Week 48 – Say it with Me: “Grunt – Stumble, Stumble – Grunt”

As you might’ve guessed by the delayed update this week, I wasn’t too enthusiastic about posting it. But, here it goes nonetheless.

You can see, this week went the wrong direction.  Not that I was surprised. We made our first batch of Christmas candy on Saturday, and I indulged.  That evening, some friends blessed us with a wonderful “stork party” in honor of our forthcoming fifth baby, and I indulged further.

The biggest lesson from this year is probably that indulgence alone isn’t a vice; the damage comes from indulgence sustained.  It must be contained before festering again into a habit and then a lifestyle, and that’s the discipline that holds the fundamental secret to success.

Sunday, though, I felt the cold creep of that festering complacence settling upon me again. I didn’t lose control, but I didn’t snap back into form as I should have, and it took the 255.2 scales reading yesterday morning to wake me up.

So, I’ll say it again . . . NEVER AGAIN!

After reading the scales yesterday, I took a step back for a critical review of my diet and realized just how much I’ve been eating.  The beauty of the “low carb” diet is that it doesn’t leave you hungry; there are some things (fresh, lean meats, leafy greens, etc.) you can pretty much eat as much as you want.  An honest eye, however, revealed that I’d slipped into a pattern of “abusing” this benefit like some magical dieting loophole, and I’ve been eating a lot lately.  While the stuff I’ve been eating is low-carb, eating a lot of it . . . well, adds carbs. 

Duh.

Dark chocolate, for example.  Four squares of Lindt 70% cocoa chocolate yields only 14 net carbs.  But, eating a whole bar of 2.5 servings across a day yields 35 net carbs.  Funny, this addition stuff.

So, long story short (too late, I know), while I allowed the moment of common sense to soak in yesterday, I pledged to cut out carbs.  Just for the day.  One day at a time.  And what a difference that one day made.  This morning, I was back down into the 248 range.

A Note on Advent and the Home Stretch
For me, this is no normal Advent.  This time, it culminates a year long effort.  It’s interesting how when I run, I always begin to slow as I approach my target “finish line”.  I don’t know why I do that. It’s a tendency common among people, but psychologically, it’s something I want to fight against this Advent.  Tip the Scales 2012! isn’t over yet, so I pray now for the strength and will to finish strong with a new low by my final weigh-in on Christmas Eve!

Week 47: Coping with the “But . . .”

Good news and bad news: my weigh-in this week was exactly flat from last week.  And that’s both the good and bad.

From the beginning, I understood that 100 pounds was ambitious but I fully intended to hit it.  In the back of my mind, I feared that falling short – the realization that I would “fail” – would cause me to regress.

I’ll say that I have not regressed thus far, but I find myself in a lull concerning the zealous enthusiasm I’ve had for most of the year.  History shows a lull in enthusiasm being potentially deadly for progress, then morale, then success altogether.  Of course, my awareness of that is my greatest armor against a repeating history, so I’m clinging tight.

My overall goal is to get my weight below 200 pounds.  I figure that gives me a good ceiling to stay under as I learn to maintain my health and lifestyle.  Right now, I feel like I’m working with a 250-pound ceiling.  An overall perspective of my progress shows a good achievement for one year, but . . .

It’s the “but . . .” that’s bugging me.

Ten weeks ago, I dropped below 250 lbs.  At that time, I crunched all the numbers and began to accept that I would likely max out my 2012 weight loss at about 85 lbs.  Not 100 lbs, “but . . .”. 

Eight weeks ago, I hit my present weight.  In the time since, I have ranged between 242 and 249 lbs.  At the same time, October 18 each year begins a kind of Devil’s gauntlet, a streak of wonderful occasions that carry tremendous temptations, namely the birthdays of my wife, three of our children, and a couple other family members, plus Halloween and Thanksgiving thrown in for good measure.

The fact that I now find myself on the other side of that gauntlet having maintained my weight loss feels great.  “But . . .”

