Stellar Path

Archive for the ‘Train to Lose’ Category

This is going to be my final Train 2 Lose post. It’s just the video for the finale.

Congrats Jeanette!

This has been a VERY good weigh-in week!

Last Friday, I was 334.9. Today, I weighed in at 332.2, a loss of 2.7 pounds from last week and a total loss of 19.8 pounds! I am immensely excited, and I am in uncharted territory.

My motivational image this week is of a dude lifting weights, for two reasons.

One, seriously, my job has been STRESSFUL as all get out the past two weeks. I’m pretty much dusting off the old resume at this point. A body can only take so much stress. Therefore, my dude lifting weights picture has two meanings. One, that is representative of what I want to do someday. I someday want to have a job in fitness. However, I don’t think anyone would hire a personal trainer who weighs 332 pounds, (unless they were like twelve feet tall), so I know I have a little more to lose to make that dream happen. And two, exercise is a better response for stress than binge eating. Because seriously, in the past, I would have had a MAJOR binge after what happened to me at work this week. But instead, I just concentrated on eating regular, healthy meals and tearing up the gym at night.

So yes, the job stress is part of why I have been a horrible blogger for a while. I’ve been working long, stressful days, and when I get home, I just want to hit the gym and then curl up on the couch with Tina. I’ll try to do better next week, I promise!

In Train 2 Lose news, tonight was the final weigh-in. It was quite an event. I’ll post the video when it’s posted, but I’ll go ahead and announce the big news…

In a distant third place was Daniel Bolton.

That means Chris Mottley and Jeanette Brumley were competing for 1st and 2nd, and let me tell you, they both looked very much thinner than when this started. They were within 0.3% of each other, but the overall winner, the one who takes home the $3,000 prize… is Jeanette! Congrats Jeanette!

Weekly $5 Goals Update

1. Reach 330. – Fail. I have decided that a four pound loss is just a bit too unrealistic for me, but I think three will be within the realm of possibility. I’ll change that for next week.

2. Write 1,500 words on my novel. – Fail. I haven’t even updated Ice Blog in two weeks, because work has had me so stressed I don’t want to do anything. However, that WILL improve next week, (it literally has to, or I will have to quit without another job lined up), so I’m going to keep my writing goal for another week.

3. Drink one gallon of water for at least five days this week. – Success. At least I made this one.

4. Take an extra walk, outside of the gym, at least four days this week. – Also success. I love the way just going outside and taking a walk makes me feel. It’s good for the soul and body.

5. Take at least two taekwondo classes. – Fail. Didn’t even make it to one. I was just too frickin’ busy.

That means I now have $14 for Super Mario Brothers Wii and you all have $9 toward your next giveaway. It’ll be here before you know it!

This Week’s $5 Goals

1. Reach 329.
2. Write 1,500 words on my novel.
3. Get eight good hours of sleep at least three nights.
4. Lift weights at least four times over the next week.
5. Work abs at least five times over the next week.

Apparently, WBKO is not going to post the weigh-in video from last week. I have NO idea why, but it isn’t on their webpage. That stinks.

However, they did post this week’s video. Angie was the one to go home. Bye Angie! She’s already joined the gym, though, so she’s got this under control. There are only four left.

(And warning, Erin. The newscaster again refers to 0.8 pounds lost as 1/8th of a pound. *sigh* It just makes me tired.)

At this point, I’m going to go ahead and declare a winner. Jeanette, in eight weeks, has gone from 290 pounds to 235. Those are Biggest Loser numbers. I think she’s definitely going to win.

Short post today, guys. I’m off to the gym. I want to make sure I have a good weigh-in tomorrow morning!

Also, I am going to start the first entry of our collective Weight Loss Journal. There’s still PLENTY of time to sign up. I just need to figure out who is going to take it after me. Any volunteers?

Even though this post is about the Biggest Loser, don’t worry if you haven’t watched the most recent episode. I’m not divulging any spoilers. I’m just going to talk about this show for today’s post.

I have watched almost every season of the Biggest Loser. I didn’t watch the third, fourth, or sixth seasons. I didn’t watch the third because Jillian wasn’t on it, I didn’t watch the fourth because I didn’t find out Jillian was BACK on it until it was already in progress, and I really don’t know why I didn’t watch the sixth. It just didn’t happen. However, I watched the first season, loved it, (and really liked the theme song back then), and I’ve watched more or less regularly ever since.

Even with the experience I had with Train 2 Lose, if I were given the opportunity, I would still probably be on the Biggest Loser. It will never happen, for two reasons. One, I do not have the luxury of giving up my job for several months, and two, I plan to be too skinny by the time Biggest Loser 11 is casting to even be eligible.

