Week 4 - I'm starting to miss beer

I went to the gym tonight, hoorah. However, I know I won't be able to attend my normal classes until at least Thursday.

Last week saw me hosting nightly presentations at our high schools until late in the evening, so I was a little preoccupied. But I did weigh myself briefly, and I was down to 180 pounds.

And this is without regular exercise, just better eating and reducing late-night beer. Not that late-night beer was much, but two a night at 9:00 p.m. can't help.

This past weekend, however, I overindulged on food and drink, beginning Thursday night. USC beat up on Ole Miss, and I drank. Friday night was late evening wings and beer. We went to Athens Saturday for SEC tailgating, and I ate and drank. Sunday was Waffle House brunch, riding in a long car ride, and finishing off the weekend beer to avoid late-night weekday drinks.

So weighing myself tonight, I'm down to 179 pounds. That's 6 pounds in 2 weeks, with the first 5 in a week and a half. I'm going to run/walk and go to the gym more this week and then do the stomach and waist measurements next week.

So the lesson today, Sesame Street viewers? Beer is good for the mouth and bad for the gut.

I miss beer.

Week 4- Helloooo? Are you out there?

I feel like Topher, Bagel (occasionally!), and myself are the only ones keeping up regularly with this blog. Just sayin'!

Anyhoo, things are going well here concerning the diet and exercise. I am on a good routine, and I did much better this past weekend about cheating on the diet. I figure it is better to have more frequent, smaller indulgences than depriving myself completely, and going balls out on sweets and drinks all at once. So far I have lost around 7 pounds, and gained quite a bit of muscle. I feel like I am comfortable enough to give a BMI on my next blog.

So, how is everyone doing on their quest to becoming more healthy? I'm hoping we are all doing well and reaching our personal goals. Blog and let us all know!

Week 3 (a little late)...

So, for Week 3, I took it easy on the exercising, as I was still a little sick and did not want to risk compromising my immune system. I went to the gym twice= no good for losing weight. However, I did stick to my eating plan, and did not cheat during the week.

Then, the weekend arrived: a visit to the Japanese buffet is how it all started. My life was temporarily over. Then, I got trashed at a 2 year-old's birthday party (a new low, or high, depending on how you look at it) where massive consumption of birthday cake and shots of Surfers on Acid took place. It was fun, and I got in trouble for allowing the 2 year-old to completely destroy his birthday cake, and thus his cute little outfit, with a butter knife. I was letting him be creative; his Mommy was not amused. I also went to Danny's house, which is full of Cuban pastries and his Mom's mojitos. It was all over then.

This week, I'm back on track. I am back on my regular exercise schedule, and the SBD is back in full force. On a side note, I have another goal on this long and winding road: I'm thinking about joining the military, specifically the Navy, after I'm finished with school. The main reason is because I'm in some serious debt, and with most colleges and universities on a hiring freeze because of our lovely economy, I will probably be fucked in terms of getting a job and generating steady income. The military also offers sweet college loan repayment options. I have already been "let go" from two orchestras for this season because of the economy, and as a musician it's not going to get any better for awhile. It also goes with the "getting healthy" project because I need to lose some weight to meet the Navy's height/weight standards. Thoughts?

A Question

So we're all talking healthy eating and more physical activity...which is great. But let's hit the underlying theme each of us - i believe - has.

we grew up in charleston, and we love the beach. there is a health component to all of this, but i think, deep down, each of us has a very superficial goal: to look good on the beach.

don't shake your heads...don't apply other reasons...it's probably true.

so i'm posing a question with that goal in mind. our healthy living means a gradual body change, but summer is only 10 months away. better living is required now b/c we aren't 16 or 21. beer hurts and it stays in our bodies longer.

but what do we do to speed up the process?

do those weight loss/metabolism increasers/appetite suppresants actually work? do you go to a health food store and get the system cleansers? do you get the energy pills at the gas station?

it seems to me that - as superficial as our society is - that something should work, especially in conjunction with healthy eating and physical activity. marketing may be spin on a product, but you can't actually lie about the product. so some of what we're told has a kernel of truth somewhere in there.

thoughts?

better eating and less drinking - week 3

I think this is the end of the third week.

i ate better this week. healthier meal at lunch, and a lighter dinner. my drinking was way down until i got to columbia for the SIPA Board Meeting (yes, for those of you who did newspaper in high school, I am now on the board and planning the yearly conference). that involved drinking in the evenings and a trip to Viva La Vista, which was 40 downtown restaurants offering samples.

it was amazing and uplifting to be in a vibrant city with a food festival that drew hundreds of people.

my exercise did not go as well as i had planned, and i hope to go more this week. work - again - kept me at the office late most days. what needs to change there is a determination to run for at least 20 minutes when i can't go to the gym. tomorrow night, i plan on going to get new tennis shoes b/c the ones i have now hurt my feet when i run due to their age. (not MY age!)

i didn't post my numbers the last time due to my unhealthy habits, but i think that defeats the purpose. i need - for my purposes - to hold myself accountable, and if i hide the numbers, then there is no incentive for me to do better.

so here we go:

weight - 182 pounds
(i checked with a digital scale, and my scale at home is only a few pounds heavier...so i'll stick with it to keep my baseline comparison accurate.)
waist (at my hip bones) - 38 inches
stomach (at the belly button) - 40 inches

so that's a 3 lb loss and a one inch loss to my stomach.


let me say that one reason i like doing this is because i'm becoming almost as embarrassed by my current pictures as i am when i look at pictures of skinny me from the hazy days of bartending in columbia. there's a tagged picture of me on facebook from this weekend in columbia that makes me look chubby. when i wear a collared shirt, i can scrunch up my head and make my neck disappear.

thank you all for saying yes to belhelmel's endeavor.

