The Great New Hampshire Blogger Weight Loss Challenge - Week 23 results - Granite Grok

The Great New Hampshire Blogger Weight Loss Challenge – Week 23 results

Week 25 – getting better (again)

Previous weeks after the jump:

Week 24 – I missed getting the info – I was 210.4

Week 23 – the REAL week 23!

Chan queries:

At the moment I’m static! No change since last week (the two honkin’ big pieces of gooey birthday cake I had Saturday may have had something to do with it).

Are you back on track or are you still stuck on the rubber chicken circuit?

  Chan

Nope, not now – here’s the score: "not bad for all of the "vacation eating out" we did.  Am now back at work so hoping back to a more normal schedule and thus, back on the diet."

Yup, have learned that even letting up a bit lets the weight slip up more than a bit…but still, down > 30lbs – I’ll take it!

Chan adds:

BTW, I screwed up the count. Actually this week is week 23.

 

Week 23 – er, not so much, not so good……here’s what I wrote to Chan:

This week – not good at all: 214.5 this morning.

We’ve eaten out a lost this past week – last night at O’s at the Opeechee Inn (29th wedding anniversary, so decided to go a bit more upscale).  Was fed at the AFP event on Sat, and we went out afterwards to eat in Concord at Weathervane.  Dinner provided on the Mt. Washington Friday night for the Belknap County Republican cruise.

And add in two or three more meals out last week just because of too much running around.

Morale of the story:  The diet is forever!  And even if trying to pick the "right food" to eat the majority of the time (broiled swordfish last night), there will be times that I don’t (fried haddock on Sat – but followed up the swordfish with a slice of absolutely delicious slice of triple layer choc cake)

And even if this is vacation week for me, I have to really watch what I eat all the time.  

The good news is that buckling down, was 211.2 this AM….hey, every once in a while, you have a set back (even if voluntary).  The moral is that you just start in again – and don’t give up!

 

 

 

 

Week 20 – made up for last week and chugging along…..starting to get near the end (I hope!)

Week 19 – went up to 210+.  The Youngest deployed and I went for the comfort food.  Sure, I knew EXACTLY what I was doing – and quit eating when it was "enough".  Before this contest, I would have just kept on going…..Thanks Chan, for being the Accountability Blogger! 

 

Week 19 – went up 210+.  The Youngest deployed and I went for the comfort food.  Sure, I knew EXACTLY what I was doing – and quit eating when it was "enough".  Before this contest, I would have just kept on going…..Thanks Chan, for being the Accountability Blogger!

Week 18 – OK, a pretty good week up until Sunday morning.  Then as I emailed Chan:

209.8 Sunday morning…..and then we went out to eat for Mom’s Day…at end of day, 215 (yikes!).  Fortunately (as you pointed out last week), this too shall pass – just not today probably.

Went shopping at LL Bean on Sat – it IS now that time I have to start replacing clothes as I have been in XL and larger.  Bought L sized shirts – almost too big!  Comfy!  Even bought a couple of Medium shirts on a lark – I can put them on, a "tad" too tight, but I could get away with them – I’m good with that!  Size 38 pants fitting loosely – another 5-8 lbs and I can start wearing 36s in public

I’m good with this – and TMEW is as well (I got several approving looks with the new clothes)!

But I still hate shopping for clothes….

Chan always has a TOAS post (Thoughts On A Sunday) over at his place, Weekend Pundit where he has some surprising news.  Once again, what the food police (and thus, the Govt) has been telling us about dieting for quite some time, may have been backwards.

Really?  They always seem to not place emphasis on the correct thing:  Losing weight is simply (less calories consumed < calories expended).

 

Week 17 – OK, not EXACTLY a great week from the numbers standpoint:

And as I told Chan in an email:

CONGRATS!!!! [on breaking out of the 220s]

Er, I went backwards, sort of.  I had actually gotten to 211.2 on Thursday AM, and then we ate out thursday, and Friday, and late on Sat (can I blame this?) because in dragging TMEW to the debate, she earned a dinner out at Olive Garden (one of her most favorite restaurants).

So, yesterday, AM was 214.8.    This morning, 212.4

The good news?  I hauled out some of the dusty pants – I started this process of "lapping over" 44" waist.  Am now comfortable in 38".    I actually got into 36" – a bit tight in the butt and probably wouldn’t wear out in public JUST YET, but it did make by day on Sat Morn….

Goal – break 210 this week????

we’ll see….

