BWL Status

Only Week 4 Ranking

TEAM 4 TOTALS	1.19%
TEAM 5 TOTALS	0.64%
TEAM 2 TOTALS	-0.39%
TEAM 3 TOTALS	-0.89%
TEAM 1 TOTALS	-1.39%

Total Weight Loss Ranking

TEAM 5 TOTALS	21.51%
TEAM 4 TOTALS	13.61%
TEAM 3 TOTALS	7.21%
TEAM 1 TOTALS	6.42%
TEAM 2 TOTALS	5.80%

Top 5 Individual Ranking for Week 4:

JR	1.37%
ME	0.76%
LE	0.62%
JS	0.60%
KS	0.60%

Top 5 Total Individual Ranking:

JS	7.15%
Andrew Riemer (me)	5.74%
DMJ	5.64%
JB	4.91%
JR	4.79%

I got a two (just not one I'd prefer)

Well, I did managed to eke out a loss of two...tenths, that is.  That's right, despite Friday night's fish fry madness, I still eked out a meager 0.2 lb. loss for this week, putting me at 269.2 lbs.

Since my Friday dinner intake was almost a pound full of calories (nearly 3,000 consumed with there being 3,500 calories per pound), I well could have lose a full pound or more this week had I opted not to indulge.  I must say, however, that fried fish has and likely always will be one of my favorites, so I'm likely to allow myself to indulge once or twice a year.

My slight loss this morning likely would not had I not doubled up on my workout last night.  This morning, I'm surprised my legs feel as good as they do. There are no muscle aches or pains.  I only have a twinge of discomfort in the vicinity of my left hip socket.  I should note, however, that I'm wearing my newest and most cushioned work shoes today, so I think they're helping my feet not feel too sore.

Well, I proved I can divert from plan and recover a few times now.  Time to let that dog lie. I have only eight weeks left and would like to lose another 16 lbs.

Dinner last night was one cup of our homemade chili with one tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese, and a large bowl of salad with sugar snap peas and two tablespoons of raspberry vinaigrette (60 calories for the vinaigrette).  It was a very satisfying meal.

Well, the rest of the week beckons...  I start Week 4 of the 100 Pushup challenge this evening.  W1D3 three of C25K will be tomorrow (Wednesday).

C25K Redux - W1D2 (and 100PU - W3D3)

I'm catching up after a long weekend.  This past Friday was our city's annual fish fry.  I knowingly set aside my diet plans for the evening.  Over the weekend, I completed 100PU - W3D2, and I finished W3D3 this evening with a total of 127 reps.

The big achievement for the evening, however, was W1D2 of my C25K redux.  It went well.  So well, actually, that I ran through the entire workout twice.  That's right: twice!  I did the running segments the first time through at 5 mph, with the final one at 6 mph.  The second time through, I did most of them at 6 mph (I had one at 5.5 mph in the middle), and then did the final one at 7 mph.


I know it may sound crazy, but I didn't feel like I was pushing it too much at all.  Actually, it felt pretty good!


The weigh in is tomorrow, and I know I may not be down this week due to my fish fry consumption (two days worth of calories in a single sitting at 210 calories per fillet).  That's okay, though.  I know why, and I'm already back on plan.  We'll see what the morning brings.

Good night.

The first goal met!

As I stated before, one of my best friends and I are trying to lose weight. The final reward is a trip to disney together. We have been friends since the 4th grade and live many states apart. This makes this kind of trip extra motivating. Time together having fun -- you betcha!

So we sent some goals along the way to help us reach the long term end goal. The first 10 lbs lost earns us a manicure and a pedicure. At 20 lbs lost -- we each earn a massage. And then for the 30 lbs lost -- disney here we come.

So today I weighed in and I have lost 10 lbs exactly! Im so pumped!!!! I was looking for my official start date, I think it was around feb 1. So thats 10 lbs gone in aboutr 6 weeks -- Ill take that!~ This weekend, im going in for my manicure and pedicure -- Im excited. Its not something that I really do. Thats why its a special treat for me.

The weight came off easier this week. I lost a total of two lbs and 3.6 after a weekend of overeating. Im not sure if its the switch to straight running in couch to 5k or just simply eating less. Ill take it either way!

Next week though, is where the metal hits the fan. I start my college classes on Monday. I will have to be much more deliberate in planning my running time, watching my snacking while studying and time management. I know I can do this! Its just gonna take some adjusting!

Keep on running
Mrs. F

100 Pushups - W3D1

Well, when I posted last night, I said I was pushing off my 100 Pushups workout to today.  As it turns out, a little bit of compulsion and habit can be a good thing.  I completed the workout last night, as originally scheduled.

