Monday, March 30, 2009

84 Days

Halloo fellow Shrinkeroos!

We have achieved a loss of 79 lbs since we started, almost a pound a day. It's also what this load o' bull weighed at birth.

When I look at our stats, all I can say is what a fairy godmotherly weird set of stats. To wit:
  • Chickie, Deborah, and eb are all tied for total loss and percent of goal.
  • Ginamonster lost her entire amount of weight for the year this week.
  • LJS is solid as a rock, so steady that I wonder if she isn't a robot.
  • NCP has beaten her goal twice so far.
  • Renn is winning the percentage of goal for those of us still under 100%.
  • I'm starting to think I could maybe stay under 1/8 ton for good.
  • Tiff is catching up, and has matched NCP for total loss!
  • Poor Utenzi has gone underground (according to the chart), and hopefully will pull back up into positive territory before long.
Here be the nummers:
Shrinklet Change this week Total Change % of Goal
Chickie -4 -14 35.0%
db grin -3 -9 30.0%
Deborah 0 -14 35.0%
eb -1 -14 35.0%
Ginamonster -8 -8 40.0%
LJS 0 -1 10.0%
NCP -1 -5 125.0%
Renn 2 -11 57.9%
Tiff -4 -5 20.0%
Utenzi 3 2 -15.4%
Group Totals -16
-79
32.8%

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Resolve, renewal and rejoice!

Four-score and three days ago, I proposed to lose 10 pounds by May 17th. It was a noble goal, a noble purpose and a challenge.

I find myself at an impasse with my incorrigible sweet tooth. Not more than 10 hours after resolving to swear off the sweets, I found myself tempted by the goodly goodness of a homemade piece of baklava. I ate the symbolic apple and since then, I have been its slave. (It doesn't help that I made two cheesecakes last weekend for a friend's birthday. They WERE tasty!)

Now that I am less than 8 weeks away from my goal, I am renewing my resolve. To start, I reminded myself of how far I've come and what I can accomplish when I set my mind to it. I visited an online BMI calculator.
First input: Current weight, height. OK! Normal!
Second input: Old weight, same height. Wow! I was overweight!
Upon seeing the improvement in BMI between 2004 and now, I feel glad that I accomplished my goals. And I am reminded that, yes, I can lose weight. It is all within me to do so! I can really meet my weight goal, especially now that I am increasing my mileage and have renewed resolve.

I am thusly armed against the slings and arrows of delectable decadence. I can resist the call of the sweets, at least during the week. :) So, fellow Shrinking Piggies, I will need all the help I can get!

My rejoice? Well, it is spring...mostly! And I am running outside and enjoying the beautiful cool (but not too cold) Michigan weather. The grass is starting to grow, everyday I see new daffodil and crocus leaves emerging from the ground. A world is out there, and I need to explore it.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Week 11 Report



The news is in! Here, let me show you it.

The tote board is going backwards, with a group gain of 4 lbs. As with any group endeavor, some are doing better this week than others. Congratulations are in order for losers Renn, NCP, and Deborah - steady as she goes!

This week's picture struck me unusually. While I have no idea who made illustration or when, it follows the original gruesome tale of the Three Little Pigs: Unable to blow down the brick house, the wolf tries to get to them via the chimney. The pigs, having lost 2 houses already, know ye olde wolf is serious about eating them, so they light a fire under him, much to his doom.

I happily call myself a Shrinking Piggy, lightheartedly trotting along the wooded path - failing to take my lifelong struggle with extra weight as though it were a wolf out to destroy me for good. It doesn't want to make things inconvenient, be a foil for my comic antics, or follow me around like a hungry puppy. It wants to devour me. Things look different after they're devoured, no? I'd rather remain quite uneaten and healthy, thank you.

As we reach our halfway point, let's evaluate how we're doing. For those of us with such tendencies: No need for doom and gloom, self-flagellation, or apology - we're in this voluntarily and for our own joy.

Now, off the soapbox and on with the numbers:

Shrinklet Change this week
Total Change
% of Goal
Chickie 0
-10
25.0%
db grin 0
-6
20.0%
Deborah -2
-14
35.0%
eb 0
-13
32.5%
Ginamonster 4
0
0.0%
LJS 0
-1
10.0%
NCP -1
-4
100.0%
Renn -1
-13
68.4%
Tiff 3
-1
4.0%
Utenzi 1
-1
7.7%
Group Totals 4
-63
26.1%

On Hold

While we wait for the last 2 piggies to weigh in, please speculate on where they might be and what they might be doing.

Also, why not speculate on what YOU are doing? I miss the days of lots-o-posts and comments.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Progress

As you may have read elsewhere, I've decided to do the 100 push-up and 200 sit-up challenge thingies, because what else is a menopausal woman to do to lose weight besides power-wishing? Exactly.

These silly challenges? SEEM TO BE WORKING!!! I am happy to report that as of just now (and man, how I did NOT want to do them), I am able to do the following:

- 31 girlie (on da knees) pushups in sets of 4, 6, 4, 4, and 'max,' or in today's case 15.

