Week 7

Previous Weight: 336 lbs
Current Weight: 333 lbs
Change: 3 lbs lost
Total: 27 lbs lost

Week 7 Photo

People keep telling me they can already see a change in these pictures, but I'm not spotting it. Maybe it's just me.

Training

Training session #3 was this morning. Now that I'm getting used to the whole early-to-bed, early-to-rise thing, I kinda like getting my workout done first thing in the morning. I start the day feeling like I've accomplished something, and that carries me through the afternoon better than caffeine ever did. Plus, I can watch TV guilt-free in the evenings, since my exercise is already out of the way.

Plus, we worked on my legs again today, and they aren't nearly as sore as they were after last week's session.

Week 6

Previous Weight: 343 lbs
Current Weight: 336 lbs
Change: 7 lbs lost
Total: 24 lbs lost

that can't be right... I'm going to check again later.
EDIT: OK, OK. I'll trust the scale.

Week 6 Photo

So I joined a gym

No, seriously. There is no punchline.

I'm going to be working with a personal trainer, my first session is tomorrow at 9am.

Week 5

Previous Weight: 348 lbs
Current Weight: 343 lbs
Change: 5 lbs lost
Total: 17 lbs lost

Awesome! Blew my goal away!!

Week 5 Photo

Things feel easier now

So, here's something kinda weird: last night, on my way back up from exercising, I jogged up the stairs. From the first floor to the third. When did that become possible?

I've noticed that it seems easier to do "active" things like that just after working out, than at other times in the day. I'm guessing here, but since my body is already in "workout mode", it's like I don't have to work as hard. Sort of like how your car runs better in winter after it's warmed up for a bit.

Also, over the past week, I've increased my average workout time from 30 minutes to 45. When I started this, I felt like dying after 20 minutes on the machine. Now I feel like I could go even farther, but I don't want to push myself too far yet.

Week 4

Previous Weight: 351 lbs
Current Weight: 348 lbs
Change: 3 lbs lost
Total: 12 lbs lost

Week 4 Photo

Small Victories

I was grocery shopping today, and had to go past the baked goods section to get to the milk. That small, tiny, evil part of the brain responsible for temptation said to me, You know, those M&M cookies probably taste really good...

My conscious brain responded with Yes. They probably do. And that was the end of it.

Words of Wisdom From the Doc

If you don't think you'll be able to say "no" to it for the rest of your life, then don't say "no". You'll just end up bingeing later. Instead, get the piece of pie, or the cookie, and take just one or two bites. Then say to yourself, Okay, now I know what it tastes like, and set it aside. Take just enough to satisfy the craving in your mind, because that's exactly where the craving is.

Just keeping this advice in mind this past week has helped tremendously. I've been able to say "no" a lot more easily, because in the back of my mind I'm thinking If I still want a bit later on, I'll have a little bit, just to see what it's like. And so far, I haven't still wanted it later.

52 Weeks to a New Me

I haven't been to the doctor in years. Just haven't gone. I've been afraid to go because I'm fat, and I knew that if I went to the doctor, he or she would tell me I'm fat, and I didn't see the point of paying someone to tell me what I already knew.

I had to go to the doctor the other day. It was a minor emergency, I picked up some kind of infection somewhere, he took care of it straight away. But before he let me go, prescriptions in hand, he gave me the Talk. The one I've been dreading for years.

But really, it wasn't so bad as all that. I'd expected to get chewed out for letting myself get into the state I'm currently in. But he didn't yell, wasn't mad or anything (that may have just been my natural paranoia at work, all this time). He started by asking me: how are you doing in your battle with your weight? He then moved on to some advice. It felt good, that someone would just assume I'm actively fighting it, not just passively growing my ass to record size.

According to my bathroom scale, I weighed 360 pounds on January 9, 2007. It's hard to be sure, since the scale's only designed to be accurate to 300 pounds. Since then, by cutting down on the fast food (french fries are the Devil. The Devil I say!), and spending about 30 minutes on the elliptical machine no less than three times a week, I've managed to lose three pounds a week. This was all before I saw the doctor.

After my little trip to the urgent-care, I crunched some numbers. If I average a loss of 3 pounds a week, after a year (52 weeks), I'll have lost 156 pounds. That means, by January 2008, I'll weigh right around 204 pounds. Until just that moment, I never believed that 204 was possible for me. I felt good, really good, for the first time in a long time. I'd finally noticed that light at the end of the tunnel. I'm finally ready to do this.

So, here's how this is going to work:
Once a week, on Tuesday mornings, I'm going to weigh myself and post it here, along with my weight from last week. That way, we can immediately see how I've done. I'll also post a picture, so there's a visual record of my progress. Heck, I'll even go as far as back-loading my weights from the past few weeks.

As I find articles and advice, I'll either post them, or add them to the links section in the sidebar. Can't say I'll personally implement all the advice, but it's good to know it's there.

My goal is not to lose 156 pounds in a year. It's to lose 3 pounds this week.

I don't know if there's anyone out there, and I don't particularly care at this point. If you're reading, and want to chime in, you're welcome to. I ask only that you keep things on a positive note. I've tried negative reinforcement for years, and I can tell you this much: it don't work.