 

Week 16 – Another good week – the "oughts are getting into sight.  As Chan put it (who is almost out of the 220s!): We’re getting there in a race where even the losing loser wins…I think. Indeed – Chan started at 248 and I started at 244.  50 lbs each was a big target and we’ve been at this for a while now. 

My secret that has held up so far?  I consider that I’m in a race with myself in 5 lb increments; No way I can do 50, or 30 – and probably not 15-20 either.  But I can do 5 lbs.  Forget the rest – it’s a distraction / downer.  But I can do 5 llbs.  Sorta like that old adage of "Dunno if I can walk that far, but I know I can put my left foot in front of my right one THIS INSTANT, and then move my right one in front of my left one RIGHT AFTER THAT.  Dunno what happens after that, but I know I can do at least that…".  And then do it – and ask the question again.

And have –  I’ve done the "5 lb contest" 6 times over so far and working on the 7th.  Dunno about the rest of it, but I can complete this 5 lb contest with myself.  I’ll let the rest of it take care of itself – once I get to the end of this 5 lb contest.

You know, though….I’d really like a Prime Rib dinner right about now from my favorite restaurant for such fare….T-Bones.  Skip!!! 
Shut up and keep walking!!!

Yes, ma’am….

 

Week 15 – Very nice week for me – but can I repeat it?  At this point, I’m still happy as this is the lightest I’ve been in over a decade.  Downside?  That day is coming where I am going to HAVE to go clothes shopping – which I hate to do!

 

Week 14 – OK, last week, I had actually gone down to 215.8 – and then I eased up and TMEW and I ate out too many times on Friday and Sat.  S’all right, I already lost a pound from getting back on the diet and doing some manual labor outside yesterday….HAVE to – Chan’s catching up! 

Week 12 – OK, I missed putting up week 11 results (see after the jump).  However, this week – just over 50%! And Chan is not far behind – I guess this accountability and being self-responsibility stuff actually works (hey, can we teach the Progressives this?  Naw, I didn’t think so either – they believe that we’re all the victims of those EVIL CAPITALISTIC "Big Food" companies so we’re blameless).  Anywho, all politics aside, it’s getting close to "new wardrobe shopping time" – I hate it already (I really DO hate shopping for clothes – it was a chore when I traveled a lot on business and even though I have much more time (working from home) to do such, I simply hate the idea even more.

Chalk it up, I guess, to one of life’s evil necessities….no jokes, please.

 

Week 10 – whew, thought I’d be losing more ground!  Slowing down, but still going down.  Chan reports that "…With the two dinner parties I attended over the weekend I’m amazed I didn’t gain weight. But I didn’t lose any either."

Hmm, perhaps I should slyly whisper into his wife’s ear "hey, take him out more often!"

 

Week 9 – stuck.  Chan‘s gaining on me (in a losing sorta way) and we’re back to the original spread.  Drat….and I’m supposed to go to dinner tonight with a co-worker from New Orleans that is up in NH visiting one of our mutual customers this week.  Well, I can console myself that I’ve dropped 4" in pant size…

Week 8 – now down 21 pounds from the beginning – almost 1/2 way.   Now, I think, it will get harder, as this story from USA Today relates for us "older guys".

Chan notes:

Our common goal is 195 pounds. Skip had something of a head start, being 4 pounds lighter than me when we started, and that gap has both widened and narrowed over time.

Heh!  The gap is 6.4 lbs: "I only have to outrun you!".

 

Week 7 – Closing in on 20 pounds!  Thus far, all I have done is modified my diet – no working out at this point.  Soon, however, I’m going to have to haul myself away from the keyboard and start moving. 

 

 

Week 5 – Well, I’ve finally got through my first "plateau" of the diet during the last couple of days – hopefully things will go swimmingly for the next couple of weeks.  The hope still is when the Youngest comes home on leave he’ll notice a wee bit of a difference.  TMEW is saying that it is now noticible and the belt is now a couple notches tighter.  The hope is to break 225 this week – pray for me!  Chan is also down a bit more as well – success is not going back up!

 

Week four – Well, the lead is closing, I get to repeat Chan’s refrain of last week (see week 3), and progress to give the Youngest cause to wonder "what changed" has stalled.

Next week?

 

Week three – the lead is widening!  As Chan reports: "Damn, I hit the plateau!"

S’all right, Chan….my turn will come too!

Week  3

Let’s see what happens next week!  My goal is to lose enough weight when the Youngest comes home before deployment to Afghanistan to go "er, Dad?  What happened?"

 

The Second week is now off the scale; here’s the result:

OK, the easy pounds are gone….time to get busy       (Chan’s post is here)

 

 

Week 1:

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