Day 30 - Hooray!

Yay! Today is the 30th day and with this morning's workout, I've finished my first promise to myself. I feel great and have seen some great results, even though I gained 4.4 lbs this morning. Again, it's the sodium thing - I really have to start watching that much more closely! So, here's how I'm rewarding myself:

First, a new pair of running shoes. I strongly recommend going to a running specialty store, especially if you've never done so. I went to Big Peach Running Co. in Kennesaw. The salesman who helped me, Nathan, was great. He told me that he's on the running team for KSU, so I felt pretty confident in what he had to say. Anyways, first they had me stand on a machine that analyzes how you stand. It turns out I have mid to high arches (a good thing) and my balance is a bit to the right - which I know from using the Wii.

Next, they put me on a treadmill and video taped my walking and running. They do this to determine your pronation. That's how you land on your foot when you run. Do you land flat, on the inside of your foot, or the outside of your foot. It turns out that I am a neutral pronator, but I splay my feet out as I walk. Of course, I know this too (the splaying part) because my mom always used to tease me about it as a kid. I asked Nathan about this and he said it's normal and as long as you move forward in a straight line not to worry about it.

Next, he had me try on about 6 different shoes in an effort to narrow down my best fit. I narrowed mine down to two different brands. Then he put one on each foot (so you're wearing 2 different pairs of shoes) and had me walk, jog, run around for a bit. I'm really glad I took this step as the pair that was more comfortable initially turned out to be less comfortable once I was "working" in them. I ended up purchasing the Mizuno Wave Rider 12's for about $100. I think it's a great investment as I intend to keep the exercise routine going!

I also picked up a few other things that I'll need for phase 2 of my routine, in the 30 day shred. I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and got some 2 pound weights (my wife already has the 5 pound ones), a yoga mat, and a new pair of Umbro shorts that were on sale. Umbro is my favorite workout and exercise shorts.

Finally, today we're heading to the Georgia Renaissance Festival so that should add some additional exercise since we'll be doing TONS of walking. I just really need to make sure to keep the whole sodium thing in mind - particularly there!

Day 29 - back down a bit

Went out to Sushi with the wife last night. Dinner was delicious, but I forgot (again) how much sodium there is in sushi. Well - actually it's in the soy sauce, but still. I still managed to lose 2.0 lbs this morning, so that's a definite positive. I'm feeling great today. There's something to this exercise thing!

Yesterday, my wife told me that I look "skinny." That really made my day because it means even people that see me all the time are starting to notice. I still have a long way to go, but it's really working.

I'm also very excited about starting the new program on Monday, the 30 day shred. AND - I should be doing the "reward myself" thing tomorrow. All great stuff!

Day 28 - Up, but skinnier

The funny thing about today is that last night, I said to my wife, "I'm going to gain tomorrow." She said, "you don't know that, just relax and everything will be fine." I told here I knew I would gain because I ate a lot of sodium yesterday (check my food diary).

Wouldn't you know it, I gained 4.4 lbs. But I'm not worried about it, for 2 reasons. First, I'll probably lose it again tomorrow or the next day, and second, I lost an inch! Today marked the end of week 4, so I measured and did photos again. Yes I really did lose another inch. I'm down from 48" across my middle to 44" across. That's a H-U-G-E loss!!! That means I lost 4 inches in 4 weeks. Just unbelievable. I know it will get harder the closer I get to my goal, but I'm feeling great about it.

Also, yesterday my Jillian Michaels 30 day shred DVD arrived, so I'm all set for the next 30 days in my routine. I've decided my reward for keeping everything together for the 30 days that I promised myself, but it'll have to remain a secret for now. You'll find out after I reward myself!

Day 27 - 3 more days!

Today is a great day! Not only am I down 2.4 lbs as of my workout this morning, but my workout was really good. Today's exercise was one of those rare ones where I was in a good mood when I started, stayed in a good mood throughout, was feeling really good, and only started to feel better.

I did some yoga and mostly aerobic, but I must have had great form today because my abs are sore as all get-out (in a good way). I really feel good, and I'm noticing the inches falling off as well.

The Wii told me today that my progress was "incredible". That's because I hit my goal which was due 3 days from now. Of course, it's worried that I'm losing too quickly but I'm not because my goals are nearly always between 4 and 6 lbs every 2 weeks.

I'm also less than 10 lbs away from my college weight (10 years later) which feels awesome!

Day 26 - Good and odd

First the good news for today (really yesterday) - down another notch in the belt! I was shocked when I put my work pants on yesterday morning that I was down another notch. This belt is only 2 months old, but I'll take it if it means being healthier and looking better. I'm still feeling a zillion times better than I did before.

