The Weigh-In Week 12

239 that's what it said on the scale this morning. A loss of .8 lbs.

I don't get this weight loss thing at all. This was the loss I was supposed to have last week after piging out all weekend. Not the loss I was supposed to have this week after logging nearly 20 miles. Strange!

I am way beyond complaining about small losses though. At this point any loss is a good thing! And if I did feel the slightest bit of disappointment all I'd have to do is look at the picture to know that I am doing just fine. Really I have been over due for a slow down for a few weeks now. Not that I will take it easy. This little loss fires me up to try for a bigger one next week.

I do have two regrets at a smaller loss this week.

1. I wanted to show off for all the new friends that have started reading this week. I've discovered some amazing new people this week doing amazingly well on their own healthy living journeys. Thank you all for sharing your stories. Come back next week new readers and I'll really show you something.

2. I was really looking forward to being able to stop saying "I have lost nearly 50 lbs." and start saying "I have lost more than 50 lbs." Hopefully next week.

I do have one bit of showing off. This week's loss makes 12 straight weeks of loss with an average weekly loss of 2.8 lbs. We have made the 3 month hurdle! Whoppie!!!

The glory this week belongs to my lovely wife . She blew passed her 10% goal this week with a huge 3 lb loss. That puts her over by 1.8 lbs. Way to go sweetheart. I am very proud of you!

Here is how determined my lovely wife was to make it this week. Last night after the girls went to bed she headed out for a two mile walk in the pitch black of night. My little trooper!

Congrats also to fellow Fatblogger John for making his initial goal of losing 25 lbs. Way to go John!


We had a record number of votes this week but no but no winner. Fat Bloke Thin was closest with a guess of 1.3, but as I have said before we play by the Price Is Right rules. The winner is the person who is closest without going over. I will be adding that rule to the contest instructions next week and from here on out. Sorry if there was any confusion.

Have a great holiday weekend everybody. I'll be back on Tuesday.


Tony
8/31: 239 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
19 lbs. to go

Guess How Much I Weigh Contest - Week 12

Wow! We have made it to the magical 3 month mark. Or we will have tomorrow morning and I don' anticipate going on a crazy buffet binge tonight, so the odds are good we'll make it.

I have said from the beginning, if I can make three months and still be going strong this new lifestyle has a good chance of succeeding. I know 3 months does not a lifetime make, but I've never made it this far before so it's a big step in the right direction.

Before we get to the contest a little update.

I got my old cholesterol results last night. They were not what I expected. The last time I had my cholesterol checked was 2003 and my results were slightly better then, than they were this time.

2003:
Total: 177
HDL: 30
LDL: 82
Triglycerides: 325

2006:
Total: 176
HDL: 27
LDL: 118
Triglycerides: 154

The more I think about it, it makes sense that my 2006 results are similar to my 2003 results. In 2003, I probably weighed around 260 so I wasn't yet at my heaviest. Even though I have been working out and losing weight, I am sure you don't just fix your cholesterol overnight. It has me wondering what my cholesterol was when I was at 280. Scary!

Here's the other fun thing. I broke 3 miles on my walk/run yesterday for the first time. 3.1 miles in 35 Minuets!!! 10 of it was running.

I ran the first 4-1/2
Walked 2
Ran 2
Walked 2
Ran 1-1/2
Then walked for awhile and added two more 1 minute runs towards the end.

I've been thinking a lot about my running, but I'll get into that next week.

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 27th.
Walked / Ran: 17.9 miles

Calories Consumed: From Thursday morning through Wed. night I have consumed aprox. 14035 calories.

Calories Burned: From Thursday morning through Wed. night I have burned aprox. 28210 calories.

33% of my calories have come from fat.
11% of those calories came from Saturated Fats.

42% of my calories came from carbs.

23% of my calories came from protein.

Let the guessing begin. Good Luck!


Tony
8/30: 239.8 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
19.8 lbs. to go

p.s. Don't forget you can subscribe to the e-mail edition of Guess How Much I Weigh . Simply enter your e-mail address in the space to the right.

The Purge - Part 2: Even Purgier

As promised, here is the triumphant shirt. The first is from December 23, 2006. The second is from last night. I'm a little speechless to tell you the truth.


The great 07 purge is complete. I am left with :
4 pair of pants,
1 pair of jeans,
3 pair of dress shorts,
and enough sweaters to last until hell freezes over, which works out nice since I'll have plenty of sweaters to wear.

I have plenty of shirts left, but I might need to get a pair of transitional jeans and maybe a pair of casual shorts to get me through September. I have a few loads of laundry to do so maybe there is something hiding in there that I forgot about.


My lovely wife has pointed out another upside to revamping my wardrobe as a skinner person. It will be a lot easier to shop the Target clearance rack now!

As you know the Target clearance rack is my favorite place to shop in the whole wide world. I am also looking forward to fitting in to some cooler clothes from some of the skate / surf inspired shops. Clothes that I know I am top old to wear, but I am going to wear anyway!


Here's a shot of the "too big to wear" pile. Also know as the Mama Cass Mumu Mountain. Sorry, I like alliteration a lot. The photo doesn't do it justice. That pile is huge. Over half of my clothes are in there!


Tony
8/29: 239.8 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
19.8 lbs. to go

Recipe Wednesday

This seems way advanced, but It also seems really good and I do love good Barbecued Pork. Plus the recipe comes from the Mayo Clinic so it's almost like medicine, right?

I have no clue when I will find the time to make this . If not this weekend, I will do my best to get it made in the next two weeks.

