Well – I’ve taken Reconstructing 30 on the road this weekend. I’m in my adopted hometown of Houston! I lived here for a little over three years, and I really did love it. Houston isn’t for everyone, and it’s very much a car-based city, but it really has some amazing assets, including the Texas Medical Center (the world’s largest!), some really beautiful neighborhoods with fantastic parks and museums, and wonderfully friendly people. If you’ve never visited Houston, here’s a taste of it – convention and visitors’ bureau style:
So I’m here to take care of a bit of business (if you know of anyone who wants to buy a beautiful 2BR/2BA condo near the Texas Medical Center and Rice University, send them my way!), but the nice side benefit is getting to see my wonderful friends here in Houston. Which includes visiting some of Houston’s amazing restaurants… Am I making perfect choices that would lead to consistent weight loss if I ate these things on a daily basis? No. Am I making mainly healthy choices, controlling portions, and eating better than I would have if I were here six months ago? Absolutely.
And that starts to sum up the lessons of the past week for me, which are really the lessons that are the culmination of an experience that’s been going on for three or four weeks now. » Read more: Weekly Weigh-In: Everything’s Bigger in Texas?
First, a little fun. Nearly every morning, I have cereal with either half a banana, dried cherries, or blueberries for breakfast. This morning when I had my cereal, I couldn’t get the Ba nah-nah-nah song out of my mind. (Yes – if you read last week’s weigh in post, I apparently go around on Saturday mornings with songs stuck in my head.) If you haven’t seen it – here’s the YouTube sensation you’ve been missing:
Getting down to more serious business… I apparently went bananas with my weight loss this week, too. Well, not quite, but I did post a gain for the first time in a long time. It’s fairly negligible at .8 pounds, but it’s a gain nonetheless, which is not the right direction for the scales to move. I had planned to substitute my weekly weigh in post this week with a six month retrospective. But I thought this gain deserved a post all its own so I could examine why it happened, and not spoil the celebration that will be my six month post.
So why did it happen? I could say it was fluid retention from a high sodium meal the night before, or just that inexplicable variation that sometimes happens, but I’m pretty sure that’s not it this week. As I looked back at my food records, I saw the Mexican dinner with my friend last Saturday night that included more chips than I would normally eat, a wickedly good margarita, plus my half of an order of sopapillas that the waiter sent out because it was our first time trying the restaurant. And I saw the sinfully delicious frozen mocha drink I had at Caribou Coffee later that night. And I saw the little mini-binge I had Wednesday night, when I came home exhausted after having had a sleep study the night before, and then spent 13 hours at the hospital with my dad after his knee replacement surgery. Other than those transgressions, my nutrition for the week was pretty good, but I honestly expected those two nights to add up to a little more than a .8 pound gain.
Especially given that I exercised once, yes once, all week long. My exercise motivation since finishing my 5K has been dismal. I think it’s a combination of things, including a bit of a mind-game that you play with yourself after accomplishing a goal like a race, and also a few things going on that have made my career and home life kind of bananas lately, but it’s not something I’m happy about. So today, when I saw the gain on the scale, I pulled the trigger on registering for my next 5K – the Save our Skin (SOS) 5K here in Atlanta benefiting the Skin Cancer Awareness Network on May 29! Having a race out in front of me really does give me the extra motivation to haul my fat @$$ off the couch and onto the pavement. And I’m going for a session with my trainer, Anna, on Monday where I fully expect and hope to be totally whipped.
