Weigh-In Day #5: A Week-Long Relapse

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I knew I was going to go up this week. No doubt about it. I didn’t work out for a week and a half. I didn’t track Weight Watchers points for a week, which resulted in me eating rather badly. I haven’t blogged in a week. I basically jumped completely off the weight loss bandwagon for a week. I think I needed a break…things seemed a little overwhelming all of a sudden. Plus, I felt a sudden need to be SUPER lazy before I can’t be lazy anymore…the school year begins in just two short weeks.

I think I should be thanking my lucky stars that I only gained 1.6 lbs. I’m looking at it as a minor setback on this journey…I knew things wouldn’t be perfect, and I am going to learn from my mistakes. I ate healthy today, and I worked out on the elliptical.

I think I’m going to give up the Wii for a little while…I got a little bored with it, to be honest. I’m also considering joining a gym sooner rather than later…probably in the next few weeks. I feel that I’m missing something in my workout, and I think that something is strength/resistance training. I was sort of getting that with the resistance band that came with EA Sports Active…but I’m not sure it is enough. It also got a little monotonous. I think the strength training machines at the gym are useful…but I don’t think I know how to use them, or at least use them properly. I’m hoping that my gym gives a free personal training session or a basic workout plan, because I really don’t have any sort of workout routine. Anyone know whether gyms will give out basic workout routines?

I apologize to all for not updating, but I’m back and ready to start losing weight again. Let the daily updates resume. :-)

Weigh-In Day #4: Small But Sweet

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Yikes, I’ve been on my longest hiatus yet…I haven’t updated since Friday, when I promised all of you that I would update this weekend. And I totally broke my promise. I had one of those really really lazy weekends, where I didn’t really want to do anything except relax and enjoy a quiet weekend. I think it is because law school starts again for me in a few weeks, and I’m trying to enjoy my free time while I still can.

Unfortunately, that laziness resulted in some hiccups this weekend with food and exercise. I didn’t exercise the entire weekend, and I ate slightly larger dinners. But things are OK…I lost 1.3 pounds this week, coming in at a weight of 294.7 pounds. Honestly, I think I would have lost more if it wasn’t for this weekend. But it’s OK…I remain fully on the weight loss bandwagon, and I’m still very much energized and excited about exercising and eating healthy.

I’m still trying to enjoy these last few days of freedom, so I probably will not exercise today. However, I am getting back on track tomorrow. I will be away from home, but I have decided to find a way to exercise at the hotel I am staying at, either at the on-site gym or by walking around the premises for an extended period of time. I would be content with doing either option.

I want to thank everyone again for your continued support…you guys are the best!

A Traveling Conundrum

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Next week, I will be traveling to and staying over in Connecticut. I will be staying at everyone’s favorite tribal land. This will be the first time that I will be away from home since I started the diet and exercise routine. I’m not so worried about the diet…I’m definitely more worried about exercising. Here are my options:

  • Work out at the on-site gym. The gym apparently has a full range of cardiovascular equipment, including an elliptical and a treadmill, which is all I really need. But it costs $15 to use, and I’m not sure I am ready to exercise in public yet. Plus, I think I will feel guilty if I don’t check in with my Wii workouts on a daily basis. I might be afraid of the Wii yelling at me for cheating on it.
  • Bring the Wii with me. Why not? It’s easy enough to bring along, and it can probably be plugged into the back on the TV in the hotel room. But there’s a chance that the TV won’t be compatible with it, and I would have to lug along the balance board. Plus, I should probably not be so crazy about having to check in with it every single day. I just don’t want it secretly hating me.
  • Skip a workout day. I haven’t skipped a workout since I started officially trying to lose weight in late June, so I suppose it would be good if my body and its muscles got a rest. But exercise has been a good way to beat stress and avoid hunger, and I get nervous that a day of no exercise will result in less weight loss when I weigh-in. If I take a day off and end up not losing any weight, then I will immediately point the finger at the day off.

I’m interested to hear what your thoughts are. I’ll decide by Monday.

Planning For The Future

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Quick update tonight, since I’m getting up early tomorrow to travel. I just wanted to share some great websites for information on and tools to help with running.

I’m definitely getting ahead of myself here, but I’m really looking forward to training for runs. I’ll probably regret saying that when I actually start training, because my legs will probably feel like they are going to fall off after my first couple runs. But it’s kind of cool to think about running, simply because I’ve never been a runner. It’s sort of like learning a new skill or trade, or beginning college (or law school, in my case). It’s a little scary to think about, but it’s kind of exciting to be learning new things. Anyways, on to the websites…you runners out there probably already know of these places, so feel free to skip today’s blogisode.

