#longreading

a. Had a plantar wart removed from my foot (ouch!). 

b. Stayed home Tuesday from work, when I would have preferred to have been at work.

c. My boys basketball season ended on Wednesday when we lost to Johnson-Williams in the semi-finals.

d. Spent hours at work testing kids for AIMSWeb reading fluency until my eyes nearly disintegrated.

e. Just got finished shoveling the snow and ice off my front steps, sidewalk, and cars.

Whatcha got week 4?!?

So, let's check in on my New Year's resolutions:

1. Losing weight: My original goal by January 20 (yesterday) was to be at 210 lbs. at 22% body fat. I started the beginning of the month at 223 lbs. at 25% body fat. I also started out with a 39.5" waist (measured around the belly button).

So, after three weeks on the slow-carb diet, how have I done?

Well, I measured myself this morning after waking up, and I am at 211.6 lbs. at 21% body fat with a 35.75" waist.

So, I didn't quite lose thirteen pounds (11.4 lbs.), but I did drop to 21% body fat, and more importantly I cut my waist circumference by almost 4 inches! I had to get out my size 36 jeans on Friday for work - my size 38s were way too baggy. 

So, where do I go from here? I think I will set a new goal - by February 11 (3 weeks from today), I would like to continue on the slow-carb diet (6 days of dieting, one night every other week of intermittent fasting, and one cheat day where I can eat whatever I want!) for the next three weeks, and get down to 205 lbs. at 19% body fat and a 35" waist. 

Even though I've dropped almost 12 pounds, 4% of my body fat, and almost 4 inches off my waist for these first three weeks (about 4 lbs., 1% body fat and 1" off my waist per week), I've learned that I can't exactly expect the same results over these next three weeks. 

In the past, I've been able to get down as low as 197 lbs. with a 34" waist and 17% body fat. However, while doing that I discovered I didn't feel as energetic and happy about how I looked. I was almost too thin. Plus, it would mean I would need to buy new clothes, which I'm not sure I'm interested in doing. 

I think getting down to 200 - 203 lbs. would be very comfortable and healthy for me. I realize that at 6' 5", BMI suggests I should be at 190 lbs. at 15% body fat to be considered healthy, but I just don't think it's realistic nor sustainable for my lifestyle. I stand on my feet and move slowly around a classroom most days with little more "activity" built in to my schedule. With my foot being injured I have not been able to run as much nor play basketball recreationally (the weather kinda stinks right now for outdoor basketball in my neighborhood). Also, long-term denial of carbs, even with a cheat day built in, is hard to maintain without weight-loss goals. Eventually, I want that extra slice of pizza when I want it, gosh darn it!

Eventually, I like the idea of being on a diet like this for 10 weeks on, 3 weeks off, with a four day mega-binge mini-week built into the middle of the off-cycle, while not allowing myself to ever weigh more than 220 lbs. from now on if possible and God willing. Additionally, my 10 week goal should be to get down to 200 lbs. from wherever I start, minimally, unless I can add in significant exercise and work on muscle growth (maybe only during the summer, based on my schedule).

Let's see how that schedule would work out:

Cycle One:

Diet - Weeks 1-10 = January 1st through March 10 - not hard to do, since the only major event is the Super Bowl and a birthday party here and there. 

Non-Diet - Weeks 11-13 = March 11 through March 31 - This would allow me to have fun during St. Patrick's Day and March Madness college basketball season.

Cycle Two: 

Diet - Weeks 14-23 = April 1 through June 9 - I have to start the diet on Easter, which would be a good time to start, especially if I'm on extended break if we don't use up our snow days. The diet continues all the way through SOLs (Standards of Learning testing in schools is a very stressful time for teachers), and then I can celebrate the end of SOL testing by going off the diet! That sounds like a winner!

Non-Diet - Weeks 24-26 = June 10 through 30 - This would allow me to let go a little during Anniversary Season as wells the final week of school, which would be great. A nice break after all that school - just go wild and hedonistic for a few weeks! Yee hah! (Seriously, Amanda and Travis, Laura and Ricky, Justin and Leeana {my brothers and sisters - most are in-laws}, Shannon and I, and Shannon's parents all have our anniversaries in a two week span over the second half of June! It's crazy, but also somewhat convenient...

Cycle Three:

Diet - Weeks 27-36 = July 1 through September 8 - Excellent! Perfect timing! I can use my time off from school and the beautiful summer weather to work out, get a tan, lose some weight in a relaxed way, get in shape, get back into running, play basketball every day, and re-charge before girls 7th grade basketball season and school begins again. 

Non-Diet - Weeks 37-39 = September 9 through September 29 - Perfect! No need to stress about eating for the first full few weeks of school, the first few weeks of fantasy football and the beginning of those long days when girls basketball begins in earnest with scheduled games keeping me from getting home until 10:00 or so. 

Cycle Four:

Diet - Weeks 40-49 = September 30 through December 8 - This will be tough! Not only will I have to make it through the first semester, Girls 7th Grade Basketball playoffs, Halloween AND Thanksgiving (it will be interesting juggling cheat days!), but I'll also be dealing with less sunlight, weariness, and the winter blues...

Non-Diet - Weeks 50-52.5 = December 9 through December 29 (31) - There are two extra days after the 29th, which will have to elide into next year's resolutions. Either way, this is perfect. No rules during Christmas Holiday season! Woo-hoo! I should definitely go for it during this time...

Sounds like a plan!!!

2. Paying off debt: Shannon and I went to Financial Peace University this week. The topic was making a budget. We're planning to do that later today. We still have not yet pulled the trigger on wiping out her student loans, though.

3. Helping students read more books: This week I was off one day, then for two days I was testing reading fluency, and yesterday I was catching up with benchmark testing, writing activities, and just overall mental sanity, so this was not a good week for encouraging independent reading. Next week, unfortunately, may not be a good week either...ah well...

4. Spending more time with family and friends: Well, I did get to hang out with Eric, Vicki, and Laney last Saturday, and we had fun celebrating my birthday by going to Glory Days, then watching football and The Big Lebowski over at Eric's! It was a perfect day to have a diet cheat day, as well, so that was nice. A big shout out to the Schoch's for treating us to dinner! Today, Shannon and I were supposed to go to my parents' house in Stephens City (about an hour away) to have a birthday meal at a restaurant of our choosing, but with the weather (ice and snow on the roads) and my sore foot (still tender), we all agreed to a ake-up date in the future. 

5. Posting on the blog: It was somewhat difficult, but I did manage to post a bit more this week, except I blew it a couple of days there. It's getting easier to put something up here and there, though I often get stumped for topics to write about...

I'm up to 20 push-ups in a row. That's a pretty good number for me. In the mornings, lately, I've only been doing one set because my foot is sore after one set. As my foot heals up, I plan to try to go back to doing multiple sets in the morning. I still can't do a full chin-up yet, though I almost got there yesterday morning.

Next week, I'd like to stay a little after school and work out a little - my school has a "weight room" with a machine that can allow you to do pull-ups and dips while taking off some of my weight through counter-balancing. We'll see how I feel at the end of the days...