I guess for a while I will only occasionally be able to get a post in.  When I get the CPA behind me, I will have more time to cook up some good things to put here.

I was thinking about the Biggest Loser today.  Since the holidays started I really had not talked much about it and pretty much I have not lost any weight.  I was expecting that over the holidays that I would just maintain my weight and try not to gain.

As it turns out, I did gain about five pounds, I immediately lost two pounds right after the holidays and now I am back on track.

I found that over the holidays some of my old habits started to creep back in.  So over the last week or so I decided to get back into the groove and work on the weight loss.  I was thinking that perhaps I could share some of the things I am doing to hopefully inspire the rest of you as you try to shed a few pounds.

The number one thing I do is keep a diary of what I am eating, weight watchers taught me that, I had fallen out of the habit of making entries every meal and found that when I stopped thinking about the entry I would have to make I would eat more.  The diary serves two purposes, one to track what you eat, and two it makes you think about what you are eating and how much.  I find that I think twice about that extra portion when I know I have to write that in.

Exercise is another key factor in weight loss.  Mixing up the exercise helps too.  The body learns from what you are doing and it becomes more efficient at doing it as you go along.  It’s a good idea to change up your routine at times to make sure your body continues to burn calories.  Sometimes that just means going a little faster, other times it means changing the exercise you are doing altogether.

Weight loss is pretty simple if you think about it.  Eat less and exercise, I guess it’s the exercise part we all have trouble with.  All I can say is find a way to do it, perhaps set aside time everyday to workout, join a club if that is what you need, invest in some equipment (what I did) and be sure to use it.

I know that I feel a lot better since I have lost my 21 lbs, I have more energy, doing things takes less effort and I sleep like a baby.

Just a bit of something to think about on a snowy Thursday.

 I have joined my fellow vagrants in the biggest loser contest.  Over the last few weeks my weight has been holding steady at 20 lbs down.  Everytime I try to lose weight I get to the 20 lb mark and can’t get past it, and then I lose my interest and put the weight back on.

Today is the day I can announce that I broke the 20 lb barrier!  I am officially 21 lbs down!  Only 59 more to go, but I know that I can do it.

In the past, I have always tried to lose weight on my own.  This time is different in that, I decided to go with the online version of Weight Watchers.  The resources have been invaluable to me.

So how did I break the barrier?  Weight Watchers suggested that I vary my eating along with my exercise.  As we become better at eating and exercising, the body becomes more efficient at handling the calorie and exercise levels.  You lose the ability to lose weight because the body becomes accustomed to what you are doing.

The suggestion was to actually eat more on some days and do different exercises.  I tried that and BAM, I lost two pounds in a matter of a few days.

So, to my fellow weight losers, try varying your exercise and eating, it really works. I am now at 7.5%.

I wanted to get this out now, especially since the Freeman had the article so it was a perfect tie in.  Christmas will be here before you know it, and I have for the last several years been part of a group that donates to the Christmas Clearing House.

 

I like the CCH because you get a family to donate to, right here in Waukesha, and it feels great to be able to give a present to someone who may not have a Christmas like the one you are used to.  Believe me when I say these families appreciate the gesture.

 Like I said I do it with a group, we pretty much pool our money, we all give about $20 and try to have enough to get a great gift for everyone in the family plus a little extra for the parent.  Here is the article.  Sponsor a child with Clearing Council. 

You can do this on your own and just concentrate on the child.  But I like the idea of making a whole family’s Christmas a little brighter.

On the weight loss front I am still at 7%, hoping for 8% by the end of the week

Before I had kids, my wife and I would go with friends to the various haunted houses in the area. Many do this to raise money for charity. So, if you want something different to do this weekend, and want to feel good about doing it. Check out some of these houses.
House haunting.Looking for a frightfully good time.

For my weekly update on my weight I am up to a 7% loss on weight. I will keep working to get those pounds off.

I had not been around the Springs in awhile. Mainly because, I have just been sooooooooooo busy.

I am in on the biggest loser.

Coincidentally I am working on my own weight loss. To date I have lost 16 lbs which is about a 6% loss since the 6th of September. But I will look at Sancho’s start date and calc from there.

I am going for a total loss of 82 lbs. How about you?

Here’s the formula for figuring out your “percentage lost” for Hobo’s biggest loser. If you haven’t joined yet you can just email me with your name and % lost so far and I’ll add you to our list, we started tracking Sept 15th. Feel free to join any time! Check out the progress so far to your right, pretty darn good huh?

Take total weight lost from starting weight then multiply by 100, this gives you the % lost.
-example;
30lbs (total lost) divided by 320 (starting weight) = 0.09375
0.0975 X 100 = 9.375
percentage lost is 9.4 %!!! (go ahead and round up!)

Any train jumpers know of a good spot to meet with great appetizers (calamari on a budget?) in Waukesha? Biggest Loser is starting up next week and we’d like to get our “food fix” in before than! We’re working on a time and date, we just need a place! Once we get the spot, we’ll make the announcement.

To the right you’ll notice a “players list” for the biggest loser contest we’ve started. Anyone can “sign on”, trainjumper or not, local or distant vagabond. Just throw your name in the ring in the comments section and we’ll get you on the list. The start date is October 1st, the starting point is “zero”, from there we track the % of weight lost (report monthly). You don’t have to give your weight for the world to read, If you’d like to, just send it to my e-mail and I’ll be the only one to see it. Otherwise track it yourself and report the % of loss/gain. My daughters are trying to reteach me the math for this, so give me time…