Unmet Expectations

I know I didn’t post last week. I was planning to, but I didn’t have much to say (shocker, I know). So I guess tonight we can talk about the past two weeks. My expectations for week two were missed. In my past weight loss attempts, I’d have a pretty big drop week one, followed by a medium drop week two. It was usually an eight to ten pound drop followed immediately by a four to six pound drop in week two. This time, I dropped nine pounds the first week and then not even a pound for week two. There was a brief moment that I was discouraged by this. But I reminded myself that I had eaten right and worked out hard all week. If I didn’t lose more weight, it would be ok. I had made healthy decisions and stuck to them.

It would have been very easy to get stuck being upset that my expectations weren’t met. But I have started to focus more on making goals and creating plans to meet those goals. If the expectations aren’t met, but I’ve followed the plan, it isn’t failure. It just means my work produced a different outcome. 

So, let’s talk about week three. I made sure to follow my plan. At least four days in the gym (I had to adjust because I had a bug a couple mornings), eat at 100-130 grams of protein per day (this is tough), and eat at a calorie deficit. The last part of my plan is to walk 6,000-10,000 steps per day. That just isn’t happening yet. But I’ll get there. I weighed again this morning and came in at 340.6 lbs. That’s exactly three pounds less that last week! Bringing my total amount lost to 12.8 lbs! I hope to drop one to two pounds a week from here out. So, even if I have more weeks that don’t meet my expectations, as long as I keep putting the hard work in, I’ll eventually hit my goal of re-losing my butter half. 

It’s Been… One Week Since You Looked at Me

I can’t believe I’ve already hit the one week mark on my restart.

I really wasn’t sure how this week would go. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. I hit the gym multiple days and stayed under calories each day. A few days it was even hard to get enough calories. I know that will change some as I drop weight, but I’m really excited about this past week. 

When you’ve accomplished something like I did seven years ago, it is insanely tough to have to restart it all again. I don’t know how many times in those blog posts I talked about it being “for good.”  Having wasted all that hard work is a real mind job. It’s emotionally, mentally, and physically tough to think about the progress I made, and where I am now. Still, I’m excited to be restarting and to have the accountability of both my brother and a good friend/workout buddy. Also, my best friend, and partner in crime, my beautiful wife is helping and encouraging me along the way. 

I’m not sure if I said where started last week or not. I had crept back up to 353.4 lbs!  I had been working out a lot this past year, but had just been out-eating my workouts. So I do believe there was more muscle to that weight than there was 8 years ago, but still… it is way too heavy. So after my first week I am happy to report that I am down to 343.8 lbs! That’s a 9.6 lb drop this past week. Now I know that is the typical “first week drop” that happens, but it was still very encouraging. I’ll probably drop 4-6 lbs. this next week, and then it should taper down to 2 lbs. per week. 

Anyway, if anyone is reading this, I appreciate your time and the accountability you provide. Here’s to another great week of re-losing my butter half!

Guess Who’s Back?

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been almost six years since my last entry. There is quite a bit I could fill you in on. In that time our family has increased by 33%. I’ve swapped companies. We’ve moved to a different home. And I’ve completely let my health go.

It’s been very frustrating. I mean the whole point of this blog was for the accountability I needed to lose the weight and keep it off. I find myself getting close to the weight I was when I first started nearly seven years ago. I have been strength training for about a year now, but I didn’t change my eating habits. So now I’m stronger, but also heavier than I was when I first started lifting. Thankfully, I have a great group of guys to keep me going there. So it’s on to the hard part. Building the habits that I had six years ago. Changing my environments, gaining self-control, and working hard towards my goals  

So today I’m starting over again. This time I have help from my brother who started with me today. I have accountability from one of my pastors and workout partners. And I want that third element back. I want to have all of you out there. I know there are others like me who have lost weight and put it back on. Maybe I can encourage you to join me as I’m going to try again to lose my butter half.