One Month Mark – Weekend Update

So, just before this weekend, I passed the one month mark of my new diet journey. I’ve had ups and downs, but so far, no serious derailments. I’ve had my cheats, though I swore I never work. I guess everyone has to cheat every so often, or a serious derailment is inevitable. This morning I weighed in at 315lbs. That’s a 3.4lb drop from last week! Still not the 5lb goals that I initially set for each week, but still very respectable. The biggest question in everyone’s mind is “Did I exercise?” Well, outside of a little walking yesterday, the answer is unfortunately no. This weekend did not work as I had originally planned, mostly due to a headache that sidelined me on Saturday. I had planned to do a ton of cleaning around the house, and ended up just doing a small fraction of my original gameplan, all of which was done Sunday morning / early afternoon. That unfortunately left little or no time for actual exercise.

When I woke up on Sunday, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was down to 314lbs. That inspired me more than anything else to really push to eat well all day Sunday. I started off with oatmeal mixed with vanilla protein powder and a cup of skim milk. A little later, I decided to have some toast with spray butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon. For my late lunch (almost 3PM), I stopped by Subway and had my usual – Foot long Oven Roasted Chicken with all the fixings. I figured eating as late as I did, I might be able to squeeze by without having dinner later in the day. I was successful in that endeavor, and that kept my total calories for the day down to under 1200. I was pretty confident that when I stepped onto the scale this morning, I would have dropped another pound, giving me my 5lb goal for the first time since the beginning. Unfortunately, I think dropping my calories SO much went against me, and my body decided to hold onto everything it got instead. So, instead of losing, I actually gained a pound. Not going to complain about it, but it was actually a bit discouraging.

So, this begins a new week, and technically the 2nd month of my new journey. I’m down 17lbs (not the 25/month I’d hoped), but still a respectable loss. And I really didn’t give up much over the last month. I cut out soda cold turkey, and just watched what I ate, avoiding as much processed food as possible. If I can pull another 17lbs the next 30 days, that would put me right about the 10% mark in the middle of May. My minimum goal is to have reached my PREVIOUS weight loss by the time my birthday rolls around. That would put me at 283lbs by early July, a total loss of 49lbs, or 32 that I have left to go. Ultimately, I’ll exceed that number, but if I can’t lose another 32 by then, I’ll be VERY disappointed!

So, it’s a new month – a fresh start once again! Goals for this month are to get the exercise program started. Can’t say I’m going to push myself to my limits, but I’ll at least make it into the gym regularly. Right now, I’m just going to be pushing cardio. I need to burn the fat, and that’s the way to do it. Maybe in a month or two, I’ll ramp up to weight training, though that most likely won’t happen until I hit about 60lbs of loss total. Other goals are to try and post more frequently. I can’t promise daily updates, but I’ll get as close as possible. I’m also looking to possibly put together a weekly podcast, probably teaming up with my old friend Fat Man on a Diet. Lots to look forward to in the upcoming weeks and months!