Progress Report – Walt in PA

Back on May 3rd I made the decision to do something about my life and make a healthy change. I stepped on the scale and had mixed emotions. I was happy to see that I wasn't at my all-time highest weight but was also crushed that I wasn't far from it. The following day I joined a local gym and had the first of many workouts. It wasn't easy but it was nice to be active. Waking up sore the following morning wasn't a deterrent, it was motivation. Soreness meant a solid workout the day before. Every ache I felt was like a little pat on the back, telling me I had done a good job. I've stuck with the gym routine and truly enjoy my time there. A typical week has me working out at least five days and it isn't uncommon for me to throw in a little extra at home - especially when I'm feeling bored and inclined to eat for something to do. Each week I've been stepping on the scale. I do this either on a Saturday or Sunday, depending on what I have going on, and follow it up with progress photos and body measurements. The first week was a little disappointing. So much work and only 2.8 pounds down to show for it. The following week was worse with only a 2.4 pound loss. I wasn't deterred by the numbers, I just had to remind myself that it would be a slow process. I set myself up with a caloric deficit which would result in roughly 2 pounds of loss per week. Add on weight training and it is possible that I could be putting on small gains due to muscle. While the scale wasn't doing a whole lot of moving, I was looking and feeling better. Things changed in the third week. Now there was a FitBit Challenge to compete in and suddenly my step count soared due to added cardio. I had a banner week with a loss of 5.4 pounds. I hit cardio even harder the following week and expected bigger numbers. Seeing a loss of only 1.8 pounds was a bit of a let-down but I soldiered on. That brings us to this week. I spent a lot of time doing cardio in an effort to hold my own in the FitBit Challenge (Congrats Carlos - You earned the win!) and changed my gym routine to add more sets and reps. When I got on the scale this morning I had my fingers crossed for 3.4 pounds but was shocked when I saw that I was down 4.6 pounds. When I jumped into the My Fitness Pal App to record my weight, I saw the totals for the month. I was down 17.4 pounds, that can't possibly be right? I added up the numbers twice and sure enough, I have dropped a considerable amount of weight in a fairly short period of time. I have a long road ahead of me and the farther I go the harder it will be to drop the pounds, but I'm excited for that journey. I enjoy coming away from a workout tired, muscles swollen, soaked in sweat. It gives me an incredible feeling accomplishment. Chaffed nipples, though, that just plain sucks...