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My Weight Loss Progress

Posted by on May 11, 2006 | One Comment

It occurred to me that I hadn’t updated you on my weight loss progress in a while. A couple of months ago, as you might remember, I reported my weight to the world. I did this for a couple of reasons: one, I needed to embarass myself to the point where I’d do something about the problem; two, I wanted to establish a point in time. My 5’5″ frame shouldn’t be much heavier than 150 pounds. I’ve got broad shoulders, but that’s no excuse for having a protruding gut. Having lost weight twice before, I knew that I was in for a tremendous challenge. The goal was (and still is) weighing in at 145 pounds on my scale. As of today, I’m less than five pounds away from maintenence mode. Considering I’ve dropped 25 pounds in just over two months, I’d consider that quite an accomplishment. It’s going to be difficult to maintain this weight, but I now have to set into stone certain goals and milestones to keep me from bloating to the 175+ range again. Certainly, my clothes fit a lot better than they have in a long time – and I’m confident that I have a healthier balance of fat and muscle on my body.

I love food! The most difficult part of “doing this” is remembering to stop eating before I feel full. I have a daily calorie allotment that I’ve found easier to track through CalorieKing’s software. I know how much I’m eating, when I’m eating it, and what basic nutrients I might need more of on any given day. Twenty-five pounds lost, and I’m trying to make ‘em lost forever. I can’t forget where I was, and I can’t forget to keep myself in check on a regular basis. Technology has certainly helped me through this entire process, too. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my electronic friends, some of whom (you?) are also going through a weight loss program. No fancy pills, no miracle diets, just good ol’ common sense: dietary consciousness and regular exercise. If you’ve been looking for motivation to lose some weight, look no further than me for a little inspiration. “If Pirillo can do it, anybody can” really should ring true with you. I’m not selling any supplements, and I’m not selling some kind of self-help guide (though perhaps I should). Change doesn’t happen overnight, either way.

Event goals have proven to be succesful motivators for me; I wanted to be 30lbs lighter by Gnomedex, then be able to exceed that goal (or maintain the weight) until my wedding later this year. Now that I’ve come close to hitting my target weight, I’m setting up for the long haul. Restaurants are the greatest challenge, especially when I’m traveling. It’s not just portion control, it’s controling yourself to the point where you don’t have to think about what you’re eating all the time. I can ballpark ounces, I can ballpark calories, I can ballpark my daily intake and expenditures. It’s not just about losing fat, though – it’s making sure I don’t lose immense amounts of muscle mass at the same time. Hence, the exercise component (but not boring exercise, mind you – I’m playing video games). I have about five more pounds of fat to go before I can stop burning it (though I know I have a bit more than five pounds of fat on my frame right now). Anywhere between 140lbs and 145lbs is a good weight for my body type. I’ll be there soon enough. As a geek, perhaps you need to lose a few pounds, too. Whatcha waiting for?

[tags]diet,health,exercise,dieting,calories,overweight,fat,weight loss,calorie counter,jennie craig,weight watchers[/tags]

  • Harmon Everett

    219 lbs at this morning’s weigh in. I’ve lost about a pound a week since last March. I’ve got another 25 pounds to go, and it looks like I’m well on the way for a slow and steady weight loss, and because it has been so slow and steady, maintaining that should not be hard.
    Somebody at the health center where I weigh in, asked what my secret was.
    I have several and thought I should list them.
    I have a mental image of what my daily calorie intake should be, and try to limit myself to that.
    Figure out what your daily calorie intake should be in order to lose one pound per week.
    There are calculations to go through, several places on the internet describe the process.
    Then, find some fast food equivalent to serve as a mental image – my image is two MacDonalds Bic Mac meals, with medium chocolate shakes. If I eat more than that equivalent in a day, I know I’ve eaten too much.

    Then, I don’t eat sugar cereals for breakfast anymore. That immediately sends me into an Insulin rollercoaster the rest of the day. I do something like: a half cup of frozen vegetables, boiled with some chunks of ham or chicken, and then add some instant mashed potatoes, for a quick vegetable stew, for breakfast. Or Chicken Fried Rice, or Broccoli and Beef, or leftover Pizza for Breakfast.

    Then, don’t eat after 10 pm. Anything your body says it desperately needs to eat after 10 pm at night, is a lie. Read the previous rant about how your body lies to you.

    Also, let yourself get hungry a couple of times a day. It isn’t the end of the world. It isn’t the worst thing you can possibly do to your body. It should happen a couple of times each day. Get used to the feeling. Practice it. Think that it means something good is happening, rather than something bad.

    Then, keep coming up with new ways to not eat, or not overeat. Just take a handful of chips out of the bag, and don’t keep the bag out. Don’t eat when you are not hungry. Its amazing how often when you are out with friends, or shopping, or sitting around home, when there are opportunities to eat – even someone trying to push you to eat – when you are not hungry.

    Throw out food that you don’t like, don’t eat it, “Just so it won’t go to waste.” And then, there is the Wednesday Weigh In, just to keep tabs on it.

    I still drink sugared sodas, I still eat candy bars and pie, I still fry my eggs in bacon grease. But they need to fit into the two Big Mac Meals limit.