TechWreck Diary

T

TechWreck

New member
I posted on weight loss forum for the first time last week in the newcomers section. I gave a bit of my story and ultimately pledged to make the changes necessary to lose the weight and keep it off. I posted last week at my heaviest weight ever, 272.8 pounds.

I started last week trying to adjust my eating habits and slowly work into an exercise routine. I bought a good treadmill the day I started my journey but it wasn't delivered until yesterday. So last week I worked out twice to a TaeBo DVD and boy was it difficult. I probably made it about 15 minutes into the 80 minute video before having to stop. It's a start though and that's certainly what I need right now. I began watching everything I ate and included lots of fruits and vegetables and lean meats into my meals. I also gave up soda/diet soda and alcoholic beverages, atleast until I can learn how to control my intake. I didn't cheat at all this past week.

So I'm proud to report that I'm down to 267.2 pounds, a 5.6 pound loss, after week 1. This week I'm going to try and continue my good eating habits and ramp up my exercise efforts. I walked briskly at a bit of an incline this morning for 30 minutes. I'm going to try and and continue working out in the mornings to give myself more energy throughout the day. I will update again at the start of next week and hopefully every week after that with steady weight loss numbers.
 
Hey!
That's awesome! Congratulations on you weight loss. It seems like you're doing all the right things so keep it up! :)
 
Well, since last week I was able to continue some good eating habits and ramp up my exercise a bit. The week before I worked out twice and this past week I was able to get 4 workouts in of about 30 minutes each. I'm walking briskly on my new treadmill at a slight incline. I'm trying to slowly work in some jogging into my routine. 1 of my workouts this past week was 30 minutes to the TaeBo video I bought. The only problem I'm having is actually getting up in the mornings before work to do my workouts. When I actually get up and do them I like it because it gives me more energy throughout the day, but I've been letting myself snooze a bit more lately and I'm having to walk after dinner instead. I treated myself a couple times this past weekend but I don't think I over did it. On Friday evening I made grilled fajitas but I only ate 3 of them and some spanish rice. In the past I would have eaten 4 or 5 and even finished my wife's plate so I'm getting better at controlling myself. On Saturday I went out for sushi for lunch. I ordered it with brown rice though and again ate much less than I would have in the past.

So I'm proud to report that I lost 2.4 pounds last week and I'm down 8 pounds total through 2 weeks, weighing in at 264.8. I know this a long journey for me so I'm aiming to lose 2-3 pounds per week until I reach my goal. This week my goal is to get 5 workouts in with slightly increased intensity and to continue eating well. This weekend will be my first real test. I have some family coming to stay with me over the weekend and they want to take me out for my 25th birthday. So wish me luck, I will need it this week. Until next time...
 
Keep up the good work Techwreck. Chipping away a little at a time will prove far more successful in the long run than trying to deprive yourself and struggle with temptations. You know this is all about a lifestyle change more than dieting. If you plan to continue on with your savings plan similar to mine, I am findin putting them money in an envelope at the end of the week, and then sealing it with the amount and my weight on it very useful. I find it motivates me to start anew, and to close the book on any choices that I regret from last week.
I will drop in from time to time to see how you are going.
Keep up the good work.:waving:
 
Well it's been a couple weeks since I've posted but the weight loss journey has been successful so far. My starting weight on January 4th was 272.8. At the end of January my weight was 258.8, a loss of 14 pounds in only 4 weeks! I don't expect to lose that much every month but my goal from the beginning has been a steady weight loss of 2-3 pounds per week and I think that I can achieve that by sticking to this long overdue lifestyle change. My goal for February is to lose 10 pounds and get below the 250 mark.

I watch my calories closely but I wouldn't say that I count them everyday. I eat the same breakfast and lunch almost everyday. For breakfast I have been eating 2 packets of low sugar instant oatmeal. I like to mix the maple and brown sugar flavor and apples and cinnamon flavor. I also drink a big glass of water to start my day. For lunch I have been eating a turkey sandwich with mustard on low cal wheat bread with pretzels, an apple, and a low sugar fat free pudding for dessert. I eat an orange for an afternoon snack. For dinner I have been doing fairly well, eating a lot of grilled chicken breasts and ground turkey with lots of vegetables. The biggest success I had during my first month though was when I went on a business trip for 4 days and could only eat out with my co-workers. In the past I would have treated a trip like this as a food vacation and completely gorged myself on the best tasting food and drinks. This time though I passed the test and found the healthiest thing on the menu at each restaurant and watched my portions. I ordered water or unsweetened tea instead of sugary drinks or alcohol. I wasn't able to workout during the week but I hit the treadmill hard over the weekend and lost over 3 pounds that week. I proved to myself on that trip that I am in control, not the food!

Thank you for your support Fade Away! Your motivation has helped me to keep an eye on the big picture, not just short term weight loss. For those of you who don't know, I started a little incentive game with myself where I pay myself $20 for every pound that I lose but I charge myself $10 every day that I don't workout. At the end of 2010 I will either take the money I have earned and buy something to reward myself for my hard work over the year or if I owe money I will donate it to a charity. I am trying to tell people I know about this plan to hold myself accountable at the end of the year. As for your idea Fade Away, that's a really fantastic idea, but I never keep much cash around so it would be hard for me. I do keep a detailed log though of my weight, the days I workout and for how long and how far, and how much money I have either earned or lost. In January I was able to earn $120 dollars so I hope to keep it going and maybe I'll be able to reward myself with something great at the end of the year.

Here's to a successful February!
 
