It's Monday...Time for Another Weigh-in or It's Monday...What the Hell is Happening?

NOTE: Using a table in Blogger is very difficult so I cut and paste it from Word. It's a pain in the ass so I've quit using it. Get over it...life goes on.

Today's Weight: 232 lbs

    Date                              Weight                           BMI            Total Weight Loss

17 Aug 15             232 lbs/105 kg/16.5 st               35.3                      43 lbs

10 Aug 15             238 lbs/108 kg/17.0 st                36.1                      37 lbs

03 Aug 15             240 lbs/109 kg/17.1 st                36.5                      35 lbs

27 Jul 15               241 lbs/109 kg/17.2 st                36.6                      34 lbs

20 Jul 15               243 lbs/110 kg/17.3 st                36.9                      32 lbs

13 Jul 15               248 lbs/113 kg/17.7 st                37.7                      27 lbs

06 Jul 15               248 lbs/113 kg/17.7 st                37.7                      27 lbs

29 Jun 15              253 lbs/115 kg/18.0 st                38.5                      22 lbs

22 Jun 15              260 lbs/118 kg/18.5 st                39.7                      15 lbs

15 Jun 15              266 lbs/121 kg/19.0 st                40.4                      9 lbs

08 Jun 15              271 lbs/123 kg/19.3 st                41.0                      4 lbs

01 Jun 15              275 lbs/125 kg/19.6 st                41.7                      0 lbs

The craziest thing happened last week. Someone broke into my house! I'm not sure when it happened or how exactly they got in and even more strange...they didn't even take anything. As strange as that is, it isn't the strangest thing. That prize goes to the thief that broke into the house and let out the waist on all my jeans and trousers. One day they fit and the next they were falling off. I then noticed that not only did they alter my clothes, they actually filled in the last hole on my leather belt. It put me in quite a predicament...my clothes were too big and now I didn't even have a belt that would hold them up! Thankfully, the thieves didn't get into my stash of "old clothes" that I had kept from my slimmer days and I was able to avoid any embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions.

Besides someone messing with my clothes, I've also noticed a few other strange occurrences these past few weeks. I think it may have to do with the Perseid Meteor shower because I can't think of anything else that could making these things happen. One of the most peculiar and unexplainable things involves my car. It's a 2011 Ford Edge that I bought new at the beginning of 2012. Maybe after a certain amount of years the car is supposed to do this but maybe someone else can explain it. My car is getting shorter and here's how I know. Every morning when I go to work, I have to put a vehicle pass in my window and take it out of the window when I leave. Easy enough...just lean forward and place the pass on the dashboard where it meets the window. In the past, I usually had to unbuckle my seat belt, lean forward and retrieve the pass. Now that the car has gotten shorter, all I have to do is lean forward and easily grab the pass from the dash. Don't get me wrong...its much easier now, but I've been trying to figure out an explanation and just can't seem to find one that makes sense. Quantum Mechanics? Physics? Kinetics? Trigonometry? Big Bang Theory? Random Chaos? If I can figure this out, I see a Nobel Prize heading my way!

I also noticed that my blood pressure machine is acting funny. It's registering numbers like 120 or 130 over 90. I'm not sure why it's not registering the 140 or 150 anymore but someone must have run a magnet over it...or maybe I'm closer to the center of the earth now?? I'm also a little upset that I haven't been waking up more during the night. I used to wake up 3 or 4 times a night and I'd check out the scoreboard on ESPN. Now I'm sleeping through the night and have to wait until morning to check the scores...that sucks!

Lastly....and this one is exciting and I hope it never changes...or gets better. We went to the movies the other night to see Train Wreck (very funny) and I noticed that they made all the seats bigger. They've made them so big now that my ass actually fits in the seat and I'm able to rest my arms comfortably on the arm rests. It's amazing that the theater industry has finally realized that it's not about how many people you can cram into a theater...it's how comfortable you are while you're there. Thank you movie theater people for making the seats bigger!! Now let's work on those airline seats!

As you can see, a lot is changing in my life. I don't have any good explanation for it all but I guess it's not such a bad thing. See you next week. I'm close to half-way. At the 50 lb mark, I plan on celebrating with a nice chicken salad, a glass of water, a big plate of roasted vegetables...and maybe a chocolate shake and a tub of Ben & Jerrys!

