Weigh In Number 15

My doctor will be angry with me. When I saw her last week for sleeplessness, she was impressed with my weight loss, but concerned that I might be overdoing it. I scheduled a yearly physical exam a month after that visit, and she counted up what a healthy weight loss would be in that time.

She's going to be mad.

4.5 lbs. In one week. I THOUGHT my pants were getting looser. Measurables:

193 lbs, 4.5 lbs lost this week, 28 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall weight loss: 32 lbs!

Doc, I'm NOT anorexic. I'm just highly motivated. And I fooled my body by going off the plan for a week, then starting it up again with a vengeance.

On the hair front, I'm really enjoying long hair (despite the looks I et at work). I lov$e the feel of it on my neck, in my eyes, and I love the fact that I'm almost 43 FREAKIN' YEARS OLD, and this is even an option for me. Thank you Lord.

Weigh In Number 14

This is a makeup post. I was too ticked off last week, having gained a pound and all. If you ever see me not post in a given week, rest assured I gained.

Measurables: 197.5, 1 lb gained this week, 23.5 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall weight loss: 29.5 lbs.

But y'all hang on, look at the next post.

Weigh In Number 13

Not as good as I thought this week. I worked my butt off this week, yet most of my butt still remains. Yet, I's hard to complain, I'm still going in the right direction.

Measurables:

196.5 lbs, 1.5 lbs lost this week, 24.5 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall weight loss: 28.5 lbs.

The coming weeks will be a real test. There is great tumult going on at my company; I've discovered that cutbacks may be more widespread than I thought. I'll really be put to the test not to go off the plan with stress eating. In fact, it would be wise to ramp up the exercise to help get rid of the extra stress.

Before, it was vanity; now, my family's very survival may be at stake. If I am looking for work in the coming months, whether is is right or wrong, my experience tells me that I have a better chance of landing a job if I meet society's standards of attractiveness.

I know you don't like this; I don't like it either. But I have a family to feed. So, it's more important than ever that I get down to about 175 (my wife says this is the weight I'm most attractive), and then pay particular attention to grooming. (The long hair may have to go). It was rather easy to reach standards of attractiveness when I was 30. It's going to be much, much harder at 42.

And that's just physical appearance. I have to catch up with technical trends in my profession as well.

Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Weigh In Number 12

It's kind of weird. When I'm home all day with the kids (as I was this week for spring break), I have a hard time motivating myself to exercise. It's much easier to get motivated at work, it seems. I have no problem with the diet, just the exercise.

Nevertheless, it was a pretty good week. I've been on a pretty steady trajectory for a few months now. Slow and steady, about 2 lbs a week. Here are the measurables:

198 lbs, 2 lbs lost this week, 23 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall weight loss: 27 lbs!

The hair: it's getting a little unmanageable. I'm going to have to make the jump to a mullet soon. It's very difficult because so many people are begging me not to do it. Co-workers, family, friends. The last couple of times I've had it trimmed, I got a "near mullet", leaving the top and sides long (if not trimmed). Maybe this week I'll go ahead with it. Might be worth a half a pound, anyway!

Weigh In Number 11

Yipee!

I hit the milestone I've been working so hard to reach! 200! Actually, the very first time I weighed it came up 198.5! But went to get my camera to post a picture at Shoot The Moose, and from then on it came up 200 even. And ther's no camera on eath that weight 1 1/2 lbs. I even tried without the camera. I have a rule that if I have to weigh multiple times, the weight that comes up the most consistently wins. So there you have it.

Measurables:

200 lbs, 2.5 lbs lost this week, 21 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall weight loss 25 lbs!

Why get excited about still being 25 lbs overweight? For me, the number '200' is a big emotional thing. Its a dividing line between the wheezing, blubbery old man I had become and the all-around in shape dude I want to be. Getting there makes me want to try all that much harder.

My hair is also starting to look good (only a mini-mullet right now). I was actually mistaken for a woman TWICE last week!

