digitalBush

I started off July at 276 pounds and immediately shot up for the month.  I don't recall anything out of the ordinary at the beginning of the month to cause the jump. I suspect that my body was just leveling off from the sharp weight decline that happened in June.  The blue line is the moving average, and that is a better indicator of my weight through the month.

I'm starting August at 275 lbs, which is nowhere near my goal for the month.  I'm a little disappointed, because I felt like I did good for my diet and exercise overall.  Despite what the scale says, I have noticed some changes in my body that are encouraging.  I noticed that I'm in size 40 pants instead of 44 and I'm in XL shirts instead of XXL.  Also, I'm down 3 notches on my belt, one of which happened in July. 

Things are definitely changing, but they just aren't changing fast enough for my likes.  At least the graph is showing a downward trend.  When August ends, I want to be down to 270 lbs.  I don't want the 270's to be as stubborn as the 280's.  I have a lot of ground to make up if I'm going to reach my goals for the year.

Photo courtesy of the trial

Recently I was involved in some festivities at work that resulted in some pictures and video being captured of me. When I went back and looked at myself in those pictures, it was terribly hard. The whole time I kept thinking to myself, "Do I really look like that? I look horrible." Some of my friends say that I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but I think quite the opposite. I think everyone should be hard on themselves. Those people that set high standards for themselves do big things and inspire those around them to do better.

The video was a major wake up call. A picture you can almost dismiss because of the awkward times that photos get taken. Video, on the other hand, is a whole other ballgame. I actually got to see my movement and the manner in which I carry my body. Ugh, it makes me cringe just thinking about it. I know I have to keep going to remedy that.

This type of thing motivates me in a major way. I won't use this experience as a way of letting myself get down in the dumps. I will use this as a motivator for where I shouldn't be. I see that and must run the other way as quickly as I can.

All of this is really a good lesson for all. It's important to see yourself from the outside. Sometimes we can get so self absorbed that we can overlook things about ourselves. I'm sure that everyone has qualities that are not desirable but are ignorant to that fact. If you have the opportunity (and an open mind), please take a look at who you are and how others see you. You might be surprised.

My goal for June was to lose 4lbs, and that's exactly what I did.  Overall I had a good weight loss month.  I started off the month with some time off work to do chores (more work than work!) around the house.  This kept me busy and enabled me to focus in on my goals.  The following two weeks were so-so.  Then there was last week.  Oh what a week.  Last week I kicked some serious butt and made stuff happen.  I really didn't want to come on here and reveal that I had yet another sucky month.  That was my motivation last week.

I've also started logging my daily weigh ins on physicsdiet.com.  I already weigh in daily (twice a day most of the time), so I figure I should start collecting data.  I know they say you shouldn't weigh daily, but I think that is just a bunch of crap.  It keeps me focused on what I'm trying to accomplish.  I started logging on the 22nd.  The graph on the right shows my progress.  The blue line shows my moving average at 278.1, but I'm not sure I have enough data points to have a fully accurate picture of that.  Next month I'll weigh more heavily on that moving average figure since that is going to level off my weight fluctuations.

I'm starting off the month of July at 276 lbs.  I'm happy with that and I want to continue my momentum.  This month I want to lose another 5 lbs.  That will put me at 271 lbs.  At this point I'm going to have to stay at this pace to reach my 50 lb weight loss goal.  To date I've lost 20 lbs.

2008 is the year that this finally sunk into my thick head.  I've been trying to apply this phrase to varying aspects of my life and I have been very pleased with the results. This has been my mantra lately and I keep repeating it to myself as a reminder of the big picture.  Little changes long term are far more effective than big change short term.  That phrase is so powerful to me, let me repeat that again. Little changes long term are far more effective than big change short term. 

This is just a real life execution of that old childhood tale of the tortoise versus the hare.  Slow and steady is hard because there is no instant gratification.  Making little changes and waiting for the results requires dedication and a leap of faith.  This has really been a difficult thing for me because of how instant everything is in our current lifestyles.  Today everything is bigger, better, and faster than it was 10 years ago.  We've been trained to get things immediately.  Unfortunately, there are certain things that are just not instant.  Here's a few ways that I am seeing the benefit of small changes.

• Weight Loss - I have always struggled with my weight.  Even though I have had a few setbacks this year, I'm still on the weight loss bandwagon.  Usually by this time of the year I've given up, so this is major progress for me.  All of the things I've done have been fairly minor: drinking water instead of diet drinks, reducing portion sizes, making better food choices, and bringing my lunch more often.  I've done these things and it is really working for me in losing weight.  The best part of it is that I haven't missed the things I've given up.
• Fitness - Obviously my goals aren't just to lose weight.  I want to lose fat and not muscle.  In order to do that I have to exercise to keep the muscle on while I'm losing weight.  Right now it's just body weight exercises and walking/jogging.  I try to fit it in when I can and it seems to be helping.  I have a body fat scale and the body fat percentage is coming down along with my weight.  I haven't adopted some mega workout scheme, instead I've opted to do as much as I can, when I can.  I haven't gotten burnt out on the exercise yet.
• Money - Ashley and I have made a conscious effort to save more money.  When I sat down and looked at how we were spending our money, I quickly realized that we were wasting a lot.  For instance, I was eating out at lunch everyday.  Let's say I average $8/day: that's $40/week or $2,080 a year!  By cutting that down to 2 times a week and eating leftovers, I'm saving a bundle while still maintaining some social interaction.  As a bonus, it's helping me lose some weight.
• Gas - Surely you've noticed that gas isn't getting any cheaper.  As a commuter who drives about 70 miles per day, it's starting to hurt and it hurts bad!  18,000 miles of commuting and my car gets about 26 mpg mixed hwy and city.  That means at $4/gallon, I'm spending about $2,800 per year in gas which is about $700 more than I was a year ago.  I've been able to adjust my driving habits by driving slower on the interstate and accelerating slower from a stop so that I'm now getting about 28 mpg mixed city/hwy.  That's a savings of just over $200/year if gas stays at $4/gallon.  It's not huge, but as they say every little bit helps.

The changes I'm making in my life are so small, that I barely even notice them.  I just have to make a conscious effort to do the right thing and not fall into my old habits.  I've noticed that as I've progressed through this year, that these better choices are becoming more natural.  It's getting to the point where it feels odd to drink a soda and not bring my lunch to work.  Now that is sustainable change!

Do you notice waste in your life?  If you do, don't wait to try and make some monumental change to solve it.  Start now.  Do something little that will move you towards your goal.  Then do the same thing tomorrow.  It's that easy.  Take one step at a time and move forward.  Give it a month and see where it gets you.

May turned out to be an eventful month for the Bush household.  I totally fell off the wagon this month.  I only managed to lose one measly pound.  That leaves me starting June at 280 lbs.  The main culprit was my eating.  I didn't do well at all.  But, that okay because even though I had a crappy month, I didn't gain weight.

Now it's time to refocus.  This is why I do these monthly status reports.  If I manage to stray from the path, then this is my time to kick my own ass.  I'm starting June with a week of vacation which I plan to get some nice exercise in every morning.  I've managed to get out the past 2 mornings with Ashley and I feel good.  Hopefully this will set the stage for June to lose 4 pounds.