So that’s my story this week, and as much as I wish I didn’t have to, I’m sticking to it… Here are the stats:
First, a video to put a smile on your face and brighten up your weekend. The Pink Glove Dance from the good folks at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon (more below on why I’m sharing this):
This morning was my first weekly weigh-in after my first 5K, and I was a little worried earlier in the week that I may actually post a gain! I gave myself Saturday (the day of the race) off with my eating plan. That Saturday started with the free pizza they had after the race, and devolved from there into a Mexican dinner that included queso, chalupas, and cake (it was a party for a charity organization I volunteer with, and I wanted to enjoy it). I indulged without guilt, but the day after the 5K, my scales were up 4 pounds!!! I’ve done well with eating since, but since my exercise this week has also been half of what I strive for (my goal is 4 days cardio / 2 days strength training per week, and this week I only got in 2 days cardio / 1 day strength training), I was afraid I wouldn’t post a net loss this week. But I did! Here are the stats: » Read more: Weekly Weigh-In: Are you Down, Down, Down, Down, Down?
A while back, I was celebrating being out of the 250’s and into the 240’s. Then my scales broke, and I had to buy new ones – new scales that weigh about 7.5 pounds heavier than my old ones. So, my 240’s became 256.5 when I got the new scales a few weeks ago, and I’ve been battling to get out of the 250’s again ever since.
Yeah – I know. My total loss hasn’t changed, but that doesn’t make my desire any less to see the 240’s on the scale again. Last week, when I weighed in at 251.8, I thought this week may be the week to leave the dreaded Two-Five-Oh’s once again. But this morning, I was at » Read more: Weekly Weigh In: Eff You, 250’s…
Today was my weekly weigh in, and after last week, there was no pleading with the scale to shave off an extra ounce or two. Just one step on the scale, and one step off. (Okay, TWO, but you gotta double-check once, right???) Since I had to replace my scales, the weights are a little different, so it’s hard to know exactly what I lost this week, but it’s right at 1 pound, I believe. When my scales broke last Saturday, I had weighed in at 249.5 pounds. The new scales weigh me about 7.5 pounds heavier than the old ones as best I can figure (BAHHHHH…). This morning I was at 256.0 on the new scales, so about 248.5 on the old ones, or one pound down, for a total loss of 52 pounds now!!! I’m very happy to continue losing, even if I have to readjust to the readings on the new scale. From here on out, I’ll just report the new scale numbers, along with my total weight lost.
Not only do I have my new scales, but I’m back in the groove with exercise, too. My pain is gone, and I went for a 2.5 mile walk in the park with a friend this morning. It was a fairly leisurely walk, but it felt so great to get outside and MOVE on a beautiful spring day after being restricted by the doc for the past week! This afternoon I’m planning to burn some more serious calories, either on the treadmill or with some Wii Fit boxing. I’m even contemplating signing up for » Read more: Weekly Weigh In: Back in the Groove!
This morning I stepped on the scales, proud of the fact I’d broken fifty pounds lost and was sitting below 250 pounds for the first time since I can remember. I was hoping I may have dropped another half pound or so since I broke 250 on Wednesday, but that wasn’t the case – I was still at 249.5 pounds. Which is totally okay, two pounds down from last Saturday, and 51 pounds total lost know!
But in my quest to shave as much weight as possible off of my “official” Saturday numbers that I record and report to my nutritionist, I decided I’d walk around a bit, get moving, and come back to the scale to see if I couldn’t drop a little more before I broke down and ate breakfast. Senseless, I know, but how my aching to become skinny self operates sometimes. So I got dressed, went downstairs, milled around for a while, played with the dog, then » Read more: Weekly Weigh In – Breaking Records
The big headline from the last week should really be that I’m back on the wagon with exercise. As I wrote a few days ago, I’ve had to change up my cardio routine to keep from losing my mind on the treadmill day in and day out, and it’s going well! I did fall one day short of my four days of cardio goal, but I got in my strength training as I should, and I’m enjoying the new routine my trainer worked out for me a couple of weeks ago. The only semi-problem with all this: I gained a pound as of my official weigh-in on Saturday. I was up from 253 pounds last week to 254 pounds this Saturday. I’m sure it was because of the exercise after taking a week off. In fact, I had weighed 253 on Friday, and then did strength training on Friday night, which usually bumps my weight up a little the next day. This morning (Sunday), I was 252, so I’m confident that my body’s gotten used to the exercise again and is back on track with weight loss.
