Went out for a ride this morning and man, I felt like I had a parachute tied to my back riding into the wind. Winds sustained of 30 mph and gusting up to 40. Only did a short 6 miler but the first 3 were were into the southwest wind. One downside to being a clyde is there's so much surface area for the wind to hit and slow you down it's not even funny. At on point during a nice sustained gust, I was definitely down in my second lowest gear. Only reason I wasn't down in the lowest was pride. I couldn't bring myself to drop down to 1st gear on a flat stretch I normally roll along in 9th or 10th gear.
That makes 3 straight days of riding. I'm shooting to not miss a day between now and when I leave for vacations in mid-July.
My friend and I have come together to help each other reach our goals. She is studying for the CPA exam but is having a hard time staying motivated. I needed more motivation to help with the weight loss so we've got a bet going. For me it's 10 pounds by July 7th (one month, averaging 2.5 per week) and for her it's passing her next part of the CPA in the middle of July. We'll each help holding the other accountable for what they're doing. Hopefully both of the goals end up successful.
Tomorrow it's supposed to rain so I may get some practice for Seattle riding in :).
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wow
At the starting of this blog a week ago i was at 309 pounds in shorts. Now I'm down to 303.4. That's with almost no exercising done because of how hectic the past week has been. I know not to expect this kind of weight loss, as it would not be healthy, but it sure is nice to jump start me. I haven't been starving myself. Rather, like I said, if I want to snack in between meals I make sure it's fruit or veggies and not junk. I also managed to make it through the temptation of all the excellent food at my sister's graduation party without gorging on it. It looks as if I'm off to a good start here.
This morning, i got up and went for a ride at 6:30 AM. I forgot how wonderful the early mornings can be. 6 miles later, it's now 8:30 and I'm raring to go. I used to be rolling over and turning off the alarm at about this time only to go back to sleep for another couple of hours. I took a stop at a sculpture park and walked around that taking pictures of all the sculptures. That was the midway point of the ride. On the way back, I rode the last 2 miles into a nice 20 mph headwind. I forgot how much headwinds suck. Nothing like feeling you're pedaling uphill for 2 straight miles.
All in all, I'm very pleased with the changes I've made over the past week. I'm not planning on making too many more changes this week. I'm just going to stick with what I've been doing. Slowly over the next few weeks though, I hope to start carving out the snacking that I do in between meals. Following that, I will try to develop an eating plan consisting of more smaller meals throughout the day.
Until next time, Peace.
This morning, i got up and went for a ride at 6:30 AM. I forgot how wonderful the early mornings can be. 6 miles later, it's now 8:30 and I'm raring to go. I used to be rolling over and turning off the alarm at about this time only to go back to sleep for another couple of hours. I took a stop at a sculpture park and walked around that taking pictures of all the sculptures. That was the midway point of the ride. On the way back, I rode the last 2 miles into a nice 20 mph headwind. I forgot how much headwinds suck. Nothing like feeling you're pedaling uphill for 2 straight miles.
All in all, I'm very pleased with the changes I've made over the past week. I'm not planning on making too many more changes this week. I'm just going to stick with what I've been doing. Slowly over the next few weeks though, I hope to start carving out the snacking that I do in between meals. Following that, I will try to develop an eating plan consisting of more smaller meals throughout the day.
Until next time, Peace.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Congratulations to my sister!
This weekend is my first big challenge right off the bat as my sister is graduating high school. She's graduating top 10% and has about $2,000 worth of scholarships so that's wonderful. The little one is following my footsteps to the University of Illinois next fall and I'm definitely proud of her. So a big congratulations go out to her.
However, along with graduation comes a graduation party. There's alway an abundance of excellent food at these types of gatherings. So today will be my first big challenge of trying to stay under control with everything there is there. I won't restrict myself from eating it all, I just have to make sure that I stay aware of what I'm eating and eat less of it than I normally would. Hopefully that will prove true after the night is over.
But once again, congratulations to my sister and Happy Memorial Day Weekend to everyone else.
However, along with graduation comes a graduation party. There's alway an abundance of excellent food at these types of gatherings. So today will be my first big challenge of trying to stay under control with everything there is there. I won't restrict myself from eating it all, I just have to make sure that I stay aware of what I'm eating and eat less of it than I normally would. Hopefully that will prove true after the night is over.
But once again, congratulations to my sister and Happy Memorial Day Weekend to everyone else.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The first day of the rest of my life...
As cliche as that sounds, it's true. I woke up this morning knowing that today (and every subsequent day) was going to be different from the previous ones.
Anyone reading this may be wondering what exactly my plan is to concoct this turn around of my life. Well, to tell the truth, I don't have a grand plan yet, but I do have some things I'm implementing to start myself on that path. As with the quote I posted yesterday, we need only take one step at a time to complete a journey, but we must keep on stepping. Therefore I am not going to do anything drastic right away. Rather, many small adjustments over time will hopefully work out the best.
Firstly, I've picked up some strawberries to serve as my mindless snacking food for now. One of my biggest problems is not eating a lot in one sitting, but just eating little bits of stuff here and there throughout the entire day. To start, I'm going to replace those snacking habits with healthy fruits and veggies. Ideally, I will eventually get it where I'm not snacking during the day much. This should also become much easier once I settle into a routine at work starting in August.
Secondly, I need to start replacing trips by car or bus with ones by bike. I've always enjoyed biking but since getting my car in February, I seem to constantly defer to the motorcar as my main mode of transport. That needs to stop, not only for my health, but also for the $4.09 gas prices I can see when i walk out of my apartment building.
