A quick note to say Merry Christmas! I am still in the groove as it is - eating whole foods and doing body weight exercises twice a week.
I can now do a set of 10 pull-ups without rest and 10 chin-ups without rest! I have added dips and hanging leg raises to my workouts for more variety as well. I have also added clapping push-ups fro some plyometric stimulation.
Eating wise I went from alternate day fasting regimen to daily Intermittent Fasting using an eating window from 4-10pm. I enjoy this regimen more as it allows for more eating - and works out well with all of the holiday parties. It also saves from having to bring any food to work :)
Weight wise I have seemed to stabilize - bouncing between 235-245 (240 this morning). Based on my clothes still getting looser and the number of repetitions increasing in workouts I think I am actually adding muscle and still reducing body fat. I don't have calipers - but I also have noticed vascularity in places I have never had it.
I am going to continue my routing through the new year and see where to go . I am not completely sure where my weight should end up. Originally I had targeted 195 - but maybe it will be something higher? This is uncharted territory for me - transitioning from almost two years of fairly rapid weight loss to nearing a balance is interesting.
For all of the holiday celebrations and stress I am definitely happy with stability! In most years passed I probably added 10-15 pounds every holiday season!!
Happy Holidays
-LL
Friday, December 24, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Post Thanksgiving Musings - A "Normal" Holiday
Had an awesome Thanksgiving - filled the house with family and enjoyed every minute of it. Company started arriving Wednesday and the last left yesterday afternoon. The house seems a little quiet today as we are all winding down and getting ready to head back to work tomorrow.
So how did the holiday go food/exercise wise? It went exactly as planned - as a normal part of life. This is my second Thanksgiving since changing my life and at this point after 19 months everything seemed normal to me. I ate primal/lowcarb the whole time - smoked turkey, ham, roast cauliflower, butter, fage, cream, awesome pecan pie bites, apple chutney, etc.... it was downright luxurious and I never felt one iota of longing for any of my "old" treats.
It is very liberating to feel normal again - I am reminded of it everyday as life goes on everything that I changed to lose all of the weight has become normal. It is not a burden or some overly complicated routine of measuring, counting, timing....It is not angst and hand wringing every time I go out to eat or have a work function. If I go out - there is always something on the menu that I can fit in with my primal diet. If I go to a work function there is usually something I can snack on or worst case I do an impromptu IF.
I always thought the whole room would notice, that someone not eating the bread would be the three headed gorilla in the room....nope as is the case with myself people are generally most interested in what they are doing/eating and not what others are. Reading the message boards I see the angst and trepidation a lot of newcomers have about how in the world will they survive "going out", "a family function", "Thanksgiving", etc....my answer is you don't "survive" these events! Rather learn to incorporate them into a normal lifestyle.
This doesn't mean foregoing your dietary goals and plan, but rather adapting to the situation and realizing that 99.9% of the time you should be able to enjoy the event whether it be eating some portion of the food, requesting small modifications if you order, or even skipping the food every now and then as part of an IF. Absolute worst case - a small surrender will not derail all of your progress - however in 19 months and almost two complete set of holidays, business lunches, birthdays, funerals, weddings,etc.. I have not found this to be necessary even once!
I wish I knew now what I didn't know then as I was packing that extra 180 pounds of weight or suffering with it for all those years dragging on my existence. If I knew I could live happily, enjoy life including food and activity, and be fit without it being a constant burden maybe I would have started sooner and I would now have a couple extra years of happy memories.
Hindsight is 20/20 - hopefully for those out there waiting to get started or even along the way you can incorporate this advice: whatever you are doing to change your life - remember you need to make it your new normal. Do this and hopefully like I have experienced - staying fit and healthy will become almost effortless in your mind regardless of the difference in effort between the old you and the new you.
-LL
So how did the holiday go food/exercise wise? It went exactly as planned - as a normal part of life. This is my second Thanksgiving since changing my life and at this point after 19 months everything seemed normal to me. I ate primal/lowcarb the whole time - smoked turkey, ham, roast cauliflower, butter, fage, cream, awesome pecan pie bites, apple chutney, etc.... it was downright luxurious and I never felt one iota of longing for any of my "old" treats.
It is very liberating to feel normal again - I am reminded of it everyday as life goes on everything that I changed to lose all of the weight has become normal. It is not a burden or some overly complicated routine of measuring, counting, timing....It is not angst and hand wringing every time I go out to eat or have a work function. If I go out - there is always something on the menu that I can fit in with my primal diet. If I go to a work function there is usually something I can snack on or worst case I do an impromptu IF.
