Wednesday Weigh In May 27, 2009

I’m back.

It took some soul searching of what is important to me, but I am once again motivated to kick this weight loss thing into high gear.

I have decided to stick to a 2,000 calorie diet for the next 30 days, no exceptions. This might seem like a lot of calories, but remember, I’m 6 foot 4 and extremely overweight.

I’ve never stuck to a calorie restriction diet before, so this should be interesting. I may even start posting a bit more here if I get particularly frustrated, angry, depressed.

And because I know there will be times I am still hungry at the end of the day, I am going to make sure I have plenty of healthy snacks around. The idea is that I’ll be less likely to snack if my only option is something healthy.

In other words, I’ll only eat if I am really hungry. A novel concept to be sure!

Now, for the weekly Wednesday Weigh-In

David Wright

No movement on the scale this week. I look for that to change next week.

The stats: David Wright

• Starting weight Wed. Nov.19: 350 lbs.
• Goal weight: 250 lbs.
• Weight last week: 325 lbs.
• Weight today: 325 lbs.
• Amount lost this week: 0 lbs.
• Total lost since Nov. 19: 25 pounds

Tara Cain

Only eat when you’re hungry DW? But that would be ALL THE TIME for me!
Only joking, but I do confess I am a terrible grazer and so I’ve had to cut down on what I have at meal times (breakfast, lunch, dinner) to ensure the calorie count doesn’t go off the scale.

No movement for me this week. But I have stuck to The Plan and, considering I’m sat at home all the live long day at a desk in my little office that’s mere feet away from the ‘goodie’ cupboard which, believe it or not, has developed a voice that now calls to me, I think I’ve been pretty restrained.

Of course I could help myself immeasurably if I’d just stop buying the damn stuff!

The stats:

• Starting weight Wed. Nov.19: 168 lbs.
• Goal weight: 140 lbs.
• Weight last week: 164 lbs.
• Weight today: 163lbs
• Amount lost this week:0lb

Now it’s your turn. Share your success (or setback) story with us.

If you’d like to post a Wednesday Weigh-In post on your blog and help spread the word of our goals, please do so. Get all the info on how you can participate right here.

See you downstairs in the comments – and let’s all show our support and visit anyone taking part.

Update

As always, thank you to everyone who takes part in the Wednesday Weigh-In.

Thank you!

Want a bit of humor and motivation delivered via email? Subscribeto get each BlogToFit post delivered for free! Email not your thing? That’s okay, you can also subscribe via RSS – like all the cool kids do. It’s also free. Unless you really WANT to pay us.

Copyright 2009 BlogToFit.com. If you are reading this on any site other than BlogToFit.com or your personal feedreader or email, you may be viewing it on a site which steals content. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t trust any site which steals content.

Wednesday Weigh In May 20, 2009

I have incentive!

In just a few months time I will be going on a fabulous holiday.

We can’t really afford it, we’ve agonised over whether or not to pull out and we have scrimped and saved since last September.
Of course it didn’t help that I quit my news desk job and started up in business on my own from home with two young children hanging off my leg.
Plus hubby has had the threat of redundancy hanging over his head.
Yeah, it’s been fun!

But we have decided to take the plunge and go for it. It will take every penny we have, but we figure if we don’t go for it now we probably never will.

We are just a tad excited.

With all that in mind, I do not want to taint this holiday by being miserable and overweight.
I’ve already started thinking about clothes and getting myself into a tiz about it.
Looking at beachwear fills me with dread (and you know how much I’ve gone on and on about how bust size can totally ruin you look!)
I want to skip into a store and get excited about buying embarrassingly low-cut tops (my kids are too young to roll their eyes and tut at mummy looking like mutton just yet), and cut-off jeans and floaty kaftans slit up to the thigh.

So I have been using a visualisation technique to wean myself off hot buttered toast and sneaky chocolate bars.
I imagine myself lying on the beach, fabulous outfit on, neat little toes painted hot pink and the sun beating down on my (factor 30′d, obviously) legs.
There are no embarrassing overhangs, my bust actually fits inside my top and I have no problem whatsoever in flashing my torso.
(In my very lovely mental image the children are the picture of contentment and only say ‘mummy, mummy’ a handful of times and nobody demands ‘I want an ice cream’ at the most shrill pitch they can muster. Yes, it is bliss!)

It sounds a bit daft, but I’m convinced it could work. Today I reached for the biscuit tin during a ‘weak’ moment and saw my dream slipping away for the sake of a quick Rich Tea fix.
I put it back, had a cup of tea instead and revelled in the warmth of my smugness, if indeed there is such a word!

Tara

Now, for the weekly Wednesday Weigh-In

David Wright

Thanks to everybody who weighed in last week (figuratively and literally). I appreciate the support. I questioned my motivations and drive during the week and will post my thoughts on it next week – as well as a more concrete plant. I didn’t do much exercising last week. But on the plus side, I also didn’t do much eating. So no weight loss OR gain to report.

