A second attempt at weight loss

[Radii]

There's a definite pattern in my dynasties... go gangbusters, flameout, give it a second try later.

This happened with Poker, TCY,and now, my first diet dynasty.

oliegirl and I did atkins for a month back in January, and just didn't stick with it after that first month, despite the success.

It's now 5 months later, and I have allowed myself to gain back a depressing 26 pounds. At my lowest on Atkins I was down to 273.6 pounds.

When this week began, I was back up to 309.4, the highest I've been since my first attempt at the Atkins diet last June.

I don't have specific goals, and I don't really have a specific plan. A coworker of mine has lost about 30 pounds in the last few months by just slowly cutting things out of his diet. First sodas, then the bad carbs, he eats a lot of fish(he's a vegetarian+seafood, so I certainly won't be following his exact pattern). But the general idea of slowly cutting stuff out I do like.

So as of last Friday, June 25th, I cut out sodas. Just water for me, thanks.

Also, remember from my Atkins diet that exercise was the toughest thing for me. I'm quite out of shape, and really was just trying to get a solid walking regimen going. Well, to aid in this, I bought one of those stepometer things and have used it to track how many steps I take during a day.

So those were the two starting points leading to me trying out this dynasty, which may or may not flame out like some others. No more sodas, and lets see how much walking I do in a normal day, and lets start weighing myself again.

All of this started gradually over the last 2-3 weeks, and now I'm ready to write about it as I take my next step.

[Swaggs]

Good luck, Rich!

[Radii]

So the first couple of weeks of owning this stepometer thing pretty much confirmed what I already knew. I'm a damned sloth.

Do a google search for "10,000 steps a day"... tons of programs, tons of new fads, and tons of stepometers sold thanks to McDonalds I assume.

Here's one of the random links:

http://www.pbs.org/americaswalking/h...centboost.html

So like I said, right now, I'm not interested in any formal program or anything. I'm just trying to make some initial small improvements and see where it leads me.

The first few weeks, I found that if I go to work, come home and hang out with my fiancee and her son at the apartment, and don't do anythign else, I take approximately 1000 steps in a day. That's just a *little* bit short of the 10,000 a day concept.

If I go out to lunch(an extra trip to the car and back, etc) I take upwards of 1800-2000.

A short walk around the building during some downtime will get me an extra 500.

Oliegirl's son and I like to take walks to the mailbox to check the mail. The mailbox is on the total opposite end of the apartment. On days when we do that, that's an extra 2,500 steps.


I've cut out sodas. That is done.

I'm bringing in breakfast every morning. I have a box of instant oatmeal at the office, and have also started bringing in a banana every morning to have with breakfast.

Step 1: cut out sodas - I've accomplished this.
Step 2: bring a decent breakfast to work every morning

This is for diet and budget reasons. When i'm not eating right, I run by chick-fil-a WAY too often for breakfast.

Steps 1 and 2 have led to a necessary step 3 simultaneously

Step 3: bring enough snacks to work that I don't live off vending machine food b/c i'm so damn hungry every afternoon.

The lack of pure sugar from the sodas, and the lack of a monstrous carb+fat loaded breakfast sandwiches have increased my mid-morning and mid-afternoon hunger. I just started attacking this step today. We had a few old slim-fast shakes lying around the apartment. I brought one today and had it for a mid-morning snack. Over the weekend I'll get some carrots or somethig similar that I enjoy to have for work snacks.


I'm not terribly concerned about lunches and dinner just yet. The plan is to make slow changes that I can make an honest effort to make permanent. If it takes me a full month to be comfortable with making my own breakfast and staying away from the vending machines at work, then that's what it takes.


I'm not sure what i'll end up documenting in this dynasty. The # of steps I take every day and progress on the steps i'm taking may be it.

Weight:
June 28th - 309.4

Stepometer:
June 28th - avg ~1200-1500/steps per day (I was not recording this religiously).


Goals:

No sodas. Take breakfast to work every day. Stay away from the vending machine at work. Keep step count on pedometer above horrid starting average every day this week(and, starting today, religiously record stepometer count every day).

I make monday my turnover day for each week, the day I go back to work.

[Radii]

Monday and Wednesday I didn't do much other than work/come home. I did go out to lunch Monday which is an unhealthy meal but is a few extra steps. tuesday Oliegirl's son and I went to get the mail on foot, and that alone was 2600 steps.

