Week 3 Update...

Okay, So I have been super busy with family in town and such over the last couple weeks that it has been awhile since my last update.

My first week I said to myself "This is going to take time, determination and will power, but I’m going to do it!" I made sure to get in 5 of the Power90 workouts and then on Saturday instead of a P90 workout I did a Jillian Michaels workout with Kim. On top of the 6 day workout I cut soda, did better with portions and ate healthier in general. I'll admit that I was kind of excited to hop on the scale Monday morning. I woke up, but on my weigh in clothes and waited....260.4. 260.4....what the heck, I put in all that work only to gain 0.6 lbs??? My biggest issue any time that I have tried to lose weight is that I have a great start and then get easily discouraged. So although this was discouraging, I decided that I just needed to truck along.

Determined to keep up on the workouts in week 2, we found out that Kim’s Dad was going to be staying with us for a while. The moment I heard this, I knew that I would have to tweak my plan overall. You can ask Kim, I am not a public "dieter". Having this blog is actually pretty weird to me and part of me hated having it here, but I figured that I needed accountability and hoped that others would join me in trying to lose weight, tone, etc. So back to public dieting, with them there I knew that I would have to put off workouts for awhile until they leave town. Because of that I needed to concentrate on walking as much as possible during the day and making sure that I continued to eat better with smaller portions. Overall, minus some desserts (Kim’s side of the family are desserts after meals people) I did a pretty decent job, so I was curious of my week 2 weigh in. Morning came....weigh in clothes on....scale....258.6, down 1.8 from week two and overall down 1.2 lbs. I think that Kim’s dad is leaving early next week, so I will get back on the workout train in week four. I am also going to do measurements so that I can see if I am losing inches or anything on weeks that I post little to no loss or minimal gain.

Overall I am still encouraged and confident that I can lose the weight that I want to. I am also thinking about ditching the Power90 and moving to P90X, it was recommended to me by my friend Allison. It takes more time and is more intensive, but gets good results. Allison has kicked butt and she is only a few weeks into it. Keep posting your update and let me know how you are doing. What's working, what's not, what's holding you up or working great.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

The official weigh in....

Alright, here we go....52 pounds in 52 weeks.  Since this is the first full week of 2010, I decided to begin implementing everything today.  I guess I took the first three days as a buffer to enjoy my last intentional splurges and mentally prepare for the year.

I have not taken any measurements as of yet, but my official weigh in on January 1, 2010 was 259.8 lbs. meaning that my goal to reach at the end of the year is a minimum of 207.8 lbs.

So for those of you who are joining me and for those who are coming along for encouragement, in the past, what have you found to be helpful in losing weight, toning, training, etc.?  I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Not a resolution, a Change.

January 1, 2010 will be the beginning of a new journey. Since I was elementary school age I have been a chubby kid. I went to a private school, so the weight jokes probably weren't as bad as they would have been other places, but they have all stuck with me over the years. Once I hit high school, I hit the jackpot. I was playing basketball almost daily and in weight training classes at school and the weight melted off. At that time I went from I think 250 lbs. down to 176 lbs. I could eat whatever, whenever I wanted, and just keeping up with the daily routine kept me thin. Then I met Kim. Instead of making the gym a priority, I made Kim a priority. I have no regrets on doing that, I wouldn't ever trade a single second with Kim for the gym or basketball court. The one thing that I do regret is not changing my eating habits.

I was not at the gym as much, but my eating stayed the same. I was not playing basketball as much, but my eating stayed the same. Slowly my weight began creeping up, 190...200...225...250 and here I sit now at 265. I'll admit, I like to eat, but feeling better means more to me. I have a wife and daughter that I owe getting healthy to, heck, I owe it to myself to get healthy. So here’s what I propose.

Starting January 1, 2010....join me! I am attempting to lose 52 pounds in 52 weeks. Maybe you have 52 pounds to lose also or maybe you have 10 pounds or 200 pounds to lose, join me. For those of you who have been able to remain healthy, join us and be a support. Maybe you are where you want to be weight wise, but just want to tone up or get ready for that marathon, join me. I want this blog to be two things 1) A place for accountability. I want you to keep me accountable to my goals and I want to keep you accountable to yours, and 2) A place for support. Weight loss can't be achieved long term by magic pills or shakes, just good ol' fashioned eating better and exercising and walking side by side with each other, I believe that health is attainable.

So why did I choose 52 pounds in 52 weeks? After thinking about my goal for the year, I began to break down feasible goals. 30 pounds in 30 days sounds great, but it isn't attainable to everyone. With 52 pounds in 52 weeks, your goal is to lose only 1 pound a week. This allows for weeks when you may lose more, and weeks when you might hit a zero loss or gain some. I know that I will have bad weeks. Hopefully I will concentrate on the good weeks to get past the bad. I hope that you join me. If you have a friend or family member that might benefit from this, send them to the blog. I hope to update frequently with my progress, recipes, tips that I am learning and hopefully have some guest bloggers from those joining in this journey. I hope that you come along!