Onward and Downward

Image by Brian J. Matis, licensed CC BY NC SA

Another week of sticking to the plan, another week of losing weight.  I stayed with basically the same plan as last week, with the addition of walking to and from work a few times during the week. 

Walking one way is around 500 metres (I told you I lived close to the office).  On days I walked both to and from the office, that was an easy 1 km walk in the day - - one that I would not have been able to do a couple of months ago.  Walking to the office was not bad, in that my back was not crippled, and although I could feel it in my knees (which are still not great at bending and doing all those other things knees are supposed to do), I was not incapacitated by the effort.

The net result after all that work: another 2.3 pounds lost, for a total of 24.7 pounds lost overall.  Still a long way from the total goal.  It even feels like a long way from my next milestone, of 30 pounds down.  This Friday is the last week of April, which means it's time to take my measurements - - I hope that I am finally down a size, which will be motivation enough to help me keep going to the next milestone.

Continuing Baby Steps

Picture by the_green_squirrel Licensed CC By NC SA

Another week down, another week of workouts on the books.  I am happy that I worked out every weekday this week, just like the week before, and the week before that.

The program this week was 15 minutes of cardio 3x per week (12 minutes of cycling, 3 minutes of rowing), and 19 minutes of cardio twice a week (15 minutes of cycling plus 4 minutes of rowing), plus free weights 3 sets of 15 x 3, three times per week.

And for all that, I've lost another pound and a half this week, for a full 22.4 pounds down.  Yay for progress!

I am feeling both good and bad about my progress this week.  On the good side, I am thrilled that being disciplined and sticking to the program is yielding results.  No matter what happens, I am more than 22 pounds lighter than I was last year.  That's what, a big bag of rice, or a nice Christmas turkey (with stuffing). 

On the down side, I worked really, really hard this week.  I was very disciplined regarding what I ate, and I worked out at a good intensity every day.  To do all that and lose only a pound and a half is good, but a tiny amount of progress.  I am still more than 10 pounds away from my next goal, and it feels like it might as well be a million.  And I still have more than 140 pounds to lose - - that's a whole gymnast and a half, or a model and a quarter, depending on how you slice it. 

Still, baby steps is what I knew I was in for, and any forward progress is good progress, so I need to focus on the positives, and keep pushing. 

Time for a quick update

I measured myself last week, after taking a full week off both my diet and exercise, and I weighed in at 315.5, or 1.8 pounds over the 313.7 I had crept up to.

In consequence, I added rowing to my routine and stepped up the cardio to 12 min bike + 2 min row + 3 sets x 15 reps arm free weights every M/W/F, and 15 min bike + 3 min row Tu/Th. I was super vigilant on what I ate, overall, and I worked out each weekday last week and this week, re-establishing the workout routine.

And the net result? Drumroll please... I have lost 2.5 pounds vs last week, and 20.9 pounds overall. I am sitting at 313 pounds right now, for a new low. Still a long, long way to go, but I am still making progress, which is the point.

And each week that I work out and watch what I eat is another week in which little things are easier for me to do. This week it was walking to a store and then grocery shopping with little difficulty - something that would have been daunting 2 months ago. My walking in the office is more purposeful, too. I may even be wheezing less, although not consistently.

Baby steps, people, but baby steps in the right direction.