Hal Higdon is a legendary Runner’s World magazine writer who has a ton of books about running and provides a bunch of training programs and information. His site is LOADED with extremely valuable advice. I will absolutely visit this site on a regular basis when I’m ready to train. But I now have a difficult question to answer: follow Hal’s 5K training program or Cool Running’s Couch-to-5K program? Anyone have any suggestions or have personal experience with either?

Map My Run allows you to plan your running routes in advance, so you can determine how long a route is and whether there is any elevation in your run. You can also view runs set by others (there are over 3.5 million runs), log your training, and even create leaderboards. It is so great to know that a helpful website like this exists, because it gives me greater confidence to get out and run in the neighborhood. I was wondering recently, “How do I know where to run around here?” This site is the solution. Looks like they have a cool iPhone app, too.

I’m sure I will discover more resources as I get closer to training. For now, it’s fun just reading all of the articles on these sites and playing around with the cool tools. I’m getting psyched!

My Inadvertent Detox

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Unsuspectingly, my alcohol intake has reached lows not seen since before college. I haven’t limited my drinking on purpose…sort of. It is sort of an indirect result of being on Weight Watchers, since it preaches and demands that I track EVERYTHING that enters my body, including any kind of beverage and any small bite of food.

I love all sorts of beers…Sam Adams, Sam Summer, Heineken, Guinness, most of the beers at the BBC, and of course the occasional hard liquor. But 12 oz. of regular beer is 3 points, and that can add up during a night of shenanigans. Even a beer at a restaurant during dinner can be costly…a lot of those restaurant beers on tap are 16 oz., so it would be 4 points per beer. Some have “super-sized” servings of 22-24 oz., so one of those can be 6 points…just for drinking a frosty beverage. Some of those malt beverages or pre-mixed drinks, like Smirnoff Ice or Mike’s Hard Lemonade, are between 4-6 points for 12 oz. But the worst drink is a margarita in a pint glass…11 points! Mudslides come in second with 8.5 points, and long island ice teas take third with 8 points. Surprisingly, hard liquor is not that bad…usually around 2-3 points per shot. In addition, the best alcoholic drinks have hard liquor in them: rum and diet coke, and vodka and soda each cost 1.5 points. White wine spritzers and bloody marys are only 2 points.

Since I would rather spend my points on food, I have been drinking either light beer or just water. Although light beer is only 2 points per 12 oz., it can add up, and I REALLY like spending my points on food. Therefore, I have really only been drinking water over the past couple weeks. I’ve probably been pretty lame lately because of this, but it’s been kind of nice…sort of like a detox or a cleanse, I guess. Maybe it’s the exercise and the dieting, but I feel healthier by just drinking water…I feel more in control of my body.

Concerned readers: I haven’t eliminated alcohol completely from my life…that would just be tragic. Beer will always have a special place in my heart.

Weigh-In Day #3: First Milestone Achieved

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Today, I reached my first milestone: I have lost 5% of my starting weight by weighing in at an even 296 pounds. I also reached a mini-milestone by being under 300 pounds for the first time in a long time (I think it’s been around eight years). Good news all around!

Obviously, I’m happy with my progress thus far, but I know I still have a very long way to go. I can’t let myself get too giddy. In the past, I would celebrate a good weigh-in with a day and night of not tracking points. Naturally, I would eat like a pig and feel OK about it since I was celebrating. But the celebration would continue into the next day…and then for the rest of the week. Before I knew it, I had gained the weight back and would have to get to the same milestone again. Usually, I wouldn’t get to it again, because I had gone too far. I had eaten too much the week before, so I usually decided that I had fallen off the weight loss bandwagon and that I would need to start all over again…after a few weeks of binge eating, of course. Yo-yo dieting, indeed.

Today, I “celebrated” by continuing the same routine of dieting and exercise I have been following. And I feel great about it. Granted, I ate a slightly larger dinner than normal, but certainly nothing too extreme. I’m still very much on the weight loss bandwagon.

People may be wondering if I notice any change in appearance. At the moment, I don’t see a difference, but I can feel it in somewhat subtle ways. I wore a polo shirt today that used to feel rather tight, but it feels a lot more comfortable on me now. My jeans and khakis are getting loose, but they aren’t too big to wear yet. Instead of having -50 muscles, I feel like I have -10 muscles. These are all small things, but they definitely help raise my confidence in the weight loss program that I am following.

Here’s to reaching many more milestones. Thank you everyone for your constant support!