A little hiccup and now back to it

Thanksgiving can be rough for those trying to lose weight. Throw in a four day conference with that, and it's just asking for weight gain. 

Check.

When I started my weight loss goals anew for the zillionth time, I had already eyed the end of November as a possible trouble spot. The week before Thanksgiving, I was to go to Atlanta for a national conference. Then, of course, comes Thanksgiving, a holiday where your average meal is 2,500 calories.  I went into this two week stretch weighing 234. My honest goal: not weigh 240 when I got out of it. 

It is so hard to eat right on the road for two main reasons:

1) You are eating out basically every meal

2) Social drinking is fun, but does nothing for your weightloss goals.

What can I say, I enjoy a good Old Fashioned. One of the main reasons for my success thus far has probably been cutting way back on alcohol (one drink per week). In Atlanta....well, that changed. 

I did work out while down there, getting on my hotel's exercise bike and elliptical. But, still, I got back from that weighing 236. 

Thanksgiving did much of the same, despite a devotion to my in-laws' treadmill. I came back from that at 238. 

Today though, I got back on my own elliptical and will start again. After all, the main thing I've noticed throughout this process is that weight loss is not linear. You'll always go up and down with weight, sometimes throughout the day. And while I "cheat" and only log the lowest weight I can in Lose It, I've learned to not let the ups and downs get to me. 

(For the record, I did log in 238.) 

The other thing that I have going for me is a couple of goals, and they are in sight...

~Lose a tenth of my original body weight by the end of the Semester. I originally weighted 257.2. A tenth of that would bring me down to 231.5. It'll be close, but I should be able to get there by the time the semester ends on Dec. 19. 

~My Lose It goal is 215. I have been losing two pounds per week. If I can keep that up, I will get there in 12 weeks.  That's early February. It seems like a long ways off, but...12 weeks if I maintain pace! This is also the weight I want to be at before I resume running (probably on a treadmill, because of the weather). Since this started out as a running blog, I cannot wait to get back to that.

~My overall goal is 200 pounds. At two pounds per week, I get there the first week of April. Plus, maybe the snow will be gone (one can hope) and I can run outside. Under 20 weeks away! 

These seem like a long ways off, but I've tried to frame this as a lifestyle change. I'm not trying to get to 200 pounds because I want to throw back double cheeseburgers again. I'm doing this to be healthy for a long time to come.

With that on the line, who can let a two week hiccup stop them? 

Knocking on the door

They say that when dieting and trying to lose weight, it's good to have goals. It can be hard and frustrating to lose 57 pounds (as I ultimately am trying to do). While my overall goal is to get to 200 pounds, my goal in the Lose It App is 220 pounds. Having little goals to bridge the gap can help.

I am coming up on an unofficial goal: getting under 240 pounds.

It has been about two years since I was that 'light'. I remember that I had gotten the flu and had dipped below the mark. After I recovered, so did my weight, and it continued to climb upwards.

Last year, when I had started in on a weight loss plan, I got discouraged after hitting a plateau around 242. This time around, I also saw a plateau. I wondered if  I couldn't get under that level.

But then, with some extra work and really watching food intake, I ticked down to 240.

Watching the scale go down has been exciting. I try not to get hung up on when it goes up or stays the same. I have seen the downward trend and have started to trust the process a bit. When it ticks down to 239, I will know I've broken through one barrier. And then it's on to the next.

Holding pattern

For the first time in six weeks, the weekly scale check has not yielded progress. I have held steady at 246.8 pounds.

OK, so I check my weight a lot. It has become a go to activity that I do when waiting for the shower to heat up, and so it's not unusual to weigh myself twice a day (or more, just for curiosity's sake). One thing that has struck me during the process is how much your body weight fluctuates during the day. I remember one day I weighed myself to find that I had gained two pounds, and then after a work out at the end of the day, had lost four pounds from there. So, I don't put a lot of stake in the daily ups and downs, as long as the general trend continues.

It was a bit odd to see the scale stay the same. I felt like I had done my usual routine and had been ok with my food (I am not exactly on a strict diet). But, I did continue on with workouts and steps, and will continue to do so.

