Weigh In: 3/11/11

I forgot to graph and blog last week, but I did weigh in. Lost a pound last week, and a pound this week. I know losing weight slowly is the best, but I wish I would have lost a few more pounds.

Weekends are the hardest for me. Dieting is hard, and running is harder when I'm at home. A couple of weekends ago I actually got up early, and drove to the gym to enjoy one of the biggest embarrassing moments of my life. The gym closest to my apartment is a little older. They have the same treadmills that the newer gym near my work has, but they are a few years older. I got on a treadmill, and started my couch to 5k training like normal. 5 minute warm up walk, and then starting my 60 seconds of running. The problem was with each step of my run the belt on the treadmill would come to a stop under my weight, and as I would lift off it would start up again causing me to slip forward and then back. I tried a couple other treadmills, but they all did the same thing. Embarrassed, even though I'm sure no one noticed or gave a damn, I quickly hit the locker room and left.

The slipping made me pull something in my back, and right below my shoulder blade really hurts. I've ran a few times since then, but I just seem to re-injury my back. This doesn't please me at all. It's not good for my weight loss plan, and I enjoy how I feel after I run. So, I'm going to not run over the weekend, and pick it back up on Monday.

With that said... Monday is going to SUCK!

Weigh In: 2/25/11

Lost a pound this week. Only ran twice this week and had to overcome a 3 pound gain from the weekend. Should have ran more but I was too busy because of work, school, blah, blah, excuse, excuse... Not gonna happen this week though. I will run at least 4 days. I guarantee.

See ya next week.

Running Makes Me Hungry!

I'm finding it hard to stay on my diet when burning 400+ calories a day, but I'm finding a way. Ran yesterday and today at the gym. It's still way difficult while doing it, but a couple hours later, and I feel great! I just gotta keep on pressing on.

Today I ran all of the run @ 4.5mph. I started my walks at 3mph, and then lowered them down to 2.5mph. My goal is to keep up the 4.5mph runs, and not have to drop below 3mph for the walks. Maybe by next week I'll be fully up to speed with that.

Weigh In: 2/18/11

What a hard week. It's hard to find the motivation to run, and it's even harder to find the willpower to pass up on all of the free delicious treats at work, but I did! Ran 3 days this week. I plan to get up to 5 days of running plus 3 days in the gym lifting weights, but 3 days of running is a good start. I'm proud of myself for that. I'm also proud that I didn't eat any of the left over food from the huge training classes going on at work. Not a single cookie, brownie, slice of pizza or doughnut.

All that hard work paid off this week. I dropped from 419lbs to 415lbs. 4 pound loss in total. Now I'm enjoying a celebratory white mocha and everything bagel with cream cheese! Seeing the -4lbs really inspires me, and I'm looking forward to my run tomorrow.

More Exercise!

I just joined a gym. Yup, gonna make this happen!

Weigh In: 2/11/11

Sorry, I forgot to blog on Friday. I need to get in that habit again. I did however update my graph on Friday, so if you stopped by you at least saw that. No change in weight. I was still at 419lbs on Friday. I think the added exercise is sending my body into shock. But I'll keep pressing on.

I've still been running. Ran on Saturday and Today. I walked one of my runs each time, but I'm please with my progress. We have a storm blowing in, and I'm not looking forward to running in the rain. I just need to find that motivation.

Back in the Saddle Again!

Last year's plan of dieting to lose weight worked pretty well. I lost about 50 pounds, then the holidays hit. I gained back a little over 20 of those pound back. I let myself down a little with that, but I'm picking myself back up. That's really the wonderful thing about a diet. You can always start over.

2011's weight loss plan is a little different. This year I will continue to diet, and I will also be including exercise. I started the year with doing the Biggest Loser Wii game, but I hurt my foot and had to take a break to rest it. While resting my foot I came to the decision that I didn't like all of the yoga and stuff, so I need to find something else. A co-worker has been talking about an iPhone app that he's been using call C25K. C25K (Couch to 5K) is an app that has a 9 week training plan to get you fit enough to run a 5K (30-45 minutes of jogging).

For example the first week you have a 5 minute walk a walk, then oscillates between running for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds, then a 5 minute cool down. Week 2 will have less walking and more running. So on and so on. I've really enjoyed walking. It's peaceful and I get time to just think about thing, so the C25K app seamed perfect. I downloaded it over the weekend and started the plan this week.