The workout was five sets of reps: 14 - 18 - 14 - 14 - 20.  During the final set, you're encouraged to do as many as you can.  With a bit of grunting and a reasonable amount of discomfort, I did 40! during the final set.  When I looked at the total number, it was 100.

Now, that's not the 100 the program is pushing toward.  That was simply 100 reps between all the sets.  The end goal is being able to do 100 in one set, at the end of six weeks.  I'm just over a third of the way there.

Since I'm doing my pushups on an angle, I plan to go through the program again after I'm done, hopefully on the floor.  If not, must closer to the floor (e.g., coffee table height).

Anyway, I'm glad to be making progress that I can see and feel.  My next doctor visit is scheduled for two weeks from today.  I'm guessing she's going to be quite surprised by my progress.

Couch to 5k Once Again

Well, I officially started Couch to 5k for the second time tonight.  For any who've started reading recently, it's not that I didn't finish before (I did!). I've just not been running much over the past 18 months, so felt starting over would be a good way to ease back into things.

Wow! What a difference.  I'm amazed that my body has retained as much as it has since I first went through the program.  Day one that first time through left me thinking I just might die right there, out on the trail.  Tonight, on the treadmill and watching CSI, I got through the whole thing without even wanting to throw in the towel. What an amazing residual effect!

Should I really be surprised? Looking back on my Day One entry from back in 2009, I was 30 lbs. heavier (300 lbs.).  That weight surely makes a difference.

Yet that wasn't the only difference.  That first day, my running was pretty pitiful, especially near the end.  I was probably lucky to have made it over 4 mph.  Tonight, I ran flat fives for the first seven running segments, and I started at 6 mph and pushed it up to 8 mph during the final minute.  Sure, I was spent at the end of the workout, but nothing like I was back then. As a point of reference, W5D3 (week five, run day three) on my first time through still had me running slower than four miles per hour during my 20 minute run. That, alone, gives me some hope.

One interesting thing to note: I ran tonight's workout in my Keen sandals.  One of my boys used my running shoes a while back and he wore them down a bit, and lost the clip used for my elastic laces.  I found the Keens to be surprisingly well suited for running.  They are light and they flex very well with my feet.

I've also noticed that I'm really starting to favor a fore-foot strike.  In part, I attribute it to all the stairs I've been doing lately, since I do the stairs on the balls of my feet, and to standing while at work (rather than sitting in a chair).  When at the water park this past weekend, I found myself walking on the balls of my feet most of the time.  When standing there, I also found myself favoring the balls of my feet.  No complaints here, or from Mrs. F.--my calves look really good!

Because I started my C25K redux tonight, I'm delaying my next 100 pushups workout until tomorrow.

Well, goodnight, all!

Almost forgot: 100 Pushups (plus team status)

With all the excitement over my current weight loss, I forgot to post my progress on the 100 Pushups challenge.

I completed week two of the challenge last night, with a total of 87 repetitions.  My neck and shoulders were sore last night (I woke up with a headache). I'm now on to week three--further than I made it last time.

Here are some additional details on where I fall in with my other workplace losers (I'm on Team 5):

Only Week 2 Ranking

TEAM 1 TOTALS	4.91%
TEAM 4 TOTALS	2.76%
TEAM 3 TOTALS	2.64%
TEAM 5 TOTALS	2.45%
TEAM 2 TOTALS	1.87%

Total Weight Loss Ranking

TEAM 5 TOTALS	20.90%
TEAM 4 TOTALS	12.45%
TEAM 3 TOTALS	8.09%
TEAM 1 TOTALS	7.82%
TEAM 2 TOTALS	6.18%

Top 5 Individual Ranking for Week 2:

M.S.	2.52%
J.R.	1.68%
Andrew Riemer (ME!)	1.68%
S.M.	1.55%
D.M	1.37%

Top 5 Total Individual Ranking:

J.S.	6.59%
Andrew Riemer (ME!)	5.67%
J.B	5.51%
D.M.	5.40%
N.Y	4.21%

 

The one benefit I have, going forward, is that I have a lot more to lose than the rest.  That gives me the potential to keep losing (though I know it will get harder) even when the others start bottoming out.

Anyway, that's all for now.

BWL Weigh-in for Week Three

I had a welcome surprise on the scale this morning: 269.6!

This is the first time I've been below 270 since high school!

I can't explain how good it feels to see some real progress.  I finally broke the 270 barrier!

I hated yogurt when I was a kid.  I'm sure glad I love it now!

Almost another bad weekend (almost!)

We had another one of those weekends.  We had an event to attend on Sunday, so we ended up taking the kids to an area favorite, Pizza Ranch.  My original plan was salad bar only, but their salad bar was pathetic (sorry, Pizza Ranch).  No green peppers, no onions, and no vinaigrette.  I opted for the regular buffet, which included the almost-a-salad bar, and had good intentions.

