I really like breaking up my goal for the year into monthly goals.  Each month seems like a fresh start – I begin each month excited to start working on my next small goal.  Having a small amount of weight to lose each month seems a lot less daunting than thinking of the goal for the entire year.

So, my goal for February is to  be at 242.5 or lower on March 1st.  This in in keeping with my overall goal of losing 1lb a week until I reach 200. My goal and progress is posted on my weight loss goal page. I update it every month with my progress for that month.

I have been using Fitday to track my calories off and on.  To prevent myself from getting too complacent with it, I’m going to try a little experiment.  I’ll post my average daily calories and macros once a week for the month of February and see if it helps keep me motivated to continue with the tracking.

The good news is that I have lost a couple of pounds since my last weigh in.  It just goes to show that no matter how busy you are, you can still lose weight if you are consistent.  You just need to lower your expectations and don’t expect fast results.  Slow and steady…..

• Weight: 237.5 lbs (down 2 pounds)

That’s only 2 pounds in a month, but any progress makes me happy.  I didn’t do all of the other measurements this morning.  I will do that next time.

Here are the latest numbers:

• Weight: 239.5 lbs (down 1.5 pounds)
• Stomach: 43.5″ (down 0.5 inches)
• Chest: 43.5″ (down 0.5 inches)

Here are the latest numbers:

• Weight: 241 lbs (down 2.8 pounds)

I didn’t measure body fat or stomach, but I will do all of that this weekend.

Image by wader via Flickr

• Weight: 243.8 lbs (down 1.4 pounds)
• Body Fat (scale method): 30.1% (down 0.5%)
• Stomach: 43.75″ (down 0.75 inches)
• Chest: 44″ (same as previous)

My eating habits have been good since I got back.  No cheats at all.  Hopefully I can pick up my exercise a couple notches this week and be more consistent with exercising every day.

Image via Wikipedia

Here are my numbers for this week:

• Weight: 245.2 lbs (down 2.2 pounds from the previous week)
• Body Fat (scale method): 30.6% (first measurement since I started up again)
• Stomach: 44.5″ (first measurement since I started up again)
• Chest: 44″ (first measurement)

I am happy with 2.2 pounds this week. I did my 3 strength workouts as detailed here. I only did 1 day of cardio this week, so there is room for improvement there. I ate well all week (one minor cheat – I had 2 pieces of pizza at my daughter’s school year end party), averaging around 2300 calories per day.

I just realized that I have gained 2.5 inches around my stomach since just over a year ago – ouch! I hope that I can stay consistent from now on and not let the upcoming school year prevent me from reaching my goal!

I didn’t do body fat% with calipers or scale, but I did do a couple measurements.

Chest: 44 inches
Stomach: 44.5 inches

Later today I’ll post what I am doing as far as eating / exercise.

Here are the lackluster numbers from Saturday Morning:

• Weight: 240.2 lbs (up .4 pounds from the previous week)
• Skinfold (suprailiac): 21mm (no change)
• Body Fat (caliper method): 23.2% (no change)
• Body Fat (scale method): 27.0% (down .3%)
• Stomach: 42″ (no change)
• Chest: 43.5″ (up .25″ from previous week)

Hoping for some results next time!

• Weight: 239.8 lbs (down 1.2 pounds from the previous week)
• Skinfold (suprailiac): 21mm (down 1mm)
• Body Fat (caliper method): 23.2% (down 1.2%)
• Body Fat (scale method): 27.3% (up .2%)
• Stomach: 42″ (down .25″)
• Chest: 43.25″ (up .25″ from previous week)

Interesting how the scale body fat has gone up the last 2 weigh-ins. Perhaps my hydration levels were out to lunch 2 weeks ago. It can’t keep going up indefinitely, especially if all my other measurements are going down.  Chest measurement has been going up I assume due to the bench presses, dumbbell flyes, and pull ups I’ve been doing.

Is anyone interested in me posting my exercise logs? I keep track of my running, biking, swimming (when I do it), as well as weights. Let me know by leaving a comment if you are.

I did weigh in on Feb 27th. Here are the results:

• Weight: 241 lbs (down 1 pound from the previous week)
• Skinfold (suprailiac): 22mm (no change)
• Body Fat (caliper method): 24.4% (no change)
• Body Fat (scale method): 27.1% (up .7% from previous week)
• Stomach: 42.25″ (no change)
• Chest: 43″ (up .25″ from previous week)

I did not weigh in on March 6th. Between my son’s birthday and the (exciting) news of our move I really wasn’t focused too much on weight loss. This week, however I have been back at it. Eating healthy and working hard. I have a couple of posts almost ready to go on diet, exercise, and motivation which are all going to be posted over the next few days.

I promise to do better with more regular posts and updates now that things are settling down again.

Checking in with Becca, who I linked to in one of my earlier weigh ins:

On Saturday I completed 5 weeks of my weight loss journey.  I am happy to report that I lost another 2.8 pounds.  That made a total loss of 20.2 pounds in 5 weeks.  I am so excited about my continued success.  Weight is something I have struggled with my ENTIRE life.  It is something I have never been able to let go of.askbecca.com, Ask Becca, Feb 2010

You should read the whole article.