More good news for today: confirmed that the diet, exercise, and fish oil that I've been taking are helping. Cholesterol down, Triglycerides way down, bad cholesterol down. But my good cholesterol is also too low, so the doctor put me on SloNiacin. Which means I also have to take baby aspirin. I'm thinking I'll take the SloNiacin in the morning since it supposedly can give me an energy boost (B vitamins and all). It should also help with the cholesterol.

We didn't get to see the results of my CT Scan yet, but the doctor will be emailing me about it.

The odd news? Well, the scale at the doctor's office says I'm about 20 lbs heavier than the Wii does. I'm sticking with the Wii, because as my wife says, "pick one scale and stick with it". Frankly, there's no way I could go to the doctor's office every week anyways. The Wii says I'm losing, so that's what's important.

Still feeling really good - happier and less stressed.

Day 25 - Vindication!

I lost 3.1 lbs today, to make up for the 3.3 lbs that I gained yesterday. I knew that would happen, it's pretty much been my pattern over these past few weeks. I'm also REALLY sore from my workout yesterday, which is a good thing. My abs and my hamstrings are really tight which tells me that I've been doing things right.

I titled today's post "Vindication" because my friends on Facebook started commenting about how I shouldn't weigh every day, and yadda yadda yadda, but I told them that I wasn't that concerned and today shows that I was right!

Also excited because I'm still pretty close to the lowest weight I've been in 5+ years. It feels really good. I also have to add how much better I've felt since I started on this program. My mood has improved dramatically, my skin seems to be clearing up thanks to the water and diet, and I am just generally feeling ok.

Days 23 & 24 - you get a twofer!

Yesterday was great, today not so much. I dropped an extra 2 lbs yesterday, putting me at my lowest weight since I started. Felt great. We went out with my inlaws for dinner at Ted's Montana Grill and I ate pretty well. Went to Brewster's Ice Cream and had no-sugar-added, fat free, fudge ripple ice cream. It was really a whole lot better than I expected and didn't taste like fat free at all.

This morning, I think the ice cream and Ted's caught up with me. I think part of the reason may be that I didn't get my water in early enough. Anyways, up 3.3 lbs today. I'm ok, I think it will come off this week - tomorrow or the next day. And we're not doing anything for Memorial Day so no worries there.

Onwards with working out! I only have 6 days to go! I'd better figure out what's next! :)

update: I ordered my Jillian Michaels 30 day shred DVD from Amazon, as I've heard great stuff and I need to plan for my next 30 days. After that, I may go back to Wii Fit - or I may instead go to the new EA Sports workout for the Wii.

Day 22 - One more thing

I forgot to add that yesterday, I lost an inch in measurement around my middle, and I also took some pictures that I won't post until I'm done with this journey. But it's really interesting to me when I compare these with the first ones that even in a week I can see definite progress.

This morning, I got up at my normal time, worked out for about 50 minutes, and then started cleaning. I always forget that cleaning counts for calorie-burning activity too! Laundry and vacuuming will go into my progress tracker once I'm done (still have more to do).

For breakfast, I had some apple-cinnamon granola and some raisins. Working on getting my water in with the new water bottles.

Tonight, I'm playing poker for the first time in at least 3 weeks. We'll see how I do, because that's usually one of the places that makes it tough to not eat after 9 pm. I'll bring my water and see if that can hold me.

Day 21 - just wow

I really wasn't planning to reward myself this week, but I ended up doing it anyways. Here's why:

I had to get my CT Scan in the morning which was a whole to-do in and of itself. It turns out that I'm allergic to iodine, so they had to call and get new orders for the test. Needless to say, I was there for over 3 hours.

After the test, I ran some errands. I picked up two new water bottles to use instead of just refilling those plastic ones. I bought the Camelbak kind with what they call a "bite valve". One is stainless for the car, and the other is plastic to keep at work. I had a devil of a time figuring out the bite valve, so in case anyone out there reads this, they work as follows: there's a slit vertically across the top of the plastic piece. When you bite down on it, it's supposed to open up and allow water to pass through. I couldn't see that slit until I read that it was there, so just look for it. It may help to squeeze with your finger and thumb to find it the first time, too.

After the water bottles, I went to the mall since I was right there to pick up some tee shirts because after our last house cleaning, I found some gift cards. Check, got the tee shirts. But on my way through the mall, I spotted a Lucky Brand clothing store. It is my favorite brand, and I had never really shopped in one of their stores before. Now comes the good part.

