Day 298-Weigh-in Day: 309.8lbs

WEEK 41

Start Weight: 365.4

Last Week's Weight: 309.6

Current Weight: 309.8

This Week’s Weight Loss: +.2lbs

Total Weight Loss: 55.6lbs

Miles Biked this Week: 11.6

Total Miles Biked: 2041.4

Miles to Go: 5458.6

GEOGRAPHY (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house in Salt Lake City, Utah, heading for Tokyo):

Pacific Ocean (1330 miles off the west coast. I am heading for the Hawaiian Islands)

The Weeks Workout

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: GYM

Thursday: GYM +11.6 miles

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Rest

TODAY:

Well, as you can see I didn’t really do too well at the gym this week. I would call this week a failure as far as getting to the gym, but I did stay about 80% on track with good eating. There was however a real bad 20%. (See eating below)

I kind of feel a need to let my hair down just a little and enjoy the holidays, but not too much. It’s kind of a tug-o-war with things right now. I am winning, but it has its psychological side effects. My wife tells me that I’m either black or white! It’s true. I have to be either doing it perfectly, or not at all. That doesn’t work to well for me though. Because even being 80% on track is a very good thing. It’s just if I’m not doing things perfectly, I feel guilty. The bottom line is that I gained 3 ounces which is no big deal, and I think I need to pat myself on the back for basically maintaining!

Now, realistically, I’m not going to hit my goal of getting down to 299lbs by the end of the year unless a miracle happens. I think I have already given myself a free pass for eating what I want on Christmas Day. I think that’s okay. But the feeling that I’m having right now, that is making me a little nervous, is that I want to take this coming week off from my training! The little devil on my shoulder is telling me, “It’s okay! Focus on Christmas and time off from work!” But there is something else in me that is saying, “Take Christmas day off, but challenge yourself to continue to eat healthy, and see if you can get to the gym everyday despite everything else! You can enjoy yourself even while spending 90 minutes at the gym. You’ll be happier when all is said and done!”

I guess when you’re creating a lifestyle change, you really have to do the things that you haven’t usually done.

LEARNED:

What this really all comes down to is What Am I Doing?

Am I:

-Training to lose weight and ride to Fuji?

-Or, maintaining my weight?

The attitude for “maintaining” is a good attitude to have, but it’s not the attitude I need to succeed in this challenge. I’ve got to be In Training.

Something else I learned this week was:

At work we have a popcorn machine. For the past few months or so everyone has been popping popcorn and eating. I have had a bag or a handful here and there telling myself that it isn’t going to hurt. MyNetDiary tells me that popcorn isn’t that bad. One of the guys at work even said that the popper uses coconut oil so it’s healthy! So, I looked on the back of the label. It is high in calories! I think all the “little” handfuls here and there have added up! So, I’ve found another little area I can improve upon. I think sticking to good ole 100-calorie per bag microwave popcorn is going to be my best bet.

EATING:

I ate more beef this week than I have in the past 6 months! I was just craving a good juicy burger and ate a couple. Also, I finally got seduced by holiday treats surrounding me everywhere, however, I didn’t go too crazy. Last Monday though I just got so tremendously hungry that I started eating chocolate, Chex mix, a cookie, a home-made sweet roll with cream cheese…all the things that had been dropped off by well-wishers! So I let loose a bit, but then reeled things in for the rest of the week. I organized my eating into portion containers to take to work so that I would get a 400-calorie meal every 3 hours.

FILM:

Nothing here.

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I hope that this coming week will be a wonderful Christmas for you and your family. Despite everything I said above, take a little time to enjoy yourself and count your blessings. It really is a time to celebrate the greatest thing to ever happen…the birth of Jesus Christ.

Merry Pedals!

Don

Something similar-looking stared at me this week, so I hid it...in my mouth!