The Wife Weighs In...Week 10

Good morning, GHMIW fans!

There are certain food items around which I am simply not to be trusted.

I've always known that pizza and cheese bread are red flag foods. Put a good pizza in front of me and I will continue eating until not a crumb is left. You know how you can give a cat a bowl of food and it will eat what it needs but leave the rest for later, but a dog (given free access to food) will eat and eat and eat until it explodes? That's me and a good pizza.

Well, I discovered a new "danger item" this week.

One of the guys around work (one who is very proud of his Scottish heritage) makes traditional homemade shortbread cookies every year. He gave me half a dozen on Monday and, oh my Lord, are they fantastic. I had one on Monday and intended to take the rest home. But, I kept forgetting them in my office. I think I have two left. They just keep calling me back.

Yes, I should have brought them home! Yes, I should have gotten rid of them! But, I just couldn't. I love them and, I think, they might just love me back...just a little. They could never take the place of my adorable and loving husband (for an example...let's be honest...Tony is a much better cuddler), but the shortbread cookies and I have shared an amazing experience this week...one that I know needs to come to an end before it gets out of control. So, to that end, I am confessing my sins to you, GHMIW fans, in the hope of absolution.

Whew...I feel so much better.

Thanksgiving weekend in Iowa was fantastic...chaotic, but fantastic. We enjoyed a lot of good food and a great time with family. I enjoyed everything I wanted to, but tried to keep it in moderation. I even got a 3-mile walk in with my brother on Thanksgiving morning. I hit the gym first thing on Monday morning and was able to get another two visits in this week. Hurray!

The gym thing has been going relatively well. I haven't been doing a lot of strength training yet (I know...I need to get on it) but have been spending an hour a day on the treadmill. I have been amazed at how quickly I have been able to increase my speed! I hope to get the rest of it going next week, so that I can tone up while my weight continues to go down.

I feel as though I am getting back on track...just need to start journaling what I'm eating again. I've noticed that the new, size-16 pants I purchased in September are starting to feel a little loose. That feels good.

Have fantastic weekend!
Laura

My update:
11/16/2007: 193.8 pounds
11/30/2007: 192.2 pounds (a loss of 1.6 pounds)
Total loss: 36.2 pounds
New mini-goal: 182 pounds by February 1
9 weeks and 10.2 pounds to go!

P.S. Thanks to everyone who was so supportive in my fight against the evil personal trainer. It really helped to convince me that I wasn't crazy and he was out of line.

P.P.S. I really think it's time for a new profile picture.

The Weigh-In Week 25

223.4. That is what it said on the scale this morning. A gain of 2.4.

I guess there are two ways to look at this week. I could be happy that I lost more than half of the weight I gained over the Thanksgiving holiday or I could lament the fact that I have had my biggest gain since this whole thing started.

I haven't made up my mind yet.

I guess I am disappointed to still be in this up and down hovering pattern so close to my goal . It's been a month sicne I hit 220.6!!! At the same time that goal is just a number. The real goal is to live a healthy life and I think I am doing that pretty well.

So screw the scale. As long as I continue to exercise and eat better, then I am doing what I need to do. The numbers will come when they come.

Granted I will keep weighing in each week.

Tony
11/30: 223.4 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
3.4 lbs. to go

Guess How Much I Weigh Conest - Week 25

I am feeling back on track. Last night was another late night at work and we ordered in pizza, and I did have a candy bar on the way home but other than that I have been a very good boy. The real good news is I have been tracking calories religiously since Monday morning.

I am thinking that I will probably still have a gain this week, from last Wednesdays weigh-in...but, it won't be anywhere near the 5 pounds I reported on Monday.


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. The winner is the first person who guesses my weight / weight loss for the week without going over or the person who is closest without going over. 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 November 26th.
Walked / Ran: 10.7 miles

Calories Consumed: From Monday morning through Wed. night I have consumed aprox. 5760 calories.

