A Day Late And A Dollar Short

Sorry for the delay in posts, but work is super busy because it is the first week of open registration (which, by the way, is my favorite week because students remember that they need me), and when I get home I just want to veg out and watch political commercials.  Unfortunately, I'm back to suffering through McDonald's and Budweiser ads for the next three years.  Here are the numbers for last week and this week.

Weight: 253.6 lb 

BMI: 36.4 

BMR: 2340 kcal 

Fat %: 40.2% 

Fat Mass: 102.0 lb 

FFM: 151.6 lb 

TBW: 111.01 lb

Weight: 248.68 lb (-4.8 lb, total of -12.6)

BMI: 35.7 (-.7, total of -1.9)

BMR: 2310 kcal (-30, total of  -46)

Fat %: 37.3% (-2.9%, net loss of 4.7%)

Fat Mass: 92.8 lb (-9.2 lb, net loss of 17.2 lbs of lard)

FFM: 156 lb (+4.4 lb, net gain of 4.2)

TBW: 114.21 lb (+3.2 lb, net gain of 3.1 lb)

One thing to note was that I did get up and work out prior to weighing in yesterday, so some of the numbers are probably a little artificial, but I plan on adding early Tuesday and Thursday morning workouts to the routine full-time, and I can't get access to the official scale until after 8 am.  

Some quick thoughts: Whatever I'm doing is working, so I'm not going to stop doing it.  My fat mass is tumbling because of the cardio, the muscle mass is increasing because of the added protein, and I jumped another 2% in water weight.  My goal was 243 by November 27 and it seems to be pretty attainable.  November 20 is the the last day of our weigh-in challenge at work, so starting next Tuesday I'll probably hit it hard and cut out carbs for one week.  I know I said I wasn't going to do the rapid weight loss thing, but there's over $50 on the line and my body can handle the extra loss going into Thanksgiving. 

Last Week's Report Card

Goal 1 - Survive the Weekend - B-

I did "pretty" good.  I drank beer, ate greasy appetizers (including the world's most amazing soft pretzels and mustard at this bar in Savage that I will gladly take any of you to anytime you want), and had two waffles instead of one Sunday morning.  Still, in my head I did loosely track my calories and in the end I lost almost 5 lbs.  Might have been closer to an 8 pounder had I been a good boy, but I wouldn't give up the fun I had with John, Helena, and Molly for the extra 3 lbs.  

Goal 2 - Add Strength Training and Stretching To Cardio - C+

I did my sit-ups and push-ups on five of the seven days, and I can hit my goal of 10 push-ups.  I didn't do my yoga at all, but I did start stretching prior to basketball, which has helped my back tremendously.  Having less of a gut pulling on my front probably helps, too.

Goal 3 - Tweet What I Eat - C-

Boy, was I ever faithful to that little exercise on Tuesday-Friday.  Not lying, if it passed my lips there's a pic of it on Twitter. Once my guests arrived, I kind of started forgetting about it because it was weird and awkward.  Still, I would STRONGLY encourage this exercise for anyone who is starting out on a new diet plan or who is wondering why their progress has stalled out.  First of all, it is remarkable how often and how much you eat without thinking about it.  Secondly, when you know other people might be seeing what you're eating, you become more aware of what you're putting into your body and you start making smarter decisions.  

This Week's Goals:

Goal 1 - Survive the Weekend, The Sequel

This weekend will be even tougher than last.  We are going out Friday night for happy hour and appetizers with Molly's friends, which always turns into eating dinner and drinking all night.  I can be smart on Saturday during the day, but we're going to the Zac Brown Band concert with Jared and Kristyn, which will involve eating out and drinking out.  Sunday morning we're banking on making waffles again, and I just can't say no to those damn waffles.  That might be part of the reason I'm marrying into the Upper Midwest Waffle Dynasty (don't tell Molly).  I'll try really hard to cut it down to one...and a half.

Goal 2 - Up the Workout Times

I got up early and played basketball at 6:30 yesterday morning, and I felt pretty awesome throughout the day.  My biggest fear when I'm so close to the starting line is that pushing it too much is going to break my body down and cause an injury that will derail my progress.  Playing ball for an hour in the morning and again at noon seems to just be asking for trouble.  I know I did it in high school, but I'm not 18 and I don't weigh 165 lbs.  Still, I can get a full hour of ball in during the morning instead of the 40 minutes at lunch.  I'm planning on playing Thursday and next Tuesday in the morning and sticking lunch ball on.  I'll see if I can convince myself to work out Sunday, too, even if it is just a brisk walk through Target or the mall.  I listen pretty well to my body, so if it starts to tell me to cool it a little, I'll let off the throttle.

Goal 3 - Add More Greens

Tweeting my food and using MyFitnessPal have helped me fine tune my diet, but it is becoming abundantly clear that I lean more towards fruits and less towards the veggies.  I had a salad Monday and it did magnificent things to my digestive track (sorry, TMI).  I brought carrots today.  Last week I brought some celery with a triangle of Laughing Cow cream cheese to dip them in, and it was a nice little afternoon snack.  I shall try to repeat said actions.

Finally, I have mostly avoided posting about the election on FB or Twitter because I get pretty excitable and it isn't worth it 99% of the time.  Those who know me well know that I tend to lean left, although in my short voting history I have voted for Republicans in all offices.  I consider myself a Democrat because I believe in their social platforms, and I think there are people who need a hand out in order to get a hand up.  If you don't believe that, that's fine, too.  I've played Devil's advocate enough just trying to get a debate started that I think I understand both sides of the coin pretty well.  The funny thing is that most of my family and friends and people reading this blog are Republicans who would get incredibly red faced if I ever decided to be blatant with my political ideals.  Anyway, regardless of which side of the aisle you vote on, my wish for all of you is that you take your victory or loss in stride and spend the next four years doing what you can to make America a better place.  Screaming and name calling or blindly posting religious verses might reaffirm your own belief system, but it pushes you further from the conversation.  I've been alive long enough to know that about 50% of the country agrees with my views and 50% doesn't, and that isn't going to change in any of our lifetimes.  In 2016, the Republicans will most likely get their chance to lead the country because history tells us these things are cyclical.  Again, none of this changes. What can change is your investment in this country and in your community.  If you don't believe the health care system is taking care of seniors, spend some time volunteering in a retirement community and keep yourself in shape so you can lessen your healthcare expenses.  If you think the government is killing small business owners, stop shopping at Target and Walmart and get to know your local grocer.  If you think the government is imposing their views on you, then put down your cell phones and have real conversations featuring real ideas with real people.  This country was built on grassroots movements, and I can't imagine that just because our founding fathers disagreed on one issue that they walked away from the table on the rest.  We are not MSNBC, we are not Fox News.  We are Americans who should be proud that we have a democratic system that allows us to choose our leaders and who should be just as proud that differing viewpoints lead to stronger answers.  To be a little more cliche, be the change you want to see.

The long and short of it is that I love you all on November 7 the same that I loved you on November 5.  Thanks again for being a part of my story.

Jeff