Weigh In Number 10

At least the news this week is a little better. Didn't quite reach 200 like I was hoping, but it's now firmly in sight:

202.5 lbs, 2 lbs lost this week, 18.5 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall weigh loss 22.5 lbs .

Gotta bear down this week. I want 200 so bad, I can taste it.

It's not like I'm going to slack off or anything once I reach it; to the contrary, it SHOULD inspire me to try a little harder. After all, I'm not even halfway to where I want to be. Stay tuned.

Weigh in Number 9

I didn't post this last week because I was so danged mad at myself I couldn;t see straight. It was one os those weeks where I thought I did everything right. In fact, I ratcheted everything up a notch, trying to get to that elusive 200 lbs. It was so close, I could smell it.

The result? I gained half a pound. Bleh.

204.5 lbs, 16 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall loss - 20 lbs.

Yuck.

Weigh In Number 8

First, the measurables for this week. It's getting to be old news, but this week was pretty good again:

204 lbs, 16.5 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess since Jan 1st: 20.5 lbs.

I'm somewhere between 1 and 3 weeks away from breaking 200. Like I've said before, that number is very important to me (although it really just marks the halfway point for my weight loss). Somewhere around 200 lbs, I'll hit a "wall", where the things I've been doing will no longer be enough to sustain weight loss. I'm not about to lower my calorie intake (I'm near the bottom that's acceptible for men), it'll be time to get serious about exercise.

Right now, I'm still just doing the minimum (treadmill, situps, pushups). When "the wall" hits, I'll have to pick up the weights. At that time, I'll have to do something counter-intuitive. I'll have to raise my calorie intake by 200 to 300 calories per day. Most of it protein. If not, I won't have the strength to properly workout.

I've done this several times before, so I can tell you I know what I'm doing :) .

The only bad news, Thursday, I met up with my brothers to go to a hockey game. They didn't notice anything. You'd think losing 15 lbs would show up in my appearance enough to be noticeable. I'm beginning to wonder if having longer hair in counterproductive. I've always thought it thinned a person's face - but maybe not.

Dang, that last paragraph looks like it could have been written by a woman. I'm a weird dude.

Weigh In Number 7

I debated which number I should post this week. You see, the very first weigh-in was so unbelievable, I weighed again. Sure 'nuff, it was then 1 lb higher. I weighed two more times, all at the 1 lb higher weight. So, I've decided to go with that for two reasons: a) It's probably the correct weight and b) It'll make my weight loss next week look better :) .

So, here are this week's measurables:

207 lbs (first weigh-in was 206!), 3 lbs lost this week, 13.5 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of total weigh loss: 17.5 lbs .

200 is in sight! Probably two or three more weeks at the rate I'm going. I've said before how important that is to me.

I still haven't cut my hair. I'm finding that after 40, it doesn't want to cooperate. The back just isn't growing very quickly. I DO have a mop on top of my head, though. I should break down and form my pre-mullet now.

Weigh In Number 6

This is the first time in 3 weeks I've been able to log into Blogger to post here at Follow the Mullet. To recap: at last weigh in on Feb 2nd I, had lost 3 more lbs. I weighed in at 211.5 .

So, here are this week's measureables:

210 lbs ; 1.5 lbs lost this week; 10.5 lbs lost since first weigh in; Since Jan 1 guess: 14.5 lbs lost.

I can live with that. The week started out horribly with an emotional-eating Taco-Bell run on Saturday night, followed by Super Bowl Sunday. I was then sick on Monday. I didn't get myself back on track until Tuesday.

So, 1.5 lbs ? I'm happy!

Now I'm wondering why my scale actually showed an "even" weight - it has ALWAYS tacked on the ".5" at the end of the measurement.

Anyway, this should (hopefully) be a good week - I'll get under 210 ! When I break 200, there will be a big celebration. 200 is a very important number for me, psychologically. Above it, I am various degrees of "fat". Below it, I am various degrees of "in shape" . It's just a number, I know, but it means a lot to me.