Which leads me to my progress on the Weekend Warriors Challenge from Brandon over at So Long, Fat Ass! My goals were to stick to my regular eating schedule (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and after dinner treat) and do cardio both days this weekend. I did fairly well with nutrition yesterday, though I did miss my afternoon snack. My friends and I spent yesterday afternoon at Atlantic Station here in Atlanta and had lunch at Rosa Mexicano followed by a trip through Dialog in the Dark, an exhibit where you’re immersed in total darkness with a cane and a blind guide to take your group through venues set up like a park, a grocery store, a city street, a boat (including walking a gangplank to get aboard), and a cafe. You have to use your other senses to experience the world around you, and it really is enlightening. Oh…and you get cozy with strangers. Real cozy. You all think you’re reaching for a tangerine in the grocery store portion of the exhibit, and SURPRISE!!! » Read more: Weekend: Weigh-In, Warriors, and Getting Cozy with Strangers
This week was kind of weird. On the upside, to start off, my weekly weigh-in this morning came in at 253.0 pounds!!!!! That’s six pounds down from last week and 47.5 pounds lost all total, now! I haven’t weighed this since sometime in 2002, and getting back to it is kind of unbelievable; my brain is still adjusting. Last week my mom asked what I was down to, and I kept responding 285. She questioned it, but I was insistent. I had to really think about it for a minute, and I realized, oh yeah, I’m in the 250’s now. I knew what I weighed, but my subconscious was so used to me being a much bigger guy that it couldn’t get the numbers right without me giving it some conscious thought. (Either that or turning thirty really is a bitch when it comes to memory). Anyhow, that little incident was eye-opening.
So I’m ecstatic (written in my best Mike Tyson impersonation) about my loss this week. But I’ve gotten to the point where this reconstruction isn’t all about the numbers on the scale. I also have goals with my nutrition and exercise, and I like to meet them, too. While I lost this week, and I lost a lot, I didn’t do my best with » Read more: Mixed Bag: Lost Weight, Still Room for Progress
It’s been a long, but productive week on the Reconstructing 30 front. I joined a gym, have lost some significant weight (here’s hoping the loss holds up for my “official” weekly weigh in tomorrow morning), and had a great follow-up appointment today with my primary care physician to keep track of my weight loss efforts. So many of the problems I was having when I began this journey have already resolved, and I’m only part of the way to my ultimate goal!
Tomorrow, Saturday, I reckon with the scales as I do each week, and I also reckon with a new training routine! My trainer and I had to cancel due to all the snow in Atlanta last week, but we’re rescheduled for tomorrow, and exercise masochist that I’ve become, I’m looking forward to being sore once again. Strange how so much can change in a period of weeks. Come back tomorrow evening and find out how it all went (assuming I’m not SO sore that I can’t sit up straight at the computer, type, or compose a coherent sentence)!
I mentioned this weekend that I have what has become an unhealthy obsession with getting on the scales everyday. I made a resolution not to step on the scales again until my next Saturday weekly weigh in. I am pleased to inform you that I have failed. Miserably. (What can I say? Screw Resolutions.)
Yesterday morning, I woke up, and the scales were callin’ my name. I was truly drawn to them like a mosquito to a flame, an ambulance chaser to a ten car pile up, the star of the bachelor to the love of his life, and the love of his life, and the love of his life… You get the picture. I tried to resist, but » Read more: Week Without Weighing – Day 2 (Sort Of…)
I'm Chad, and I really am reconstructing my life at 30. I'm taking charge and creating what my life will be as I plow into my 30's at breakneck speed! The main focus of my transformation is losing weight and getting healthy by changing my lifestyle with nutrition and exercise. But I'm also pursuing my passions, looking for love, and trying to have some fun along the way.
