Hey everyone!!! I've missed you all tons. Sorry I haven't been on recently. No excuses, just facts: Work has been crazy, the kid has been crazy (she's almost 14!), I've been trying to keep up on weight-loss and muscle-gain, and on top of it all, I've been trying to start dating again. Ugh! That's not nearly as much fun as I thought it would be. When did dating become like a job interview process??? Ugh.
Anyway, something had to give, and I'm sorry, but FS took the brunt of that.
It doesn't change that I think about you all a lot, and am definitely rooting for you all!!!
<H2>Happy Anniversary</H2>
5 days ago (July 31) was my one-year anniversary from starting my weight-loss journey, and I've been wanting to come on and give you all an update, for anyone that may be interested.
First, some pics... the old ones you may remember.
And now some recent ones... from within the last few weeks:
<H2>In the last year...</H2>
- I have lost just about 150 lbs.
- I've put on muscle (see in the pics)
- I no longer need my CPAP machine
- The doc took me off all the meds I had been on (Blood Pressure / Cholest / Triglycerides)
- My BMI has gone from 49.5 (!!) to 27.6
- My body-fat percentage was over 60%, and is now right around 27% (just entering "average" for my age)
- My resting heart rate is 55 (considered better than "excellent", into "athlete"!)
- Gone from size 48 pants, to size 34
- From 3XL shirts to Medium
- I feel tons better
<H2>What I'm "doing" now</H2>
So, while I don't recommend it for anyone actively losing weight, I've stopped counting calories. @NM is going to kill me. But I've gotten into a bit of a routine, between protein shakes, and standard things I eat, things don't change too much for me day-to-day. Then when I go out, I don't worry too much about it. I'm currently in a slow weight-loss process, but I don't have to track calories for it. And it is working for me. Built into this is some intermittent fasting periods, so I'm still doing that.
Biking: Since I work from home so much, I have the ability to go for a bike ride on my lunch-break. Which I do. Almost every day, I go for a 10 mile spin. At about 14mph, I'm back in about 45 mins... enough time for a quick cool down, and back to work. I've logged over 600 miles in the last two and half months!
Weights: Still doing one and a half to two hours a day, every two of three days (two days on, one off, etc). I do occasionally skip a day, if something comes up, or if I'm not feeling it, but then I go right back into the routine.
<H2>What's next?</H2>
According to the body fat percentage, my target weight is 165. I still don't know about that. Seems pretty low. Right now, I'm aiming for 180. When I get there, I'll probably aim for 170. I keep re-assessing as I go down. But there's definitely still plenty to do... it's hard to see with clothes on, but it's definitely there. And the BF scale is my wingman. It knows all. Don't worry, I won't over-do it. I promise.
That's it for now -- just a quick update. Like I said, I'm still rooting for you all! I may not respond, but I do get your journal entries in the mail, and have been keeping up on your progress. Keep ROCKING, all of you!!!
Rob