I think if eight weeks ago I would have known that I would have only held flat for the ensuing eight weeks, I would’ve been extremely disappointed.  Maybe even “fallen off the wagon”.   Now I find myself pleased but not satisfied, and with Christmas looming, I feel resigned to the idea that I’ve gone as far as I’m going to go in 2012.

With three weeks left, I still want to muster a last push. It would be sweet to hit 70 for the year, “but . . .”

Therefore, as we head into Advent, I want to ask you all for another boost of prayers down the home stretch of TS2012. One last boost of discipline to finish the year strong.  Many thanks, once again, for all the support you’ve given me all year!

Week 45 Update

My astute observers will note that I did not post an update last week. Christy and I did a late-night dinner and movie the night before weigh-in, and, well, we’ll call the week 44 weight “artificially inflated”. 

I did 15 miles by foot this week and ate well, so I’m pretty surprised that I’m not back down to 242 today.  So, I’m still sitting at about 67 total pounds lost.  

I ate at the Cheesecake Factory yesterday, and I was good; I ordered the roasted half chicken with green beans and broccoli . . . then bought some cheesecake to eat after my weigh-in today.  So, with cheesecake today and Thanksgiving on Thursday, I’ve got some cards stacked against me.  

At the same time, I realized this weekend that over the last three weeks, I’ve celebrated three family members’ birthdays and Halloween, while maintaining steady weight.  I guess that’s what you’d call a “moral victory”.  

Only 2 Months Left to “Tip the Scales” for Missionaries of the Poor!

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It’s hard to believe, but only two months remain before my final weigh-in on Christmas Eve.  As of today, I’m delighted to inform you that I have lost 65 pounds and secured over $2,000 out of nearly $3,300 in pledged donations for Missionaries of the Poor!  

I will announce total donations achieved on Christmas day, but in the meantime, I ask for your help in a last push before then.

If you have not yet done so, please consider supporting Tip the Scales 2012! by pledging a donation to Missionaries of the Poor.  Amounts are totally up to you; supporters have pledged everything from $0.25/lb all the way up to $5/lb, while others have pledged a flat amount.  

Pledging a per-pound donation for only the weight I lose over the next two months would be a perfect way to help reinforce my resolve heading into the holidays!

While it appears unlikely that I will achieve my stretch goal of losing 100 pounds before Christmas, my ultimate goal is to make the most of this challenge, here and now.  

If you would like to make a pledge or would like more information, please simply reply to this email.

Many thanks again to all of you for your generous prayers and pledges!

Peace,
Steve

New Numbers are in!

The results from Friday’s six-month blood-work are in, and they’re pretty great!

Total cholesterol:  141 (down from 155 in April)
HDL (good) cholesterol:  50 (flat from April but still good)
LDL (bad) cholesterol:  81 (down from 90 in April)
Triglycerides:  50 (down from 74 in April)

Based on these results, my doctor has recommended that I cut my statin dosage in half and drop my fenofibrate dosage altogether. Yes, Doctor, right away!  I’ll go back in for another round of blood-work in a month to see how my levels have reacted.

Meantime, I got the results as I was heading out for a walk/run, and they fueled me to a new personal best: five miles.  Beautiful fall day, wonderful iPhone soundtrack, and good news all led me to a most joyful hour of exercise!

Now, about this pesky 36 pounds . . . 🙂

Week 42 – Chip, Chip, Chippin’ Away

Tuesday morning, I finally had a good drop, down to 245.5 pounds. My astute powers of mathematical deduction led me to proclaim to my wife, “If I can just hold it until Sunday, then I’ll officially be at 70 pounds lost, then I can go ahead and start stressing about getting to 75!”

A moment later, I realized that a couple beads on the abacus in my head must’ve been stuck; my total lost was actually only 65.  I cursed at the realization then chuckled that I could just lose track of five pounds at this point.

Forget 75, 70, or even 66 at this point . . . just pushing for 65.  My weight this morning is 246.4, which puts me solidly at 64 pounds lost. A new low, and when I take a step back, it’s frustrating to still be shy of 65 but at the same time, I performed valiantly factoring in celebrations for two of my kids’ birthdays this week.

