alright....gonna try this

M

mikey6345

New member
Well I have been inspired by a number of the diaries I have read here so I thought I should start one in case it ends up inspiring someone.

I am a 6'2" male in early 40s. I used to be quite fit and even raced bicycles 5 years ago at around 218 pounds.

Started getting lazy and eating/drinking too much. Right after this past Christmas I clocked in at 254 pounds. Yikes.

I had already been working out a good deal last summer (back on the bike) but wasn't doing much on the diet front. I started tracking every calorie via FitDay on 12-28. This has really been a key thing for me. Also getting back to a more regular fitness routine helps too. Bundled up in all my warm cycling gear yesterday in the 35 degree weather and rode 20 miles at a pretty good clip (15mph). Been getting 3 rides and 2 treadmill days in a week. Also started with some weight lifting this past week and will try to expand on that aspect.

My weigh-in at the gym last Friday has me down 9 pounds to 245 in about one month. My original goal was to drop 20 pounds by the end of March and then reset my goal. Looks like I might be able to come in sooner than that. I would like to ultimately get back down to around 215 (who knows...maybe race again).

Tracking calories and cutting out beer for the most part has really been the key for me. I was drinking 2-3 beers a night. Not a ton really, but they were heavy Belgian ales (yum) with probably 200-250 calories each. That is a TON of empty calories. Now having 2 or 3 on the weekend in total.

Best of luck to everyone out there in your goals. I will try to keep this updated.

Mikey
 
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Hmmm....I weighed again yesterday and was down another 2 pounds for a total loss of 11 in just over one month. I guess 2 pounds in just a few days is plausible but it may be some fluctuation. It is the right direction anyway so I am happy about that.

Off for a 20 mile bike ride.

Mike
 
I weighed again on Friday at the gym and still hanging at 243 for a total loss to date of 11 pounds. I just got back from 18 mile bike ride though so feelin' good about today. I ate a little too much the last 2 days but was still below the hold steady level on Fit Day so at least that was good. I think I am gonna try to stay away from the scale at least until Friday this week.

Another real positive....My BP today was 117/72. Last month it was 140/90 and I was keeping an eye on it per docs orders. He will be happy with this result!

Mike
 
well congrats on the 11 pounds! :)
you seem motivated...keep up the good work... and wow 18 and 20 mile bike rides! thats deadly! and glad to hear bout ur BP dropping! :D

good luck :D
 
Thanks for the support! I really appreciate it.

Off to the gym this afternoon. Got to work off Superbowl Sunday!
 
Just got back from the gym. Ran 2.5 miles on treadmill at 11 minute/mile pace and walked another mile. Felt great and also did some moderate weight lifting.

The bummer of the day was the scale! It showed 245 for a 2 pound gain from a week ago. Seems like I have been bouncing between 243-245 for 2 weeks now. I don't know if this is some kind of plateau or if it is just some standard weight fluctuation. I have been tracking every calorie in FitDay and I feel like I have been pretty darn accurate (even weighing food on a scale). It doesn't seem possible for me to have gained 2 pounds based on my FitDay entries.

I am not gonna get upset but my goal of 20 pounds off by the end of March is getting kind of tight now. I thought I would reach it easily about a month ago. I am just going to keep tracking calories and working out!

Mikey
 
I logged another 3.5 mile treadmill workout yesterday with 2.5 miles run at 11 minutes per mile. The rest was a fast walk.

Scale was back down to 242. For 12 pounds lost since 12-28. WooHoo. I guess I am just seeing a bunch of fluctuation in the scale but the trend is still going the right direction so that is good.

Hopefully the weather will be warm enough to get out on the bike this weekend and keep the progress going!

Mikey
 
Remember, muscle weighs more than fat, so all that running is building you up in the right direction! Plateaus can be so discouraging! Don't lose the faith! :hurray:
 
Still holding at 12 pounds lost but I guess that is OK for now. I was actually pretty happy with the scale this week as I was out of town for 4 days during the past week and didn't eat as well as I have been. tough to track calories out on the road. Ran another 5k on the treadmill today and felt pretty strong. Starting to ramp up the speed a bit with a few intervals at 8:45/mile.

We are gonna buy a juicer for the house so I am hoping that adding some fruit/veggie juices might help with the diet.

