Update

Weigh in today -- 177.4!!!

I have surpassed the 30 pound mark.

Today is the third time that I have jogged a mile straight. It feels great. Last night I walked three miles. It also felt great.

This morning my breakfast includes -- organic cereal, rice milk, and cinnamon apple sauce. Yum!

Slow progress

185.6

But I have not been eating healthily or having a strong activity routine. Yesterday I purchased a yoga video and I am going to stay on top of it!

Next on the to do list -- buy a gym membership.

Then I will be back in business.

Weigh In

Howdy!

So my new lifestyle of not eating meat has been going well. It'll be seven weeks on Monday!

Today I weighed in at 186.4! So that will be 21.6 pounds lost since the beginning. I love it.

I can't wait to get back into an exercise routine at Central.

Weigh In

Hot DAMN! Today is this week's official weigh in. I was not able to exercise Wednesday through Saturday. I was going to on Sunday but, of course, something came up. But today, I am going to go work out!!!! I have to.

My diet is going well. Today is day 21 of not eating meat. It has been an interesting journey. Well, actually, let's be honest. It has been really easy. Many have asked me why I chose this lifestyle. Well, there are several reasons. I will not lie and say I was not inspired by one of the students I worked with this summer. I have never thought about being a vegetarian as a lifestyle until I one of the students in my family group was a vegetarian. That is what got me to thinking about adopting the lifestyle. After thinking about it for a while, I realized that morally I wanted to do it. I hate to cook raw meat and try to avoid it at all costs. Not because I can't do it, but because it makes me nauseous. Why should I cause others to cook something for me to consume that I wouldn't even cook myself? I have a philosophy of "I will ask you to do something that I would be willing to do". This does not fall within that philosophy. Additionally, one of my best friends is a vegetarian. This last fall was her one year anniversary. My sister has been a vegetarian forever. Lastly, the dietary aspect was attractive. They always say that meat has many empty calories. I attribute my weight loss somewhat to this diet change. I am definitely happy that I decided to do this. It's officially a habit. Today is day 21 and it takes 14 days in a row to make something a habit (not scientifically proven).

Regardless--today I weighed in at 190.0. This brings me to 18 pounds lost.

Weigh In

Okay so today is official weigh-in day! At least for this week.

I have been keeping up a good routine of diet and exercise. Because of my recent lifestyle change, I have definitely eaten healthier and lost more weight. I just need to make sure I am consuming enough essential amino acids and vitamins. My summer job is so stressful but it is very worth it. I interact mostly with the high school graduates especially as that is a part of my position. They will be leaving on Friday. They kid around about me and Elyse being emotional. I say I won't be emotional... but who am I kidding?

The other students I have really enjoyed working with. They all have their problems but it is good to see them work through the problems. Some are not capable of working through it but at least they are in a new environment which can help them understand more about the problems.

I had a student that is dealing with so much. It breaks my heart thinking of the pain and confusion the student must be going through. This student went home but hopefully will be back to the program. I haven't really let the realization that the student is gone yet sink into my brain yet.

Anyway, I have been doing pretty well on most of my goals. I have not really been drinking much soda. I have not been drinking (not for lack of wanting... just lack of time and money). I have been working out almost every day. I have not been doing yoga... I need to get on it!!!

Anyway, here is my weigh-in total for today: 191.8 :)

At this rate, I will be 179 in a week or two!

Update

Okay--so I made good on some of my goals. I won't tell you which ones. But just know that I have been working hard on them.

Yesterday, Elyse bought me my yoga pad and a scale. So my official weight as of this morning (Monday, June 22, 2009) is 198.4 lbs. Only 40 more pounds to go... It will happen.

Both Saturday and Sunday I worked out trying to build muscle strength. I am weak but not for too long. This morning I went out to the track with some students and Elyse. We jogged/walked a mile... starting small. I need to push myself harder in the mornings. It's a struggle since it is so early. This morning we will work out again at 10:30 am. Then lunch and a nap for an hour or so. Then being productive until dinner. Tonight's agenda has swimming on it. I don't really know how to swim, so I just stand/sit/float/try-to-float in the shallow end. It's kind of fun?