Monday: 1600 steps
Tuesday: 3700 steps
Wednesday: 1200 steps

Today I went for a walk around the building, and will go for a walk w/ kiddo after work if the weather is nice. I had some oatmeal for breakfast, and my banana, and had a slim fast shake for a snack. Lunch is a can of clam chowdah soup w/ some crackers.

This will probably be the last update today, but I do intend to come in w/ at minimum my stepometer count to see how the good ol' walking is coming along every day, and may comment on the food if I find it helps.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Good luck, Rich!

Thanks Swaggs

[sachmo71]

Good luck, Radii! I'll be here to support you, because if I could change my life style, I know you can!

Just remember to keep your stomach working. Maybe take some fruit to work, or some low fat chips, and eat three good sized meals per day with two snacks. It really does work!

[Subby]

Radii -

Good luck with this from someone who has struggled with their weight the last 10 years. I am finally over the hump thanks to South Beach and hard core exercising (running and dumbells mostly) and was 176 this morning - down from 245 a while back).

Anyway, the eating thing is the hardest and the reason is the sugar, as you probably know. Sugar does nothing but elevate your blood sugars and make you hungrier. I am guessing that instant oatmeal has a bunch of sugar in it - besides your body is digesting it so quickly that it is no wonder you are hungry so quickly. Of course, not eating breakfast on the run is half the battle, so it is good that you are planning your meal. The next step would be to grab some low sugar snacks for your day at work. The following stuff works great for me and is easy to grab in the morning:

string cheese
low-carb energy bars
hard-boiled egg
peanut butter and celery
hummus and cucumber slices


Absolutely do not go the low fat route. Low fat is a rdiculous fallacy and is why so many people are fat in the first place. Fat is not bad for you, provided you aren't sucking down untold amounts of saturated fat every day. Fat satiates your hunger, keeping your blood sugars and insulin at an even keel - controlling your hunger. Att his point it is about exercise and controlling hunger - you cannot control your hunger with carbs - fat does a much better job.

Best of luck!

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Subby

hummus and cucumber slices

Or, I could just think about hummus and lose the will to eat

Thanks for the comments everyone, I agree w/ you Subby, the low-fat diets out there are just not for me.

Breakfast is always my biggest struggle. I am just not a morning person. I *hate* mornings. Its just not within me to get up and make myself a good breakfast every morning, so I know I have to come up with something else.

You're right, of course, the oatmeal has about 13g of sugar, but that + some fruit is getting me by and is a ton better than what I was doing, so I'm happy with it as a start.

String cheese is a good snack, my other thoughts are carrots and oranges. I'm not getting any more of the slim-fast shakes once they're gone, they are loaded with sugar as well, but again, this is a big step up from what I was doing, so its an improvement

[Subby]

Originally Posted by Radii

String cheese is a good snack, my other thoughts are carrots and oranges. I'm not getting any more of the slim-fast shakes once they're gone, they are loaded with sugar as well, but again, this is a big step up from what I was doing, so its an improvement

Baby steps!!!

[hhiipp]

Have a few questions about the pedometer.
1) What brand did you buy?
2) How much did it cost?
3) How bulky and obvious is it that you're wearing it?

Thanks

[Radii]

Originally Posted by hhiipp

Have a few questions about the pedometer.
1) What brand did you buy?
2) How much did it cost?
3) How bulky and obvious is it that you're wearing it?

Mine is a "Sportline Electronic Pedometer 330"

It cost about $12 at target. All it does is count steps. It doesn't do the calorie/mileage conversions that some others do.

It's somewhat obvious that you're wearing it I suppose, I clip it to my belt at workright next to my security badge thing. It also makes a small clicking noise when you walk but it's a real small noise IMO. Its out in plain view when I wear it, but, it's maybe 1.5 in x 1 in at the most(migth be smaller than that) so it's not huge or anything.

Of course, Oliegirl, wise in the ways of ebay, got one that was 3x as nice as mine, with all of the bells and whistles, for maybe $1 more than I paid But all I care about is counting my steps and comparing to previous days walking, so this is more than good enough for me.

[Radii]

Monday: 1600 steps
Tuesday: 3700 steps
Wednesday: 1200 steps
Thursday: 2344 steps

not bad, compared to normal at least

[Radii]

Monday: 1600 steps
Tuesday: 3700 steps
Wednesday: 1200 steps
Thursday: 2344 steps
Friday: 1600 steps

Going for a walk today and going to the mall with Oliegirl later, so today will be a solid 5000 step day I'm sure.

