Johnny's Man UP and SLIM down Challenge

[JohnnyConfidence]

Sorry everyone, I've totally failed at posting this week. Still at it. The new diet is going well. On my tuesday weigh in I lost 2lb the first movement I've had in weeks. New scaled weighs me higher then old scale, so according to this I'm at 337. On the workout front I've been active but I've not been strength training. I have excuses and reasons but they always seem hollow when I type them out. When it gets down to it I'm just to tired all the time. I've been doing a lot of research on my barbell and how to lift. Trying to find a place I might be able to learn some more around here, but that would require interacting with people in a real life scenario which I do my best to avoid at all costs SO in summation, still trucking, lost some weight, didn't strength train like I should, still going strong.

[Seabright]

Hey hey hey! Glad to see you're still here, Mr. Confidence!

Great news on the diet front. Glad it is going well and I hope that it is all starting to feel like a habit, too. You know, one of those good habits, not one of those hey-it's-3pm-I-really-need-to-go-to-the-vending-machine habits. ;-)

[JohnnyConfidence]

Dropped another 2lb this week. Movin!

[Denny]

Many a little makes a mickle! You're making great progress.

[Seabright]

Dropped another 2lb this week. Movin!

Yea! Movin' in a good direction. Walk the straight and narrow, Rebel, and stay strong and true.

[JohnnyConfidence]

Continued strict diet, gained 2lb. At this point I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't seem to get below 330. I've already screamed to the world about how this sucks, but I guess that's not a very "man up" way to handle things. Going to set an appointment with a doctor, get a physical, and follow up with them on what they think. I haven't been able to work out lately but from everything I've read that should be 20% of the weight loss. I've been focusing on eating right, sleeping, and keeping my sanity. For the most part that's all worked, except it's not for weight loss. I feel utterly defeated at this point.

Last weekend I changed up life a bit. I tore down my office to make a baby room so we could move our youngest out of our room. That has helped immensely with sleep. I lost some personal space, but gained a little more rest. I 'm hoping that translates into enough energy to start working out again. October weekends are totally shot, but I'm hoping soon to get the garage cleaned up so I can have an inside place to work out. Right now it's all packed with "stuff" from when we downsized houses. Wish my wife would let me get rid of some of this crap. Oh well, some organization should do the trick.

[Seabright]

Hey, little darlin'. Seems like this is the challenge for fighting the blues, this time around. I can see how discouraged you are. Plateaus (and especially reversed plateaus) suck.

I know you know this, but if you don't already keep a food journal, that can really be helpful. I know when I first started doing that, it really made me aware of what I was actually eating throughout the day. (I used the Daily Burn, because it was, well, free.) I entered my stats and got sort of a general target. Very eye-opening. (And, humbling, oh my.)

I'm glad you and the fam have been able to work together to figure out a way to get you more SLEEP. Sounds like you are beyond fatigued, and we all know that many fears and frustrations are born from fatigue and loneliness. You've got troubles all around your door, but I know you can keep them at bay.

You know how I know? Because you are AWESOME, that's how. :-)

['Roos]

Dude, don't be hard on yourself. Sleep and stress are huge factors in weight loss. It's also probably good that you're manning up and going to see the doctor, since they may have some suggestions for you. I've been fighting the not-losing-weight monster lately too, and I've been focusing on keeping my diet towards teh good side of ok, and just treading water (not re-gaining) until I can get through next week. On the 'break' week between challenges I'm going to work on getting my house (figuratively and actually) in order so I can start strong for the next six weeks. Hang in there, don't be mad at yourself if you're not making progress - you'll get there.

[JohnnyConfidence]

First off thanks everyone for being so supporting. It really means a lot and I know I can always stop by and get a great pick me up. Without the support of all of you I think this change would have failed like all the rest and I really can't say thanks enough.

So I have embarrassing but good news. I think my scale is broken, or at least has a glitch. On Tuesday I weighed in at 337lb which was what brought all this funk on. Today I got up and decided to do it again, and I weighed in at 330. There isn't any way I lost 7lb in two days legitimately. Just to confirm I got on my old scale that I was using before and it's at 329. Both those measurements are more in line with the loss trend I was seeing and I'm much more encouraged. The new scale has added weight before but this time it did it in a new way and I didn't catch it. So I feel dumb for not paying attention, but happy that I'm still making progress. I'm so close to breaking into the 320's and if this pace continues I'll be there by the end of the challenge. That right there is ground breaking for me. I can't wait.

For those wondering I do weigh myself with the same routine. Get up, before breakfast, no clothes, scale time. Same day, same time each week. I know for better accuracy consistency is key. That's why I think my scale is broken.

[Seabright]

Ah HAH! I'll say it again - ah HAH! This is why scales are e-ville. Right here. Join with me, all ye Rebels, and shout it out to the heavens.

Okay, so back on track! And...still heading in a good direction, too, as well, also. Bueno.

[JohnnyConfidence]

This challenge is done. Dropped another 2lb this week and I'm officially in the 32*lb range at 328. That feels really good. Finally broke through that 330 barrier. My goals went into flux and if I'm to grade myself a few of them I didn't meet at all. This challenge I let my exercising go. I ended up focusing more on diet, and staying sane. In the coming weeks I want to get into using my barbell so I'm working on exploring that technique. I also want to clean out my garage so I can setup a mini gym in there and get hustlin. Thank you all for your support, it really did keep me going in the dark days. I'm sorry I didn't post more often, my schedule went insane and I had to figure out how to keep things balanced. Stay strong rebels. Movin!

[Seabright]

This challenge I let my exercising go. I ended up focusing more on diet, and staying sane.

Relieved to hear that you have made no more additional progress toward that pull-up. :-)

Diet, sanity and balance are excellent goals. Aaaaaand, really looking forward to seeing that mini-gym once it is in place. Will you get to use a blow-torch?

See you next challenge, Mr. Confidence!