There are things that I think the Biggest Loser does that are amazing. I think it is amazing that they have brought true awareness of obesity’s dangers to the public. We all know it, but on the Biggest Loser, you can see the bad and ugly of it.

There are things that the Biggest Loser does that just makes me roll my eyes. I am SO amused by the forced product placement. I can’t really say I’m tired of it, because it’s almost become a game. “Hey look! Bob is walking into the kitchen! I think we’re about to see a commercial!” I yell.

On screen, Stephanie and Drea are sitting in the kitchen, eating grilled chicken breast with no veggies. “Hey ladies,” Bob says, “I’m glad to see that you’re eating grilled chicken breast, but where are your complex carbohydrates?”

And even though Stephanie and Drea are clearly very bright young women, they must follow the commercial script, and they stupidly stammer, “But Bob… we don’t know how to cook veggies.”

To which Bob replies, “Why, it’s easy now with Veggie Steamer Bags from Zip Lock!”

Stephanie and Drea pretend this is the most amazing thing they have ever heard, and seconds later, while chewing Extra gum, Bob gives a demonstration of how this product works. And miracle of miracles, now Stephanie and Drea have steamed green beans and zucchini beside their grilled chicken, which for some reason was already pushed to the edge of the plate as thought they wanted to provide a space for veggies that they just didn’t have the time to cook. And then they fill up their water bottles with their Brita filter.

I can’t say I hate the product placement, because it amuses me. Every single time. (Tina accused me of being brain washed when I went to buy Extra gum the other day. I put it back and got Big Red, but I’ll be damned if I’m giving up my Zip Lock Veggie Steamer bags!)

Anyway, one thing I like about this show is that it has produced some truly memorable people. I’ll do a post in a day or two about the “villains” of the Biggest Loser, but this post is about the people that I have fallen in love with on this show.

There is Kelly Mac from season one, who I was REALLY rooting for to win.

There’s Doctor Jeff from season two. I wish they’d use him more often. Can’t he assist Dr. H?

One of my favorites, Ali Vincent, from season five. I think I may have literally rejoiced when she got back on the show. She’s the first female Biggest Loser. How amazing is that?

Then we have Tara Costa, from season seven. She’s probably my very favorite contestant they have EVER had on the show. Seriously, she’s one of my role models.

And from the most current season, Sam, who already has a body on the show that I would happily kill for. (There would probably be some restrictions. I wouldn’t kill Tina, or my parents… but I’d kill someone evil FOR SURE.)

And Stephanie, who is just sweet and cute and everything good in the world rolled up in one package. I hope to see her win.

There have been plenty of others that I’ve really liked, but these are the people I most think of when I think of the Biggest Loser. Who are your favorite contestants?

The winner of Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred was the 14th comment on the giveaway, Josie from 35 and Shrinking! Yay Josie! Please email me at jeremy.logsdon@stellarpath.net with your address so I can get this shipped out to you. Josie, I just ask that you let me know what you think of the workout when you get it to help me decide if I should get one for myself.

I will be able to ship this myself for a bit less than it would cost to order it from Amazon, so it’ll be coming directly from me. This also impacts you in that I will be able to save money, which saves you money. So of the $15 for giveaways, there is currently $3 left. As soon as it gets up to $10 or so, I’ll have another one.

It also just struck me as kind of funny, but I’ve had two giveaways, and two different Josies have won them. Interesting.

How is your weekend shaping up so far? I went to the gym first thing this morning, which is a rarity for me. I don’t like to work out in the morning, but I had to run an errand for work early, so I decided to just maximize my trip and go directly to the gym. Tina is out dress shopping with her bridesmaids today, so that left me flying solo. I decided this morning was a good day for cardio, especially as we lifted really heavy last night, and I also don’t want to lift without Tina, so we can keep our workouts in sync. (I’m hoping she gets home before the gym closes so we can go hit the weights again tonight.)

I’ll admit that in the past, I’ve just hopped on the elliptical and cranked out an hour. However, I know that interval workouts burn more fat. Basically, an interval workout is one where you go hardcore for a minute or two, and then slower for a minute or two, until your workout is done. That’s what I did this morning. I did two minutes at level 12 on the elliptical and then two minutes at level 4. For an hour. The theory is that this burns more fat than staying either at level only for an entire hour. It’s also supposed to simulate the start and stop action of more sports.

