Weight Loss!

So, this last Friday was the final weigh-in at work for the "Biggest Loser" contest that I previously posted about (see here). I actually won! I couldn't believe it and I am really proud of myself. I've never put such a concerted effort into regular exercise and healthier eating and had such great success. I weighed-in at 195 lbs. and won the contest by weighing in at 169 lbs. That's 26 lbs. lost in just over 3 months! My prize is $150, which is nice money to get a few things I've been wanting and it served as an impetus to do something I already wanted to do and hope to continue.

How did I do it? I definitely decreased my portions that I was eating (I love eating good food), I cut out a lot of snacks (except for smaller healthy ones), stopped eating the free cafeteria food(Food Services of America) that they serve at work and brought my own lunch instead, we also were much more careful about what we were eating. We ate very little dairy (cheese, milk, etc.) and rarely had any kind of meat besides fish.

I also exercised more consistently then I have since I've been married. My "Weak Week Running Streak" is once again up to 5 weeks and I ran four times this past week and I feel much more comfortable running and rarely feel sore the next day at all, although I still don't enjoy running all that much and I hope to be able to find some other activities to exercise.

It's been really great and Mary has been really helpful and supportive with both the eating aspect as well as the exercising aspect during this time. The great thing about this is that I haven't felt like I was dieting... I really have enjoyed the food that we've eaten and haven't missed (with some exceptions of course) some of the foods that we cut out of our diet. I anticipate that we'll continue with this healthier eating and I hope that I'll continue to exercise. Here are some cool benefits of this weight loss:

1) I can wear my wedding ring again... comfortably! I'm ashamed to admit that the marriage weight that I put on made me have to not wear my wedding ring and Mary got me a cheap one for my not so slimmer days. It's nice to wear that ring again!

2) People noticed, and it felt good to get those compliments!

3) I can wear some of those clothes that I loved from a few years ago that have been sitting in the "Jeff - smaller clothes" bin and I like some of my new/old wardrobe. My white shirts for church aren't as tight around the collar either and I can wear some of those suits that I haven't been able to wear for a while.

4) Everybody knows that guys like to look at themselves in the mirror... and I do more of that currently and I generally like how I look (I'm not sure if I'm more interested in the cool beard that I'm growing or how I generally look, I guess we'll see when I shave)

5) I am more optimistic that I can keep this weight off or at least maintain this or an even better physique. Getting down in the 160's (albeit barely) seemed way out of reach for me but I still see plenty of room for improvement... not necessarily weight loss, but definitely body toning... and I feel motivated to do it and that I can make that change... this is new for me!

Anyway, this is something I've been working on for a while and I haven't really had these types of successes in quite a while... and it feels great. I hope to enjoy a little more self-indulgence (read mint chocolate chip ice-cream and beef occasionally), while also maintaining a more healthy diet and regular excercise... it's cool! I don't have any pics right now but when I post some pics of my beard you can check it out then.