210 - A lot has happened since October

I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted here.  I had some physical issues (which I am mostly over now), had the holidays and had a new baby, so it's been a busy and distracting time.  When my daughter was born on 12/3/13, I didn't make it to Crossfit for the next 2 weeks, but I've managed to go once or twice a week since then. 

I think I was dehydrated before, so when my weight hit 202, that was kind of a false number.  I started having issues and one of the big things that has improved that is drinking more water, but my weight shot up about 5 lbs in just a couple days once I started drinking more.  I also loosened up my diet at that same time, so some of that could be inflammation or other unnecessary water weight.  But we'll see what happens when I clean the diet up and keep the water intake high, maybe some of that will drop back off quickly.  I've actually been quite happy with my weight holding at 209 to 210, considering my diet has not been great.  But it also hasn't been terrible, which is good.  One of the keys to keeping myself in shape for the long haul is improving my habits so that even when I'm "off the wagon", I'm not totally wrecking myself.

My plan is to lose 10.5 lbs in January, so I should be at 199.5.  That's a big milestone, and I got close at 202, but wasn't quite able to get over that bump.

Today's WOD:
Skill: Perfect Push Up  (did 12: 5 then 5 then 2.  We were short on time, so only had about a minute to do this)
Strength: Floor Press
10-8-5-3-1-1-1  (got up to 165)

WOD:
5 min AMRAP:
10 Push Press (65/95)
10 Box Jump
- (did 3+10 @ 95 lbs & a 20" box)

 3 min rest

3 min AMRAP:
7 Pull Ups
10 KB Swings
(did 2+15 using green (2nd heaviest) band and maybe 45lbs kettlebell)

 2 min rest

2 min max reps Back Squat (65/95)
(did 20 with 65lbs.  Still have major issues with squat form)

And here is the new baby girl

100 thrusters and about 60 burpees in 20:30

Zombie Apocalypse Run - Official time

I ran in the Zombie Apocalypse race on Saturday.  It was pretty fun and I learned a few things.  I need to be a little more confident and start farther up in the pack (at least for "fun runs", where half the people don't try very hard).  I spent much of the race just navigating around crowds of walkers. 

As far as my time, it turns out that the lead runner took a wrong turn and everybody followed him, so we ended up running about 3.5 miles.  That accounts for at least a few minutes of added time over my previous 5k runs.  Overall, I'm pretty happy with that.  The course was on dirt, gravel, corn field, etc, and had a few small hills, so it was a good little test of how I would do on unknown terrain. 

Photo Update

My hairstyle doesn't change much.

203

My weight keeps bouncing around, which is odd, but I'm expecting it to level out once I start back on my regular routine on Monday

206 -- It's been a rough month

After getting down to 203.5 (mostly due to not eating much for a few days), I went back up to 209, and have been fluctuating a lot.  When I went back to Crossfit for the first time in 2 weeks, my weight shot up, which I'm guessing is swelling from the heavy leg work.  Then the weight drops if I take a few days off. 

Either way, the weight isn't really an issue.  The last month (actually 2 months) have been difficult due to some sickness and other "health issues" that I will not go into detail on, but I think I've finally made the necessary dietary changes to resolve the problems. 

So, I'm doing a Zombie 5k this Saturday, then I'll be back to Crossfit on Monday.

5k time: 27:40

Just ran a 5k (the full route from the last Discovery Meadows 5k).  I think that is my fastest time by far, so I guess it's true that you can build endurance and running speed with Crossfit alone.  I haven't run at all in many months.  We ran 1 mile at Crossfit one time in the last 6 months or so.

First toes to bar

Got my toes to the bar for the first time.  I can't chain them together yet, but I'll get there.

155 push press

203.5

After 10 days on the road in LA, I weighed in at home and was down to 203.5.  Pretty surprising.  My eating was pretty clean and light while we were down there, and I didn't eat much on the drive back, so we'll see how much I put back on in the coming days.

209 +WOD info

Sept benchmark WOD

Bench press to 1RM 

AMRAP

5 min if each set:

2 Turkish getups & 30 DUs (60 singles)

15 push press & 15 box jumps

20 KB swings & 10 burpees

I benched 175 

On the WOD I did:

3+1

2+1

3+11

End of Paleo challenge - 210 lbs

I didn't lose much weight (down 2 lbs this month), but it looks like I put on a fair amount of muscle.  I'll try to get officially measured on Tuesday, but our home measurement shows 3/4 inch increase in arm and 1.5 inch increase in my chest.

