Day Two Hundred and Forty-Two - April in Review

The month of April has been really great.  I was able to get back to my morning workout routine which is critical for me.  Also, I did not miss a single day of exercising.  I don't know if I have done that in any of my prior months.  I lost nine pounds this month.  I'm seeing some major differences in my body.  I think a lot of that is attributed to my workout routine.  I added planks this past month (which are killer!) and I'm going to be adding pushups in just a few more weeks.  I realized that I can wear a whole wardrobe of old clothes (I like a lot of these clothes, so that is pretty cool) which will save me a ton of money.  One of the best things was celebrating a milestone birthday with my beautiful bride.

Probably one of the most noticeable things for me has been some muscle tone in my stomach and chest.  I am assuming this is a result of my crunches and planks.  Don't get me wrong, there is still quite a good amount of fat that I am working to lose.  I am simply starting to see some shape that isn't just round.  There is also a lot of loose skin.  I am excited to see how that changes through the summer.  My energy level keeps improving as well.  I'm able to stand for longer amounts of time.  Outside of the normal waking up hearing my kids at night (or from all the storms we've been having), I am sleeping much better these days.  My range of motion continues to improve which is amazing.  All in all, I would say that April was a big win for me.  May starts tomorrow, and I'm going to keep losing my butter half.

I did really good with my calorie intake today.  I had a few more calories than I planned, but I had salad twice today!  My workout this morning was hard, but I made it through.  I am only about two and a half weeks away from adding pushups to the routine.  I think I'll see a lot of changes at that point.

Day Two Hundred and Forty-One - Don't Let Life's Circumstances Determine Your Reactions

I had a very interesting day.  My first thought was to vent on here to all of you, but that isn't what I need to do.  So instead I want to say that though my initial experience at Apple was less than perfect, the service I received from Luke at the Genius Bar was stellar.  He did everything he could to fix my Apple TV, and when he was left with no option (other than replacing it for $110) he sought his manager to see if he could help.  The device was just out of warranty and the manager graciously gave me a replacement for 50% off!  The manager thanked me for being kind and calm, and told me that was why he was going out of his way to help me.  You see, there is truth that "a kind word turns away wrath."  I could have tried to bully my way in and caused a scene.  I could have thrown a fit about how I'd been treated wrong when I got there.  Still, even with those things, I knew that my device was out of warranty, and I didn't have any right to ask for a replacement or discount.  In fact, I just wanted them to repair my device (which apparently they don't fix them anymore, just replace).  So if you are in Little Rock and need help with your Apple device, just stop by the Apple store on Chenal and let Luke look at it.  He really does a fantastic job.

I have been trying to think through how I can connect this with my weight loss journey.  The main thing is that life doesn't always go as expected.  That doesn't mean we change or give up what we are working on or towards.  We don't let life's circumstances decide what our reaction will be.  Normally on a day like today I would eat my feelings.  I would use a frustrating situation as an excuse to binge.  My frustration would bottle, and then I would go through a drive-thru and eat two to three thousand calories (Popeye's, Chick-fil-A, and Zaxby's were the go-to).  Even on my way home today, I told Bekah I wanted to stop and eat.  Things are so much different now.  Even though the thought entered my mind, I knew immediately that it wasn't an option.  I'm grateful for the changes I have made and new habits I've created.  It's helping me lose my butter half.

My calories today were great.  We had some frozen pizza from Kroger which was really good.  I had two and a half pieces and some strawberries.  I missed my workout this morning.  My morning workouts have been so habitual, that when I missed working out early today, I completely forgot to work out until this evening.  I'm glad I remembered it.  It was a great workout!

Day Two Hundred and Forty - Health is More than a Number on a Scale

So I'm determined to have a better week this week.  I really want to make sure and keep my pace going of at least two pounds per week.  I know this isn't going to be easy, but I know it will be beneficial for my progress.  Today didn't make this process any easier.  It was one of those days where you do tons of work, but at the end of the day you stop and realize there is nothing to show for your work.  In other words, I hardly made any sales today, but I worked on policies from early morning until I left this evening.  I guess the takeaway is that I can have the satisfaction of working hard, even if there are not tangible results to claim.

Sometimes weight loss is like that.  You work each and every day to meet your goal, but when you step on the scale, there just aren't the results you were expecting.  Don't lose hope.  You may not see it in the numbers, but if you are making wise choices with your diet and exercise, then you are making progress.  It may be something that you notice in the mirror.  You may notice your face is narrower or that your arms don't jiggle as much.  Maybe the evidence is that your spouse can suddenly reach all the way around you when giving you a hug (like Bekah mentions to me).  It may be in the size of your clothes.  You may need to buy a smaller size, or be able to wear clothes you haven't worn in a long time.  Regardless of what your evidence is, don't give in to frustration because the numbers on the scale aren't where you want them to be.  They will get there.  I know from experience.  I still have a long way to go, but I'm seeing evidence of my success all around.  I'm losing my butter half.

My calorie intake today was within my goal, but I did overdo it on my snack a little bit.  I capped off my day with a little bit of popcorn and a Reese's egg (frozen, which make them even better).  My workout today was great!  I even added the extra time on my individual arm planks.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Nine - Weigh in #34 - Learning to Practice Patience

There are some days that I wish the end of this journey was already here.  I don't mean that in a "I want to go back to eating like a pig" type of way.  We already established a few days ago (read here) that this isn't just a one year deal.  I'm planning to keep this up for the rest of my life.  Instead, I feel that I am getting a little weary with the journey itself.  In other words, I'm growing impatient.  I want to wake up and see the 200 on my scale.  I know, I know.  We are told that "good things come to those who wait," and that "patience is a virtue."  I'm not arguing with that at all.  I will continue to learn to practice patience.  I know that changes like this take time.  I'll push past this and I know God will give me grace to be patient.  I'll put my head back down, push through this, and fight for my final goal.  I'll finish this journey no matter how long it takes.