Alright, it's time to go eat some breakfast.

For serious, I'm back

Okay

It's time to get serious on this shindigg. Currently, I am working back in Maryville for Upward Bound Math & Science. It's been great so far. Elyse and I have been taking some students to the track in the morning. It was so difficult last week for me to get into the swing of the routine. This week, however, is going so well. Today I woke up extra early and with more energy. I jogged a bit this morning. It was raining so I did not jog to much. This morning I went to a fitness area on campus and did some fit activities. Hopefully tonight I will learn/do yoga.

I really need to stick with my plan for becoming more fit, losing weight, and gaining strength and endurance.

New goals:

No smoking
No drinking
Eating regularly
Eating healthily
Less soda
Less snacking
Minimal taco bell :)
More walking
More physical activity

I think I am on a good start to meeting these goals. Walking at Northwest's campus is so natural. Unlike Central's where most people feel compelled to drive from the west side to the east side. So sad :( Also, taking the stairs is always the better choice!

Anyway, I will post with more updates. I need to purchase a scale!

Update

Okay, so I was in Tucson, Arizona since last Wednesday. I would like to say that I tried very hard to choose healthy eating decisions. Many times, I chose to eat salad and fruit with smaller other portions. I still need to get a new scale to be able to measure my progress... once I get back to Missouri!

Wow...

I am so sorry for the failure. I'm not apologize to anyone in particular... Maybe to myself for having failed the last few weeks.

However, Laura and I have been working to gain pedometer points which has helped me stay on track of keeping active.

I have to buy a scale since the scale I had been using will be out of service after a while. I will have to weigh myself on both to make sure the new scale will be accurate. I have to got to start making progress!

I'm back again

So last week... was terrible. I did not exercise Tuesday through Friday.

My weigh in -- 204.

This week I'm back on it. I did a little on the upright bike! I can't afford to not stay on top of this task!

Weigh In

Okay so I weighed in on Saturday... but it did not make me happy.

Last week ended with bad food days. And today continued to be a bad food day.

I need to really buckle down on these food things!

Anyway, I weighed in at 203.75... I gained a pound. oh goodness...

Friday, April 17th!

It's going so well!

Upright Bike - 40 minutes, 12 miles, 200 calories burned
Elliptical - 12 minutes, 1 mile, 155 calories burned

Total calories burned -- 355 calories burned

156,265 - 355 = 155,910!

Tomorrow is weigh-in day!

Thursday

Woke up late again. I need to go to bed earlier! But, don't worry, I did not fail my exercise routine.

Upright Bike - 35 minutes, 11 miles, 170 calories
Treadmill - 12 minutes, 1 mile, 155 calories

Total calories burned today -- 325! 156,590 - 325 = 156,265!

Two days until weigh in!

Wednesday

Upright Bike - 20 minutes, 6 miles, 110 calories
Treadmill - 18 minutes, 1.5 miles, 200 calories

Total burned - 310 calories! 156,900 - 310 = 156,590

Slowly but surely...

Tuesday!

So today is Tuesday! Unfortunately, I woke up really late! I woke up at 6:30 am... bizarre. Good news, though. My first thought was "crap... I need to go exercise".

So I did.

Upright Bike -- 5.5 miles, 20 minutes, 100 calories burned
Treadmill (walking) -- 1.25 miles, 20 minutes, 150 calories burned
Elliptical -- n/a, 4 minutes, 50 calories burned

Total calories burned -- 300!

157,200 - 300 = 156,900 to go. I'm not sure how accurate this count is... so we will be doing our own correlation between calories burned and weight lost. Thus, just this week, 600 calories burned due to intentional exercise. This does not count the effort to be more active in my daily life.

There are 20 weeks after this week of the Great Fat Off challenge. Thus, I need to lose approximately 2.13 pounds per week.

