Week Two

Down 2 pounds this week!

I have to convince myself to be happy with that, even though it's a struggle. I always want to lose 5 pounds per day when I pay close attention to what I'm eating, and while I understand intellectually that is not feasible, the child in me wants it to be so.

The biggest challenge I faced this week was breakfast. I always eat breakfast, but I don't always eat it first thing. I'm up between 4 and 5 am, and I was in the habit of eating breakfast around 9 am - long after exercise. Yes folks - I was running on an empty stomach, which wasn't really a problem on short runs, but anything over 3 miles left me feeling very tired and definitely with an empty fuel tank.

I'm trying to eat within an hour of getting out of bed - sooner if I'm going out for a run. A piece of high fibre bread with a little peanut butter, or a cup of oatmeal with a few blueberries seems to do the trick.

I'm eating every 3 hours - small portions but nutrient dense. I'm not going to waste any of my calories on fluff.

Finding the right balance of food and exercise has always been a struggle. I picked up a very interesting tip a few weeks ago from my friends at Fat to Fit Radio - a fantastic podcast by two guys who have been there and know what they're talking about. Their suggestion was to figure out your BMR for the weight you want to end up at, and then eat for that BMR. It's very simple advice and takes the guess work out of 'how many calories should I eat?'

I've been serious about lifting weights this week - 3 sessions with my home gym and lots of free weights. I concentrate on upper body, and do squats for my legs.

I've been sitting on a stability ball while at the computer to engage my core muscles - try it for a day and you'll understand that it really does work. I have muscle ache in places I didn't know I had muscles.

The weather has taken a turn for the better in these parts - I'm hoping to get my bike out soon and do some biking for cross-training. I just have an ordinary old bike - definitely not a racer, but I enjoy riding it and will crank in lots of miles once it comes out of the shed.

For now - I'm 48 Counting Down, and looking forward to the coming week!

Week One

<--This is what I looked like when I weighed over 300 pounds.

--> And this is what I look like now.

When I was my fat self, I had no self-esteem, and I thought about losing weight all the time. I tried so many different diet plans that the diet industry should have been paying me to test them all. I always lost weight, but it never stayed off until I finally bought the clue that I had to change my lifestyle too. Which I did. And I got thinnER.

I taught myself to run, and trained myself to the point where I was able to run a half-marathon. That was possibly the proudest day of my life. I set out to accomplish something and I did it.

At that point I wanted to lose 50 more pounds. It never occurred to me that I wouldn't lose it.

Something happened in my head when I finished that marathon. I had nothing else to train for even though I was running regularly, and I was at the point where I looked 'normal' for the first time in many years.

Complacency has set in folks, and I have been content with the way I look. But I'm not really content. I want those 50 pounds gone, and I want them gone this year.

That's where the title of this blog comes in - Fifty Counting Down means I'm starting at 50 and I'm counting back to zero. I may find that I need to lose more once I get there, but for now I'll be happy to shed the 50.

Monday is weigh-in day. Each week I will be reporting how much I lose (or gain god forbid) and I'll be accountable to myself and you, gentle reader. I'm considering podcasting on this as well - I know I'm not the only binge-eating, control-freakin', obsessive compulsive, all-or-nothing food addict out there.

See you next week with an update.