bluebunny27's Daily Check In

[bluebunny27]

I did it !!

199.0 this morning : Burn baby burn! - Disco inferno!!

This was very surprising actually. It was a double yellow yesterday and I still lost 1.2 pound, I was thinking I would gain weight today ... or at least remain stable. I wasn't even that good, I had a couple of glasses of wine in the evening, lol ! Yellow training day but I also did walk quite a bit yesterday though, I guess that helped as well.

Finally, a '1' as the 1st number : it just took me 12 years to get back under 200 pounds ... I was making a SHAKA (with the rotation of course) when I saw the result : "Alrighhhhhhht !"



I am doing really well in early august now but things change quickly so I am not taking anything for granted this time. I made that mistake before. I am already way ahead of my weight objectives now so I'll work on remaining under 200.0 if I can. That's a nice goal for the next few days.





Double green expected today.

I'll also try to get a nice hand mixer, as a reward and it's something that is useful too, a good
investment ! Purees and smoothies, yum !

Thanks to everyone for their support.



Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/03/2009 : 201.8 pounds
( 9 months 3 days / -78.2 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[~reneew]

Woo hoo! Way to go!


http://www.spike.com/video/fireworks/2749700

[Nichole]

Great job!!!

[sophiasapientia]

One-derland! Way to go!

[bluebunny27]

Thanks Sophia, Nichole, Renee (Lovely fireworks !)

Hum, I bounced back up a lil' bit this morning, 199.8
This is surprising actually because I was better than the day before (double green vs double yellow), but I gained weight instead of losing ...

Maybe there was something water related again, dehydration yesterday when I dropped to 199.0 so easily ?? I had walked in the hot sun for a while that day, I drink plenty of water every day though but that's my theory. I also had 2 glasses of wine and a beer that evening, doesn't that cause some dehydration .... even if you do drink water ??

Anyway there's a lot less tension now that I'm on the RIGHT side of 200.0 and for some reason my weight fluctuates in weird ways lately. I am not too worried about it. The closer I get to the end, the less tension there is for me since I have done most of the work now.

My short term goal is to go down to 199.0 again by august 10th in the morning.



Green day today for the diet ... Exercise, it'll be either green (42 minutes) or yellow (28 minutes) depending how I feel, probably shovelglovin' & calisthenics in the evening.

I was thinking of adding a bit of weight to my shovelglove soon actually, maybe 1 pound extra.
I've been using a 14 pound shovelglove for 6 months now.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/05/2009 : 199.0 pounds
( 9 months 5 days / -81.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[StrawberryRoan]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!!!


Was that dramatic enough?

What great news, Marc, breaking the 200 barrier. You must be so very proud of your accomplishment thus far. And there ain't no stoppin' you now.

So happy to read this today. I needed it.

Berry

[bluebunny27]

Thanks Berry ! I hope all is well in your life too.

Yeah, it feels pretty good now to be in much better shape.


Updated pictures as promised.



2008 : 280 pounds (It was all MUSCLES, I swear !!!)




July 17th 2009, approx 205 pounds.




August 4th 2009, approx. 201 pounds




August 4th 2009, approx. 201 pounds. Shirt tucked in, you can see my belt since it's my new philosophy not to dress like a FAT BOY anymore. (It's my sister in the picture, you see we look alike, same face (!) She is also really active, training 5-6 times per week. She lost about 40-45 pounds a few years ago through diet & exercise.)



Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/05/2009 : 199.0 pounds
( 9 months 5 days / -81.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[Bushranger]

That's a marked improvement, Marc (pun intended). Congratulations.

[bluebunny27]

Thanks, Bushranger ! Nice PUN, lol ! I like the way you talk too, in other threads. I am often agreeing with what you are sayin' ... You are often spot on.

I blocked the face on the pictures because I don't want my face to be on the internet, that's the explanation.

Later when I am done with this I'll ask a few of the regular posters (my daily check in) if they want to get the unedited versions and I can send them in private e-mails on the side ... as long as it's clear they shouldn't post 'em anywhere on the net or send them to anybody else either of course, good plan ?



I weighed 199.8 pounds this morning. Same as yesterday. (Even STEVEN !)

I had a great day yesterday though, double green (Diet + 42 minutes shovelglove and calisthenics) so it's a lil' weird not to have lost any weight ... but at least I'm still under 200.0 pounds (Barely !).


I'll see how it goes today, Green for the diet and either a yellow or a green for the exercise...

The pressure is really not as intense when I am under 200.0 compared to when I am over ... it must be a psychological thing ! I am close to my ultimate goal so it would be silly to freak out @ the moment. I'll just work harder.

I think getting under 200.0 was really almost as huge as my ultimate goal (190.0 by nov. 1st 2009) Now that I have done it, any extra weight I lose is almost like a bonus, you see. (I'll still try very hard to get to my ultimate goal of course, not giving up or going in the maintenance mode before nov. 1st.)

I'll be babysitting my nephew (8 years old) for a few days in a row now ... it happens once a year, usually in august, where I babysit him for several days in a row (5-6 days). I'll probably be alright for the diet, keeping it green, I don't care if he wants to have ice cream, cookies and pastries sometimes, I'm not having anything like that ... I bought some for when he'll come over but I didn't have any of it even if I was really hungry late last night, I ate plain popcorn and drank water.

I may have to sneak in a few yellow days for the exercise since my usual routine will be disrupted.
I have to watch him (play with him, play catch, keep him entertained, typical uncle activities !) so I can't train as I normally would until he's sleeping and by then I might be too tired to do the full 42 minutes, I'll see how it goes ... a yellow is still good, high intensity for 28 minutes.

That's one of the reasons I wanted to have many green exercise days in a row in early august, so I can take a few breaks during the babysitting days.



Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/05/2009 : 199.0 pounds
( 9 months 5 days / -81.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[~reneew]

Impressive photos Marc... though you still have white socks instead of neon green. You have a ton to be proud of!

[Thalia]

you look really fit! Congratulations!

[Nichole]

Wow Marc, the difference is drastic now! Great job

[bluebunny27]

Thanks a lot, Renee, Thalia & Nichole ! Glad you liked the pictures.

Hum, today, Even STEVEN again ... 199.8 pounds on saturday morning. A bit too close to 200.0 pounds to be comfortable !

I have been researching this a lil' bit and I think I have been eating too much fibre (fiber ?) lately ... so I'll ease up on that a bit, it may be causing constipation (Too much fibre, not enough water) and that's why I am not losing any weight in the past few days despite lining up the double green days ... It sucks when you are really good multiple days in a row and it's always the same number on the scale, 199.8 ... I like the '1' as the first number but it's really too close to 200+ pounds ...

Anyway my theory about the fibre is just something to consider. In the next few days I will cut down a bit on that and drink a lil' more water too. My high fibre cereals are good (Fibre one by General mills usually) but I won't eat as much daily as I used to, eating too much fibre is not a good idea, it causes different problems cos' some vitamins and minerals are not absorbed as well as they should be, you can get constipated if you don't drink a lot of water too ... I have been checking this out last night, I will cut down on the cereals I was eating, this should help.

There is 56% of the daily recommended fiber intake in just one half cup of those cereals, so if I don't measure carefully and put 1 1/2 cup in my bowl, I could really be having too much, especially considering everything else I eat daily that also has fibre ... veggies, legumes, bread, ground flaxseed, etc.

I'll measure my cereal portion more carefully now ... I pick on the cereals because it's the highest source of fibre you can have, besides eating plain CARDBOARD of course 14 grams of fibre in 1/2 cup. So the cereals have to be monitored closely.

It should be a double green again today (I would like to sneak a green running interval session in there if I can, nice n' sunny day here, but babysitting my nephew makes this hard to do) and tomorrow possibly a double yellow.

I was thinking I'll probably make the 9th my official weigh in, (tomorrow morning) .. instead of the 10th as I was planning originally. I am hoping for 199.0, my initial objective. It'd be nice not to be so close to my 200.0 CEILING all the time these past few days.

Battling through ADVERSITY.



Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/05/2009 : 199.0 pounds
( 9 months 5 days / -81.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[sophiasapientia]

Thanks for sharing your pics. You look great as does your sister! Way to change your family tree!

[bluebunny27]

Thanks Sophia ! Yeah, my sister is pretty *HOT* too ... I guess training HARD is in our genes, even when she goes on vacation she makes plans to train wherever she goes ...



Official weigh in this morning : 199.6 pounds.
I was hoping for 199.0, didn't make it but at least I didn't see 199.8 again, (3 times in a row that was the number on my scale) I tried hard for 4 days in a row but I was stuck around there, 199.8 / 199.6 ... Today should be a double yellow day. Training for 28 minutes inside probably, calisthenics, just what we hated doing in school, right ??

Diet, I am supposed to go out tonight, so I'll have a few lil' things extra, a couple of beers, wine, etc. Nothing too bad though, My plan is to avoid a red. I have been in control so far in august, not one red anywhere on my habitcal. I may go back slightly over 200+ pounds temporarely tomorrow morning because of this ... but I'll line up the greens again starting the next day as usual.

Last evening I watched a tv show about a man who was 45 years old, 5'10", 363 pounds. (I can relate to the stories who talk about men more of course, and this guy was the exact same height as me, 5'10", so that was really even more intriguing) He lost 60 pounds in about 3 months, diet & exercise ... at one point he was considering having a surgery but he chickened out cos' of the risks and other inconveniences (not being able to eat normally ever again, etc.) The program was very scientific, measuring his body fat (48.5% when he began) Cholesterol, blood pressure, VO2 Max, Metabolism ... I found more details on him online later on and he has lost 130 pounds total as of early 2009 since the program was made (2005 ?) Down to 230-ish pounds.

I couldn't believe how much food he ate when he was super heavy ... On a normal friday night he would have 2 large pizzas, 4 fried chicken pieces, 4 cheeseburgers, a big bowl of ice cream, 1 sub sandwich .... all by himself and in one sitting !! The take out restaurants must have seen it on their profit margin when he went on the diet ! The nutritionist said on a typical friday night like that he would have enough calories for a single person for one entire week.



...

Recent months :

11-1-2008 280.0
12-1-2008 266.0 ( Nov. 2008 Down 14.0, Total : 14.0 )
1-1-2009 254.0 ( Dec. 2008 Down 12.0, Total : 26.0 )
1-13-2009 250.0
2-1-2009 244.0 ( Jan. 2009 Down 10.0, Total : 36.0 )
2-19-2009 237.8
3-1-2009 234.0 ( Feb. 2009 Down 10.0, Total : 46.0 )
3-14-2009 232.2
4-1-2009 229.8 ( March 2009 Down 4.2, Total : 50.2 )
4-14-2009 224.8
5-01-2009 221.6 ( April 2009 Down 8.2, Total : 58.4 )
5-15-2009 217.8
6-01-2009 215.6 ( May 2009 Down 6.0, Total : 64.4 )
6-16-2009 211.6
7-01-2009 208.2 ( June 2009 Down 7.4, Total : 71.8 )
7-15-2009 205.4
8-03-2009 201.8 ( July 2009 Down 6.4, Total : 78.2 )

...




Objective, August 2009 : Lose 5 to 6 pounds.


08-03-2009 201.8
08-09-2009 199.6 ( Down 2.2 )
08-15-2009 198.6 ( Objective )
08-21-2009 197.6 ( Objective )
08-27-2009 196.6 ( Objective )
09-01-2009 196.2 ( Objective )






Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/09/2009 : 199.6 pounds
( 9 months 9 days / -80.4 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[~reneew]

Your August is looking awesome! I thought you couldn't improve much, but I see you can! Woohoo!

[Bushranger]

I couldn't believe how much food he ate when he was super heavy ... On a normal friday night he would have 2 large pizzas, 4 fried chicken pieces, 4 cheeseburgers, a big bowl of ice cream, 1 sub sandwich .... all by himself and in one sitting !! The take out restaurants must have seen it on their profit margin when he went on the diet ! The nutritionist said on a typical friday night like that he would have enough calories for a single person for one entire week.

As sickening as it is, this unfortunately is common. I saw an obesity doco last year that was looking at a special medical facility for morbidly obese people; we are talking the fattest of the fat, 500lb plus people. I remember them mentioning that one of their patients consumed 15000 calories a day before going there.

