Didn't think it would take this little time to slip

I guess that goes for both parts: the actual weight loss, and keeping up with this blog. I've been stuck on about 228 lbs for the almost two weeks. On the plus side, when I ran today, I met my goal of keeping a 9:00 mile pace, going 3.0 mi in 26:56.

I'm definitely plateauing when it comes to the workouts, as I'm doing about the same thing with the same intensity, but my body has adjusted to the changes and it's become the status quo. I also can't take solace in the fact that I'm not going to the gym the 4-5 times per week....or the fact that I haven't been keeping up with the supplement I bought at GNC.

Anyway, I'm still proud of the fact of the sub-9 clip I kept up for 3 miles.

Week 3: Less than a pound away from 230

Weighed in a little late this week (Tuesday), and I came in at 230.4. As I publish this on a Tuesday night, I'm having an issue with late-night eating. Otherwise I've been really good with keeping to a decent diet.

Right now I'm just craving something, after having dinner at 6:30. I had a Jimmy John's Pepe (c) "unwich," where the sub bread is replaced with a leaf of lettuce. This greatly cut's down on the carbs (53 g with the french bread vs. 8 g with a lettuce wrap) and cuts almost 250 calories (631 vs. 389). I'll admit with the lettuce wrap it tasted like it needed some kind of dressing, but that would just about defeat the purpose of getting a lettuce wrap to begin with.

Tangent: If Jimmy John's is thought full enough to put a lettuce wrap on the menu, why can you not get a low-fat mayonnaise? It's not like I would have a taste issue with it, as the standard at my house is Hellman's light mayo. But playing with the sandwich customizer on Jimmy John's website, which also includes the nutrition facts of any sub you could put together, I found that normal Hellman's mayo adds 21 g of fat (189 calories) to the sub. However, if that mayo were replaced with the same amount of light mayo (2 Tbsp), it would cut the fat grams down to 7 g, saving 126 calories, and cutting the calorie count on the Unwich all the way down to 263.

Speaking of stringently counting calories, I had my most productive running workout since I started working out. Over the course of approximately 38 min (35 + 3 cool down), I ran 4.04 miles (9:25 pace), and according to the treadmill, burned more than 700 calories. I know this will have to keep increasing either in time run or mile pace, but I don't think I've ever run 4 miles at one time without stopping.

The pipe dream goal I've had was to get down to a 8:00 pace (7.5 mph) over the course of a 30-40 min workout, and I still want to get there, but I think a 9:00 pace is much more attainable and I can put a reasonable due date on it. A 9:00-minute mile represents an average speed of 6.67 mph, and considering the 4.04 mi/38 min gives me an average speed of 6.38 mph, the 9-minute pace is quite reasonable. So I'm gonna make it my goal that by the end of the month, I'm going to get to that 9-minute pace, and I'll use my scheduled run on the 31st as the official measuring stick.

Overall, I've fallen into a lifting MWF/cardio TR kind of a schedule, and after my third and final personal training session, I'll have a distinct workout for each lifting day. On my own I plan to add a few sets of ab workout at the end of each workout, since that's the part of my body that when I look in the mirror, looks the "flabbiest."

Week 2: One more pound

Checking in on week 2 with another pound lost. I'm down to 233.2, and hoping to be under 230 by St. Patrick's Day. Today marked the end of my Groupon trial membership at HealthTrack, and the start of my permanent membership at XSport Fitness location in Lombard. Price was the most important choice point, as HealthTrack was asking $71 per month whereas XSport, since the location in Lombard is "Express" was only $19.95 per month. Not sure if I'll end up upgrading to being able to get the "Full" locations, but I'm happy where I am right now.

I think the biggest reason why it was only 1 pound this week was because I kinda splurged on the diet part. There were frosted cookies in the house and although I'm fine passing the cookies and salty snacks while at the grocery store, I have next to no willpower once they're in the house. Another criticism I have of myself is not taking the abdominal cuts supplement I got from GNC with every meal. The guy I spoke with at GNC said that after the first or second week that I can up the dosage to 2 soft gel pills with every meal instead of one. I'm thinking that when I can be on it for a solid week straight I'll up it to two pills.

