No. Calories Needed

For the first time since I started The 929 Project, my weight loss has stalled.  For almost a month, the scales has bounced around, up or down, two or three pounds.  Yesterday, I weighed .5 pounds more than I did last Monday.  This morning, I weigh .2 pounds less.  I have hovered between 223 and 226 for the better part of a month.

Frankly, I have been expecting this stall.  After all, I’ve managed to shed more than 11% of my total body weight, and this has to be a “big deal” to my body.  I figure that it’s just adjusting to the new weight, and once it figures out that it’s not going to starve to death, more weight will fall off.

I have tried a few tricks to break the stall – upping my calories, lowering my calories, adding a few more carbs, eating a few less carbs – and none of them have really worked.  So, as of today, it’s right back on plan and right back to the gym.

I can tell, even though the scale isn’t moving, that my body is changing.  I’m stronger, leaner, and healthier than I have been in years.  So, I will not get discouraged.  I’ll keep moving forward, and when the needle finally decides to move, this first stall will simply be another milestone in my journey.

I’m finally home after a week away with family.  We had a wonderful Christmas, and I didn’t cheat, unless you count a couple of bread-n-butter pickles!

I was traveling yesterday, so I missed my regularly scheduled weigh in.  I did step on the scale when we got home, and I’m pretty sure that I’m past the 25 pounds mark, but I’ll know, officially, next Monday.

It’s been nearly two weeks since I was able to go to the gym.  I’ll be going tonight, and I can’t wait.  I had planned to go yesterday, but we didn’t get home soon enough!  I have some new shoes, and I can’t wait to see how they feel when I hit the treadmill.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas.  I’m chilling out with my wife and the kids, and I’m watching them play their new Nintendo Wii.  (Seriously, the Wii is addictive.  It is, however, a little disheartening to lose to my four year old son in a boxing match!)

As far as diet news goes, I’ve done very, very well.  I haven’t cheated, even once, and I feel great.  Honestly, I haven’t missed the cakes and cookies.  In fact, it feels good not to have to deal with the sugar highs and sugar lows.

As far as exercise news, I’ve been away from the gym since last weeks kidney stone incident.  I’ll be back on schedule when we get back home, but for the next few days, I’ll do some walking around my in-laws’ neighborhood and play some soccer with my kids.

I brought my scale with me, so I can do my official weigh in on Monday.  With all of the stress associated with Christmas, and traveling, I’m proud that I’ve managed to “stay strong”.  It feels good to feel (and to be) in control.

I’ve had a very strange week.  Monday through Wednesday, I dealt with a very painful kidney stone.  Thankfully, the stone is gone none, and I have a new appreciation for what it feels like to move without pain.

Friday, I weighed in, and even though I hadn’t been to the gym in several days, I still managed to lose weight!  Even when sick, I stayed with my eating plan.  In fact, I haven’t cheated even once since September 29.  Seriously, that’s 83 days without ONE bad eating decision.  Pretty rad.  (This includes the four Christmas parties that I have been to this month, and Thanksgiving!)

Tonight, we had a Christmas party for our kids at church.  Several folks complimented me on my weight loss, and one person even said, “I barely recognized you.”.  If I’m getting these positive reactions after 23.4 pounds, imagine what will happen when I reach my goal weight!  Awesome.

Speaking of my goal.  I want to lose a total of 90 pounds, but when I mentioned that to a few friends, they all stated that I shouldn’t try to lose that much.  According to the height/weight ratio charts that I find on the web, at 5 feet 8 inches, my goal weight should be between 135 and 165 pounds.  Right now, I’m at 228.8.  (That’s the smallest I’ve been in five or six years.  Pretty cool.)  As of now, I’m going to keep 90 pounds as my goal, but I might fine tune that goal, as I get healthier and healthier.

Oh, I’ve now lost five or six inches in my waist.  I had to drill an extra hole in my belt this morning.  This is the second extra hole that I’ve had to create since I started The 929 Project.  It feels great to lose pounds.  It feels super great to lose inches!

Tomorrow, after my official Monday weigh in, I’m going to head to the gym.  I’ve really missed running and lifting weight.  It will be interesting to see if I’ve regressed, or if the extra rest actually increased my strength.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have a kidney stone.  I’m taking a pretty strong pain killer and drinking lots of water.  My Dad came up Monday, to help me hang some sheet-rock in a playhouse I’m building for my kids.  I managed to help him, a bit, but I was in pain the whole time.  I hope to be well soon, but I’m going to take it easy for the next few days.

Interestingly, my aggressive workout schedule may have contributed to the kidney stone.  How?  Well, according to a couple of folks I talked to from the doctor’s office, kidney stones can form when a person is dehydrated.  I’ve been drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water, every day, since I started my weigh loss, but for someone who is now running two to four miles a day, that (apparently) is not enough!  Needless to type, I’m going to double my water intake, starting today!

I’m not going to weigh in this week, but, rest assured, I’m staying on plan.