Being 400+ pounds I in no way thought I could just go through this with ease. My first day was a little rough. I only made it through half of the training. I could have pushed myself to complete it but I still had to work a full 8 hours, and I didn't want to be a worthless blob all day. The great thing is I can repeat days as many times as necessary. So, I might be doing week one for a week or two before moving on to week two.

Day two (repeat of day 1) was a LOT better. I made all the way through with the exception of one running cycle. I decided to walk it because I was going up hill, it was near the end of the training, and I didn't want to fall on my face. Other then my quads feeling like they were hit with a truck, I'm feeling pretty good! I'm going to skip the next 2 days, and give it a go on Saturday.

One cool feature of the app is a journal about my run/walk. I'm able to save an image from my phone and post it here (See images to the left and right). You can see what I did, and what I thought about it.

See ya on Friday's weigh in!

Weigh In: Week 37, 38 & 39

I can't believe I've missed several weeks of posting. Life has been extra busy. Work, school, and life in general has been taking every second of my day. The good news is that I haven't gained any weight with all of the added stress of being busy. I've even lost some weight!

I'm again back below 400lbs. I weighed in on Friday at 399lbs. I'm back to where I was before our trip to Boston. It took me nearly 2 months to lose the 10lbs that I gain during a week in Boston. It's amazing how quickly you can pack on the pounds, and how hard it is to lose them.

I'm currently battling a wicked cold, and have been bending my diet rules. I've been drinking OJ and other calorie filled fluids in an attempts to increase my vitamin intake to help beat this cold. As part of my diet I try not to drink any calories, so I'm a little worried about my weigh in next week, but I'd rather gain weight and get well sooner, than lose weight and be sicker longer.

See ya Friday!

Weigh In: Week 36

Almost under 400lbs again. Lost 3lbs this week. The next 6 weeks will be a challenge. On Monday I start training a 6 week training class for work. As the trainer I rarely leave the training room, and I wont be able to do the walking I normally do on breaks and lunches. I will need to find another way to get my walking in. Might require waking up early and walking... That sucks.

See ya next friday.

Weigh In: Week 35

I was scared, and I still am scared. Last Saturday I was out to dinner with my girlfriend and I started to not feel well. I started to have some really bad chest pain that went through my chest and to my back between my shoulder blades. At first this wasn't a big deal, but I've had this pain before. I get this same pain when ever I get a case of acid reflux, and I had eaten some spicy food at dinner.

Soon after the chest pain my heart started to flutter. It felt like my heart would race, pause, and then beat like normal. This caused a rush of heat to pass through my body, followed by a rolling tingly feeling, and then I got light headed. Again, I've had these symptoms before. In 2003 I went to a cardiologist for these same symptoms. I wore a holter monitor for 24 hours to monitor my heart. The cardiologist diagnosed me with having PVC. PVC isn't life threatening, but it was a wake up call that my body couldn't take my weight. The cardiologist said they could give me beta blocker to prevent the PVC, but I hate taking medication. So I research online and found that people have been able to control them through diet. Low carbs, sugar, and no caffeine. Changing my diet stopped my PVC.

I've had all of these symptoms before, but never at the same time. Having all of this happen at once started to scare me. Ok... scared might be an understatement. I was freaking out! I tried to stay calm externally so not to freak out my girlfriend, but it took every ounce of self control to maintain my composure.

The symptoms got worse and worse, so I told my girlfriend that I wanted to go to the hospital. While checking in at the ER I was at my worst. I felt very discombobulated. When the nurse asked my for my birthdate and last 4 of my social I had to really think about what the answers were. My hands were shaking and I felt like I was going to collapse.

The ER was very busy, but they got me in for blood work, EKG, and chest x-rays quickly, and then sent my back out to the waiting room. After waiting in the ER for 3.5 hours I figured that I wasn't having a heart attack or dying, because they surely wouldn't have left me out there if they saw something negative on the test. During that 3.5 hours I also started to feel better. A 100% better in fact.

I started to recall what I have eaten that day. Starbucks, buffalo wings, bagel, spicy food, alcohol, fry bread... Carbs, sugar, caffeine, and more carbs. Everything that I shouldn't be having while on my diet, and everything I shouldn't be having while trying to prevent PVC and heartburn. At that point I chalked it all up to my lack of being health that day.

