Halloween update

My experiment with not tracking my food intake is going pretty well.  It's certainly easier to not log all the food I eat, and I have not gained any weight as a result. Having said that, I have not lost any weight either.  I can't totally blame my eating habits as I significantly cut back on the amount of exercise I was doing.  Between the need to take a bit of a break, the shorter days and crappy weather it was a pretty easy decision.  The last two days I have been back at it and it does feel good to exercise again.  I guess on some level I did miss it.  Crazy, right? Not really!  From WebMed:

Improved self-esteem is a key psychological benefit of regular physical activity. When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain.

Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. For example, the feeling that follows a run or workout is often described as "euphoric." That feeling, known as a "runner's high," can be accompanied by a positive and energizing outlook on life.

So, there is scientific proof you do feel better after exercise.  That must explain it why I missed it!

Next week I will most likely track my food and concentrate on good workouts as the following week both will be hard to do.  But more about that in my next post!

Weight loss and marketing

For the past couple of weeks I've been hovering around the 40 pound loss mark.  43 pounds one week, 39 pounds another week...it's all good, because during that time, I've continued to exercise and to eat right (most of the time!). I've mentioned in the past here on the blog, and to people that have asked me in person how I did it, about my need to track everything that passed my lips.  Whether I was being good or bad, the need to track it was important to me. This was reinforced recently at Content Marketing World during a talk by Ahava Leibtag.  She was discussing "Put your content on a diet" and mentioned the "5 Rules for Behavioral Change", abstracted from Weight Watchers.  Point #1 was "If you bite it, write it". Documentation in marketing is just as important as documentation in weight loss. Point #2 was "You can choose not to count it, but it still counts" True statement, and I chose to count it so I had no one to blame but myself if I did not make my weekly goals. It has also taught me a life lesson on how many calories are in food, but also what portions of that food I should be eating, and what, at the end of the day, would satisfy my hunger. Points 3-5, "Schedule it in your life", "Find a strong support group" and "Make it a lifestyle change"are equally important, but 1 and 2 have been my mantra during this time.

Last weekend I went back to Marietta College for homecoming.  When traveling and eating out, it is always a struggle to log the food I've eaten.  So I decided to take a break from it.  On Monday, I decided to continue not logging my food.  It's been harder than I thought. The good news is I still think as if I need to log it, so when considering seconds or grabbing that Mallomar, I think about what impact those actions will have on my weight.  My official weigh in is always on Monday morning, so I'm not sure how this experiment will end, but it has been a great experience knowing that I can do this and not be so anal about logging everything, every time.  Having said that, on Monday I will probably start tracking my food again!

I still have 15 pounds to go to my final weight, so I need to be focused on that, but I know once done, I can put the food scale and FitBit app away, and keep the weight off based on the lessons I've learned.

Blogger of the year?

Posting blog posts once a month will probably not earn me blogger of the year recognition (if there is such a thing), so I will try to be more active...
I think where we last left off I was maintaining my weight loss post accomplishing goal #1 of losing 30 pounds.  Still true. I've been maintaining 35 pounds lost for a couple of weeks now.  It's been hard to lose weight when there are parties, cookouts, brunches, making Sean's favorite meals before he goes back to school...but I'm in a good place of balancing all of that with exercise and (still) tracking everything I eat.  I know once he goes back, I'll be able to settle into a better routine of cooking better meals for Rose and I.

Today I ran in my 4th race.  The 5K for JA Donut Run here in Hudson.  It was a nice, small (101 runners) event starting at the new green in downtown Hudson.  I came in 14th overall, 4th in my age group.  Who knew 50+ so was competitive?  There were 5 of us in the top 15 overall! I'm gonna have to up my game if I want to win my age group! I felt pretty good and the weather and temps were perfect, so unlike the Winking Lizard "Shot in the dark" 4 mile race last month when it was in the 90's, I was able to finish with no walking and actually felt pretty good.  I missed a PR by 17 seconds.
So, all caught up...hope everyone is having a great summer, and I hope to be a bit more active in the upcoming weeks.

Weight loss update

My last two posts focused on the race I participated in (which is great), but I haven't talked about my weight loss since the end of May. I did meet my initial weight loss goal as of my weigh-in on June 1st (woo hoo John!). Since then I have managed to stay under that weight except one week when my parent's were here visiting.  Here is my Fitbit chart from that time frame. 

Suffice it to say, 3 full meals a day, afternoon cocktails, decadent deserts and limited opportunity to exercise took it's toll on my balanced calorie plan! Typically, my week is more yellow and green then red.
Having said all that, I'm still exercising regularly, eating better than I was last year, and on target to get to my final weight (and still below goal #1).  Also, I have 2 races planned in the next two weeks. If you had told me that a year ago, I would have laughed at you! So here's to continuing the downward trend...

