart in the lesson learned: I have a long way to go!

Tony
8/20: 242.4 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
22.4 lbs. to go

p.s. While I did gain back 3 lbs. over the weekend, I am not changing my sign-off weight. Friday is the official weigh-in and I promise not to weigh myself again until then.