Goal Update

Whoops - I meant to write something up as a follow-up to the Mini-Goal I set for March 28th.  My apologies for missing that mark; I was also supposed to set a new stretch goal for May 4th.

Mini-Goal Results

As of March 12, I weighed 258.4 pounds and my goal was to reach 245.5 pounds by March 28 (5% body weight loss).  This was close to the original number I wanted to reach by March 5th.
Actual Weight March 28th: 250.8
Difference: 7.6 lbs (3%)

Holy cow, I missed my goal by 2%!  I could write a book about The Extra 2%...oh, wait a minute...

Updated Goal: May 4th

I never truly set a weight loss goal on Monday March 31st, which was what I was supposed to do.  Let's set one retro-actively - I think that's still fair, considering my current progress (more on that in a bit).
Weight as of end of day March 31: 251.9 lbs
Goal weight, end of day May 4th: 219.6 lbs
Weight Loss Goal: 12.8% (32.2 lbs)

What I did to get that number, actually, was to take my weight on March 12 (258.4) and reduce it by 15% (which is the 219.6 number).  So in total, I'd like to have lost 38.8 pounds.

The reason why I think it's fair to set this goal retro-actively is because my progress of late has not been great.  As of Sunday, I finished the week at 249.2 pounds - but as of last night, I was back up to 250.2.  This is not a coincidence, or hitting a wall; quite simply, Vanessa and I haven't been able to get out and be active as much as we would like.

No excuses or anything, but that's just the reason why progress has stagnated.  There are a few external reasons, but to be perfectly honest, we should be able to overcome these and get our butts to the gym.  That's not our reality though, so I'm OK with this "lack" of progress (though I should point out that we're not putting weight back ON, so this is still GOOD).

Obviously, we need to get back into our good habits that had some really positive results.  In short, that was going to the gym 3-4 times a week (our goal is 4) and eating well.  We haven't really changed our eating habits, so we only have one place to look.

We have to do more than just say we'll get back to the habits - here are some things that I hope will work for us, and maybe someone else might find them useful.

• Assigning a weekly value to our gym visits; we have a weekly goal of a minimum of 4 visits per week, so based on what we're paying for our gym membership, we can assign a cost per visit.  Any fewer visits than that and the cost per visit jumps, making the investment incredibly bad.  At 4 visits, the cost per visit is pretty reasonable right now - so from a financial point of view, it makes sense to keep going!
• I recently borrowed Fit To Curl by John Morris from the library.  The curling season is officially over for me, but I intend on starting up again in October.  I'd like to improve my fitness level specifically for the sport, which is what the book is designed to do.  But I feel that a lot of the exercises and stretches will help for the upcoming softball season, so I should see some benefits there too.  In short, a focused training program will help get us out to the gym and doing something other than bike/weights/stretch/go home.

Obviously there will be some audibles called during the summer - I'm willing to flip some outdoor activity for a visit to the gym, for instance - where working out will not be ideal.  We'll just have to deal with those circumstances when we get there.

Mini Goal

I forgot to write on Monday about my next goal.  I should say, "our" goal, because Vanessa and I are going for the same date (just different numbers).

So just a quick update...Monday I started out with an average weight of 258.4 pounds.  Vanessa and I are going to try to lose as much as we can by March 28th, the Friday of her birthday weekend.  While "as much as we can" is nice, it's nicer to have a concrete goal...so I'm aiming for 5% weight loss, which would put me in at 245.5 pounds - pretty much the original number I wanted to hit on my birthday.

I'm going to have to crunch some numbers to figure out the next goal after that, but the next goal takes us to May 5th, so there's opportunity to lose more than 5%.

Day 119

I started this weight loss plan (to lose 30 pounds by the time I turn 30) November 8th.  The goal was to drop from 275.2 pounds to 245.2 pounds by March 5, 2014.  Officially, the last date of this personal challenge was yesterday - Thursday March 6, because my daily weigh-in schedule was on a Friday-Thursday week.  So how did I do?  Prepare yourself for some numbers.

But first...a little background on how I went through this challenge and gathered information.  I read that the best way to get an accurate progress report of your weight loss is to weigh yourself three times a day, and take the average.  For best results, these times should be consistent.  Because I only had time and access for two weigh-ins, I ditched the third and have done a decent job of weighing in at the same time each day.  Armed with those daily numbers, I measured my progress based on my 7-day average weight.