- 114 crunches, in sets of 21, 24, 18, 18, and 'max,' or in today's case 33.

The progress I've made thus far in both these challenges is tremendous. A couple of weeks ago I would never have thought that I could gut out that many on either set of max'es, and so am understandably HEARTENED to find out that indeed this old body can learn new tricks.

If you're interested, here are the sites:

100 pushups
200 situps

As a comparison, my starting stats were as follows: week 3 column 1 for situps, and at week 1 column 1 for pushups. A sad little start, indeed. There's every chance you could kick my wobbly white butt without even trying.

Just don't wait too long to try to kick that butt, because once I finish each challenge, I think I'll go back and make it harder....hands BEHIND the head for crunches, and 'real' (on da toes) pushups. 4 more weeks of this torture and I'll start all over again. By summer I might be able to wear a 2-piece bathing suit, and maybe even a sleeveless top.

Hey - I can dream big.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Week 10

The polls are closed and we roll ahead with the focus of a band of marauding muppets. Do I hear banjo music? It's probably just me.

Our lovely artwork for today was unwittingly provided by Fifi LePew, a fine Photoshop artist and Farker.

Anywhy, here's the highlight reel:

We piggies have maintained a steady pace, without any big swings in either direction. Except for Ginamonster, who gained 18 pounds for all we know. Gainers outperformed losers by one pound for the week (not counting the aforementioned AWOL piggy). In fact, eb and Deborah were the only losers, which nearly balanced our group scale. eb is ahead in the overall results (yay!).

Without further blathering, here are the numbers:
Shrinklet Change this week Total Change % of Goal
Chickie 1 -10 25.0%
db grin 1 -6 20.0%
Deborah -1 -12 30.0%
eb -1 -13 32.5%
Ginamonster 0 -6 30.0%
LJS 0 -1 10.0%
NCP 0 -3 75.0%
Renn 0 -12 63.2%
Tiff 0 -4 16.0%
Utenzi 1 -2 15.4%
Group Totals 1
-69
28.6%

Saturday, March 14, 2009

3 Things

I too will admit to reading the challenge. Also to issuing it, with the knowledge that I'd have to play along instead of sitting in an insulated ivory tower sending out edicts for others to complete. It made me cringe a little, AAMOF.

The challenge was meant to spur us shrinkers into action toward our goals, because I know too well that wishing does nothing to the waistline. Unless it's wishing for cookies, which are the wishes that come true much more often than wishes for millions of dollars or a sunny day or a letter from a particular person. Also, it was meant to be either 3 different things to do in a week, or one thing done 3 times in a week. I left it ambiguous because I only thought of it one way at the time...

My intended things were to join Tiff in the 100 Pushups and 200 Situps challenges, and to move more during the day. Here's how it went.

100 Push Ups is a website that has a program to get you doing 100 push ups in 6 weeks. Pretty self-explanatory, no? You start with an initial test, then follow a track suited to your test results. I've always been pretty good with push ups, so I started at Week 3, column 3. Already, after 4 days of exercise, I feel the difference in strength. I dunno if it's helping me lose any weight yet, but it certainly is helping with the capacity to lose weight (more muscle = more fat burning). Monday's weigh in will tell the tale...

200 Sit Ups is another website, just like the other one only different. Unlike the push ups, I've always sucked large at sit ups. Very very bad at them. My belly is more like Santa's than Brad Pitt's, and I've quit every time I've tried to work on my abs after very short attempts. This time I have a clear goal and a workout partner, and at one week I'm ahead of the last 10 years of efforts. Week one column one for me. Plus, I'm using the exerball instead of the floor to save back pain.

As for moving more, I took a cue from Chickie and did lots of yard work. Ground up the front lawn with a rototiller last weekend, and have spent 3 evenings raking out dead and dying plant material. For work, I took on a small roofing project, which always stretches the legs and has stair-climbing built in, and helped take down 4 trees on Friday. All walking, carrying, climbing, throwing. Also, played tennis one sunny day when it was 75 outside. The high hopes for more of that were dashed by 3 days of cold and rain (and counting).

I think the pushups and situps are making the biggest difference; I can feel it in my arms and gut even at rest. My eating habits are about the same over the last 3 weeks. I'm unlikely to start enjoying jogging, so I hope it's enough to keep me on track.

Challenged

I admit it. I read the challenge. I read it and then I got distracted by the giant vat of nacho cheese in my fridge. And the bar at Bingo the other night, the sodas, the mudslides, cupcakes... it's been a banner week for falling off the wagon. 

Since I can't eat negative cookies, my only real option was to exercise more. While my Derby Bout tonight is technically more exercise and I think I'm drinked out for a bit, I still don't think I will have filled the requirements. 

But I don't think I want to make any more cupcakes. or Cookies. And I won't be buying another vat of nacho cheese. 

Those are things for the future though. I'm not entirely sure what happened with my now. 