That’s pretty much all I have today. It isn’t a pretty Saturday here, unfortunately, so I took advantage of the ugly weather and got some work done on my garage. I’ve almost made it to the back wall. Soon, I might even be able to park a car in there.

Oh wait, I do have a real quick Train 2 Lose update for you. The videos still haven’t been posted, but I can tell you that Patrina was eliminate last week and Angie was eliminated last night. That leaves Jeanette, Chris, Daniel, and Christi (in that order from biggest loser to least) still in the running. Only two weeks to go!

Wow; I may be on track to post something every day this month. So far, three days in, and I’ve posted three times. Let’s see how it goes. I love reading your comments, so please, stroke my poor, pitiful ego and let me know that you’re out there.

As always, video may not embed, view this post on its own page, you know what to do by now.

This is my last video that I am in, but I’ll continue to post the videos until the grand prize winner is announced!

And then there were six… and I was not one of them.

I was eliminated tonight. The red team lost. I had the lowest percentage on our team. I had to leave the Biggest Loser Ranch. I mean the Island. I mean the Outback. I mean the Train 2 Lose competition.

And honestly, I am completely okay with that. I was not eliminated because I didn’t try as hard. I worked my tail off. I was not eliminated because of a popular vote. This was strictly numbers. Technically, Patrina had a lower percentage than me, but she gets to stay another week at least because the women’s team won.

I gave it my all. I had nothing more I could give. I just happen to be a slow loser, and that’s fine. Frankly, I’m glad to be out of the competition in a way, because now I can just concentrate on losing weight and being happy with a one pound loss.

I weighed in tonight at 334.2 pounds. That’s a loss of 1.6 pounds since last week. I’ll happily take it.

I had Tina take a photo of me when I got home from the gym, and I’ll post it beside the one I took when the contest started. I think I can tell a SMALL difference in my appearance. How about everyone else?

I’ll continue to track the contest here on my blog. These people are my friends now, and I’ll still be there on Fridays to cheer them on. I’m sure I’ll still workout with them periodically.

I am grateful that I did Train to Lose, because it taught me many things, both about weight loss and myself. And I can pretty confidently say that I will probably never again enter a weight loss competition, because I don’t want to get wrapped up in the numbers game of weight loss.

And I do find it VERY interesting that I actually lost slightly more after a week of doing one hour a day than I did the previous weeks doing four and five hours a day.

Also, I am VERY excited to start taekwondo again! I have a second degree black belt to earn, and I will be back at Jeramy Black’s Taekwondo Academy on Monday night, ready to train.

Okay, that’s not me.  I hope it’s me someday.

I am going to post a video here from YouTube of my instructor, Mr. Jeramy Black, testing for his 6th Degree Master Black Belt in Chattanooga, Tennessee about a year and a half ago.  I’m actually in his demonstration, barely.  (I was a board holder.  I held for a ridge hand break.)  See if you can find me.  I’ll give you a hint.  I’m the fat black belt.

Fridays will still be my weigh in day, only now I will record my weight first thing in the morning. I may see a gain next week as I post, just for the simple fact that the scale we used at the gym weighs about two pounds lighter than my scale here. But that’s okay, because this is more than about the numbers of weight loss. And after that, I’ll continue to see the numbers drop.

My Weekly $5 Goals Update

1. Reach 332.

Fail. I made it to 334.2, which is pretty close. But it’s still a failure.

2. Workout ONLY for one hour per day.

Success! This one ALMOST didn’t happen, for reasons I’ll explain in #5, but by divine intervention, this one was accomplished.

3. Write 3,000 words of fiction, including some on my novel.

Fail. I wrote about 1,600 on Ice Blog (which is updated tonight with a slightly R-rated post, go check it out!), but none on my novel and certainly not 3,000 words. We’ll try again next week.

4. Finish 3 complete workouts in the weight room.

Success! I love everything about doing weights, and I’m going to work out with weights later tonight. Can’t wait!

5. Take another spin class.

Success! Tina and I took a 30 minute introductory spin class on Thursday. I knew this would put me over an hour, with the one hour Train 2 Lose workout, but I wanted to try spinning again. Besides, we just bought two gel seats for the bikes, so we had to try them out. It wasn’t bad. I’ll do it again. So I did it, expecting to go over my hour limit for the day. However, we only did 30 minutes that night at the gym, so I managed to do both spin and stay under an hour. Success!

That gives me $6 toward Super Mario Brothers Wii and you all $9 toward another giveaway. As soon as I’ve hit ten dollars or so, I’ll find something else fitness related to give out.

