digitalBush

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. 

I'm 4 months into my weight loss adventure this year and I've managed to lose 15 pounds so far.  I'm past the point where I would normally fail and fall back into my old eating habits.  The other day I was reflecting over past weight loss attempts and realized why this sucks so bad.  The hard part about losing weight isn't the diet or the exercise (provided you are doing sensible things here).  The thing that is hard to overcome is me. 

Photo courtesy of Josh Hunter

You see, for years I've eaten whatever the heck I wanted.  Really, it has been that way since I can remember.  I was always a big guy growing up, but my activities kept my weight reasonable.  Fast forward to now and I have a job where all I do is sit all day.  My eating habits just caught up to me and now I have a problem on my hands.  When I look back at my high school pictures, I look skinny compared to what I look like now.  It's amazing really.  Back then I knew I was big.  Now I just want to get back to the weight I was at way back when.  That means that now I must be REALLY BIG.

Okay, so I am really big. There's a word for that, it's called obese.  Isn't that a nasty word?  Our stupid American politically correct culture wants us to not use offensive words.  You know, you might hurt someone's feelings.  The problem is that by not saying anything, you are just contributing to a greater problem.  ACCEPTANCE.  By accepting people's unhealthy weight, you are doing them a disservice. You are allowing them to be comfortable with a lifestyle that will ultimately lead to diabetes, coronary artery disease, or maybe cancer just to name a few.  Being overweight because you eat too much and don't exercise is just as bad as smoking.  It's just another poor life decision.

Here I am.  I weigh 281 lbs and I am 6'5" tall.  My BMI is 33.3 which places me firmly in the obese category.  In order to rid myself of that label, I must reach a weight of 252.  Last year I would have told you that BMI was a crock-of-shit.  Denial is an evil thing.  All I was doing was overlooking the facts so that I could feel okay about myself.  All of my previous attempts at losing weight failed because of this attitude: "What's the worst that could happen?  If I don't lose weight I'll just be like I am now.  I'm awesome."

I am awesome.  My health isn't.  I'm going to continue to fight to get my weight down.  I'd rather not miss out on important things in my life because I'm either sick or dead.  Food just isn't worth that.  I'm come to terms with my present condition and where I want to be.  I just need to keep my spirits up in order to get there.  These mind games we play on ourselves suck.  It's too easy to get depressed and give up.  This time I'm trying to stay positive.  If I'm making progress towards my goal, then I'm winning.  This is nothing more than a battle of will.  Suck on it emotions, I'm losing this weight and winning this battle.

Damn, I'm so close!  This month was a good weight loss month for me.  I just weighed in at 281 lbs which makes my weight loss from last month 4 pounds.  I was shooting for 5 lbs this month, but it didn't quite happen.  It's okay though, because I'm still losing weight.  Any month I can record a weight loss is a good one for me. 

What did I do right this month?

Photo courtesy of blumpy

My diet is spot on.  I'm very proud of how well I'm managing my food and drink intake.  I still have times when I eat too much or eat something bad, but for the most part I'm good.  I'd say my diet is about 80/20 right now.  80% of the time I'm eating very healthy and the other 20%, not so much.  The good news is that I don't have to feel guilty about the 20% because of my progress.  It keeps me from getting frustrated and that lack of frustration is enabling me to move forward. 

Where did I fall short this month?

Well, yesterday I ate a big ol' mess of fried food for lunch and that most likely didn't help my weigh in today.  Also, I still feel like I could be exercising more.  I feel a little weak at times, so that tells me I need more.  Fortunately it's warmer outside, and that means I have to mow the lawn and tend to the garden. 

What's in store for this month?

May is my birthday, so I'll be doing nothing spectacular for that.  I might enjoy a slice of cake and chill with some friends.  I'm still in the 280's and that sucks.  I'll be out to remedy that problem this month and make a dive for the 270's in a major way.  276 lbs is my target weight for the end of May.  So far this year I've lost 15 pounds.