180 X 40

Focus

2013-09-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

I've lost my focus. I've fallen off the horse. I've fallen down. All of those old proverbs ring true. August was a tough month for the Atherton/Wagner family with the passing of Lindsay's father. But truth be told, I was slipping before this tragic event even happened. I haven't been working out as diligently, only running outside. I haven't been to the gym all summer. And even worse, I've been eating like crap. This combination of slacking has caused me to gain some weight back. Much more than I care to admit.

But I think I'm out of the fog. I'm not sure what really triggered the slacking, if I was just getting bored, or if it was something else. But I need to get back into my routine again. I was doing so well, when I lost that first 50 lbs, I was crushing it, and feeling good. This weekend, Ben was in my room while I was changing my clothes, and he said "Your fat belly is back". If that doesn't kick your butt back to shape, I don't know what will. BTW, he is doing exactly what I told him! He knew I needed some additional motivation, I love that kid!

You know the best things about those old proverbs? There is the second part. So I'm going to refocus. I'm going to get right back on that horse. I'm going to get up and dust myself off. All that, and I'm going to work out too!!

Here's to the next 50!

"Professional" Picture

2013-06-19T18:02:00.000-04:00

I have a LinkedIn account. I filled out everything, essentially translating my resume to their website. Professional experience, education, hobbies, etc, all of these things I put up there with pride. And I've had the account for years. The one thing that I didn't put up was a picture. I never had a "professional" picture taken, you know, one that you wouldn't mind showing your current or future employer. I've had a task to take a "selfie" and post it up there so that it would make my account more complete. But I never liked the way I looked in pictures. I always thought I was too fat.

My company has a photo club. I talked to one of the members yesterday and asked if I could borrow a tripod so I could work on that picture for my account. She offered to do a photo shoot for me, right before the club members were to shoot pics of motorcycles.

Here's how it turned out...

Just a quick update today, I owe you more posts, and more often! Soon!!

Birthday Reflections & Goals

2013-03-06T20:42:00.001-05:00

March 6, my birthday! 39 years young. And all I can think about today is the goal I set for myself a little over 6 months ago. 180 lbs by the time I hit 40. 6 months ago, it seemed that I had forever, now it seems so close!

I was over 300 lbs. That's what triggered my change in lifestyle. I'm now hovering around 260 lbs. 40 lbs lost in 6 months. Not bad, but not as extreme as I was planning. I'm keeping at it, and not getting frustrated.

Now, a little history of myself and my wife. We met on my 30th birthday at a beer festival in Boston. We were young and in the best shape of our lives. Earlier this week, we made a pact; we will celebrate my 40th birthday, our 10th anniversary of meeting, at the same beer festival next year. AND we will each weigh less than when we met. Here is a picture featured on Harpoon's website, only minutes after we met:

She is my greatest birthday present ever. We owe it to each other to get in better shape, for each other and for our two beautiful kids. I'm psyched to have a fabulous partner on my journey towards self improvement.

By the way, open invitation to St. Patties Day at Harpoon Brewery in March 2014!

Thanks for all the continued support and birthday wishes!

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Vacation

2013-02-27T19:57:00.000-05:00

We just returned from a fabulous family vacation in Ft. Myers, FLA. We spent some quality time with Lindsay's parents, who are spending the winter down there. The kids got to swim and play outside, and I got to golf (that's right, in February!!).

My goal for this vacation was that I needed to workout every day I was down there. The complex that they live on is a private golf course, so the roads were not busy at all with traffic; ideal for jogging. The community also had a clubhouse with a fitness center. I would be crazy if I didn't take advantage of it. I "jogged" 2 of the days, in the morning. It was brutally hot and muggy, even first thing in the morning, and my fragile new jogging style was not really ready for it. But I did complete each of the 2 days, so that was good. The other days I spent in the gym. The first day at the gym was a simple elliptical machine day. The last day, the day we flew home, I tried a workout recommended by Andrea, my SIL. That deserves a whole post to itself, I just need to say that my legs are still burning a whole 36 hours after the workout!

The other thing that you do on vacations is eat out a lot, which we did. I'm still watching my calories, and adjusted my diet accordingly, kinda. I'll explain... I'm not as extreme as those that you see on TV when ordering from a restaurant (hold this, no that, substitute this for that, etc.), but I did adjust my meal option. We went out to a cool fish restaurant, and I SO wanted the fried clam basket with fries. I was almost there for ordering, but I changed it to the shrimp tacos. The shrimp were grilled, not fried, and I didn't use any tarter sauce, which I would have if I have had ordered the clams. So that saved on a bunch of calories, and the tacos were excellent. I also tried to limit my portion size, we went to an Italian place, and I could have housed my pasta meal, but I saved some for lunch the next day. So baby steps in this category.

