change in weight (2/16/21 – 2/22/21):  -0.4 LBS

I wanted to string together two weeks of consistency and marginal gains on my weight loss. I did it. This week was a subtle, but I continued marching in the right direction and I feel good about it. I am sitting at 292.2 pounds as of this morning. I want to get to 290, to drop that last 2.2 pounds and even go 2.3 and get below 290. There is no real reason for this other than it being an imaginary wall that has been thwarting me for some time. I want to get there next week, but that might be unrealistic, especially with my time constraints with the newborn. My birthday is in 2 weeks, I think this goal sounds good for my birthday. Here you go Ben, achieving another milestone for turning 33! Let’s Go!

I did a better job of fitting in realistic activity into my past week than the week prior. The adjustment to the time constraints and fatigue associated with a newborn caught me off guard. On one hand, I am surprised this caught me off guard, being our second child. On the other had, I was not dedicated to my health last time around nearly as much as I am now. I did three good rides, a number of walks, some upper body weight work, and stuck to my food tracking. I know my weight loss this week would have been even larger, but I made a big slow cooker mojo pork yesterday for dinner and kinda let it go a bit for the day. And that is okay.

I am the personality who likes to work out hard, push myself, and see results from that exertion. This time is teaching me how to get even more in tuned with how I am eating. I am grateful for this, as I tend to muscle through my weight loss… because I like to eat. I have been more conscious of my eating over the past 2 weeks than I have been since I started this journey 14 months ago.

My Achilles heal is still mindless grazing. The other day I logged 600 calories from grazing. This was simply goldfish by the handful (spaced out 10-15 minutes each time), a cheese stick, a banana, and a couple chocolate kisses. It can add up so quickly if we are not careful because when viewed only in that moment, “what is a few goldfish…?” I am now practicing mindful and intentional snacking. If I want a snack, I will have enough to satisfy, that will hold me over, and that is a clearly trackable quantity so I don’t fall into the trap of grazing more.

So with all that said, life is good. I feel good, I look good, and I am continually getting better every day. I hope you are too!

Leave a like or a comment. Do you graze? How do you combat it? Don’t forget about following my instagram @a_better_ben

Action Plan:

Every day goals:
1.Drink 10 cups of water
2.Track every bite
3.20 Body weight squats

Daily goals

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Walk	Walk	Walk	Walk	No Walk	Walk	Walk
Low impact Ride	Upper body Strength and stretch	Power zone, Wk3 Day 4	Power zone, Wk4 Day 1	Stretch	Ride	Stretch and recovery
Meal Plan	Meal Plan	Meal Plan	Meal Plan	Meal Plan	Modest takeout	Meal Plan

Please stay tuned for more updates. If you have been enjoying this, please become an email follower or a wordpress follower. Having this public audience has been a positive motivation for me to continue working towards my goals and so I really am thankful for all of you!

Date	Change in Weight
12/1*	–
12/2*	-5.4 lbs
12/9	-5.4 lbs
12/16	-3.4 lbs
12/23	+2.8 lbs
12/29	-1.2 lbs
1/6	-1.4 lbs
1/13	-1.6 lbs
1/20	-1.4 lbs
1/27	+0.4 lbs
2/3	-1.2 lbs
2/10	-4.6 lbs
2/17	+0.4 lbs
2/24	-1.6 lbs
3/2	-3.2 lbs
3/9	+1.8 lbs
3/16	-3.2 lbs
3/23	-0.6 lbs
3/30	+0.4 lbs
4/6	-1.6 lbs
4/13	+0.8 lbs
4/20	-1.8 lbs
4/27	0 lbs
5/4	+2.4 lbs
5/11	-5.2 lbs
5/18	0 lbs
5/25	-1.0 lbs
6/1	-1.2 lbs
6/8	-0.4 lbs
6/15	-0.8 lbs
6/22	+0.8 lbs
6/29	-1.4 lbs
7/6	-2.4 lbs
7/13	+2.4 lbs
7/20	-1.6 lbs
7/27	-0.4 lbs
8/3	-1.2 lbs
8/10	+0.4 lbs
8/17	-1.4 lbs
8/24	-1.4 lbs
8/31	-0.2 lbs
9/7	-0.6 lbs
9/14	-1.4 lbs
9/21	+0.2 lbs
9/28	-1.8 lbs
10/5	-0.2 lbs
10/12	-1.0 lbs
10/19	-1.0 lbs
10/26	+0.8 lbs
11/2	-1.4 lbs
11/9	+2.0 lbs
11/16	-1.8 lbs
11/23	-0.4 lbs
11/30	+0.2 lbs
12/7	-0.2 lbs
12/14	-1.2 lbs
12/21	+1.8 lbs
12/28	+0.8 lbs
1/4	-1.2 lbs
1/11	-0.4 lbs
1/18	0 lbs
1/25	N/A – no weigh-in
2/1	-0.6 lbs
2/8	+1.6 lbs
2/15	-1.2 lbs
2/22	-0.4 lbs

* I first weighed myself on a Sunday night and began the regular weigh-ins the following morning

-Ben