46th Tuesday weigh-in

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7438870@N04/ / CC BY 2.0

225.0 lb

I did all my exercises (3 cardio 3 weight lifting) and watched my food intake carefully. I have had some major pain in my ankle this last weekend, so much that walking was excruciating. So I met with a physical therapist this week. It would have been easy to just let the ankle injury pain keep me away from the gym, but instead I turned it around and made it into something I plan to beat rather than be beaten by it. I made a mistake once before of taking time off from the gym to rest a painful heel, but a week turned to a month and I was off track for a long time after. The physical therapist informed me that my left leg is 1 cm shorter than my right leg, and I am a severe over-pronator. My feet are tight and have very little flexibility and it appears my lack of flexibility is a mechanical issue from short Achilles tendons. He put a shoe insert under just my left heel and walking is much nicer for me with it in. I also need to switch out my running shoes more frequently than I have been, every 6 months, going forward. I have a set of exercises I need to do to strengthen my ankle and leg muscles as well. Things like balance on one foot for one minute three times. If I do all this, I will be broke from buying shoes, and look goofy at the gym doing the flamingo, but I will able to run/walk comfortably. So I plan to go for it.

45th Tuesday weigh-in

225.0 lb

That's more like it, down 1.5 lb. It's good to show a loss today as I have a health assessment with the trainee-trainer on Thursday. I do need to make a correction from last week, Rebecca is skinnier and looks even better now than when we were first engaged and married. So she is not as attractive as when we married, she is even more attractive to me. However, I do have to correct her from time to time, because she sometimes says, "- back when we were dating..." and I have to remind her that we haven't stopped dating by taking her out. If you have ideas for fun dates I could take her on, then please let me know. If the idea is really good, I will surprise her with it.

44th Tuesday weigh-in

226.5 lb

Strange to be up so much, I didn't overeat all week until Friday night when I had waaay more pizza than I should have. Then I took the family to the Pleasant Grove Hog's Heaven CookOff on Saturday night and enjoyed some nice ribs and pulled pork. We got leftovers so it was BBQ Sunday and Monday too. But I really don't think I am "up", just retaining water / extra food from the weekend of extra grease and salt. I don't feel heavy and did exercise the entire week consistently. If I can lose body fat and gain muscle, that is fine with me.

I am as motivated as ever to post good numbers here and at my monthly weigh-in with the "impersonal" trainer, Heather. Seriously she has been a huge let down. It has been like torture to get any kind of personalized help from her, she just wants to measure this and weigh that, then give me a pre-printed handout and a smile-see-ya-next-month-bah-bye. If anything she has demotivated more than motivated. So Heather gets zero credit from me for any progress I am making.

My plan for next week is to push myself at the gym on cardio harder than I have been. I also plan to eat midmeal snacks so I am not tempted to overeat at dinner. Finally, I like Rebecca's strategy to stop eating by 8pm, so I am stealing that one from her. Rebecca, by the way, has been rocking it in weight loss these past few months and is breaking out skinny clothes left and right. She really puts me to shame with her progress, her pants are loose and her figure is as stunning as when we got married.

43rd Tuesday weigh-in

Image: flickr owner D Sharon Pruitt

225 lb

Down 0.5 lb. I worked out all week in Austin and didn't let jet lag stop me from going on Saturday either. When I ran the neighborhood 5K earlier this year a neighbor commented to me after, "Harley, you're an animal." And they meant it, that felt good to hear; I wish I had a video of it to watch to help me stay motivated.

I asked Rebecca to look at the photo I posted last week and compare it to me now. She could not tell if I looked much different now than in the photo at Halloween in 2008, all I can say to that is: ouch.. I can tell you I lift a lot more weight now than I did in 2008. Exercises that were tough at 100 lbs, I do now at 135 lbs. I have been able to do lifts heavier than I ever recorded or can remember doing them. I do more cardio now than in Oct 2008 also. My blood pressure is lower, cholesterol is at a healthier level, I have less body fat too. But the truth is the truth, I do not look much different on the outside and have not lost much weight in almost 12 months. Some of my pants are still snug which I was hoping would be loose by now, at least I am not afraid they will tear open when bending over or the button fall off taking a deep breath. I didn't have a personal trainer in Oct 2008 or any real clear goals for my health. Yes I could have crash dieted and suffered and struggled against myself and pushed myself much harder, but I have no regrets. I am happy with the progress.

I guess I am just saying I have changed and continue to change whether is shows on the outside or not, whether the numbers on the scale are good or not, I am changing slowly and the change is from the inside out. One day the outside will catch up to the inside. The inscription on my iPod Rebecca gave me says: Be the change... which is part of a favorite quote of mine: Be the change you want to see in the world. Good motto to live by if you ask me.

42nd Tuesday weigh-in

226.5 lb

Up 1.0 lb from last Tuesday, synopsis is: travel sucks. Anyway I made some dietary u-turns and by Friday I was back to 225.5 lb despite the non-stop buffet available to me. I was hard to turn down my manager / client for dinner but I ate with him once that week and had planned on a lunch with him as well, enough's enough. I am proud that I didn't have soda or appetizers and that I worked out every day of the week of travel. Photo is me from 2008 Halloween party, probably the closest photo I have of myself back when I started my Tuesday weigh-ins in Nov 2008. I was a "farmer" for Halloween that year. It is fitting that I am eating a candy bar... that is how I got so off track, one snack at a time.