201.4

Only got .8 back of the 1.2 I have gained over the last two days.  My body is stubbornly refusing to go back under 200.  Still, I will start April in a far better place than I was just two weeks ago. 

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 201.4, Total - (10.0)

202.2

Up .6 again.  But, at least this time I know the culprit.  I expected worse after enjoying my mom's home-made lasagna last night.  It was worth it.  Breaking 200 will have to wait until this weekend.

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 202.2, Total - (9.2)

Denied... 201.6

At least this time it wasn't my fault.  Great day eating and exercising.  Not sure why the scale didn't reflect it.  But, it happens.  Any good day eating and exercising still makes me happy regardless of what that stupid scales says!  Have I convinced you yet that I am happy?

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 201.6, Total - (9.8)

201.0

I can now officially say that Phase 3 is working.  Not sure if I needed that little break.  Probably not.  Just had a bad couple of weeks.  But, it's behind me now and I am feeling my mojo and a ton of positive energy.  Looking forward to being back under 200!  Down 10.4 pounds in 13 days!  I have seven weeks of P90X left and my goal at the end of those seven weeks is 193, or 5 pounds lighter than my lowest. 

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 201.0, Total - (10.4)

201.8

Went to see "Limitless" last night.  I wanted popcorn so bad.  I tried not to think about it.  But, I could smell the butter in the air.  I still wanted it as I left the theater and saw the half-eaten containers on the floor!  And, though she didn't say it, I know Lori well enough to know that she wanted it too.  But, neither of us spoke of it until afterwards.  My stomach and my weight thanks us for that.  Down .6 pounds because of that difficult choice and happy this morning that I made it.

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 201.8, Total - (9.6)

202.4

Woo Hoo!  Down another pound and under 203... which means I can legitimately tell people 110+ when they ask as opposed to lying.

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 202.4, Total - (9.0)

203.4

Down .6 pounds and back under 204.  Again, my exercise continues to save me as I have yet to get back to a really good routine eating.  Phase 3 is under way!  Down 8 pounds total in 10 days!

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 203.4, Total - (8.0)

204.0

Back under 205!  Here I come 200 pounds.  Feeling like I have my mojo back.

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 204.0, Total - (7.4)

205.8

Up .8 pounds after my lunch at Musso's... and actually glad it was only that.  I hadn't been to Musso's in so long that they had actually made a switch from Pepsi to Coke in that timeframe.  It was a nice lunch.  But, today is going to be perfect and I am going to be under 205 tomorrow... maybe even 204!

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 205.8, Total - (5.6)

205.0

Down 4, up 4, down 4, up 4... the roller coaster continues.  The problem is that my low point isn't moving steadily down like it did once before.  Based on the last couple of weeks of sabotaging myself, I am sure I will consume an entire salt lick for lunch and be back up to 209 tomorrow.  Okay, I kid.  Yesterday was a great day and today will be much of the same.  Feel like I am mentally back in the game.  Maybe I needed a little hiatus from my own obsessiveness.  Plus, all of the chicken wings have now been eaten... at least in my house.

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 205.0, Total - (6.4)

209.4

Tomorrow, tomorrow, there's always tomorrow.  I know a lot of that is salt from the leftover chicken wings.  The question I ask myself is why I saved the leftover chicken wings.  The only way to ensure that I didn't eat the leftover chicken wings - and, really, who expected there to ever be leftover wings in the Marinucci house? - was to throw them away!  So, I expected and accepted the original exception.  But, that manifested itself in to an unexpected and unacceptable second exception.  Make sense?  My March Madness ends today.  Have faith... 

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 209.4, Total - (2.0)

205.2

Maybe, just maybe, I am back in a groove again.  After a couple of weeks of sporadic P90X, Lori and I have decided to do the last couple of weeks over again.  So, it will now be P104X or P111X.

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 205.2, Total - (6.2)

207.0

My wife made her famous chocolate chip cookies for my son's birthday.  Too bad that my son barely ate them and left them for his father to gorge on!

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 207.0, Total - (4.4)

208.2

This was the one exception I had planned on the way to April 1... chicken wings to celebrate my son's birthday and the start of March Madness.  The tooth that I had pulled early in the morning kept me from getting to the club... though I did get a 35 minute walk in to keep the streak alive.  Unfortunately, the tooth did not keep me from eating chicken wings.  I knew it was coming.  So, I will not hate myself today.

