Weigh-In Wednesday - Lost 3 lbs, 14 lbs. total

239, lost 3 lbs., 14 lbs total lost.
Also took my measurements, which I am tracking monthly:

• Upper Arm: 15 inches, gained 2 inches around my bicep
• that's good, it means the free weights are working
• Chest: 44 inches, lost 3 inches around my chest - excellent!
• Neck: 17.5, lost 1/2 an inch around my neck
• that is good, but I knew it was going to be a small result; I tried on my one-time favorite, every-day worn necklace that used to rest in the hollow of my throat and it was almost like a choker. LOL I thought, "Oh damn, still got some work to do..."
• Waist: 50.5, lost 1.5 inches around my belly -- awesome!
• Calves: 16 inches, lost 1 inch
• my activity level has increased, so I guess my calves were fat.
• Thigh: 25 inches, lost 1 inch off my thighs
• BMI: 31.5, still too high, but that is a 1.9% LOSS, down from 33.4

So, the observation I've been making lately is actually true. I've been noticing that my pants don't ride down as bad the last week or so. My belly is so big it pushes them down unless I cinch my belt until it's painful. I used to do that, but I can't any more. Anyway, the last few days I've noticed a marked drop in how often I have to hitch up my pants, and after I use the bathroom and re-set my wardrobe, I noticed it stays fixed for longer, easier. 

I'm very pleased with that. I hate fidgeting with my clothes all the time. It makes me self-conscious.

Also, reached an awesome Milestone with Weight Watchers, my 5% weight goal, meaning I have lost 5% of my starting weight. 

The reason that screen shot is cropped so high is because I want to celebrate my weight loss and my happiness at the success. However, there was also a warning that I am "losing weight too fast." Weight Watchers doesn't want you to lose more than 2 lbs. / week, and my average is 3.5 lbs a week.

I did go under plan a couple days last week, only ate about half of my points. And I was very hungry the following day both times because of it. However, even that feels kinda good: I have to eat more because my weigh loss is too dramatic. 

Not smoking cigarettes is also going very well. This Friday, October 10th will be 28 days, and I will be moving on to Step 3 with the nicotine patches. 2 more weeks wearing a lower does patch, and then I am technically done with them. At this time, I am feeling I don't care if I wear a nicotine patch the rest of my life, I'm not gonna smoke cigarettes. 

However, it is also getting easier and easier every day. My lifestyle routines are really adapted to not smoking. I am still using my e-cig a little bit. I am going through 1 disposable a week, which is about the equivalent of 1 pack of cigarettes in terms of how long they last. I don't use it at all in the morning, don't even think of it, except as something that has to go in my pocket because I want to use it at the end of my work day. 

I am going to try to go off the patch obviously. But, I might keep some in the house in case I freak out and start considering actually smoking. That's more than 2 weeks away anyway. My body memory of smoking cigarettes is going away really fast, it will be very diminished by then.

I am also feeling like a million bucks. I've got more energy. My house is cleaner. I'm taking better care of my body. I am starting to look forward to exercising instead of it feeling like a chore. I'm so pleased with all of it, I am starting to trust that I am making a lifelong change. It's still all a work in progress, but I'm enjoying doing it.

Goals for next week:

• Stay on plan, including eating enough (oddly enough... LOL)
• Keep working on my physical environment
• I didn't realize how disgusting my house was and I'm busy, so it's taking some time
• Work out 5 days

I've lost 2 inches off my belly

Good news.

I just broke my own rule and measured my belly NOT on the 1st of the month. (I am trying to only take my measurements monthly.)

Anyway, I was very pleased to see that I have lost a total of 2 inches off my belly circumference. And that means I've lost 1 1/4" since I last measured myself 3 weeks ago and had lost 3/4 of an inch. Which means it coincides with the timeframe that I got the elliptical and started serious cardio every day.

That's almost double the fat loss from dieting alone. 

 I think that was the final piece of the puzzle. That's some real, empirical proof that it's working. Ya know? I was starting to doubt myself really bad, like.... is it all in my head? Have I just convinced myself that it's working so I don't have to feel bad about failing? But no. It really is working. That's fantastic.

So that's it. Either today or tomorrow I am going to go join the Y.

lost 3/4 of an inch off my belly -- awesome!

For the last couple days I have been doing some research, trying to figure out why I'm not losing weight. Tomorrow I'll be six weeks in and my net loss is negligible. A pound or less, on any given day. It's discouraging, even though I've managed to transform that disappointment into motivation, it would be awesome to actually see a drop on the scale too.

Anyway, I've also noticed a few other things that I feel are all related to it.

First off, since I've started using the elliptical every day with a couple one day breaks, I find I am up to pee like 3 or 4 times in the night. I've always been a nighttime bathroom goer. But usually once or less, sometimes a second time during rehearsal for getting out of bed -- LOL -- you know that one, where you're awake and you feel like it's time to get out of bed for the day and then you come back from the bathroom and... zzzz. But the last couple weeks, I'm up to pee all night, ug. I know it's from the greatly increased water I'm drinking. And after looking at my nutrition log I am willing to admit maybe I could stand to cut my sodium a little. But I also believe it is related to water retention from changing my fitness routine, kicking it way up. The frequent peeing 100% coincided with it.

A scant minute of research on the Internet also reveals that not losing weight, or even gaining weight, during the first couple weeks of a new exercise regimen is totally normal, and temporary. Here's what I learned:

When you start exercising regularly, or change your workouts dramatically, your muscles start converting glucose (carbs) to glycogen, which is the real fuel your muscles burn. This causes water retention because it takes 3 water molecules for every 1 molecule of glycogen produced. DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) or the soreness you feel after exercising, also causes water retention in the muscles because DOMS is actually microscopic muscle tears from exertion (how muscle mass is actually increased) which are inflamed and slightly swollen, just the way a cut on your skin gets inflamed and swollen during healing. People may in fact not feel any soreness from exercise, but still be experiencing water retention from DOMS.

(NOTE: glycogen is also the nutrient that gets used during exercise, causing endorphin release, which is the cause of "runner's high.")

Here's what made me start digging deeper into the question, Why am I not losing weight?

This morning, I was looking at myself naked in the mirror and I had my hands around my belly and I noticed that it really seriously felt smaller and lighter in my hands. (Yes, I can pick up my fat.) I gave it the "shake test" and it was noticeably lighter. A little shocked -- I have been struggling to figure out why I am not losing weight, but my belly is noticeably smaller -- I give it the side-view exam in the mirror, and sure enough, Holy shit, it is smaller. So I sprint (all 3 steps) over to my desk, whip out my cloth tape measure and take my measurement around my belly. And there it is, proof on the tape measure: I've lost 3/4 of an inch around my belly.

So, in fact, I have lost "weight" -- I've lost fat, and a noticeable amount of it, off my worst trouble area -- my belly. It really helps me keep my motivation to have discovered this. I do still have that voice in the back of my head, like, "It's not working, you're gaining weight, just forget it." And to have solid, scientific proof that I am actually smaller than I was six weeks ago, kinda shuts that voice up nicely.

Plus, I can't give enough praise to the endorphin rush I get from working out, particularly from cardio.

A word about endorphins: according to Wikipedia, endorphins are, "... 'endogenous morphine,' or, a morphine-like substance originating from within the body." That feeling, like I'm superman, you just can't get it from everything, and now that I figured out I get it from jogging on my elliptical, I'm hooked. LOL -- I'm hooked on my own morphine.

Here's a couple articles on the matter:
I just started exercising to lose weight and I'm gaining
Why the Scale Goes Up When You Start a New Workout Plan