I have decided to get a membership at one of the local fitness centers because I can access it at any time. This works for me since the fitness center I use has treadmills where I cannot run because the machines are too cheap. I would go run on the track, but I do not like running with others especially as more sports are beginning to train and such. And I must exercise in the mornings.

Yesterday, I ate okay. The all-you-can-eat meals is quite difficult to watch the number of calories I consumed. Next year, I will definitely get less meals and more points. Last semester, I had gotten middle amount of points and meals. Now I have less points and more meals. It just does not work. I mean, having more points is bad if all you eat is taco bell. That would be the life!!! But, sadly, it's not mine.

Well, I am going to go conquer Tuesday!

Good morning, World!

Hello, World!

Today is Monday, and a great Monday it is! Let me tell you about this weekend where I went home... and eat a lot of food. I tried to watch how much I ate; however, I don't think I did such a great job. I also did not exercise on Saturday or Sunday...

But today I have continued my exercise routine and pushed myself do work harder.

Upright Bike -- 15 minutes, 4 miles, burned 73 calories
Treadmill -- 16.5 minutes, 1 mile, burned 147 calories
Elliptical -- 7 minutes, unsure, burned 80 calories

Total calories burned -- 300!!! Twice as much as I have been burning.

Apparently I need to burn 157,500 calories to lose the necessary 45 pounds. I won't show you the amount of exercise non-stop required to burn this amount of calories. But let's start a count down.

157,500 - 300 = 157,200!

Now, I must maintain a healthy consumption of calories. My caloric intake should be around 1800 calories.

Today so far, honey bunches of oats with almonds and skim milk --- 170 calories.

I'll keep you updated!

Weigh in #4

So the Great Fat Off has been going on four three whole weeks as this is the fourth weigh in. This week has been great. I woke up early every day to go exercise. It's been a slow process getting an exercise routine and gaining the desire to exercise; though, now, in the mornings, I don't have to fight myself to do it... I want to do it!

Awesome. All I have to do now is work on building a better routine. I have been jogging/walking on the treadmills; however, the ones I have been using are cheap and are not really made for larger people. Thus, the belts begin to loosen which causes them to slip. This means I have to find another way to jog. I would jog outside, but the elements have been kind of crazy lately. The only places to do so here are very expensive.

Anyway, I'm going home for Easter today! It will be exciting (but I can't eat too much).

I have been eating better than I used to, though sometimes it can be difficult to regulate. I've had good friends who have made me stay true to the cause. Yesterday, though, I didn't even eat dinner because I took a nap at 6 pm and it lasted until about 5:30 am!!! Sleeping too much is not good for my metabolism so I am awake now trying to get stuff done.

Alright -- here is the official weight: 202.75. Total weight lost: 5.25.

I have definitely been able to tell that my body is losing weight and becoming more fit just by the way my clothes fit.

Alright... I've got to write some papers.

Peace

Aaron

Okay -- let's get serious

It's time to get serious on this challenge. It's not like I haven't been serious but I have to step it up.

So far today -- I woke up at 6:30 am and went to the fitness center. I jogged on the treadmill for 14 minutes. In that time, I jogged 1 mile and burned 150 calories. I really hate jogging on the treadmill especially the ones in the fitness center. Since the center is ran by the hall's government, the funding is kind of low. Thus, the treadmill is not meant for big people.

I want to do something else later today, activity-wise.

So we'll see...

Aaron

Update - Finally

Okay --- so let's just say the last week was terrible. Going to DC was probably not the best way to start the Great Fat Off. However, I will make up the lost time.

I weighed in yesterday at 205.5. So I haven't lost any weight... but I haven't gained any. This week will be about me working to lose more. (I won't be flying to DC... so it should be a little easier).

