I’ve been aiming for 1,600-1,800 calories per day, and with the exception of yesterday, I hit that goal completely. Diana and I have both been eating much healthier, which has made it even easier to do. She isn’t counting calories the same way I am, but she is making a real effort to be more mindful of what she eats, and it shows; she’s looking great!

In addition to eating pretty well, I started something this week that was both intimidating and exciting to me: working out at a gym. I had figured I’d join the Carthage YMCA when I got down to around 300 lbs. However, when it came up at church that I had repented of gluttony and am now trying to get healthy, a friend and NCF covenant member, Josh Tash, asked me to join him at the gym on lunch breaks. Josh is a combat medic with the 10th Mountain Division, and he works out with a buddy from his unit regularly at Magrath and Pine Plains gyms on Fort Drum. It was awesome of him to invite me to tag along, and honestly, I’ve loved it. I hope to blog specifically about this experience later this week, as time allows.

Nevertheless, the week wasn’t perfect. I didn’t do nearly as much cardio as I planned. I used the fact that the week was busy as an excuse, but that doesn’t cut it. I know I need to make cardio a daily part of my life, and I plan to get my butt in gear – literally – this week. My other “naughty” moment was dinner last night. Diana and I had taken a trip into town to get a loaner CPAP machine (another blog post for the week, I hope), and it was past dinner time. The kids were starving, and we decided to have a “cheat meal” as suggested by Donny in the comments on the first post. We didn’t go crazy, but food from a Chinese buffet is hard to count. That said, and since I hadn’t planned lunch around a high-calorie dinner, I’m not sure how bad I went over my calories for the day. Anyway, the meal was tasty, satisfying, and fun for the family. We need that now and then!

The week’s statistics can be found after the jump:

Measurements

• Weight: 340.0 lbs (344.2 lbs last week)
• BMI: 48.78 (49.38 last week)

Thoughts

I’m down another 4.2 pounds! And I’ve got a total loss of 10.4 pounds. For a brief moment, I even saw the 330′s for the first time in ages! I’m pleased with my progress. It’s been interesting to pay more attention to my body’s cues for food and water, and to learn what and when I can eat certain things. I’ve also had a lot more energy since I’ve started weight lifting, and I’ve found that it can even cure the groggy sleep-apnea headaches that I often wake up with.

I’m excited to keep working towards a truly healthy lifestyle. Adding cardio in this week (which I simply *have* to do… probably first thing every morning) should make a pretty good impact on my already-decent progress. I didn’t have a chance to share my specific health goals with you since the last weigh-in, but I have a few things I want to blog about in the next few days if time allows. We’ll see!

One last thing: as I said last week, I’ve been truly overwhelmed with support from people both online and off. Each one of you who have commented here, on Facebook and Twitter, through email and in person have been a big blessing to me. Thanks, folks!

On the good side, I had cravings for a variety of foods, including Taco Bell Nachos, Stefano’s Garlic Knots, and Lays Sea Salt and Vinegar Kettle Chips (No wonder I’m fat!) but I was good, and I didn’t give in. I tracked all my food with LIVESTRONG, and my eating habits were all good calorie-wise. I did find that LIVESTRONG was advising me to eat around 2,300 calories a day, but when I did that I’d maintain my weight. When I aimed for 1,800 (500 less calories a day translates on paper to one pound a week) I had significantly better loss results. I’m always feeling “hungry” whether I’m eating 2,300 or 1,800, so I just consider that a psychological habitual-hunger and ignore it.

On the bad side, I did “give in” regarding the area of exercise, but I think it was warranted. I got sick on January 1st, and it took pretty much all of this week to get back up to speed with my normal energy level and appetite. I did not add in the cardio or weight-training that I had hoped for, since there were times that I could barely function let alone pedal a bike. Since cardio didn’t happen last week, it starts today.

Nevertheless, I did say it was a good week. Here’s why:

Measurements

• Weight: 344.2 lbs (350.4 lbs last week)
• BMI: 49.38 (50.27 last week)
  

Thoughts

I lost 6.2 lbs in eight days of counting calories! I’m amazed at that number, and while I am certain that it will slow down as I go, it’s a great encouragement to start off with such a good loss. Additionally, I lost nine-tenths of a BMI point, and moved myself out of the super-obese classification back to morbidly obese, if only just barely. I’ll take a “just barely” when it’s an improvement like that any day of the week.

If I’m honest, part of me wants to keep on eating like I did, and just ignore the issue. That’s why I keep having those cravings; if I didn’t like the food I used to eat, I wouldn’t have been eating it. However, I’ve been overwhelmed with support from people both online and off, and I’m excited about the progress I’m already seeing. I didn’t do the tape measurements this week, as I think I’m going to do them monthly, but Diana already says she sees a improvement in my waist. My wife thinking I’m hotter is something else I’ll take any day of the week!

I’m excited to continue this, and will be posting later on about some of my specific weight and fitness goals, as well as some neat ways I’ll be working towards them. Did I mention that I’m going to be working out at an Army gym? Now THAT will give me some intimidation motivation!