Week 12

Weight: 339.2

Weight lost in one week: 2.4

Total weight lost: 29.2

Average weight lost: 2.43

Weight left to lose: 99.2

Weeks left at average weight: 40 4/5

Estimated total weeks: 52 4/5 (just over a year!!!)

This week's goal is to lose 3.3 pounds, that would take me to an average of 2.5 pounds a week. not much, but it would help me lose the wight faster. Actually, if I just make sure that I lose more weight each week than my average (currently @ 2.43 pounds), the weight will go off much more quickly.

Week 11

I'm going to start posting my progress in a more streamlined fashion:




Weight: 341.6

Weight lost in one week: 2.8
Total weight lost: 26.8
Average weight lost: 2.44

Weight left to lose: 101.6
Weeks left at average weight: 41 2/3

Estimated total weeks: 52 2/3 (just over a year!!!)

I'm working to get down under 100 pounds to lose next week. Let's see how I do. Prayers are always welcome.

Week 10

Moving on down! Yay! Well, I'll just show you the picture:



I lost 6.4lbs this week! So, now I'm down 24 pounds over the last 10 weeks, for an average of 2.4lbs a week. That puts me on track to be done just over a year from where I started. About 44 weeks from now. If I keep up with the 6.5lbs lost average I've had for the last two weeks, that would mean I have 16 weeks left, or about 4 months. Yeah, I know that's not realistic, but man, that would be great! To be done by October.

If I want to get done by the end of the year, that's 28 weeks. That's an average of 3.72 pounds a week. So I shaved a tenth of a pound a week off of my average - or about 5 days off my journey.

We'll see how next week goes (I had my birthday on Saturday, and we ate a lot--I'll post some pictures).

Lessening My Impact

So, I realized that most of my posts on this site have been about my weight loss. But that was never the intention. This blog was supposed to be about my journey to sanctification. It was supposed to be an example of the work God is doing in my life. So, with that reasoning, I want to let you know what my wife and I are doing every Saturday morning for the whole summer:





Anna and I have decided to commit to a "work share" at Jubilee Farms in Carnation, WA. Here's the link to their website. We work the land for 4 hours a week, and in exchange, we get a "couple's share." Here's what a sample share amounts to:

From middle of June:

• Radishes, one bunch
• Turnips, one bunch
• Lettuce, one head
• Spinach, one bag
• Greens, one bag
• Braising Mix
• Kohlrabi, one bag
• Chard, one bunch
• Broccoli, one pound
• Garlic Tops, one bunch

From late July:

• Tomatoes, one carton
• Lettuce, one head
• Diakons, one bunch
• Braising Mix, one bag
• Greens, one bag
• Cilantro, one bag
• Turnips, one bag
• Cabbage, one head
• Choice: Chard or beets
• Choice: Cauliflower, Broccoli, Artichokes, or Pickling Cucumbers
• U-Pick: One pint strawberries or raspberries, ¾ bag peas, Flowers (one bunch), ½ bag snap beans, Nasturtiums, Chives, Sorrel, Borage

From early August:

• Spinach, one bag
• Carrots, one bunch
• Green Onions, one bunch
• Tomatoes, two cartons
• Onions, four
• Salad cukes, two
• Chard or Kale, one bunch
• Summer Squash, four
• Potatoes, two pounds
• Lettuce/Greens mix, one bag
• Choice of three from: Fennel, Cabbage, Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Artichokes, Beets, Cauliflower, Apples, Pickling Cukes, Peppers
• U-Pick: Flowers, one bouquet Beans, ¾ bag Raspberries or Strawberries, 1 pint

That doesn't sound too bad to me for 4 hours of work a week!

So, for four hours of our week, Anna and I get all of our veggies--and we're helping a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at the same time!

Of course, this could also help me with my weight-loss quest...

Week 9

We're back in business! Although I didn't exercise as much as I would have liked (just 4 days this week), I did get back on track. See the pic:



I lost 6.6 pounds! That means that I lost all of the weight that I gained on the cruise. And, although I'm at the same place I was two weeks ago, I've still lost an average of 1.96 pounds a week. That means I should be at my goal in a total of 66 weeks. that's a little over a year from now. I'd like to be at 240 by 2010. That means I need to lose an average of 3.82 pounds a week.

Not sure if that's possible, but that means I need a Caloric deficit of about 14,000 a week (or 2,000 a day). If I burn 500 Calories while working out, that means I need to eat 1,500 Calories less than I burn in my daily activities. My daily activities burn about 4,100 Calories a day (according to this website). That means I could eat 2,600 Calories a day and get to my total weight, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. If I'm eating 900 Calories for breakfast, lunch, and snack; that would leave 1,700 Calories for dinner. If that's what I'm eating, I think I'm doing things wrong! Yikes! As long as I eat only 1,000 Calories for dinner, I'll be doing just fine.

I'll let you know where I am next week. If I lose 4 pounds next week, I'll know I'm on the right track.

Catching up (and weeks 7 & 8)

Hello, I've missed you all (although I'm pretty sure there's no "you all" out there!). Why have I been so late in posting my results? I was out of town for a week: my wife and I, and two other couples went on a 7-day Alaskan cruise! SO MUCH FUN! But, unfortunately, so much food, too. And, even with the best of intentions, not too much exercise. I heard on the cruise that people gain an average of a pound a day while on a cruise (what, with their abundance of food, and relative lack of physical activity--see Wall-e for more details!). So, how did I do with my seven days? Did I gain BACK seven pounds? Well, we're not there just yet--first, week 7:



Not bad! Losing another 3.2 pounds is pretty good (only 110.8 to go!). At a rate of 3.2 pounds lost per week, we're talking about 34.625 weeks; 8 months; 01.23.10. But, did I keep up that pace, even with going on the cruise? Um, NO! Bummer!



If you can see from the blurry picture, I gained 6.6 pounds. :( But, that's only .94 pounds a day. A little better than average. If I keep gaining 6.6 pounds a week, I'll never get to my goal--in fact, I'd probably be dead within a year. But, I'm still down 11 pounds from when I started. If we look at the entire program, I've been losing an average of 1.375 pounds a week--85.38 weeks to go; 19.71 months, February of 2011. Gotta get back on track. Gotta get back to the negative.

How am I going to do that? I've decided to change my workout schedule. Before, I'd exercise for 50 minutes a day on the elliptical. And that's it. Now, I'm going to workout for 700 Calories a day (3500 Calories a week = 1 pound lost), and then do some strength training. Try to build up my metabolism.

And I won't eat so much.

Please continue to pray for me.