Good morning, everyone! Lucky Week Thirteen is in the books and it was an interesting ride, to say the least. Could Skeezy bounce back from his first break-even week of 2011 or would the plummet continue? How close would he get to his birthday goal? Let’s break it down:
After last week’s break-even I was a bit down on myself, admittedly. I know that I had my twenty-four hour stretch of eating and drinking like an asshole but I had also coupled it with some solid gym work and good behavior on either side. Like I said last week, perhaps the changing of the routine would be the kicker here. That is exactly what I set out to do.
I started the week with a vengeance, smashing the gym on Tuesday night (not pictured below, as usual) for a 1:15 workout resulting in a 951 calorie burn. Up until now my workouts were always thirty minutes on the treadmill which was set to cross-country mode, so it raises and lowers while I hike. The speed is set so I usually end up doing about 1.7 miles. After that it was some crunches and a small amount of weights. On Tuesday, and since, it’s been a bit more brutal. I do a 15 minute elliptical, 15 minute bike (or 30 minute treadmill, depending on how my knees feel) and then some solid weight work, isolating different areas each day. One day might be chest and shoulders, the next arms, the next legs, and so on. the abs get worked on every day. In any case, here’s the DigiFit screenshot you’ve all grown to love:
You’ll notice that Wednesday was another very solid day. Thursday actually came in better than the 16 calories it registered. I was having some sensor trouble that day and it kept conking out every time I put music on so I gave up on trying to fix it,which would have resulted in a workout stoppage. There is also a good three mile hike I did on Sunday that isn’t pictured, simply because I didn’t want to wear the sensor. Yesterday was a good day, though not terribly epic.
“What about Friday and Saturday, Skeezy?” I’ll tell you what about Friday and Saturday. I did it again. Another 24 hour span of not being very good. Friday was my friend “Tim’s” birthday so we had a barbecue and drink-a-thon at his house. Before that I stopped by a small wine night, where I had wine and a decent amount of cheese, meat and crackers. Saturday morning was spent having a lovely breakfast at which I ate eggs benedict (my favorite) and then segued into some day-drinking with “Evelyn” and “Arwa”. That lasted from 1PM until about 6PM, at which point I went home and didn’t have anything aside from water for the rest of the day. Sunday was spent exercising and then at Dodger Stadium, watching the Dodgers take the third of four games from the Frisco Vagiants.
Three beers and the better part of a bag of peanuts later I was home and ready for yesterday’s “back to the grind” eating and exercising. I spent yesterday basically not eating at all because i was scared to death about this morning. I was sure I’d end up gaining weight or breaking even again, which would be two failed weeks to me. Eventually, however, Tuesday morning came and I stepped onto the bathroom scale to find that…
…I’d somehow lost two pounds.
For those of you keeping score at home, that brings my weight down to 316, with a total weight loss so far of 55 pounds.
I know now that my “under 300 by my birthday” goal is out the window, and that’s my own damn fault. Truth be told, though, I needed the last couple of weeks to get my head back on straight. For as well as I’ve been doing so far it’s been really tough, and I think my psyche finally rebelled. It’s possible that having quit smoking two weeks ago has screwed with me, too, as my body is running out of vices. I knew damn well that those two days over the past couple of weeks I spent on my mini-benders would possibly ruin all of the work I did around it but I didn’t care. I needed them for whatever reason. It also has shown me that, unlike friends of mine who are able to spend a day doing whatever they like on their diets, I can’t. My body isn’t built that way. My metabolism isn’t up high enough yet to be able to afford such a luxury, yet I still did it. I’ll be doing it again this week, too, because Friday is my birthday and I guarantee you I will not be worrying about it that night.
Still, the slow two weeks I’ve just had aside, I am proud of where I am so far. I’m wearing pants that are four inches slimmer in the waist and even they are getting loose now. I’ve punched three new holes in my belt and now I just need a new damn belt because it’s wrapped around to my left side. I’ve taken an “X” off my shirt size. Things I couldn’t wear even three weeks ago now slip right on. My resting heart rate is down nearly 20 BPM. I feel good about myself and that reflects outward, and I can tell, because people react to me differently now. It’s all coming together. Maybe it’s not happening as fast as I would like, but what ever does?
One small side note: I have a dear friend, Lauren, who has started her own weight loss journey and is doing an amazing job so far. Please go and read The Not-So-Fat Fat Chick blog. It’s honest and hilarious – you’ll be glad you did.
Tune in next week to see if my birthday finally knocks me into the weight gain box. Until then, go get it.