I also participated in a free health clinic offered by my employer.  I was given a CANRISK (your risk of developing diabetes) of 28, which is moderate.  They measured my waist circumference, as well as my body fat %.  I won't bore you with all the numbers - they're a few posts back.

But, my BMI back in November was 39.2.  Today, it's 36.6.  My score is still 28 - but I feel like that's partly to do with my waist measurements not changing (which I don't get - everybody says that they can see I've lost weight, but I don't know where they see it if my waist is the same).  Either way?  Reducing my BMI is really good.

On Friday November 8, 2013, I weighed 272.4 pounds in the morning and 278.0 pounds in the evening for an average of 275.2 pounds.  On March 5, 2014, I weighed 257.2 pounds in the morning, 260.4 pounds at night, for an average of 258.8 pounds.  That's a total loss of 16.4 pounds by the 30-years-old mark.  Just over halfway to my actual goal.  Considering that's better than losing 0 pounds or GAINING weight, I'm happy with that number.

As of Thursday March 6, 2014, I weighed 258.0 in the morning, 261.6 in the evening, for an average of 259.8.  The total loss from November 8th is 17 pounds.  That also gives me a 7-day average of 258.1 - which is still a 16 pound loss over 119 days.


I'm not nearly done yet, either.  I'm taking a bit of a weekend break from tracking everything so I can re-start on a new Mon-Sun schedule, but the new goal is to lose even more weight.  I haven't determined the exact amount yet, so I'll report back on Monday.

Numbers Update

I shouldn't be writing this after entering the numbers I just did, but I need a kick in the pants, really.

Starting weight:
275.2 lbs AVG (272.4 AM / 278.0 PM)

Last night's totals:
269.9 lbs AVG (267.4 AM / 272.4 PM)

And this morning:
270.4.

According to the average yesterday, the numbers are great - I've lost 5.3 pounds.  Even if you take this mornings weigh-in less the average weigh-in, it's still pretty good.  But compare this morning to the first morning weigh-in - that's only a 2 pound drop.

All I feel about this right now is disappointment with myself; the long and short of it is that I ate too much yesterday, and that's my own fault.  I was fine all weekend until I decided to snack.  I don't even view the two beers I had Saturday night as all that bad - it's the snacks I had Sunday afternoon that did me in.  We also had a big dinner, but it wouldn't have been all that bad had I not had so much to eat earlier.

This can and will be turned around, however.  Today might be a bit of a challenge - there's a lunch buffet in the plans at Pizza Hut - but I think I can restrain myself and still get a good meal.

30 by 30

My numbers as of 11/20/13

Do a Google search of things to do before you turn 30.  You will likely find several lists of things that you should accomplish in your life before you turn 30.  Vanessa and I have had conversations with friends recently about that specific number.  You may have guessed by now that I am turning 30 in just over 3 months (101 days, to be exact - thanks again, Google).

I've given some thought to what I'd like to accomplish in that time, but either I'm not the ambitious type or I'm just content not pushing the envelope.  Still, there is one thing that I'd like to do: lose 30lbs by the time I'm 30.  I made this goal about a week ago or so, but some of the numbers I got to the right got me thinking about it again.

While my numbers are OK - I'm high in the BMI & Body Fat %, and my blood pressure is a little high, but my cholesterol and glucose numbers are pretty good - they can be better.  I'm roughly 3 inches away from the "ideal" waist circumference for males.  Other than Body Fat % and BMI, I'm pretty close in the other numbers.

So far in my goal, I've lost 2.3 pounds.  When I calculated my goal last week, I estimated that I needed to lose roughly 2 pounds per week to meet this goal (30 pounds / 16 weeks).  So far, I'm behind that goal.  I've decided to look at a more attainable number - how many pounds do I need to lose per day?

With 101 days to go, I need to lose 27.7 pounds; that works out to 0.3 pounds per day (rounded up).  While that is 2.1 pounds over a week, in my mind it sounds a lot more do-able to drop 0.3 pounds every day.  I've learned that the best way to track weight loss is apparently to weigh yourself three times a day, and take the average number of those three.  I'm only able to weigh myself twice a day, so I'm taking the average from the morning when I wake up and just before I go to bed.