Today I’m cutting myself a little slack and enjoying a few things I passed up on during the week.

I went in for six-month bloodwork on Friday and will be very interested to see the results. I’ll post them here when I receive them, but meantime, there were a couple positives I took away.  For one, my blood pressure was 124/72, my lowest diastolic number since I began tracking in March 2010!

Stay tuned for further results this week!  As always, thanks for all your continued support!

Week 40 – GRRRRR . . .

Up today.  After being flat all week. 

It’s clear that I’m hitting a very frustrating point in my challenge, because, well, I’m very frustrated.

I’ve gone without my walk/runs for almost two weeks now because pain from shin splints, but I hadn’t noticed any difference in weight loss when I was diligently exercising. And I’ve cut back on my carbs accordingly. 

Plan for now is just to stay the course for another week and hope for progress. I know I’m on the right track and making progress overall. Just aspiring for a more aggressive timeline, as we all know. 

Here’s renewing my call for prayers to help me keep my focus on the big picture and not let my frustrations “inspire” any unreasonable slips.

If Only I’d Known . . .

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison

In all my efforts to lose weight before, a minor setback or two was a kiss of death.

I might have lost 20 lbs fairly easily, but then would come Girl Scout cookies or a birthday, and I would splurge.  I’d sing the Birthday Song then have a piece of cake, which, of course, you can’t have without ice cream.  And then my mind would reason, “well, I already blew it, so I might as well go back for more!”

Before I knew it, I would be stuffed sick and sick of myself for being so weak.  And that sickness would feed into a heightened state of vulnerability that only propagated failure. One slip became two, which then gave way to a whole day lost.  And a day is practically a whole week, so then the whole “I’ll just start back next Sunday” mindset would creep in, giving me a free pass to fall whole-hog off the wagon for the rest of the week.

At that point, you might as well be sunk. Again. But sunk even lower than before.  As any smoker can attest, the slippery slope of failed self-control always seems to leave you in a deeper hole than you climbed from before.

It is truly amazing how an addicted mind can justify its enslavement, and being enslaved just plain sucks!

This year has taught me an invaluable lesson that I pray I can hold fast to for the rest of my life.  A slip isn’t a bad thing; it doesn’t even have to be a “slip”.  It’s a treat to enjoy. It’s the enjoyment of a moment, not the failure of a lifetime.

This past Sunday’s update was short-winded (“and thankfully so!” you might say) because of the weekend rush, so I didn’t expound on just how poorly I ate on Saturday and Sunday. Suffice it to say, I ate very poorly.

But you know what? I kept finding myself thinking, I’m sharing a wonderful experience with my little girl . . . we’re fishing, we’re hiking, we’re laughing and tie-dying, and by golly we’re eating hot dogs and s’mores! And when we get home, I’m going to bounce right back!

On our way home, I told my daughter I’d probably gained eight pounds on the weekend. When I stepped on the scales Monday morning, I’d gained over eight pounds!  The lesson I’ve learned during these last nine months is that as long as I isolate such “splurges” as the exception and not the rule, my body will bounce right back.

As of this morning’s weigh-in, I am already back to within ounces of my pre-camping weight and feeling great.

Any time before my experiences this year and a weekend like that would’ve killed my diet.  Now, I see my body is progressing. It’s now working with me down this road, not against me.

As awesome as it felt to break the 250 mark the first time, it felt just as awesome to break it again this morning so quickly after my lax weekend.  If only I’d known I could recover so quickly from “weak moments” in years past, perhaps I would have not failed so many times before.

As long as I succeed this time around . . . that’s all that matters.

Week 38 Update

Down 1.2 this week. Had to weigh in yesterday before going camping for the weekend with my daughter and hundreds of Girl Scouts.  Great fun but terrible diet-wise.

On the bright side, I found out that dark chocolate makes the absolute best smores! On the dark side, I ate many of them.

Back on board tomorrow!

Primal Burger

A good thick burger sliced and used as its own bun turns out to be a good substitute for a bunned burger!