Epic fail!

During that meal, I consumed 1,600 calories--more than my daily goal of 1,592.

It was very good, and I did stop myself from having more, so I'll take the small victory.

After the meal, we went on to our activity, which was at the Waterpark of America.  I got in a lot of walking, and quite a few sets of stairs.  Nowhere near enough to counter my lunch calories, but I was glad to be moving.

Well, this morning, I decided to check the scale to see how bad things were looking. I'm down 1.6 lbs. for the week, with my official weigh in tomorrow morning. I won't need to starve myself today just to show a loss, and that's a good thing (on more than one level).

In other news, I got to the end of last week without working on 100 pushups, so I got my week two day one and two workouts in on Friday and Satruday.  I definitely felt it during that Saturday workout.  Tonight I'll finish up day three of week two, and then will start week three on Wednesday.

I have yet to restart Couch to 5k, but I'm getting closer to being ready to do so.  Being on my feet all day (except last week--I was in a class) has really helped my mood and leaves me feeling better overall.  I'm hoping that, between my standing and my hall-stairs laps, I'll be up to the challenge again.

I've not lost a lot of size, but things are fitting better and, overall, pulling in.  The sides of my belly have really receded. I'm wearing suspenders today with pants I normally could wear without.  Fat along the sides of my chest and under my arms is loosening.  It looks worse than before, but that's because the muscle is changing and accentuating the difference between the two.  I wonder how long before those two areas start to shrink noticeably.

Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow with the official weigh-in results.  For now, I have an appointment with a yogurt container.

8 lbs!

As of this morning, I'm officially down 8 lbs. That feels great! Im starting to make better choices a little easier, my pants are fitting just a tiny bit looser and it's not quite as hard to exercise.

I am finishing up week 6 today in the couch to 5k program. This starts the beginning of solid running with no walking breaks. I'm a tad bit nervous about it. It feels like eons ago that I ran for an hour or more at a time. I keep reminding myself though, I have done this before and I can do it again. That helped tremendously when it came time to do that dreaded week 5 20 minute run!

I do think it is helping that hubster and I are doing this together. It makes it much easier to be a lifestyle choice that way.

Keep on running
Mrs. F

Pulling up after a steep dive

It's usually one of the more climactic moments in a movie.  The plane, for whatever reason, has taken a nose dive.  The pilot (or a stalwart passenger or staff member after the pilot is shot) grabs the stick and tries to pull up. As the ground zooms ever nearer, bringing certain doom, the would be pilot wrests the stick back as far as possible, forestalling an imminent disaster.

My weekend was like that.

It started Friday, going to lunch with friends from work.  I stuck to the "Garden Bar" as it is branded at Ruby Tuesday, and heaped on the veggies, added a small pinch of ham, and topped it off with about a tablespoon of a raspberry vinaigrette.  That wasn't bad, but I found myself very hungry a few hours later.

Let's just say that there was an incident in the break room, and it involved a couple of sweet rolls.  Bad Andrew. Bad Andrew

Dinner on Friday wasn't horrible, but wasn't great, either.  The family was having pork tenderloin and a choice of starches, so I opted for pork tenderloin and salad.  It was SOOOO tasty! I should have stuck to one serving of the pork. Or two...

Saturday was crazy, with the day spent at the individual sections wrestling meet, hosted at our local high school.  Then, for dinner, I had Mrs. F pick up some Papa Murphy's pizzas.  I kept myself to three pieces--far better than before, but still not great.

Then there was Sunday, meeting Mrs. F's cousin and her family at one of my all time favorite places, Davanni's.  Their Chicago style deep dish pizza is amazing.  Two slices there (almost 650 calories), and then two slices of their traditional crust.  Bad Andrew, once again.

I did finish up week one of the 100 pushup challenge over the weekend, and I spent some extra time on the treadmill during family movie night on Sunday evening.  Still, I was pretty sure I blew this weigh in.

This morning, I left for work extra early because we had snow moving in.  That gave me time to squeeze in some stairs (12 flights each way) before needing to weigh in.  Thankfully, all that movement prompted my GI system to help me rid myself of a bit of extra weight.

The end result? I lost 1.5 lbs. this week.  I'll take it! I certainly missed my 2+ lb. goal, but I didn't go back up, either.  Had I not let myself slide so much going into the weekend,  I'm pretty sure I could have had another massive week (around 5?). Oh, well! We'll have to see what happens this week.

I'm still standing at my desk, and I quite like it.  Unfortunately, I'm sitting in a class all week, so am getting neither my standing time, nor my daily laps.  I'll just watch my calories and keep moving.  I'm excited that I'm still making progress.  To date, I've lost 4% of my body weight in the BWL contest. 

