Tag: weight loss

Now it hurts…

My weight has gotten to the point where now, it hurts.  And not just hurts in a way like my knees hurt or back hurts, though I’ve been having issues there as well.  It hurts to wear jeans.  I’m usually a size 34, but now those jeans cause my physical pain around the waist to wear.  Ouch.

So once again I try to refocus myself and concentrate on the weight loss.  The last time I lost any significant amount of weight was back at the start of the year when I was in the Do it for your selfie Challenge with my pal John.  I lost about 13-15 pounds.  That contest sort of fizzled out for various reasons, so I lost focus and gained it all back.  And then some.

My goal has always been to get to 160 lbs, but that is far, far away from this point.  I then revised my goal to just lose 10 lbs.  Now my goal is to just get through one day of eating right!  Ugh.  It’s awful.

So now I’m wondering if there’s anyone out there who’d love to jump into a challenge to try and drop some pounds before the end of the year.  I know the holidays are tough with the cookies and treats, but I think we can do it.

The winner would be the person who lost the most percentage of weight in the given time, say December 1-31.  No need to post weights anywhere or even share them with me, I trust you my dear friends.  We would just check in every week with the percentage lost.  I just think the ‘challenge’ idea works for me as it did earlier this year and I’d love to find someone to challenge.

No prizes.  No loser humiliations.  Just a weight loss challenge.

Anyone up for trimming down?  Let me know in the comments below or via email grant @ throwing toasters . com (no spaces)

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The Do It For Yourselfie Challenge

My good buddy John deHaas and I have been friends for several years.  We talk just about every day and recently I realized we were in the same headspace in regards to wanting to loose weight.  My struggles with my weight going up and down are well documented on this blog and I am always looking for something to light that fire under my hinder and drop some pounds.  With John feeling the same way I figured, why not have ourselves a little challenge?  So that’s what we’re doing.

Starting today, and running though Memorial Day (Monday, May 25) John and I are having the Do It For Yourselfie Challenge!  We will do our best to lose weight from now until then and then in May, see who is the winner.  We are looking at percentage of body weight lost, not total pounds and we are aiming to lose the weight in a healthy manner.

It’s not even the end of Day 1 and of the challenge and already there is a lot of trash talking and texting each other pictures of horrible food (candy, donuts, etc.).  But it is to be expected when there is so much on the line.  Ah yes…what is being wagered.

John and I both think that Selfie Sticks are one of the stupidest things on the planet.  We both enjoy going to theme parks and will often take photos of people using Selfie Sticks and text them to each other.  So, the loser of this little wager will have to go to a theme park and take a selfie of themselves with a Selfie Stick.  The loser will also have to have someone take a picture of them while they are using the Selfie Stick.  Both pictures must then be posted to the web.

So there we go.  Game on.  I can’t wait to see John’s Selfie Stick Selfie in May!

Also, John currently has a Go Fund Me campaign going on to help fund his musical.  If you have a moment, go check it out!

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40.1

I thought I would do a brief check in on my weight loss goals for those who are interested.  Back at the end of April, I kind of set up a goal for myself of losing 10 pounds by my birthday on May 20th.

Well, that didn’t happen.  Oh, I tried…several times…to make it happen but if just wouldn’t stick.  I’d celebrate eating great for one day, then the next morning go pig out on barbecue or some other gluttonous feast.  Once or twice I strung together two days of really good eating and I always fell right back into the food trough and it all went out the window.

It wasn’t until June 11th that that all changed.  There’s nothing special about that day other than that’s the day I really committed and, I’m proud to say four weeks later, it seems to have stuck.

In the weeks before June 11th, I’d make excuses for eating poorly.  You see, when I lost all my weight on weight watchers before, I had chosen Wednesday as my ‘weigh in’ day.  That’s the day you track your progress and all your points reset.  I chose Wednesday because I tend to eat a little more on the weekend and so I wanted those days closer to the middle of the week, as sort of something to look forward to.  So, before June 11th, I’d start eating well and then Tuesday would roll around and I’d think, “I’m gonna eat like crazy today and then start fresh on the program tomorrow.”  Then I’d eat well on Wednesday, maybe part of Thursday, but then it was the weekend and the feedings began.  Besides, there’s always next Wednesday.  Right?

