Why Weigh on a Sunny Day?

I know this isn’t like me, but I’m going to start a series of posts about my weight loss journey. I recently began reading a blog called 344 Pounds that has given me some inspiration to try my hardest at dropping the 40-50 pounds I want to lose. I have had a gym membership for over a year now (I’m on my second gym, the first one cost too much, though you get what you pay for). I use it fairly infrequently. Now that the weather is getting nicer and I’m living just under a mile from work, I have started walking on nice days. It gives me a nice connection with the neighborhood, gets me moving a bit more, and helps save the planet all at the same time.

Today, I decided, after realizing my weight had crept back up to where it was pre-wedding and pre-gym membership, that I needed to do something about it. The guy who writes the 344 Pounds blog uses the elliptical machine, something I had never been able to use because I couldn’t get used to it. I decided that I was going to spend half an hour on it today no matter how tough it was. Sure enough, I made it through that half hour. I did it on level 1, but I did it, and burned 375 calories while doing so. It previously took me a lot of walking or biking on the treadmill or stationary bike to burn that much. I came home sore, but it was worth it.

So today, I am taking a pledge to get to the gym at least 3 times per week, preferably 4 or 5 (unless it’s warm enough for me to go for a long bike ride). I am also pledging to be a bit more cautious as to what I’m eating. Though I am by no means going on a diet (I enjoy beer and sweets a bit too much), I will moderate a bit more. If I can lose about 2 pounds per week from now until summer, I will have lost 25-30 pounds. Now I know I’ll have some weeks where I won’t lose that much and maybe even some where I lose more or gain a little, but if I can keep myself motivated (which is what I’m hoping writing about it will do), I should be well on my way towards real weight loss.

Now for the personal part… I weigh myself each morning, and I track it using the Google 15 widget for the personalized Google homepage. The nice thing about the widget is it keeps a moving average for a two week period. This morning, I weighed in at 238.2 pounds. My ultimate goal is to get down to 190. I shouldn’t have a problem getting down to 210, which is my goal for the end of June. Once I reach that, I will re-evaluate and see what I think I can do while staying healthy. A lot of my weight is from fat, but I have also gained quite a bit more muscle mass since I last weighed 190 while I was healthy (I last weighed 190 after having mono and lost 30 pounds in about 2 months), which was sometime in college. My purpose for losing the weight is mainly to feel better about myself – look better, be/feel healthier, etc. I also know it’ll help me improve in the only sport I have ever been good at… skiing. It’s much easier to stop 200 pounds than it is to stop 240 pounds.

I look forward to sharing my journey with you. I know it’s not a huge amount of weight to lose, but it’s been a tough one for me, having tried different diets and exercising. I’m not following any special routine except for what I choose for myself.