I managed to pull up.  It wasn't too late.

Happy Thursday

Last night, I completed my second 100 Pushups workout.  Since I had trouble completing the first full day, however, I decided to modify my plan a bit.  Instead of starting with my on-the-floor pushups, I'm going to run through the program once doing them on an angle.  Then, after finishing the program that way, I'll go back and do it closer to the ground or on the ground.  Doing that, I finished my workout with 25 repetitions on the final set, placing my total for the workout at 63.

I'm still doing fine on my calorie counting, and on my daytime activity level.  This was my second day standing at work.  My feet are a tad sore, but not bad at all.  I can already see and feel the first bits of difference, specially around my face and the overall bulge of my gut.  I'm really hopeful that this time I'll be able to maintain my progress for the long term, and that I'll be able to sink to new lows on the scale.

I stand to lose weight

By increasing my activity level while simultaneously reducing my caloric intake, I stand to lose weight.  Well, as of today, I have another way I stand to lose weight: I got rid of my desk chair!

Yes, as of this morning, I'm chair free.  I'll stand all day, thereby burning perhaps a few hundred extra calories a day.  While this change coincides with my Biggest Workplace Loser participation, it's something I've wanted to do for a long time.  I had no opportunity to try it where I last worked, but the desks here are wonderfully adjustable.

So, I'm giving it a whirl.  I certainly hope I'll be able to do it long term.

I've also increased the number of laps I do in the halls and on the stairs.  I'm up to six laps, four times per work day.  Over the past day or two, I've really felt it in my lower abdominal muscles. I'm also eating six times a day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and a final snack).  That seems to be working well for me.  The snacks are typically 170 calories or less (the amount of calories in a regular yogurt or some granola bars).  I'm less hungry throughout the day, and my blood sugar levels are much lower and level.

Have a great one today!

First weigh-in (BWL)

Well, this morning I had my first weigh-in for my workplace's biggest loser competition (BWL)... drum roll, please... and I lost 10 lbs!

Wow! It felt great to see that result on the scale today.  I quickly inventoried my clothes and realized that I was wearing jeans when I weighed in when I registered, so my real loss is probably closer to 8.5 or 9 lbs. (they were my lightest jeans and I'm wearing medium weight pants today), but I'll take it either way.  What a fantastic feeling!

I didn't even get in my own "last chance workout" last night.  I spent most of the evening mixing and packing some trail mix. [Which, unfortunately, I'll be able to eat only sparingly over the next few months, since it calculated at approximately 310 calories per half cup serving! (see below)] It's a high calorie food, but a favorite for camping, canoeing, and hiking trips. In reality, it will make a good energy food once I ramp up my workouts.  Here's the mix (rounded to the nearest whole pound for most):

Trail Mix (yields 128-160 1/2 cup servings)

1 lb Roasted Sunflower Nuts, Unsalted

 2 lb  Roasted Sunflower Nuts, Salted

16 oz Roasted/no Salt Soynuts (two 8 oz. containers)

16 oz Soynuts, Roasted Salted (two 8 oz. containers)

1 lb Roasted Salted Almonds

3 lb Salted Cashew Pieces

2 lb Roasted Salted Blanched Peanuts

1 lb Pecan

14 oz Dry Mango (two 7 oz. containers)

22 oz. Dried Pineapple (c. 5 1/3 cups--two 11 oz. containers)

3 1/2 cups Chopped Dates (two 8 oz. bags)

2 lb dried cranberries

2 lb Banana Chips

Remember, we have a large family, so you may want to scale this back if you try it.  I couldn't fit it into our largest mixing bowl (and, boy, is it large--it makes our 6 qt. Crock Pot look small), so I used the bowl to mix batches that I then divided between two paper grocery bags.  Then I combined portions from each bag back in the bowl and mixed to ensure everything was distributed evenly.  Once that was done, I measured out 1/2 cup servings into snack sized zipper bags, plus put another 24 cups away in sealed containers. The zipper bags then got placed into a Girl Scout cookie case--I got about 90 portions tucked away in that box.

When I measured out the mix before packing it, we had 64 cups of mix by volume.  When we packed the baggies and other containers, we ended up with about 90 bags plus eight three-cup containers (48 additional servings).  The difference seems to be from how tightly things were packed when I measured in our large measuring cup versus how things fit in the half-cup measure I used to scoop the mix for each bag.  So, in reality, that 310 calorie figure was based on 128 half-cup servings, when we actually got approximately 158 servings.  That would drop the calorie count on a bag down to 251--now I can live with that number, too!

So, I need to get back to it.  I have a class all morning, so I won't get my morning laps in, but I did already do six flights of stairs (each way), so I'm staying active.

Have a good day!