The one thing I really disliked was that almost none of the people on this show had accepted personal responsibility for their weight. The doctors even said nearly none of them had medical reasons for being obese beyond obvious severe mental and emotional issues. To make matters worse, even though they identified these issues as the root cause, they were not doing anything to treat and deal with them. Not a very holistic approach to health in my opinion. Of course, because they didn't treat the underlying cause, nearly all the people started gaining weight again when they went home.

[bluebunny27]

Thanks, Renee. You rock n' roll too !!! Work hard and don't give up, alright !!

...

For those about to rock ... we SALUTE you !!





Yes, my habitcal is a lil' too neat now .. what's up with that ?? All those greens and yellows lined up ... that doesn't seem right !! It seems like I'm in control, smooth sailing ... not freestylin' at all. Where are the rough edges ????



I was very proud of myself tonight, I did have a couple of beers and even some wine at a friend's house but when pizzas were ordered I was very strong, I only had one slice ... I just ate veggies and other small things, and let other people eat most of the pizzas ... I was quite good. I still give myself a yellow (because of the alcohol) but at least it was not a RED. Not too long ago I would have been running scared and probably had a red day cos' home delivered pizza is my arch enemy. I would have had 3-4 slices within 15 minutes and then felt bad for the next 48 hours, whining about red days and pizza slices - - - not worth it ... I'd rather not have more than one slice so I can feel better ! This time I couldn't be bothered, I was just having one piece and that was it.

I'll see what the scale says tomorrow morning.

Scale, I hate you, cos' whenever I am super good these days you are always reluctant to show me a smaller number !! So now, I'm sure even if I was quite good today, double yellow, and didn't have more than a slice of pizza in the evening ... you'll show me a gain tomorrow morning, right ?? That's what you were waiting for ... huh ???!!! Adding 2 pounds, I bet ?? %??%?%%?#XXYZ!! Grrrrrr !

BushRanger, I think you made a mistake there ...
15,000 calories in a week is normal ... that's a bit over 2,000 calories per day, nothing too exceptional there, mate !!

The guy I saw last night on TV was eating 15,000 calories in a single day, a typical friday night where he was binge eating ... I assume he wasn't eating as much on the other days or else he would have weighed 500 + pounds ... but on fridays apparently he was exaggerating quite a bit, having more food in one day than most people eat in an entire week.

He was blaming himself for the situation, admitting he was always eating junk food excessively so that's why he had weight problems ... but at least he did something about it ... I found this documentary very inspirational and informative. When people achieve something great it usually gets to me, a long term goal and they finally make it, yeah !

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/09/2009 : 199.6 pounds
( 9 months 9 days / -80.4 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[Bushranger]

Yep, per day was what I meant. You knew though. I always knew it was per day but for some reason I typed week. Simple typo, or perhaps it's such an obscene number my brain spaced out trying to put it together with a single day?

It's good that the guy you saw knew it was his fault and was doing something about it. That's really the only way anyone is going to get better long term.

[bluebunny27]

Yeah, I figured it was a mistake, BushRanger. I was shocked to see how much that guy was eating too, 15,000 calories in one day ???

Sometimes there are people who really go over the top ... I saw a documentary just a day or two ago, about a young woman in England, 18 years old ... she had alcohol problems. I couldn't believe how much she was drinking, she barely weighed 140 pounds and she was drinking 4 bottles of wine by herself on a typical saturday night !

She was a serious binge drinker, but only on the weekends, never during the week, fridays and saturdays it was pretty wild though ... I was thinking she was making it up actually, it just seems impossible to drink 4 bottles of wine by yourself in one day ??? That's like 4 times what you are supposed to have in an entire week I believe ... At the end of the doc. it was making me laugh though cos' she was pledging to cut down on the alcohol ... by 50% ... huh, hellllllllo ?? That's still 2 bottles of wine in one day, seems like a
lot for a wee lass ... Yeah, that's a lil' bit better at least, lol !

(I really like documentaries, I watch 'em often.)

...

Ok, my weight this morning, 202.0 ... yikes ! A gain of
2.4 pounds ?? I thought I had misbehaved a lil' bit last evening, not that much !! A couple of beers, 2 glasses of wine, a slice of pizza, a few salty or greasy things on the side, there you go ... So I gave myself a RED for the nutrition yesterday after all instead of a yellow. This extra weight shouldn't stick around for too long at least.

I need 4-5 good days in a row now. Double green days lined up already.

First RED of the month so far, oh well ... I know for me it's hard to make it more than 10-12 days without a red for the diet and I had a lot of pressure yesterday too, things happenin', etc. ... It had been 10 days since my last RED so I was due for one. I'm very ZEN this morning, hah !

I know with some hard work I should go back under 200 soon. I am more relaxed since I made it to the 190's the other day, that was really a big goal for me, so I'm not freaking out about an extra pound or two anymore. It's not all about a number of course, I wouldn't want to be freaking out for the rest of my life when I gain a couple of pounds, especially when half of the extra weight will be gone by tomorrow ... no big deal.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/09/2009 : 199.6 pounds
( 9 months 9 days / -80.4 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[Bushranger]

I am starting to think that with the way your weight is fluctuating this last week or two that either your scales are faulting and need replacing or you are very sensitive to fluid retention.

[bluebunny27]

Hum, my scale's not very old, only 6 months ... seems to work fine. I haven't been worried about that. Correction .... It's the only thing I *WASN'T* worrying about ...

On a red day it's typical for me to gain 2 pounds, nothing too exceptional there, especially when I ate some salty food.

My weigh today : 200.4 pounds.

Nice ! I lost a good part of the weight I had gained the day before with my red day ...

I hope to be back under 200.0 by tomorrow morning and then my next OFFICIAL objective is 198.6 on Saturday 8/15 ... so I have 4 days to lose 1.8 pound.
I'll do my best to make it, I want 4 double green days in a row.

Running intervals today, yesssssssss !! 40 minutes. Seems like it's been a while since I have done that (even if it's only been 3 days probably) The rain and my babysittin' DETAIL * (I am babysitting my 8 year old nephew until friday evening) has put the kibosh on my usual training ! I can leave my nephew with the neighbor for an hour while I go running, she has a lil' daughter, almost the same age and they can play together ... good plan !

Diet = Green. I plan on being really good now because I need to go down to 198.6 ASAP and get a lil' bit more below 200.0 so I don't go back over that ceiling even after a RED DAY, that would be ideal. I can't wait to finally be under 200.0 for good.




* Detail :
"(Military)
a. an appointment or assignment, as of a small group or an officer, for a special task.
b. the party or person so selected: the kitchen detail.
c. a particular assignment of duty."
Dictionary.com

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/09/2009 : 199.6 pounds
( 9 months 9 days / -80.4 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[Bushranger]

Do you weight at the same time under the same optimum conditions? That is, first thing in the morning, after you wake up and go to the bathroom but before any food or drink?

[bluebunny27]

Hum, yes ... always around the same time early in the morning. Complete nudity ! I also make sure my lil' bladder is empty as well, Number 1. Losing a bit more weight before stepping on the scale ...

I never have to visit the latrine (commode) for a number 2 that early in the morning, it's usually a few hours later and rarely more than once per day so that doesn't apply to the weigh in. Too much information, hehe !

I don't drink or eat anything before a weigh in either.

The conditions are all very similar from one day to the next.



Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/09/2009 : 199.6 pounds
( 9 months 9 days / -80.4 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[Bushranger]

Well you are certainly eliminating any variables. I'm thinking it's likely to be fluid retention most of the time for those rebound days where you jump 2lb or so.

[bluebunny27]

Thanks for your input, BushRanger, you rock n' roll, Sir.


Awesome result this morning, 198.4 pounds, yesss !!
Breaking new ground. I've never been down to the 198's before, I am getting closer and closer to my ultimate goal, 190.0 ...

I knew I had been super good yesterday. I was watching my food intake like a HAWK, no cheating and I trained really hard as well, running intervals for 41 minutes at the soccer field (plus 10 minutes cycling) 100% focused.

198.4 is the lowest number I've seen on the scale in 12 years so I have to be pleased with that.

All I have to do now is remain around that weight until saturday morning and then I can take a one day break with a double yellow. (My official objective for saturday morning is 198.6 ... now I think I'd like to be closer to 198.0 on that day if all goes well, so I won't have to see a '2' as the first number ever again even after a red day, crossing fingers)

Double green planned for today as usual, it could be the same routine as yesterday, Green diet, Running intervals and a bit of cycling.

Running intervals is such a great exercise, no equipment required, you don't have to deal with anybody else except yourself. (I am more zen since I am not dealing with other cyclists on the bike path as much and it's also safer since you can get into accidents training too hard alongside various people who are sightseeing on the bike path (especially on the weekends) and not acting properly (rowdy teens, lil' kids crossing the path, people who stop right in the middle of the path, etc.)






Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/09/2009 : 199.6 pounds
( 9 months 9 days / -80.4 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[Bushranger]

Thanks for the kind comment Marc. That's great news to hear about the weight going back down to 198 like that. I've got no doubt you will meet your targets on the dates you have set.

Regarding the suspected fluid retention, I hesitate to recommend how to proceed as the treatments vary depending on a few specific circumstances that only trained medical professionals could check for. Check the treatment section on this wiki link to see what I mean:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_rete ... edicine%29

It might not even need treatment and will sort itself out. Or it might not even be fluid retention although I think that is where we are starting to lead. It might even be simply that your water intake and sweat output varies markedly between days. Wish I had a more definite solution for the weight rebounds.

[bluebunny27]

Yes, thanks for the link and your input, BushRanger. It's true that some weird things have been going on with my weight lately, things that are hard to explain ... for the moment I am just eating a bit less fibre and drinking a lil' more water.

My weight this morning : 197.4 pounds Down 1 pound from yesterday, hehe ! I am blowing away my weight objectives, I was supposed to weigh 197.4 around 8 days from now. It surprised me to lose 1 pound yesterday actually, I was good all day long, spot on with the diet, exercising for 42 minutes (turned out to be shovelglove and calisthenics) but I was also constipated (good information to have !) so seeing a lower number on the scale was surprising to me. First time I'm in the 197's too, I think I am done with being higher than 200+ pounds now .... for good ! Even after a red day, I won't go back over 200, phew.

Today, I think I'll slow it down since I have been losing weight too quickly ... Green diet but only a yellow for the training, running intervals for 26 minutes. Then it'll be my official weekly weigh in on friday and a double yellow day.



Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/09/2009 : 199.6 pounds
( 9 months 9 days / -80.4 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[mimi]

Congratulations Bunny! You're almost there!

Mimi

[bluebunny27]

Thanks Mimi !! Hey, I've been Mimi'ed ...

Hum, I am not looking too far ahead now, I concentrate more on the short term goals to avoid problems ... but if I keep going really well like this and lose 6 to 7 pounds in august it is likely I'll change my year long goal to 187-188 pounds instead of 190 ... Then I'll maintain around that weight and work more on becoming more muscular while remaining at the same weight, so I'll burn some of the fat and build more muscles instead, I can't wait, heh !

I was just looking at some of my early DAILY CHECK IN posts and I was reading things I had written, : "I hope to be around 216.0 tomorrow morning, that'd be great !" ... lol ! Seems like that was a long time ago even if it happened only about 3 months back. 197.4 now, woo hoo !

Glad the dog that attacked you will have to abide by some rules in the future ... here in Canada I am pretty sure they would have put the dog to sleep, especially if it was the 2nd time it had attacked someone ! I've never been attacked by a dog so I don't have a lot of advice to get over the fear of dogs, have you thought about getting a dog yourself ?? Maybe a small one, so you get used to a nicer dog and if it's smaller it won't be too 'threatening' ... or maybe visit a friend or family member who has a nicer dog you can be around.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/09/2009 : 199.6 pounds
( 9 months 9 days / -80.4 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[~reneew]

Liked your salute to rock! I've been so so busy this whole week, and eating has been my pass time it seems with company. I've also noticed that even when I don't make or get out snacks... they take over my kitchen and do it themselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha! Then guess who eats. Things will settle down next week, then Starting September 25th, I am all no s!

[Nichole]

Great job!

