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Archive for the ‘10×10 in 2010’ Category

Today marks the 10% mark for the project – from a duration perspective, it’s 10% of the way done. At 23 of 100 pounds lost, though, I’m 23% of the way to completion. So, I’m ahead of schedule!

“Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in. It’s a state of mind – you could call it character in action.”

– Vince Lombardi

A suitable quote for Superbowl Sunday, and one that highlights some of the key learnings on the project this week.  The ability to deny self (ie, deal with hunger) is critical to any project of self-improvement, and to a well-balanced life.

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Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. We did not weave the web of life; We are merely a strand in it. What we do with the web, we do to ourselves…
– Chief Seattle

Chief Seattle’s quote might sound like an environmental statement, but that’s not my point.  There’s a corollary:  What we do to ourselves, we do to the web – to those around us.  For anyone who has children this is intuitively obvious – especially after they repeat in public something we said in private, when they were at the other end of the house.  Kids hear everything, they see everything. This is true in a wider sense, though.  The choices we make have similar effects on those around us.

Applied to the 10×10 in 2010 project, I’m trying to be mindful that my decisions impact others.  If I die of a heart attack in the back yard, as my grandfather did when I was younger, I rob my family in a very real sense.  We are all examples, whether good or bad.  Changing my life with this big, hairy audacious goal helps me (I lose weight, get healthy), and hopefully those around me as well.

Day 28, 19 lbs total

The End of the First 4-Week Cycle

The 8 Minutes in the Morning program runs in 4-week cycles.  Jorge Cruise, the author, says to repeat the cycle if you have more weight to lose (I do).  In fact, since this is a year-long project, the cycle will repeat a total of 13 times.

Next week (tomorrow) begins the second cycle, where all of the exercises repeat.  The original 8 Minutes book is designed as a workbook, designed for you to write in each day’s progress and motivational notes, etc.  It’s already well-covered in graffitti from earlier cycles a few years ago, so I created my own packet in Microsoft Word with the exercises and journal entry slots.  Having it in an editable format is useful. I added a morning prayer to the front cover and am slowly changing the daily quotes to other, more personally-meaningful sayings.

Learnings This Week

Here are this weeks’ observations and learnings.  As always, if I did something stupid, it’s not a license for you to follow in my footsteps – let common sense apply.

• It is much easier to exercise in the early morning when the rest of the family is asleep. It’s hard to hear the body’s responses when the kids are swirling around like a desert tornado.
• Even the best recipes get boring if you eat them all the time.  Next time I make black bean burgers, it won’t be a quintuple batch…
• Weighing in on Thursday mornings after breakfast is a GREAT way to inspire the amount of panic necessary to hit 2 lbs by Sunday.
• Sharing your weight loss plans with a wide circle is a great way to get little motivational booster shots at random times.  Thanks to Terry, Dave, Brian and Vince this week for asking how it’s going, it helps keep me on track.
• Finding a smaller piece of clothing you can wear, something that used to fit, then didn’t, and now does again.  Pure Joy!

Have any learnings or comments?  Click the comments link below and let me know what you think! Words of wisdom, encouragement and correction always welcome. (All comments moderated to keep out the riffraff.)

Week 4 Results

• Starting Weight: 328 lbs.
• Last Week: 312 lbs.
• This Week: 309 lbs.
• Weight Lost: 3 lbs. (19 pounds overall)

Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.
–Henry Ford

January’s over half-over, and the project has been under way for a full three weeks now.  Carrying the eating cards is becoming more comfortable, and it’s an opportunity to start a conversation with those curious about the project. Mary at work helped the project along by denying me access to the magical Dove Chocolate dish on the counter.  The card system does provide for a small amount of treats and cravings so it’s not total privation.

The black bean burger recipe got a big workout early in the week – we mixed up a quintuple (5x) batch on Tuesday night; it yielded 27 burgers.  Bagged and frozen, the burgers have served all week as the lunch centerpiece.  They’re not quite as tasty reheated, but the cafeteria at work has Frank’s RedHot.  Poor drowned burgers.

Learnings This Week

Some random educational thoughts for week 3 of the project.  These are personal, anecdotal observations.  If I do something stupid and you follow my example, remember Mom asking “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you follow?”  Let common sense apply.

• Stretching in the morning after workouts is a great time to listen to your body.  If a stretch hurts, you’re probably pushing it too hard, back off a little.
• It’s better to have a lousy workout than no workout.  Even if you’re not feeling particularly well, do the exercise.  That way when you’re not feeling well later, you can look back at *this* success and remind yourself it can be done.
• The mirror is a poor gauge of weight loss, especially early on when you’re still the size of a beached whale.  A better gauge is the fit of your clothes (my poor wife needs a whole new wardrobe after running for a few months).
• This is going to sound strange, but hunger is your friend. Now, I’m not talking about ravenous starvation.  Walking around feeling stuffed (or even just full) probably means you ate too much.  Having a mild hungry feeling is your body’s way of saying, “Hey, I’m eating into some fat reserves here, just want you know.”

Have any learnings or comments?  Click the comments link below and let me know what you think! Words of wisdom, encouragement and correction always welcome. (All comments moderated to keep out the riffraff.)

Week 3 Results

• Starting Weight: 328 lbs.
• Last Week: 317 lbs.
• This Week: 312 lbs.
• Weight Lost: 5 lbs (16 lbs overall)

Image Source: Flickr

Today is scale day! The last few days have been a bit tense; on Thursday morning the infernal device displayed something north of 319, a clear indication that the week was going to be much less dramatic than my first check-in. So for the past two, no, three days, I’ve been extra-rigorous about monitoring portion sizes.  Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t stop eating!  No, instead it was a focus on being more conservative in measuring out calorie intake.  It’s astonishing how quickly a half-cup in your mind actually measures out at a cup or more.  For calorie-dense foods, that kind of doubling-up is disastrous!

Last night we had the black bean burgers; I ate two of them, and stopped there.  They were tasty enough that I could have powered through another two without slowing down, but the scale, and New Years’ Eve, loomed on the horizon.

Learnings This Week

Here are a few of the items I’ve learned (or remembered) on week two of this year-long journey.  This isn’t anything formal, it’s what has emerged in the past week or so from recent experience. (And it seems to be confirming those things Mom said when we were young.)

• Drinking more water really does make a difference. Slamming 8 oz. when you stagger out of bed in the morning helps, too.  It’s like a shot of caffeine, really.  The body heats up, a flush creeps up your neck and face, and the world comes into clearer focus.
• I’m drinking less coffee – getting enough sleep (6.5-7 hours a night), excercising in the morning, and drinking more water are contributing to blunt the thirst.
• Eating just before bed is a recipe for a lousy nights’ sleep.
• Reading motivational books (like Born to Run) is, well, motivational.
• Having a spouse that is turning into a serious runner helps, too. (3-4 miles a morning, in freezing temps, 3-4 times a week – she rocks!)

The Results

Starting Weight: 328 pounds.

Last Week: 320 pounds.

This Week: 317 pounds.

Total Weight Loss: 11 pounds.

Weight Lost This Week: 3 pounds.

With a goal of 2 pounds per week, the past two weeks have been an outstanding start!