I could see the difference too, but I'd still like to see the scale keep moving down.  I also am not used to eating so much meat, so I'm going to try juicing most of my meals the next couple days to sort of "reset" myself.  I'll keep some aspects of the Paleo diet, but I don't think it is worth trying to maintain as a permanent way of eating.

As far as the benchmark WOD goes, I added 30 lbs to my total lifts and shaved about 90 seconds off my time, so that's pretty good for just 1 month.

WOD and 115 front squat

Today's WOD:

Skill: Air Squat to the beat! (Basically 3 minutes of continuous air squats)

Strength: Front Squat 5-3-1 (ending at 95% of your 1 rep max)

WOD: 12 min AMRAP
15x Thrusters (65/95)
15x Pull Ups
For the front squat, I got up to 115, which is probably the most I've ever front squatted, but my 1 rep max would probably be around 135 (considering we had done air squats and lunges for warm up, then 3 minutes of air squats about a minute before, my legs were feeling tired, but very well warmed up).

For thrusters I used 65 lbs. 

My final score was 3+15

208.5

After this Paleo challenge is done, I think I'm going to do a fast.  I'm eating so much more meat than I'm used to, which has some benefits, but I feel like I need to give my guts a rest.

Approx 10 min mile + WOD

WOD was:

Skill: Pistol Practice

Strength: Push Press 5-3-1

WOD: 21 min AMRAP

9x Push Press (65/95/135)

9x T2B

9x Ring Dips

• At 3 minutes: Run 1 mile

• At 17 minutes: Run 400m

I did 4+9

Did the mile in about 10 minutes

Kipping pull-up

Did my first real kipping pull-up yesterday.  No bands and no jumping.  I hit the underside of my chin pretty hard on the bar, so I know I got high enough. I've been close for a couple weeks, so it didn't feel like a big deal, but it's nice to see concrete proof of progress.  

209

Had food poisoning yesterday, so this drop in weight might just be dehydration

210

Over the last 9 days I went up to 212 and then back down.  I do feel stronger, so I think the Paleo diet had been good for that, but it's not making the weight fall off.  It also seems like I've felt worse more often (both physically and mentally), but it's hard to gauge that since I've always had good and bad weeks.  

Eating strictly Paleo definitely isn't helping with that though.  I'm going to finish out the month, but I'm certainly not sold on this being an ideal way to live.

 

Paleo + raw milk

I didn't notice any benefits from a week of strict Paleo, and actually felt worse most of the time.  And I didn't lose any weight.  So I added raw milk back in and felt great today.  Hard to know how much of that is psychological or coincidental, but who cares.  

Apparently some people argue that raw milk is Paleo, so I guess I'll be one of those people.

210

I felt bad the first day of the Paleo diet, but I think I was trying to eat too much protein.  I went grocery shopping and have some better options now.  I'm still not 100% sold on Paleo, but I'm feeling normal now.  I have been constantly hungry since I started, even though I feel like I'm getting around the same calories, so maybe it has upped my metabolism.  I'm going to stay on it strictly for a few more days, then maybe add back in raw milk (since I'm already paying for it anyway and it arguably allowed in Paleo diets)

Body comp Crossfit challenge

1 rep max on:

Back squat

Shoulder Press

Deadlift

Then WOD:
3 Rounds for Time of...
400m run
40 air squats
30 ab mat situps
20 pushups
10 ring rows

My final results...

Current body measurements & Paleo Challenge

Started the Paleo Challenge today and got measured.

Waist: 34
Largest part of hip: 46
Chest (under pecs): 39 1/2
Largest part of arm (right): 11 1/2
Largest part of thigh (right): 24 1/2
Weight: 216 (fully clothed at 7:40pm)

211

I'm not sure what all is effecting my weight loss, but the scale does seem to be moving down more easily since I started drinking "bulletproof coffee" every  morning for the last week.  That's coffee with grass-fed butter and coconut oil in it (I'm just making my own recipe, but I do plan to look up the real Bulletproof Coffee recipe at some point).  I've also been eating more grass-fed beef this last week, which I thought might slow me down digestively, but I've had no issues. I am keeping it to reasonable portions though.

