Less than pleased.
May 27 weight: 262.2
May 20 weight: 264.2
May 13 weight: 267.4
May 06 weight: 272.8
April 29 weight: 275.8
I’ve lost 2 pounds in the last 7 days and 82 pounds in 18 weeks. Want stats from past weeks? Check out my entire 18 week weight loss progress.
I’m not happy with my weight loss progress this week.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely thrilled and humbled with losing 82 pounds in 4 months — but I’ve been getting lazy over the last few weeks and my weight loss progress has reflected this. Being complacent and comfortable when losing weight can slow your progress — it appears this might be the case with me.
In particular, my diet is getting really sloppy and lazy and I think it’s time to tighten the belt again. Figuratively and literally.
For starters, no more cereal for breakfast. Next, no fries. Cheeseburgers, occasionally. Fries? No. And while we’re on that subject, nothing fried. Not a thing. I also need to add more fruits, vegetables, and seafood to my diet.
When it comes to exercise, I’ll now workout 45 minutes a day on the elliptical instead of only 20 minutes, which is how long my workouts have lasted everyday for the past several weeks. That’s a good indication of how lazy I’ve become, as for the first couple of months of my workout journey I spent 45 minutes everyday working out on the elliptical machine.
I guarantee you we’ll enter the 250s next week. Guarantee.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Tyler–speaking of guarantees…here’s another one for you: I GUARANTEE you’re going to get comments from people telling you that slowed weight loss is normal and that you should be happy with two pounds. They’re right…to a point. But I know what you mean about knowing you can and should do better. If I lose only one pound in a week, I get mad, and my trainer will tell me that’s great, but *I* know I could have/should have eaten better and worked out more/harder, and that my loss could have been much higher if I’d done that. So…while others may tell you to be happy with your two pounds (which really is no small thing for most of us!), I understand not being happy with not giving it what YOU feel is your best. Only you know what that is. Give yourself credit for your success, but it’s good to recognize when we’re not pushing our own physical limits. There’s nothing wrong with requiring more of ourselves and digging deeper. I have no doubt you’ll be well into the 250′s next time. AND THAT YOU’LL BE SMILING FOR THE NEXT PICTURE!!!!!!!!!
How’s the weight training going? Lifting weights – especially in a more dynamic, circuit training type routine – not only burns a lot of calories, it will increase your resting metabolism, meaning you burn more calories while sitting at your desk. Visit athletesperformance.com for better tips…I also agree with the poster who said it might be time to switch up the cardio. If you love the elliptical, try to do it backwards next time: I bet it kicks your butt. (And by backwards I mean your footwork, not your whole body).
I do weight training 3 days a week. I actually plan on posting my weight training routine pretty soon, so stay tuned.
Actually, I will try the elliptical backwards (my footwork, not my whole body). Although, that would be a challenge…
And yes mommy, I will smile in the next picture. Maybe. But probably not.
Tyler,
You are doing really well but I agree that your eating has gotten a bit loose based on your posts. I know exactly how that goes!
Your journey so far has been inspirational and I have faith that you will buckle down and keep moving towards your goal.
Good Luck!
Tyler,
I think the changes that you mentioned will help. While I know you’re disappointed, you’ve learned something about your body and your weight loss plan and what works for you. There’s some trial and error in everyone’s journey. Now you know that some things weren’t working and so you’ll change them up!
If you can figure out why you got loose with the plan, that may also help–were you bored? A little too proud of what you’ve lost so far? Super stressed a home or work? Exhausted? Discovering the root cause may help in remedying it.
I am not sure that the elliptical should be your ‘go to’ cardio at this point. If you were able to literally max it out on both time and level, you may not be challenged enough by it any longer. Your body gets better at whatever you do regularly, and you may be too good at it. If you do still use it, don’t use it for EVERY cardio workout, and I like the idea of pedaling backwards, raising the incline on it, not using the varied program but sticking at a very high level throughout.
If you can work some other cardio in there, like running on a few days, it would help both in weight loss and with boredom.
Once you get used to not having fried foods, you may well find that you don’t miss them, just as you found with sugary drinks.
If you have any trouble cracking the cereal bug, I am totally in love with Kashi Go Lean cereal. 10 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein in each serving! You may need to sprinkle a sweetener on it at first, because you are so accustomed to sweet cereal, but who knows, you may like it as is!
@bossymommy–hopefully the freaky avatar is gone now!
I’m right there with you, buddy. After losing for 19 straight weeks and dropping 52 pounds, last week I gained a half pound. It killed me. My diet is stricter than yours – every day I aim for 2000 calories with a mix of 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat. I’m not eating bread or white carbs, except for my one cheat meal a week. Near as I can tell, it was the Edy’s fruit bars I had started having for a nighttime snack. Only 80 calories, but nothing but pure sugar right before bed. My workouts hadn’t changed – I’m in the gym six days a week.