Today is a weigh in day.  I made the long walk from my bed to my scale this morning.  I really didn't know what to expect.  Part of me thought I was going to be up a few pounds.  I don't know why I was thinking that, because I didn't have a bad week.  I knew I hadn't lost another three pounds like last week.  I was hoping for two more to keep with my goal of two pounds per week.  Unfortunately, I didn't hit that goal.  However, I did lose another 1.2 lbs.  This brings my total weight loss to 111.2 lbs., with a current weight of 255 lbs. even.  I'm not upset about it.  I am grateful for the loss.  I can't say I'm not a little disappointed, but I am happy to still be heading in the right direction.  Hopefully I can stay a little more focused over the weekend.  This way I will have a full week of following the processes I have in place.  I'm not worried, I'm still losing my butter half.

My calories today were good.  I did have more chips with my taco salad tonight than I needed, but I stayed within my calorie goal.  My workout this morning went really well, but I forgot to extend the time on my right and left arm planks.  I'll try it in the morning.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Eight - A Contagious Grin That Can Brighten Any Room

We all have reasons for why we want to lose weight.  For some it may be to look better. It may be for health reasons.  For others it can be just to improve the quality of life.  Maybe there is something someone has always wanted to do, but their weight is holding them back.  There are those out there that are losing simply to stay alive. Whatever the reason, for most of us there was something that caused the change.  Usually it's an event, a conversation, a health issue, a mandate from a doctor, or even a family member's request. For me, my reasons are a culmination of all of those and more.  It seems as though I am reminded each day of a different reason I am on this journey.  Tonight I was rocking my precious one year old to sleep, and all I could think about is wanting to be here to rock his kids to sleep.  He is such an amazing child.  His grin and the sparkle in his eyes are contagious and can brighten any room.  My hope is that I can be here for him to protect that joy and raise him to share it with others.  He is on the forefront of my mind as I'm writing this, so tonight it is for him that I am losing my butter half.

My calorie intake today has been really great.  I didn't drink the amount of water I need to be drinking, so I'll have to be more disciplined in that tomorrow.  I had a great workout this morning, and was very excited that Bekah got up and did a short workout along side me!

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Seven - Recognizing and Fighting Off Old Habits

It was a slow day today.  I'm not sure what it's like for you, but when you have a day that isn't busy, the day can seem to drag on.  I had plenty to do, just seemed like it was tedious.  It didn't help that I didn't get enough sleep and I was tired all day.  To top that off, my Apple TV decided it was an appropriate night to bite the dust.  It's a couple months out of warranty, so I doubt Apple will do anything.  Still, I think I'll take it by the store this week, just to make sure it isn't an easy fix.  Here is why I mention the Apple TV.  I get frustrated when things break or don't work right.  In the past, when I couldn't fix something, I would usually take my frustration out on a bag of chips or popcorn.  Tonight, when I couldn't figure out why the Apple TV stopped working, I found myself right back in that same situation.  I was in the kitchen, and trying to think through what was wrong with it.  I didn't even realize I was eating Cheez-its.  Thankfully, I realized it about half a serving in, and then recognized why.  I put them away before I completely blew my calories up for the day.  It's amazing how quickly we can fall back into old habits without even realizing it.  I'm still learning to recognize and fight bad habits, and I'm losing my butter half.

I almost overdid it tonight with my calorie intake.  Thankfully I recognized what was going on before I overdid it.  My workout this morning was great.  I have a weigh in coming up.  Time to lock in my focus!

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Six - This isn't Just a One Year Thing... It Really is a Whole Life Change!

Mondays are kind of a realization for me that I have to get down to business.  I know I'm not pigging out or binging like I used to, but I'm not being as strict every day as I am Monday through Wednesday.  I know that if I am going to continue this success, I have to become more consistent.  I know that I want to continue to lose and I have a specific weight I want to weigh on September first.  I am not sure I'll be able to hit that goal if I don't get a little better over the weekends.

One thing I have started to realize is that when I am finished, when I reach my final goal, life can't go back to how it was before.  I'll find myself thinking about what I'll get to enjoy when this year is over.  Yes, I do enjoy pizza, hot wings, and french fries, but that doesn't mean that I can just go right back to eating them whenever I want (or in the amounts that I used to eat them in).  It also doesn't mean that I can just up and stop working out.  I'll have to continue what I've started.  This is not a one year and then back to life as it used to be.  This is a life-long change.  I realized that I will still be counting calories for years to come.  I'll still be exercising.  Those two adorable faces up above need me when they are having kiddos of their own.  So even though I won't be blogging anymore, these changes won't end.  I see this year as a kick starter for the rest of my life.  I'm still just getting started, and I'm losing my butter half.

My calorie intake today was great.  I was really happy that my calories for snacks (while not the best choices) were a lot lower than they have been.  Bekah made an amazing turkey Sloppy Joe recipe and homemade wheat buns for dinner with roasted vegetables.  It was really delicious!  My workout this morning was tough.  I am still very glad to have transitioned to the 6AM workouts.