[gratefuldeb67]

Hey Marc!
Way to go on getting down below 200 lbs!!!!
That is fantastic!!
My wish for you is that you can maintain your weight loss for your whole life!
You should really be incredibly proud of yourself!
Debs

[bluebunny27]

Recent months :

11-1-2008 280.0
12-1-2008 266.0 ( Nov. 2008 Down 14.0, Total : 14.0 )
1-1-2009 254.0 ( Dec. 2008 Down 12.0, Total : 26.0 )
1-13-2009 250.0
2-1-2009 244.0 ( Jan. 2009 Down 10.0, Total : 36.0 )
2-19-2009 237.8
3-1-2009 234.0 ( Feb. 2009 Down 10.0, Total : 46.0 )
3-14-2009 232.2
4-1-2009 229.8 ( March 2009 Down 4.2, Total : 50.2 )
4-14-2009 224.8
5-01-2009 221.6 ( April 2009 Down 8.2, Total : 58.4 )
5-15-2009 217.8
6-01-2009 215.6 ( May 2009 Down 6.0, Total : 64.4 )
6-16-2009 211.6
7-01-2009 208.2 ( June 2009 Down 7.4, Total : 71.8 )
7-15-2009 205.4
8-03-2009 201.8 ( July 2009 Down 6.4, Total : 78.2 )
8-14-2009 197.0

...


Renee, two's company ... three's a crowd, remember !!
It's true that when you have guests, it makes it a lot harder. Don't give up and make a fresh start as soon as you can.

Thanks, Nichole ... I'll save that picture so I can use it later, lol !

Debs, you are always so positive, so I thank youuuuu !
Yeah, back in nov. 2008 it seemed so far away but now it's right there within arm's reach. I'll probably aim for 188 on nov. 1st 2009 if I finish the month of august well now and end up around 195.0

....

Great result this morning : 8/14/2009 197.0 pounds.
I've been rock n' rollin' all the way in august so far.









Objective, August 2009 : Lose 6 to 7 pounds.


08-03-2009 201.8
08-09-2009 199.6 ( Down 2.2 )
08-14-2009 197.0 ( Down 2.6 )
08-21-2009 196.2 ( Objective )
08-27-2009 195.4 ( Objective )
09-01-2009 195.0 ( Objective )


Double yellow planned on 8/14, Shovelglove and calisthenics for 28 minutes and then I'm supposed to go out, have a couple of drinks, eat something extra and relax ... I'll probably gain 1 pound today.
Then it's back to my routine. Losing half of whatever
I gained right away and working on getting to the next objective, which is not too far away this time : 196.2 on 8/21.


Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/14/2009 : 197.0 pounds
( 9 months 14 days / -83.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[bluebunny27]

Alright, back to my routine. Double greens lined up cos' it's time to make some progress, my objective is 196.2 on 8/21, so I can't procrastinate too much.
The temperatures outside have been really high for a week now and it'll be like that until tuesday most likely so I can't really do my running intervals at the moment (I think somebody had major issues in the bike path, there were a couple of police cars and an ambulance as well just this morning ...)
Running intervals in those really hot conditions would be dangerous probably, so I'll do more calisthenics and shovelglove inside until it cools down.

I had a bad day, red on friday night, I was naughty and I had a big bowl of ice cream, 2 muffins, cookies, yikes ... now I'm working on correcting the situation.
2 reds so far in august. I am not too depressed about red days anymore since I see I can erase them completely within 3 days as long as I apply myself. Plus, when I'm under 200 pounds, it's all good. That's when I don't freak out, lol ! I was exaggerating a lil' bit lately anyway, losing 4.8 pounds within 11 days before this RED so I was getting tired and depriving myself too much.

I changed my DAILY WEIGH IN file so now you can see right on there the consequences of the green/yellow/red days ... Since the nutrition is the most important aspect of a weight loss journey, I'll use that habit for the colors I'll use ...

The training is very important too, but I'd say it's 70% Nutrition and 30% training. Why ?? Well, if you have an awful day and you pig out on ice cream for example it'll take an awful lot of training to erase the mistake. You can train for 2 hours straight and the mistake will not have been completely erased ! The key part is the nutrition, the exercise is also important but not as much as avoiding all those calories in the first place.

I also added 2 1/2 pounds to my home made shovelglove last night. I actually stopped my shovelglove session a minute after I started because it was just too easy. I needed it to be more challenging so I only did calisthenics that evening and then I added the weight after my training session. I had 2 weight plates on there, 10 pounds + 2.5 pounds ... now it's 10 pounds + 5 pounds (Plus the weight of the wooden handle, the screws, etc. About 16.5 pounds total. It's very sturdy and secure, I've been using it for months, no problems at all. I think once every 6 months I'll add some weight to it so I can have arms like POPEYE'S, you know !



I had been using a 14 pound shovelglove since february. I am getting stronger, which is good and for any exercise to be effective and create progress, it has to be hard. You have to push yourself. I decided it was time to add the weight (I had been thinking about doing that for a couple of weeks now)

Calisthenics, great exercises ! No equipment, nothing. That's what I like, kickin' it old school. I was doing those like a mad man for 42 minutes last night and when I was done I was all SOAKED. It was one of the most intense calisthenics sessions I've done in a long time. I squeezed my t-shirt over the tub after I was done (before taking a shower) and it was dripping sweat, that's how soaked it was, through and through almost as if it had been dipped entirely into water ... but it felt gooooooooood !

"Calisthenics : Calisthenics are a form of organized exercise consisting of a variety of simple movements––performed without weights or equipment––that are intended to increase body strength and flexibility using the weight of one's own body for resistance. They are usually conducted in concert with stretches.

Groups such as sports teams and military units often perform leader-directed group calisthenics as a form of synchronized physical training (often including a customized "call and response" routine), providing a boost to group cohesion and discipline."
Wikipedia.org

I'll also incorporate PLANKS into my routine now to work more on my abs and back muscles ... Pilates ??
Huhuh !

http://www.bodyresults.com/E2planks.asp

Good site here, with photos. Plank'ed.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/14/2009 : 197.0 pounds
( 9 months 14 days / -83.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[Bushranger]

I'm fairly sure Popeye's forearms were tumours.

[bluebunny27]

"Didnt I, didnt I, didnt I see you cryin'?
Oh, didnt I, didnt I, didnt I see you cryin'?
Feelin' all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dyin'.
Oh, didnt I, didnt I, didnt I see you cryin?
I want you to want me.
I need you to need me.
I'd love you to love me.
I'm beggin' you to beg me."


"Cheap Trick" - "I want you to want me"




Now, why do I keep humming this song today ???????










Hi !

198.0 this morning. Down 0.4 from yesterday. Not bad although I thought it could have been better, I was hoping to weigh under 198.0 this morning before I stepped on the scale. Missed it by *THAT* much.

Double green days planned non stop until friday the 21st and I need 'em cos' my objective is to weigh around 196.2 / 196.4 pounds by then so I have to be gooooood. It'd be great to have a really good day on monday so I can get down to the low 197's by tomorrow, that would be ideal. Then I would only have to lose 1 pound during the next 3 days.

I worked out really hard last evening. Shovelglove and calisthenics for 42 minutes (1/2 and 1/2). It was the 1st time I tried my new heavier shovelglove too. Niiiiiiiiiice to feel my arms burning ! I can definitely feel the extra 2.5 pounds I added to it. Makes the routine much tougher ! That's good, I'll get used to it and get stronger ... I'm sure in a couple of months it'll seem easier. I was definitely sweating doing my various moves while watching TV. I did my exact same routine as before only with a heavier shovelglove (16.5 pounds vs 14 pounds)

Same is planned for today.

I also bought some multivitamins the other day. I don't take one as often as it says on the container though : 1 per day. I got the 'strong' version (They also had the regular, senior and pregnant versions !) .... STRONG sounds good for a young buck but I did consider the PREGNANT ones of course. Reminds me about 15 years ago my dad was supposed to go to the hospital for some blood/urine tests and the Dr. had checked all sorts of tests listed on the card/form but he had made a mistake and checked the 'Pregnancy' test too in the list ! I'm pretty sure it was negative. hehe !

I'll take one pill every mon-wed-fri ... right after a meal as suggested. That seems enough to fill in the blanks, things I may be missing on despite my good nutrition schemes. They weren't too expensive either, 13$ for 300 pills so the big bottle I got should last me almost 2 years if I only take 3 per week, lol ! I eat really well so those may not be required really but the other day I was watching the Dr. Diet tv show and the good Dr. was suggesting taking a multivitamin every other day.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/14/2009 : 197.0 pounds
( 9 months 14 days / -83.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[bluebunny27]

Alright, good news this morning ... 197.0 pounds.

I am back where I was before my friday evening problems.
Exactly what I wanted to see. Now I have 3 days until friday morning to lose approx. 0.8 pound so it doesn't seems so bad.

If all goes well, I should BREAK NEW GROUND tomorrow morning as I haven't been in the 196's before on this journey.

Double green again today, lovin' it. When I'm getting good results on the scale it's really easy to be good ... watch my diet and train hard. It's not as frustrating as when I am being good and it's a struggle to get my weight down. Today is the last day where it'll be super hot so I can have a running session tomorrow probably. Shovelglove and calisthenics in the meantime for a 3rd consecutive day ... or 4th ?? It's the longest period without an outdoor training session since mid april but it would be tough to train outside in this heatwave (I might try it today anyway, not really sure.... I may do it anyway despite the hot temperature, I'll see.)





A couple of new things I tried for the 1st time last night. I made my own mayonnaise since I keep hearing nutritionists on my TV shows (X-Weighted, The last 10 pounds, Diet Dr.) saying even light commercial mayonnaise is not so good for you, so I made my own to use on salads instead of vinaigrette. Pretty easy.

Egg, dijon mustard, vinegar, a bit of salt and pepper, blitz and add canola oil while blitzing for 2 minutes.
I didn't make a huge quantity since I have to eat it within a week. (because of the raw egg in it) Tasted really nice, I'll probably keep on making my own mayonnaise long term from now on.

I also tried HUMMUS. Chickpeas, lemon juice, etc. Blitz. I don't know the recipe by heart but I have it noted down somewhere. Goooooooooood and I like making my own of course, it's not store bought. Good for me, lots of protein and whatnot, I can have a couple of tablespoons once in a while especially before work outs.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/14/2009 : 197.0 pounds
( 9 months 14 days / -83.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[~reneew]

Homeade mayo and homeade flour tortillas are 2 foods that if you try making your own, you'll never quite enjoy the storebought as much ever again.

[bluebunny27]

Yep, I was very pleased with this new mayo project, I should keep on making some in the future ... I'll see how much I need to last me a week. It's not as thick as commercial mayo but I like it better that way, it's really good on my salads and easy to make as well. It'll take me only 10 minutes per week.

197.4 pounds this morning. I was disappointed because I had been good yesterday (Green diet + exercising for 42 minutes) so I wanted to be down in the 196's, not gain 0.4 pound .... better luck next time ! I was goin' nuts last night in the late evening because I was so hungry. I only had plain popcorn and water but I was close to having a red day really. I knew if I ate anything else, I would regret it 5 minutes later.

I vouch not to weigh myself in the late evenings from now on too, I knew I wouldn't go down in the 196's this morning based on my last evening weigh in and this was highly frustrating, I was this close to eating more than I should (maybe even having a red) just because I was quite annoyed ... not losing anything, even gaining after having been good all day ... so I'll try really hard not to weigh around midnight in the future, only in the morning when all the conditions are similar. Plus, I know when I eat too much, it usually happens in the late evenings, not during the day. Seeing a bigger number on the scale than the one I expect is making it harder to be good at that time.

Not sure if I'll make my 196.2 objective on friday morning now, it'll be hard perhaps. Oh well, I won't be so far away if I don't make it and my monthly objective is more important in any case, low 195's on sept. 1st.

Yesterday I actually did a bit more than 42 minutes of exercising since I was doing a lil' yard work... at one point I was lifting really heavy bags of tiny stones to put on the sides in the back yard. Those bags were really heavy and I was struggling to bring them over one by one. Then I look at their weight. It was printed on the side of the bags, it said "66 pounds" ... geesh, I lost more than that since I began my journey ! Hard to believe I was 83 pounds heavier back then. That was like walking with more than one of those heavy stone bags all day long (!) Exhausting.

Double green today, I should be able to cycle and run since it's a few degrees cooler today .... finally. 41 minutes. My plan is to be down in the 196's by tomorrow morning (Same plan as yesterday, yeah !)
I've been having a hard time doing that.



Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/14/2009 : 197.0 pounds
( 9 months 14 days / -83.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[Vigilant2010]

Hey Marc,

I'm a bit late to the party but wanted to say thanks for sharing your pictures! I love progress photos--very motivating!

Vig

[bluebunny27]

Hey, Thanks Vigil ! Glad you liked the pictures !
At first I didn't want to post in progress pictures, I wanted to wait until early november when I am done with the weight loss ... but Debs made me change my mind.

Excellent result this morning, 196.8 pounds. Yeah ! 1st time I am in the 196's. I was surprised actually. I knew I had been good and I had trained hard too (I managed to run yesterday) but I was expecting to be in the 197's again today for some reason.

Same deal today, Green + Green, hopefully losing a lil' more and getting to the low 196's by tomorrow morning (Official weigh in scheduled at that time and my objective is 196.2)



Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/14/2009 : 197.0 pounds
( 9 months 14 days / -83.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[bluebunny27]

Recent months :

11-1-2008 280.0
12-1-2008 266.0 ( Nov. 2008 Down 14.0, Total : 14.0 )
1-1-2009 254.0 ( Dec. 2008 Down 12.0, Total : 26.0 )
1-13-2009 250.0
2-1-2009 244.0 ( Jan. 2009 Down 10.0, Total : 36.0 )
2-19-2009 237.8
3-1-2009 234.0 ( Feb. 2009 Down 10.0, Total : 46.0 )
3-14-2009 232.2
4-1-2009 229.8 ( March 2009 Down 4.2, Total : 50.2 )
4-14-2009 224.8
5-01-2009 221.6 ( April 2009 Down 8.2, Total : 58.4 )
5-15-2009 217.8
6-01-2009 215.6 ( May 2009 Down 6.0, Total : 64.4 )
6-16-2009 211.6
7-01-2009 208.2 ( June 2009 Down 7.4, Total : 71.8 )
7-15-2009 205.4
8-03-2009 201.8 ( July 2009 Down 6.4, Total : 78.2 )
8-14-2009 197.0

...









Woo hoo !

Official weigh in this morning and I was pleased !
196.4, my lowest weight ever ... so I was rejoicing. I have been good all week long, double greens lined up and I lost ... 0.6 pound compared to last friday before my red day. Those pounds are getting very hard to lose, I don't have as much blubber weight anymore, lol ! I'll take it easy today, double yellow.

Last night I was visiting friends and someone actually asked me how many pounds I have lost so far ... nobody has ever asked me that point blank, asking for a number, I mean. So I said "83 pounds in 9 1/2 months" of course and they were all shocked, heh ! Most were thinking I had lost 50-60 pounds, they couldn't believe it was more than that. I was proud. 83 pounds in 9 1/2 months. Still a few more to gooooooooo ....



Objective, August 2009 : Lose 6 to 7 pounds.


08-03-2009 201.8
08-09-2009 199.6 ( Down 2.2 )
08-14-2009 197.0 ( Down 2.6 )
08-21-2009 196.4 ( Down 0.6 )
08-27-2009 195.6 ( Objective )
09-01-2009 195.2 ( Objective )




Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/21/2009 : 196.4 pounds
( 9 months 21 days / -83.6 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[gratefuldeb67]

You *should* be proud Marc!! You're kicking ass!!!
Debs

[bluebunny27]

Debs, you always find the right words, hehe !

I had a red on friday evening. I was naughty drinking beer/wine I even had a few crackers, cheese, donuts and cookies.

Saturday, trying to recover. Double green. Same deal as last week : having to play catch up after having a bad friday evening.

I was running at the baseball field. In the outfield it was a nice n' sunny day, Saturday.

I'll try to go under 196 by thursday 8/27 am. I think my official objective is 195.6. Anywhere around 196.0 would be great though, I should try to avoid gaining 2-3 pounds in a single day and then having to be good all week long to make up. That would make it easier on me in the future.

I see that when I am too strict many days in a row it is frustrating and leads me to feel deprived and having a red day, gaining 2-3 pounds at once (temporary weight of course but half of it is harder to lose !) I'll try to find a solution, maybe micro biting more, just a lil' piece of donut or a cookie doesn't hurt me, it's not the same impact as if I had had 4 donuts or 8 cookies in a row because I was feeling deprived for too long.

My % of compliance to my objectives is way up there this month though. 88% for the training and 86% for the diet so I have been goooooooooood.

I am pleased that my WEEK AVG. is going down though, I'll pay more attention to the avg. in the future. I was thinking I should forget about weight objectives for one particular day and have week avg. objectives instead. That's what I'll do when I'm in the maintenance phase. Have week avg. objectives and a ceiling so I know if my avg. is getting too close to the ceiling I have to do something about it quickly.

Anyway I don't have too many pounds left to lose,
I should try to be around 195.0 on sept. 1st. and then it'll be 3-4 pounds down in september and 3-4 pounds down in october ... I'll be Done with my crazy year !
I'll rejoice If I end up between 187 and 192 on nov. 1st in any case. It'll be great to only have to maintain my weight.

Updated habitcal, daily weigh in chart.





Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/21/2009 : 196.4 pounds
( 9 months 21 days / -83.6 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[StrawberryRoan]

Wow, marc, you are doing great. Tried to post earlier about how great the pics of you and your sister were but for some reason, my page just FROZE.. oh well... Here I am!

Now I know why you block out your face - you are afraid that someone will lift your photo and use you on one of those

Buff Guys From The Internet calendars!

Uh Huh, that's it.

You look MAHVELOUS!

Berry

[bluebunny27]

Wow, *blushing* ... Yeah , sorry about the face thing ... I don't want my face on the internet, it's a mental block, lol !

Hey, Berry ... I just had lil' berries last night actually ... they were RASP--berries ... and they were gooood !

As for my red day problems recently (Well, not a huge problem, 3 red days within the first 23 days of august) I was thinking about this and trying to find a solution. I know that when I have red days my problem usually starts at night, around 11pm - 12 midnight, that's when I am in danger. So I'll try to save a bit more food I would normally have earlier in the day so I can have it then instead, preventing problems possibly. I'll also be more careful on days where I am drinking a bit, cos' it's probably not a coincidence I have had red days mostly on the weekends late at night, you know how it is, you drink a couple of beers with friends, a glass of wine and all of a sudden you start munching on donuts and cookies thinking : "Hey, I was good all week long, I deserve it, bla-bla" ... next thing you know you gained 2.6 pounds the next morning ...

I hope my new strategy works out, go easy, not depriving myself too much for too many days in a row, micro biting if I have to, saving some food daily for later, around midnight and being careful on the weekends, especially when I'm having a couple of drinks. I am not too depressed about it though, I know if I am good 3 days, I'm back close to where I was before the red day.

...

I have seen great improvements in my physique lately, legs/arms, more muscular. Still some work to do though, I'll be curious to see if I keep this up for years, I mean eating well, exercising, weight training, all that ... I might be in really good shape some day. I might be 'lean & mean' ... the first year is the weight loss part, the 2nd year will be the toning part so after 2 straight years, there should be some noticeable improvement.

I've started doing front planks now in the evening ...
I wasn't doing ab exercises before and the plank is a great way to train your abs and back muscles. I do 4 sets now, holding the position for 40 seconds each time. This is actually pretty hard to do but it doesn't take a long time out of my day. I rest 40 seconds in between sets so the whole thing is over in 6 minutes or less, no excuse not to do it !



I am pleased that I am able to do this actually, I never did exercises that were especially for the abs since I started training back in nov. 2008 (Mental block ???)


I did many other things that were good for the abs though, calisthenics, pushups, running, shovelglove, all that ... so I think that's why I am able to do the 40 second planks right away (beginners would only do those for 10-20 seconds from what I read) I hope to see some improvements in that dept. soon. Maybe in a couple of months I'll hold the position for 90 seconds, who knows, then I'll add reps, do different plank variations (Elevating the feet to make the planks harder, Side planks) add different ab exercises ...
always pushing yourself, that's the key to improve, remember, if it's not hard something's not right...

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/21/2009 : 196.4 pounds
( 9 months 21 days / -83.6 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[bluebunny27]

Ok, nothing too spectacular today ...

197.6 this morning, down 0.2 from yesterday ... yikes !
That sucks !

I expect a bigger loss for tomorrow morning though. Double green and I'll be careful not to eat too much either.

This definitely motivates me to be good and avoid gaining too much weight on a single day in the future, makes it harder to reach my next objective. 196.0 or less on thursday, 8/27.

I made a couple of changes to my diet, last night I was reading a lot of material I have gathered since nov. 2008, information on nutrition I saved from all sorts of websites. Mostly screen captures, images with information related to nutrition. Books I found on the web, describing in details what I should eat. "Complete idiot's guide to nutrition" ... that's what I named the folder. Clever.

Based on that I added 1/2 fruit to my daily diet, I should have it in the morning. I cut my mayo intake by 50% too, 1 tbsp. instead of 2 on my salad (sometimes I have salads twice a day so the 2 tbsp. I save can add up, 100 calories less, a lot of the calories come from the mayo, not the veggies). I'll ease up on the brown sugar as well, I used to put a tbsp. in my yogurt, I might skip that especially on days where I am trying hard to lose weight, like today. If I pinch calories left and right, just saving 100-200 daily, that's half a pound I lose within 10 days. I'll also start eating fish more and cut down on meat ... more tuna/salmon/sardines, less beef/pork/ham.

I should continue reviewing all the nutrition info I have ... I am already eating very well so there aren't too many things I need to change, minor tweaks. Then I'll check all the training info next

I'll try posting my "Complete idiot's guide to nutrition" here when I have the time ... I need to translate the latest version first, french to english. Basically a list of what I am eating and when throughout a typical day, all the choices, etc.

I was looking at isometric exercises I could start doing in nov. when I am done with my weight loss. Planks I am doing daily now are a form of isometric exercise anyway, but I would like to add others on top of my regular training routine. I used to do some of those isometric exercises back in the early 90's ...

More info on those here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isometric_exercise

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/21/2009 : 196.4 pounds
( 9 months 21 days / -83.6 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[bluebunny27]

"Wild Thing !
You Make My Heart Sing
You Make Everything ... Groovy ...
Come On - - Wild Thing !"

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - "Wild Thing"


....

Ok, time for more details ...

...

Complete Idiot's Guide To Nutrition

( Or ... What I've Been Eating Lately ...)

============================


Seems Like A Lot Of Food But For Most Items The Portion Is Really Tiny. 3 main meals and 3 small snacks.



Breakfast :

(Pick One) Bran Cereals (Fibre 1 Or All-Bran 4 Tbsp. + 4 Tbsp. Corn Flakes) Oatmeal
1/2 Milk & 1/2 Plain Yogurt

(Pick One) 1 Tbsp, Maple Syrup, Honey, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Corn Syrup, Jam, Peanut Butter Optional.