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Last Week's Challenge

I will admit that I didn't see the challenge last week until Wednesday night. But that's okay because I'm a procrastinator anyway. I didn't really do three different things but tried to do well by eating better for at least three days. (As witness to my falling off of the diet wagon there was the 5 pound gain last week!) I just tried to get back in the diet routine and it worked!

I've started drinking V-8. This is really big for me because I despise tomatoes so to go to drinking their blood is a big deal. But a glass of that with some grits for breakfast (Grits with NO cheese! Look at me go!) is quite filling. And I burp it up for hours so I remember that I have eaten and don't need to snack.

Last week, I did not buy a hot lunch at work. Just had their soup. Sometimes, the hot lunches are hard to resist but the portions are huge and I hate to waste food. Though the last time I did get a hot lunch there, I had them half it and I shared with my podmate. (She has gained 10 pounds since the beginning of the year. I told her that my weigh had to go somewhere when it came off of me!)

During weeks 1 through 7, I burned myself out on eating cold cuts and cereal bars and am trying to find ways to eat better when I'm in a hurry.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Yowzah, Yowzah, Yowzah

Or in other words: these three things. The three things: a. ate less. I suppose I could have done more, that is to say ate less more, or ate even less, more or less. Point is a concerted effort to eat less was made.


b. Moved more and by moved that is to say walked. And by more that is to say, much. The actual count is not known due to a faulty pedometer battery. But suffice to say more movement was made.

c. Didn’t drink any alcohol. Well, didn’t drink much alcohol.

I trust greater gains or rather, losses can be made by decreasing even more a, increasing even more and varying b, and decreasing even more c or to put it another way, formula D I D


Yowzah, Yowzah, Yowzah!

I didn't do three things

But one thing that happened - I got lucky. Or something. Because I was not a good piggie last week. In fact, I was really bad and I must have done just enough good stuff to stave off the really bad. Probably in the end, the really bad wasn't quite so bad. Nevertheless, the badness can't continue.

One thing I didn't do was go to the gym. That's because I had some yard work I did. Yard work is good exercise so I didn't feel too bad. But I really need to go the gym on a regular basis, everyday, if I'm going to make any substantial progress.

One thing that I know I am battling right now, and it happens every time I try to lose weight, I am facing the 'Stop it' battle.

Here is my theory- when you first start losing weight and you lose that first 10-12 pounds, your body rebels. It's been used to carrying the weight. It doesn't want to lose the weight. Like the ring in the Lord of the Rings - it wants to be found. It wants you to find ways to put it back on.

This is why so many people give up and gain back after the first initial loss. That is when you really need to redouble your efforts. That is my goal this week.

My three things I am choosing to do is not eat past 7pm, no refined sugar and using the stairs at work. I'd really like to knock off 2 lbs. a week the rest of the way.

Nothing Could Be Fina Than Weeka Nina

Week 9 is here, and we're back in gear! Thanks to Deborah for the title.

Progress is this week's theme, with 18 pounds that mysteriously vanished. Looking forward to the Piggie Posts to see how we did it!

Chickie is leading the week's loss. Renn and eb are tied for most melted, and Renn leads the percentage race (if you don't count certain celery-hating overachievers:)). (I just noticed that if you make a smiley within parentheses, it has a double chin. Heh.) Utenzi didn't show up for this week's weigh-in, so I've counted no change for him to keep the charts looking normalish.

As a group, we've stomped 70 lbs into retirement. May they never return.

Shrinklet Change this week
Total Change
% of Goal
Chickie -5
-11
27.5%
db grin -4
-7
23.3%
Deborah -2
-11
27.5%
eb -1
-12
30.0%
Ginamonster -1
-6
30.0%
LJS 0
-1
10.0%
NCP 1
-3
75.0%
Renn -3
-12
63.2%
Tiff -3
-4
16.0%
Utenzi 0
-3
23.1%
Group Totals -18
-70
29.0%

Monday, March 2, 2009

Welcome to March of the Piggies

This is the Week 8 Roundup. Can you believe we've been shrinking together for 2 months already?

I'd say a trend is emerging, and while the chart would look good for the economy (if the negative numbers pointed down, like they would for dollars), it's not so good for shrinkers! We're almost 1/3 of the way to the end, which is when we might expect the going to be sluggish.

As a group we've gained 10 lbs since last week. I certainly took my fat pills (and spent a week on the couch instead of the court). The good news is each of us is still down from our starting points.

Deborah is this week's leader in the right direction at -4! Chickie and I tied the going-backward race at +5 each. eb is the winner at overall loss so far.

I'd like to offer a challenge for this week (for those of us who are not yet at 100% of goal): Do something more toward your SP goal at least three times this week, and post about it.

Your numbers are humbly presented below:

Shrinklet Change this week
Total Change
% of Goal
Chickie 5
-6
15.0%
db grin 5
-3
10.0%
Deborah -4
-9
22.5%
eb -1
-11
27.5%
Ginamonster 1
-5
25.0%
LJS 0
-1
10.0%
NCP 0
-4
100.0%
Renn 1
-9
47.4%
Tiff 2
-1
4.0%
Utenzi 1
-3
23.1%
Group Totals 10
-52
21.6%