I never thought this would be easy....

When I started this little journey, I really didn't think it would be easy. However, in the first couple of weeks the weight seemed to melt off.  I was pretty excited. 
However, as I get closer to my first goal, the reality of weight loss has reared it's ugly head. Don't worry, I'm not giving up and going back to my bad habits, but it has not been as easy recently as it was in the beginning.

While the trend is going in the right direction, I need a couple of good weeks to get back on track. I'll admit, I probably got a little cocky as the weight came off.  Big mistake! Let me add an additional disclaimer here - We did get a new scale a couple of weeks ago which resulted in a 3 pound weight gain.  The good news is on this new scale, my weight is more accurately tracking. More on that in an upcoming post.
OK, so back to purpose of this post.  While hitting a bit of a road block, 1) I'm very happy with my progress on the treadmill and I'm actually looking forward to getting outside soon and running, 2) I can walk up stairs without getting out of breath and 3) my clothes are definitely looser on my body.  Three really good outcomes of my progress to date. Having said that, any suggestions on getting over this hump would be appreciated! Also, look me up on Fitbit if you have one to keep me moving (I may be competitive, and I may walk extra so I beat you!).

He's back....

My last blog post was almost 3 years ago. I was not successful in losing the weight I had originally planned. No excuses. I failed.

This will be the third time I have tried to do this (losing weight and blogging).  Since the last time I tried this, in addition to gaining back the 17 pounds I lost, I also managed to gain 5 additional pounds. On January 19, 2015 I weighed 230 pounds.  That is the most I have ever weighed.  I felt horrible, I was short of breath.  I had to wear clothes that didn’t fit anymore.


On January 26th, thanks to a program at work, I purchased a Fitbit Charge HR basically for free. Between the tracker on my wrist, and the ability to easily log the food I eat via the Fitbit app, I have managed to lose almost 20 pounds. I’m hoping this stupid thing on my wrist will help change my life.  I'm not back to my lowest weight from the last time I tried this (although I've lost more weight), but I think I have a better idea on how to do this.

I have decided to attack this in two phases. In Phase 1 I want to lose 30 pounds. That will bring me to 200 pounds. The last time I weighed 200 pounds was in August of 2007. (Edit: August 2010, still along time ago!) Today I’m eating better, I’m watching my portions and I’m exercising regularly. I'm relatively confident I can achieve my Phase 1 goal.

The plan for Phase 2 is to lose an additional 25 pounds.  I know that will be harder to accomplish.  I have not seen 175 since my college days. I’m hoping that between the exercise and the lessons I’ve learned with eating better, and controlling my portions, I can do this.  I’ve also decided that being a little hungry is not a bad thing. I know that in order to have a big, unhealthy meal every once in a while, I need to balance my calories throughout the day. Exercising everyday gives some wiggle room

The other thing is I love beer. Craft beer. An America IPA like Fatheads Headhunter has approximately 225 calories.  I’m not giving up my beer (that would not make much sense for a person with a blog called Craft Beer Loser) So I must decide daily, based on what I’ve eaten, and how much I’ve exercised, if I can have a beer (or 2) each day.  I can live with that…..

Today I feel better, my clothes fit better, and I don’t need to catch my breath after climbing a flight of stairs. I’m hopeful this third time is the charm…Let’s do this!

If any of you have tips that have worked for you to keep off the weight you have lost, please share!

It's been a while...

I'm obviously not the most consistent blogger of all time...I go months in between posts, then I try and keep it up...but life (and laziness) keeps getting in the way.  Historically, it has been the same with my weight loss...The good news is that while there will always be ups and downs, I have been able to keep the weight off that I have been losing and been managing a consistent downward trend.

I have now lost 17 pound (woo hoo!)

That is good.  Especially given the recent stresses of work, home life, family stuff and poison ivy.  Yes, poison ivy!  Back in June I got a nice rash and it is really uncomfortable when I get hot and sweaty.  That has meant no exercising.  Luckily, I been able to control my eating and have lost weight even though I have not exercised in 3+ weeks. (Today I did get on the treadmill and it felt great!)

The next couple of weeks should be interesting as I am going to Florida to help my MIL get through her second dose of chemo for colon cancer.  I will have to figure out a way to exercise away from my normal outlets.  I'll also have to watch out for my stress eating...wish me luck!

43 Pounds to go

It's been a busy week preparing to take a couple of days off from work for some R&R and some fine craft beer!
I managed to lose 2.5 pounds last week, which I was hoping for since I did do some exercise last week and tried to not over do it on the eating side.  It was great to get back on the bike and see some positive results! Not sure how I'll do for next weeks weigh in, as I know I will be having more fun, then being good.  It will be a good test to see how I can have fun in moderation, and not gain all 7 pounds I've lost to date back in 5 days!
Wish me luck.  I'm gonna need it!