I'm going to start this 1 month Paleo Challenge tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.  At this point it mainly just means I have to drop dairy, as I only eat grains/bread a couple times a week as it is.  But maybe dropping this last few bits of grain will have an effect. 

255 deadlift pr

400 m run 1:17

Might have been short, temp course due to construction

212.5

I've been trying to put on some muscle and have increased my protein intake for the last couple weeks, which probably explains the slowdown in weight loss.  But I'm thinking of doing the Paleo challenge at Crossfit (which runs for all of Aug) to see what effect that has

213.5

Just finished a super sweaty WOD at Crossfit.  Did 25 burpees without having to take a break, so that was cool.

214

Feeling good.  

215 and I climbed a rope

I didn't make it to the top, but I found out I can climb a rope yesterday.  I was having a bad day and almost quit at Crossfit, but I thought I'd give the rope a try and was surprised to find I made it half way up without trying too hard.  Next time I'll go in fresh and make it to the top.  

216

I had a bad week, but I'm getting back on the wagon.  I was trying to eat reasonably well, but I stopped counting and tracking everything.  But I started tracking everything again yesterday, so the numbers should start moving down again.

216.5

So far I'm doing ok at Crossfit on only 1500 calories, but I'm being careful not to push myself too hard

PRs and General Fitness

I've always been bad about tracking fitness progress, so I'm going to try to list out some basics and hopefully if I remember to do this again in a few months, I'll have something to compare it to. 

1 Rep Max lifts:
Squat - ?  My squat form still sucks.  I have to take a extra-wide stance to keep my heels from lifting, but that stance robs me of all my power.  I think the problem all stems from my stiff hips, which I'm going to try to aggressively "open", and I'll probably have to put in some work on my back.  Until I can get the basic form right, I'm not going to attempt any significant weight.

Deadlift - 255

Bench - ?  Maybe I'll try to find out what my current max bench is this week.  I would guess it's around 185.  The last few times I've benched, I've felt much weaker than I was expecting.

Clean & Jerk:  ?  A few months ago I determined my max, but I've totally forgotten.  I'll have to try to establish this as well.

Snatch:  ?  I've been working with 65 lbs, but the main issue is my left shoulder still feels very unstable and has popped out a couple times when I've pushed the weight up, so it will probably take a while for me to build that shoulder up.  Much like the squat, I don't expect to be pushing myself on this one for a while.

Push Press:  I think I maxed out at 145 last time we did this.  It might have been 155, but  I'll take the lower of the two for now.

Pull Ups: Almost 1!  I have to get a little jumping start, but I can pull myself the rest of the way up and slowly lower myself down. 

Chin Ups:  I can hang at about the half way up point and hold for a few seconds, but I've got a bit more work to do on this.

Not a very impressive collection of stats, but I have to start somewhere.  I've been stronger in the past, but I've never been this fit overall (I was 100lbs heavier at my strongest, so I could deadlift, bench and clean more, but I couldn't come close to a pull up or do many push-ups).

Deadlift max - 255

I've deadlifted more in the past, but I'm trying to start tracking it better.  I was still sore yesterday and didn't feel right doing the lift, but I did 3 reps with 255, so I'll start with that as my max and track from there.

400m run time - 1:57

I think that's what it was.  I need to track these things better, but yesterday we ran 800 meters as a warm up, then ran 400 meters and timed it.  I'm very slow.  I probably could have shaved some off that, but it would have required a gut-busting effort, and this run was at the beginning of the workout, so I guess it just didn't feel like it.  Either way, I should be able to run a lot faster without killing myself.

218.5

I'm back to calorie counting.  I took about a month off from focusing on diet (but still kept to decent eating habits).  I lost 2 lbs in the last month, so I was still moving in the right direction, but I want to get down to 200 lbs before I let progress slow down that much.

When I started back at Crossfit, I knew it would be more of a challenge to keep losing weight.  The more strenuous workouts require eating more and increase cravings/appetite.  I probably need to increase my eating by about 500 calories a day to keep from falling apart, but I'm craving about 5000 more calories a day.  Ok, not really, but it feels like that sometimes. 

When I was focusing on losing weight, it was easy to just eat as little as I felt my body needed to keep functioning well.  But when adding the stress of weight lifting, it's harder to me to go by "feel" and I think strict calorie counting is my best option.

