My weight loss target that I need to achieve in order to lose 100 pounds this year is 8 lbs per month. I have just surpassed that and I still have a few days left in the month. Since I have started the early morning cardio, the weight has been coming off at a steady pace. I am still only doing about 30 minutes of exercise a day on average. Sometimes I do spend an hour at night doing the Yoga routine that I have mentioned, but only a few times a week. The Yoga is more of a stress relief thing than a workout.
Today's official weigh in: 310.4 lbs. That's 8.6 lbs for the month and 39.6 lbs for the year.
I have been compiling a list of foods that are conducive to weight loss. They are high nutrition, low calorie foods that are easy to digest. I am not sure what I am going to call the list yet. When I decide on a name, I'll post them on the blog. Last night I started to incorporate them into my diet. Ironically, I had to take off work yesterday morning to take my daughter to the doctor and take care of some business. We were short on time so we ended up eating at McDonald's for lunch.
So the first day that I want to start eating these super healthy foods, I end up eating fast food which is "the devil" ( Water boy reference). The truth of the matter is that 10 years ago, when I lost 75 lbs in 9 months, I ate fast food 2 or 3 times a week for lunch. It was just a thing of convenience. I didn't have my usual snacks yesterday. I had cereal for breakfast. For dinner I had a small portion of sirloin steak and 2 big bowls of collard greens.
Now for you collard green fans, I didn't cook them in bacon grease, which is an old Southern way of cooking greens that is absolutely delicious, but fattening as hell. I cooked them in chicken broth which is just as tasty but doesn't add a bunch of unnecessary calories into the mix. Collard greens is one of the "super" foods on my list.
Yesterday I did manage to find time to do the "Yoga For Weight Loss" workout and I slept like a rock. I also did 2 miles on the bike when I got up, 2 miles on the bike after dinner, and 200 sit ups before I went to work. I missed breakfast so I had an apple a little earlier than usuual and skipped the mid-morning snack. I had a big salad for lunch, carrot sticks for the mid-afternoon snack, and chicken chinese style with rice for dinner. I also had a little popcorn for an evening snack.
Today's official weigh in: 313.4 lbs That's 5.6 lbs for the month and 36.6 lbs for the year.
Hopefully, I can continue on this pace and even add some more exercise to the routine. My biggest constaint is time. After almost 5 months of working out on a regular basis, I look foward to it everyday and my energy levels have shot through the roof.
Just a reminder: "Make sure you are drinking lots of water!"
I did the "Yoga For Weight Loss" workout with my wife last night. I really like doing it but it is hard for me to make the time. The routine takes almost an hour and that is tough for me. Between working 8 hours at my regular job, exercising for 30 minutes in the morning, posting to this blog and the other 4 blogs that I have, spending some quality time with my family, and the other projects that I have going with my Internet marketing, sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed. I have found that working in spurts on each project helps, instead of trying to do a little of everything each day.
I have talked about how important stress relief and getting a good nights sleep can be when it comes to weight loss. The yoga routine is one of the best stress relievers I have found so far. It limbers you up, makes you break a little sweat, and then goes into a cool down that totally relaxes your body and mind.
Every time I do it I tell myself that it needs to be an everyday thing, but it never works out that way. I am going to start staying up a little later at night and make myself squeeze it in between 10pm and 11 pm. Hopefully, in conjunction with my morning cardio, I will be able to boost my results.
I also rode my bike 2 miles in the morning and knocked out my usual 200 sit-ups. I had cereal for breakfast, an apple for mid morning snack, a big salad for lunch with raspberry walnut vinaigrette salad dressing, carrot sticks for a mid afternoon snack, macaroni and cheese with hamburger meat for dinner, and popcorn for an evening snack.
Today's weigh in: 314.4 lbs. That's 4.6 lbs for the month and 35.6 lbs for the year.
I had another one of those mornings where I had to re-weigh myself 3 or 4 times because I thought the scales had to be wrong. They show that I dropped 1.2 lbs in a day. I guess that is not impossible because I have certainly had days where I unexpectedly showed a gain of over a pound when there should have been a loss. We will see in the upcoming few days if this is a fluke or a result of my morning bike rides.
Today's official weigh in: 319 lbs straight up. That's 8.6 lbs lost for the month of April and a total of 31 lbs lost for 2008. I am only 2 pounds off my target weight for the year now.
Yesterday I did 2 miles on the bike and 200 crunches on the Ab Roller before I ate breakfast. When I got home from work, I took my son to soccer practice, went to the grocery store, then did another 2 miles on the bike. (in the dark). I also did another 200 crunches while watching TV and the wife and I went through the "Yoga For Weight Loss" routine before going to bed.
I had a banana for breakfast, carrot sticks for a mid morning snack, a salami sandwich for lunch, an apple for mid afternoon snack, another salami sandwich when I got home from work, and I had a big Andoville sausage dog after I rode my bike for the second time. (I couldn't help it, I love that stuff)
The beauty of what I am doing is that you can have the occasional "treat" and still lose weight. I think that most diets don't work because they require you to maintain a strict regiment for an extended period of time. It is very hard for people to stick to something like that, especially when you first start out. I have been on my weight loss program for 4 months now and I actually look forward to my exercises.
It's all about gradually changing your lifestyle and conditioning not only your body, but your mind as well. That is what will ultimately let you lose the weight and keep it off for good.
Yesterday was a good day for weight loss. I did my usual 200 crunches on the Ab Roller, I put in 4 miles on the bike, did another 200 crunches while watching TV, and went through the "Yoga For Weight Loss" workout before I went to bed.
Today's official weigh in: 320.6 lbs That's 7 lbs for the month and 29.4 lbs for the year.
I am only 1 pound away from making my monthly goal and 2.6 lbs away from my yearly target. ( I didn't make my target in February, that's why I am behind for the year)
I stuck to my normal eating routine. Cereal for breakfast, fruit for both snacks during the day, a turkey sandwich for lunch (on wheat), and homemade vegetable soup for dinner. I had grapes for my evening snack instead of the ususal popcorn. As usual, I drank at least a gallo0n of water.
