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.)