25 Day Travesty

Well, the 25 Day Maintenance Diet did work that well. I ended up gaining 16 pounds. Granted, this was the Holidays and I did not work out for almost 3 weeks. I spent some time with my family which was nice. My whole family was together for Christmas for the first time in at least 6 years. Also, as discussed in an earlier post, I finally joined The Tequila Club. That was a good night, but the 2nd time we went was even better (Luckily, my brother-in-law was strong enough to join me in the club). Of course, shots of tequila usually make an evening better (7 shots down, 43 more to go until I get the velvet painting of myself on the wall...tell me that's not some sort of motivation).

I have been thinking about it recently, and I wonder what I would have done if my 25 day break had been in any other month. I think I would have done a lot better. The holidays have historically been a bad diet time for everyone. With all the effort I put forth on the diet, I just crashed afterwards, but I am sure, if the break was over the summer, I would have maintained a lot better.

This pic alone is pretty descriptive of the whole break:

Day 94 - 100, THE END of the First Challenge

Net loss - 8.0, total loss 80.6

Feel free to read that last number one more time. I will wait.....that's right, in 100 days, I lost just over 80 pounds. I really did not think I could do this well. I thought I would do ok, I thought I would lose some weight, but I did not think it would be that much. First off, thank you so much to everyone who supported me on this and to all the people who answered my many, many questions (DM, that's mainly you).

I learned quite a bit on this diet about myself and what I can do. I realized that when I really focus on something and care about it, I will succeed at it (Granted, it was called 100 pounds in 100 days, but losing 80 pounds is still pretty impressive). I learned that I need to make better decisions when it comes to food (fast food is NOT the way to go). I make really good eggs (I knew this already, but it was reinforced). And the most important thing I learned is that I am a lot happier and more confident when I am exercising and losing weight, and those are 2 things I want to maintain.

One interesting thing about my diet that I learned from RM is the last thing I will share. He kept trying to get me to watch The Biggest Loser. I would try, but I am just not that into Reality TV, but I would still ask about the show as I was still interested to see what they were doing. I am not sure if I mentioned this in a previous blog, but I auditioned for this most recent season of the show, and obviously, was not on the show. For those not familiar with the show, there are about 16-20 adults who go to live on this compound and workout and people get voted off the show every week. Of those who started, 4 people stayed at the compound through the whole thing, with no job, with a personal trainer, with special chefs teaching them how to cook healthier food, working out several hours a day for 101 days. Of those 4 people, over 101 days, with all that, they lost between 75 and 85 pounds. While I was on my diet, I worked full time, had no personal trainer or chef, cooked my own food (of course there were days I went up a lot too, like after Thanksgiving) and was on it 100 days and still lost 80 pounds. No need to clap, I just patted myself on the back. But seriously, I was blown away when RM told me that. I was surprised that I did that well on my own and I wished I was on the show, because I would have won.

And on that note, here are some pics:

Face pic the 1st day

Face pic at the end

Body pic the 1st day

Body pic at the end

Random pic of me sleeping the day before the diet

Please continue to read my blog, as I try to maintain for 25 days and start another 100 Day Challenge in 2009. Happy New Year.

Day 87-93

Net loss - 2.0, total loss - 72.6

Thanksgiving was good. So good in fact, that I gained almost 4 pounds. My family was in Chicago, so I went to a friends and went to town. I got there about 1.30 PM and started snacking until we ate the actual meal at 6.30. The food was so good though. Luckily, I worked through everything I ate within 2 days, and lost all that weight pretty quickly.

And I am almost done with the diet. I am excited. I am happy that this is done and that I did so well on it. I have a week to go, and then 25 days of restricted freedom. I say restricted because I plan to eat, but I know I have to control it and not go crazy. Then another 100 days, and by Tax Day next year, I will be all done.

I know these posts will not be every day anymore, but I will still post at least once a week.