My $5 Weekly Goals for Next Week

1. Reach 330.
2. Take at least three taekwondo classes.
3. Write 3,000 words on my novel.
4. Drink one gallon of water on at least four days.
5. Track every bite I eat on FitDay at least five days.

That’s my week. How has yours been?

As always, if you are viewing this on the main page, the video may not appear. If you click on the title of this post, it will be on the post’s page.

Sadly, the t.v. hosts did not seem to actually watch the video clip before they started talking about it, because while they were correct that Deanna was eliminated, she did LOSE weight, not gain. Stupid newscasters.

I suspect this will be my last week in the contest, and I am at peace with that. There are several benefits to no longer being in this competition.

One, I can go back to taekwondo. My classes meet at the same time as the Train 2 Lose competition, and I haven’t gone in a while. I’m still a Senior 1st Degree Black Belt, and I hope to test for Probationary 2nd Degree Black Belt in July.

Two, the numbers game of weight loss is getting in my head. I want to just be able to be happy if I’ve lost weight, not be upset if I haven’t lost enough. I can’t guarantee that still won’t happen as the wedding date draws closer and closer (we’re getting married in seven and a half months – holy crap!) but I want to relax about it. I really believe that stress may be a contributing factor. It’s also just SO frustrating seeing people who are not working out any harder than myself dropping such big numbers. It sucks. Hard. And blows. At the same time.

Three, I want to experiment with my eating and exercise to see what truly works best for me, and in this contest, I’m afraid to do that, for fear it may cause me to gain weight. Granted, that’s sort of what I’m doing this week, with only exercising one hour a day, but still… I want to experiment a little, and I don’t feel free to do that yet.

My trainer said he doesn’t think I’ll go this week. I think I will. I don’t suspect I’ve lost anything, and I certainly haven’t lost anything substantial, but we’ll see. He did tell me that he could tell my face is thinner, which was certainly nice to hear.

As soon as I’m out of the contest, I’ll resume Friday as my weigh-in day, but I’ll obviously use my weight that I record first thing every morning. I also need to start posting more pictures of myself. I think I may take a photo every Friday evening, just to see if I can track my weight loss as it goes lower.

On other news, I’ve decided to start Project 365. If you don’t know what it is, basically, you take a photo every day for a year. That’s it in a nutshell. I’ll likely take most of them on my cell phone; it’s only a two megapixel camera, but I’ve heard many photographers say that it isn’t the camera that makes a photo, it’s the photographer. Hopefully, my skills will improve over the year. I can definitely say that this first photo is not a prize winner. Anyway, you can check out my page here.  (http://365project.org/stellarpath/)

And then were seven… and I am still in the contest by the skin of my teeth.

I weighed in at 335.8, for a total weight loss of an astounding 1.4 pounds.

That was my sarcastic voice. Seriously, I have busted my ass this week, working out a MINIMUM of three hours a day, and I lost 1.4 pounds. I have not eaten a single carb after lunch. I have only eaten healthy, clean foods, and I am not in starvation mode.

So I’ve decided that for the next week, I am not doing as much. I’m going to do one hour a day.

Here’s my logic. I know that I cannot maintain three hours of exercise a day for the rest of my life. It simply is not possible. However, an hour of exercise is something that I can do. This is my new philosophy – if I cannot do it for the rest of my life, then I will not do it now to lose weight.

My weight loss may go even slower. If it does, then I’ll go to a doctor and have myself thoroughly checked out. I suspect, though, that a lot of this is truly mental. I am definitely a believer in the mind being a powerful influence on the body, both good and bad. With the mindset I have had in this contest of “win at all costs,” I don’t think it’s good for my body.

Because I have not been having fun with my weight loss for a few weeks now. So if I am eliminated next week, then so be it. I am honestly, truly fine with that. I can already name some benefits to being out of this competition. One, I can go back to taekwondo. Taekwondo meets four nights a week at 7 p.m., which is the same time as my workout. I’m itching to get back in class, start sparring again, and get ready for my 2nd degree black belt test. I want to perfect my form. I want to see my taekwondo buddies again, who I haven’t seen in a LONG time.

Two, I can go back to not being in a mental anguish state all day long over a looming weigh-in. I want to just get up, whatever my weight is in the morning, buck naked on the scale fresh out of the shower, is what it is. I don’t want to think, “Well, I know this would be good for me, but it’s food that would be sitting on my stomach, and that’s not good for me at this weigh-in.” That’s ridiculous, and starting now, I’m not going to think that way again.

Hell, I’m almost campaigning to be eliminated next week. I like the guys on my team and I like both trainers and I like the girls on the blue team, but I want to go back to just working out and losing weight, not agonizing over every ounce lost.

