Day 125: What 50 Pounds Looks Like

Update: 208.2 lbs, 50 lbs so far, 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124.

I'm not sure why, but every time I Google weight amounts, I always get pictures of fish. And for some reason, I just think picturing me strapping one of these babies on makes a lot of sense. That one to the left is some grandmother who apparently has a habit of catching fish larger than 50 lbs, and that's a 50 lb king salmon. Yep, I was carrying around one of those on me for a while.

I also found a few other 50 lb images. Some more fish of course, a panda bear, and a 50 lb pig, which I think is also appropriate.



I also found a link to some software guys who dropped a 50 lb glob of silly putty from a 7 story roof. Worth taking a look at. And an article on the worlds largest burger at 50 lbs as well. But just in case you're wondering, I'll put up the before and afters. The first is from me when I was rockin' it at just under 260, and the latter being me in my fake bike jersey (can't bring myself to spend the $90 for a real one yet) -- but don't worry, no bike shorts, I promised I wouldn't post those quite yet. (It might be illegal in some states, I'm not quite sure....)


Sorry for the classic JC Penny catalog pose once again, but that's just how I roll. That's it for today, gotta get an early start on the day's events. More thoughts on the 50 lbs later on, and maybe a Paddingtons celebration on Sunday. Whoohoo!

Hasta!

Day 124: Right.On.The.Money - 50 lbs!

Update: 208.2 lbs, 50 lbs so far, 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124.

Well, butter my (50 pounds lighter) buns and call me a biscuit...again! The elusive last pound finally gave up the ghost, and I hit it right on the nose today. Which of course means tomorrow I'll waffle up again - maybe in more ways than one..hmmmm, waffles....but for today, my official scale weight is 208.2 baby!

124 days ago I set out to lose a few, and really though getting down to 220 - or a weight loss of 38 lbs - would be a task, and believe me, it was. But then 220 still left me fairly chubbilicious, so I figured we might as well go for the full 50 lb goal, which proved to be even more difficult, but I was in it for the long haul. Yes, plenty of days where I was frustrated because I was working my booty off and not seeing the results as quick as I wanted, but as Michael and the Slowski's pointed out - "where's the fire?" I finally got to the point where I figure it'll happen when it does, and I know I can't go all summer riding 15-20 miles at a time, and not get to an ideal weight somehow. Well, unless I get a special rack for my bike that holds a personal sized Humdinger for every ride....

So now, the next, more informal goal (at least for now) is going to be to get down to 200 lbs, another 8.2 lbs away, and since that will be close to a 60 lbs loss, I'll probably just bump it to 198, so I can just lose 60 lbs. But honestly, I'm going to take what I can get from here and see where it goes...at least, that's what I think today after hitting this goal. We'll see. Having the goal definitely gives me a focus.

Now, on another related note, today's goal gives Nick the victory in the Starbucks Challenge. And how fitting is that, since it's his birthday today - so everyone give Nick a birthday shoutout. Thank you to all of those who kindly guessed the earlier dates...I truly tried to do it for you, and sorry to everyone who I "stopped short on" - you should have invited me over for more cake, ice cream and pizza and kept me all fatted up!

Hopefully tomorrow I'll put up the requisite 'what 50 lbs looks like' comparison pictures. As my wife pointed out, 50 lbs is like taking just about half of her, and sticking it on me. Ha! In one way, it is like I lost a friend, a little 50 lbs friend who was all fat! Thanks again for all the encouragement along the way. Here's to the next round!

Hasta!

Day 123: Folding Up The Treadmill

Update: 209.0 lbs, 49.2 lbs so far, 38 lb Goal Reached Day 74. - 0.8 lbs to NEW 50 lb goal.

If you ever have one of those dreams where you feel like you're trying as hard as you can, but you're running in slow motion, and whatever is chasing you is most definitely going to get you -- that's how I feel running down this last pound. Just.can't.quite.get.there. If I can squeeze in a ride somewhere today, drink all the water I should, and eat right for the day, Nostradamus Nick may just have some Starbucks on me for his birthday.

