It's not my fun day.

I actually like Mondays. It's the day I get back to the gym after two days off. I get to check my progress on the scale. I get back to the challenges and opportunities of work. I, well, you know the drill.

I stepped on the scale today and discovered I had lost a little over half a pound since Friday. That is definitely not a bad thing considering that our garden is really starting to put out now and I went a nuts with the figs and salsa over the weekend.

Since I started down this road, I've come to appreciate a number of different foods and flavors. Peanut butter has become one of my favorites treats now- whereas before, I really couldn't stand it- not even in a Reese's cup. Celery too has become a favorite, and the two together? Forget about it! Brocolli? Superfood! Plain yogurt? Awesome! The list goes on.

I believe what has truly helped are the associations I've come to make with certains foods. I think about all the misery being fat has caused me over the years and how it truly has made me feel. Then I mentally and emotionally make the connection between overeating- and especially overeating things like sweets, pizza, fast food, and the like- really acknowledge the pain.

No more will I pig out on pizza or fast food; never again will I ask for that second enormous hunk of cake or bowl of ice cream, never a second pile of spaghetti or lasagne, and never, ever, will I agree to a super-sized anything. It's just too painful.

On the other side of the coin are the rewards of a healthy lifestyle; the pointer on the scale moving counter-clockwize, fitting into a pair of pants I haven't worn in years, climbing a set of stairs without feeling winded, seeing the difference in the mirror, and just feeling BETTER. The road to health is fantastic.

The Pacific Northwest is incredible. I live in a place where it's about 3 hours from surf to snow by car. We've got the rugged Oregon coast and Mt Hood on either side of us. The thing is, we rarely go out to enjoy them.

That is changing.

People who comment on my weight loss usually ask if I've noticed an increase in energy. I invariably reply with an excited, "I guess so."

The truth is, I really don't know that I could characterize what I feel as an "increase in energy". I just feel BETTER. Do I have increased energy? I don't know. Do I have an increased desire to be more active? Absolutely. Some might say that it's just a question of semantics and I suppose that's possible. It's just that I look at what I'm doing as a transformation that cannot be quantified in terms of "more energy" or even inches. I mean, the only reason I post my weight loss is for other people. I don't know that I care. I'm working to change me.

This weekend we are going up the mountain. We'll do some hiking and fishing and mainly just enjoy the outdoors- something I seem to have more energy to do. ; )

I've come to expect NO MORE THAN a one-pound drop when I weigh in on gym days. Today I was down TWO pounds and that much closer to my goal.

I really do not expect the rate of loss to continue due to my "magic equation" coming closer to equilibrium with each pound lost. I'll take this loss as a positive thing.

Today one of my sons went with us to the gym. He's just starting out with weights so I want to make sure to doesn't over-do it. He seemed to enjoy it and it's always good to spend time together. The only negative is that it effectively cuts my workout in half considering time spent in playing instructor- which is perfectly OK and certainly temporary. Once he gets used to a routine, I'll be back to a more consistent and strenuous workout. I'm just glad he wants to spend time with me.

We also shared a breakfast of protein smoothies- which he liked. We use the Magic Bullet, so each of us gets a smoothie that specially formulated and mixed directly in the mug we're going to drink it from- making it uber-convenient. It's one piece of "As Seen on TV" merchandise that I would recommend to anyone.

Losing weight, at least for me, has been like time travel. Being a packrat of sorts have allowed me to wax nostalgic on many occasions. Looking at this hunk of brick-a-brack or listening to that slab of vinyl can really take you back.

My closet is full to overflowing with clothes I just never parted with. It becomes a little overwhelming no and again- especially when you realize just how long ago some of the stuff was purchased. I mean, once you have several pairs of shoes several years older than your kids, you realize just how old you are.

What's so cool now is that I'm actually beginning to fit into some of my old clothes. I can now, after 9 weeks, I can comfortably wear clothes I coulding cram myself into 4 years ago. You might say that I'm not waxing nostalgic, I'm waning it (this probably makes no literary sense at all. What I'm trying to say is that I'm shrinking into the past).

This morning was a gym day. I really look forward to this more than anything else. It feels good to move the weights. It feels GREAT to know that what I'm doing is EFFECTIVE.

I had a protein smoothy after the gym this morning. These are things I've really come to enjoy. As a matter of fact, I've decided on some new favorites foods; broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, protein powder, and almonds. Not together in a smoothie, I just never thought these would replace things like pizza and lasagne.

Tomorrow is a walking day.

I have a few friends that recently joined weight-loss programs.  Among these friends, Weight Watchers, South Beach Diet, LA Weight Loss, and Fit for Life/Medifast were all represented.  Miracles occurred- well perhaps not miracles, but all my friends lost weight.  Some lost HUGE amounts of weight over relatively-short periods of time.

Weight-loss programs WORK.  I believe that.

One of the programs some friends are involved in is one of those "business opportunity" situations.  I believe the idea is that once you join the program, you'll want to sell the program, and the prepackaged meals, supplements, etc that go along with it.  And surely, everyone you sign up will want to sell the program too- thus making you thin and wealthy forever and ever.