I'm still going to try to keep calories pretty low, probably a lot lower than most people would recommend, but I find I do well with that.  So I'm going to start with around 1,600 per day.  If that feels like I'm starving, I'll try bumping it to 1,800.  Or maybe I'll try fluctuating by adding a few hundred extra calories on Crossfit days and lowering it on rest days.

Annie time 8:18 - Crossfit

8:18 for Annie - single unders

Then we did a 1 mile run, total time 18:27 

Update

Weight is staying the same (between 219.5 and 220.5) but I'm doing Crossfit 3 days a week and not eating as carefully.  I want to start eating a little stricter again and get a light cardio workout in on non-Crossfit days.

219.5

I finally got below 220.  Leading up to the Rugged Maniac race, I took a few rest days, so my weight held steady at around 220.5 to 221.  Then I was a little looser with my diet in the days after (my mom was also visiting and we ate out every day), but I still maintained the same weight range.

I started Crossfit on 6/4/13, and I was concerned that it would be hard to lose weight while working out that hard, so it's good to see some movement in the right direction. 

My goes is to drop 2 lbs a week to get down to 200 lbs by September.

Restarted Crossfit

I stopped doing Crossfit about 3 months ago, when I started on my focused effort to lose weight quickly.  My plan worked out pretty much exactly how I wanted (which is kind of weird, since that never happens), so I'm starting back at Crossfit and going to try to keep the weight loss going, but probably at a slower pace.

Ran 5k obstacle course - Rugged Maniac



I ran a 5k mud race and it was pretty fun.  I did it in about 55 minutes (they didn't have a clock, so after I finished I had to ask someone the time).  My goal was to finish in under an hour, so I was happy with that, but obviously it was a pretty slow run.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5k obstacle race next weekend

I just did my last training run before my race next weekend. I shaved 4 minutes off my first trail run time 3 weeks ago. I'm going to do low impact stuff for the next 2 days, then 2 days of rest so I peak on race day.
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220.5

I did it! I've been trying to get to 220 since 2008 (that's when I set that as a goal, but obviously I've needed to get down to 220 for about 10 years).

The best part is that I did it without really trying. I've managed to finally get myself eating and living in a way that has be losing weight even when I'm not feeling up to doing "program".

I've been feeling a bit sluggish the last few days and haven't run or done much else, and yesterday we had a BBQ party. I had my first beer in 3 months and ate lightly (but without really thinking about it), so it is great to be down 1.5 lbs even after an "off" day like that.
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222

I took a rest day yesterday, including no hourly lunges/push-ups, and didn't stand as much during the day. It felt like the right thing to do, and the scale seems to agree with me.
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223

Went on a road trip this weekend, spent a lot of time driving. Weight is still slowly coming down, so that's good, but I need to get back to a routine to make sure I hit 220 by the end of the month and to make sure I can get through the Rugged Warrior race in decent shape.
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224

I'm back to eating my normal diet, which includes about 1 piece of bread a day.  So not much gluten, but based on my dropping 2 lbs shortly after adding gluten back in, I feel confident that gluten isn't causing me too many problems.  I should have stayed gluten-free at least a few weeks longer to really make this experiment worth it, but oh well.  I've never felt like gluten was negatively effecting me, so I didn't have much drive to stick with it. 

I am going to try to only eat sprouted grains though. 

Back on gluten in moderation

I accidentally ate some wheat yesterday. I hadn't noticed any benefit from avoiding gluten, and felt fine eating it, so I'm giving up on that. Maybe I'll invest in a blood test one day to find out.
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Had a bad week

Have stayed at the same weight pretty much all week. Jenny's mom has been visiting since last Tuesday, but she goes home today. Even though I feel like I keep mostly to the same routine, every time we have a visitor, I stop losing weight.

It's not any one thing, it's just the combination of all the little changes that throws me off.

I need to get focused again, so I'm glad this visit is coming to an end. It's not her fault, but the end result is the same.
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Ran in "barefoot" shoes for first time

Ran 3.37 miles in my Meril Trailgloves, which are about the thinnest shoes out there, and no heel lift.  It felt alright, but my calves/ankles got a bit sore towards the end and after the run, the balls of my feet were sore.  But overall, I think it was a good first try.  I actually didn't plan on it, I just forgot to switch shoes and once I was outside I just decided to go for it.