Well, for some reason, on June 11th, that all changed.  I made the decision and stuck to it.  I can’t say what it was, maybe I saw the way I looked in the mirror.  Maybe it was the way my clothes were fitting.  Maybe I wanted one solid thing I could control in my life.  Things have been pretty chaotic (which doesn’t help the eating at all) so may, deep down, I thought that at least this would be one thing I could control.  Whatever the reason, something happened on June 11th to made me really decide to commit to doing this and it has, knock on wood, stuck for the past 4 weeks.

On that day I also made a commitment to really follow the Weight Watchers program too.  Before Toronto, when I lost 10 pounds, I was eating way under the amount of allotted points per day.  So, yes, I did lose 10 pounds in 20 days, but I didn’t really do it the coreect way.  For this go around, I decided to do it right.  Follow the plan and stick to the rules.  I did commit to adding more exercise to my routine, however.  So instead of only doing afternoon runs, I now do 30 minutes of different exercises in the morning.  That has helped a lot.  The first week, I was straining through the 6 push-up and side planks I do as part of the routine.  Now, 4 weeks later, I only struggle through the last one.  And that one is getting easier.

The real reward though was stepping on the scale today and discovering that, even though I was only down 1.2 pounds for the week, I was down 11 punds since June 11th. I started at 193.4 pounds, todays I was 182.4 pounds.  I’m well on my way.  My goal is to lose another 24 to put me at 158 pounds.  158 is actually above where all those charts say a person my age, height, eye color, etc., should be, but that’s a comfortable weight and that’s what I want to get to.

If it takes another 8 weeks, so be it.  I’m fine with that.  This time, I’m doing my damnedest to make it work.

Oh, and last week, on Monday, I went and had barbecue, and I was still down 2 pounds on Wednesday.  That’s how you make it work!

I shall keep you posted!

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40

So here we are again.

It seems that it was just yesterday I was writing about losing weight before I went to Toronto. I gave myself 20 Days to lose 10 pounds before heading off on a Puppet Up Tour. I did that. I accomplished that goal. But then, I ate like a pig in Toronto and haven’t stopped since. I’m now the heaviest I’ve been since 2005 when I lost 80 lbs. luckily, I’ve not gone back up to what I was at before I lost the weight, but I’m working my way there.

And here I am, my 40th birthday looming and I can’t stop eating. Store I left for Australia, I actually had to go buy new shirts and pants because the ones I currently have are too tight. I don’t look at myself in the mirror anymore because I can’t stand to and I now abhor getting my picture taken.

So, simply, something has to change. I think the main reason I tend to eat without any conscience is because I lost 80lbs. I think, subconsciously, my Brian says, “Look, you lost 80lbs before, you can do it again. Easy.”

Thing is, it wasn’t easy. It took over a year of eating right and exercising. I do exercise daily, but it don’t eat right at all. So, I’m gaining weight. Needing new clothes. And, of course, I get depressed about how I look and that makes me want to eat more.

I worked out harder than normal in Australia, but I was also eating way too much. So, though I haven’t stepped on the scale since I’ve been back, I’m sure I’m even heavier.

So, here we go again. My birthday is May 20 and I would like to loose 10 pounds by then. Then I’d like to lose another 10 by June 20th. Just in time for the beach. Kidding, I hate the beach.

I’ve got to make this work. I’ve got to. It’s getting to the point where it not only won’t be easy to loose the weight , it’ll get close to impossible.

So, starting tomorrow, I will start planning out what I eat. I will use the Weight Watchers tracker that I’m paying for monthly and rarely loose. I will loose 10 pounds by my 40th Birthday. I will loose another 10 by June 20th. I have to. No excuses.

I will do this by focused eating and ramped up exercise. This does not mean starving myself as I have done in the past. I will really focus on working out daily and ramping those workouts up. I want to lose weight and get stronger. I don’t want to buy any more clothes that are one size up.

Another thing that has motivated me is that I’m trying out bombfell.com. They are a clothing service that sends you a box of clothes a month that are picked out just for you by a stylist. I want to start dressing better and I want to look better. These clothes cost a little more and, as such, I’ll have more focus on not wasting that money.

Okay, here goes everything.

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