Aaron

Oh goodness

So walking around DC was amazing, but I learned that my nice jeans are too long. I have had to wear them cuffed, but now, even cuffed, the jeans were too long. I was told that this could be because I have lost weight. With larger thighs, jeans tend to be too tight in the thigh region which causes them to not be as long as they actually are. So I am hoping that is what happened. :)

Day 8 - March 28th

Today is Day 8. It's the first day that I won't be doing exercise in the morning. I will have to work out sometime this afternoon or tonight. Last night was interesting in terms of food and beverage. I had a diet coke. Michelle told me not to but I was craving the carbonation. McDonalds was our choice of dinner--fast, easy, cheap. Of course, Nick has these amazing Oreo Balls. I only had 2. Desserts in moderation--that's my motto.

This morning I am drinking approximately 20 ounces of water and eating a granola bar for early breakfast. Tonight we are going out, so I have to really watch my calorie intake during the day. Web research shows that alcohol really adds to weight gain because the drinks are full of calories with no nutritional value. Most people tend to drink many drinks (consume many calories) and then continue to eat the same amount of food during that day. It becomes even worse when many people tend to eat a lot of food after they started drinking, eg. ordering pizza, half-price appetizers, pizza rolls, etc. So, word to the wise--don't drink and eat too much.

Today was supposed to be the weigh in but since I left Warrensburg yesterday, I had to weigh myself yesterday. So look to a previous post if you are wondering what I weighed!

Day 7 -- It's been a week!

So waking up this morning so very difficult. Last night, I went on rounds at midnight and then stopped by one of the CA's rooms and chatted until 2 am rounds. Then the night was interesting. People yelling at each other in their rooms; people yelling at each other outside; fireboard being engaged; and people yelling at each other in their rooms, again! Needless to say, I did not wake up as usual this morning. In fact, I woke up at 7:30 am.

With the limited amount of time, I only did about 12 minutes on the upright bike -- burned 60 calories and "biked" over 3 miles.

I did weigh in --- 204.75! It seems that I am making progress.

Hopefully this weekend does not mess up my efforts.

Goal for this weekend/DC trip (until Wednesday): Stay true to the cause!

Day 6 - Thursday!

I can't believe it's almost been a week since the Great Fat Off began. So far, everything is going extremely well. This morning was my fifth day waking up to go exercise. Granted, my exercise routine is still building. I feel confident that I am building to a point of great success. I am working to build strength in my upper body as well as burn off some of this fat. The treadmills are pretty cheap so I only walk on them but I hope to be able to jog outside soon when it isn't so cold or rainy. This morning I burned approximately 145 calories while walking on the treadmill. The first couple of days exercising, I worked out on the upright bike which burned only about 60 calories each day; however, days 3 and 4 of exercising, I started on the treadmill and burned 120 and 130 calories respectively. Not only am I burning additional calories, but I am increasing my metabolic rate which will burn more calories in the long run.

Today, I had a small breakfast--pastry and iced non-fat mocha. I know... not the healthiest; however, my friend and I went to the local coffee shop. We used to go once or twice a week, and now we go about once or twice a month. So it was a special occasion! It was so good. Then for lunch, I had yogurt and two granola bars. Dinner--dining center food. I had some eggplant parmesan, chicken alfredo, and a cupcake. I was so hungry; I feel I probably overate a bit for dinner but not too much. For an evening snack I had applesauce and some juice.

Beverage of the day -- WATER except for that non-fat iced-mocha. I am very proud of my water intake. Though I have been sweating more often. Not sure if that is a product of the water intake or the increased metabolic rate.

The official weigh in day is not until Saturday; however, I will have to weigh myself tomorrow because I will be leaving for the Annual American College Personnel Association Conference on Saturday morning. I will be staying in Kansas City on Friday night, so I won't have access to the scale. Thus, tomorrow will be the day to see if I have either gained or lost weight. Hopefully the later, but if not, then neither.

I am so excited to go to Washington DC. It is going to be amazing. The next five days are going to be so difficult. I have to be very conscious about the calories that I intake as well as the beverages too. I am always prone to drink lots of soda when I am on the road, and I will have to be intentional about my water intake. I have been carrying a water bottle so that helps me remember to drink the water. The only problem is that I am prone to leaving the darn water bottle places. Which is why I left my new University of Connecticut water bottle at church :(

Unfortunately, tonight I am on duty for my building (instead of one my CAs) so I will have to do 2 am rounds, meaning I will be receiving less sleep. So hopefully that does not mess with my exercise schedule.