Overall, I've lost ten pounds so far. I'm hopeful that I can continue to lose weight at about two pounds per week. And here's hoping that next week, the downward trend continues.

A most glorious feeling

Happy Labor Day Weekend everyone. I started mine out with a little sleeping in (7:00....WHOO!) and then it was time to get in a workout.

I started out with yoga. I have continued the 30 Day Yoga Camp. I haven't done it every day, but I am now up to Day 18. Today was a lot of moving with the breath (I suppose that is what yoga is supposed to be, but I'm pretty new to the practice. It was the focus.) It also featured some amazing stretches. Thanks to yoga, I am now able to touch my toes. Today, as I was lifting from forward folds and the such, I found my self smiling. I have enjoyed yoga, but I rarely smile. This may just be trying to stay focused (on account of having literally no idea what I'm doing) but today, I found myself smiling. The stretches felt good. I felt good (losing 7 pounds will do that). I think I was also finding that my muscles were getting stronger. It was easier to roll up from forward fold. It's easier to maintain a downward facing dog. It felt good to start the day this way.

As I have stated before, as much as I'm liking yoga, it alone is not going to help me achieve a weight loss goal. Though, as a co-worked pointed out, if you aren't stressed then you might not eat so much. And this is true. We are three weeks into the school year, and I have been relatively stress free. This is partly due to this being year 3 and I have a better handle on what I'm doing, but I think yoga has helped to. But, it's not going to get the job done by itself, so I turn to the elliptical.

I love the elliptical. While I eventually want to get back into running again. right now I think that would put too much pressure on my joints. The elliptical is a good way to get around that. Today, I decided to push myself a little bit.

Now, I'm not sure how the elliptical decides what a calorie is, how accurate that count is, or anything like that. But, usually I burn ~8 calories per minute. I usually go for an hour. This results in a 480 calorie burn. Recently, I started to see if I could bump that up to 500 calories in an hour. I could. Earlier this week, I was burning at a 9 cal/minute clip and doing well, until I hit a wall. So, today I decided if I could go that rate for the full hour. If I succeeded, I would burn 540 calories, 60 more than my original pace.

Of course, burning an extra calorie per minute is work. To sustain it is work. At about the thirty minute mark, I could feel sweat pouring out of me. I was, believe me, experiencing the name sake of this blog. Sweat came off my forehead, down my tear ducts and dripped to the floor. My shirt clung to me.

AND IT WAS GLORIOUS!

I love that feeling of sweat rolling through you. It's like seeing steam come off an engine. You can feel the work. Every minute, another nine calories. Sometimes, I had to push extra to catch up to pace. My legs held strong. At about the 55 minute mark, I thought I was going to hit a wall again. I gathered my strength, and pushed through. My shirt was drenched, I could feel sweat literally flying off me with each revolution on the machine. Another nine calories, 4 minutes. Put the head down, push, push, push, another 9 calories, three minutes, find another gear, push, another 9 calories, 18 to go, every seven revolutions a calorie, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7, go, go, another 9 calories, last minute, you got this, go hard, go now, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7, maintain pace, watch as the calorie count ticks to 540, the clock reads 59:52. Bang out another seven revolutions to make it 541.

To push one's self to a higher goal, to feel the work it takes to get there, to achieve it....there's no better feeling than that.

Here's to feeling like this more.

Back Where I Was

Last Spring, I had big plans. I was going end out the school year well, springboard into summer, and lose all the weight. I mean, I even wrote a, admittedly fairly uninspiring, post about it.  Actually, re-reading that maybe sheds some light onto why it didn't pan out: I wasn't excited about it. But, that's for another day.

So, at least in my head anyways, I had these plans. Oh man, they were going to be great. I was going to come back to school in August, and everyone would take notice that I was in shape. New year, new Mr. Hoffmann, all that good stuff.

Except, I gained 7 pounds over the summer. Suddenly, my plans for my pants to fit easier was no more. I suppose seeing the scale at 257 was something of a wake-up call. When you are technically not supposed to use ladders, kayaks, and various other things, on account of being above 250 pounds, it is a shock to the system.