Between the rain and the crazy end of the school year schedules, finding time for riding has been getting trickier. The past couple days I haven't been able to get out and really ride, and I'm itching to get back out. Even though I got in 18 holes on Monday, and went out with the Mrs. to the driving range for two hours last night (she's a natural,) it still feels like I haven't really exercised for couple days. Last night I thought "well I do have the old Nordic Track Walkfit out in the garage....," but I just couldn't bring myself to climbing on. In fact, I folded it up the other day to do some cleaning in the garage, and it may just stay that way for a while, tucked away in the corner.

Keep in mind that the old Walkfit was my faithful companion during the early days of my calorie cutback. Every day, or every other day, I'd get out there, fire up some movie or tv show on the computer, and put in 20-30 minutes of walking, working up a big old sweat and really feeling like I had accomplished something. I did accomplish something of course -- prior to that life was pretty much sedentary. But now I prefer to be moving for 60 minutes or more, and usually at 15 mph or better. I think once I finally got off the couch and out the door, I've just appreciated getting out for a little bit, while burning off some calories. I'm pretty sure I'd feel the same about a bike trainer - not really into it as much as being able to just get out and get going.

When you're inside the garage, you miss all the good stuff. You miss the guys who like to drive close and scream at you, the dogs who like to chase you down, the front porch tv watchers, the llamas, the people on motorcycles who pull up and ask if you want to race, the Largest Black Cottonwood in North America, the burn of going uphill, and the thrill of flying down another, and everything else that can happen on a simple little old bike ride. I think the weather may hold out long enough this morning to let me make a quick run at The Loop, and if not, good thing I had them put fenders on!

Hasta!

Day 121: Vive La France!

Update: 210.2 lbs, 48.0 lbs so far, 38 lb Goal Reached Day 74. - 2.0 lbs to NEW 50 lb goal.

Sorry for the lack of weekend updates, a fairly busy weekend, and the normal Crazy Sunday posting time was taken up with me picking up 25 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts. In the old days of course, that would not sound so out of place. However, I did let all 25 dozen make it home unharmed, and let the one free sample at the counter be my treat for the day. Well, until the next two called my name at church later on.

So day 120 came and went, and I crossed the 4 month mark without hitting the elusive 50 lb goal. I'll give all you Calorie Commandos out there a little hint. If you do a Starbucks Challenge, and are within just a pound or so of the goal, and someone in the challenge invites you over for a party -- watch out, it's a trick. All of a sudden they start pimping the cake, ice cream, pizza and special "sweet and spicy Tabasco sauce" on you. Actually it probably wasn't the one day that got me. From Thursday night on, it's been a daily attack of cheesecake, pizza, more cake, chocolate covered popcorn, Krispy Kremes, and more chocolate cake. I've been like Jack Bauer taking on a Willy Wonka turned evil terrorist cell...and I'm in the part of the series where I've just been taken hostage. Even the 72 miles riding during the same timeframe barely held off the poundage put-on.

Anyway, today I'm thankful for the French. They've given us some great things to be thankful for - French Fries, the Statue of Liberty, French Fried Onions...and the reason I write of them today, the French Press. Yesterday the Mrs said "I think we ground the coffee too fine this morning, it's all over in the coffee." However, turns out our little silver screen filter has a slice in it, and is letting the grounds through. I was bummed out at 6 this morning when I wasn't going to be able to brew up a pot, when I remembered the old French Press down in the cupboard. Ahhh....enjoying a nice rich cup of joe thanks to the old Frenchies!

Hasta La France!

118: 7 Puncture Holes

Update: 209.2 lbs, 49.0 lbs so far, 38 lb Goal Reached Day 74. - 1.0 lbs to NEW 50 lb goal.

Many of you will probably not read this post, as it's Friday afternoon, and amazingly nice outside, and you should be anywhere but stuck in front of your computer right now. However, I missed posting this morning, and just wanted to keep some tidbits of info flowing.

First off, I'm down to 1 lb left to reach my 50 lb goal. Tomorrow *could* be the big day, but if not, I'm thinking sometime this next week, which gives a few of you a pretty good shot at the Starbucks Challenge. But you know how the weightloss is, she's an evil temptress...so you just never know.

Next, if you read yesterday's post, you know I was stranded on my bike ride like the passengers of Oceanic 815. Turns out my spare tube had 7, yes seven puncture holes in it. It's no wonder I couldn't put air into the tire, it just wouldn't hold it. Took it in and made sure the pump works, so I'm feeling much better about the next time I need to change a tire on the road....I'm gonna be like the dad on A Christmas Story when he get's a flat...."4 minutes.....time me!"

