week's cycling report: week of 1-25-10

Monday
none to report

Tuesday
none to report

Wednesday
none to report

Thursday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 6 miles
How did I feel? Getting going again is tough!

Friday
Bike: 30 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 7.5 miles
How did I feel? Glad I eased back into it with only 2 days this week. Next week is back to normal.

weekly weigh-in: 1-29-10

January 29, 2010

Friday morning weigh-in: 287 pounds

Weight loss/gain since last weigh-in: +3 pounds
Total net weight loss since beginning my journey: 4 pounds




How do I feel?! bummed that I put some weight back on.

week's cycling report: week of 1-18-10

Unfortunately I don't have any planned exercise to report for this week.

On Wednesday night of last week my husband started having some pretty severe abdominal pain. On Friday we took him to the doctor... and on Monday the pain still hadn't subsided so we took him to the emergency room.

One long day later we were told he was suffering from a case of diverticulitis. From the ER we drove to the pharmacist, to turn in a prescription for one of the strongest antibiotics known to man. While we were waiting we needed to acquire some specific dietary-restrictive foods...

Needless to say, it was a long weekend ... day/night... which led to a migraine the next day. Which led to a tired few days of recuperating... and sadly, no planned exercise.

But it's starting up again on Monday!

week's cycling report: week of 1-11-10

Monday
none - woke up with migraine

Tuesday
Bike: 30 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 7 miles

Wednesday
Bike: 30 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 7.5 miles

Thursday
Bike: 30 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 10 miles
How did I feel? Feeling great!

Friday
Bike: 20 minutes. Cardio setting, level 1
Distance: 6.5 miles
How did I feel? Wow - this cardio setting is so much more intense than the weight loss setting. But I'll get the hang of it!

weekly weigh-in: 1-15-10

January 15, 2010

Friday morning weigh-in: 284 pounds

Weight loss/gain over the last two weeks: -7 pounds
Total weight loss since beginning my journey: 7 pounds




How do I feel?! FANTASTIC!!!



Keep in mind... 7 pounds on me looks a little different than 7 pounds on someone who weighs 100 pounds less than I do. My clothes aren't fitting any differently yet. But the scale doesn't lie!

week's cycling report: week of 1-4-10

Monday
Bike: 20 minutes. Cardio setting, level 2
Distance: 5 miles.
How did I feel? bleh, it kicked my butt. This was harder than I remembered.

Tuesday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 5 miles
How did I feel? A little more manageable today.

Wednesday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 6 miles
How did I feel? Yeah - farther today than yesterday! Which means, moving faster!

Thursday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 6 miles
How did I feel? feeling good

Friday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 6 miles
How did I feel? Proud of myself for working out 5 days in a row and making visable progress each day!

my bikes of choice

At home - I use this bike. It's by Nordic Track.

At the gym - I use this bike. It's by SportsArt Fitness. (And it's dang expensive! Which is why I use a Nordic Track at home.)



Why did I choose to cycle on a recumbent bike?

For many reasons:

1) I have a bad knee = stair stepper isn't a good idea (I've tried - and it hurts a bit too much to ever want to get back on that machine.)

2) Feel pretty strongly that walking with this bad knee (and all of this excesss weight on said bad knee) is probably going to make it worse.

3) The gym I go to has a ton of machines - I'm too fat to fit into most of them and use them correctly.

4) The recumbent bike works my heart rate up, I can sit there for 30-45 minutes on end and not get bored (as long as I have my iPod with me and good upbeat tunes to listen to).

5) The last time I lost weight (or was it the time before?!) the bike worked rather well for me. It just feels right... so bike it is!


When am I going to work out?

My shift at work starts at 6 am. And I am blessed enough to have a gym/locker room at work.

So my alarm goes off at 3:45 am everyday. The teeth get brushed, I don the workout wear (old tshirt and Dansk bootleg cut yoga pants), I read a little news on the laptop, and I make my coffee for the road (don't judge me).

I arrive at my work building/the gym around 4:45 am ... and I'm alone in the gym. (Yes, that's by choice! No one wants to see this blubber pedaling away on a bike and going nowhere - no one! I promise!)

I get my ride in and make it the locker room and to my seat just in time. It's 6 am - time to get the show on the road.

January measurements

I will begin my journey with my weigh-in and measurements.

I wasn't real sure what to measure and what I need to watch - but this should cover it. I measured at the largest point of each body part.


Weight: 291 pounds

Chest - 46.5 inches
Bra - 41 inches (measured just below bra strap, at the lungs)

Upper belly - 48.5 inches (this is the odd shaped bulge just above the belly button)
Waist - 45 inches
Lower belly/hips - 59 inches (lower abdomen - my thickest spot)
Butt - 55 inches

Right thigh - 33 inches
Left thigh - 32.5 inches

Right upper arm - 17 inches
Left upper arm - 17.5 inches


Wow - that's a lot of fat!

closing in on 300 pounds

Confession time


Here it is... the good, the bad and the ugly...
Why hide it? Everyone sees it already...

I am generally a confident person...
But in this confession you'll read some things
I've kept a secret for a long time...

What you're about to read isn't pretty...
It's rather embarrassing...
But it's authentic me...
It's the whole enchilada...
It's me being real with you...
(and more importantly, myself!)


My belly sticks out farther than my 40C cups
Each thigh measures just over 33 inches around!

I wear size 24 pants and 3x tops.
My ankles are bloated and my thighs look like lard.
I never wear skirts because of my fat knees, calves and feet.
I don't wear tank tops in public - my biceps are blubber.

I do not like to kneel down on the ground.
It is too difficult to get back up.
(Plus, I have bad knees - from high school injuries...
but my weight doesn't help it either.)

My body temperature is always hot.
I plan to get places early so I can cool down before I see anyone.

So much of my day is planned around my weight.
I want to change that.
I want to plan my day around living!


I want to go for a hike with my friends.
I want to chase after my nieces and nephews.
I want to sit in a chair without worrying about the semi-permanent marks on my hips/thighs from the arm rests.

I want to stand up straight with pride.
I want to have better blood pressure and cholesterol readings.
I want to be healthier!


I WILL do this!
I WILL become healthier!

I will make better decisions for myself.
I will do the splits again.


Ready or not... here I go!

Goal: to lose over 100 pounds

I am going to do this once and for all.
I am going to post my progress here.

I want to share this with people.
I want to encourage others.

I want to inspire others.
I want to do this under an assumed name.

I am not looking for advice.
I AM looking for encouragement.

I am obiouvsly not a professional by any means.
I do not pretend to already know how to do this - on my own.
But I will LEARN to do this on my own - without any gimics.

I have to live with myself after this journey.
I have to learn how to do it right so I can keep it up on my own.

I know it will be a long road to meet my goal (probably 2 years).
I know it took me a long time to get to this point (15 - 20 years).

I have 100 pounds to lose.
I have to get to work.