I'm a big believer in losing it slowly and doing the healthy way. I started January 1st 2008 @ 245lbs. - 5'10". I flucuated lower and higher within the year, but found that I was pretty consistant on getting lower and lower.
Jan - 2009: 215lbs.
Jan - 2010: 210 lbs.
Jan - 2011: 215 lbs.
Jan - 2012: 198 lbs.
March 1st I weighed in at 193 and felt pretty good. I had held that weight since late January and been feeling ok with my workouts. I wanted to get into the 180's as my next step. By March 31st, I had checked in at 182.6 - 10.4 lbs.
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| March 3rd BEFORE |
Here were my continued efforts and notes:
- Back to calorie counting! By using my iPad app - MyFitnessPal, I was able to get my head in the game of ensuring what I was going in my mouth was accounted for. It is so easy to "lose" track of the snacks that get snatched up before you can even think twice about. About 2 weeks into it, I did slack off a bit as I was in the routine of eating conciously (and eating similar meals/snacks over and over) and didn't need to calorie count as much. I did do it from time to time to check myself. I'm sure if I kept it up, I would of done even better.
- Enjoyed myself from time to time. I avoided the whole "Cheat Day" as I believe it tends to re-build bad habits, but instead enjoyed a dinner or lunch that was on the satisfying side. Everytime I did that splurge, my body felt pretty bad about it. So by the next feeding time, I was choosing more wisely.
- Excercise. I cut the running miles down a bit and increased the speed. I was doing 8:45-9:15 min/mi. for most of Jan and Feb. Because I had built a solid base of slower speed running, I felt okay pushing the limits. During Jan/Feb, whenever I pushed the limits, I got hip pain and shin splints. Not anymore. I had a couple of shorter runs @ 7:30 min/mi. and even a 7 mile run @ 8:23 min/mi. I smashed my 7min PR by over 3 minutes! I believe by increasing speed, it jolted my body into some increased metabolism. Once I had woken my body up from the normal routine, I immediately saw the weight and mirror results.
- Water. Drank more and more of it this month. Kept my jug around me as much as possible. Taking a swig right now.
- Juice detox. My wife is currently doing a Juice detox that uses a juicer to extract from mainly vegetables and some fruit. I had a couple here and there as meal replacements. Primarily on off days, or easy rides/runs.
- Enjoyed some carbs. I included some carbs in my diet to be balanced. I believe eating a balanced diet allowed my body to burn and use a variety of fuel. Remember to run faster, you are using your aerobic efforts that is looking for fuel in the form of sugar/carbs as well as protein in the end.
- Breakfast. I usually eat breakfast, but I have switching it up a little bit. Primarily I have been eating some subway sandwiches with egg whites and veggies. I'm pre-loading the calories in the morning, and slimming them down as the day goes. I obviously add in calories when I work out.
- Doing multiple workouts. I bike at lunch. And I run after work or at night. I do pushups when the hot water is warming up for the shower. I do some dumbells during commercials. I go for walks. I keep moving along all day. I drink so much water, I have to get up from my work chair to go #1. Keeps me from sitting too long in one place!
I'll post an after picture for March Madness weight loss. I can tell you, the last few pounds are definitely hard to lose. Everything I have done the past 4 years, is now magnified x2. Eating that cookie used to be okay, but now I feel that it shows up in my progress real easily. By honing it in little by little and doing the above routines, I feel like there is an end goal in sight. I personally don't want to be "skinny"; I would like to lose the love handles and gain some speed on my running (hopefully in the 7 min/mi. range). At this time, the weight number is what I have to work with.
All in all, with my current workouts and building muscle I was aware of not paying too much attention to weight. I also made sure I gave myself positive movement by looking in the mirror and not at the scale only.
What tips do you have on getting slimmed down?
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