Unsalted Peanuts, Unsalted Soy Nuts, Unsalted Sunflower Seeds, Dried Raisins, Dried Dates

(Pick One) 1/2 Banana, 1/2 Apple, 1/2 Pear, Cantaloupe, 1/2 Orange, Raspberries, Plums, 1/2 Kiwi, Peach
Pineapple, Blueberries, Cherries, Strawberries, 1/2 Nectarine, 1/2 Grapefruit, Fruit Juice
(Cranberries, Grapefruit)

(Pick One) Hard Boiled Egg, Ham, 1/2 Tuna, 1/2 Sardines, 1/2 Salmon




Am Snack : 10 Unsalted Almonds, 1 Tbsp. Molasses,

(Pick One) 1 Tbsp. Peanut Butter Or 1 Tbsp. Hummus,

(Pick One) 1/2 Banana, 1/2 Apple, 1/2 Pear, Cantaloupe, 1/2 Orange, Raspberries, Plums, 1/2 Kiwi, Peach
Pineapple, Blueberries, Cherries, Strawberries, 1/2 Nectarine, 1/2 Grapefruit, Fruit Juice
(Cranberries, Grapefruit)




Lunch :

Leftovers From The Day Before (What I Had For Dinner) Or ...
(Pick One) Tuna, Sardines, Salmon
(Pick One) Hummus, Ham, Cheese
(Pick One) Whole Wheat Bread, 1/2 Bagel, 1/2 Pita Bread, Whole Wheat Crackers

Salad : Carrot, Celery,

(Pick 3 Or 4) Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Potatoes, Broccoli,
Spinach, Green Peas, Corn, Radishes, Mushrooms, Yellow Beans, Green Beans,
Tomato, Unsalted Tomato Juice, Onion, Lettuce, Cauliflower

(1/2 Tbsp. Bread Crumbs + 1 Tbsp. Vinaigrette Or Mayonnaise)

Mon. Wed. Fri. : I Take One Multi-Vitamins (Right After Lunch)



Pm Snack :

(Pick One) Whole Wheat Bread, 1/2 Bagel, 1/2 Pita Bread, Whole Wheat Crackers,
(Pick One) Hummus, Ham
(Pick One) Plain Yogurt Or Milk
(Pick One) 1 Tbsp, Maple Syrup, Honey, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Corn Syrup, Jam, Peanut Butter

(Pick One) 1/2 Banana, 1/2 Apple, 1/2 Pear, Cantaloupe, 1/2 Orange, Raspberries, Plums, 1/2 Kiwi, Peach
Pineapple, Blueberries, Cherries, Strawberries, 1/2 Nectarine, 1/2 Grapefruit, Fruit Juice
(Cranberries, Grapefruit)



Dinner :

18H45 : Regular Dinner, I Often Try To Make More So I Have Some Leftovers For
The Next Day (Lunch) Chicken, pork, beef, etc. I'll try to make fish more often in the future though ... salmon, trout, others : No Seconds, Whole Wheat Bread - 1 Slice.

Salad : Carrot, Celery,

(Pick One) Brown Rice, Whole Wheat Pasta, Couscous, Bulgur (Boulghour), Barley
(Pick One) Chickpeas, Red Kidney Beans, White Kidney Beans, Lentils,
(Pick One) Hummus Or Cheese Cubes

(Pick 3 Or 4) Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Potatoes, Broccoli,
Spinach, Green Peas, Corn, Radishes, Mushrooms, Yellow Beans, Green Beans,
Tomato, Unsalted Tomato Juice, Onion, Lettuce, Cauliflower

(1/2 Tbsp. Bread Crumbs + 1 Tbsp. Vinaigrette Or Mayonnaise) Pepper.



Evening Snack :
1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste 1 Tbsp. Ground Flax Seed 1 Tbsp. Wheat Germ , 1 Tbsp. Oat Bran


Midnight Munchies : Plain Pop Corn, Optional - - I Only Have Some Every 3-4 Days.


.....


It takes 3 minutes every day to figure out what I'll have the next day ... I have the file on the computer so I erase
everything I won't have the next day, making my selections and then I print out what I will have ... I carry the piece of paper with me and I try to stick with what's on there ... it usually works, lol !

I drink plenty of water daily. I make sure to eat something before working out too (I often work out an hour after dinner, on the weekends I work out an hour after lunch often.)

I rarely have sweets, I try to cut down on salt, fat, sugar, diet soda ... as much as I can.

Coffee, twice per day, usually mid morning and mid evening. Winter season, I may have a cup of coffee in the mid afternoon as well.

Wine and beer, usually only once a week, and I try to use moderation.

I make my own mayonnaise, vinaigrette, yogurt, hummus ... once a week.


...

Training :

I'm Training 7 days a week most weeks.
Shovelglove, calisthenics (Intervals), cycling (Intervals), running (Intervals). Isometric exercises (Planks only at the moment)

Typical week :
5 X 45/55 minutes. High intensity.
2 X 35/40 minutes. High intensity.
(Times don't include : warm-ups, cool downs, stretching sessions before and after the actual work outs.)

I may have a day or 2 where I don't exercise at all in an entire month.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/21/2009 : 196.4 pounds
( 9 months 21 days / -83.6 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[bluebunny27]

Alright, great score this morning, 196.6 (Down 1.0 pound from yesterday, woo hoo !) .... I expect to go down in the low 196's for the first time tomorrow morning and then the final day before my official weigh in on thursday morning, anywhere in the mid-high 195's at that time would be great.

Yellow training today as I'll be a bit busy ... but I should still be green for the diet.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/21/2009 : 196.4 pounds
( 9 months 21 days / -83.6 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

[bluebunny27]

Alright, I found this new 'Ticker' thing ... looks pretty cool ... It'll be added to my signature automatically.

It'll be easier to change my weight on the ticker, so it's update more frequently, instead of changing my usual signature only once a week usually.

Cheers !

Marc

[~reneew]

Cool! I want one, but I'm too technologically stupid.

[bluebunny27]

Hey,

If you go to tickerfactory.com, you just have to follow the simple instructions ... it's quite easy.

There are 1001 different possible combinations and you can change the design easily ... also easier to update your weight so it's displayed for all to see instantly, makes it more easy to update my signature on a regular basis.

Note, I'll have to slow down my daily check in thing, I'll be busier in the next few weeks, so I probably won't update as often, once in a while, it was getting a bit too excessive anyway, sometimes updating more than once a day.

I also decided to cool it down a bit, I was starting to get obsessive/compulsive about my weight and the result on the scale. I'm doing this to be healthier, not stressed out over losing/gaining a lil' bit of weight daily. That's not healthy. As long as I'm under 200 pounds, the rest doesn't really matter anymore, it's just a number, I don't feel different when I weigh 199 compared to when I weigh 196, geesh.

I should concentrate on more important stuff instead of being frustrated for gaining 1 pound on a particular day or not losing anything on a day where I was really good, that sort of thing ... I have a tendency to do that, getting obsessive/compulsive.

I'll also concentrate more on what I plan on doing instead of trying to get others to change their habits, that's too frustrating and I already have more than enough to think about trying to achieve my own personal goals. I don't need to worry or get annoyed on a regular basis dealing with some other people who may not be as motivated or can't do what I'm doing for all sorts of different reasons.
Ref. The recent issues I had with Debs, wasting my time and energy. I mention a name just so other people don't feel I'm talking about 'em.

Besides all the data is here in my daily check in. If someone wants to lose weight. All they have to do is to read what I've written here in my dailies for the past few months, everything I've been doing is so detailed in here you won't believe your eyes, heh ! Everything I'm eating, training methods, good way to start ... but you have to be a lil' crazy though, that's for sure.

Yesterday, I also started reading a nutrition/training book my sister gave me back in april, I was already applying most of the principles but I like reading books like that, noting down a few things here and there I could change.
That's what I like doing, reading such a book and writing down : "Dried prunes ??" on a piece of paper as something to investigate on the web later. Dried prunes ... mmmm !

Cheers !

Marc

[~reneew]

I have a tendency to do that, getting obsessive/compulsive.

Really?
I went to investigate the ticker thing, but you have to write your weight and not just the loss. Hmm... I guess I'll have to wait until I am at a respectable weight to post that little ticker. I have one on my sparkpeople page, but I don't go on there very much. Thanks for the info. though, I'll try to remember it when I've lost enough. I did put my loss as my signature as you'll see. Maybe reminding myself will help!?!? I reset my goals too and I have a big goal for Friday... so I'm all double greens now! Thank you very much Marc!

[bluebunny27]

****** Hum, I think you can indicate the loss only actually, it's one of the first things you select ... not 100% sure though, but I believe the option is available, I'll have to check it out l8ter.

Update, I see, when you configure your ticket at one point they ask you if you want to monitor your weight or your weight change, I picked weight, you can select weight change instead. I havent tried it, i dont think your weight would be indicated then on the ticker, only the change ???

...


Recent months :

11-1-2008 280.0
12-1-2008 266.0 ( Nov. 2008 Down 14.0, Total : 14.0 )
1-1-2009 254.0 ( Dec. 2008 Down 12.0, Total : 26.0 )
1-13-2009 250.0
2-1-2009 244.0 ( Jan. 2009 Down 10.0, Total : 36.0 )
2-19-2009 237.8
3-1-2009 234.0 ( Feb. 2009 Down 10.0, Total : 46.0 )
3-14-2009 232.2
4-1-2009 229.8 ( March 2009 Down 4.2, Total : 50.2 )
4-14-2009 224.8
5-01-2009 221.6 ( April 2009 Down 8.2, Total : 58.4 )
5-15-2009 217.8
6-01-2009 215.6 ( May 2009 Down 6.0, Total : 64.4 )
6-16-2009 211.6
7-01-2009 208.2 ( June 2009 Down 7.4, Total : 71.8 )
7-15-2009 205.4
8-03-2009 201.8 ( July 2009 Down 6.4, Total : 78.2 )
8-14-2009 197.0

...








All time low this morning, 196.2 ... wow ! Surprised me as I was expecting to be at least 1 pound heavier this morning. I was super good yesterday but I wasn't expecting this ... it motivates me to keep going. I'm not too far from my goal. I should gain a lil' weight back today though, yellow nutrition is expected as I'll be dining at my sister's. Training, yellow or green, I am not too sure now, if it goes well, I may do the full 40 minute running.


Objective, August 2009 : Lose 6 pounds.


08-03-2009 201.8
08-09-2009 199.6 ( Down 2.2 )
08-14-2009 197.0 ( Down 2.6 )
08-21-2009 196.4 ( Down 0.6 )
08-27-2009 196.2 ( Down 0.2 )
09-01-2009 195.8 ( Objective )




Cheers !

Marc

[bluebunny27]

On target now after a fantastic friday, losing 2 of the quick pounds I gained on thursday (Monastic lifestyle).

I'm zero-ing in on my monthly objective : anything under 196.0 on sept. 1st would be great, low 195's would be awesome. If all goes well, it'll be a double green saturday (Shovelglove) I should be in the 195's for the 1st time by sunday morning, 30th ...

The last 5 pounds coming up soon ??? Crazy !!



Cheers !

Marc

[bluebunny27]

I'm pretty happy about the month of august ...

8-3-2009 201.8
8-30-2009 195.4

Down 6.4 pounds so far in august ... as long as I weigh 195.8 or less by tuesday morning, 9-1-2009, I'll be pleased. The closer to 195.0 the better though.

Mid august, I started doing planks everyday, working on my abs more and just yesterday I punched a new hole in my belt because it wasn't tight enough anymore, not sure if it's related ... hum ! It's usually a good sign when you have to punch new holes in your belt. Not the 1st time I have to do that either. Planks, 5 X 40 sec. It is starting to get easier too, I might try 5 X 45 sec. soon.

I tried to improve my nutrition this month too, a bit more fruits, fish, reading, searching things on the web left and right trying to improve my diet ... less red meat and cutting my mayo intake by half seems to have helped with the weight loss too, I only put 1 tbsp. on my salads now instead of 2 (sometimes I have salads twice a day, so the tbsp. add up) ... I started making my own mayo and hummus once a week this month too. I added tomato paste to my daily routine, 2 tbsp. per day. Good for me and there's lots of nutrients/vitamins in there.
Raw tomato paste, Mmmm ! You get used to it, lol ! The paste I have has lots of vitamin C too. I started taking 1 multi-vitamin every mon-wed-fri this month as well.

The only lil' thing I can whine about is that I had 4 red nutrition days in august but it was still a great month. I was hoping to have 3 or less. My % of compliance to my habits are over 85% for both the nutrition (85%) and the exercise (88%) habit, my best month ever so I was really rockin' in between red nutrition days, lining up the greens on a regular basis and working hard to erase the few glitches I had in the kitchen.

Same deal today, double green. Probably shovelglovin' in the early evening, 42 minutes although I might be tempted to go running around 3pm as well ... I'll see how it goes. I try to alternate activities when I can during the warm season and I shovelgloved last evening.

Diet, green of course. I have been eating more fish lately as planned. Tuna, salmon, halibut, pangasius, etc. Less red meat and more fish, that was one of the things I was working on.

Cheers !

Marc

[~reneew]

You're just about there Marc! Can you believe it??? Awesome!

[bluebunny27]

Thank Ren' ! Yeah, I doubt I'll have problems making it to 190 ... it's not that far and I have 2 months to get there.
I'll probably aim for 188 but I'll wait until the end of sept. to change my final objective.

195.4 again today, even STEVEN. I was good yesterday (even though I changed my training to only do a yellow day at the last minute) so I was expecting to lose weight ... oh well. Better luck next time.