Yesterday was breakfast club day at work, the guy doing it brought doughnuts, and I had leftover pizza for lunch, and then we went out for Thai for dinner, and then a blizzard for dessert. So why do I weigh less today than yesterday? Who knows! No sodas and I didn't eat any snacks outside of those "meals"

As long as I'm cutting out the sodas and the vending machine I'm happy for now, but it's amazing to see that weight is coming off just from doing that and nothign else.

If its nice out tomorrow we'll be doing a lot of walking too, we're hoping to get to go to Stone Mountain for the July 4th celebrations.

[Radii]

Monday: 1600 steps
Tuesday: 3700 steps
Wednesday: 1200 steps
Thursday: 2344 steps
Friday: 1600 steps
Saturday: 4975 steps


The walk to the mailbox with the kiddo + the walk around the mall was quite good. Stuck w/ the current eating goals np. We went out for mexican tonight which was quite good.

Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow

[Radii]

Monday: 1600 steps
Tuesday: 3700 steps
Wednesday: 1200 steps
Thursday: 2344 steps
Friday: 1600 steps
Saturday: 4975 steps
Sunday: 1975 steps

no fireworks for us but we did go out to wal-mart to pick up some stuff so the walk around the store got me that exercise.

Weight:
June 28th - 309.4
July 5th - 305.0
Net: Lost 4.4 pounds

Stepometer:
June 28th - avg ~1200-1500/steps per day (I was not recording this religiously).
July 5th - avg 2484 steps per day

[Radii]

Monday: 3671 steps

stayed up waaay too late Sunday night, slept in waaay too late Monday morning, ate oatmeal and pizza and that was it Monday, yum huh? Went out for a walk and talked kiddo into taking "the long way home" which ended up going through some really high grass and brambles that I wasn't aware of and scratched the hell out of his legs. Oops. Won't be going that way again but that's how I got that many steps on a day when I barely left the apartment.

[thealmighty]

Listen to Subby...baby steps are the way to have a 'program' you can stay with. I'm following along and rooting for you.

One thing I do that I don't have to go anywhere, I do pushups and situps at home. Don't do many, at least not yet, since 30 or so crunch/situps starts burning already, but it is a start, and it's free.

Good luck.

[Subby]

This may be more than you want to try, but what about buying a treadmill and setting it up in front of the television? I know most people would rather kiss their sister than work out on a treadmill, but if you are watching tv, it really isn't that bad.

Before you know it you'lve walked 30 minutes while watching a classic Seinfeld on TNT. I seriously doubt there is a better weight-loss solution than that

PS. As far as eating is concerned, I am guessing you are not eating after 8pm - but if that is not the case, it might be something to shoot for as you want to give your body 3 solid hours to digest dinner.

Keep up the good work!

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Subby

As far as eating is concerned, I am guessing you are not eating after 8pm - but if that is not the case, it might be something to shoot for as you want to give your body 3 solid hours to digest dinner.

You're right, I'm also working on this as well. I usually go to bed around midnight, and I have made sure to not eat after 10pm, and I dont' think i am often eating after 9pm either, lately I haven't had the urge to eat much after dinner anyway, but the nights I have had an extra snack or a dessert I ahven't waited real late to have it.

A treadmill is unfortunately out of the question for space and monetary reasons. It's something I'd love to have in the house eventually, but that can't happen until we get out of the already a little bit cramped apartment.

Adding in some crunches at home is a good idea too, I used to do that a lot when I just got bored watching TV when I lived by myself, and its something I stopped doing once there was a 6 year old and a fiancee around(less boredom, not b/c of any other reason there), no reason I shouldn't start doing that again as well.

[Buzzbee]

Radii - Not sure if you are interested or not, but several (half a dozen, if not more) people at my workplace have had tremendous success using the program I'm linking. (Linky, linky)

I personally know and worked with three people who have lost significant weight in a relatively short period of time (over 100 lbs in six months). One man, Rich, looked like Santa Claus. He is now under 200 lbs.

I've never participated in the program, so I don't know a lot about it, but I believe it is a combination of meal replacement (shakes) AND medical guidance and support. I'm not sure, but I *think* I heard co-workers mention that our health insurance picked up the tab (or part of it) because there is a weekly meeting with a physician.

It is also my understanding that this program targets people who have a lot of weight to lose.

