A promised weight loss update

I promised a reader I would update my weight-loss journey every so often and have really failed to do so lately.

So I think it’s time for another one.

Things are still going well. Better than I expected to be honest. I have lost 70 pounds since January 10. There have been many more ups than downs the past eight months but there have been weeks that just puzzle me.

I weigh in every Sunday. And this past Sunday’s scale reading showed minimal weight loss from the week before. It can be frustrating. Especially since you know you had a great week outside of one day.

I took my daughter to Pizza Ranch on Saturday. We were home without Mom for most of the weekend. We stayed home Friday but I let her choose the place for Saturday and we hadn’t been there in what seemed like forever.

I tried to eat the best I could but did indulge in some pizza and I finished her cheese bread.

Unfortunately, that one day probably hurt the scale reading the next morning.

And it came after a strong week of exercise where I hit 30 minutes of exercise each day and reached more than 11,000 steps in five of the seven days, including 20,000 steps on Thursday.

I have seen similar weeks to that before. Where you think the scale is going look great and it just doesn’t. And then I lose more than I expected another week.

It’s a process. And one that I don’t plan on getting away from. I like this version of me way more than where I was in January. It won’t be easy and I’m sure I will have some tough moments, but I don’t plan on going back.

I have changed my goal since starting, too. I figured why stop now and lock myself into one goal. You can always improve.

So now, instead of wanting to get around 220 pounds (I weighed in at 224 on Sunday), the new goal is to lose 100 pounds by next spring break.

We have a trip planned during that time for the first time since I can remember and I would love to be under 200 pounds for it. I would be at that milestone for the first time since maybe college? I don’t even know when I was last under 200 pounds.

The last time I gave an update, I had to get through state wrestling and state track and some other key times of the year when it’s basically impossible to eat well. But I did it.

Protein bars were a life saver. I just packed a few in my bag every day and it got me through long days.

I ran into a former boss at the Iowa Shrine Bowl in late July and we talked a little bit about the changes. He doesn’t know how I was able to get rid of energy drinks. It’s a staple with sports journalists who work long days and are up until 2 a.m. each night.

The truth is, I didn’t give them up. One of my biggest early changes was an adjustment of what I purchased at gas stations. I love gas station food and drinks. It’s quick. It’s easy. And it’s not all that expensive.

I got up to 294 pounds because I purchased sugar-packed energy drinks and hot gas station food like hamburgers, chicken and rib sandwiches, burritos and corn dogs every night.

Now, my almost daily trips to Kwik Star consist of diet pop, sugar-free and zero-calorie energy drinks and bananas with the occasional Muscle Milk thrown in there.

I’m still drinking a protein shake every day for breakfast. That includes protein powder, ice and a banana. I have recently added pumpkin to the shake after one of my fitness YouTube personalities told me it helps with muscle growth. So we’ll see how that goes.

Another friend asked me the other day if all I eat now is chicken breast. I chuckled a bit, but she’s not too far off. I do eat a lot of chicken breast.

Some other key low-calorie foods that have played a role in the weight loss include cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, tuna fish sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, bananas, apples and pickle spears.

I eat a lot of salads, too. I put chicken breast, eggs and croutons in those and I don’t think I am suffering through it at all.

The last column update, I mentioned doing daily push-ups and squats. That’s still going strong. I am now doing 4 sets of 25 each so 100 per day. That helps me get some exercise in even if I can’t get to the gym that day.

Here’s to my next goal of 100 pounds and here’s to limiting the amount of Mexican food I eat weekly.

Contact Troy Hyde at thyde@shawmedia.com