25 pounds gone in 5 weeks.
HealthMy wife and I are headed off on a cruise the first week of March. Both of us decided that we had been a bit lazy and let some extra pounds creep up, and that the cruise was a good excuse to get back to where we need to be. I decided to set my goal at dropping from 217 to 185 for a total of 32 pounds, knowing that if I ever saw 190 I would be pretty happy. Today is 5 weeks into our efforts and I have dropped 25 pounds as I saw 192 for the first time in a LONG time on the scale this morning. I now have 45 days to go to lose 7 more to meet my goal. That sure sounds doable at this point.
For me, the approach has been 100% diet-related, specifically following the South Beach Diet. The first phase which lasts 2 weeks is pretty hardcore with absolutely no carbs. We saw some dramatic changes in that period, so we went ahead and tacked on a 3rd week of it, which in hindsight I feel was a good decision. Now that we have moved into Phase 2 of the diet, it is much easier to live with. I never realized how damn good fruit tasted until I cut out carbs entirely! At this point, my wife is making dinners that are on the diet, yet still a healthy meal for our whole family, which I think that is an important factor. When it is just one person trying to maintain a diet, it can be a pain in the butt, not only having to eat separate meals, but watching everyone around you eat all the stuff you shouldn't be eating. When the whole family is eating the same healthy foods, it is an easier path to follow, and hopefully we are setting some decent patterns in our kids.
Unfortunately with the release of InstantSpot 2, full-time job, lots of contracting work, and family, excercise has not fit into my schedule during this period, unlike my wife who has been running 2-3 miles every couple of days and hitting the gym regularly. This week, now that the dust has settled a bit on the InstantSpot rollout - well... aside from our plans to rip the guts out and swap CFML processors this weekend - I hope to find more time to get myself back in the gym as well. It has been a few years since I was fairly serious about working out, and I definitely miss that feeling.
Hopefully I will have another positive report soon.
Good thing, too. I could never do the SB diet. No bread would kick my ass. :-)
As of this post, I have dropped right at 30 pounds since I started in December.
We are no longer really considering our diet a "diet", but more of a new approach to the way we eat. We are still following Phase 2 of the South Beach diet, but finding that there are still some great meals, and with the more even sugar intake (one of the SB principles - google "South Beach GI"), I am not getting hungry as fast and don't have those extreme highs and lows between "starving" and "full".
I am really proud of the work so far. Between my wife and I we have dropped 55 pounds. In addition, our next door neighbors got inspired and started as well. They have lost a combined 35 pounds. Our neighbors across the street that are going on the cruise with us are also on a mission and have lost somewhere around a combined 40 pounds. Pretty cool when you add up all those changes!
Congrats on the weight loss. I definitely applaud your discipline. Those first two weeks would either kill me or force me into a padded room.
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