227 - Rugged Maniac and standing desk

I entered myself in the Rugged Maniac 5k obstacle course in Portland on June 1st.  This will be my first test and I want to try to do a race event once every few months.

I should be under 220 by then, which will be awesome.  I'm feeling great and the recent changes to my diet and exercise have made a huge different.

I have switched to a standing desk (just making a tall Ikea desk work) for the last two days and I really like it.  I need to modify it a little to make it work for the long term, but I like that I'm adding in some "exercise" of sorts while working.  I've also been doing something active for a few minute every hour (have an alarm set on my phone to remind me every hour).  Usually I'll do lunges and some push-ups, sometimes jog in place, etc.  That seems to keep my energy level and metabolism up all day.

Feeling the carbs!

I added a half cup of musli for breakfast for the last 3 days. The first day I shaved 10 minutes off my 11 mile cycling route and today I shaved 6 minutes off my fastest 5k. When you deplete your reserves, you really notice the increased carbs.

I've also been taking an essential amino acid supplement a few times a day, so that's probably helping too.
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228.5 - (increasing carbs)

I did my first trail run at Joe Dancer last night. 3 miles. Then I climbed on the jungle gym to practice the cargo net climb.

I had musli for breakfast and the added carbs seems to have greatly improved my energy levels.  I shaved about 10 minutes off my cycling and felt great the whole time.  First time I haven't had to stop on the hills since I started this diet.  I'm going to keep that in as my breakfast every day.

229.5

Finally in the 220s. Feels great to be making steady progress. In another month I should be in the mid-teens.
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230

The scale wasn't going to make it that easy on me. Hopefully I'll be in the 220s tomorrow.
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Run/Bike monthly total

April
Ran 24.93 Miles in 4h 31m 19s  (10 of the miles and 2 of the hours are approximated as I wasn't tracking exact time and distance for the first 2 weeks of April)

Biked  31.08 Miles - 3h 00m 10s

230.5

I felt bad yesterday, like I was having a slight reaction to something I ate. I have a feeling it was the gluten-free bread. The one other time I've tried going gluten-free, I had similar issues. I don't think it's the lack of gluten so much as the weird gluten substitute products. So I'm going to keep trying to be gluten free, I'm just going to eat regular gluten free foods and not any pretend breads.

I made myself go running last night even though it sucked. In the end, it was the right thing to do as I felt better having done it, but the first mile was a struggle.
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231.5

I did yard work most of the day on Saturday and Sunday, but skipped my normal cycling/running.  So I'm glad to see my weight come down with just a generally active weekend.

My supplements came today, so I'm starting on some amino acid complex, B complex and a couple other things.

Trying to go Gluten free

A lot of the potential indicators for gluten sensitivity seem to apply to me, so I'm going to try being gluten free for 6 months (apparently that's how long gluten can still negatively effect you even after you've stopped eating it).  If that goes well, maybe it will be a permanent thing.  For the last few years, my eating habits have not really revolved around gluten as much as many people's diets do, so basically all I need to drop right now is bread (or get a gluten free bread). 

I'm hoping this makes a big difference, but I'm also conflicted, because I've hated the anti-gluten movement.  A lot of people seem to be doing it like a health fad, as if gluten were universally bad and everyone should avoid it.  Maybe they are more right than I thought, but I'm still not going to tell people I'm off gluten.  I don't want to be one of "those" people.

233

I think I'm back on the right track.  Maybe the weight loss will be slower now, but I feel a lot better.  I realized I'm getting almost no sodium, so I added in some salt the last 3 days and have noticed a big improvement.  Hopefully I don't start retaining water, but maybe I was too dehydrated before.

Photo update

 

 

The 2008 photo is hard to look at.  A part of me wants to say the photo is just bad and I wasn't that fat, but I doubt that is the case.  But I also think the most recent photo makes me look crazy, so who knows.  I still have a ways to go, but I started out in the "Morbidly Obese" category (even though my blood tests and activity levels showed me as being in excellent condition for a fatty), then got down to just "Obese" and recently have been happy to see that I'm now in the highest part of the "Overweight" category.