Lucky Brand is pretty high-end denim. I figured that I'd try some on and see what they did for me. I had been a size 42 when I started this journey, so I started with a size 40. WAY too big. Tried a size 38. WOW! It fit! I couldn't believe I lost 2 pants sizes. Unbelievable. So I also figured I'd try on a pair of shorts. SIZE 36! Craziness abounds, I'm all smiles, the sales girl (whose name is Chemmy) keeps asking me how I did it. So I told her the story. Talk about motivation!

I think I may try the 30 day shred next and see what that does for me. 21 days down, 9 to go!

Day 20 - nearly 3 weeks and still going!

I lost 0.8 lbs today, which is a good thing (of course!), but even better, I'm starting to see some results in the mirror. I'll do some pics tomorrow - though I may not share them for the reasons I stated earlier in the blog - but that way I can document the process. What I saw in the mirror this morning was - much more definition around my mid section. Not my gut, although I'm noticing some shrinkage there, but more above that. Almost hourglass-y going on in my mid-section around my ribs. Also, I'm seeing some muscle cut lines in my shoulders - I haven't seen those in a while, and when I was working out years ago, they were one of the first things to show up. That means that even though I'm not doing weight training, the Wii is actually working! I'm most excited about fitting into old clothes and the fact that my man-gut and moobs are getting smaller.

Drank lots of water yesterday and managed to not eat after 9 pm again. It was tough last night though, because I didn't get home until late and so I didn't get any dessert. :( The price we pay to get in shape.

I'm doubly excited also because I took my followup cholesterol test yesterday after 4 months, and I've managed to lower my cholesterol by 50 points, which is huge. I'm still barely higher than I want to be, but I'll aske the dr. about it next week and see what options I have.

Day 19 - Up a bit, but some good news

I did nearly an hour this morning, and after the weigh-in, I'm up 1.3 lbs. Which is pretty normal for me, actually. I am seeing a pattern emerge where I gain little bits at a time, lose a large chunk, then gain again. I'm wondering if that will even out, of if that's just how I am. In either case, I think everyone's body is different, and it's worth finding out about yourself - if only so you know!

Anyways, yadda yadda yadda, that's not the good news for today. So far, I've managed to do everything that I've set out to do - getting all my water in (at least 2 liters/8 cups), 3 days straight of not eating after 9 pm, working out every day. When I had my dramatic weight loss yesterday, I felt really good. But that's not the news either.

The news is that this morning when I opened the closet to get dressed for work, I spotted a pair of pants that I had not been able to get into in about 3 years. So I thought to myself, "what the f, let's try those bad boys on." Wouldn't you know it, they fit! And I'm wearing them today. Ok, so really, they're a little bit tight - but I got in them! It's pretty cool. And proves that everything is starting to work.

I also had my follow up blood test this morning. This was to check my cholestrol after having been on some over-the-counter medications. I hadn't planned on altering my diet/exercise way back 4 months ago when I had the first test, but my suspicion is that these past 3 weeks will also help a lot. I'm sure the Dr. will be surprised when she sees how much weight I've lost!

Day 18 - Shattered my goal. BOOO YAAAAH!

I feel awesome! I did my usual workout this morning - aerobic and about 10 mins of yoga. Then I did my checkin, and holy cow - down 5.5 lbs. My body finally caught up. Given I'm a few days late, but I still am way psyched.

I was thinking about what I did different yesterday, and I realized two things. First, although I suffer an aversion to tracking my food, I went to a site yesterday that lets you do that for free. It's part of Lance Armstrong's Live Strong network, and it's a feature called the Daily Plate. It's not the easiest thing in the world to do, but it at least gives you a sense of what you've eaten in a day from both a fat and calorie counting perspective.

Anyways, I messed around with the Daily Plate yesterday and realized the second thing. Holy crap, I didn't eat enough! I was so surprised by this that last night I went to Mellow Mushroom for a more calorie rich dinner. I had 2 slices from a 4-slice small cheese pizza, and a lil' greek salad (with only one of their Espiranto dressings). I had 8 oz. of strawberry lemonade from Trader Joe's for a special drink (I had all my water for the day). I also splurged since I had so many calories to use and got a slice of cookie cake from the Great American Cookie Company for dessert. I know it's way indulgent, but I figured I'd try it and see what happened. Apparently, I need to eat more!

So for today, I'm going to try to eat a bit more during lunch. My stomach just rumbled as I'm writing this, so time for a banana!