Lastly, I've never been a warm weather guy...I sweat plenty as it is during the winter. However, I gotta say, riding out in the sun is pretty cool. I read somewhere that it's easier to move through warm air than it is through cold air, and of course, you don't have to wear jackets and pants, which also cut down on the traveling speed. I went from being the sweatiest worship leader to the sweatiest guy on a bike. But it's all good, I hit my highest average speed for the 12 mile loop today at 16.7 mph, and got it done in around 43 minutes. Not.Too.Shabby.

Hasta.

Day 117: So This ONE Brown Guy Is On The Side Of The Road

Update: 209.4 lbs, 48.8 lbs so far, 38 lb Goal Reached Day 74. - 1.2 lbs to NEW 50 lb goal.

The Windsor Island Road Driving Range is about a mile and a half from our house, right along The Loop I normally ride. Their sprinkler system comes on at 6 a.m. sharp -- I know this because I had already been in the entrance to their parking lot for about a half hour when they came on, fixing a flat.

If you've been following along, that's the second flat I've been a part of in the past week. Feeling pretty good about it, since we'd just done one, I jumped right in -- had the wheel off in seconds, tools out, spare tube ready, old tube off, and ready to go. Tried to get the tire on a couple different ways before it finally made sense, and actually had it all put back together in relatively decent time. It was no 1 minute and 19 second tire change, but it was decent enough for a first solo effort.

The problem came when I tried to pump it up. The 'missle launcher' that I carry on my bike, which came through for Nick and I the other night, did NOT for me today. Now, I also need to try a different pump because it also could be the spare tube itself, but this pump is no fun to work with. I'm really considering a portable air gun and CO2 cartridges after this episode. After being there for 35 minutes with no air staying in the tire, I gave up, packed everything away, and started the trek back home.

Since I didn't want to ruin my new cleats, I took my shoes off and carried them in one hand. Since that part of Windsor Island Road is really rough, or at least would be on a flat tube/tire/rim -- I also hoisted the bike up on one shoulder and started the Walk of Shame. So yeah, there was the big brown guy, in socks, walking down Windsor Island Road, with a bike on his shoulder. Really wasn't too bad since that's what most of our trips to Disneyland have felt like...me carrying some 20+ lb kid all over the parks, for 4 days solid.

If any of you have any connections with the City of Keizer, we could use a little better street cleaning...lots of glass, rocks, and other cruddies right in the walking path. Also, if you're ever in a situation where you're walking down a road in your socks, I can strongly suggest walking on the painted stripe, it's the smoothest part of a rough road. Lastly, big thanks to the husband/wife team on the tandem bike that apparently were on an important time trial and didn't even take the time to hollar over and ask if I needed anything...giving the bike community a good name!

Hasta!

Day 116: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Notches

Update: 210.8 lbs, 47.4 lbs so far, 38 lb Goal Reached Day 74. - 2.6 lbs to NEW 50 lb goal.

Nothing really exciting to post today. After the side of the road excitement, and being hauled into the pokey over the past few days, yesterday was pretty much normal, aside from the fact that our office is under construction and we're all being displaced for a couple days. That being said, short post ahead.

I've hit another bit of a plateau here, hanging around 211 for several days, and once again, despite the fact that I've been busting my buns with exercise. In the past 7 days, I've put 132 miles on my ride, Blue Screen of Death. (Still working on that name thing....) I knew one was coming, I'd been shedding some quick pounds, so I was bound to stall out with just a couple left to the 50 lb goal...that's been the way that I roll lately.

Anyway, looking for little victories here along the way to keep the encouragement and motivation going, which I think is important for anyone trying to keep at a long term goal, so here's a short one for today. When I started out almost 4 months ago now, I was pushing the limits of my belt, using the last notch, and hoping I wasn't going to have to buy the next model up from there. Well, it's gonna be time for a new belt before too long after all, but one going the other direction -- I'm now on the 5th notch in.

Day 120 is quickly approaching. I'd sure like to hit that goal by then, but am learning to be patient (or so I keep saying.) It's a beautiful day, I hope you can get out and enjoy it!

Hasta