234

I'm not exactly sure why my weight loss is slowing down, but I'm guessing it is due to the increased activity (ironically).  As soon as I started running and cycling more, I started losing less.  Maybe I'm eating more without realizing it, but I think it's a temporary water retention/inflamation issue.  I was considering easing off of the exercise and focusing more on the diet, but I'm feeling stronger and better than I have in a while, so I'd like to keep both going if possible.  I'm going to give this a few more days and if I still hold at 234, I'll have to reconsider.

234.5

I'm hoping I'm still retaining some water or something.  I'm working harder for a slower result, which could just be unavoidable as my weight lowers.  But I'm hoping my weight will catch up with where I think it should be.

235

I'm hoping to drop another pound shortly, I still feel a little puffy.

Ran - but logging runs elsewhere now

I've started on a more structured exercise plan and will be logging runs and cycling there. 

I'm trying to start a basic traithlon workout (haven't figured out the swimming yet, but want to alternate running and cycling for now).  I'm going to start with two light runs a week, then a longer run on the weekend, as well as a lighter cycling day and a longer cycling day.  Then in June I'm going to go back to Crossfit 2 days a week and try to keep in one light run, one longer run and one longer bike ride.

By July I want to go to Crossfit 3 days a week and keep in one long run and one long bike ride.  We'll see how that goes and adjust accordingly. 

Right now that would be too much for proper recovery between activities, but I'm hoping my weight will be down significantly by then, so the Crossfit workouts will not hit me as hard as they used to.  I will also adjust my diet accordingly so I'm not in such a calorie deficit (as well as using supplements to try to not fall apart while doing all this with a calorie deficit).

I've been listening to the Ben Greenfield Fitness podcast, which is the best podcast I've found so far.  I searched for triathlon podcasts just to see what was out there and I downloaded a few different ones, but this is the only one I liked.  Funny enough, the 5 or 6 shows I've listened to haven't really discussed triathlon much, but I like the detail oriented discussions of supplements and fitness topics.

So, from that I've decided to try to use a few supplements to help me out.  I still don't believe in "fat loss" pills (at least not at this point when I still have a significant amount of weight to lose the old fashioned way).  But I want to try using some essential amino acids to help with muscle recovery while on such a calorie deficit, as well as vitimin C and any anti-inflamatories I can find.  I've been eating Brazil nuts and almonds, but I'm going to work in a fish oil or other fatty acid.

Don't have that part totally figured out yet, maybe I'll get a book or pay for a trainer to put it all together at some point.  I'm not there yet, there is still plenty I can do on my own.

236 - Biked 8 miles

I knew I had been doing the work, but the scale had been holding at 239.  I was starting to think I was at a plateau and needing to rework things when the scale finally decided to cooperate this morning.  I'm not sure why it would hold and then drop so suddenly, but I'm not complaining.

Ran 3 miles

It still sucks, but not as bad.  And I felt like I could have done another mile, so maybe I need to figure out a 4 miles course and start running that. 

239

Feel like I'm hitting a plateau.  Haven't been stuck at this weight very long, but I have really been trying to blow through it with no response on the scale.  I'm going to keep at it and hope I can get the numbers moving dow again quickly.

239.5

The 230s!  I think I've finally made the mental switch needed to keep going with this, instead of it being a temporary diet to try to reach a specific goal.  I've had many days where it feels like the progress is too slow and  feel very discouraged, but I've kept going through it.  Obviously an exterior view of my recent statistics makes it look absurd that I would feel like the progress is too slow, but that's the trick with how things feel vs. how they are.  This blog really helps with that, when I can look at the progress made over the last couple months, then any bad week can be put in perspective.

240.5 - ran 3 miles

I need to run more.  I got up early this morning, but Owen did too.

Update (post was original written in the morning, then I managed to get a run in that evening):
Ran 3 miles after work.  It sucked.  I had just eaten dinner and started to cramp about half way through, but I haven't quit while running yet, so I made myself gut it out.  One of the things I need to develop is the ability to push myself farther and not quit.  I've made a lot of progress, but I'm still afraid that if I bail on even one run, it will be harder to keep myself from quiting in the future. 

241 - ran 3 miles

It's interesting having a blog that's been going this long and being able to go back and look at things over the long run.  When you're not doing well, it just adds to the feeling of failure, but when you are kicking butt (like I am right now), it's great to be able to track the results and compare them to previous efforts.  It also helps keep things in perspective, as it can be easy to get discouraged after just a few days of no progress (on the scale).