The overall results, which showed up on the scales today.... I was DOWN overall!! Only 0.2 lbs, but still, in the past I would have gained a bunch on a vacation like this. So the vacation was such a success. It proved I could go and have a great time with my family, eat out, exercise, and still meet all my goals even though I'm away from home. Good vacation indeed!

New Diet

2013-02-18T10:22:00.001-05:00

I have a brand new break through diet! It guarantees that you only consume half of what you have when you sit down to eat, so it naturally limits your caloric intake.

What is this miracle diet, you might ask?

I call it the Ellery Diet. Both Lindsay and I are on it, and it is working great!

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Boot Camp

2013-02-15T21:40:00.000-05:00

I've never really been a huge fan of the group exercise classes. I've taken them in the past, but I much prefer to work out on my own, at my own pace. But with this plateau that I've found myself on, I decided to mix it up a little and attend a Boot Camp class at the gym at work. I have taken some classes in the past, mostly yoga and spinning, but that's about it. The Boot Camp kicked my butt!! This class was scheduled for an hour. I got there 10 minutes early to stretch and get myself mentally ready. The class started promptly at 3:30, and by 3:45, I found myself on my back, struggling for breath, right outside of the studio. I was light-headed, and I've had a history of fainting, so I know when I need to take a break and just lay down. After 15 minutes of just laying there, I got dressed and headed home with my tail between my legs. As I was driving home more than halfway there, I looked down at my clock and noticed it just turned 4:30. How could those other poor souls have survived that whole hour? I'm using this as a humbling learning experience. I'm happy that I've lost over 40 lbs. I'm happy that I feel better and have more energy. But I still have a long way to go to get where I want to (and need to) be. I'm not letting this experience derail me on my journey, I'm trying to use it as motivation to work harder so that I CAN get through that whole class. Not the next time I take it, maybe not the 5th time I take it next, but I will get through that whole class! I now have a new goal! I mentioned that I participated in yoga classes in the past. These weren't just any normal yoga, it was the type that they have the class at elevated temperature. This was back when I was in good shape, when I was single and trying to pick up chicks :) My first class, I lasted 2 positions. So that class, I lasted 2 minutes, and I stayed in child's pose for 58 minutes. No joke!! But the instructor checked on me every 10 minutes, told me to stick with it, and to come back again. I did, and by the end of about 10 classes, I was able to complete a bridge! This was HUGE for me. I was still never able to complete a WHOLE class, but I did last 40-45 minutes into the hour long class. So I jump headlong into these new experiences. I should probably smarten up and take it easy until I'm used to these new positions, moves, muscle groups, etc, pace myself. But I know I'm not going to. I don't know if it's pride, competition, or if I'm just scared that I'm going to look like a quitter or a slouch. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not going to change any time soon. And I don't think I want to change THAT portion of my life.

Plateau

2013-02-08T09:32:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted for a while, because I'm stuck. Stuck in the mud. Things have been going well, but I have no results to show for it. At least no results on the scale. I feel great. I have more flexibility and stamina. But I've hit a plateau like never before. I've hit 40 lbs lost, and I just can't break through any further. I've changed up my exercise routine. My SIL has set new monthly workout challenges. I've been training for a 5K. But nothing seems to be helping. I've been watching my calories, trying so hard not to cheat. But that doesn't seem to help either. It's just getting very frustrated. I'm sticking with it, and not giving up. I'm must afraid that my body thinks this is where it is supposed to be now. And it's not where I want to be. Far from it. So I'm going to continue. If anyone has other recommendations on how to move forward, I'm willing to try anything!

16 Weeks

2012-12-17T18:07:00.001-05:00

I thought it would be a good time to update everyone, for a couple reasons. First, I'm home in bed with the stomach bug that caused both of my children to vomit on me this weekend. Second, it's sort of a milestone - 16 weeks. 3 months, for everyone not doing the math :). And the last reason you'll have to wait for (not long, don't worry).

So, how am I doing? I've lost 31.2 lbs. It doesn't seem like much, but it has made a major change in my life. I have much more energy, I workout (almost) every weekday morning. I don't find myself as winded as I once did when climbing the 3 flights of stairs to get to my office. And I find that working out is a little addicting, not wanting to go but NEEDING to go in the morning.