The stats: David Wright

• Starting weight Wed. Nov.19: 350 lbs.
• Goal weight: 250 lbs.
• Weight last week: 325 lbs.
• Weight today: 325 lbs.
• Amount lost this week: 0 lbs.
• Total lost since Nov. 19: 25 pounds

Tara Cain 

The stats:

• Starting weight Wed. Nov.19: 168 lbs.
• Goal weight: 140 lbs.
• Weight last week: 164 lbs.
• Weight today: 163lbs
• Amount lost this week: 1lb

Now it’s your turn. Share your success (or setback) story with us.

If you’d like to post a Wednesday Weigh-In post on your blog and help spread the word of our goals, please do so. Get all the info on how you can participate right here.

See you downstairs in the comments – and let’s all show our support and visit anyone taking part.

Update

As always, thank you to everyone who takes part in the Wednesday Weigh-In.

Thank you!

Want a bit of humor and motivation delivered via email every weekday? Subscribeto get each BlogToFit post delivered for free! Email not your thing? That’s okay, you can also subscribe via RSS – like all the cool kids do. It’s also free. Unless you really WANT to pay us.

Copyright 2009 BlogToFit.com. If you are reading this on any site other than BlogToFit.com or your personal feedreader or email, you may be viewing it on a site which steals content. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t trust any site which steals content.

Wednesday Weigh In May 13, 2009

Mailing it in

That’s what I’ve been doing for the past God knows how many Wednesday Weigh-Ins.

Truth be told, my mind is on other things of late – like attempting to secure work and paying my bills. I’ve managed to keep most of my fears and dark thoughts hidden, focusing on the good, happy and funny things in my life. And for the most part, it’s working. I haven’t allowed my negativity to creep into my online work.

Except here.

I’ve found it harder than ever to worry about long term goals such as weight loss and eating healthier when the immediate future is so clouded with uncertainty. And I’ve found it hard to write about healthy living without feeling like something of a fraud. I post my weekly updates and say I’ll work out and eat better and all the other things, but after I hit publish, my mind narrows in on the other things in my life.

Truth is, right now, I don’t want to think about my weight loss. It’s just one more bad thing.

But another part of me is trying to push forward. Saying it is one of the ONLY things I have control over.

I tell myself that I’ve done well to have lost 25 pounds, even if I should have lost 50 by now.

I tell myself that I need to be able to focus on eating and exercise regardless of the other stresses in my life. Because there will always be something else my mind is focused on.

And I tell myself that many of you are also facing your own health setbacks and limitations, yet you continue. So, I shall too.

Hopefully, I’ll soon stop mailing it in and really feel something from this soon.

Now, for the weekly Wednesday Weigh-In

David Wright

This week was a non-week for me. No loss, no gain, almost no exercise. Pretty much the same as last week.

The stats: David Wright

• Starting weight Wed. Nov.19: 350 lbs.
• Goal weight: 250 lbs.
• Weight last week: 325 lbs.
• Weight today: 325 lbs.
• Amount lost this week: 0 lbs.
• Total lost since Nov. 19: 25 pounds

Tara Cain

I hear you loud and clear DW.
I feel like the worst person to be standing up on this platform and blogging about weight loss and fitness because, well, i can’t seem to do either.
I am insanely busy with work, and here’s the rub: Because I work for myself from home I feel very real pangs of guilt if I ever entertain the idea of taking an hour out to do a spot of exercise.
‘It’s an hour less to work and how can I afford to give that up?’ I ask myself. Yes, I know I would probably be more productive and it would help me in the long run if I just scheduled it into my day.
But the reality is I don’t and my weight loss is suffering because of it.

Truth be told, I feel pretty crappy at the moment. I haven’t gained, I haven’t lost, but I have lost my mojo. 
I am sat here drinking a cup of tea and eating an apple and feel totally booored with the whole weight loss thing.
But, like DW, I am so inspired by the folks that come here every week and overcome all manner of things life throws at them, so I will plod on.
Next week I promise will be different . . .

The stats:

• Starting weight Wed. Nov.19: 168 lbs.
• Goal weight: 140 lbs.
• Weight last week: 164 lbs.
• Weight today: 164lbs
• Amount lost this week: 0lb

Now it’s your turn. Share your success (or setback) story with us.

If you’d like to post a Wednesday Weigh-In post on your blog and help spread the word of our goals, please do so. Get all the info on how you can participate right here.

See you downstairs in the comments – and let’s all show our support and visit anyone taking part.

Update

As always, thank you to everyone who takes part in the Wednesday Weigh-In.

Thank you!

Want a bit of humor and motivation delivered via email every weekday? Subscribeto get each BlogToFit post delivered for free! Email not your thing? That’s okay, you can also subscribe via RSS – like all the cool kids do. It’s also free. Unless you really WANT to pay us.