I lost 21 lbs in the first month (Feb 26 to March 26).  I've been a little slower this month, but if I can drop 13 lbs in the next 15 days, I'll be back on track.  It's a steep goal, but not unreachable.

I got up extra early this morning to try to get back on my morning exercise routing.  That was a key factor in my first month success, but then the time change seemed to make baby Owen wake up earlier, so it was difficult to be consistent.  Now my wife is pregnant again, so she's been a little more tired than usual, so it's even harder to sneak away.  But if I can get up early enough (like 6:30am), then I should be able to have the first hour of the morning to myself.

This morning didn't work out exactly as planned, but I did get a run in before breakfast, so that's the important part.  It seems to kick my metabolism into high gear all day when I exercise early.

242.5

I've been feeling really tired for the last week.  Not sure if my body is finally had enough of the super low calorie intake, or if something else is causing it.  Over the weekend I ate a bit more than usual to see if that would help, but it didn't.  I think I just need to power through. 

Ran 3 miles again

Running is finally getting easier.  I still hate it, but today was the first time I wasn't thinking about hating it the entire time.

243.5

I've gotten my diet consistent enough that I know I'm losing even when the scale doesn't show it for a couple days.  I've got to keep this pace going until at least the 220s, then we'll see if I need to readjust or if I can keep on the same path.

244.5 - Ran 3 miles

Haven't run in a week or so. The break didn't help my weight, but it does seem to have helped my running. I was running about a 12 minute mile and I just did 3 miles in 28:06 (9:22 per mile). Still pretty slow, but a big improvement.

245

I held at 248 for 5 days while my mom was visiting (and we were eating out daily). I felt I was keeping my portion sizes in control and it was just the sodium keeping my weight up, which appears to have been the case since I lost 3 lbs in 2 days when we stopped eating out.

Glad to be back on track.

(P.S. - I initially posted this with the title 255 and said "I held at 258".  I don't think I've fully grasped that I'm in the 240s now.  It's been 10+ years since I was last at this weight, so it hasn't sunk in yet.)

246.5

Have been a little off my game this week. My mom came to visit on Thursday and has taken us out to eat everyday since (and twice on Thursday and Saturday), so even though I tried to eat light, the scale told me it wasn't going so well. I think part of it was water weight due to the higher sodium in all the restaurant food.

So yesterday I just had a latte when we went out to breakfast and we ate dinner at home, so I feel like I'm getting back on track.
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248

Had a rough night, up until 2am with a baby that had no plans for sleep. I woke up tired, with a puffy face and sore throat, so I wasn't sure if the scale would be forgiving. Luckily it was.

I also ran 3 miles yesterday, so I'm sure that helped.
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249

I did it! This is my lowest weight in 10 years. A couple years ago I got down to 250.5, but couldn't break through that plateau.

Today is also my 32nd birthday, and all I wanted was to hit 249, so I'm a happy camper right now.

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250.5

I think this is the exact weight I got to about 2 years ago (which is the lowest I've been in about 10 years).  Then life got more complicated and my weight slowly went back up. 

The good news is that last time I hit this weight, it was at the end of a long effort to lose weight.  This time I feel like I'm just at the beginning of this effort, and 220 feels like more of a realistic goal than it has in a long time.  I also feel that fatherhood has made me more patient and better at long term planning, so I don't think my weight will fluctuate as much in the future.  If I can just get down to 220 or below, I'm confident I can hold that weight without it being a daily struggle.

Ran 3 miles again

It's not really getting easier, but it's good to know that once I start, I can keep going until I'm done. Even on days I don't want to run at all.

I finally downloaded some Spanish podcasts and got headphones, so that helped.
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251.5

Almost in the 240s! 

My birthday is in 4 days, maybe I'll treat myself to a new scale.  My scale only measures in half pound increments and fluctuates a bit.  I always weight myself at least twice, but if those 2 don't match, I weigh myself another to or 3 times until it settles on a number.  This morning it weighed me at 253 the first time, then 251.5 the next 3 times I stepped on.  Maybe it just has to warm up in the morning.  But once it settles on a number, it seems to be correct, because it doesn't jump back up to the higher number the next day.  So it works, but it doesn't always make me feel certain.