So, I put in the efforts. I started using the elliptical (I seriously love the elliptical), used some weights, tracked food on Lose It, and have been doing so since the beginning of August.

And now, I'm down to 249.

I'm excited, the scale reads under 250. But, part of me is sad too. This was where I thought I'd be starting from. I think about those 8 pounds and think of where I'd be if they were lost from 250.

Of course, 249 isn't the end goal. 240 isn't the end goal. I still have a ways to go the reach that. But hey, a start is a start. I need to keep pushing, keep at it. That is what I plan to do this time around.

Here's to the next eight pounds.

On working out for ten days straight

My school year is only three days old, but I already feel great about it. Seriously, all three days I felt amazing. I felt energized (well, until 3:30), on top of things, and just like I was in a good place.

Part of this is that it is year 3. I'm more confident, more sure of myself. Most of the kids have had me for two years, so that's nice. But another part of it is that I am working out.

According to the FitBit, I have worked out for ten straight days. A lot of these days, I did either the elliptical or weights, plus yoga. Some days were just yoga. But, regardless,  I am being active.

I started waking up at 5:30, before school, to get a work out in. I did this all three days to begin the year, and am proud to say I didn't hit snooze once. (Note I didn't say I wasn't tempted...) I got up, put in between 40 minutes to an hour of exercise,  and then was ready for the day.

When I got home,  I did a day of Yoga Camp. Yoga is not strenuous, but I think I'm using it more as a destresser more than anything.  I don't log every yoga workout,  but no doubt it has helped me.

Since starting this routine, along with watching what I eat, I am down five pounds. Unfortunately,  these are not the same five pounds, as I had gained more weight since that post, but I am back down to around where I was last year (~250 lbs.)

It will be a challenge to keep this up through the school year. I certainly don't expect to work out every day. School years tend to get into long stretches that are hard. But, if I can remember that this is making me happy, maybe I can stick with it.

I was talking to a student on Friday who was really wanting the day to end. She asked how my day was going. "It's going great," I responded. "Why?" I talked about my routine, how it gets the blood flowing, releases endorphins. 

It's a small start, but a small start is needed when going for big goals.

Looking back to look ahead

I have become somewhat addicted to Timehop,  the app that lets you look back at your social media posts throughout the years. And five years ago, I discovered that I was running. Six miles even! I believe I was training for a half marathon then.

After that half marathon, I stopped working out. I was back at school full time and working the over night shift at a hotel. I was tired all the time. It was not unheard of for "dinner" to be a large pizza at 2 am. I downed a lot of pop to stay awake. Not to make excuses, but it's not like I look at my body now and wonder how I got here. I know perfectly well.

However, looking back at this gives me encouragement. I did this before. It made me happy! I talked about this yesterday. Exercising makes me happy (which, if you read the science, makes a lot of sense. Endorphins and all that). 

I need to work hard to get to a point where running isn't an instant way to wreck my joints (I want to lose ~25 pounds first). But I'm doing low impact stuff. Yoga, elliptical, cycling. Hopefully that, along with a diet, will get me down to running weight again, and then I can continue to get healthy. To do that, I have to continue to find the joy in exercising, be happy with the improvements, and not get discouraged with the occasional step back. 

Until then, as I said years ago, Beat Yeaterday!

Why this time will be different.

I was going to title this post "Back at it", but then I saw the last post, from March, is titled "Back in the Saddle". So...

The question can be asked, why will this time be different? I've started and stopped so many times. Why will this be the time I make it happen and stick with some sort of fitness routine?

One is, I'm starting to find the fun in it. I recently started Yoga Camp on Youtube. I am five days in. It's been thirty minutes each time. The instructor is good, very calming. One thing I really appreciate is that she tells you to find what feels good. A lot of times with fitness workout videos, you feel that if you don't hit a certain mark , you miss out on something. Maybe you do, but there is a lot to be said about finding your own way and putting in the effort.