Day's high -- continued exercise
Day's low -- dinner amount

Day 4 - March 24, 2009

Day 4:

So today has been an interesting day. I woke up this morning... and thought it was Wednesday. I almost even drove over to my 8 am meeting (on Wednesday). Because I was running late, according to my Wednesday schedule, I almost skipped working out. Then I remember... TODAY is TUESDAY!

Thus, I worked out a little. For me, the exercise is really about learning more about fitness, about myself, and about building a routine. I have yet to reach a phase where I enjoy working out or where I desire to work out. But hopefully I will get there.

My body is so tired from the exercise though. In the afternoon and evenings, I just want to sleep; however, I have so much stuff to do that I can't.

Today my friends came and visited... so we went to a place that serves ice cream. I would say that it was definitely not in my diet. I did purchase an ice cream treat. I got the smallest size and only ate half of it, though. Still--bad move.

Meal-wise, I had salad and soup for brunch. It was quite good. I am enjoying eating vegetables. I am also enjoying drinking a lot of water. The need to drink soda is not really present right now which is nice. I was craving something other than water so I found some apple juice in my fridge. It was sooo good.

It's only Day 4 of looong challenge. The strategy is to keep doing what I am doing and do not give up!

Day's High -- Workout in the morning
Day's Low -- Ice Cream :(

Day 3 - Monday, March 23

Today is Day 3... the day is not even halfway over; however, I feel that everything is going well so far.

I got up this morning around 7:30 am to do some exercising. I am quite out of shape and so this process is slow and gradual but, in the end, it will be worth it. I am really tired of getting tired so easily when I am exerting myself. I want to build strength and endurance.

The whole meal ideal is a struggle. I need to start eating a breakfast. I think this will help my appetite throughout the day. I mean, I am not always hungry, but I do get hungry at the strangest of times. I'm going to eat a granola bar now and then get a salad around 12:30 pm-ish. Hopefully, that will be a good set up for the rest of the day's dining needs.

Yesterday, dinner was sooo evil... but sooo good. I have a compulsion to eat everything that is served to me. For several reasons--politeness, sustainability, and appreciation. When I serve myself, it is easier for me to take smaller portions (though sometimes I still do not). But at a served meal, it's hard to not eat everything. At restaurants, I have learned well to take food home (and subsequently eat it instead of letting it go to waste in my fridge). This has helped.

It's only day three. So hopefully I can keep up the lifestyle change. I see my lifestyle as very stagnant, static, and superficial. I want to see me become fresh, dynamic, and edifying. We shall see.

Aaron

Day 2

So Day 1 was not the exciting. I did not get a chance to exercise, though, you would think that a beautiful Saturday would be the perfect time to work out. Instead, I played Rock Band, practiced piano, worked on homework, and tidied my apartment. It was so nice to have time to just chill out.

Food-wise, I was pretty smart on my decisions. I realize that the Soda Challenge is going to be quite tough for me. I do love my soda. But since I bought a nice water bottle from UConn, I figured that the amount of water that I consume would increase dramatically... This would have been true if I didn't leave the bottle at church today! Hopefully no one from church steals my water bottle. I doubt any one would. I mean it does say UConn all over the bottle. Maybe someone will take it to deface it. I sure hope not.

But I went to subway -- it was amazing. Drank water. Now, it's time to go meet some potential students for the graduate program. There will be snacks available plus a free (most likely highly unhealthy) meal provided and more snacks at the candidate social.

Snacks are the bane of obese people's existence. It seems harmless to have one bite of this chex mix, maybe a couple of chips with rotel dip, and maybe a cookie or two. But then... after 2 hours, you've eaten so much! My plan is to drink a lot of water to fill the void that will be in my stomach from not eating snacks.