The last reason that it's a good time for an update is because of all the compliments that I've been getting. There have been lots of family functions in the past couple months, and everyone has been so positive with their support. I physically feel the positivity each time I workout. Lindsay is even getting in on the action, going to the gym at night when I get home. She is looking outstanding, if I do say so myself.

Now for the check in with my progress, since I now have to satisfy the engineer inside me with some good 'ole data analysis.

31.2 lbs / 16 weeks = 1.95 lbs/week
My goal was 2 lbs/week, so I'm close

63 weeks left until I turn 40
At my current rate, 1.95 lbs/week, I will achieve 180 lbs in 45.6 weeks (very accurate!)

So, keeping on my slow and steady pace, I will achieve my goal. It has been a little slow for my taste, but I've been told that this pace will help keep the weight off when I finally achieve my goal.

So even though I feel horrible today, I have been making good progress, even if I'm horrible at providing updates! More frequent updates to come, I promise :) maybe next time with 3rd grade math (haha).

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Belt

2012-10-15T22:17:00.001-04:00

This weekend, the whole family went to church together. This was a first. I was in a great mood before church, because I fit into a pair of khakis that I haven't worn in at least 2 years. And they were big on me!

Today, I wanted to switch up my routine, so I worked out at work. While I was getting dressed, I realized I forgot my belt at home. So I went through the day without, and my jeans falling off me all day. If I weren't so proud of myself for shrinking put of my jeans, I would have been embarrassed. But I couldn't help but smile every time I had to hike up my pants.

For an update, I've lost over 20 lbs, even taking a week off of working out. My sis-in-law has reignited my workout focus, after she finished the Ironman triathlon.

Onward!

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Iron(wo)man

2012-10-15T21:58:00.001-04:00

This post is dedicated to my awesome sister-in-law Cindy. She finished the Ironman World Championship race in Hawaii this weekend. For those who aren't familiar with the Ironman, this triathlon consists of:

2.4 mile swim
112 mile bike
26.2 mile run

That's right, lets run a full marathon after more than 1.5 hours in the ocean and 7.5 hours on a bike. Wow!

Here are her times:

Swim: 1:41:20

Bike: 7:28:32

Run: 4:59:40

Overall: 14:21:59

Congratulations Cindy, you are a true inspiration!

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Month 1 - Progress

2012-09-27T11:23:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been a month. I haven't posted in a while, I warned you at the beginning that I wasn't much of a writer. But just because I haven't posted doesn't mean that I haven't been working. A steady workout routine and a diet that I've been pretty good about following has been my M.O. lately. I've not followed the diet all the time, but I just get back on it the next day/meal. In the past, I let a bad day throw me into the diet death spiral which I would never recover. This time, I get back on track and get myself re-motivated.

As for working out, I've changed up my routine from what I've done in the past. I've gone away from the weight lifting and done more cardio-based exercises. It has helped me with my energy, and with taking the pounds off. I started out with a couch-to-5k running program, but I had to put that on hold for a little bit and switch to the elliptical machine. I'm so afraid that I'll get a couple of months into this and get injured, and that will be the end of it. I don't think about it often, but it does cross my mind.

Anyways, now for the big reveal...

17.8 lbs in one month!!! YAY!!

A huge "Thank You" to everyone that has read this blog, sent messages of encouragement, and followed my diet and exercise on wee.myfitnesspal.com. I'm going to keep charging forward, and get that main goal of 180 x 40!

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Week 2 - TBL

2012-09-10T20:46:00.001-04:00

My wife Lins and I are huge fans of The Biggest Loser. We've watched every season since Season 2, which is saying something since they are up to Season 14. For as much as I get frustrated with their unapologetic product placement, I find we still watch for the inspiration of people losing immense amount of weight. And for the most part, the weight stays off.

The reason I bring up TBL is because of the results I had for Week 2. The contestants during the second week of TBL have notoriously low weight loss. Even with professional trainers, teammates pushing each other, $250k on the line, and professional nutritionalists, the contestants still lose little weight, and sometimes even gain.

My week 2 - I lost 0.4 lbs. Thank goodness for digital scales :)

I'm not concerned, nor frustrated. I knew it was coming. If the pros can't get people to lose weight, how much luck do I have? I'm just keeping my head down, watching what I eat, working out, and feeling great. I even set my alarm on Saturday to go to the gym, the first time EVER! I feel changes in my body, for the better.

I've asked my 4 year old son to ask me "When is your big fat belly going away?" He is more than happy to ask me :). So I asked him this weekend "Is my belly getting smaller?" His answer: "Yea, it doesn't jiggle anymore!" Well, not exactly true, but I'll take it.