Wednesday Is More Than Hump Day

I love Jesus Christ more than anything. I love His people. I love to fellowship with them, pray with them, study with them. But, although I can't speak for everybody, it seems in southeastern churches, God's people REALLY love to eat.

There's an old joke:

The first grade class had show and tell to teach a multicultural lesson about religion. First was little Ed. He brought a Koran. "I'm Muslim", he said. Next was little Mary. She brought prayer beads. "I'm Catholic", she said. Next came little Johnny. "This is a casserole dish", he said. "I'm a Methodist".

The joke rings true, especially amongst southern Protestant denominations. My church has a Wednesday night supper almost every week, with a schedule roughly following the school year. Of course, being a church with "Belle Meade" in the name, it is prepared by a team of our members who are professional caterers.

Needless to say, Wednesdays are the valley of the shadow of death every week for my diet. This past week was the first one this year that I ate sensibly (one serving, leaving food on my plate, more salad than entree). Not surprisingly, it was the first week I lost weight.

I decided it's better if I go and resist temptation, rather that remove myself completely from it and remain as weak as ever. (Come to think of it, isn't this the main difference between Chistianity and Islam over sexuality?). I'm doing better, but I've got a long way to go.

X-Alt plays a lot of Baptist churches, and they love to feed us. They always serve the absolute best, but most fattening food possible.

Except for what I'm facing this weekend. We are playing "Soul Food Sunday" at Telent's Coffeehouse in Springfield. The owner is also a prominent member of a local church which is comprised primarily of African Americans. Oh, my Lord! The Food! There is so much, and it is SOOOOO good! And they always insist that we eat. Hoo-boy...

If I make it through this week without gaining any weight, I'll be lucky.

G.K. Chesterton said, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried". Little did I know, the "difficult" part was constant fried-chicken temptation.

Weigh In Number 3

That's more like it.

I lost 4 lbs. this week. For those of you plotting along (why doesn't Blogger have a charting feature?) I'm at 216.5 And that's with, shall we say, slight exercise (which I ramp up again this week).

It's just good to get movement again. Now I can start chasing my Sista. No, not literally "chasing" her, but trying to match her weight loss. She isn't announing her actual weight, only loss. That's OK, we could have a Gimli/Legolas type contest. I've got the advantage of being a man. But she's got the advantage of being on a real program, whereas I am just using the Force.

On the hair side of things, I'm in a quandry. I've let it grow out everywhere to kind of get in pre-mullet mode. The only thing is, I like it like this. It's got kind of a Shaun Cassidy look, and there's a part of me that doesn't want to cut off the top and sides. After all these years in the corporate world, I had forgotten how good hair feels. I probably look like an idiot running my fingers through it.

But cut it I will, because I'm following through with all my goals this year.

Weigh In Number 2

Ugh.

No change.

What am I doing wrong?

For those of you plotting: 220.5

Bad Day

Yesterday was not a good day.

For my plan, that is. Yesterday, I was a little hungover from getting only 4 hours sleep the night before (darn football!), and I used that as an excuse not to exercise. Also, I varied off the food plan as well, the extra soup I had (on top of my regular lunch) was most likely about 400 extra calories. Then I snacked a little too much when I got home.

I'm trying not to beat myself up over this too much; after all, it's not like I went to Burger King and got a double-Whopper combo meal.

Today, I'm back on the plan.

To make myself feel better, here's a picture of Mr Mullet himself:

First Weigh-In

Well, I promised, and here we go...

This is very difficult. I've posted very personal information about myself in the past, but for some reason, I'd rather post my financial statements that my weight. It's the height of vulnerability. BUT, what the heck:

220.5

Funny, every single time I've got on a weight loss tear, 225 was my starting weight. I'll gurantee you, I've lost 5 lbs this past week. That's just weird. I thought I weighed more. I'm in the biggest pant size I've ever been in. But, I'm one of those me whose weight gain is almost totally in his belly, so that might explain it.

