Weigh-In Wednesday Week 17!!!

Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday. Week 17 Edition! A few posts back I commented on the kinda sorta "plateau" I felt like I was hitting in the mid-sixties. I was having so much trouble losing more than one pound in a week, and I just felt stuck trying to get over that magic "30" number. Part of that was slip-ups on my part I'm sure, but I still felt like it was a make it break it kind of time, where I was going to stay at around 30 pounds down, or be able to move past it and start having a 2+ pound loss week. 


This week felt like a great one all the way through. I started seeing better results on the scales and I was able to keep up my pace running and biking like never before. My food intake was also pretty solid. So......

17 Weeks Completed 

119 Days Down 

Starting Weight -- 294

Week 16 Weight -- 263.8

Today's weight -- 2-6-1! So that's another 2.8 pounds down!

Total Weight Loss to date = 33 pounds !!!

Back to being a loser. Almost 3 pounds lost just this week. SUCCESS! 

The first before pic, is me and my Dad at my wedding in June of 2010. The second pic is from about one week before I started this lifestyle change.  People keep telling me my face has really changed lol, so decide for yourselves. 

Before Pic... 

Before Pic ... Face Shot 

After 17 Weeks

And from the Side 

Like I was saying earlier, this was a very productive week, and hopefully I'll be able to replicate a similar result this week coming up. Next week's weigh-in Wednesday post will be coming to you from Wild and Wonderful West Virginia as we'll be heading up there to spend Thanksgiving with the family. 

Some cool things from this week: 

Took Jaimie to see my friends over at Chainwheel Drive in Clearwater and picked her up a bike so she can ride with me. Great bikes over there. If you need one, check em out! We did an astonishing 15 miles on the bikes on Sunday afternoon. Nice work Jaimie, even if your legs were on fire afterwards.  

I am beginning to think I can survive on rice cakes, almonds, fresh fruit, dried fruit, and low-fat string cheese as my snacks. Gets the job done, and also tastes pretty great. 

My goal for this week coming up to get into the 50's bracket. Whew. I can do it. 

Thanksgiving will present a challenge I'm sure. But I'm just going to make sure I plan accordingly. You better believe I'm gonna enjoy that meal ;-). 

Thanks to all the people that have come up to me, messaged me , or called me with encouragement! I was helping out at the Outlet at Starkey Road tonight, and it was so cool to have so many of the students and leaders come up to me telling me they could really tell the difference. Special thanks out there to Justin, Erik, Luke, Will, Jacob, Bobby, Brian, etc etc etc. I also have some great supporters at work that have kept me accountable with food and helped me stay focused. Don, Sean, Erik, etc etc. Thanks for asking me "is that part of your diet." Excellent work. 

I love the support , and it's great to have that extra motivation!

My mom sent me this quote today and I'm going to use it for the post. 

"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful men keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit." - Conrad Hilton

Weigh-In Wednesday --- Week 5!

It'ssssssssssss Wednesday! And you know what that means...time to weigh-in. 


I know you've all been sitting on the edge of your collective seats waiting for this moment.


This week was filled with new challenges, tactics, and victories. 


Week 4 Weight -- 285.0
Today's weight -- 2-8-3.2 !


So that's another 1.8 pound loss. Almost two more pounds this week. 


Total Weight Loss to date = 10.8 pounds


Below is a picture of Pat, Me, Jaimie , and Dad in Bruges when we were visiting Belgium in July. 

This is me today at end of Week 5. Can you see a difference? 

I actually saw an even lower total a couple of days ago at 282.8. I know things flex up and down though. Part of what I've been reading has been telling me that as you start increasing the intensity of your workout, then you actually add on muscle which weighs a bit more than fat. So this can result in a slow down or brief up-tick in weight, but it makes your body burn fat and calories much more quickly. 


I've had lots of really great encouraging moments this week as well. Thanks to all the friends and family for your support and constant vigilance lol. I love the accountability. 


The cardio class is still kicking my butt, and I'm able to do more each and every time. I am really loving working out in a Tae Kwon Do studio again. What I really like about the class is that there is room to push yourself further and further every time.


In Food News:
I had a great salad at Mo'Ziki tonight on the way to church. It's on Starkey and Bryan Dairy in Largo. Check it out it's pretty good. Also shout out to Fiber One Snack Bars . Really, really good. And filling. There are a few things I crave from time to time like Delco's Cheese-steaks and the Wendy's Double Stack for lunch lol. Honestly though, this is totally worth it, and I'm committed to seeing this through. 


In other random news. I am so ready for WVU Football Season! Let's Go..........


Continuing on the sports theme, Here's a really great quote from legendary basketball coach John Wooden


“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” 

END OF MONTH #1 --- Weigh-In Report

Welcome to weigh-in Wednesday Week FOUR. I have officially completed one full month of this lifestyle change and I feel great! Thanks again to everyone for the growing support I've been receiving.


The Weigh-In Today.... IS .... 2-8-5.0 !!! That's 285. That is a 3.4 pound loss this week. 