Day 83 - 86

Net loss - 4.6, total loss, 71.4

I broke through the barrier I wanted. All it took was hard work and discipline. And a lot of willpower. As I said before, I dressed up as Santa Friday night, pics below. That was fun, but to be honest, it was a little creepy. I just did not feel right trying to entice little kids with candy. Granted, most of the kids who were really wrong did want to talk to me anyway. They would look at me and cry.

Day 82

Today - 1.8, total loss - 66.8

I had a good number today. I was really happy because it pushes me further along. This diet has been going so well, I almost don't want it to end. It is because of these new thoughts, I have made some plans for next year already. I am going to take 25 days off the diet and try to maintain the weight I am at. Not try to lose and definitely not gain. I will continue to work out everyday and see how my body reacts to a more normal diet. I will not go crazy, well, I am sure a few days will be over the top, but if I gain, I know that I need to go back to salads to lose those extra pounds. In the New Year, I am going to start another 100 Day Challenge to lose the rest of the weight. My goal right now is to lose 125 pounds total. I think I will lose between 75 and 80 pounds on this 100 Day Challenge, making the goal of the 2nd 100 days about 45-50 pounds provided I can maintain my weight. If I make my goal, I will have lost 125 pounds in 225 days. This is a pretty hefty goal, but I am already half way there in 1/3 of the days. It is so amazing. Where I started this diet and where I am now are so different. I have come so far and I know if I keep pushing myself, there is no reason why I can't keep going.

That being said, I am going to dress up as Santa tonight. I have to admit, I am excited. If you happen to be in, or near, Newport Beach, CA tonight, feel free to come by Fashion Island and see me.

I will post pics.

Day 77 - 81

Net loss - 3.0, total loss - 65.0

The net loss on this post is a little misleading. I had a big gain after Saturday night, but it was for a good reason. Saturday night, I had dinner with some friends I used to work with and AA (luckily, she wasn't nervous). It was an amazing dinner, we had beef tenderloin, barley, and these bacon rice creations. It was all really good, but made me gain some weight. Somehow, that weight disappeared Monday though. I am not exactly sure what I did, but I dropped a lot that day.

Last night, I went out with some friends to dinner. I ate a lot more carbs than I normally eat, and even had dessert (REALLY GOOD). We had this prosciutto wrapped shrimp and chocolate mousse that was really good.

Nothing that exciting has been happening. I have been working out twice a day, which is part of the reason I have not been able to post. I have been thinking a lot about this diet though. For example, the past 2 weeks have been tough because I have been in the same 10 pounds range and every time I seem to drop a few pounds, they come right back. I realize now, that a 1/2 pound gain is not that serious. I really need to stop looking at where I am going and one bad day, I need to appreciate how far I have come and realize that I need to keep working. One day at a time...

Day 68-76

Net loss - 4.2, total - 64.0

This has been a long week. I know I should keep posting more regularly, but I keep putting it off. I have had some bad days (as shown on the weight chart on the right), but I am maintaining. I keep working out, and I am trying to stick to my diet.

One thing I have noticed is how hard the middle 1/3 of my workouts are now. I am running now, well slowly jogging, and using that demon elliptical machine more and more. When I use the elliptical, I will use it for 60 minutes on days I don't lift weights. When I run, I have been building up to this, I run 15 laps on the outside lane of a track. The last time I went, I ran on the straight-aways and walked on the curves. Anyway, minutes 20-40 on the elliptical or treadmill and laps 6-10 are so hard to get through. I always try to talk myself out of the extra laps/minutes, but when I get through those, I know that since I have completed 2/3, I can finish what I started.

I really appreciate all of the support I am getting and all the people reading this. I will try to post more often. And cheers to my sister, who has started her own diet and has lost 15 pounds so far. Keep going.

Nothing really exciting has been happening since last week. I drove up to LA this morning to have breakfast with my friend Aesea. Her name isn't really Aesea, but when I met her Freshman year in high school, she told me that was her real name and, young, innocent gullible me totally bought it. It was good to see her and catch up.

I am sure there is more I could say, but that is all for today. And to whoever posted the comment to my last post, you are correct.