So I've been on facebook for several years now and there are pictures in there of me over a long course of time. I probably hadn't checked my profile though in atleast 6 months so this morning I decided to jump in and see what I missed. I was curious to find pictures of what I used to look like to motivate myself. I am, or used to be I should say since I've changed now, I huge dieter then binger. Over a 6 month period my weight could amazingly fluctuate 40 or 50 pounds. When I put my mind to it I could lose that much weight in 5 or 6 months or if I lost control I could gain that much weight in 5 or 6 months. Looking through those facebook pictures this morning was a real testament to that fact. Every other picture was either a good picture of me around 200 pounds or a bad picture of me 40 or 50 pounds heavier. Now that I found myself at 273 6 weeks ago I can't even imagine what I must look like. I think instead of motivating me, looking at those pictures actually depressed me...but I'm not going to let that stop me this time. This time instead of getting to 200 pounds and getting complacent I'm going to get to 200 pounds and kick it into overdrive and finally reach my goal weight of 180 pounds.

This morning I weighed in at 255.2, a loss of 17.6 pounds so far in 5+ weeks. I've done this in the past though several times so I'm scared that i'll just regress again. I'm really trying to not only improve my physical state but also my mental state, which is the biggest challenge for me. I'm tired of putting in the hard work and then throwing it all away. My goal is 180 pounds by the end of the year, but I think I'll make it a goal to be 200 pounds by the end of July which has always been the weight I couldn't break. I want to spend the rest of 2010 challenging myself to finally complete something I set out to do instead of giving up.
 
Congratulations on the loss! I am on my journey as well and hope that we can continue successfully in the coming months!
 
Thank you for the support! Well week 5 of my journey (2 weeks ago) didn't produce the results I really wanted, only a 1 pound loss. I've been aiming for a 2-3 pound loss per week. I didn't let it discourage me though and I amped up my efforts in week 6. I tried to cut back on my portions some and do a little extra work on the treadmill. Well the results didn't disappoint, I lost 5.4 pounds! That's a total weight loss of 20.4 pounds through 6 weeks. I got my first compliment today too from a friend at work that is also trying to lose serious weight.

The thing I've been most proud of thus far is the ability I've shown to resist temptations. Before my journey I was drinking atleast 5 or 6 sodas per day (mainly diet soda), and I wasn't drinking water hardly at all. I was also drinking alcohol way too much. Well I vowed to not drink another soda or have another drink until I knew I could just have 1 and enjoy it rather than totally over-indulging. Well this past weekend I took my wife out to a nice dinner for Valentine's day and I ordered a mixed drink. It was delicious but I only let myself have 1 and that was enough. I don't think a lifestyle change like I'm trying to go through should completely eliminate the things that I like that I know aren't good for me, but it's about moderation and remaining conscious of everything I'm putting into my body. So I'm still going to take soda and alcohol and things like fried and sugary foods out of my regular diet, but if a time comes that I want a little of something I'll let it be a treat. I lost 5.4 pounds this past week and it included 1 drink and 1 dessert that my wife and I shared. There's no reason I can't be successful without letting myself have things every once in awhile.

So my goal was to get below 250 by the end of February and I'm currently at 252.4. This goal is definitely within reach and I hopefully can reach it early. I'm not sure my body will let me do it early since I lost so much last week, but I would be satisfied either way. My goal is to continue my good efforts this week and hopefully I'll see another loss. Until next week...
 
So February is in the books and I'm officially 2 months into my journey to lose just over 90 pounds. I started Jan. 4th at 272.8 pounds and after a 2 pound loss last week I weighed in this morning at 249.8 pounds. That's a 9 pound loss in February and 23 pounds lost overall. My goal for February was to get below 250 pounds and I managed to just sneak in under that so I can't be disappointed.

I'm trying to be very consistent with the amount of calories I take in each day and I've been aiming to increase my distance and intensity on the treadmill each month. This past month I logged 48 miles running/walking on the treadmill, a significant increase over the 21 miles I logged in January. My goal is has been to lose 2-3 pounds per week but I'm also making it my goal to increase my distance and pace on the treadmill each month.

For March then my goal is to lose another 10 pounds and get below the 240 mark. Once or twice a week I come to the realization that weight loss really is possible but it's a slow process. I have to tell myself that I didn't gain 90 pounds over night and I'm not going to lose it over night either. You would think since I've been through this 2 or 3 times before that I would remember how much having to lose a lot of weight sucks, but I haven't. Somehow I need to find a way to remind myself why I'm doing this and why being at a healthy weight is important. When you're young, I'm 25, it doesn't really ever cross your mind that being heavy is a health risk. But when you're 25 and you can't walk up 1 flight of stairs without being winded it's really an issue. I'm determined to reach my goal weight for a lot of reasons, most of them probably vanity related, but this time I've got to stay there for my health and the well being of my future family.
 
Well March isn't quite over yet, but it's been 4 weeks since my last post so I'll go ahead and give an update. Over the past 4 weeks I managed to lose 9.4 pounds, bringing my 12week total to 32.4 pounds lost. I'm honestly quite surprised that I was able to lose 9.4 pounds this month because I didn't push myself as hard on the treadmill. I think I only ran about half the distance I ran in February. I did manage to increase my pace though.

I'm at a scary place right now because when I feel like I don't try as hard but still manage weight loss I'm doing things the right way. I mean I am doing things the right way, I'm just worried that I'm going to get complacent and there will be a month that I think I did well but didn't, and it will start the downward spiral I've known far too many times before. That's why April has to be the best month I've ever done. So I will set some short term goals for the next 5 weeks.

1. Run on the treadmill a minimum of 4 times per week and 22 times overall in the next 5 weeks (35 days).
2. Increase my pace from 13.24 min/mile to atleast 12.5 min/mile
3. Decrease weight from 240.4 to atleast 230.0 pounds
 
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