Day 59 Weigh Day Number Four

Day 59

Weigh Day Number Four

Today was weigh day. I made the very unusual move to workout on my lunch hour today. I normally wait until the evening, but I wanted to get in a big push before the weigh in. You know I said I didn't want to guess this time. But even still I had expectations. I fully expected at least 10 or 12 pounds to be gone, but it was a little less. A very nice 7 pounds. OK, I'm fine with that. I'll tell you, this journey is full of peaks and valleys! Irene lost 2 more pounds, and Courtney “one-upped” her dear old Dad with an 8 pound loss! I'm very proud of both of them. Courtney was so happy to see those results. She's been working just as hard as I have, and I've told her several times “you keep doing what we're doing, and it will come off” and she's seeing that progress and feeling that rush of accomplishment euphoria! Irene has actually lost over 100 pounds in the last year and a half. Everyone sees the change in her, but still some are surprised by the total number she has lost so far. She's done it by becoming extremely active. She's quietly dropped the weight ever since she started her job with Southwind Casino. I have to hand it to her, because this was her plan from the beginning. She left her old job sitting behind a desk at a computer all day to take on a new job that she knew would work her body every night. And despite the regular pop she has enjoyed she's managed to lose over 100 pounds and counting. She is looking incredible! She is turning it up a notch now because she has some big goals to hit by Christmas, and in not long she'll be at her ultimate goal weight! The more weight I lose the more I learn about the body and how it works and reacts to our daily routine. Was my last weigh day 20 pound loss full of water weight? It had to be at least 40% water weight you would think. I mean really, 20 pounds? Was the 7 pound loss today 7 pounds of solid fat? Who knows, maybe I gained back some water, but lost say 10 pounds of fat, giving me a 7 pound net loss? You know what? It doesn't matter. I'm going to keep on doing what I've been doing so well, because the bottom line is simple: 57 pounds in 59 days. That's amazing progress pure and simple. I think I will step up my workout and see where that leads me. Honestly it's time to bump it up a little. I was doing my normal 2.9 mph on the treadmill today, the same 2.9 that sent my heart rate up to over 160 three weeks ago was now barely getting me to 110. I pushed it to 3.4 mph and I got it up there for a good cardio workout. And I could handle 3.4 mph! The progress has been really steady, so it's definitely time to go up a level!

I certainly don't want you to think that I'm upset or down about the 7 pound loss. I'm really not, especially after I thought about all the different variables in play. I know that what I'm doing is working and will continue to work. I just have to remember, one day at a time. I'm going to get to where I want to be, but it's not going to happen overnight. I didn't become a 505 pound man overnight, and it takes consistent and dedicated work everyday to get it off for good. I'm headed in the right direction. I talked with Dana and Steve tonight after I got home. They both offered encouragement and some valuable advice. I felt really good after that. Dana reminded me that I had plenty of time to “experiment” with different routines. And she's right. And Deb mentioned in her blog comment about “shocking” the system with something out of the ordinary, it was advice given to her by a dietary specialist at a hospital on how to shake a plateau. Dana gave me the same advice tonight. Give the body a little kick, something extra out of the normal routine, and watch how it reacts. Of course nobody has suggested that I'm even on any kind of plateau, I mean I still lost 7 pounds, but I'm willing to give the old metabolism a little “shake and bake” just to keep it on it's toes! It does make perfect sense. My plan is to increase the value of my workouts everyday for the next two weeks. Weigh day number five is Tuesday November 25th, we'll see what the scales say then!

What happened to me today is the same thing that derails so many people trying to lose weight. My expectations were higher than my actual loss. I promised myself I wouldn't guess, but I still couldn't control my mind enough to not expect 10 or 12 pounds. Expectations are completely normal when you're in the zone mentally and working it everyday physically. When the scale showed a smaller loss, I was honestly disappointed. And even though it was still a very nice loss I can be proud of, my expectations wanted a little more. The big difference for me? I didn't let it end my journey. I can't tell you how many of my past weight loss attempts have ended in a binge triggered by less than expected weigh day results. I was totally on guard when it happened today. I refuse to quit. Not now...Oh no! I'm doing this. I've lost 57 pounds in 59 days and that's actually ahead of schedule for my first 100 pound goal. I go to bed tonight feeling positive about this day and how it was handled. Tomorrow is Day 60, can you believe that? I'm very happy! Good night and...

Good Choices,
Sean