4XLT

Today’s Weigh-In: 304.8 pounds
Next Goal: 295 pounds
Days to Go: 15
Pounds to Go: 9.8

If I had eaten poorly yesterday or not gone to the gym, I would be better prepared to deal with an almost two pound weight increase. But that’s not the case here. I ate correctly (and showed some supreme willpower to not much and graze like a bison last night as a church small group’s pasta and bread bonanaza – not so much as one little nibble!). I even went to the gym afterward and pounded out some time on the elliptical and rower.

I worked hard and earned it yesterday, and so I’m pretty dumbfounded at the increase. I am pretty frustrated that it always seems to be the case that after I hit a new low I bounce back up a few pounds. Normally, it’s because I splurge out of some ignorant sense of accomplishment, but yesterday I didn’t!

There are only two variables at play here that I think may be effecting things: 1) I went to the gym pretty late, from 10:10 – 10:45 at night (although not really sure on any specific reason why that might effect my weigh in, but it’s out of the norm for me), and 2) I was up late last night and didn’t get as much sleep as I should – about 6.5 hours.

Gotta keep pushing on, but I was really hoping to see a 301.8 or the like show up this morning. Now, I’m not sure what to guess for tomorrow, but I’m going to keep this quote by Theodore Roosevelt in front of my today for good measure:

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
— Theodore Roosevelt

Today’s Weigh-In: 303.0 pounds
Next Goal: 295 pounds
Days to Go: 16
Pounds to Go: 8.0

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was way too short – as I’m sure yours were, too.

The health & weight loss front was a mixed bag this weekend. Friday and Saturday morning’s weigh-ins were both 304.2. I’ll attribute the non-loss to a number of factors, but it always gets simplified down to the basics, right? I ate too much and worked out too little.

Friday, I had the day off from the gym, but I failed to compensate as my nutrition and food intake wasn’t exactly fantastic. I can’t recall exactly what I ate (a powerful reason to do food journaling, it’s just something I rarely remember or have the discipline to do), but obviously it was enough to only let me lose a fifth of a pound.

Saturday was a bit more puzzling in some ways. I spent about four hours in my backyard in the 90 degree weather. I didn’t have enough water (bad move), but I did enjoy two High Lifes that I iced down in my Igloo cooler along with some deli meat and my water bottle. For what it’s worth, I did enjoy my beers while doing yard work! But apart from that, I food intake was fine, if not a little low. But in the interests of full disclosure, I did have a Hawaiian shaved ice at the carnival that night about an hour before I went to bed. I’m sure the sugary flavoring is what prevented any weight loss.

Sunday is when things finally got back on track. Food was on, water was mostly on, and I made it to the gym for weight training and worked hard. I think I’ve tweaked something in my right trapezius muscle (between your shoulder and your neck) that made doing power cleans really nasty, so I switched them out for Romanian deadlifts. My hamstrings aren’t exactly thanking me for that. Other than that, it was a good set, but chest presses make me look like a little girl for the second time in a row. I’m really not sure what’s going on there, but I’m going to continue to press through.

Sunday was on track and so I was able to knock out another pound of weight loss, which gets me really excited. I AM going to be below 300 pounds for the first time since high school this week, and I’m so flippin’ excited. I’ve got a bad habit of hitting a new low weight, then splurging with poor food choices, and having to rework through a couple pounds. That’s not gonna happen this week.