Day 17 - and I'm up again

Had to take one of the dogs to the vet this morning, so I worked out extra early. Not sure if that's what did it, if it was the fact that I drank water up until bed time (usually I stop when I finish dinner), or if it's just my weird body cycles, but I'm up 2.6 lbs today. I'm not really concerned as I know it'll come back off but it's a little disheartening. Now I know why everyone says not to weigh every day. But with the Wii, it does it for me.

Oh well, I still plan to do at least 30 days straight and see what it does for me. I still feel better, my clothes are fitting better, and I'm seeing muscle definition already (that I thought would take lots more time). Trying to figure out what my 4 week gift to myself will be - I'm considering new shoes with one of those fitness "gait" measurements to get the right kind.

Day 16 - My first goal day

Today was the first goal that I had for myself. My goal was to be below 200 lbs by today. As you can see from the progress list on the left, I didn't quite reach my goal, but I'm so proud at how close I am - 200.4 lbs! I'm getting into the habit of working out daily and actually starting to enjoy being active (shocking, isn't it?).

Last night my wife and I went out to dinner and a movie with another couple who are pretty close friends of ours. We had mexican food, which isn't the easiest to be good with, but I had half of a plate of fajitas - which was pretty good from a portion control perspective. Of course, I also had TONS of chips, queso dip, and guacamole which wasn't so good. But I felt like with all of the exercising I've been doing, I deserved a little break.

Then we went to see Star Trek in IMAX - which was just awesome. All I had to drink yesterday was water. I did have some Raisinettes at the movie, but again, it was my guilty pleasure for the week, so I don't feel too badly about it. Plus I got ALL my water in for the day (I probably did another 3 1/2 liters yesterday).

Today, it's brunch with both sets of parents for a belated mother's day. Then I think we'll have a relaxing day before the work week starts again.

Day 15 - Today was a good day

Did over an hour this morning on the fit. Feeling really good. I'm really on this cycle where I'll gain little bits at a time then every 5ish days lose a whole bunch. I lost 4.2 lbs today! I'm pretty happy that I've stuck with it. Also! I managed to keep to my no eating after 9pm last night. I have no idea if I'll be able to do it all week, but all I can do is try, right?

So today, I did 20 mins of yoga first, followed by 42 mins of cardio. I may do some strength training soon, but right now I'm really just trying to lose weight/inches so I'm not sure. I've done strength training about 3x per week so far, and I may just keep that up.

Yesterday, I drank nearly 4 liters of water and a bit of gatorade.

Day 14 - 2 weeks solid!

I took some pictures this morning to be my "before" pictures. Not sure if I'm ever gonna post them though, because I'm a pretty hairy guy, and, well, I don't want to gross anyone out too badly. But let me know if you want to see them, and I'll put them up. Actually, hair removal is going to be my long-term gift to myself when I reach my goal.

Also, I need to get a fabric tape (I think that's what they're called) so I can measure myself as part of this. I'm going to try and pick one up tonight on my way home.

On to the Wii - I did 35 minutes this morning. I would have done 45 minutes, as I've been doing most days this week, but I was really tired after a late night last night, plus when I woke up this morning, I was very sore. The soreness is probably a good thing, as it means everything is working and kicking in.

Tonight starts a new rule for me. I've been really good this week at drinking at least my 2 liters of water every day. Yesterday I did 3. But tonight, I am declaring no eating after 9 pm. It will be kind of hard, particularly with the hours that I'm used to keeping, and with my wife who likes to eat late. But I've asked her to help and be supportive of me and she's promised to do so. It may mean that I need to go to bed a little earlier, but it should really help with the losing weight and losing inches.

I can't believe that I've done a full 2 weeks of this. I haven't had this much exercise since elementary school. Even when my wife and I first met and I was working out, it wasn't every day - I was in the gym about 3 or 4 times a week.

I'm really enjoying putting my updates on facebook. It keeps me accountable, and the encouragement I get from others (and apparently give to them) keeps me going.

Since today is the official 2 weeks for me, I'm going out at lunch to buy a new hat as a reward (plus I have this mega-breakout on my forehead that I need to try and cover up).

update: here's the hat!

I'm also going to try and join another blog network and see if it helps. Any other tips? Please leave them in the comments!

Day 13 - A Weird Day to Start

I started my Wii routine without knowing how dedicated I'd be - and honestly with very little planning. I did a lot of Facebook updates, and will continue to do so now that it's been nearly 2 weeks, but I can't do things like before pictures or measurements, though I do have my weight and BMI from day 1.

I'll start all of that today, and probably start sharing what my routines are every day as well.

Updated: So here's all my starting info:
Started on 5/02/2009
Starting weight: 208.1 lbs
Waistline as of 5/13/09: 47" (my pants size varies from 40 to 42)