It's not a perfect system, but it's what I have.  In previous posts I've talked about what I'm doing to attain various writing goals.  Guess what?  I haven't spent 15 minutes every morning writing.  However, I am actively working toward this fitness goal.  It's something much more important to me than writing goals.  It also helps that I have a partner that is working toward similar goals, and we are motivating each other.  I can't say the same about my writing, at the moment.

Back to weight loss: so what are we doing?  We signed up for a gym membership; we're doing a 30-day plank challenge (this is pretty tough, but it's going to be worth it); we're eating right (or as well as we can without a nutritionist guiding us properly).  And what I'm doing now is keeping honest with my progress by sharing it here.

I'll check back in a month with some results - but until then, I'll get back to my "regular" writing.

Creative Spirit

Lately I've been thinking a lot about writing. It's all been sparked by a comment last week on a blog post I wrote last year about a "Short Story Writing Month". Strangely (or maybe not so strangely) the writing I've thought about hasn't been fiction - it's non fiction writing.

I've made the decision a long time ago that I'm not a fiction writer, and I'm okay with that. I've also come to terms with not being "popular" or we'll known; it's not a goal for me, and it's also a direct consequence of a lousy work ethic when it comes to writing.  Unfortunately, that same lousy work ethic means that I’m terrible at keeping up with something as simple as a blog.

I admire everyone out there who writes for a living (and for a hobby, too).  The people that write every day are doing something that I keep saying, “oh, I can do that, no problem!”.  I look at them and see a complete lack of fear - the fear of running out of things to write about, running out of opinions, coming off as boring.

But I also know that these people also experience that same fear.  They just bowl over that fear and they just. do. it.  No excuses, the job gets done.  Believe me, I’ve gone through all of the excuses: no time, no motivation, no ideas.  What has that got me?  A whole lot of nothing.

No time?  What kind of excuse is that?  I have plenty of time every day.  I wake up at 5:30AM, shower, and I’m usually done breakfast before 7, sometimes earlier.  Of course I have the time to spend as little as 15 minutes stringing words together.  What’s the hold-up here?  It’s that lousy work ethic again.

I even thought that I would spend 15 minutes a day listening to music for my podcast, and I haven’t done that.  I tend to put those together the day I intend to record, and the result is sometimes a not-so-well thought-out podcast.

You know, if you’re reading through this post so far you may come up with two deductions: 1) My thoughts are often scattered and not put together too well; and 2) I am a very lazy person with a terrible work ethic.

I’d say that part of both of those statements are true.  My thoughts are often scattered, though I tend to organize them better in some cases more than others.  I can have a terrible work ethic - when it comes to self-assigned duties.  I work very hard at my job, so sometimes I feel like being lazy when it comes to personal things.  I think that’s normal for most people, though.

Anyway, at this point I just wanted to write for the sake of writing.  I feel like I need to do some daily writing, so this is a good starting point - consider this day one.  I think I would like to spend 15 minutes a day working on a weekly blog post, so we’ll see how I manage with that.  I have a few ideas on the back burner so I could bring those to the forefront.

Here’s a challenge: how many idioms or mixed metaphors could I use in one blog post?

A Brief Review of A Storm of Swords

I haven't written in a long time, but George R. R. Martin's A Storm of Swords inspired me to at least write something short about it as a review.  No need to shield yourself from spoilers - I'm not going into specifics with this review, but you'll get more out of it if you've read the novel.

I came into this novel after enjoying the first three seasons of HBO's Game of Thrones.  I read A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings, and felt generally underwhelmed with GRRM's writing.  The plot was great, but the execution involved a lot of eating.

However, there seemed to have been a switch when it came to "ASoS", as fans seem to enjoy calling it.  The same great plotting is there, but the writing is dramatically improved.  I can't identify exactly what is better about this novel, but part of it is the characterization.  The characters definitely have more identity to them than before, so that helped my enjoyment level.

There are still moments where I'm left wanting more from him, but overall there was enough here to warrant a five-star rating.  I haven't started reading the other books (I need a break!), but I'd easily call this one the best.

As far as surprises go, there was only one plot point I knew going in (thanks to season 3 of the TV series); there were three others that caught me completely off-guard, and I was appropriately impressed.