Week 10: Back after it

Tonight's weigh in 288. Running total 34 pounds, 2 pounds for this week.

Well after spending the Sunday of Labor Day weekend moping around the house because I was upset with myself for breaking my sober streak the evening before, I finally got back on the horse. Went back to Blue Marsh and rode for a couple of hours Monday, things went better this time, but I avoided Psycho Hill this time. I don't know why but last week really seemed like I was just going through the motions and the weekend seemed longer than it should have. It was looking like I was on my way to score another big week. I was down to 287 Thursday and had no real plans to do any "cheat" things over the weekend that would've stop that momentum. Maybe it was the crappy weather over the second half of the week that slowed me up. Now with half of September gone and only one pound lost in that time I gotta really buckle down to get back on pace.

I want to thank a trio of friends who were especially supportive this past week, you've all been great but these guys just earned gold stars. Laura, Kevin and Kristy all were super great at listening or offering advice as I dealt with a few things that really troubled me this week. I won't lie, I have things that I REALLY need to deal with in order to get really better; personal insecurities, drinking, self confidence, just to name a few. I have always been one that kept his problems internal and dealt with them myself, and that's to say that I never really dealt with them. I never liked bothering others with my problems. Without friends that are willing to listen like that I'm sure I would be doomed to fall back to doing things the wrong way. You can really learn how close your friends are when you go seeking help from them.

Week 9: A not so good week

My mama always said if ya can't say nothing nice don't say anything at all, so I'm gonna keep this one brief. Well I didn't get to the gym Monday to do the weigh, stupid gym with stupid holiday hours, so I had to wait until Tuesday to see what the damage of the long weekend was on the number. Well there was good news and bad news, the good news was that I lost 4 pounds between Sunday's work out and Tuesday's weigh in. The bad news was that my long weekend in AC then OCMD had me gaining 5 pounds. The number for the week was 290, which is a 1 pound gain. For those of you that are the "half full" types, this can be looked at as an accomplishment. Only gaining one pound over a 4 day weekend isnt all that bad. Since I'm more of a "half empty" guy right now, I see it as a failing. Just because it was a 4 day weekend doesn't make it ok to use it as an excuse to gain weight. Plus I let myself down by drinking over the weekend which I'm doing my best to not beat myself up about. I have my reasons for quitting and 12 weeks should not have been so difficult of a goal to reach, but I let party atmosphere of the shore win Saturday night.

So its back on the horse, umm or the wagon to refocus the effort. Next stupid holiday isnt until Thanksgiving so there are no excuses for awhile. Yeah I know Halloween's in there but I never was a big candy guy so I'll be alright with that one.

Two months in and still rocking...

Here I am at the 8 week mark and things are still going real well with Project Downsize Duff! I was a little worried about stepping on the scale today to be truthful. The second half of last week was a mess for the program. I had to miss Thursday's gym routine (fantasy football draft), Friday I had planned to go mt. biking but Mom Nature screwed that up so I made it my cheat day, I had good french fries for the first time in six weeks. I did get to go mt. biking Saturday, but missed Sunday's workout cuz I had to work and the gym has dumb hours on Sunday.

So with low expectations I hopped on the scale tonight and was blown away to see 289! A big 5 pound week and I didn't workout 3 outta 4 days, sometimes I don't understand weight loss, but I'm not arguing with it. The to-date total is now at 33 pounds which is 1/3 of the way to the ultimate goal. I'm averaging 4 pounds a week to this point which has me ahead of the pace I need to make by my birthday. I know that it has to slow down sooner or later, but it is good to get ahead now. We now have the 290's in the past and begin the run at the 270's today!!


The Successful Mountain Bike Trip:
I busted my butt to get all my work down Thursday so that I could go upto Jim Thorpe to ride a trail suggested to me by Doc Jones, the chiropractor, after I needed adjusting from the first mt bike attempt. Of course Mom Nature provided us with the all day rain Friday, so plans got scrapped. Got up Saturday checked the weather and decided to go up at the last minute. I am so glad I did. Doc was right, it was 24 miles of flat track that followed Lehigh river through some amazingly scenic scenery. It was a super easy ride, if you can pedal for 2.5 hrs, well until the last two miles that were on blacktop back to the parking lot. After 20+ miles of constantly pedaling, two miles uphill sucked! It was an amazingly peaceful ride and I felt so much better that night. I will be repeating no doubt.