Calories Burned: From Monday morning through Wed. night I have burned aprox. 11884 calories.

22% of my calories have come from fat.
7% of those calories came from Saturated Fats.

45% of my calories came from carbs.

33% of my calories came from protein.

Let the guessing begin. Good Luck!

Tony
11/29: 221 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
1 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.

BRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

This could be completely psychosomatic, but I am cold all the time now. A few people have said it's because of the weight loss. Less fat to insulate my body. That sounds a little goofy to me. I'm not a biologist but I always thought it's the skin that feels hot and cold. If the fat is under the skin how does it insulate.

On the other hand I am cold, cold, cold!!! Chilled to the bone as they say. And since the bone is under the fat maybe there is some truth to this missing insulation thing.

When I was going to school in Duluth I used to wander around our drafty apartment in shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of the twenty-below winters. It drove my roommate nuts. Last night I got home and even with the thermostat set at 71, I still had to put a sweater on.

If skinny does equal cold it's a small price to pay for living healthy I guess. I'll just have to add a few sweaters to my Christmas list.

On two completly unrelated notes:

I completed my first 2 mile run yesterday. I set the treadmill a little slower and and ran as far as I could. Around 1.5 miles I decide I could push it to 2! That is a huge, huge step for me!

I am quickly working away at my "Thanksgiving 5". There's even a slight chance that I might get a loss this week. It's a small chance, but a chance none the less. Keep your collective fingers crossed.

Tony
11/28: 221 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
1 lbs. to go

Just for Fun

I noticed a lot of overly simplified, "Here's How Much Your Thanksgiving Gorging Will Cost You" talk in the media over the last few days and I thought I would jump on the band wagon!

To gain that 5 pounds in 5 days I had to consume an extra 17,500 calories. That is above and beyond the normal 13,000 calories I would have consumed in that same time period. For a five day grand total of 30,500 calories! Whoaaaa!

By my rough calculations that is the equivalent of eating five 9-pound turkeys in 5 days!

On the flip side, I burn around 650 calories for every 45 minutes I spend on the Treadmill. It would take me 20 hours on the treadmill to work off those excess 17,500 calories.

Makes my legs sore just thinking about it!

Getting Back on Track

We had a lovely Holiday trip to Iowa for Thanksgiving , although I am very glad to be home sleeping in my own bed. Sadly the wonderful trip was not so wonderful on my waistline.

First the good things:
1. I worked out twice while on "vacation". I ran 3.1 miles on Thanksgiving and thanks to a little prodding from my sister-in-law and her dog, I posted my best time yet! I also got in some strength training on Saturday morning.

2. I didn't spend much time eating when no one else was eating. No binges, no sneaking midnight snacks, no hiding food.

3. Despite my best efforts, we avoided all the wonderful Ice Cream shops in Bettendorf, Iowa... and there are some amazing Ice Cream shops in Bettendorf, Iowa!

Now for the bad news!

I gained 5 pounds since my weigh-in last Wednesday. Some of this I am sure is simple day to day fluctuation, some of it is due to the fried chicken I had for dinner last night, but most of it is from throwing away the calorie counter and eating whatever I wanted for the last 5 days.

I wouldn't say that I went crazy and gorged myself at every meal, but I probably ate the most of everyone at the table at every meal. And I had a lot of seconds.

I am not ashamed or disappointed or upset. I gave myself a free pass for the week and I used it to my full advantage. Now it is time to get back on track! Today I start tracking calories again. And I will hit the gym with renewed vigor.

Here is the other positive. I had been back sliding on my snacking over the last few weeks. Now that I have satiated that craving, I feel a renewed energy for eating healthier again.

In some ways taking a week off may help me get back that passion that I felt when I first started this journey.

Not that I am trying to justify!

Tony
11/21: 221 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
1 lbs. to go

p.s This mornings weigh-in was not "an official weigh-in", thus no change to the sign off until Friday.