Some of you might think 220.5 ain't that bad, and I guess in the great scheme of things, it isn't. BUT, I'm not a tall man (5' 9 1/2"). I've got a lot of work to do.

Now that I have all my measurables, I can state my goals:

175 lbs . This seems to be a 'maintainable' weight for me.
A 36 inch waist. I give up on trying to get back to a 34 or 32. It ain't happening.
The ability to walk-run 5 miles without feeling like I'm dying.
Regain my definition in the old abs,pecs,biceps and triceps.

I don't think any of these goals are unreasonable. Now, I've put them "Out There", so hopefully, that's be more motivation, on top of the mullet.

Speaking of: today is haircut day! I'll let you know how it goes.

Breakfast

For lunch and dinner (or dinner and supper for my fellow southerners), I try to have as much variety as possible. Keep yourself offguard, and maybe you won't binge eat (at least that's my theory). But when it comes to breakfast, I'm a creature of habit. This is my same brakfast every work day:

6am: A South Beach Diet Breakfast wrap. I prefer the southwest style, but sometimes the grocery store is out and I have to get the "American" style. Still great. 200 calories.
7am: A bowl of Quaker Lower Sugar Apples and Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal. This one actually has fewer calories (110) than the "weight control" version (160). Go figure.
9am: A ZonePerfect bar, usually Chocolate Coconut Crunch. THis gives me just the energy I need for my lunchtime exercise. 210 calories.

As you've noticed, I've spread my breakfast out over several hours. I don't know why, but this seems to work for me. I'll also drink about a liter of water. (See you in the men's room!)

One Down...

Just finished my first lunchtime exercise: a brisk, two mile walk. I actually felt pretty good during the walk, but it's almost an hour later, and I'm still breathing heavy.

I've got a long way to go. But it sure feels good to have gotten off my butt and started. During my walk, I passed the spot where, as recently as a couple of weeks ago, I would sit in my car and eat my super-sized combo meals. It felt nice to be walking, and to keep on walking by.

Tomorrow will be the REAL challenge.

Happy New Year!

I want to wish everyone a happy New Year. If you made resolutions (as I did), don't be too hard on yourself at first. Of course, you can do whatever works best for you. As for me, with my weight and fitness, I am handling things like this:

I'm not going to get my benchmark weight today. This is important: weigh weekly, at the most! Therefore, I must pick a day of the week for my morning weigh in (more on this in a minute), that will work THROUGHOUT the year. Monday mornings just won't cut it for me. I prefer Saturday mornings.

Why mornings? If you do your weigh-in as soon as you get up (after going to the bathroom), you have a good benchmark because the variables are always the same. If you weigh any other time of the day, you have to account for meals (which can be different form day to day), and the fact that you may not be available at the same time every week on your weigh-in day. I'm ALWAYS available for a few minutes on Saturday morning.

So, I won't be weighing in today. It doesn't matter - even if I follow my plan perfectly this week, I'll only lose between 3-5 lbs between now and Saturday. And when you're dealing with 50-60 lbs to lose, that's not that big of a deal.

My activity level won't be very high today, I'm still recovering from last night ;) . I'll start walks tomorrow (the exercise rooms at work will be WAY too full for a few weeks). It's going to be nice this week in Nashville, so I can walk outside for my exercise. Won't be picking up the weights for at LEAST a week; I have to get my body used to moving again first.

I'll also try to get to my barber sometime this week, and see if she can trim the hair. Once I do, I'll post a picture from the back. Then as the year goes by, I'll post more from time to time, and we can all watch my hair grow.

One caveat: my employer MAY ask me to cut it eventually. Since I really like my job, I'll oblige, but I'll continue to push it all the way to the limit. we'll see.

Here's to the New year! May it bring you all you've resolved, and more! Mullet on!