One other thing that I enjoy is that each day is different. I have a yoga DVD, but after awhile, it becomes too similar and boring. Changing up the routine provides a challenge and keeps it fresh.

I haven't decided if I'll do yoga before school or after school. We shall see what works starting next week. At any rate, I discovered this morning that I can touch my toes, so...something is working.

I will also add in the elliptical and kettle bell workouts as well. Some free weights. I was thinking I would 30-60 minutes of something when I get up in the morning, plus some when I get home.

One thing that I know that I have to do is carve out time for this. And frankly, that will be as hard as I make it. And if I am finding the fun in exercise, then it shouldn't be too hard. "I'm going to go have fun," shouldn't be a hard thing to do.

I have to commit to myself. But, that said, I have to recognize that I am not perfect.

Will I miss a day of workouts? Yes. Will I have a day where I eat too much? Yes. In the last, I let one day become one week, and then the progress of a month is wasted. No more. Mistakes will happen, but they can't define me as I try and redefine myself.

I try to be a positive person. I wasn't for a lot of years, and it wasn't all that fun. So, I try to be positive. But, I have to admit that this summer was disappointing. I didn't put in the work. I let there be too many bad days.  I talked a big game, made lots of plans and promises, but in the end, I didn't come through.

At this point, I need to come through. I need to carve out the time. Because, one of these days, I won't be able to talk myself into jumping back on the wagon unless I make some changes now.

Back in the Saddle Again

2016 started well. I lost seven pounds. I was tracking food. I was working out consistently.

And then February happened.

OK, so maybe I can't say that 2016 had started well if the second month of the year knocked me off my game, but I mean, seven pounds. I was seeing results. And then, two trips helped me slip back into bad eating habits.I gave in to temptation and picked up pop again. I got sick with a flu/cold/schools are the testing labs for biological warfare and that zapped my motivation for working out.

Of the seven pounds lost, five have come back. This morning's weigh in was an eye opener for sure.

So, I've climbed back into it. Starting today. I did the Anarchy workout from Men's Health this morning. I'll have a smoothie for breakfast. I'll work back to a good lifestyle and see results again.

Losing the same five pounds

I spent New Years Eve in Seattle with a few friends. As we sat around, drinking champagne, we talked about resolutions. Not an uncommon discussion point. But then, we decided to do something different: we gave each other resolutions.

My friend Kira (one of five people to actually read this blog) gave me the resolution to keep up with My Sweaty T-shirt. It seemed like a pretty great resolution.

Haha, I am terrible at resolutions. Here it is a month later and this is the first post of 2016.

So, here is what I've been up to:

-I have made an effort to ellipticize more often. Seriously, an elliptical is my favorite workout.

-I have found a simple kettlebell routine that I like.

-I attempted yoga. I will do this again and write about it. It went hilariously.

-Yesterday, I tried a light weights circuit that I enjoyed.

-I have lost five pounds.

Now, I am very excited to have lost five pounds in the month. If I lose five pounds per month, I will lose sixty pounds this year. That would be quite the achievement. That's the sort of thing one could write into Men's Health about and have them write you up as a success story.

However, I looked at my Timehop yesterday. For those who don't know, Timehop shows you your social media posts on that day for as long as you've had, for instance, Facebook. So, I open it yesterday and two years ago, I announced that I had lost five pounds.

So, I'm good at losing five pounds, or at least pounds 250-245. Now, I have to push through more to continue the trend. I really, really don't want to be here a year from now being all ecstatic that I'm down to 245.

One thing that I'm doing now is keeping track of my food in take. That has had a big impact on my diet. For one, I don't drink as much alcohol. Not that I was putting back gin by the gallon, but I did enjoy happy hour. Now, I have a drink on the weekends.

Also, I haven't had any pop since January 3. I know this because that was the day we travelled home and it was a long stressful day and I drank a lot of Coke. Haven't touched pop since.

I'm also trying to eat more fruits and veggies. This has been a dietary goal for years. Smoothies help. Oh, smoothies. I will write an ode to my Nutribullet one day.

So, there is progress. Its progress I've made before. Now, its time to go further.