End of Month 1  Total Weight Loss = 9 Pounds

I am especially happy because I was able to meet my goal loss of 9-10 pounds here in this first month. 


Many of my shirts are starting to fit much, much better. And I'm finding it easier everyday to avoid random cravings and big time cheating traps. 


I've been telling people how much I've enjoyed this so far, and it's true. It's been challenging but also fun and rewarding so far.  I have had ups and downs, but that's life. The important thing is that I haven't given up and I'm still going strong. 


I had a great call from my Grandpa Bowen aka Popsy this week with lots of encouragement. We always crack each other up, and it feels so great to know that you have the support of all the people you love the most. 


I have had people tell me that it's all uphill from here, and I've also had people tell me that once you make it past the first month, then it just gets easier to stay consistent from there. I think both are valid, and I know it's going to require consistency and preparation from here on out.  As Popsy likes to say, "Anywhere, as long as it's forward."


Anyways, I'll have more later this week, but I wanted to give my weekly weigh-in update. It's been a great week and I'm so excited about what this next 4 weeks will hold. 


Keep up the support, encouragement , and accountability everyone. It is much needed and appreciated.


Thanks, 


I like this quote alot. I think it captures what this first month has been all about. 


“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.” ~Mike Murdock

Things I'm Loving in Week 4 :-)

Been a great week so far.

Just a couple days till the week 4 weigh-in and I am enjoying this journey more & more. I'm excited for the 2nd visit to the Bodyfit cardio class at J Park Tae Kwon Do. Should be fun.


What will be even more fun is when Jaimie comes with me on Thursday. 


Here are some cool blogs I found online of guys that have done what I want to do. Really interesting stuff:


http://www.jayloss.com/
http://www.andrewisgettingfit.com/
http://formerlyfatrunningguy.blogspot.com/




Foods, etc. I really like these days:
Special K Protein Snack Bars
Craisins -- Especially the Cherry Flavor
Quakes Sweet Chili Rice Cake Snacks
Tuna , Tuna, Tuna
Pita Bread
Vitafusion Fiber Gummies

Macintosh Apple Cherry Sobe LifeWater (thanks to Jon for introducing me to this in Michigan)


ONE FOOD I HATE lol and will never buy again: 

Fiber One Brownies - I usually LOVE Fiber One stuff. But this one truly tastes like mud. Yuck. 


So far so good this week. I'm excited for weigh-in Wednesday. Really looking to meet my goal of 9-10 pounds total weight loss in the first month. 


Once again thanks for all you encouraging friends and followers out there. I am really, genuinely moved when I hear that someone else is inspired to start doing this ( You know who you are! GOOD LUCK!!!)


“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” ~Colin Powell

Phil is Losing it ....

OK I kind of stole that from these YouTube videos I saw called "Pete is Losing it" where this guy does a video diary every single day tracking his weight loss. Pretty cool to see someone else out there doing it and seeing success. I found his vids when I did a Google search for the weight that I saw at weigh-in today....Which is .... 


288.4 pounds. One more pound lost. 


Three full weeks in. Total Weight Lost - 6 pounds--- 2 pound loss per week


I really was shooting for 2 or 3 this week so that's kind of disappointing. But hey, a loss is a loss. 


I did like how 4 separate people asked me today..."Hey isn't today weigh-in day?" Support keeps growing and that really helps so much. 


Here are a few highlights of things I experienced this week. 
1) There was one day I wanted to just quit altogether. I have no idea why, and it didn't last that long. I just had this frustrated feeling that it's hard to explain. Good news though , I didn't quit.
2) I had two nights where I snacked later than I should have and for no good reason at all. granted the snacks were things like fruit and nuts, but it was still bad. I think this also slowed progress. Snacking is probably my biggest hurdle. Good snacking is going fine, it's the off-schedule snacking that needs to stop. 
3) Good things are that I have done much much better with exercise this week. Tonight I did some laps in the pool, some water aerobics , and 250 jumping jacks lol
4) My friend Alex is doing a cardio class a few days a week and I'm going to be joining him tomorrow to check it out. Should be exciting. 
5)I am getting much more immune to seeing people around me eat what I can't and being OK with it. Last night, we went with some friends to Buffalo Wild Wings for Tuesday Wing night. There were altogether about 40 wings on the table. I had a grilled chicken wrap totaling 600 calories. I was full. I survived lol. 


I keep reading places where rapid weight loss is not realistic and that slow and study wins the race. Also I've heard that sometimes the first few weeks or even several weeks are the hardest and give the slowest weight loss. I've also heard "you will plateau, you just have to stick with it." I hope this is true, because I feel great, and  I just wish the scale was showing more progress. 


Things are going well, and I wore a shirt today that fit much much better than it did 3 weeks ago. I want more and I am always finding more things I can work on and improve. I am going to shoot big for next Wednesday. I would like to have lost  a total of 9-10 pounds in my first month. That means 3-4 pounds next week. 


Let's do this thing .... 


I really like this quote today. Very true and very inspiring... 
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” ~Robert J Collier