I have no vested interest in this place, so if it's not your cup o' tea then it's not your cup o' tea. Just thought I would pass it along since I personally know several people who have been successfull. (The people that I've worked with have kept the weight off for more than a year - two years in Cheryl's case).

Good luck. Your Atkins dynasty earlier helped nudge me toward healthier eating habits, which I have recently resumed. I'm 220 hoping to get down to 190.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Buzzbee

I've never participated in the program, so I don't know a lot about it, but I believe it is a combination of meal replacement (shakes) AND medical guidance and support. I'm not sure, but I *think* I heard co-workers mention that our health insurance picked up the tab (or part of it) because there is a weekly meeting with a physician.

I have a lot to lose, but I'm 6'3/6'4" so it's not as much as it might seem. It has been a long time but I suspect that 220 would be as low as I'd go, despite what BMI charts tell me.

I have seriously considered Emory Bariatrics, they offer free consultations and then have meal replacement plans/surgery options, both of which should be covered in my insurance to a point. That is an option if I were to continue the bouncing up and down for too long, but for now, the "I can do this myself" (with the help of peers but not medical help) is still running through me.

[Ben E Lou]

Radii:

Press on, man. Keep at it! I've gone from 265 to around 215 since November (Details), so I know what you're going through. I'm sure you've been told this, but it is key to be able to get into an exercise routine that can last a lifetime. What is exciting about my loss is that (unlike at times in the past when I've lost weight, only to gain more back eventually), I have been able to establish some patterns that I believe will keep me at a healthy weight and fitness level. Here's wishing the same for you!

--Ben

[Radii]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

it is key to be able to get into an exercise routine that can last a lifetime.

Thanks for the kind words SD That's one of the positive things about this, so much of my exercise right now is coming from things that I have fun doing, mainly going out for walks w/ the kiddo, he loves the trots down to the mailbox and we have games we play along the way and I get some good exercise in. At some point I'll have to ramp it up but I'm off to a solid start.


Monday: 3671 steps
Tuesday: 2677

Speaking of Emory, tonight was the first night of "Ballroom Dancing for the Wedding Party", a night class we're taking at Emory.

[Radii]

Monday: 3671 steps
Tuesday: 2677
Wednesday: 1415


Lazy day today.

[Raven]

You've been pretty much doubling your steps just by walking to the mailbox (compared to days which you call lazy days).

Would it be unrealistic to just do that every day? You never mentioned how far of a walk it is, or how long it takes, so just throwing that out there. The kid seems to like it, maybe you could just take a ball or a frisbee or something along with you guys, and get some extra steps in that way too. You didn't mention the kids age either, but they are so active, you could help incorporate them in your exercise, and both have fun doing it.

Good luck, man.

[SFL Cat]

Good luck. I went from 255 to 200. I'm watching what I eat and am hovering between 210-220. I'm thinking about getting serious about it again and trying to get down to 180-190.

[cranes74us]

Good luck man, I too went on a diet last summer. Went from 240 to 160 on 1 year.Keep your head up and NEVER EVER give up ( Im 16 btw)

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Raven

You've been pretty much doubling your steps just by walking to the mailbox (compared to days which you call lazy days).

Would it be unrealistic to just do that every day? You never mentioned how far of a walk it is, or how long it takes, so just throwing that out there. The kid seems to like it, maybe you could just take a ball or a frisbee or something along with you guys, and get some extra steps in that way too. You didn't mention the kids age either, but they are so active, you could help incorporate them in your exercise, and both have fun doing it.

Good luck, man.

He's 6, and "active" doesn't begin to describe it Well, I'm sure he's just like any other 6 year old, very full of energy.

Kiddo has karate on M/W/F, so I try to get him to do our walks on Tuesday/thursday/at least once on the weekend. For the next several weeks we'll also have dance classes every Tuesday night. If I can drag my ass out of the apartment just once a week on my own on top of all of that, I should be doing quite well for awhile

And you are right, the walk to check the mail is at least a mile, probably a little more, so it signifigantly ups the amount of walking I'm doing. My steps are big. It's weird, oliegirl and I go grocery shopping together and both wear our pedometers, I take 2000 steps, she takes at least 3000 in that same time. Of course, i'm 6'3" and she's 5'4" so that's to be expected.


Thanks for the support everyone!