Because you know what? I should be happy with a low loss, even 1.4 pounds, and not begrudge it because it isn’t enough. 1.4 pounds a week is still 72.8 pounds in a year, and I’d look a lot better (and be a lot healthier) at 260 than 330.

Okay, bitch fest is over. The red team won, which is the only reason I am still there. I am the lowest person on the red team with a total weight loss of 16.2 pounds, and I am sixth overall. The blue team lost, and that means Deanna is going home. This one isn’t a sad elimination, though, because Deanna is not distraught, and she and her husband are joining the gym next week, so she’ll still be working out. Yay Deanna!

On to other news… first up… my first giveaway!

There were eight entries, thank you so much to those of you who entered, and the winner of my first ever giveaway was… Josie from Yum Yucky! Yay Josie! Josie, if you would, please email me at blueservo@gmail.com the address of where you would like the CarbQuik sent, and I will have it on its way to you Monday morning. While I’m talking about Josie, I’d also recommend you go check out her blog which is one of my new favorites. She has a wonderful writing style and sense of humor, and she is a true pleasure to follow, in a way that doesn’t sound stalker-y.

Second, and somewhat related to giveaways, is my Weekly $5 Goals Update.

1. Reach 333

Fail! Not even close. I’m still almost three pounds away. Granted, a loss is a loss, so I’m not too torn about not meeting this one.

2. Write 3,000 words on my novel

Fail! I did write 1,800 words of fiction (more on that in just a moment), but it wasn’t 3,000.

3. Drink at least one gallon of water a day

Fail! I came awfully close. On at least four days, I drank more than that much. I got close on the others, but I’m following this to the letter, and I didn’t make it.

4. Do at least 2 extra at-home workouts

Success! I, in fact, did three!

5. Finish 4 complete workouts in the weight room

Fail! Only three.

I have now earned $3 toward my purchase of a Super Mario Brothers Wii, and you currently have $7 toward the next giveaway. I’m not sure – I’m thinking the next giveaway will either be a water bottle or an exercise DVD. What do you think?

But I still like doing my goals, so here are my goals for this week!

1. Reach 332.
2. Workout ONLY for one hour per day. (That’s right – my goal this week is to do LESS.)
3. Write 3,000 words of fiction, including some on my novel.
4. Finish 3 complete workouts in the weight room.
5. Take another spin class.

That’s right, I said take ANOTHER spin class. I did one with Train 2 Lose, and there were parts of it I really liked. I liked the toughness of it; I liked the challenge it gave my leg muscles. I DID not like one aspect of it, and I can only assume that Spinning is Latin for “The Process of Being Anally Raped by a Bicycle Seat.” However, I am buying a padded gel seat this weekend, so I’ll be ready for next week.

Okay, my last thing – I mentioned I wrote 1,800 words of fiction this week. I’ve written more about it on the tab at the top of this page that says Ice Blog, but basically, I’ve created a fictional blog about a morbidly obese man who is spending the next two years alone in Antarctica. There are twists and turns planned, and I hope you’ll read it and see what happens. I’d always appreciate constructive feedback. You can find Ice Blog by either clicking the tab at the top of the page or going directly to http://www.stellarpath.net/IceBlog/.

As always, to see the video if you are on the main page, click on the title of this post and view this post on its own page. The video should be embedded at that point.

Very disappointing weigh in last Friday. And apparently, I have a tic of clapping my hands any time I am on camera.

I hope (and think I will) have a loss of at least three pounds this Friday. I am close to two pounds down now (I think). It’s very frustrating that I am busting my butt and still not losing like others, but what can you do? I’m still hoping I can pull into the top three at some point. I’ve got Jeanette, Chris, Daniel, and Christie as my main competition. If I could have two good weeks (and subsequently they don’t have as good of weeks), I can pull ahead. Maybe I can still turn my three pounds into five by this Friday? We’ll see.

I plan on doing four hours today. One hour of Zumba, one hour of elliptical on my own, one hour Train 2 Lose workout, and one additional hour of elliptical on my own again. It’ll be a busy day, but we’re getting down to crunch time. I refuse to have another bad weigh-in on Friday if I can at all keep it from happening.

In a way, I’ll be very happy when this contest is over, because I’m starting to get to a point where it isn’t enjoyable. I like the workouts, I like the people, but I don’t like the numbers game that I’m starting to play. I just want to be at a place where I can enjoy my weight loss, even if it’s just a pound or two, and not be frustrated if I don’t lose six.