Flatlining to a lesson

So this week I decided it was a good idea for not to write down everything I ate.  Here is what happened:

• April 8 - 234.2
• April 1 - 234.2
• January 2 (start date) - 256

The good news is that I didn't put on any weight.  The bad news is that it will be really tough to hit 220 by Memorial day now (I will have to average slightly better than 2 lbs./week).

To be clear, I am in no way discouraged by this week's result; I am someone who is programmed to work harder the tougher things get.  It is, however, an important reminder that I have to treat my food fundamentally different that I had been historically: in order for me to lose/maintain weight over the long term, I need to write it down.

As a sign of good news, I missed hitting my mile in less than an hour by five seconds.  I'm so close I can smell it (for the record, it smells like a weird combination of sweat and chlorine)!

Now I see it!

I just got back from the first full-body strength session since January, and before jumping in the shower I snapped a few photos of my body.  For the first time my change is obvious, and frankly it is amazing what a difference 20-ish pounds makes.  Here you go.

First, here is what I look liked on January 2:

And this is how I look today:

Moving in the right direction

Today's weigh-in was one of those pleasantly surprising ones.  I ate out a couple times; I only swam once (however, it was a whole mile and four minutes quicker than my first attempt); I made it to the gym only once for weights (although I likely made up for this with two at-home elliptical sessions); and despite this imperfect week I still managed to drop a little weight.  Here are the numbers:

• April 1 - 234.2
• March 25 - 234.8
• January 2 (start date) - 256

I know it is just over a half pound, but the most important thing is that I am still moving in the right direction.  Also, over the last two weeks I have dropped 2.6 pounds (an excellent pace).

As I have mentioned several times on this blog, the purpose of this journey is to get healthy.  Unfortunately that also includes a trip to the doctor.  Between last Tuesday and this coming Monday I have/have had the following appointments:

• Primary care physician for a general physical
• Ophthalmologist (which led to an appointment with a Strabismologist a month from now) for my double vision
• Podiatrist for plantars fasciitis (with another follow-up that may lead to a cortisone injection in my heel; I do not want this)
• Dexa scan as a bone density test

As my PCP put it, I have a very complex medical history given I am only 33 years old (yes, he actually said that).  In spite of this, I still need to do the right thing and take care of those things that ail me.  If I am going to put all this effort into losing weight, then the last thing I want is for another condition to prevent me from being able to do something.

Onward to the next week!

One day, three milestones

As the title suggests, I accomplished three things today:

1. I swam my first mile
2. I have officially lost more than 20 pounds in two months
3. I fit into a shirt that I haven't worn in over two years

Let's start at the top. As I have mentioned many times on this blog (almost to the point that one could mistake the focus of my writings on swimming; my focus is on a broader get healthy effort) I have been working on a couch to one mile project over the last six weeks. Today was the capstone, and I crushed it! It took me 65 minutes, and I could barely get out of the pool in the end, but I have two great observations coming out of today's swim. First, I felt completely weightless the first half of the swim; this means that I have become a better swimmer (as one would expect). Second, I have more energy after every time I swim than before; this is the first time in my life I have felt a "runner's high."

Here are the stats on the second bullet:

• March 25 - 234.8
• March 18 - 236.8
• January 2 (start date) - 256

Knowing that weight loss tends to taper off, I am trying to think of what my next goal should be. For now I am going to shoot for 220 by Memorial day. My strategy is to continue a balanced and realistic diet (e.g. I still drink an occasional beer and eat a cookie from time to time, but these are treats and my regular meals are measured and well controlled), and I think I am going to pare the swimming back to once per week and switch to weights the other two days.

Finally, I fit in one of my favorite shirts. It is J. Crew, tapered, and my gut has prevented me from wearing in quite some time. Hooray for looking good!

Swimming, music, and meditation

I am currently employed at a Catholic hospital, and the organization is extremely focused (as it should be) on the mission; we exist to help the sick and in-need. To help foster the broader mission (that is, helping the sick in line with the values of a Christian-based organization) all employees are exposed to regular presentations on how we can best exemplify our mission.

While there are several common themes on achieving mission-based leadership, the element I am focusing on with this blog is meditation. To meditate is to simply focus on a single idea and release all other thoughts. This can be a Bible verse, concentrating on a critical task for the day, or something ultra-simple with the purpose of clearing your thoughts. Meditation is something my brain is not naturally wired to accomplish; if you know me then you fully realize that my mind moves at light speed all the time.

One place I am really focusing on meditation is the pool. As I ramped up the laps in my couch to one mile exercise series, keeping track of what lap I was on became very difficult (I swim in a 20 yard pool, meaning that one mile equals 88 laps). A friend suggested that I repeat the lap number in my head that I am currently swimming. After the first night doing this (I was up to a 30 lap series) my head was completely relaxed. I have since extended this tri-weekly meditation to a morning routine of meditating to various songs for ~15 minutes. Both practices have allowed me to reset my brain on a daily basis, and it feels amazing!

As a quick update on the couch to one mile, tomorrow is the day for the one mile. I feel ready and conditioned, and at this point it is just a matter of doing it.

Trimming the wardrobe

A cool thing happened this last weekend: I am officially too small to wear two articles of clothing. The first is a 569 cut Levis (they are the loose/baggy ones that haven't been in style for a least four years). I wore them while I worked on my house (that now happens to be on the market; please buy it!), and it was like I had no butt (remember these?). The other was a green polo shirt I wore Saturday night in honor of St. Patrick's Day; the really cool thing is it is a J. Crew shirt, a company that tends to cut things for those of more athletic builds (i.e. skinny guys).

I am not too broken up over not having to wear either article of clothing again (also, the shirt is a pea green that is terrible with my fair skin), and I am even more excited to start wearing the clothes that have been sitting in the back of my closest for so long. In fact, as soon as the house sells I am going clothes shopping with some of the proceeds.

The old, slim fit suits are heading to the front of the closet!

Surprise! Bigger drop than expected

I know that I am blogging a little bit earlier on Sunday than I usually do, but I have a busy day ahead of me and wanted to get my weigh-in over with. Note that I weigh myself throughout the day during the week (yes, this is a bad habit), and the mornings tend to be a "heavier" time of day. Despite that, check this out:

• March 18 - 236.8
• March 11 - 238.2
• January 2 (start date) - 256

There are two surprises coming out this number: first, I figured the time of day I weighed in (post-breakfast as opposed to pre-dinner) would have worked against me, and second, holy crap I lost 1.4 pounds this week! I was far from perfect, but at the same time on the days I "cheated," the rest of the day I really budgeted my calories. I feel good about this week not only because of the significant weight loss, but I also love the fact that I am managing my diet in a way that allows me to live healthy and enjoy food. This is the sort of progress that is sustainable through life.

Today I begin my search for a local band. It has been almost five years since I last played outside of a garage and/or basement, and this is a key piece of me (and by "me," I mean a critical part of what makes David, David). In fact, every morning for the last week I have made it a point to "meditate" to 10 minutes of music before going to work. Even though I am not playing it, listening to someone else make music and focusing on those sounds have reminded me how happy I am when I am around music. I suppose this, too, is part of my journey of re-centering myself (that is, add music to health and finances).

On that note, I leave you, the reader, with some music (while the video is weird and/or creepy, I am "Feeling Good"):

PS - Only .8 pounds away from my frist 20!