Week 25 - End of Phase 1

184.2/185.2

I hit my goal weight of 185 pounds on August 21, two days after my last post, and I've reached a stable weight between 183.8 and 184.2 for the last week. If I examine myself closely, I can still find flaws and little pockets of fat I'd like to work off, but all it takes is a casual glance at the two pictures below to see that my work has already paid off in spades.

The end of phase one of my plan is complete. I lost 70 pounds in 160 days, reduced my average resting heart rate from 74 to 59 (I crossed the 60 bpm mark just this last month), and 28 minutes on an elliptical trainer is a warmup to strength training rather than an exertion that leaves me wobbly and wiped out for a day. Additionally, I can play soccer again, and I'm not too god-awful at this point.

I've reached a cardio fitness level at least equal to what I was in high school, a weight only about 9 pounds heavier, and my soccer game I'd estimate is on par or better with The Stork in my senior year. I can now keep up with aggressive adults on the field (for a while) and I'm at about 30% going head to head defending against hotshot strikers. I'm still improving, and I don't kid myself that I'm good enough to be cocky on the field yet. I've got to be able to recover faster from sprints, and learn how to really handle a ball well before I'll feel any attitude is appropriate. It will come, all I need to do for now is keep showing up to games and convince my team, who has had a losing season, that they should keep me around.

Time and practice (and wind-sprints) will fix all that, but what I'm planning for Phase 2 is to buff up. My in-shape self has always been scrawny, and it would be nice to have some muscle on me. At the moment, I'm substituting Egg Beaters for eggs, and skim milk plus whey protein for whole milk, and when my gym opens back up (some parts of it are closed for annual cleaning and repairs), I'm going to try out some HST principles in the gym, using weight training to build muscle instead of just an extra Calorie burner.

Over the last few months, I've toughened up some bones and ligaments with the exercises I already do and the extra calcium from all the milk I drink (about a quart a day now), and my major muscle groups are already fairly toned. I guess that's as good a starting point as any, and I believe that my experience with injury prevention, obsession with self-improvement, and my general problem solving algorithm will all lend themselves to helping me figure this out.

I may not post regularly any more, as the fun of watching the weight numbers drop is over, and from past experience I know that it takes a lot of time for your weights to go up at the gym. If I start to look muscular, I'll post some pictures, otherwise, I'll chime in with a status anytime I think something interesting has happened.

Wish me luck, I'm venturing into unfamiliar territory.