I pledge to not fall trap to this dilemma as Day 2 ensues.

Oh, I almost forgot! Today, I actually woke up early. I am trying to train myself to wake up earlier because I function better in the morning and it gives me time to work out. Not only did I wake up early, but I also made it downstairs to the fitness center and did a little exercise. Now, I am sore. I am terribly out of shape. It's quite sad how out of shape I am.

Day's high -- Waking up and Exercising!
Day's low -- Eating too much at lunch...

Goal for tomorrow -- Eat better portions in meals, drink more water, wake up early and exercise!

Aaron

First Weigh In

Today is the day -- Saturday, March 21, 2009

I weighed myself at 9:15 AM CDT == 208 pounds.

Thus, my target weight is 158 pounds.

Let the Great Fat Off 2009 begin.

Aaron

Preparation for the big day!

I am posting some photos of me over the years. In the fifth grade, I was 50 pounds underweight. I was so underweight that my parents threatened to feed me via IV if I didn't eat.

 I was so light that the wind blew me around.

Now... I'm a balloon. Well, at least compared to what I once was. I understand that I will never return to 70 pounds of weight, but everyday I realize that I could have been 

skinnier. I fell prey to that damn candy machine at the Christian School (to which I owe one of my friends plenty of money because he bought me so much candy). I fell prey to the United States's ideal of being obese.

Hopefully, things are going to change.

This is a photo taken of me sleeping on a trip in February 2009. We were driving from Duluth, MN back to Missouri. I show this pciture because it highlights my neck and face. One of the features of my body that has suffered from the extra flab, especially ny neck. I hope by the end of this process to have a more lean face and neck. No extra flab hanging around.

This is a picture of me during my freshman year in high school. I'm on the very right... if you didn't notice. I know my fashion sense was cr-azy. But I blame my parents; just kidding. Even though I was on the path to fat, I was still substaintially skinnier in high school. About 150 pounds or so. I haven't grown any heigth since then either... so I shouldn't really be gaining weight.

Here is another picture of me before the Great Fat Off of 2009. This picture was taken in the Fall of 2007 at the MACURH Regional Conference. I don't have hair that long anymore (thank goodness).

Soon, we will do the first weigh in and officially begin the competition. More pictures to follow as I progress to my target weight!

Aaron

The Great Fat Off of 2009

So welcome to my blog for the Great Fat Off of 2009.

My buddy and I on Tuesday, March 17th, at the Nathan Hale Inn True Blue Tavern decided to enter into a bet of $100 to lose 50 pounds or more by Labor Day 2009. If neither one of us loses 50 pounds, then the bet is off. If only one of us loses 50 pounds, that person is the winner. If both lose 50 pounds, then the person that loses the most is the winner. 

The plan is to begin the challenge on Saturday, March 21. We will weigh ourselves on every Saturday and make the weight available for tracking purposes. 

Drew's plan for the challenge is to become a vegetarian and retain his alcoholic behaviors. Just kidding, he does not have any alcoholic behaviors...

I will become sober-ish. No more than three drinks a month with the goal of minimizing alcohol consumption to 0 drinks per month. I will also become sober-ish from Taco Bell. No more than two trips (including the Taco Bell in the Union) a month to Taco Bell with a caloric maximum of 840 per trip (approximately 2 beef baja chalupas, no side taco, no soda). I will abstain completely from pizza unless it is the only food option available since not eating is more detrimental than eating small portions of pizza. I will drink no more than 30 ounces of soda per week with the goal of turning to low calorie options or complete abstenance of soda.

On the flip side, I pledge to exercise regularly. My life style will evolve to require more walking/less driving, less television/movie time, more studying, less idle free time, and more hobby time.

Although I already weigh less than my competitor who believes that he will lose more since he weighs more, I am confident that I will win the bet.

Thus, on the great day of Wednesday, March 18th in the Blessed Year of our Lord 2009, I formally submit to the Great Fat Off of 2009. 

Until Saturday for the first official update.

Aaron