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 208.2, Total - (3.2)

205.8

Down 1.8 pounds.  I guess the key to my success is to simply put a little line under my morning posts that tracks the most recent progress and give it a name!  I needed a couple of days like that.

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 205.8, Total - (5.6)

Running, Continued...

Tonight I increased my running time and for the first time I ran more than I walked!  I think running down the Barr Trail (about 20 minutes) after climbing the Incline showed me how long I could run without slowing down.  Tonight, I walked for 5 minutes, ran for 5, walked for 3, ran for 5, walked for 3, ran for 5, walked for 3, ran for 5, walked for 3, and finished off with 3 more minutes of running.  So, I ended up running 23 minutes and walking 17.   A new high for total minutes running and the first time I had done 5 minutes in more than a single stretch.  And, my knee felt pretty good despite my soreness from the Incline this weekend. 

207.6

Well, it feels like cheating.  But, that's one way to start Phase 3 off right!  Down 3.8 pounds from that ugly start yesterday.

Phase 3: Starting Weight (3/15/11) - 211.4, Current Weight - 207.6, Total - (3.8)

211.4

I could hardly believe that number this morning.  Not even sure how that is physically possible.  I guess that will make my weight loss during Phase 3 even more impressive.  Talk about a positive spin... lol.  So, that is where I start.

Phase 3: Starting Weight - 211.4, Current Weight - n/a, Total - n/a

115 Pounds

I need to stop saying that!  I still tell people that I have lost 115 pounds.  As of tomorrow, that number will be less than 105.  I am not trying to lie.  I just like using the lowest number and going with it.  That was probably okay when I was still around 200.  But, now I am just plain lying to everyone.  So, I either need to stop lying or fix it so that I am actually telling the truth when I say 115.  Give me about 18 days...

Running Again!

I have never been a big runner.  I jogged when I was younger.  I always had great stamina as a teenager.  I was never fast.  But, I always liked to run.  Well, I haven't run in years.  Not just slipping on some tennis shoes and taking off around the neighborhood, but even running short distances.  I would try at times.  But, it was ugly, slow, and resulted in my heart feeling like it was coming out of my chest.

During the football season, while I was working the half-time contest for Loaf 'N Jug, I was running on the football field with some little kids.  My wife told me later that Niko said that he couldn't remember the last time he saw me running!  It was both a sad moment and a nice moment. 

When I first started walking on the treadmill, and it wasn't that fast, my knee hurt.  Eventually it started to go away as I lost weight and my knee got stronger.  When I started upping the speed, my knee hurt again.  I worried that it wouldn't ever be able to do what I wanted it to.  But, it eventually went away.  When I started upping the incline, my knee hurt again.  I figured I was pushing my luck and that my knee was nearing it's limits.  Over time, the pain subsided again.  I wanted to run.  I realized that at the highest incline and my fastest walking speed, I couldn't get my heart rate up to the zone I wanted to be in.  I didn't think my knee could ever handle running again. 

About a month ago, I decided to test my knee.  I ran for two minutes.  My heart rate was up and my knee hurt once again.  I decided to run for a few minutes each day and see how I felt.  After a week, my knee didn't feel great.  But, it was good enough that I thought I could give it a go.  I started alternating between walking and running.  It felt great to get my heart rate up and to sweat heavily again.  But, my knee hurt.  My knee hurt worse than it had before.  In fact, my knee wasn't the only thing that hurt.  My hips hurt from the pounding.  My shins hurt a little.  I thought I might have taken on a little more than my knee could handle.  But, over that first week, my knee started getting better and my hips got used to the pounding.  All of a sudden I was running about 15-16 minutes out of my 40-45 minutes on the treadmill! 

Looking at my reflection in the window and seeing myself running again was an incredible feeling.  On Saturday, I ran 20 of the 40 minutes.  Each week, I plan to add a couple of minutes.  Eventually, I would like to run from beginning to end for 30-40 minutes.  I can hardly believe it is a possiblity.  I am not sure the pounding is great for my body.  But, I know that I am doing more for myself than I was a month ago when my body was getting used to my treadmill routine.  Here's to continuing to do things I never thought I would do again in my life...