One last thing I want to focus on for the week is recovery after workouts. The people I've talked with at both gyms stressed getting protein for muscle recovery post-recovery, so my body attacks the fat instead of the muscle when it's trying to get back to homeostasis. Then it becomes of just what method of recovery: meal-replacement shake (what I'm leaning towards), Clif Bar (have been taking thanks to a 24-pack from Costco), and homemade fruit smoothie (which will be tough to pull off until I get my own place) are the recommended recovery foods I've researched.

So long for now, and I'll check in next week hopefully with another few pounds lost.

Week 1 Weigh-in

After one week, I wouldn't say I had a Biggest Loser-esque start, but it's definitely promising. Tonight I weighed in at 234.2 lbs, a 4.0-lb loss from last Sunday. Here's a recap of what I've done in the past 7 days.

Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday: Run

It was basic treadmill run for 30 min and 5 min cool down, increasing the distance from just under 3 miles on Sunday to just over 3.5 miles on Thursday. The Thursday run was split up into the first 3 miles in 29:00, and the last 1/2 mile at a 5 mph pace. Eventually, I want to get a 3 mile run down to a 8:15-8:30 pace, and maybe 8:00 flat if I get ambitious enough. In high school my best mile run was a 7:56, so it would be a big accomplishment to get a 3 mile pace under that.

Monday/Wednesday: Lift

Monday's lifting could only be described at spitballing. I went for muscle groups that I had felt the most "flabby," my quads, triceps, and abs. I was probably in and out in no more than 25-30 min. Wednesday was a completely different story. I met with HealthTrack's Marc Woodcock for a personal training session, and it was extremely beneficial. We worked on 5 core lifts (bench press, inclined lat pull down, bicep lift, front squat, and abs), while working on a different muscle group between sets of each lift, and doing a little cardio running between lifts. The actual sets were 3x12, basing the weight on what would make the third set on a scale of 1-10 be a 7.

I'll definitely base my lift workout on what I did with Marc, slowly working on increasing the weight. I'll be focusing much more on toning down than bulking up given where my body is at right now.

Four pounds is a decent start, and hopefully I can repeat that effort this week.

Measurements

Thought I would put this in as a start point, but yesterday I didn't have a tape measure.

Neck: 16 1/2"

Bicep/Tricep: 14"

Wrist 6 3/4"

Chest: 45"

Waist: 41"

Thigh: 24 1/4"

Hips: 47 1/2"

And the big number is 238.2 lbs.

I currently wear, or I guess at this point the more correct term is squeeze into, size 38x32 pants. Recently I've found that I feel the most comfortable wearing a comfort flex waist, and I guess that makes sense, because I haven't know my actual waist size until now.

I'm not too sure about what the "ideal" measurements are for each body part, but a rough goal I have is to get under 200 lbs and have a waist in the 34-36" range.

Hello World

....That's usually the first thing they'll teach you how to display in a computer language class, or at least the ones that I've taken.

In the coming days (and hopefully months if I can be persistant in updating), I'll be tracking my progress as I try to get down under 200 pounds for the first time since high school. I can credit Groupon for getting me started, with a combination of a 2-week trial membership to HealthTrack Sports Wellness and a deal on supplements at GNC. The trial membership included a 1-hour session with a personal trainer and a 1-hour massage.

My inspiration for trying to lose weight was the fact that not 8 months after graduating college, I had put on about 25 pounds. I went from walking a couple miles everyday to class/work to a sedentary life of driving a desk for 40 hours a week. I had tried running once or twice a week to try to offset the weight gain, but all it really was doing was maintaining. Commitment probably isn't the right word, but it was the fact that I couldn't commit to running for than once a week that basically forced me to join a gym.

I kinda planned to join a gym after the New Year's resolution people ran worn off, and the Groupon was what chose my first one. Monthly dues there are pretty high for someone in my position ($71/month), plus the fact that they aren't even open 24 hours, but for the 2 weeks at a deep discount, I'll take it. I pretty sure I'll be able to find a cheaper place for my quite basic needs in a gym once the 2 weeks are up. Leaning towards XSport Fitness.

So there you have it. I'll try to update at least on a weekly basis to track my progress and come up with new goals and workouts.