Copyright 2009 BlogToFit.com. If you are reading this on any site other than BlogToFit.com or your personal feedreader or email, you may be viewing it on a site which steals content. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t trust any site which steals content.

Wednesday Weigh-In May 6, 2009 Guest update: Sean Platt

Totally Worth It

Hi, I’m Sean Platt. It’s been two weeks since my last Blog to Fit post.

When I last left you I admitted I had a problem. Where I was once a lean machine who tended his body, I’d grown into an M&M munching writer who sat a bum running on fumes of coffee. I said then that I knew what I needed to do. I meant what I said.

Here’s a bit of a rundown:

I went two full weeks without sugar. The first few days were easy. The fourth was a bit like being dragged through a desert of donuts with masking tape over my mouth.

Midway through the day I was grouchy and exhausted, carrying the same motivation I might have had searching for keys before a dentist appointment. Fortunately, my mood subsided with sleep and I rose the next morning feeling better than I have in a while.

During this period of renewal I have also made sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day and have done my push-ups and sit-ups without missing a single session. For 16 days I went without a single granule of sugar.

Until today.

My daughter had a celebration at her school. There was cake and ice cream. I tried to decline, but her teacher (whom I love dearly) insisted. I wish I could say it was good cake but my parents raised me not to lie.

It was the kind of cake that tastes like you should ask for your quarter back. I’m sure it tasted worse because I wasn’t used to the sugary assault on my senses. I ate 2/3 of what was on my plate, tossed the paper in the can, grabbed my girl’s hand, and headed for the exit.

The sugar hit me like a punch in the teeth before I even started the engine. Two weeks without sugar made the drive home seem about a thousand years. I was exhausted, could barely keep my eyes open, and felt a little bit…. twitchy.

I had a hearty soup for dinner and all is well, but it sure makes me wonder what a shock sugar really is to the system and how we commit to desensitizing ourselves to its effects without even blinking.

My diet over the last two weeks has been based on Dr. Tarnower’s “Scarsdale Diet.” This is the nutritional program I always cling to when I feel myself falling out of balance. It’s worked for me for 15 years and I love it. It eliminates refined sugar and severely limits carbohydrates in general. The biggest benefit of the diet is that you can eat all the protein and vegetable you want, so hunger isn’t an issue (so long as you remain disciplined with your available options).

The diet works with two weeks of restriction followed by two weeks of light eating, then two weeks more of the regime if you’re game.

I’m game.

I’ve not only shed ten pounds like a jacket in summer, but a couple of days ago my daughter said, “Daddy you look much stronger today.”

Totally worth it.

Sean Platt is a creative blogger who is looking much stronger today.

Now, for the weekly Wednesday Weigh-In

David Wright

Unlike my friend, Sean, I did not give up on refined sugar. I think it might be one of the only things holding my body together and fear what withdrawal would do.

That being said, this week was yet another where I ate okay but didn’t get much exercise. This time, though, I didn’t lose any weight.

I’m hitting the exercise trail with my family this weekend though, so next week should be better.

The stats: David Wright

• Starting weight Wed. Nov.19: 350 lbs.
• Goal weight: 250 lbs.
• Weight last week: 325 lbs.
• Weight today: 325 lbs.
• Amount lost this week: 0 lbs.
• Total lost since Nov. 19: 25 pounds

Tara Cain

I absolutely know where Sean is coming from with the whole giving sugar up thing. It’s really really hard, but when you’ve purged your body of all that crap and you eventually feel human again, it’s really really hard to go back to eating it.
I’ve had an intensely busy week and find myself not eating properly still. However, I have managed to ditch reaching for the crap and have rediscovered smoothies, apples and a handful of nuts to keep me going.

I must must must must rack up my activity levels. I am meeting with a local gym to discuss ways of promoting their classes this week so I’ve got no excuse really.
They actually do a Bootcamp Bikini class. I wonder if they expect the class members to turn up in their bikinis  . . .

The stats:

• Starting weight Wed. Nov.19: 168 lbs.
• Goal weight: 140 lbs.
• Weight last week: 164 lbs.
• Weight today: 164lbs
• Amount lost this week: 0lb

Now it’s your turn. Share your success (or setback) story with us.

If you’d like to post a Wednesday Weigh-In post on your blog and help spread the word of our goals, please do so. Get all the info on how you can participate right here.

See you downstairs in the comments – and let’s all show our support and visit anyone taking part.

Update

As always, thank you to everyone who takes part in the Wednesday Weigh-In.

Thank you!

Want a bit of humor and motivation delivered via email every weekday? Subscribeto get each BlogToFit post delivered for free! Email not your thing? That’s okay, you can also subscribe via RSS – like all the cool kids do. It’s also free. Unless you really WANT to pay us.

Copyright 2009 BlogToFit.com. If you are reading this on any site other than BlogToFit.com or your personal feedreader or email, you may be viewing it on a site which steals content. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t trust any site which steals content.