After 4 to 4.5 hours of being in the ER I finally talked to the doctor. He agreed with my self diagnosis, but pointed out something worrisome on my EKG results. He said there was some possible damage to the anterior part of my heart. This is usually caused by an old heart attack, but I've never heart heart attack-like symptoms. He advised me to go to my primary doctor to get an echocardiograph.

On Thursday I saw my doctor and got a new EKG. He said that there indeed is some "minor abnormalities" in the anterior of my heart. He said that it was nothing to be worried about, and I can continue with life as normal. So I get to continue to diet and walk. He also scheduled me for the echocardiograph, but due to work schedule conflicts I wont be able to get the test until November. The doctor was ok with waiting, so I feel comfortable with waiting.

So, now for what you've all been waiting for. I lost a pound this week. I'm now down to 406lbs. I've been scared straight, and I'm 100% focused on my diet. I need to lose this weight. My body can't take it. I have too much that I want to do. Dying in my late 20's or early 30's is not an option.

If you're over weight and looking for inspiration please let my story inspire you. Learn from my mistakes, and do what ever you have to do to make yourself healthy.

See ya next week.

Weigh In: Week 33 & 34

I completely forgot to blog last week. Oh well, it's not like I had good news to report anyway. My was my GF's birthday filled with good food, and I had a general lack of self-control with my food and snack choices. Up 4lbs, but it's good motivation to get back on the horse.

See ya next week.

Weigh In: Week 32

It's amazing how long it takes to take weight off, and how easy it is to put it on. I lost 4lbs this week. That's nearly half of what I gained during our week of vacation. That brings me to 405lbs. Must get back under 400lbs ASAP! 6 more pounds. It's going to take some hard work, but I'm hoping to lose it within a week or two.

My foot is feeling fine and the weather has cooled off. I should be getting back to walking a couple times a day again. I actually miss the walking. It sucks while I'm doing it, but I feel great after.

See ya next week!

WEIGH IN: WEEK 31

Sorry for the late post, but I've been on vacation for the last week in Boston. Saw a lot of history, walked a lot, but ate a lot too. A lot of good food. I weighed in this morning and I'm up 10lbs. That's 10 well earned pounds. I'm not beating myself up over it. I knew it was going to happen. Now I just get back up on the horse and continue with my weight loss plan. I should be able to recover from the gain within a couple of weeks.

See ya Friday!

Weigh In: Week 30

Maintaining. I can't complain. It's been a crazy past few weeks, and will stay that way for a couple more. If I can stay at a net zero for the next few weeks than I will be very pleased with myself.

Weigh In: Week 29

Nothing to report this week. Didn't gain. Didn't lose. Still nursing a hurt foot. I'm hoping to start walking again next week and return to the path of weight loss.

Weigh In: Week 28

No loss. No gain. I can't complain. I got a busted up foot and haven't been able to go on my walks, and my GF has has some family issues that have added stress. We held strong and tried hard to eat right. Our efforts paid off this week by no gaining any weight. My foot still hurts like a mofo, and Patricia is out of state till Monday. Must try hard to stick to our diets and hopefully I will not gain anything by next weigh in.

Take care,
Jim

Weigh In: Week 27

Holy hot damn! I'm no longer a 400 pounder. I got on the scale this morning to see a beautiful 399. 50lbs lost and under 400. Awesome! Now I have 4 more pounds to lose to match my high school senior weight.

Here is the full graph of what my weight loss has been so far over the last 27 weeks.

Happy Friday! See ya next week!

Weigh In: Week 26

Slowly moving down. Lost a pound this week. So close to being out of the 400s. If I can lose 2 pounds next week I'll be a slim 399. Must focus.

See ya next week.

Weigh In: Week 25

Big fat lazy blogger here. I completely neglected to blog on Friday. I guess the thought of good weather all weekend distracted me. Well I didn't lose or gain. Now I have 4 more days to try and lose something before the next weigh in.

Have a good week!

Weigh In: Week 24

Another week another 2 pounds gone. Nearly 6 months and I've lost nearly an average of -2lbs a week. That's a respectable amount. In that past I would have wanted much more. You read success story after success story of people losing 100lbs in 6 months, but where are they now? And losing weight that fast just isn't realistic in my life.

I've been making small life style changes that I can live with the rest of my life to stay at a healthy weight once I get there. I'm way please with 2lbs a week. Now I just gotta keep up the pace.