[Radii]

Monday: 3671 steps
Tuesday: 2677
Wednesday: 1415
Thursday: 4600 steps

solid day today, lots of walking. Yummy dinner around 8, haven't been hungry since, going to bed very soon

[ice4277]

Good luck Radii. Sticking with a program is the hardest part, defintely finding one that you feel comfortable with is important. If it begins to feel too much like a 'job', you won't want to stick with it. I basically developed my own methods of eating and exercise, and have dropped from 228 in November to 162 at this point (I am a shade under 5'11"). I am done losing weight now and just need to maintain and shape up my physique a bit. However, since I have found something that works for me, I really don't have any doubt that I will be able to stick with it. I used to eat like you did, fast food about five or six times a week. I haven't had any now for about 2 or 3 months, and rarely even get the urge for it anymore.

I lost most of my weight by keeping a strict count on my calorie intake. When I was in my 'hard-core' diet phase I was limiting myself to about 1200 calories a day. One of the ways I accomplished this was to do some research on the foods I would typically eat, particularly fast food. You lose your appetite for a supersized double quarter pounder when you find out just how much bad stuff is in it

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Radii

He's 6, and "active" doesn't begin to describe it Well, I'm sure he's just like any other 6 year old, very full of energy.

Kiddo has karate on M/W/F, so I try to get him to do our walks on Tuesday/thursday/at least once on the weekend. For the next several weeks we'll also have dance classes every Tuesday night. If I can drag my ass out of the apartment just once a week on my own on top of all of that, I should be doing quite well for awhile

I know you have mentionned that you are trying to start by simply get a walking regimen going, and baby steps at the beginning is a very good idea. Once you got that going, you may thinking about taking some of those karate classes.

I started doing karate a year ago, following my then 6yo son who had started a year earlier. While I wasn't necessarily in the worst of shape, I was coming off a knee injury and wanted some low impact exercise to get myself back into shape gradually. Kiddo is now 7 and we now we go to karate classes at the same time in two separate rooms. We can practice at home together, and when I ask him what he's done in his class, I can understand what he's talking about and even give him tips

Depending on the karate style he does, and on your school, karate classes for beginners are usually not people killers. At least the school where we go is more of the style "go at your own rythm, do the best *you* can, not what the other can". Like "today it's 5 situps, tomorrow you'll do 6" kind of attitude

I've seen beginners that really were not in the greatest of shape, but with time, they got better, all the while learning the moves/forms/self defense techniques required to go up in belts...

Anyway, just wanted to share what I do with my son, that helps me stay a tiny bit active. Best of luck with your diet and walking

FM

[Radii]

Monday: 3671 steps
Tuesday: 2677
Wednesday: 1415
Thursday: 4600 steps
Friday: 2630 steps

[Radii]

Monday: 3671 steps
Tuesday: 2677
Wednesday: 1415
Thursday: 4600 steps
Friday: 2630 steps
Saturday: 3380 steps

I don't think I'm going to lose any weight this week, I haven't been eating well, even though I've been sticking to the main goals I've set so far. I feel better though now that I'm getting out and getting a little exercise most every day, so I feel like I'm off to a good start whether I drop any pounds this week or not.

[thealmighty]

I think as long as you don't gain any weight back more than one week at a time, but lose most weeks, you are doing well. Seems to me that everone wants to LOSE LOSE LOSE but that the ones who end up keeping the weight off and keeping to a program are the people who take it at a pace they are comfortable with.

Keep at it, I'm still here to root you on.

[Radii]

Monday: 3671 steps
Tuesday: 2677
Wednesday: 1415
Thursday: 4600 steps
Friday: 2630 steps
Saturday: 3380 steps
Sunday: 1100 steps

After staying out until about 4am Saturday night playing poker, Sunday was a decidedly lazy day. I also didn't comment on the steps on Saturday, they were worth a lot more than the 3300 that showed up. Took the soccer ball to the park w/ the kiddo and we played for awhile, I only wound up with 1500 steps out of that but I was running around constantly. Instead of "lets kick the ball back and forth" someone decided that the game would be "if you kick it past those bushes, you score, and if I kick it past that post, I score" so we were chasing each other all over the place was fun until the sprinkler system came on.

[Radii]

A note on the weight. I hate my scale. Well, i'm sure its not the scale, it's the level in the apartment or something weird like that. I'd noticed before but weighing myself right after i wake up, I'm usually pretty groggy and wasn't paying attention. So this morning I get up and get on the scale and it says 307.8. Yuck. Then I moved it about 1/2 inch to the left, and it says 304.8. So I have absolutely no idea what's "right" in relation to the weights I'd posted at first.

