In the past 2 days, the scale has read everything from 246 to 248. So I’m gonna meet it in the middle and we’ll say I weigh 247 this week. That would be a 2 lb. weight loss for the week.

I didn’t get around to posting last week but I assure you I’m still on track. I’ve almost lost 30 pounds total. My clothes are fitting better. In fact, I’m wearing clothes that I haven’t worn in quite a while (Rachel says that I get to go shopping in my closet). I definitely feel better and I thinkI am finally starting to “see” a difference in my physique.

One more month before phase 1 (AKA the first 90 days) is over. Then we move into the hard core summer training. I’ll give you more details on that when it gets closer.

Another 3 lbs. this week. That seems to be my magic number. If I can continue with a consistent 3 lbs. per week, I should be down to 235 by June 1.

I lost another 3 lbs. this week. And I have gained one notch on my favorite belt. I am wearing a pair of jeans and also a pair of slacks that I have not worn in over a year.

I decided one day this week that instead of doing my regular cardio workout, I would go for a 3-mile run outside (well, it turned into more of a 3-mile walk with a few running/jogging spurts in between). Let me tell you, it tore me up. I am still aching from that run. My shins hurt and my thighs hurt and even my upper body hurts. I now have a newfound respect for my wife, the real runner. She just ran a half-marathon (13.1 miles) on April 6 and she did it in less than 2 hours (and she ran the entire thing – no walking at all).

I didn’t get around to posting last Saturday (thanks to those of you that checked in on me). I assure you I am staying faithful. Last Saturday, I weighed in at 262 and today I weighed in at 260. So that puts me at 18 lbs. lost total.

We took pictures on Day 1 and the plan is to take pictures at Day 30, 60 and 90 to see the progression. We’re about 6 days past the “Day 30″ mark, but we’re going to go ahead and take some pictures today and call it “Day 30″.

I’m not quite so confident to post any of these pictures yet. Perhaps I’ll share all of the progression photos once I get to Day 90.

I lost another 3 pounds this week. I’ve stayed 100% faithful to both my diet and workout program up to this point. Things are going pretty much as expected.

I lost another 3 pounds this week. That’s half of what I lost last week, but it’s basically what I expected. I usually lose quite a bit of water weight in the first week. The idea from here on is to be content with small victories and 3 lbs. is a definitely that.

I’ve been 100% faithful to my diet and excercise plan. I don’t eat more than 1800 calories a day and I’ve been working out 6 days a week for at least 30-45 minutes a day. But since it’s my birthday today, I think I’m going to have a cheat meal tonight and eat about 1000 calories more than what I normally would.

Before you bombard me with e-mails about sticking to my diet, let me explain that many experts actually suggest a cheat meal once a week. I was watching “Biggest Loser” this week and the male trainer, Bob, suggested that you have one high calorie cheat-meal a weel as long as you exercise that day too. Experts say that it’s good for you (as long as you don’t overdo it and don’t eat junk food) because it gives you something to look forward to each week and that it helps to increase energy during your workouts. Experts also say that this one high calorie meal can kick start your metabolism back into high gear. Dieting often results in a slowing of the metabolism effect. The body senses starvation and tries to lower the amount of energy it needs to continue to function on a daily basis. This means that you will be burning less calories just sitting still than if you hadn’t been dieting, which makes weight loss even harder. When you shock your system with a high influx of calories at one time, the body’s metabolism will show an increase and you’ll kick start your “furnace” into high gear once again.

So tonight, I’m having a high calorie birthday meal. Tomorrow, I’ll go back to 1800 calories per day and we’ll see how it works. If it affects my energy and metabolism as experts suggest, I’ll continue to have a cheat meal every Saturday night.

Right now, my short term goal is to be under 260 by April 1. I’ll post again next Saturday and let you know where I’m at. I’ve gotten e-mails from several people offering words of support . . . thanks for keeping tabs on me . . . It’s helping tremendously. Also, I’ve heard from several of you who are doing this weight loss journey along with me. Good Luck to you and hang in there. Keep me posted of your progress.

I weighed in this morning at 271 lbs. That’s a 7 lb weight loss from last Saturday. I guess 1 lb. per day ain’t too shabby (granted a lot of this is water weight in the first week – I estimate that it’ll start averaging out to around 1/2 lb. per day soon).

The biggest question people have asked me in the past week is, “How are you doing it?” So let me tell you my workout/diet plan. As I mentioned in last week’s entry, the workout I’m doing is called Power 90. It involves a 30-45 minute workout 6 days a week and the thing I love the most about it is that I can do everything at home. No need to go to a gym ever. The Power 90 motto is “From Power to Shower in under an Hour”.

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This is the workout portion of my program

Saturday/Monday/Wednesday – Cardio/Abs
The cardio workout consists of aerobics, yoga, kickboxing, etc.
After the cardio workout, you do 100 crunches (10 sets of 10)

Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday – Weights
This workout involves push ups, dips, lunges, squats, etc.

Friday – Off

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This is my diet

I’m trying to stay at or below 1800 calories per day.

Breakfast: 500 calories (or less)
This is usually Oatmeal or Cereal with fruit and a protein shake
Some options include:
Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal
Raisins in the Oatmeal
Protein Shake (200 cal)
(Protein shake is 8 oz. O.J. and 1 scoop of Designer Whey Protein)

Morning Snack: 100-150 Calories
Fruit or Granola Bar
Some options include:
Fiber One Bar
Healthy Heart Bar by “Nature Valley”

Lunch: 400 calories (or less)
This is usually a sandwich or soup or a healthy frozen entree with maybe a piece of fruit or some baked chips.
Options here include:
Progresso Soup
Lean Cuisine Frozen Entrees
Healthy Choice Frozen Entrees
Turkey Sandwich
Subway (6 grams of fat or less menu)
Tuna with light mayo and pickles
Baked Chips or Sun Chips
(I always portion this to one serving only or I’ll eat the whole bag)

Afternoon Snack: 100-150 Calories
Peanuts, Cashews, or Beef Jerky
(once again I portion this into zip lock bags to keep from over eating)

Dinner: 500-600 calories
Rachel usually makes me supper and I’m lucky because she is quite the cook and she always counts calories for me.
Here are some of my dinners
Salad with Grilled Chicken or Turkey and a light dressing
Turkey Burgers
Spaghetti with light hamburger (or turkey burger) meat
Lean Cuisine Frozen Entrees
Healthy Choice Frozen Entrees
(These last two are for when Rachel’s not at home)

So What’s out?
Some stuff that I absolutely never eat on my diet . . .
Fried Food
Fast Food Burgers
Soda

Oh yeah . . . and I drink lots of water!

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Really I’m just counting my calories throughout the day (which isn’t all that hard now that I have a plan and a schedule.)

From here, it’s just simple math (and will power):
About 3500 calories adds up to 1 pound
If I eat 3500 calories more than I need, I’ll gain 1 lb.
If I use 3500 calories more than I eat, I’ll lose 1 lb.

At my current size, it takes about 3000 calories a day to maintain my weight of 270 lbs.

If I’m eating 1800 and burning around 300-400 in exercise
That makes my net calorie intake around 1500/day
This means I’m using 1500 calories/day over what I’m consuming
This should result in a weight loss of about 3-4 lbs per week.
(as my metabolism increases. . . it could be 5 lbs/week)
I’m hoping for a total weight loss of 40-50 lbs by June 1.
That would put me around 220-230 lbs.
My end goal is to be under 200 lbs by Sept. 1