Week 2- I'm Sick

This week, I got sick. It's either a cold, or maybe I picked up some H1N1 when I was in Mexico a few weeks ago. I'm leaning towards a cold, but you never know. Anything can happen.

Needless to say, I haven't hit the gym much this week. I went on Tuesday, and it was probably a bad idea. Instead I have been drinking Theraflu and laying on my ass in an attempt to get well. I have been sticking to the SB Diet, and am adding a few extra days to Phase 1 because of my cheating ways. Speaking of cheating, I went to Orlando this past Sunday and Monday to visit Sabrina and her family, and I ate pizza and pasta, a no-no in Phase 1. However, I was a guest in their home, and thought it would be rude to refuse what they offered me. It was delicious. Saturday evening we had some friends over for BBQ, and I got drunk over some wine and Trivial Pursuit. It was a good time. Friday afternoon/evening is Happy Hour at RA Sushi. I did have two $1 Sakes and a beer, but no sushi (I had tuna tataki instead). I suck at following rules.

I feel like I'm at confession when I post here, lol.

Overall, I feel like I'm doing well on the diet. I will be getting back to the gym as soon as I feel better. Until then, I will wallow in my illness, and take it easy.

slight improvement - week 2

i did MUCH better this week than last, but I certainly did not work to the level possible. so this week, i don't post weight, size, etc. because i could've done much better. any gains would be incremental and not really indicative of a true effort.

highlights:

i made it the gym monday and tuesday.
i made lunch my bigger meal and ate lighter at dinner.
i avoided late night beer most of the week.
i got more rest at night.
i drank more cold water throughout the day...and not soda.
i avoided late afternoon unhealthy snacks such as huge bags of chips.
i ate apples for breakfast.

downsides:

thursday night was the opening carolina game, so there was much beer drunk.
i drank during the weekend.
though hitting the gym twice, it was only twice. i didn't go wednesday through monday, though i had the opportunity several times.
my lunches were the big meal, but they could be healthier meals.
though beer was essentially removed, there was still alcohol, which has a sugar factor.


so what do i have to look forward to this week?

a shortened work week and a trip to columbia for a board retreat. which means i have less days to hit the gym and a weekend in a hotel in one of my favorite cities. that means i have to be diligent in my eating right and physical activities because the weekend will involve good eating, some drinks, and little to no physical activity.

no updates on the weight, stomach, or waist measurment. but i'm doing better, and i hope to improve on that this week. my goal? cut out alcohol tuesday through thursday; columbia will provide me an opportunity to enjoy a drink or two.

what are your thoughts?

it seems to me we need to be actively responding to each other's blogs; what's the point of telling each other what we're doing if we don't get any feedback?

my chubby mii!

so i did pretty well the past week, i did work out on the wii monday tuesday and wednesday, but i drank a whole lot this weekend celebrating yrrab's 30th birthday...so i could have done a lot better. however the float this year was a good work out because the wind was kickin! i'll probably start updating the picture of my mii when it starts to lose weight :) have a great week everybody and stay strong!

Week 1- And it begins...

So I have been on the South Beach Diet for about a week, and I am definitely seeing and feeling some results. My clothes are overall fitting better, my skin is clearer, and I sleep much better. This also due to the fact that I have been going to the gym every day since Sunday, which consists of running, the elliptical, stair climber, abs, and free weights. I have another week on Phase 1 of the diet, and then I will slowly add carbohydrates back into my daily diet.

However, I did cheat a little on the diet. I got drunk last weekend, and it was great. Friday night I had some rum and diets and a few beers, all for the purpose of being social. Sunday night, my horn professor took the horn studio out for dinner, so of course I had a glass of wine with dinner. Monday was my last cheat; I had a vanilla mini-scone from Starbucks. My friend surprised me with it, not knowing that I'm on this diet. I did not want to be rude, so I ate it. It was delicious, heavenly, glorious, and basically every thing wonderful concerning scones. I found it interesting that the scone seemed so sweet after a week of not having sugar, and I didn't want anymore after that one teeny scone. We don't need as much of the sweet stuff as we think.

Overall, I'm doing well on this plan. At times it can be difficult; I want ice cream and chocolate so bad! However, I am controlling myself for the sake of my health and physical appearance, and once I get my weight and metabolism under control, then I can afford to splurge once in awhile. I do have a first splurge planned already: Ribfest 2009. I don't plan on splurging until Ribfest, which isn't until the beginning of November. I'll have my eyes on a few deep-fried Oreos, just not the whole dish. Maybe. ;-)