The 307.8 reading is where I want the scale to be, lined up w/ the tiles just right so I can put it there every morning if its gotten moved. So taht's what I'm using. I may well have gained some weight this week, I did eat out way too often, but like I said earlier, I *feel* a lot better physically having gotten out and gotten a lot more exercise most days so I am fine with that.

Weight:
June 28th - 309.4
July 5th - 305.0
July 12th - 307.8
Net: who knows, but I'll say 1.6 pounds for recording's sake.

Stepometer:
June 28th - avg ~1200-1500/steps per day (I was not recording this religiously).
July 5th - avg 2484 steps per day
July 12th - avg 2782 steps per day


Goals for the Week:

Two very specific goals, both with exercise, not with food.

1. Go for a walk with kiddo on Tuesday like normal. Its tempting to not do this b/c Tuesday night we have dance class, and Tuesday night will be pretty much shot if I come home, go for walk, shower, eat, leave for class, but we do have the time to do it still.

2. Go for a walk just one night after work by myself(these are the days when kiddo has karate and we usually wouldn't go, monday/wednesday/friday).

If I can do those two things in addition to the normal exercise I get during the week I'll easily push that average well up. That on top of the existing goals of avoiding sodas and vending machines and eating breakfast every morning should make for a good week.

[sachmo71]

Stick with it, man!

[MizzouRah]

Exercise is the best way to help in losing weight.


Todd

[Radii]

Monday: 3899 steps


Solid day yesterday, up until OlieGirl baked a cake. Yummmmmm.

Dance classes tonight. Thankfully they told us to dress comfortably, the work shoes were killing me last Tuesday night.

[Radii]

Monday: 3899 steps
Tuesday: 4180 steps

Dance class was much more involved tonight, last week was the first class so we sat and listened to the instructor for the first 15 minutes or so, and then the steps were pretty slow. Tonight was much quicker(but it's all relative)... it really did feel a lot like a low impact aerobics type thing.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm struggling with losing weight as well. I recently had a scare in which I went to the hospital and actually thought something might be wrong with my heart at the age of 29. Fortunately, a complete checkup didn't show any damage to my heart and my stress test was clear. My mom had a heart attack at a young age (41) secondary to being morbidly obese most of her life (she fortunately survived.) I'm currently 65 pounds over my "ideal" weight (I'm 250) and I've been as high as 275.

The scare has me redicated to losing weight. Anyway, I really just wanted to encourage you to keep up the work. Also, weight can fluctuate at various times of the month for guys. We have hormones which regulate water retention too Of course, it is much worse for women. Don't worry about the day to day, or week to week readings so much. Look at the trend over a month's time. Don't give up and know that there are many others out there who are struggling as well

[Radii]

Thanks for the comments EaglesFan

I'm still only 27 myself, but every time I try to lose weight, the idea that I really, really, really need to take care of this now once and for all before I get too much older gets a little bit stronger.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Good luck with this!

I like how you are taking a reasonable approach to the whole thing, and the increasing walking sounds like a great way to go. I think the tendency is to want to lose all the weight right away, and that leads to frustration and binge eating. Also, exercise has been shown to be effective at gradually reducing weight, and has one of the best records for weight loss permanence.

I think dropping the soda is a great idea, too. There was a study a while back that split people up into two groups. One group got soda with their meal; the other got water. Both groups ate essentially the same amount of their meals, which led the researchers to surmise that calories consumed as soda don't help "fill" us up when we eat.

At 80-120+ calories per 12oz. can of soda, even one can per day is about a pound a month of additional weight.

[Radii]

Monday: 3899 steps
Tuesday: 4180 steps
Wednesday: 1478

The day after dance lessons is turning into a lazy day pretty consistantly.

It rained a lot tonight, which means I'll likely be volunteered to mow Oliegirl's parents' lawn over the weekend, something I don't mind doing at all, as long as its on the weekend, that'll kick up the weekend exercise quite a bit.

[Radii]

I talked myself out of a wlak today, but around 8 turned around and talked myself back into it and ended up going out for a walk after it had cooled down, was nice.

Monday: 3899 steps
Tuesday: 4180 steps
Wednesday: 1478 steps
Thursday: ~3900 steps

I didn't have my pedometer on at work but 3900 is about right based on what I normally walk during the work day.

