Day 48 - I am gonna fight for my 399 lbs

I have decided to take that plateau out! I went to the gym this morning before work. This is very unlike me, so I must be serious. The gym manager was very surprised to see me. I did 33 minutes on the treadmill burning 327 calories and traveled 1.27 virtual miles! Now I must shower and get to work.

I have decided to change my calorie limits. I have been reading a lot about weight loss and much of my research tells me that eating so few calories may cause me to lose weight slower. I am going to raise my calories a little and monitor my weight loss to see if it changes. I think this process is about more than just self control. I think it is about learning how the body works and how we can take advantage of that knowledge.

Below are calculations that give examples of what experts say I should be eating per day.

Maintenance: 4143 Calories/day
Fat Loss: 3314 Calories/day

Extreme Fat Loss: 3216 Calories/day

I am going to keep it between 1600 & 2000 because I do not want to tempt myself with 3000 calories a day. It is a slippery slope and I have to maintain disipline.

I welcome your thoughts and opinions. Assuming I am not talking to myself :-)


Sean

Day 47 - Weird Plateau

So I went to the gym again today and I did 33 Minutes on the treadmill burning 322 calories and traveling 1.25 miles. I ate a little more than usual coming in at 1722 calories for the day. I have decided that I can add what I burn at the gym to my food budget if I am hungry. 1600 calories is a very low budget for a 400lb guy and 1600 hundred while working out can be a little crazy. I have also decided the gym will be a great way to earn a snack if i want something extra a will have to work for it. I don't intend to eat back every calorie I burn. That would defeat the purpose.

I am at the weird plateau. I have been between 405 and 402 for a week. It seems like I can break over into the 300s. I know that Nothing I am doing is stopping my weight loss. Even if I was being dishonest with myself there is no way I could cheat enough to go over the 3000 calories I would need to stop my progress. I am not cheating myself by the way. I have made a few adjustments here and there but I have remained honest with both myself and you about every move I have made. If I start lying, this thing is over. I don't want it to be over. I feel real change and I look forward to it. I just need to get through this damn plateau!

Sean

Day 46 - First gym day.

Last Year I was going to the gym and I had hired a trainer and I was working out hard. I didn't lose weight nearly as quick as I have been losing it this time because I was not eating right. When I started at the gym in March 2009 I weighed 450lbs and when I left them in Winter of 2009 I weighed 417lbs. That is compared to the last 46 days where I have gone from 445lbs to 402lbs with no exercise. I can't wait to feel the results of working our and eating right together.

First day back to the gym and I took it kind of easy. I did 15 minutes on the treadmill and burned 132 calories for a total distance of 1/2 a mile. Then I decided to flat bench press 30lb dumbbells for 15 reps. I managed a set and a half (I know, that's sad). I then pressed 22.5lb dumbbells on the incline for one set of 15. I finished of with 10 minutes on the stationary bike for a distance of 3.75 miles and only 62 calories burned. I burned a total of 301 calories for the trip. Not too bad for the first day.

I like the way the gym makes me feel and I look forward to getting stronger and faster as the days come.

Until tomorrow!

Sean

Day 45 - Really Hungry and Back to the Gym!

Hello folks. I am still fighting incredible hunger pains. I have been fighting them for 4 days now, but I am winning. I have flirted with the idea of raising my calorie values because realistically I have some wiggle room and I could easily eat 2000 calories a day and lose weight at the same level I am losing it now. I have also been reading about calorie cycling. Calorie cycling is where you vary the amount of calories eaten through out the week to trick your metabolism into losing more fat instead of lean muscle. I have decided to just stick with the 1600 calories for now, because I don't want to make any change in the midst of struggle because that would feel like failure and failure is a spiral.

I picked up my membership card from the gym today. I joined a gym a couple months back and they just opened. I am planning to get in there tomorrow and do some cardio and some strength training. I will post my results tomorrow.

Sean

Day 44 - Weigh Day Number 3

Today's weight 402. That is a loss of 43lbs total. I thought I would hit the 399 mark, but there was some weird fluctuation in weight. I am still very happy with my results and I will surely be below 400lbs at my next weigh in.

Over all I am feeling pretty successful and I do not think the 1800 calorie incident is that big a deal. The only way that becomes a big deal is if I let it become a big deal.

Today is a day for reflective celebration. So that is what I am gonna do.

Thanks for reading.

Sean

Another thing I want to do when I am not fat: I want to wear Under Armour T-Shirts.

Day 43 - Have I failed?

Yesterday was my first really difficult day. And I am afraid I failed on principle. As I mentioned in yesterdays post, I was really hungry all day. I ended up eating over 1800 calories. In reality that's not a failure at all. At my size my recommended calorie intake for steady weight loss is over 4000 calories. So technically I did not hurt my weight loss at all. However. I have a self imposed goal of 1600 calories. I went over that goal willingly because I was hungry.

This is the slippery slope that I think catches many people who are trying to change their lifestyles. One slip and you feel like all is lost and revert right into old habits. I am choosing not to revert I am choosing to view this as a process. I have to admit to myself that their may be some days when I need a little more food.

I will be thinking about this for the next few days as I try to figure out a concrete plan for dealing with this. I need to have a way of figuring this kind of incident into my plan so it does not feel like a failure and cause me to question my commitment.

Have you had minor setbacks that have or almost have pushed you over the edge? Tell me about them.

Sean

Days 41 & 42 - Frustration!!

Yesterday was pretty uneventful. It was my day off. I ate a big sub and watched TV all day. Nothing to report.
This morning I stepped on the scale and it was a few pounds more than the last time I looked. This happens sometimes and it usually rolls back pretty quickly, but it is still frustrating. It is a mental thing. If you can't roll with this kind of thing I recommend you pick a weigh day and stay away from scales until then. I can handle it and I like the daily reminder of my progress so I risk the occasional "bad scale day". I am also real hungry lately. I am usually not too hungry and that makes eating much less easy, but the last couple days I have missed food. No one said this would be easy and no one was wrong this is not easy at all.


I remember why I am here and I will get through this.

Until next time

Sean