Third, I am going to make a conscious effort to cook more food for dinner rather than grabbing something from a restaurant. Once again, this will help not only make me lighter, but also my wallet and bank account heavier.
I feel that with just these three changes, and cutting soda out of my diet except when I'm out to eat, should jump start me on the correct path which I can then build off of to continue my journey.
Anyone reading this may be wondering what exactly my plan is to concoct this turn around of my life. Well, to tell the truth, I don't have a grand plan yet, but I do have some things I'm implementing to start myself on that path. As with the quote I posted yesterday, we need only take one step at a time to complete a journey, but we must keep on stepping. Therefore I am not going to do anything drastic right away. Rather, many small adjustments over time will hopefully work out the best.
Firstly, I've picked up some strawberries to serve as my mindless snacking food for now. One of my biggest problems is not eating a lot in one sitting, but just eating little bits of stuff here and there throughout the entire day. To start, I'm going to replace those snacking habits with healthy fruits and veggies. Ideally, I will eventually get it where I'm not snacking during the day much. This should also become much easier once I settle into a routine at work starting in August.
Secondly, I need to start replacing trips by car or bus with ones by bike. I've always enjoyed biking but since getting my car in February, I seem to constantly defer to the motorcar as my main mode of transport. That needs to stop, not only for my health, but also for the $4.09 gas prices I can see when i walk out of my apartment building.
Third, I am going to make a conscious effort to cook more food for dinner rather than grabbing something from a restaurant. Once again, this will help not only make me lighter, but also my wallet and bank account heavier.
I feel that with just these three changes, and cutting soda out of my diet except when I'm out to eat, should jump start me on the correct path which I can then build off of to continue my journey.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Welcome to the journey...
"To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping" - Chinese Proverb
The above statement is so true. Yet, so often in life, we fail to to take a journey because we fear it will be too difficult or time consuming. Often these journeys could lead to great satisfaction for ourselves and others, but we pass them up because we've conceded defeat in our minds before we begin. For me, I'm tired of conceding defeat. It's time for me to journey down the path I've been avoiding. Through this blog, I hope to gain inspiration from others who have been in this situation and also inspire others in my shoes, looking for proof that it can be done.
A bit about myself
My name is Josh and I am a 23 year old recent graduate of the University of Illinois. I studied accounting there for 5 years and am currently working on passing the final portion of the CPA exam at the end of May. This summer I will be traveling to the east coast to visit baseball stadiums, to Switzerland and then the biggest journey of all. I will pack up my life and move it 2,000 miles across the country to Seattle, WA. I hope that this major change will help to kick start the other changes I am looking to make in my life currently. The biggest of these changes is to lead a healthier lifestyle and become one of the success stories rather than the guy who "wishes he could do that". Currently I am at 309 pounds and 5'9" tall. I'm getting to the point where I can feel the unhealthiness beginning to take its toll. I don't sleep well at night, I tire easily during slightly strenuous activities and I have no desire to go do anything at times. This is where it stops though and turns around. It is never over, so this journey I reference will be one for life, and I can only continue to strive to be better than the day before and realize setbacks will happen. When they do, I must look at it, understand why it happened and then use that to not let it happen again. At the end of this posts, you can see my pictures as of today. I cannot say I am proud, but at the end, I will have every reason to be proud.
As I continue on my journey, pleas feel free to leave suggestions, comments, encouragement, etc. as you see fit. Also, if you know me personally, please call me out if you see ways i can improve or times when I regress.
I look forward to the journey and all that it brings with it.
Peace and best wishes.
-Josh
May 21, 2008 - 309 lbs.
The above statement is so true. Yet, so often in life, we fail to to take a journey because we fear it will be too difficult or time consuming. Often these journeys could lead to great satisfaction for ourselves and others, but we pass them up because we've conceded defeat in our minds before we begin. For me, I'm tired of conceding defeat. It's time for me to journey down the path I've been avoiding. Through this blog, I hope to gain inspiration from others who have been in this situation and also inspire others in my shoes, looking for proof that it can be done.
A bit about myself
My name is Josh and I am a 23 year old recent graduate of the University of Illinois. I studied accounting there for 5 years and am currently working on passing the final portion of the CPA exam at the end of May. This summer I will be traveling to the east coast to visit baseball stadiums, to Switzerland and then the biggest journey of all. I will pack up my life and move it 2,000 miles across the country to Seattle, WA. I hope that this major change will help to kick start the other changes I am looking to make in my life currently. The biggest of these changes is to lead a healthier lifestyle and become one of the success stories rather than the guy who "wishes he could do that". Currently I am at 309 pounds and 5'9" tall. I'm getting to the point where I can feel the unhealthiness beginning to take its toll. I don't sleep well at night, I tire easily during slightly strenuous activities and I have no desire to go do anything at times. This is where it stops though and turns around. It is never over, so this journey I reference will be one for life, and I can only continue to strive to be better than the day before and realize setbacks will happen. When they do, I must look at it, understand why it happened and then use that to not let it happen again. At the end of this posts, you can see my pictures as of today. I cannot say I am proud, but at the end, I will have every reason to be proud.
As I continue on my journey, pleas feel free to leave suggestions, comments, encouragement, etc. as you see fit. Also, if you know me personally, please call me out if you see ways i can improve or times when I regress.
I look forward to the journey and all that it brings with it.
Peace and best wishes.
-Josh
May 21, 2008 - 309 lbs.
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