Week 29

Previous Weight: 257 lbs
Current Weight: 254 lbs
Change: 3 lbs lost
Total: 106 lbs lost

Don't really have anything to say this week.

Week 28

Previous Weight: 259 lbs
Current Weight: 257 lbs
Change: 2 lbs lost
Total: 103 lbs lost

Lessons learned from this weekend's Tour de Vail/Buffalo Lake Days:

• Owning a bottle of sunblock doesn't do you much good if you leave it on the bathroom counter when you go away for the weekend.
• If you know, two months beforehand, that you're going to be required to walk 3 miles at once, go ahead and get some comfortable tennis shoes.
• Bright red skin really screws up the color balance in a picture.

I know these both seem obvious, but people forget. Okay, I forgot. At least I've got my annual sunburn out of the way. Now I can stay inside for the next 11 1/2 months.

Week 27

Previous Weight: 263 lbs
Current Weight: 259 lbs
Change: 4 lbs lost
Total: 101 lbs lost

So yeah... there you are. I'm pretty excited about this week's total, but I've also had a few days to get used to the idea. We took my measurements at the gym on Thursday, and I was down 99 1/2 lbs total. Close, but not quite there yet. I figured I'd break through this week. It spoiled the surprise a little, but I guess I'll have to live with that :-)

Week 26

Previous Weight: 269 lbs
Current Weight: 263 lbs
Change: 6 lbs lost
Total: 97 lbs lost

Holy Crap!

Week 25

Previous Weight: 272 lbs
Current Weight: 269 lbs
Change: 3 lbs lost
Total: 91 lbs lost

Awesome! Closing in on Triple Digits... We'll be there before we know it.

Any doubts I may have had over the past few weeks? Yeah, that last comparison pretty much took care of them. It helps, psychologically, to see the changes side-by-side like that.

Just for Kicks...

Let's do another comparison:

Sweet zombie Jesus, that doesn't even look like the same person. Six months removed, and even I can't believe I looked at that in the mirror every day and decided not to do anything about it.

Week 24

Previous Weight: 274 lbs
Current Weight: 272 lbs
Change: 2 lbs lost
Total: 88 lbs lost

Another 2 pounds gone this week. Must remain positive. This is still a loss, and that's exactly what counts. I've been spoiled by 4- and 5-pound weeks, I just need to get used to what I'm supposed to be losing each week. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm closing in on triple-digits, and I really, really want to get there.

Oh! And smaller clothes again this week: size XL t-shirt, 44"-waist on the shorts, I even went down a shoe size (though I'm not wearing them in the picture). So, that helps things.

Menu

Folks were asking about my diet the other day, so I decided to put my typical menu out here for y'all to see. Now, I don't adhere perfectly to this, but it's what I eat, if I'm being "good". As you can see, there isn't really anything bizarre on the list.

A few of bits of advice, if you're trying to diet yourself:

1. The biggest thing is portion control. If you pay attention to the recommended serving size, there isn't much you can't eat.
   
2. Get yourself a food scale. It doesn't have to be fancy, or special or anything. I picked one up in the Kitchen section of Wal-Mart for about seven bucks.
   
3. 8 fluid ounces equals 1 cup. Take a 12-ounce glass, and put marks on it (I used a Sharpie) at the 1/2-cup and 1-cup levels. Then, just fill to the appropriate line, or all the way for 1 1/2 cups.
   
4. If you're ever unsure about how much a portion is in "human" terms (for example, if they list everything in grams), Google is your best friend. Just search for grams to ounces gives you the answer in no time. It works for just about any unit conversion you can think of.
   
5. Calorie-Count.com is your other best friend. It gives you nutrition information for just about any food you can throw at it, even some restaurant items.
   
6. Don't be afraid to substitute. If you're out of bananas at breakfast time, go ahead and have an apple instead. I've even played around with my portions here over the past few months - having 1 cup of milk and a whole apple at lunch, instead of 1 1/2 cups of milk and 1/2 apple, for instance.
   
7. Single-serving packages! You're going to get tired of this stuff at one point or another. I was ecstatic the day I discovered they make microwavable, single-serving Hamburger Helper now. Only about 200 calories, depending on which kind you get. Add a glass of milk, and you've got yourself a decent evening-snack substitute.

Wow... OK, that's more than a "few" things. I'll shut up now, and give you the menu:
7:15 AM - 453 cal

• Milk, Skim (1 cup)
• Post® Grape-Nuts Trail Mix Crunch (1/2 cup)
• Egg, Large
• Banana, Medium
  

10:00 AM - 270 cal

• Flour Tortilla, 6"
• Lo-Fat Mozzarella Cheese (1/4 cup)
• Apple Juice (1/2 cup)
• Orange, Medium
  

1:00 PM - 437 cal

• Wheat Bread (2 slice)
• Miracle Whip® - Light (1 tbsp)
• Tuna, Drained (2 oz, about 1/2 can)
• Apple, Medium
• Milk, Skim (1 cup)
• Orange Juice (1/2 cup)
  

5:00 PM - 345 cal

• Wheat Bread (2 slices)
• Miracle Whip® - Light (1 tbsp)
• Turkey, White Roasted (3 oz)
• Baby Carrots (3 oz, about 10 carrots)
• Milk, Skim (1 cup)
  

8:00 PM - 310 cal

• Wheat Bread (2 slice)
• Miracle Whip® - Light (1 tbsp)
• Ham (3 oz)
• Milk, Skim (1 cup)
  

1815 Total Calories

Week 23

Previous Weight: 278 lbs
Current Weight: 274 lbs
Change: 4 lbs lost
Total: 86 lbs lost

Okay... getting back on track this week. It's odd. I don't think I did anything different between the past few weeks. Same general eating habits, same general workout (actually started stepping it up a little). But obviously there was something different.

Guess I'll file it under Stuff Just Happens.

Week 22

Previous Weight: 280 lbs
Current Weight: 278 lbs
Change: 2 lbs lost
Total: 82 lbs lost

Still a loss this week, just not as much. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up the 5-lbs-a-week streak forever. Fortunately, we were already going to change things up a bit this week anyway. So I really just have to do what we were already going to do. Ahhhh....fatalism