This is turning into a monthly report

Sheesh, where did November go? It actually didn't go all that fast, but I just didn't seem to get any reporting done, or any blogging. Sorry. Work was pretty busy though. I did however, continue to go to the gym and workout. Eating right, well that's another story.
The long and the short of it is that the plateau continues. Damnit! I guess my body really likes the 270 number.
So here are my numbers for November, and up to today:
Date Weight Body Fat%
11/7/08 268 27.5
11/14/08 272 27.6
11/21/08 269.5 28.0
11/28/08 271 28.0
12/05/08 273 27.9

I feel like the proverbial rubber ball, bouncing around so much.

The analysis:
~Eating~
My eating has been way off lately. Fast food is finding it's way back into my life these days. I get busy, and running through the drive-through is easier than going to a grocery store. And then when I go to the Wendy's or the McD's, I'm not getting the salad, I'm getting the cheeseburger, etc. Bad, bad, bad! Then, I know why I had 'No Donut October', it cuz I love the damn things. I've had way too many of those in the last month. Confession time: The other night I needed something from the store, and when I went into the store(Dick's for those that know it), the bakery was calling to me and I wanted something sweet. I opted for a container of chocolate cake donut holes. I polished off half the box that night, and the rest the next day. Ugh!! Not what I should be doing. 6 months ago I would have gone in there and got what I needed and maybe I would have bought an apple. I guess I need to re-examine my motivation, and see what I can do to get my head screwed back on straight again.
~Working Out~
Its been up and down too. Fall is always busy for me, so I was worried that my workouts would suffer. I think I've still been averaging 3-4 workouts/week, but they are not the most intense things in the world. Since my stamina and overall fitness are better these days, the same workouts are not pushing me as hard or as long as I should to keep seeing results. I know that I need up the intensity and get back to doing more weights AND do cardio on top of it. Time is the killer though. Often, due to time constraints, I cut my workouts short, and so I only get 30 min in, when I should be getting an hour. Gotta make the time. I am worth it!
On the bright side, I did play in an indoor soccer game last Saturday. So, check that one off the list.



Ok, it was against my daughter's team (Dad's vs daughters), but still I was out there ripping it up! I was making runs up and down the sidelines, and making cuts and moves, and yes, even scoring 2 goals. It felt awesome. Nothing like the game last January, when I could barely go 5 minutes and it was killing me. Holy crap it was fun! Now, I did pay the price. Just because you lose weight and exercise does not mean all of your muscles are fit and ready to go. My glutes (butt muscles) have been killing me all week. I guess the running was OK, but the cutting and other moves were outside my usual workout norm.

I was a litte bummed today cuz I realized that I've been in size 42 jeans for like 3 months now. I had been going through sizes about every 2 months up till now. 40 is nowhere in sight at the moment, and if I'm not careful, 44 may be back in my life again.

So, next week is my 40th birthday. My goal was to be under 250 by then, but that's not going to happen. Hell, I'll be happy at this point to be under 270. Its all good though. This is a process, and I'm working through it.

Running

So, my workout this morning was running on the treadmill at the gym.
Why do I run????
The psychology of my running is something I think about. What is my motivation?
If you are not having your life threatened in some way, why the hell run??? Yet, I think a lot of it has to do with genetics and physical makeup. My son, for example, has about 2% body fat, is constantly wired, and can go from 0-60 in about 2 seconds, and doesn't think twice about it. I may start calling him Dash! Me, being on the heavy side most of my life, have typically hated running. On my mission, my companion would want to go running in the mornings, I would say," you run, I'll ride my bike along side".



I think last year sometime, I extolled my new philosophy that skinny people are runners, and I wanted to be a skinny people, therefore running must be somehow embraced. I've been trying to do that. Lately, I've been trying to get in a minimum of 6 miles per week. 6 miles isn't much, but its what I do right now. 98% of the time I run on the treadmill at the gym, like this morning. I need to change that though, and get outside more. I think I may start to try and run outside more, even though winter is coming. You can run when its cold too - you just have to bundle up more. (Note to self - get cold weather training gear).

Anyway, I plan to hit the new Legacy Parkway trail tomorrow morning. Probably just 3-4 miles, we'll see.

Speaking of the psychology of running, I found this article interesting and somewhat inspirational.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/story/713652597451/why_do_i_run

Read and enjoy. I will have to come up with some reasons why I run.
For now, they are:
-I want to be a skinny person, and lose weight.
-To push myself. Harder, faster, longer than the time before.
-To clear my head and think.
etc.....

Plateau

I think that's what I can officially call it. I've been hovering around this 270 mark for a 4-6 weeks now. Normally I would be beating myself up over the fact that I've only dropped 1 pound in the last 2 weeks, but I'm trying to stay positive.

No Donut October went pretty well until this past week. I won't say I completely blew it, but I did indulge in many tasty treats. Including just now having an iced sugar cookie provided here at work for Halloween.