It'll probably be a double green day today to end the month on a high note. As long as I'm in the low 195's or better for the official weigh in tomorrow morning, I'm fine.
I'm already close to losing 7 pounds in august which is really good at this point. ( I started the month @ 201.8 )






Cheers !

Marc

[bluebunny27]

Gone fishin' !! (Or : I'll fly solo from now on.)

I'll only lurk and post an occasional comment but I'll be much busier starting now, new obligations, so I won't be able to comment/post regularly as I used to.

Rather than HALF-ASSING it I thought it would be better to keep going with my plan on my own and report back later once the final number is in, except for an occasional visit to the site of course.

I'll still post my final result/weigh in/pictures/comments here in my daily check in after nov. 1st 2009 of course.

Cya on the flipside.

Thanks to everyone here for their support during the past few months.

Cheers !

Marc

[~reneew]

Good goin' Marc!!! Don't forget to fill us in on the long-term either! Be sure to post on the yearly thing too... that's where newbies come to look for hope, and you are a success story they should read about. I'll be there too someday.

[bluebunny27]

Thanks, Ren. You rock n' roll.

I think I'll make a quick post only once every week or two from now on ... this puts less pressure on me and I am busier now too unfortunately (or isn't it a good thing ??)

194.4 pounds this morning, all time low. I officially changed my final objective to 188.0 on nov. 1st too, hopefully I can make it.

Cheers !

Marc

[~reneew]

I'm slipping past the point where I always plateau... woohoo! I only have 1 pound to go for my goal for the month and I have to say thanks for the motivetion because you thought it might be a steep goal for me... I'm proving you wrong.

[bluebunny27]

Marc

[bluebunny27]

Ok, I updated my pictures above.

Not much progress lately. Seems like I've been stuck between 193 and 196 forever ... hehe !

I'll be happy when I can get in the 192's, hopefully that will happen within the next few days.

Low 192's is my objective for Oct. 1st.

I should make it to my final objective 188/189 on nov. 1st as long as I lose 1 pound per week on average until then.

Cheers !

Marc

[sporkfancier]

What awesome progress! The strangest part for me is remembering how I felt as I crossed each base-10 threshold.

<210: Finally! But I still feel fat.
<200: I can't believe I'm under 200 pounds! I feel better and healthier.
<190: Wow, that took forever! I'm getting really close to a healthy body weight!

Now I'm working towards <180. This one's taking longer than the 200-190 stretch did. It's always a 1 step forward, 2 steps back, 3 steps forward, 2 steps back, 2 steps forward, etc. thing, isn't it? But it's awesome to maintain a weight below your previous threshold, psychologically and physically!

[bluebunny27]

Thanks sporkfancier !

Yeah, my goal is 92 pounds within a year and right now I've lost 86.2 ... still approx. 38 days to go.

I had an awesome day so far today ... picture perfect. Training hard, dieting ... I wouldn't be too surprised if I lost nearly a pound today, getting closer to my goal.

It is true that it is much harder when you are getting close to the end though ... I have to be super good now because every lil' slip up I am gaining 2-3 pounds and this sets me back many days while I am working to get back to where I was ... one step forward, one step back, 2 steps forward, 2 steps back, you are right on ... at least now when I have a bad day I go back to 195-196 pounds and I know it's only temporary too, a few good days in a row and I am back on track and trying to break new ground again.

When I started back in nov. 2008 I wasn't training as hard as I do now and I wasn't as restrictive with my diet and I still lost 14 pounds rather easily during the 1st month (blubber weight) ... nowadays I am struggling to lose 3-4 pounds in september despite all my efforts, geesh ! I don't have a lot of fat related weight left to lose, I suppose, takes more time and effort but it is also quite rewarding when you achieve something hard ... I'll be happy tomorrow morning if I see I'm in the high 192's, it'll be the first time for me - - 192's.

For me the main thing was to get under 200 pounds and I am happy I have done that, it was a big thing for me when I saw there was a '1' as the first number on the scale ... it's just a bonus now really ... I'd like to end up in the high 180's by nov. 1st 2009 and then I'll work on maintaining my weight, getting a bit more muscular, training, but remaining around that weight ... anywhere between 185 and 190 will be great for me, I don't really want to go under 185 in any case.

Cheers !

Marc

[bluebunny27]

Cheers !

Marc

[bluebunny27]

I updated my pictures this morning .... (see previous message above)

192.2 pounds at the moment. Not bad.

Lost 3.2 pounds in september. Might not seem like a lot but I don't have a lot of extra blubber left either. I worked really hard to lose 3.2 in september actually. My compliance %'s were very high, best month ever in that dept. Over 85% for both the nutrition and the training.

I had a few slip ups of course, 4 red nutrition days ... That's the main thing I need to focus on ... not the total number of red days actually, the 'redness', heh !

I'll try to avoid those really bad red days where I gain 3 to 4 pounds in a day, of course those pounds are lost quickly too, a few days later I am back where I was before the red day but they slow down my progress ...

For the final month I hope to have 4 red days or less and not one red day where I gain more than 2 pounds at a time hopefully.

Final month coming up. I should be HOME FREE soon.
Then I'll change my plan a lil' bit, lowering my %'s of compliance to my habits to 70% instead of 85% and this should do the trick to remain around 187-189 pounds long term. I'll make adjustments if I see I am still losing/gaining weight after that (monthly average should be a pretty reliable number)

October Objective, lose the LAST 3 pounds.

Cheers !

Marc

[bluebunny27]

Chest waist hips !! Chest waist hips !!

Ok, I measured myself using a tape this morning, I hadn't done that since july 18th.

I was pleased by the results :

July 18th 2009 :



October 8th 2009 :




I tried to measure without pulling too much or too little on the tape both times so the conditions would be similar.

Anyway on 7/18/2009 I weighed approx. 205 pounds and this morning I weighed 191.4 pounds, a loss of almost 14 pounds.

I was surprised I lost 3 inches on my waist, that could be due to the fact I now perform plank exercises every day. I have been doing them 5-6 minutes every day for 2 months more or less, it could have worked to improve my core endurance and all that ...

When I started I was doing 5X30 sec. planks and now I do 5X60 seconds ... so I doubled my endurance in that dept. in the past 2 months ... nice !

The plank :



At the moment I only do the basic front plank ... but when I improve to 90 seconds for each plank I'll star doing side planks too and then I'll work on making the exercise harder by elevating my feet or my arms ... there are various ways of making the exercise harder ... that's the key to improve, you always push yourself.

I should update my pictures tomorrow with all the weigh ins and the habitcal data as well ... closing in on my original goal : 190.0 .....

Cheers !

Marc

[bluebunny27]

All time low this morning, 190.6 pounds ? Wow ! I was surprised actually, I was expecting a low 191 this morning. I have been super green lately so I have good results this week. I am 0.6 pound away from my original year long objective (280 to 190 within a year) so I will probably achieve that 2 weeks early by oct. 15 or maybe even sooner ... I'll work on going down to 189.0 by the end of the month - - That would be ideal.

I changed my file recently to use the moving average instead (exponential) So now you can see on the left the weight on a particular day, then the difference from the day before and then the moving average for the past 7, 14 and 28 days with the difference as well.
Much more representative number than the simple average for a week or two I was using before.






Cheers !

Marc

[~reneew]

Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!Only 1 pound to go!!!!!!

[bluebunny27]

Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !!Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !!Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !!Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !!Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !!Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !!Just 3 more !! Just 3 more !!

That right, not 1 .... 3 ! I weighed 190.6 on 10/9 but then I had a few bad days nearly back to back.
I had issues and gained a couple of pounds.

I even missed 2 days of training this past week, first time in months this happens. I'm back on track now though.

I need to lose 3 before the end of the month now to get to my 190.0 objective. Still possible. I've given up on going lower than 190 now anyway, at least for the moment. Getting to 190.0 is challenging enough for me.

Cheers !

Marc

[bluebunny27]

Ok, 191.2 this morning. I've made some progress recently. These past few days I was in the zone, I lost those 1-2 extra pounds I had gained being naughty the other week. I had 2 really bad days that week, almost back to back, but now I am behavin' like an angel again, good thing.

I've cut down on my calories too and this has helped.
I eat a bit less now than I did last week : Approx. 200 calories less per day now (2,500 vs 2,700, same exercise routine though.) I don't really notice the difference, I am not more hungry or weaker than before.

I've tweaked a few things I was doing. It was easy because of my kitchen scale, I know how many grams I've had, all that ... I like the precision instead of ballparking it, especially with high calorie items like seeds, nuts, peanut butter, homemade mayonnaise, cheese, etc.

I am planning 3 really good days in a row now and I could make it, (double greens) 190 or lower is possible on thursday morning. This'll be a big push. (I should go out on Thursday night (Possibly gaining a lil' bit at that time) so if I don't make it thursday morning, it'll probably have to wait a few more days until I can get back really close to my year long goal ... Probably early next week if I don't make it thursday morning.

I am 90% certain I'll make it to the 180's by nov. 1st now actually since I'm all GUNG HO and everything. That's usually a pretty good sign. I have 2 windows of opportunity to do that, first one coming up on thursday morning, if it doesn't happen then it'll have to wait a few more days, 27/28/29th of october ?

Cheers !

Marc

[Kevin]

My son wrestles. You want some unhealthy tips for that last day or two, just in case?

[bluebunny27]

Wrestling !! Yes, I'll jump from the TOP ROPE just like Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka !!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Snuka

Oh, you don't mean that kind of wrestling probably ... lol !

No worries, I should be alright.

11 days left to lose 1.2 pound, so I don't have to do anything too extreme to make it. Just my usual routine should be more than enough as long as I don't have a really terrible day near the end of the month where I gain 2-3 pounds quickly...

I did cut a few calories from my diet the other day and this created a pretty nice and steady drop in my weight
I wouldn't have imagined cutting just 100-200 calories per day would have made such a difference actually. (I didn't change my training at all, just lowered the calories I eat daily by 100-200) ... As soon as I did that I noticed I was losing weight more easily than before.

Cheers !

Marc

[~reneew]

it's getting close!

[bluebunny27]

Hey !

Yes, if I do really well on tuesday and wednesday I'll be very close to my goal on thursday morning ... if I don't get there at that time it may have to wait a few more days ... but early next week at the latest I should be really close to the high 180's - - I haven't been there since 1993 probably, hellllllo.

I was just reading on BMR (Basal metabolic rate) Interesting articles I found online ...

My BMR is 1,850 calories per day

I multiply that by 1.6 because of my activity level and this gives me a total of 3,000 calories per day, give or take.

So at my activity level I should eat 3,000 calories per day to maintain my weight, since I'm only eating 2,500 these days I am getting better results @ the moment.

Cheers !

Marc

[Grammy G]

I was sitting here feeling hungry and tired and started reading your success story! Wow!! It woke me up..made me smile..and almost took away my hunger. I will be rereading your thread whenever I need inspiration!! I am in the second week of my second 21 and really happy with this plan! YOUR story made me especially glad I am doing this!! thanks!!

[bluebunny27]

Thanks Grammy ! It's always good when you read such positive comments ... I am proud if I helped you out. Good luck on your journey ! Sure it'll be hard sometimes but if you work hard good things are bound to happen in the long run if you put in the work.

...

Oh yeah and by the way ....

I achieved my year long goal this morning !!

Woo hoo !!

Celebrate -- good times -- come on !! (Kool & The Gang)



My weight this morning : 190.0

190.0

I was expecting a low 190's this morning but thinking I had a better shot at the big 190.0 or less tomorrow morning. Wrong.

It was definitely hard to live in a monastery for 3 days straight but that's what it took to make it and lose that final pound I was struggling with ! (I got close on oct. 9th, 190.6 but then I bounced back up a couple of pounds quickly, took me 12 days to get back down)

90 pounds lost within a year : Done. (Actually, 90 pounds lost within 355 days, lol !)

I have one more good double green day ahead of me now to get in the high 180's ... so I can say I got to the 180's of course... Then I'll work on getting to 189.0 by nov. 1st, my final weight objective ever hopefully.

Thanks to everyone for their support. This definitely took a long time and a lot of work, dieting, exercising, looking for information on the net, making several charts/files to monitor my habits : Diet, exercise, Weight.

All that good stuff I'll be using in the future so I don't end up in trouble again with weight issues.

