Working at Weight Loss

This morning I did my weekly weigh-in and for the second consecutive week I gained weight. I wish I could say this was a surprise, but when I only half-heartedly keep track of what I am eating, neglecting to track any candy and a lot of the snacks I consume, it isn't really a surprise. Since February 13 I have managed to lose 6.6 pounds only to gain 3.8 of them back in the last two weeks. The only way I am going to be able to get this weight off is if I actually pay attention to what I am eating and by getting some exercise.

Shamrock Shakes, They're Just Not the Same

 

Being that Saint Patrick's Day is just around the corner, I decided to indulge myself by having a McDonald's McCafé Shamrock Shake. Now as I have been working on losing weight, this was the one and only Shamrock Shake I will have this year. The Shamrock Shake is something I have enjoyed much of my life. I remember looking forward to having them when I was a kid, and they were always good. I wish I could say that the shake I had today brought back memories of this treat from my childhood, but it did not.

Apparently McDonald's decided a while back to change their milkshakes from the slightly textured semi-frozen liquid that one could easily drink way too quickly, to a thick and creamy drink of ice cream adorned with whipped cream and a cherry on top that is much harder to drink through the straw. And to make it even fancier, McDonald's now serves its shakes in the same plastic cup they use for their fancy coffee drinks instead of the regular soft drink cup that they used to use. Aside from these differences, the shake I had today just did not have a very strong minty flavor. That was probably the most disappointing thing about it. I had already been planning on not having any more Shamrock Shakes this year, but I think I may be done with them for good now. It just wasn't worth the $2.88 that it cost me nor the 660 calories and 19 grams of fat I consumed. From now on if I have a craving for a mint-flavored shake, I think I will just visit my local Dairy Queen.

Working from Home

With the recent news that Yahoo! is no longer going to allow its employees to work from home, the topic of working from home has been in the news a lot lately. And now I read that Best Buy is also ending its program that allowed some corporate employees to work flexible schedules from home or elsewhere. I have been home since July 2008 when my family moved to Minnesota from Iowa for my wife's job. I really appreciate that my employer offers its employees the flexibility to work from home because I really like my job and 

A Little Better

After last week's disappointing loss of just 0.2 pounds, I wanted to work harder this week at watching what I ate. I'd like to say I accomplished that goal, but I didn't. As usual I started out the week carefully tracking my food intake, but by Friday I started to slip. It took me until yesterday to get back on track with tracking what I ate. I do not know why the weekends end up being so difficult for this, but I do have a tough time with it. Anyway, despite not doing a good job tracking my food this past weekend, I did manage to lose 2.0 pounds. If I can keep up losing 2.0 pounds per week, I can be happy with that.

Since Last Week: -2.0 lb
Percent change: -0.8%
Total Change: -2.2 lb
Total Percent: -0.9%

A Slow Beginning

I would like to start this entry by stating that I did manage to lose weight this first week of trying to do so. However it wasn't all that much weight, just 0.2 pounds. I know exactly where I went wrong with my weight loss this week. I did not carefully track my food after the first couple of days. It didn't help that I ate out a couple of times this past weekend and didn't even attempt to find healthier options on the menu. I am happy that I at least lost some weight though. I will have to work harder this next week.

Since Last Week: -0.2 lb
Percent change: -0.1%
Total Change: -0.2 lb
Total Percent: -0.1%

I Need to Lose Weight

This morning when I stepped on the scale I learned that my weight is 245.8 pounds. This is the most I've weighed in a very long time. This gives me a body mass index of 30.5, which puts me in the obese category, although barely as obese is defined as having a body mass index of 30 or more. Needless to say, I am not happy with this weight. I do not feel at all healthy.

I am immediately going to make some changes to my life to help to remedy this situation. First of all, I am going to start paying much more attention to what I eat and will record my calorie intake. This is probably the biggest thing I can do to help myself lose weight and become more healthy. Secondly, I am going to stop drinking soda for at least the next 46 days. After that, I may drink an occasional soda, but I will not return to my current usual 44 to 100 ounces of soda each day. While this soda drinking has been limited to diet soft drinks, those still are not good for my health.

My goal is to get my weight down to 199 pounds. This would result in me having a body mass index of 24.7, which is in range that is considered normal. I have succeeded in getting my weight down to 199 pounds in the past, although it has been almost five years since my weight was at this level. I do believe I can do this though once again.

Hello Again

I't been a while since I have posted an entry to my blog, 337 days to be exact. I think the reason I haven't posted anything in the past eleven months is that I simply got bored with it, I didn't have much to share, and I was just too busy. However, I am now returning to my blog. One reason for my return is that I want to write about the weight loss journey I am about to undertake. Also, I sometimes want to share things that are just too long or detailed to be accomplished with a tweet or Facebook status update. I guess time will tell whether I am able to keep up on my blog or not. Anyway, I would like to welcome you back.