Progress Report: Mon, 3 August 2015

Progress Report: 3 Aug,2015

Date	Body Weight			Body Mass Index (BMI)
	Lbs	Kg	Stone
Mon, 1 June 2015	275	124.7	19.6	41.7
Mon, 8 June 2015	271	122.9	19.3	41
Mon, 15 June 2015	266	120.6	19	40.4
Mon, 22 June 2015	260	117.9	18.5	39.7
Mon, 29 June 2015	253	114.7	18	38.5
Mon, 6 July 2015	248	112.5	17.7	37.7
Mon, 13 July 2015	248	112.5	17.7	37.7
Mon, 20 July 2015	243	110.2	17.3	36.9
Mon, 27 July, 2015	241	109.3	17.2	36.6
Mon, 3 Aug, 2015	240	108.8	17.1	36.5

As I planned what to write for this week's blog, I came up with the perfect title. The new post was going to be called, "Goodbye 240 lbs., Hello 230's!". After this morning's weigh-in, I had to put a screeching halt to that would be headline as the scale yelled back at me, "you're still 240 dumb ass."

I wouldn't say that I struggled this week, but it was very frustrating to see that I only lost one pound. I know it's a simple formula and the weight doesn't magically disappear and if I'm being completely honest, I know exactly where I went wrong.

1. Not counting calories. I was very good the first 6-7 weeks about tracking my calories at every meal. Over the past few weeks, I think I just took for granted that I was below my daily intake based on what I was eating. I basically have the same breakfast each morning and then have several pieces of fruit for morning snack before I have lunch. Lunch is usually a salad and then whatever meat was leftover from the night before. I've gotten lazy and stopped weighing my portion sizes.

2. Not drinking enough water. Again...the first 6 weeks I was drowning myself in water. I was easily drinking more than the 8 cups recommended. Now, after my morning cup of tea, I'm only drinking probably half what I was drinking.

3. Irregular gym schedule. I didn't get to the gym until Thursday last week. I did a cardio work out (60 min) on Thursday; 30 min cardio and an upper body workout on Friday; and a 20-mile bike ride on Saturday. I'd wouldn't exactly say that I was active during the week either. I worked a 50 hour week at work and that means 90% of that time is behind a desk. After Saturday's bike ride, I used Sunday as my own personal day-long siesta. I woke up early Sunday morning to watch UFC 190 and then napped a large portion of the day instead of doing something other than sit on my lazy ass all day. I did play 54 holes of golf on the Xbox, but not sure that did much to help! 

I think this week was a good lesson learned and I will not let the progress I've made so far ruin my positive momentum. It's back at it this week and I'll try to learn from my mistakes.

Progress Report: Mon, 27 July 2015

Progress Report: 27 July, 2015

Date	Body Weight			Body Mass Index (BMI)
	Lbs	Kg	Stone
Mon, 1 June 2015	275	124.7	19.6	41.7
Mon, 8 June 2015	271	122.9	19.3	41
Mon, 15 June 2015	266	120.6	19	40.4
Mon, 22 June 2015	260	117.9	18.5	39.7
Mon, 29 June 2015	253	114.7	18	38.5
Mon, 6 July 2015	248	112.5	17.7	37.7
Mon, 13 July 2015	248	112.5	17.7	37.7
Mon, 20 July 2015	243	110.2	17.3	36.9
Mon, 27 July, 2015	241	109.3	17.2	36.6

A rather odd week as far as diet and exercise go but happy I was able to lose a more normal 2 lbs. When I originally started this challenge, my goal was always 2 lbs. a week. It was great having weeks of 5 lbs., 6 lbs. and even 7 lbs., but 2 lbs, is much more realistic and probably much more indicative of what I have to look forward to.

Short on time tonight but there are still good days and bad days. I have a schedule that should work, but it’s the little things that pop up and disrupt the schedule that have been difficult to handle. For what it’s worth, here’s the schedule I’m supposed to be on:

Mon: 30 min cardio, core workout (abs, obliques, erector spinae, etc) 

Tue: 60 min cardio (Interval Training) 

Wed: Off day 

Thur: 30 min cardio, upper body workout 

Fri: 30 min cardio, lower body 

Sat/Sun: Off days, but usually a bike or a hike to keep active 

Sometimes life happens and you have to roll with the punches. If I miss a day I do the best I can to make it up. If I can’t, I don’t sweat it too much. Like I’ve said before…this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Another key so far has been not letting small failures ruin the progress that I’ve made or the future progress I will make. In fact, this one small lesson has probably helped me the most. If I have a moment of weakness, I don’t let that ruin the rest of my day. In the past, I’d take a small failure and use it as an excuse to just forget that day and start again the next day. 

Let’s say that I was doing really good one day but then decided I had to have a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream. The old Blake would have said, “screw it, I just ruined my diet for the day, let’s also have 2 extra pork chops, the milkshake and a half bag of Doritos in front of the television.” The new Blake recognizes that as a small failure but isn’t going to ruin the rest of the day by over indulging. I had a moment of weakness…that’s okay. I’ve done great up to this point, let’s not ruin it