Nice to see my 'Ticker' signature below, huh ??
"0 lb to go"

Hum, yeah ! Party time ! (I won't hit the buffet table though)



Cheers !

Marc

[~reneew]

Congratulations!!!!

So when do we get our emeralds?

[bluebunny27]

Hey there !

Since I have been getting close to my final goal (190)
I have been having a hard time - - I get to my lowest weight (189.6 to 190.6) than I bounce back up 1-2-3 pounds - - then I get down - - then I bounce back up - -

it's normal to have issues with the LAST 10 POUNDS apparently ... Maybe the last 5 in my case.

Nov. 1st 2009 now ... this means my year long plan is now over. I was remembering my very first work out tonight (It probably only lasted 12 minutes the first day I started training ...) ... as I was finishing my last work out for the year .... Jumping jacks for the last minute, that's appropriate since that's what I did the first minute of the first work out.

Nov. 1st 2008 : 280 pounds
Nov 1st. 2009 : 191 pounds
Total loss @ the moment : 89 pounds.

Lowest weight : Oct. 22nd 2009 : 189.6 pounds. I'll use that number for now, heh !

I bounced back a couple of pounds lately but nothing too bad. Since I reached my goal on oct. 22nd, I concentrate more on my MONTHLY moving average anyway instead of my weight on a particular day.

Ok, ok, I didn't get down to 190 on nov. 1st, lol ! It was close though ... 1 pound more. I'll be there in 3 days promise and I'll try not to bounce back up this time.

I actually thought today, oct. 31st. I could make it to 190 if I starved all day long : only eating 1,000 calories or something (While working out twice as long/hard as I usually do !) ... but then I thought that was a bad idea after all. I'll just take my usual 3 day EXTENSION to get there instead.






Toughest month ? Probably march 2009, I could really have been in trouble there. Losing only 4 pounds even if it was still early on my journey and I had more blubber weight than I have now. I could have bounced back easily had I not PRESSED ON. I was Fighting through adversity in early april in particular, oh yeah.

My biggest surprise ?? How easy it was the first couple of months and how hard it was the final 2 months. I would have thought it would have been the opposite. I worked harder to lose 5 pounds the last 2 months than 26 pounds the first 2. I guess it was a big shock to my system to start exercising and eating well overnight.

Happier moments ... When I weighed 250 pounds back, mid january, that was a minor goal for me. Going in the 190's the first time, early august ... and of course reaching my goal, oct. 22nd. Trying on some pants and not going for the larger sizes but actually fitting in the 34" waist (although I bought the 36" in the end, it was a toss up between the 2 sizes) Not being out of breath anymore just going up 20-25 stairs as before.

My plan from now on : Keep on training, only a lil' bit less (Also do a lil' bit more weight training instead of cardio) ... Compliance to my habit, 70-75% instead of 85-90% as I was doing ... Basically now I'll do 30-35 minutes per day at least 5-6 times a week instead of 35-40-45 minutes 6-7 days a week - - and watching my diet (2,600 - 2,900 calories daily ?) as well although now I may have a muffin or a couple of cookies with my evening coffee sometimes without feeling GUILTY about it. For the most part it'll be the same as what I'm doing now only less extreme... I don't want to make huge changes since I don't know what I'll have to do to maintain, I'm just guessing now.

The diet is important though, even more than the training : 70-75% of the whole thing is the diet, if you sabotage yourself too often in the kitchen it won't matter how much you work out, you won't be able to burn all the extra calories. So I'm planning at least 75% compliance on the diet from now on, instead of 80-85% as before.

Since I'll monitor my weight daily it'll be easier to make changes if I see my monthly average is going up.
It'll be all new to me (Not trying to lose weight every day) I'll have to see what system works best for me to maintain around 190-193 ... or go a lil' bit lower if I can go in that direction long term.

MY BMI is 27 so that's a lil' annoying - - to still be in the overweight category (BMI under 25 required to get out of there) But I am not too worried about it either, I could lose another 10, yeah yeah yeah ... maybe I'll grow an inch taller instead ? At least I'm not in the 40+ BMI category as before.

For the moment I am happy having a monthly average between 190 and 193 pounds ... I'll try to lower my 193 pound ceiling slowly but surely but I think a 3 pound range is appropriate ... I'll see how it'll work out but I am confident I'll make it and I won't have to do anything like this again.

I'll probably post a monthly report from now on, how I am doing ... with the latest updates of course. Since I should be pretty stable there won't be enough action to report weekly as I was doing now. I'll check out the messages here and there and comment sometimes as I was doing before, just because I like it. I'll post newer photos here too when I have some.

Thanks to everyone who helped/encouraged me along the way. This took a lot of work and it was a wild rollercoaster ride sometimes of course but I managed to make it all the way to home plate in one piece.

90 pounds within a year. Done.

Cheers !

Marc

[~reneew]

A well deserved congratulations to you!

[Starla]

Thanks so much, Marc; this is very helpful. When I see your hard months as part of the process of losing 90 pounds it makes me hopeful that I'll be able to see my own hard months in the same way.

And I don't think you should worry too much about the BMI. I saw the pictures you posted and would never call you overweight.

Congratulations!

[bluebunny27]

Thanks Renee & Starla !

Yes, I was always expecting it to get easier near the end only having to lose 5-6 pounds during the last 2 months but it was actually pretty hard. I even needed my 3 day EXTENSION at the very end to make it.

I'll try to post more recent pictures soon but my digital camera is defective after someone dropped it on the hard pavement (that would be me !) so I have to wait until I get to a SOCIAL gathering where someone takes a couple of pictures ...

I'm so used to this new lifestyle, my habits ... that's it's easier now. I just have to ease up a lil' bit and I should remain in the high 180's - low 190's.

Always try to work hard to achieve your weekly/monthly goals and if you fail one day try to get back on the horse right away the very next day ... this way you don't get too much out of line and it's easier to correct the mistakes. When you fail badly 2-3-4-5 days in a row it gets depressing and also harder to get back on track again.

That was my plan and I'm glad I did it too now with all the health benefits.

Training : I do calisthenic exercises (Jumping jacks, push ups, sit ups, squats, etc.) Sprinting, Cycling when the weather is alright (Interval training method). Weight training with dumbells and also shovelglove. 25-35 minutes per day about 5-6 times per week is enough now for me (Plus 5-7 minutes of isometric exercises every day, planks for the core muscles).

Always high intensity ... and if it gets easier I make changes to make it harder (Less rest in between sets, longer intervals, longer distances, heavier weights, that sort of thing ...) the main thing is it has to be hard, if it's not - - you make it harder by changing some things ... so you get the most benefits within the shortest period of time ...

I prefer to work out really hard for only 25-35 minutes instead of an hour where I'm not pushing myself too much ...I'm 37 years old - - and in fairly good shape now ... but when I started the very first week I was only working out for approx. 12-15 minutes each day (I increased the duration slowly until I reached over one hour per session, even 65-70 minutes in june / july 2009 - - - then I slowly started decreasing the minutes and I don't do more than 35 minutes @ the moment. That's enough for me, really.

Diet, I eat really well, mostly following the mediterranean pyramid diet but there are always exceptions of course - - 2,700-2,800 calories per day at the moment (I'm not really counting precisely, just ballparking it, but I have a digital kitchen scale I use daily, especially for the things that have more calories of course : cheese, mayo, peanut butter, canola oil, nuts and seeds, etc.)

Breakfast : 650 calories
Snack : 250
Lunch : 650
Snack : 250
Dinner : 650
Snack : 250

I usually eat something every 3-4 hours as you can see ... that's on a green day. A yellow day I may have 400-500 calories extra - - more than that it turns into a red day.

http://tinyurl.com/yhmpout

I'll cut a few things if I see I'm gaining weight again, if I'm losing I'll cut a few minutes from my training. (I weigh myself daily and keep the data ... the computer tells me my moving average automatically for the past 7-14 and also 28 days so I can see the trends easily.)

It feels really good to be done with this weight loss though. One year - Long time.

Cheers !

Marc

[bluebunny27]

Monthly Update : I've been doing well ...

My goal is just to maintain between 190 and 195 though - - so it shouldn't be too hard, right ? I've been hanging out between 190 and 195 since I ended my journey.

My monthly moving average remains in the low 193's - - same as a month ago - - I've been working out almost every day and sticking to my daily diet very well too. (except for that problem I had on monday which lead to my 3.4 pound weight gain the next morning !) I was partying a bit too hard, lol !

I now use a 70% compliance to my training habit and 75% for the diet habit ... (when I was trying to lose weight I was using 80% plus for both - - even 85% for the training sometimes)

I was up in the high 195's a few days ago after a couple of bad days in a row but this morning I weighed 191.0 (I mostly pay attention to the monthly average though, not the weight on a particular day .... it's not real weight gain anyway - - when I bounce back up 3-4 pounds quickly.

I can lose most of the extra weight within 3-4 days usually, as long as I'm behavin'... I just have to work on not bouncing back so "high" in the future so I can lower my averages closer to 191-192 instead of 193-194 ... that's my short term goal for next month. (Although with the holidays, might get a bit tough toward the end of the month !) I know what to do though : Monitoring my habits, diet & exercise and making sure not to get in too much trouble, I'm used to it by now in any case.



I'm like a ROCK really this week, no matter what people try to get me to eat I'm sticking to my plan. ... just the other day I could have had a big bowl of ice cream someone offered to me but I said : No.

I was FANTASIZING about candy bars all week too, especially SNICKERS for some reason, but I had none. I don't think I've eaten a candy bar in 2009 - - no kidding.

Snickers really satisfies !!!




Also, friendly advice, a lil' exercise is better than nothing, even if you can only do 20 minutes a day, people ... do it ! Work out as hard as you can for those 20 minutes and you'll get a lot of benefits if you do that almost every day. Remember to work out as HARD as you can though, that's the key, especially if you don't have a lot of time to do it. (But who can really say they don't have 20 minutes to work out at home -- even in the evenings) Don't cheat on your diet either of course ... but when you work out you don't feel like cheatin' anyway. Exercise is really a good way to avoid binge eating.

Cheers !

Marc

[~reneew]

Keep behavin' Marc! We'd hate to see you come back a year from now telling us that you've gained it back! You inspire us! Go ahead and have a snickers! You deserve it, and you need to figure out how you can work some of those things in so you can live thin forever. That's your next step... figuring out how to live from now on. I suggest getting some of those tiny bite size ones and freezing a few and giving the rest away... or burying them in your yard... Canada's frozen ground will keep it just fine and safe for ya til spring!

And... did ya have to show the snickers????? Now I want one!

[bluebunny27]

hehe ! I doubt, I'll gain 90 pounds back actually since I feel bad about gaining 5 pounds now (and not even 5 pounds of true weight really, it's just temporary weight that comes off within a week, it's not real weight that takes a month to go away !)

I'm also not to the point where I can eat a candy bar without feeling a lil' bit guilty about it - - maybe I could - - but it wouldn't feel right - I'd try to cut calories elsewhere or work out harder to burn it off ... maybe when my monthly average goes down a lil' more .. I'll have one ... once a week, as a treat ! Good idea to buy the smaller ones too, maybe I'll try that option.

I try not to have too many tempting things around the house so I am not eating them of course - - I've already virtually eliminated BAGELS and I'm working on cookies too - - Fewer cookies in the house and also not the most decadent ones, just the most plain cookies I can find. lol ! I find that if I don't have bagels in the house, I'm not eating them excessively ... amazing discovery !

I was watching this tv show the other day and they were showing in details how the SNICKERS BARS were made ... yum, they looked good to me ! Hard to believe I haven't had a candy bar in over a year ... I used to go to the grocery store and I would buy a 4-pack of candy bars sometimes, maybe even once a week it would happen - -

2 of the candy bars I would eat in the car even before coming home and then of course the next 2 were gone within a day after that ... yikes !

Sugar rush !

I plan on posting once a month here in the check in ... just so I can say : "Good news, same ol' situation !" basically ... that still feels pretty good at this point.

Good luck on your own journey.

P.S. Sorry for the photo, I just had to add one !

Cheers !

Marc

[~reneew]

Yea, just don't put in a photo of those cookies! That gets me every darn time! Those cookies!

[bluebunny27]

Monthly report :

What happens when you maintain ?? Do you go nutz ??
Huh ... yeah !!