Mikey
 
Update....Well I am still getting a lot of excercise in as of late but the wet weather has kept me off the bike. I have been doing mostly treadmill work. Running basically a 5k three times per week with another mile of walking on top of that each time for a total of 4.1 miles per treadmill session. Generally the running is between 10-11 minute pace.

Even ran a 3.75 mile run outside on Saturday at around 10 minute/mile or less pace.

I got another 3 mile run in on Monday and a 13 mile bike ride on Tuesday. Wind was blowing pretty hard so even thought 13 is shorter than I like to go it was a pretty hard effort.

The big bummer here is the scale still showing 242 as of Monday this week. I seem to have been at this weight for 4 weeks now. It is starting to get frustrating. I feel like I am pretty accurate on my FitDay input (I do it everyday) and the scale should be moving.

We just got a juicer and I am having an 8oz glass of apple, carrot, celery juice or apple, beets, carrots, and kale juice every day. Seems to hold the appetite down and I know I am getting way more vitamins than I was before. I have reduced my calorie target for a couple of days to see if I can kick start the weight loss again. The pounds melted off for 30 days and then just seemed to stop cold!
 
Finally saw some progress on the scale! Dropped 2 pounds since last weigh in!

That makes 14 pounds since December 28 so not too bad. My goal was 20 pounds by March 27. I am not gonna make that, but if I can get another pound down this week a 15 pound loss is not a bad effort.

I have been getting a lot of exercise in and also lowered the daily calories a bit. That seemed to move me off the plateau I was on. Ran a 5k on the treadmill yesterday (10 minute per mile pace) and rode 18 miles on the bike on Thursday. Daylight savings and hopefully warmer weather should help on getting out on the bike.

On the 27th I plan on resetting my goal. Dont know what it will be yet. Perhaps 10 pounds more gone by June 1st.

Mikey
 
Goal date Today.

Well my goal was 20 pounds of weight loss by March 27th this year from 12/28/09. Went to the gym and weighed in today at 16 pounds down from 254 to 238! I didn't hit the goal but got pretty close.

Lots of positives like clothes fitting better and lower blood pressure. I also have a lot more energy from all the exercise. Ran another 5k on the treadmill today (about a 10:30 minute per mile pace). I am now logging about 10 miles a week of running, and a day or 2 of biking 15-20 miles. hopefully the summer weather will help keep me doing this.

I am setting a new goal of another 10 pounds of weight going bye bye by June 5th. That is a reasonable 1 pound per week target.

Wish me luck!

Mikey
 
I weighed in again at the gym yesterday and posted another 2 pounds of lost weight! woohoo! That is 18 pounds. I have a belt that is going to be too big to wear soon. I am on the last notch. :hurray:

Ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill too. I am finding that I am not really feeling hungry anymore given my smaller food intake. That aspect has gotten a lot easier over time. I am pretty sure I could restrict a little more for quicker weight loss, but since what I am doing seems to be working well I think I am gonna stick with it for now.

Mikey
 
Another weigh-in yesterday and am down again from my last check in. I hit the 20 pounds lost level!

My original goal was 20 pounds on March 27th so I am almost a month behind but that is OK. Still heading in the right direction. Five more pounds will get me below 230. I probably haven't been there in four years.

Ran 3 miles at 10 minute mile pace yesterday and rode 19 miles on the bike on Monday so the positive workouts keep going.

Mikey
 
Well it has been a while since I checked in on this diary but the progress is still continuing. Despite a lot of big meals over the past few weeks I still dropped 1.5 pounds from my last check in on this site. Down to 232.5 now from 254 at the end of December.

Seems like the key for me is to limit the big meals and simply get right back into managing calories the very next day as well as continuing a consistent excercise routine.

Cant wait to see sub 230! Probably has been 4 years since I was there.

Mikey
 
Well I am holding steady at 233 for the last 2 weeks but that is still 21 pounds down from the start of the year. My second goal for the year was to be at 228 on June 5th. Looks like i am not going to get there but I got real close. Lots of people have been commenting about my weight loss lately so that feels good.

When I get to June 5th I will weigh again and reset my goal. Seems like the weight loss has slowed down but I know I have not been quite as strict on the diet. The month of May was pretty tough with a lot of social activites, parties and cookouts that made it kind of hard to count calories every day. I actually think that will get easier over the summer.

Mikey
 
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