[Buzzbee]

Originally Posted by Radii

I talked myself out of a wlak today, but around 8 turned around and talked myself back into it and ended up going out for a walk after it had cooled down, was nice.

Monday: 3899 steps
Tuesday: 4180 steps
Wednesday: 1478 steps
Thursday: ~3900 steps

I didn't have my pedometer on at work but 3900 is about right based on what I normally walk during the work day.

Excellent!! Glad to see the motivation kick in. Just posting to let you know there are people out there still following and rooting you on.

[Radii]

Monday: 3899 steps
Tuesday: 4180 steps
Wednesday: 1478 steps
Thursday: ~3900 steps
Friday: 2800 steps

Went out to barns and noble during lunch and wandered around, I can't remember what else I did, maybe that was it

Today I mowed the lawn(oliegirls' parents... helpin out, etc), and we are going to stone mountain to see a dog show and the laser show, looking forward to that, and we should get some good walking in.

[Radii]

Monday: 3899 steps
Tuesday: 4180 steps
Wednesday: 1478 steps
Thursday: ~3900 steps
Friday: 2800 steps
Saturday: 3972 steps

Stone Mountain didn't happen... well, we drove there, sat in the car for 40 minutes while it poured down rain and decided that even if it stopped, the ground would be kinda icky, and it wasn't showing signs of stopping anyway, so we left.

[Radii]

Monday: 3899 steps
Tuesday: 4180 steps
Wednesday: 1478 steps
Thursday: ~3900 steps
Friday: 2800 steps
Saturday: 3972 steps
Sunday: 2297 steps

grocery shopping. Ate out twice yesterday which is not healthy at all.

The scale drama continues, my scale is dead, it's a digital one and ithas some sort of a short. The grocery trip to the super wal-mart led us to discover the horrid customer service that a minimum wage employee can offer and we never did find out where the scales were despite being half-heartedly pointed in a general direction. Oliegirl or I will stop by when they're not nearly as busy on a weekday and try to pick one up.


Weight:
June 28th - 309.4
July 5th - 305.0
July 12th - 307.8
July 19th - unknown

Stepometer:
June 28th - avg ~1200-1500/steps per day (I was not recording this religiously).
July 5th - avg 2484 steps per day
July 12th - avg 2782 steps per day
July 19th - avg 3218 steps per day

Slow and steady improvement, good good!

I have decided to add another step to my goals here, to add one more thing to the regimen which will put me on the right path.


Step 1: cut out sodas - I've accomplished this.
Step 2: bring a decent breakfast to work every morning
Step 3: Avoid vending machine food
Step 4: Substitute veggies/side salad for french fries when dining out. Also, eat NO MORE than 1 roll/piece of bread when at a restaurant that offers bread before the meal. If I run the kiddo through McD's to get us lunch, do not get fries. Eat chips at home if I must, but do not order fries for myself

the beginnings of cutting out some of the bad starches/carbs. Also one of the steps I distinctly remember my friend at work struggling with, the one who lost noticible weight through a similar process that i'm working on now.

[Radii]

Monday - 3015 steps

Kiddo had a tummy ache so I went walking by myself. I went at a much quicker pace and got a muuuuch better workout. I attacked the giant hill on the way home instead of trudging up it while kiddo pulls leaves off of trees and picks up everything he sees on the ground, and was much more tired when I got home.

Dance class tonight, if it's like last week where we're pretty much going non-stop that will be quite the workout as well.

On to the weight. OlieGirl got a scale yesterday, a nice big one that I fit on much more comfortably, and one I have to move out to the middle of hte floor to weigh. It's not digital, and hopefully will be more reliable :P And since its registering signifigantly different than the digital I'm just startnig over on the weight.

Weight:
July 19th - 314/315

Hopefully now that the scale drama is over with I can accurately record this from now on. I of course am continually feeling better with my slow&steady exercise increase so the weight doesn't worry me, it may well have read 320 when I started this, I have absolutely no idea. I suspect I have lost some weight though, a shirt that I wore yesterday that doesn't stay tucked in all day b/c of my gut, stayed tucked in for the first time in months. I am going to assume that means I've actually lost a little and cut off an inch or two.

Stepometer:
June 28th - avg ~1200-1500/steps per day (I was not recording this religiously).
July 5th - avg 2484 steps per day
July 12th - avg 2782 steps per day
July 19th - avg 3218 steps per day