Saturday, July 7, 2012

Day 130-Weigh-in Day: 326.4lbs


WEEK 18
Start Weight: 365.4
Last Week's Weight: 324.6
Current Weight: 326.4
This Week’s Weight Loss: +1.8lbs
Total Weight Loss: 39lbs
Miles Biked this Week: 84.5
Total Miles Biked: 1019.65
Miles to Go: 6480.35

GEOGRAPHY: (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house in Salt Lake City, Utah, heading for Tokyo):
Pacific Ocean (315 miles off the West coast. I am heading for the Hawaiian Islands. It's really blue out here...is that a shark I see up there?)

TODAY:
A few days ago I met with my doc and had some blood work done to look at my progress over the past 4 months. On Day 1 of my challenge I had my blood tested…along with my blood pressure, etc. Here is where I was:

February 29, 2012
Weight: 365.4
Blood Pressure: 140/80
Cholesterol Total: 225

Here is where I am:

July 5, 2012
Weight: 325lbs
Blood Pressure: 132/74
Cholesterol Total: 181 (normal range)

My doc says that my blood sugar is still a bit high and I should just stay the course of exercise.

I like to think staying away from Cows Milk and Eggs is partially attributable to the change in Cholesterol.

I remember visiting my doc last year and seeing a disappointing look on her face when I weighed in. I've been as high as 371lbs on her scale! I had come into see her because my legs had been swelling. I asked her why they were. She said it was because I was so heavy. Last Thursday when I visited her, she kept giving me a smile that made me feel she was proud of me.

LEARNED:
There are 3 things that are on my mind right now, and I think I will share them with you. You never know, you might have some ideas you could share with me.

1.    On the new 210Again.com website that will be going up, I am going to feature people that want to achieve their health goals through biking. They will basically report to all of us each week on their weigh-in, eating, and bike mileage. There will be awards, and all sorts of fun things that we will do. So far, I have 2 people that want to join up. That’s a good thing! But this brings me to the next thing that has been on my mind…

2.    I need to get word out on my blog. I have almost 30 followers, which is awesome. Thank you for following, and being a subscriber. (You have officially subscribed to the blog haven’t you? ;) ) But I am pondering how I can find more people to join. It is primarily a blog on my personal progress of riding my bike, losing weight, and biking to Mount Fuji. But I want it to be more than just that. What can I do to make this blog more interesting for you? And what can I do to find and attract more subscribers? Do I need to give some prizes away? Do you guys like recipes? Do you want more videos? What would make this a place that you’d want to come to at least a 2-3 times a week? I am working on some ideas, but I am also open to yours too! The more subscribers I can find, the more interaction and involvement there can be. I would like to find 10 people to be featured initially.

3.    A year from this August, literally 13 months from now, I am going to fly to Tokyo, Japan. I need to take myself and a small crew to film the last leg of my challenge. I think a big part of my weight loss challenge is not losing the weight, but finding a sponsor to get me to Japan…and to do a few other things for this project. So, I have been writing letters to some potential sponsors, but have not had a lot of luck right now. I haven’t approached too many, but I’m ready to really put it out there. If you know of a sponsor, or someone that is interested in a joint venture, direct them to me. Again, part of this adventure is not just the weight loss goal I have set, but it’s just as much about getting to Fuji to document the final part of the adventure. So…I am just putting it out there.


By the way, today I exceeded the first "1000-miles" mark! Only 6500 miles more to go. But, if I can consistently get 100 miles in a week, I can get to the next 1000 miles in 2.5 months instead of 4. So, we’re on our way.

BTW, this morning our “Bike Riding Group” rode 17.35 miles. We meet at 6am and each one of us takes turns leading the group on a different route each week.

EATING:
This week was a “maintain” week. We had the Independence Day activities, etc., it’s been busy at work, and we’re still working on our house and yard here at home. I ate pretty good this week, but probably exceeded my calorie goals a few times. So, my attitude about this week was to get my miles in on the bike, and what ever comes, comes. I put on almost 2 pounds, but the trend is that I gain a little, then lose a lot. That's the way my body is working. The trend is consistently downward though.



FILM:
I shot a few rough iPhone videos describing going to the doc for lab tests, etc.

8 comments:

  1. Nice looking stats, sir. I know I was similarly excited to find out that my sugar/cholesterol/bp was good. It reminds you that not all progress is visible, but still progress.

    I should go back and read through again, but do you ever mention what bike you ride? I want to go bike shopping but have no idea where to start.

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  2. I've got a hand-me-down mountain bike from my uncle. It has an over-sized frame and is kind of a no-name brand from what I understand. It's an older Everest Quest. I understand that's an exclusive brand for Dick's Sporting Store...what and where ever that is.

    I'm going to ride this bike until I get to about 275lbs, and then switch to a road bike. I'd like to get a Specialized Bicycle, but am not too up on what is a good model, etc.

    So have you hit your weight goals, or working on hitting them with biking?

    Thanks for following the blog.

    Don

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  3. You're very welcome. :)

    I've not hit my weight goals. I'm around 320 right now. I had a bad back injury my senior year in high school that left me fairly immobile, and that on top of other things just made it seem impossible to get back down. I would like to be somewhere around 175, which I know seems impossible right now. I was running for a while, and having problems doing that, so I've been doing a lot of stationary biking until I get paid this week and can buy a bike to take around town.

    Dick's is big up here in NY. We have them all over the place. So I know what it is. :)

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  4. Sorry for the added comment. Also, if you're looking for a contributor and I am doing okay with this biking thing, I'll be happy to jump in. :)

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  5. You will do great with biking. It's a little tough for the first week or two because you'll be moving muscles you haven't moved in a while...also, the seat will give you a sore but for a but...but hang in there, it's a small and minor price to pay for big results. I'd love to have you jump in our challenge. Stay tuned for details.

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  6. Hi there! I think you have a really good thing going on here and that everyone that is interested in weigh loss would find your blog extremely interesting. Your approach to a healthier life is accessible, pretty much anyone can do it and your way of writing is rather exciting. In my case, I wanted to attract some people to my blog and while I didn't get many subscribers, I can see through my stats provided by blogger that people from all over the world is watching my blog every time I post. Basically what I did was to pass by different blogs related to eating, diets, weigh loss and exercising and just saying hi. You'd be surprise of how much people like that and answer positively.

    Regarding sponsoring unfortunately I don't know anyone that could make your trip more accessible. Nevertheless you should always have in mind talking to television programs, I'm sure some of them will find your story very interesting.

    Have a good week and keep biking!

    EMILIO!

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  7. Hey Don- Congrats on setting an amazing goal for yourself. I found your blog searching google on weight loss blogs. I have a blog and only have about 4 followers however I read a ton of blogs. The best way I have seen to get people to follow your blog is that when you have a giveaway tell them they have to be a subscriber of your blog to enter and in order to win. Have your reader leave a comment telling you that they have subscribed. It is the best way and word of mouth from other blogs is huge. People to suggest head over to Don's blog and subscribe to enter his giveaway. I love the idea of biking and hope to get myself a bike here soon... :) keep up the awesome work.. Hard work dedication! I have a long way to go but I take it one day at a time.. Good luck to you!

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