Jamaican Barbecued Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients
2 teaspoons firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pork tenderloin, about 1 pound, trimmed of visible fat
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons dark honey
1 teaspoon tomato paste

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, cloves, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the black pepper. Rub the spice mixture over the pork and let stand for 15 minutes.

2. In another small bowl, combine the vinegar, honey, tomato paste and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk to blend. Set aside.

3. Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill or broiler (grill) to medium-high or 400 F. Away from the heat source, lightly coat the grill rack or broiler pan with cooking spray. Position the cooking rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source.

4. Place the pork on the grill rack or broiler pan. Grill or broil at medium-high heat, turning several times, until browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Remove to a cooler part of the grill or reduce the heat and continue cooking for 14 to 16 minutes. Baste with the vinegar-honey glaze and continue cooking until the pork is slightly pink inside and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 160 F, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

To serve, slice the pork tenderloin crosswise into 16 pieces and arrange on a warmed serving platter, or divide the slices among individual plates.

Nutritional Analysis(per serving)
Serving size: 4 pork tenderloin slices
Calories 180, Monounsaturated fat 3 g, Protein 24 g, Cholesterol 75 mg, Carbohydrate 6 g, Sodium 508 mg, Total fat 6 g, Fiber 1 g, Saturated fat 2 g

Recipe from the Mayo Clinic.

Tony
8/29: 239.8 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
19.8 lbs. to go

The Purge - Part 1

My lovely wife and I dove into our scariest project of the summer last night, my closet. Technically it's the guest room, but everyone simply refers to it as my walk-in closet.

I have to admit I am a bit of a clothes horse. It's not so much that I buy a lot of clothes, I just never throw them out. Here was a typical conversation from last night:

ME: "Maybe I should get rid of this, I've had it for a while."
LAURA: "You had that when we met!"

My lovely wife and I have been together 12 years!

Heck, I'm still wearing clothes I bought in high school. I was into the baggy grunge flannels back then. 4 years before grunge went national I would like to point out!

I have also collected a lot of clothes in the last three years. When you're going up a size every 6 to 8 months it's hard not to accumulate.

The purge was long overdue.

The main criteria for getting rid of clothes was size. Everything with a XXXL went without even trying it on. A lot of the XXL stuff went as well. I was really surprised at how much stuff ended up in the to go pile. There are clothes that that I haven't worn in years because they were too tight that are now to big to wear. I missed them going up and coming down.

Last night was the first time in this whole process that I have felt like a person who has lost nearly 50 lbs. Seeing my old clothes looking like a Mama Cass mumu on me, clothes that used to be tight just 9 months ago, made me really see my body in a new way.

While this was mostly a joyous occasion, there are some things that I will be really sad to see go. I had just received a lot of really nice clothes for Christmas this past year, which I hardly had the chance to wear and now they are 3 sizes to big for me. It made the whole experience a little bitter sweet.

Tonight I tackle pants and sweaters. I have a feeling the purge has only just begun.

The most triumphant moment of the evening:

- One of my favorite shirts is a western / rock star shirt my lovely wife gave me for Christmas 3 years ago. I have never been able to wear it properly, even when she gave it to me. Last night I buttoned it up for the first time.

Here's me in the shirt this past Christmas weighing 288. I'll take a new picture tonight to compare and contrast.

Tony
8/28: 239.8 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
19.8 lbs. to go

Kicking It with Cholesterol

I finally got the results of my Cholesterol check back last week. I have been waiting to post my results until I could compare them to the results from a test I had done a few years ago. Unfortunately, I have changed doctors and clinics a few times since then and it has taken me a week just to track down where I had the test done. The results are locked away in a musty old basement somewhere and should arrive in a week or two. When they do we'll have a fun compare and contrast.

Some of you may be wondering why at 33 I've already had two cholesterol checks. I have a history of high cholesterol in my family that puts me at a higher risk for heart problems. Coupled with my obesity and lack of exercise, I would say I am a prime candidate for early cholesterol checks.

Here are my most current results.

Total Cholesterol: 176
Triglycerides: 154
Cholesterol/HDL Ratio: 6.5
HDL Cholesterol: 27
LDL Cholesterol: 118

Those of you who know a thing or two about cholesterol can stop reading right here and judge for yourself. For the rest of you, here is your Cholesterol Primer.


HDL:
High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is known as “good” cholesterol because high levels of HDL seem to protect against heart attack. Low levels of HDL also increase the risk of heart disease. Medical experts think that HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it's passed from the body.

HDL is my biggest problem. My HDL levels should be between 40 and 60. Mine are currently at 27. That's way low!

LDL:
Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is known as “bad” cholesterol. When too much LDL (bad) cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. Together with other substances, it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. If a clot forms and blocks a narrowed artery, heart attack or stroke can result.

My LDL is considered Near Optimal/ Above Optimal. While my LDL is a little high, it would seem that I have not (as of yet) manifested the hereditary high LDL cholesterol that runs in my family.


According to the American Hart Association my risk of having a cardiac event in the next 10 years is less than 1%. Yeah for me!

The best thing for me to to get my HDL up is to keep doing exactly what I am doing.. Working out and losing weight. Those are the two biggest factors in controlling HDL Cholesterol. I have also started taking a daily vitamin supplement and a daily fish oil supplement. My doctor said the fish oil might be a good idea since I never eat sea food.

Now if only I can remember to take the pills. I started on Saturday, forgot to take them yesterday and this morning! I'll have to figure out a system.

Tony
8/27: 239.8 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
19.8 lbs. to go