Ok, update on my situation, even Steven since late october so I am pleased. I've been maintaining
between 189 and 196 pounds since late october.

No issues but it's essentially the same routine I have been following all this time.

I eat well, I exercise at least 5 times per week - - just a lil' bit less strict with the diet as before when I was trying to lose weight every month. (And my training sessions last 30-45 minutes usually)

Green day = 45 minutes
Yellow day = 30 minutes
Red day = 0.
I always train as HARD as I can .... that hasn't changed at all ... I prefer not to train for too long but make it count while I'mm doing it, you see ... more benefits in less time that way.

I've reduced my % of compliance to my habits from 80-85% to 70-75% now so I take a lil' break once in a while... I can have 5-6 red days in a month and it doesn't bother me much as long as I am back on the next few days after that of course...

I spread out my daily calories more now and I eat 5-6 times per day, same number of calories only
divided between more meals. I find this helps me not to have issues so that's something to try if you have
been struggling with cravings.

Green day = 2,650 calories or less (approx.)
Yellow = 2,650 to 3,300 calories (approx.)
Red = More than 3,300 calories (approx.)

I don't really care about the NO SNACKS rule and whatnot, what matters is the total number
of calories you eat during the day, you could eat 'em all in one single meal and you would be alright too (but that would
be crazy !) Anyway that's what I do, if you don't like it - - don't do it - - fine by me.

My monthly moving average weight : (My average weight for the past 30 days) I weigh every day and note the
result in a computer file. My monthly average is automatically calculated.

Oct. 20 2009 : 193.13 pounds
Nov. 20 2009 : 193.23 pounds
Dec. 20 2009 : 192.77 pounds

My weight this morning : 12-20-2009 : 190.2 pounds ... so my monthly average should go down a lil' bit more if I am good in the next few days !

I'm a lil' scared due to the holidays of course but I think I'll be alright... I don't want to gain a lot of
weight so I should be ok and not slip up too much - - besides I know I am not in trouble even if I gain 5-6
pounds quickly over 2-3 days - - I just go back to my routine the next day and a few days later
I am back to the high 180's - low 190's ... no need to freak out or be depressed ... I just apply myself
and things get done...

190-192 is my real weight anyway since when I apply myself 3-4 days in a row I can easily go back there in a jiffy... it's when I go down to 189-190 that I see it gets harder
all of a sudden but when I'm around 195-196 I lose between 1 and 2 pounds in a single day if I've been good so it was not fat related weight obviously.

New year's resolution : Keep on doing what I've been doing for nearly 14 months now ... monthly
average should go down slowly but surely : -0.5 to 1 pound per month from now on until my monthly
average goes down to 190 on the nose... Then my range would be 187-193 instead of 189-196 but
I'm not freaking out over 2-3 pounds anymore.

It's not easy all the time to maintain of course so I have to work at it on a daily basis - - at least I know if I don't keep my good habits (Eating well, watching my portions, exercising regularly, keeping track of my weight on a daily basis) I would gain weight again so I am really determined to make this work. Fighting through adversity, I'm pretty good at it now, I have lots of EXPERIENCE.

I'll probably have more recent pictures to post soon since pictures are taken often during the holidays ...

Good luck on your journey.

Cheers !

Marc

37 Years Old. 5'10" Tall.
Nov. 1st 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st 2009 : 190 Pounds (1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

[mrsj]

Bluebunny, you have found what works for you. You are truly an inspiration to me. Don't worry about the holidays. They're S days after all. Nobody in this world gets fat from 2 days in December. It's January to December that makes us fat!
By the way, I am urban ranging every day and moving more. I could really us some D.I. talk. Ha.ha!

[bluebunny27]

Thanks you MrsJ !

Oh, I am not too worried, I have been doing well - - I haven't gained a pound on my moving average since I ended my journey nearly 2 months ago - - so I am fine. It takes a long time to put on or take off REAL FAT too, as you say ... you can't really trust the scale so much because after a bad day you see the bigger number there and you think : "Oh no, I've gained 3 pounds !! Arrrrrrrrrgh !!"

.... But then you are really good for 2-3-4 days in a row and you see that you lose all that extra weight you had gained - - so it wasn't pure fat, right. It happened to me today actually, I had a bad day on ........................ Sunday night. Then on monday I see I gained about 3.6 pounds .... but now just one day later after having been good on monday all day long, I see I lost 2 pounds out of the 3.6 I had gained - - so you see, another couple of days and I,ll be back in the low 190's again. I've been learning some new things about maintenance and when you weigh daily you really know what's going on too.

It definitely takes some discipline though so that's why I'm basically doing a 'light' version of what I was doing when I was trying to lose weight. I'm not losing or gaining, just remaining stable - - of course there are ups and downs on a daily basis but I mostly pay attention to the moving average - - my average weight for the past 11-21 and 31 days is a more significant number than my weight on a particular day really ...

Good luck ! Exercising is goooooooooood ... but don't forget it's only 20% of the total really ... if you eat too many calories it'll take a LOT of exercise to burn those ... so it's really important not to eat too many calories in the first place .... which I do since most days I eat 2,600-2,700 calories. Ball parking it since I don't count calories precisely, but I know what I should have and when since I am still doing my thing with the piece of paper - - what I should eat and when throughout the day.

Cheers !

Marc

37 Years Old. 5'10" Tall.
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds (1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

[~reneew]

It's good to see you on here again. Are you at peace with food??? Or do you struggle? Have you built that ring of fire around the S es? I worry about how my mind will adjust when I finally loose it all (weight). I'm wondering if you're wandering too far away from no S and what was working for you in the beginning. I don't think I was around when you started (I was off gaining the 20 I dad lost), and you weren't writing in a check-in, but it seems like if you're snacking with out worrying about it, that may get to you in the long run. I just don't want you to get over confident. You've had such great success! Merry Christmas Marc!

[bluebunny27]

Ring of fire ??????????????

Love - - is a burning thing - - and it makes ... a fiery ring !!!

Hello !

Yes, I plan on writing a lil' report once a month, around the 20th of each month ... just an update on my situation (Plus this way it helps me to maintain too since I don't want to have to write that I've been gaining weight, heh !)

Actually, when I started posting here I had already started my weight loss - - I had already lost 36-38 pounds when I posted for the first time here - - I think it was in february 2009 ... and I had already been losing weight for 3 months at that point, you see.
(I lost 14 in nov. 2008, 12 in dec. 2008 : Happy Holidays !?, 10 in january 2009) ...

I am sorry to read that you are struggling too. I don't know why but it was usually pretty easy for me. Seeing good results was motivating me to be good and lose more and of course I was getting stronger and healthier all the time too ... I guess I was very determined ... and I still am - - to make this work long term.

What's the point of doing this if you gain 30-50-70 pounds back within a few years ?? I'm really confident I'll be in the 5% of the people who lose a lot of weight and manage to maintain pretty well over a long period of time - - at least 5 years ... and you know when I get my mind set on something...............

It's not that tough now to maintain really ... I am good most days of the week, behaving like an angel then there's one day or two I may have red days and it's not an issue ... as long as I keep on exercising regularly and getting back on track quickly after a bad day, there's no problem ... I hope this works and if I see my moving average going up again I know what to do to correct the situation ASAP.

Happy Holidays ! Try not to have too many sweets, heh !

Cheers !

Marc

37 Years Old. 5'10" Tall.
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds (1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

[bluebunny27]

Starting the New Year ... and struggling ...

Oh, I've been struggling lately, I am very ashamed of my recent behavior so I decided to post this here ... as a motivation tool ...
so I don't feel like I'm off the hook - - free to misbehave, I'm still posting how pathetic I've been lately, that sort of thing, so it's there for all to see ...

I've gained approx. 7 pounds since dec. 20th so that's not good .. especially since I was promising to behave during the holidays ... but it didn't happen.

There was always something coming up, another occasion to eat this and that and then feeling too tired to exercise, rinse and repeat about 10 times in a row and there you go... even yesterday it was supposed to be a pretty calm day so I was ready to be good once again ... all of a sudden people are caling and then popping up left and right bringing cakes, cookies, fudge and whatnot so I was basically STUCK having to eat cake and cookies again ... geesh... This was all unexpected, a last minute thing you see. Ok, nobody forced me to do it, but it was another temptation, you know the drill ...

(.............)

During the holidays, I was eating more food than usual and also more things I would not have regularly ... ice cream, cakes, pies, cookies, wine and beer ...

Also I haven't exercised regularly since dec. 20th either so that was a double whammy (I exercised only once, pathetic ! I was used to exercising at least 5 times per week before that).

I'm back close to 199-200 pounds now instead of 192-193 where I used to be before this long slide (Monthly average) ... I am disappointed IN MYSELF for failing like this but I plan on going back to my good habits starting today, exercising and eating better too.

This holiday is really tougher than last year's where I lost weight during that period of time, not the same this year ... I really don't know how I lost 12 pounds in december and 10 in january last year ... how did that happen ?????? I must have been living a seriously monastic lifestyle at the time, I don't remember too well.

This is definitely a long term project ... to maintain in the low to mid 190's but I'm not going to beat myself up over a 7 pound gain, I'm just going to work harder in the next few weeks to lose some of that extra weight.

I'll be curious to see how long it takes to go back to the low 190's, I suppose it's not all blubber weight really either so the first 2-3 pounds should come off a lil' bit easier - - I hope !

That blubber !!

I'm not using my regular signature below with the good stats - - I don't deserve to use it @ the moment ! lol !

Cheers !

Marc

[StrawberryRoan]

Aww, Marc, don't beat yourself up.

The holidays are so difficult, I too am back a bit plumper than when I last posted.

But, back in control and it feels good.

I need the motivation of being honest with myself (and others).

You'll be back on track soon.

Berry

[bluebunny27]

Thanks, lil' Berry ! You're so supportive !

Side note, I've been sick for the past 3 days ... a mild case of the flu. The good thing about this is I am losing 'weight' without even trying ... I'm not hungry at all so I'm eating 1,200-1,600 calories per day instead of my usual 2,600-2,800 ... and I've lost more than 6 pounds at the same time. Probably not a permanent weight loss unless I am careful ... which I plan on being ! I was still drinking quite a bit of water, all that, not really sure how it happened. It's not all water weight ?? I'm very rarely sick so I don't know how it affects the weight loss, how much you gain back when you are feeling better ... that sort of thing.


Pre-sickness weight : January 7th : 197 pounds
Post-sickness weight : January 10th : 191 pounds (and I'll probably be a bit sick for a few days longer actually, just not as bad as I was on 1-7, 1-8, 1-9 ...


I wasn't expecting an illness to *help* me get back to my fighting weight ... but now I'm right there where I was before I started having issues around dec. 20th-22nd.

Cheers !

Marc

37 Years Old. 5'10" Tall.
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds (1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

[~reneew]

I've always said "I'm just a flu away from my weekly goal". Ha! Not that I want it. Everyone around here (besides my family... knock on wood) seems to be getting the barfy flu. My littlest still has bronchitis, but the rest of us are healthy.

Hope you feel better Marc!!

[bluebunny27]

Thank you, Renee !

Yeah, I never suggested getting ill to lose weight ... but it works really well, lol !

Update : I've lost some more ...

Pre-sickness weight : January 7th : 197.6 pounds

Post-sickness weight : January 12th : 189.4 pounds

8.2 pounds down in 5-6 days ? No exercise at all of course since 1-7, I'm tired due to the flu, headache, feeling dizzy, all that ... I'm not eating a lot, 50-65% of the calories I would have normally (And it's weird cos' even if I don't eat much I am not hungry either, I only had 1/2 of a banana and a cup of coffee so far today and it's almost noon now, it's like I have to FORCE myself to eat since I'm never hungry. Also I feel full a lot quicker, I tried eating oatmeal last night and I couldn't finish my usual portion.

I am nearly done with the flu now though maybe a couple more days left, not really sure ... I'll just be very careful not to put the weight back on ... since it was hard to get back there after my long Holiday slip up. My metabolism probably slowed down a bit too from the lack of food, activity, etc. so it would be easy to gain a bunch of weight back quickly I imagine ... I'll slowly increase my calories and exercise once I feel I am well enough.

Cheers !

Marc

37 Years Old. 5'10" Tall.
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds (1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

[kccc]

So sorry you've been so ill, and hope you get better soon.