Not all sweets are everything they are cracked up to be. While coming home from Oregon, I was enticed by the aroma of the Cinnabon in the airport. I thought, "what the hell". So, I proceeded to purchase that ooey, gooey, delightful morsel.

Guess what? IT SUCKED! I ate it, but can honestly say that I came away totally unsatisfied. It was really disgusting. That's the last one of those I buy.

Actually, I've had this experience with a lot of things that I've cut out of my diet. Every now and then I think I'll splurge, and partake of some goodie. And more often than not, the food does not live up to the expectations I had in my head.
So, what does this tell me? Food is just that - FOOD. It is fuel. Yes, it can taste good. Yes, it can even make you feel better. But I wonder how much I take food, certain foods especially, and put them "on a pedestal" ( or a cake stand as the case may be), and just think that they are awesome, and more than they really are. The psychology of food and how I relate to it is an interesting dynamic. I'm trying to modify that paradigm. Experiences like the one I had with the Cinnabon are helping to change how I view food.

No Pain, No Gain.
I seriously thought that all the long hours I put in working on my sister's house, and then the plethora of work I've had to do before I left and after I came home, would have compensated for missing workouts. NOPE!
I finally got back in the gym today. It's been 10 days since I last stepped foot in the gym, and thats not good. If I ever expect to reach my fitness goals, I must do better at commiting to be in the gym 1 hour/day 4-5 days a week. It felt good to work out today.

My body fat % dropped. My body fat % is down to a new low. That's good! My lean muscle mass is up and body fat down. I like that. The more muscle mass I have, the better able I am to burn fat.

Goals: Well, hitting 262 by Halloween obviously did not happen. This is the most I've ever missed a goal by. It makes me wonder if I will get to my "under 250 by Dec 11" goal. I'm sure going to work for it. I REALLY WANT TO MAKE IT!!!! I CAN DO IT!

"If you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right"

Results: Weeks 42 and 43

Week 42: Since I was in Oregon last week, I did not weigh in.

Week 43

I lost 1.0 lbs this week. ~ Any progress is good progress.

Current Weight: 270 lbs

Total Lost: 137 lbs

Current Body Fat: 27.4%

Total Body Fat % Lost: 13.6%

Current Goals:

1) Be at/under 250 by Dec 11, 2008 (20 lbs to go)

Check one off

So, I went to Oregon this weekend to help my sister and bro-in-law with their house. It was the first airplane trip I've made since losing weight.

Have you ever asked for a seat belt extender?

It sucks. It's embarrassing. Probably worse than that is the horrified look on the person's face in the seat next to yours:
"Oh no, that huge guy is about to sit next to me. $#!&!!!!!"

The asking for the seat belt extender only goes on to re-affirm to said co-occupant that you are indeed a fat mass of person, and this will be an uncomfortable flight, and that they will likely have their personal space invaded by you on countless occasions. Very self-conscious situation for those who are 'plus-sized'.

So, I have one of my "List" to check off now: *I want to be comfortable in an airplane seat, and not have to ask for a seatbelt extender.

Ding! Done! No seat belt extender in sight. Loved the flight. (OK, other than spilling my drink on the person next to me- ugh!). I was even able to 'cinch' up the standard issue belt a few inches. I had forgotten that I could be comfortable in an airplane seat. One of the many benefits of a skinnier me. Love little reminders of victory!

Random

Not that I usually forward e-mails to 10 people so that I will have good luck, or participate in any sort of internet 'games', but my sister put up a 'tag' post on her blog, and so I thought I'd do the same.
I guess the idea of this tag is to post the picture that is found in the 4th folder, 4th file in on your PC. Well, starting from where? Desktop, my documents, huh? I figured I'd start with "My Pictures" and go from there. 4th folder in is called "Cabin", and this is the 4th picture in that folder:


This is a picture of the autumn leaves up at the cabin. It was taken a few years ago, but the scenery up there is gorgeous, especially in the fall.

How in the world does this relate to my fitness?

Well, it reminds me that I need to get outside more and take advantage of the beautiful outdoors, especially before the weather turns really cold. I was going to do a trail run last Saturday, but opted for the more comfortable confines of the gym. I do that too much.

Oh, and those 2 lbs I had gained last week - they decided to wait till Saturday to leave. I was overall down a pound on Saturday at the gym. This is why I don't get too bent about scale numbers.

%$^&"()*@# stupid scale! - Week 41

Well, this is it, the week I have been dreading for 41 weeks now. I gained this week. UGGGGH!

I know, I know, its not the end of the world, but still, it sucks. I was really good this week too. I was in the gym 5 times this week since my last weigh in. I worked out hard. I thought I ate relatively well. But sometimes, your body just says "screw you". Oh well, it just ups my determination to keep after my goals.

+2 this week (damnit)

271 current weight

28.1% BF (no change)
(actually, this means that, as part of my 2 pounds, I gained 1.5 lbs of muscle, and only .5 of fat. - so that's good - need to keep the muscle, and lose the fat.)