We both could be hitting that plateau my trainer talks about – at a certain point, we’re just not going to lose it as fast. You see it happen, even on The Biggest Loser. I hope not, as I have another 50 I want to lost before the year is out.
Hey – on the days I don’t lift I do 9o minutes of cardio – 3 machines, my choice, 30 minutes each. Or I do about 45 minutes of HIIT on the treadmill or precor. Are you doing HIIT yet? And another idea on the elliptical – I do mine on the machine’s “reverse mode” setting. It cycles at five minutes forward followed by two minutes backward til I’m done. Adds that extra “oomph” to the session (yes, it will kill you at first, but you get much better much faster) and I think it helps the time pass quicker, too.
Just my two cents, for what it’s worth. You’re doing amazing things and inspiring lots of people. Now stop slacking and get back to work!
Hey Tyler,
I took about a year to lose 60 lbs. You did 20 more than that in only 4 months. It’s amazing. Don’t get discouraged, just keep on truckin man =)
When I started it was strictly eating different. I did much like you are saying in today’s post. I did away with fried food, fast food, and soft drinks. That alone lost me 20 lbs.
Take the chance to find new foods you love. It was sushi for me =)
Keep up the great work
45 minute workouts are indeed a good idea! Fruits and vegetables are good additions (and French Fries, a good subtraction) but don’t forget about whole grains and legumes. Brown rice, black beans, lentils, bulgur, etc., all have tons of fiber, little calories, and really fill you up. See Almost Meatless for recipe ideas!
Instead of adding 20 minutes more eliptical, maybe try adding 20 minutes of something else… trust me, I am an eliptical addict, and for a reason: because it’s easy for me. It’s easy for you too, and while it’s hard to make yourself step outside what your body is comfortable with, the ensuing sweat-bath always makes you feel amazing. Remember the high you would get after your cardio workouts when you first started? It’ll be just that strong. Try 20 minutes of HIIT on the treadmill, or spin bike. It’ll knock you out, you’ll be addicted!
Don’t be so hard on yourself about the cereal. You must be on auto-pilot in the mornings… there are some of us (myself included) who for certain meals, eat the same thing every day. Routine can help us stick with it and I think that’s okay. I have the same breakfast every morning: a half cup of dry quick oats with a packet of stevia with a tablespoon of almond butter and a tablespoon of sugar free jam. 260 calories; keeps me full until lunch. There are some sweet kids cereals that might have better nutritional value, more fibre, more vitamins. Some ARE designed to appeal to kids AND give a good start. Check the labels, just pick a good one.
And no fried food, no fries, EVER…. wow, that’s a huge change for you. You are one of the most determined guys I’ve come across, but I would hate to see you get discouraged by such a massive change. A baby step – like one fried item a day – or fries on weekends perhaps, would still be a huge deal for you. You’d get to still indulge once in a while, but I bet it would be a big enough change for you to blast through this plateau.
Because that’s what it is, a plateau. And I think if you just tighten up your diet a bit, and change up your cardio… you’ll start seeing massive losses again. Keep up the amazing work. You’re doing fabulous.
Keep pushing yourself!
4 months is just the beginning, you have to keep at it if you want to keep going!
I was actually thinking about this when I woke up this morning (is that weird?). Even if you continue to lose weight while maintaining the same diet, you will still be relatively unhealthy, and it will be all too easy to gain that weight back. What you eat is about more than just caloric intake. You want to eat things that will help you stick around to see your daughter grow up, and to see her children grow up. Eating fast food is totally working against you. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t enjoy what you eat, but you may need to work a little harder to find things that you really love to eat that won’t kill you.
Hit up the Charleston farmer’s market if you can! And you should definitely try to eat more fish – it’s delicious, and it’s actually super easy and fast to cook at home.
Everyone is rooting for you! Keep it up!!! Two pounds is still excellent :)
p.s. feels weird when you call me mommy. Just so ya know.
As you lose weight your daily calorie needs shrink and as your daily calorie needs shrink you’ll need to conintue to cut out parts of your diet. I ran into this when I lost weight. I’d lose some then plateau, and change my diet, then lose some more and then plateau, and then change my diet more. Cutting out something each time.
Hi Tyler,
I came across you and your website by accident and I’ve been following your journey for nearly six weeks now and I think you’re an amazing inspiration, sometimes when I’m in the gym or can’t be arsed to go to the gym I think about what you have achieved and it helps to motivate me. (Accountability person)
The reason for my post is to thank you and to say way to go. Also to tell you that 20 minutes of H.I.I.T on the treadmill as some of the other guys have said is very good at burning fat, I usually start off with 30 seconds sprint then 30 seconds rest (walking pace) x 6 times, with a warm up and a warm down. I’m new to H.I.I.T myself but can see the advantages.
Good luck Tyler and well done.
Marc (London)