243 - 213

Well when we first moved to Oklahoma I weighed in at 243 lbs. So my previous attempts at weight loss took me from 238 to 243. Not the right direction. There is a nice gym at work and I started going there in April of this year. This weekend, the first weekend in September 2011 I stepped on the scale and was weighed at 213 lbs!!!!! That is right 30 lbs! I have lost 30 lbs since April!!! That is about 6 lbs a month!!!
I feel like I have done it the right way! Eating healthy food, healthy portions and lots of exercise!!!
My goal is to get somewhere from 180 lbs to 190 lbs. I believe I can get there!!! Pippi Longstocking says if you believe that you can do something then you can do it!

227.8

What is up with that number? 2 weeks in a row. I feel better as in being in better shape but the flippin pounds are still there. I'd be happy if I lost 2-3 lbs a week but that isn't happening. I am not giving up though. I want to be here for a while. I want to have the energy to play with my kids for years and years to come. I have more energy now than I did a month ago! That is one of my goals. I know I am healthier and that is goal numero UNO!

Didn't go to the gym yesterday but I did today and that makes 3 times this week and the plan is to go 2 more times this week.

Today I got to 14 miles again. I increased the level of my workout from level four on the machine to level 5. I was on the machine for 95 minutes. I know that the amount of time you work out has a direct relation to getting more of the good cholesterol the HDL. I am talking to Carley and said I don't want to step on a scale for another month. That would be April 4th. She says that is crazy. The scale is always there tempting me but every time I step on it I get frustrated. That is why I am going to try and skip one month of weighing in and see where I am at that time. Right now I am 227.8 and in those 4 weeks I hope to get to 212 or lower.

I have the relay triathlon on April 24th where I am running the 5k at the end. I hope I can survive it. I know I can go 5k but my shins are always killing me when I run so I need tips and pointers on how not to get shin splints when I run.

I am hoping to get ready to do a full sprint triathlon on my own. But it is sad that I am 36 yrs old and can barely doggy paddle. There is a tri that sounds fun in Layton this summer. You swim then bike then run and then you do all 3 again. I might look to do that one. You can do that as a team of 2 as well. Being that I am swimming challenged maybe I can find a Duathlon which is biking then running.

I also want to do the midnight bike ride on Antelope Island again this year and I hope to be hydrated enough this time that I won't cramp up 1 mile from the finish.

This is the year of a fitter and more active Grayson. Hope you can do the same for yourself this year. But I am the author and the sole reader of this blog so when I say I hope you can do the same I am encouraging myself.

14 and 1,400

14 miles on the eliptical today. I went for an hour then got off and did some weights. My weights are not intense. I have had shoulder problems in the past so I am trying to do the same exercises that I had to do in the past for physical therapy. The next 1/2 hour on the machine I bumped it up from level 4 to level 5 and I also went faster and did 6.5 minute miles.

I hit 1,400 calories burned at the gym today. I'll work out tomorrow and then we'll find out if any of this is worth it. Once we have health insurance again I will be going in to get my cholesterol checked. I want to have my total cholesterol to hdl ratio be under 5. I know that the longer that I exercise the better this ratio will be.

If you have read this you know I am planning on doing the running portion of a relay triathlon. I hope to be in good enough shape to do an entire triathlon by the end of the summer. Good luck self! I hope to inspire Carley to do a 5k or 2 this year too.

Saturday

Grayson stayed up real late last night playing cards with some old friends. So I didn't get much of an early start on the day. I did eventually make it to the rec center and worked out on the eliptical for 75 minutes. Would have gone longer but they were closing.

When I got home I got on my bike and went on a ride with Carson and his friend Kobe. I pulled Alivia behind me in the little bike trailer. It was a nice day it had to hit 40 degrees or so. My brother Jordan who is in law school in Florida would probably say I was crazy to ride a bike in shorts in such cold weather. But it is all about perspective. When you are used to temps in the 20's then 40 is a scorcher. When you are used to a winter in the 60s and 70's then a 40 degree day is downright chilly.

I think with my activities for the day that I did do some calorie burning. I needed that cuz last night we had pizza after Carson's Basketball game and a birthday party for Livi's fish. WE have had Sammy for 1 year now. The goldfish is a resillient one! We even sang happy birthday to the fish.

I am hoping to hit 225 or lower this next week. I would absolutely love to do the relay triathlon at 205-210. I have 8 weeks or so to get there. Wish me luck. I know I have not a lot of readers so I am telling myself and Carley to wish me luck. Good luck self!

230 no more

I weighed in on Wednesday this week. Felt real good to do that! Why? you might ask did it feel good? Well because I hit 227.8 lbs. The first time under 230 in the longest time. That feels good! Not much else to say about this week. Still just a part time employee not making enough money to get by so will need to dip into savings again. Job interviews are frustrating! Waiting to hear back after an interview is even more frustrating. YOu never know for sure if you did good or if you did bad. Kind of like the dang scale. You work hard and get nowhere but then a week comes by with success maybe next week will be the week that I am successful in the job hunt world. I had a friend just get a job offer in underwriting so there is hope for us still. But I know a lot of us are in need of work and need to leave that field of work to get something. I am glad I have the part time gig from home cuz it is a life saver and whatever FT job I get I will stick with the underwriting from home.
So that little post was more than just about my weight loss goals but I hope that the stress of being without a job will not hamper me in my goal to get to 190.

A new Week begins!

Another week and hopefully a few more pounds down. Went to the gym today and did the eliptical for 90 minutes. 12.5 miles and 1,250 calories later I got off the machine. Did some shoulder weights to help with my shoulder pain that I have had in the past.

3 weeks ago if you asked me if I could do 90 minutes on an eliptical or a treadmill I would have said no way. The first day I did 20 minutes on the eliptical and 30 on the bike. The weight is not coming off as quickly as I would like but just by my improvement in time on the machine I know something good is happening. My heart rate when I first started was in the 160-170 range most of the time on the machine. Now I am going just as fast as I was then and my heart rate is averaging between 140-145. In my mind that is improvement.

Now I just hope that the pounds and the inches start to burn away. I want to get to 190 pounds eventually and maybe even lower. Both of my brothers are right about my same height and I'd bet they both weigh in around 160-170 lbs. I know I can get to my goal. It might just take a little longer than I expected in the beginning.

What is the use?

With my last weigh in I was beginning to feel like what is the use of all of this? Work my butt off in the gym and gain weight? what the heck? This week I have tried to step up the workouts today I did 90 minutes hit 12.1 miles and over 1,200 calories burned. All I can say is that if I gain weight this week I will be frustrated and if I stay the same I will be frustrated too. One thing I know is that my cholesterol levels have to be changing for the better and that was one of my big goals with this whole thing as well.