So here's to Week 3! See ya later week 2, you stink!

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Week 1

2012-09-04T21:21:00.001-04:00

One week, and I'm still around! The diet and exercise hasn't killed me. I've lost a total of 7.6 lbs, but who's counting? Oh yea, me! I realize it's mostly water weight, but I'll take it, you've gotta start somewhere.

Over the Labor Day weekend, the fam went down to the Cape to spend time with family. We went to the beach, which is thoroughly embarrassing for me. You are either sitting on the sand or in those low seats, a man of my size can't look good getting up from either. But I made the best of it, spending qt with both my daughter (on the beach) and my son ( in the ocean).

During the weekend, I turned down alcohol several times. It's a choice for me right now, I just see it as empty calories now. Eventually I will find a place for a beer now and then, but at least for the first week, I turned down the offers, even at the great little place we went for lunch. I tried desperately to steer away from any bad snacks (chocolate, etc) and stick with a lot of water.

I didn't work out at all on our trip, which I actually missed. Everyone that says its a lifestyle change, the whole eating right and working out, and they are right. It's only been a week, but I already see myself making the right choices for myself.

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Quick Update

2012-08-29T21:37:00.001-04:00

I've had some great support this past week, so I wanted to give just a quick update.

I've worked out all 3 days first thing in the morning. This morning was very tough to get out of bed, but I struggled through it. I felt much better after working out, so it was all worth it. And I've lost 4 lbs. I know it's just the beginning, and it's mostly water weight, but it is moving in the right direction.

Today we took our intern out for lunch for her last week of work. I knew we were heading out to the Longhorn Steakhouse, so before we left, I downloaded the nutritional info from their website. I felt a little silly looking at the menu, then at the sheet, then back at the menu again. But I had a plan, a goal for calories to spend, and I stuck to it. No bread, no soda, no crap to eat! I felt like I had a little victory for myself.

Like I said, a quick update. Wish me luck, and I'll post another update soon.

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Day 1 - Confirmation

2012-08-27T18:00:00.001-04:00

I've confirmed a couple of things today. First, my weight:

E-yuck! In my first post, I was estimating 300, but I never thought I hit it. My max was always 296, no matter what. 4 lbs doesn't sound like much, but when you hit that major milestone, man... I broke down this morning showing the pic to Lins.

I got up nice and early this morning to find my second confirmation: our treadmill only computes calorie burn for a weight of 275 max. Yep, I'm heavy :)

But the best confirmation I could have received was from the genuine outpouring of affection and support from both family and friends. I'm doing this first and foremost for myself, but a very near second place is my family and friends. I look forward to the continued support and in proving to you (and myself) that I can complete this mission. I had so much energy from the time I woke through the workday, and it was all because of all of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you all!

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Mission Statement

2012-08-26T21:26:00.001-04:00

Me and my Dad

First, a confession. I'm not a writer. This will become painfully apparent as you follow my posts.

Second, and the reason for this whole thing, I'm fat. I've never been this large in my life. I've really let myself go in the past 5 or so years. I've also been married for 5 years. I'm not saying this is the reason I'm fat, I have a very supportive wife. We now have 2 kids, the youngest 13 months, and my wife looks great. She has been running, shedding the pounds, and fitting into clothes she wore before our wedding. Me, I just had to buy a new pair of pants because none of my dress clothes fit. How the fuck did I let it get this bad?

I love my job. I love my family. But in the past 5 years I have been very distant to all my friends. To them I want to sincerely apologize. I think that a portion of the distancing is because of my appearance. I'm embarrassed about how I look. I need to go to work. I need to see family. Friends, they should be a higher priority in my life.

So where are these ramblings going? I'm going to challenge myself. Once and for all, I'm going to get in shape. And I'm going to chronicle it. Why, you may ask? Mostly to keep me on track. If you read this, and you see me veering from my mission, kick me in the ass! PLEASE!! I give you permission.

So, what is my mission, you may ask. I want to weigh 180 lbs by 40 years old. Simple, right? So much so that I named my blog after the mission.

180 by 40

I haven't weighed myself for a while, but I'm around 300 lbs. I'm 5'11". I'm supposed to be 180. I'm also 38 1/2 years old. Let's do some quick math:

557 days until my 40th birthday
120 lbs to lose
1.5 lbs per week

That's not impossible! Sensible diets say that a healthy weight loss is up to 2 lbs per week. Nice! Wish me luck!

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