253

Still haven't figured out my schedule to be able to exercise daily, but I'm cutting calories enough that it doesn't seem to matter too much.
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254

Little by little.

Got up extra early today, but the baby woke up at the same time, so no early morning bike ride for me. I think we need to get black-out curtains for our room.
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254.5

Progress has slowed, but at least it's still moving in the right direction. I need to figure out how to jump start it again, because I do not intend to plateau at 250 like I did 2 years ago.

My workout schedule was more consistent for the first week or so, but last week the baby started waking up earlier, so I had to wait until I could find an opening later in the day to go running. I need to figure out a solution for that.
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255

I took a break from excercise (but I did go for 2 walks) yesterday.  I ran 3.1 miles two days in a row, but my weight only went down a half pound.  I suspected that I was a bitten swollen or retaining water, so I took a rest day.  And, as I had suspected, I dropped 1.5 pounds on the rest day. 

So, I'll get back to running today, but it's good to know it's having the desired effect.

I'm down about 13 lbs in 16 days.  That's probably the best weight loss streak I've ever had.

Ran 3.1 miles again

It was harder than yesterday but I made it. I need an iPod or something to help me zone out. I get about 100 feet into the run and I'm already thinking how far I have to go.

I ran from the official race start line to the finish in 36:40. Yesterday I shaved about 4 blocks off of the official route (probably because I wasn't sure I could even finish it). I actually ran a bit faster today, beating yesterday's time by 30 seconds (I checked the time when I passed yesterday's start and finish).

I'd hoped to run it faster, but I know that's being a bit impatient. I still had some of the pains from yesterday, so I'm going to take a 1 day running break and then see how I do on Wednesday.
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257

I just ran a 5k (using the exact route laid out for a fun run the city is having next month) in 34 minutes. Not a great time, but it's the longest run I've done in a couple years and that time would have had me beating about 15 or 20 people in last years race (based on the times posted online). I'm not super competitive, but I'd like to know I have a shot at not embarrassing myself if I enter the race next month.

I want to do that course at least once a week until the race and see if I can shave 5+ minutes of my time.

I got really inspired last night, out of nowhere really, and decided I need to waste less time this year. I want to work out some concrete goals and be pushing towards them at all times. If I get board or feel defeated on one thing, I can take a break and work towards another goal until I'm ready to come back to the first one, as long as I'm making progress and not losing ground on any of them.

258.5

Another pound down.  But I threw my back out last night and had trouble even getting out of bed this morning, so today was the first day I haven't run or biked in the last 10 days.  Hoping it doesn't set me back to much.

Photo

Not a great picture of me, but I haven't posted a photo in a while, so I thought I'd put one up from a recent hike in Stevenson, WA.  I think I pulled all photos from this blog a year or so ago due to some online confrontation with someone.  Now I can't really remember what that was about, so I republished all the posts that had photos. 

259.5

It's been almost 2 years since I've been in the 250s.  When my wife got pregnant, I knew it was be difficult to keep up my workout and eating routines, so I made one last ditch effort to lose as much weight as possible, getting down to about 250, then gained 30 lbs during her later pregnancy and the first 6 months of caring for the baby. 

Now Owen is a year and a half old and we've established a new normal.  For that first year, every couple of weeks you have some new change in sleeping habits or eating habits, teething, etc.  Ideally I would be able to keep myself on track through all of that, but with that added stress and randomity, it just didn't happen.  Now the pace has slowed a bit to where the changes come over months instead of weeks, and my wife and I have worked out pretty well who does what and when. 

So, hitting 259.5 was a big deal for me and I'm going to keep trucking and see how quickly I can be at 249.5 and beyond.  As excited as I am to be back on track, this is still just getting back to where I was.  Once I get below 250, that will really be exciting as that will be true progress (it's been about 10 years since I was last below that weight).

We're already talking about baby #2, so if I can get to my goal of 220 before then, I think this time around I can hold on a little better.  At least the baby stuff will not be all new and Owen should be old enough to go out with me on bike rides or other activities.

260

Sometimes things just all come together and it feel fairly easy.   I think I was more effected by the winter months than I realized.  As soon as the weather improved and we had a few sunny days, I felt a drive and commitment that I hadn't felt in a while.

265.5

It's been a long and aggrivating winter, but things are finally turning around.  Mostly in my head, but that counts more than anything.