I always thought the whole room would notice, that someone not eating the bread would be the three headed gorilla in the room....nope as is the case with myself people are generally most interested in what they are doing/eating and not what others are. Reading the message boards I see the angst and trepidation a lot of newcomers have about how in the world will they survive "going out", "a family function", "Thanksgiving", etc....my answer is you don't "survive" these events! Rather learn to incorporate them into a normal lifestyle.
This doesn't mean foregoing your dietary goals and plan, but rather adapting to the situation and realizing that 99.9% of the time you should be able to enjoy the event whether it be eating some portion of the food, requesting small modifications if you order, or even skipping the food every now and then as part of an IF. Absolute worst case - a small surrender will not derail all of your progress - however in 19 months and almost two complete set of holidays, business lunches, birthdays, funerals, weddings,etc.. I have not found this to be necessary even once!
I wish I knew now what I didn't know then as I was packing that extra 180 pounds of weight or suffering with it for all those years dragging on my existence. If I knew I could live happily, enjoy life including food and activity, and be fit without it being a constant burden maybe I would have started sooner and I would now have a couple extra years of happy memories.
Hindsight is 20/20 - hopefully for those out there waiting to get started or even along the way you can incorporate this advice: whatever you are doing to change your life - remember you need to make it your new normal. Do this and hopefully like I have experienced - staying fit and healthy will become almost effortless in your mind regardless of the difference in effort between the old you and the new you.
-LL
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Still Going
Been super busy the last few weeks and had boys weekend this weekend. Just a quick note to say I'm still here and on track.
I was getting a little obsessed with weighing myself so I have decided to take a break and wait a few weeks or longer until I check. At some point I need to not obsess so much with the number but also being and feeling healthy. I did do 7 chin-ups and 3 pull-ups this week though as a gauge of continued progress!
I still am getting a flood of congratulations and comments at work since I switched to clothes that are not three sizes too big. Makes me wonder if I had some bigger clothes for a few more weeks and then went back again if it would garner the same reaction?
Still looking to share success and help others - I will hopefully get some new pics up soon. I tend to be tweeting more now than blogging as life has gotten busy. You can always check them out here in the sidebar.
Sorry so short!
-LL
I was getting a little obsessed with weighing myself so I have decided to take a break and wait a few weeks or longer until I check. At some point I need to not obsess so much with the number but also being and feeling healthy. I did do 7 chin-ups and 3 pull-ups this week though as a gauge of continued progress!
I still am getting a flood of congratulations and comments at work since I switched to clothes that are not three sizes too big. Makes me wonder if I had some bigger clothes for a few more weeks and then went back again if it would garner the same reaction?
Still looking to share success and help others - I will hopefully get some new pics up soon. I tend to be tweeting more now than blogging as life has gotten busy. You can always check them out here in the sidebar.
Sorry so short!
-LL
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Results Oriented: -181 Pounds!!! Arriving at a Destination...
New weight as of 6:30am this morning is 234.0 for a total loss of 181 pounds so far.
I also completed 6 full chin-ups and 2 full pull-ups at this weight!
Here is my updated weight chart as of today 10/30/2010:
Less than 31 pounds now until I am no longer officially obese and only 21 pounds until I am half the man I used to be!
Even better than where my weight is at - I am not scared to death of what will happen when I get to where I originally set out. I have completely changed my lifestyle and where I am at is the new "normal" - I am not "dieting" for a period of time or until I reach some specific goal. I have been through social situations, work, family events, road trips, cruises, vacations, and even Italian restaurants while being comfortable with my choices - and I have the pleasure of those choices being what I feel is luxuriously.
I'm still on a journey but I have already made my destination - if that makes sense...
-LL
I also completed 6 full chin-ups and 2 full pull-ups at this weight!
Here is my updated weight chart as of today 10/30/2010:
Less than 31 pounds now until I am no longer officially obese and only 21 pounds until I am half the man I used to be!
Even better than where my weight is at - I am not scared to death of what will happen when I get to where I originally set out. I have completely changed my lifestyle and where I am at is the new "normal" - I am not "dieting" for a period of time or until I reach some specific goal. I have been through social situations, work, family events, road trips, cruises, vacations, and even Italian restaurants while being comfortable with my choices - and I have the pleasure of those choices being what I feel is luxuriously.
I'm still on a journey but I have already made my destination - if that makes sense...
-LL
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