Nothing wrong with that, I guess, if that's what you're into.  I'm not into that; the whole MLM-thing.  I also have very little interest in prepackaged foods.  That arrangement looked like a lot of additional expense added to an already bloated food budget (I have two teenaged sons).  I am, however, very interested in losing a lot of weight and because, in my mind, it wasn't all the additional food products I ate that was going to thin me down, but rather the PREVENTION of additional food from entering my body.

Run-on sentence aside, I was sure that all I needed to do was eat less and exercise more.  I also needed to do some research into what made my friends' programs work and how I could duplicate their success without joining any program or buying special food.

Luckily, there is a boat-load of info on the internet regarding these programs and the multitude variations that exist out there.  Amazingly, they are all very similar.

After I began to formulate a plan of my own, I decided to get some testing done and talk to my doctor about what I intended to do and how I thought I was going to go about it.  This resulted in a little refinement and off I went; determined to make my plan a success, myself thinner, and avoid the whole pre-packaged MLM thing.  And here I am; 51 pounds lighter and still determined.

What's for dinner?  That is what I sat down to write about.  I mean, what can you eat that is going to provide all your nutritional requirements with a reduced caloric impact and still satisfy your hunger?

The answer took about three weeks to work out.  I knew I had to get adequate carbs, protein, fiber, and fats- anyone who has seen the food pyramid knows that.  The key is to make the combination of those components jive with your plan.  For that you need tools- or, my case, one tool that was effective in planning the food part of my plan- and it had to be free.

I found it.  More on that and specific foods next time.

Also, today was a gym day.  I did my standard workout for a little longer than usual because my gym partner felt like she needed to catch up on her aerobics.  To fight the boredom of waiting, I added a couple more sets at the bench press.  It actually felt good. 

Some say that you shouldn't weigh yourself every day.  I've been told that doing so will lead to discouragement and the ultimate failure of my diet.  Truth is, for me anyway, I look forward to each weigh-in.  I believe that the scale is merely a gauge of the effectiveness of what I'm doing.  Do I expect to see a change every day?  No, not really.  But I don't want to wait a week to see if the last-week's efforts were effective, either.  I want to know- now.

The changes I've made really haven't been all that difficult and the results have been pretty good so far.  Weight-wise, I feel like I've gone three years back in time; for the last week, I've been wearing the clothes I outgrew in 2004.  I really like that- despite the outdated fashion. Though, honestly, I don't care about fashion just now- perhaps when I reach my goal-weight.

Speaking of goals, I set mine pretty far out (about a year).  I launched this quest on May 21st, 2007 and plan to reach my goal-weight by June 6th, 2008.  I expect both sides of the "=" sign of my equation to shrink over time, so have little expectation that my current rate of weight lost will continue.  If (WHEN) all goes as planned/expected, maintenance once my goal has been reached should (WILL) be a natural part of my lifestyle.

After the gym tomorrow, I think I'll write about food.

I'm beginning this blog a little later than I could have. I mean, I'm eight (8) weeks into my "program" and have made some progress thus far. To take a "before" picture now might discount that progress- something I'm personally proud of and would rather flaunt and build upon than forget.

So here I am, eight weeks, two days, and 49 pounds lighter than the more robust guy I was.

Since May 21st, I've been changing my life- a little at a time and at the ripe old age of 46, the changes will continue until my birthday in June 2008- my goal date.

The list of changes I am in the course of making is short nut inclusive, and do-able. At the top of my list is losing weight and keeping it off. I'm going about it in a way that makes sense to me and is, according to my doctor, healthy. It's simple and it works. The weight is coming off and I'm feeling pretty good. My clothes are fitting better, even the ones I haven't worn in over three years.

It's a simple math equation- balancing calories consumed versus calories burned while taking into account desired weight loss. It looks kind of like this:

CE + (DPLD x 2500) = BMR + LCC + ACC

CE = Calories Eaten
DPLD = Desired Pounds Lost per Day
2500 = Calories per Pound of Fat
BMR = Basal Metabolic Rate
LCC = Lifestyle Calorie Consumption
ACC = Activity Calorie Consumption

I've also spread my calorie intake over five small meals during the day, making sure that calories taper off towards the end of the day.

I've also adapted my exercise into a workable and repeatable format. Everything took about three weeks to work out into an easy to follow set of habits that I do naturally each day. I always know what I'm going to eat and get plenty of variety to keep it interesting.

I'm journaling this from now on track my progress and help others understand what I'm doing.

I've been going to the gym three days a week and walking two days a week.  My workouts at the gym are intense but short- so, for thirty to forty-five minutes, I work as much weight as I can through at least five different stations.

Today, for example, my workout consisted of:

Triceps extension - 100 lbs

Rowing - 160 lbs

Dumbbell curl - 50 lbs

Butterfly press - 160 lbs

Bench press - 160 lbs

Leg extension - 130 lbs

Shoulder press - 130 lbs

Calf extension - 150 lbs

I do several sets- each consisting of ten reps.  I keep switching through the different stations until thirty minutes has elapsed, then walk home.  The workout varies a little from time to time.

I'll walk tomorrow.