The Biggest Winner Contest Week 1 Wrap-Up

Week one of my city's Biggest Winner Contest is over and I had my second weigh-in last night. I worked hard this past week and the fruits of my labor were 2 pounds coming off the scale!

I ate fairly well last week and I worked out hard. My eating could have been better (as always) but I do think my time working out was well spent. If I can keep this pace up, I will be very happy with a 2 pound loss every week. I’m not sure that pace will win the contest, but I will be extremely happy with another 16 pounds gone by July 1^st.

I was talking to a friend last night as we were walking (at a great pace I might add), and I think I’m  at a slight disadvantage with this contest. I have been working out for over a year now and have lost 50 pounds. Someone who is just starting could conceivably lose a bunch of water at first and therefore put them at a big lead no? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not worried.  I would love to win this, but I would also like even more just to drop the pounds.

This week started off OK. I got a good workout in yesterday and I was going to take off today, but I kind of slipped up a bit and had a big not so healthy lunch. So I’ll hit the gym tonight and hope for clean eating tomorrow. I really wish I could stay away from good food. It’s hard for me to pass up and it slips me up all the time.

Also I had a slight freak out at the beginning of last week that I will post about later. It had to do with getting my blood results back from the doctor and let’s just say I’m a bit puzzled at the results.

So, what are some things that you do that helps to stay on the good eating track? Also how do you combat the urges to snack at night? They seem to hit me hardest then.

Contest Weight loss totals:

Starting weight: 274 pounds

Week 1: 272 pounds

Total loss so far: 2 Pounds
Contest ends July 1^st.

Fat Guys Can Run (My Guest Post)

A bit ago I told you all that I would let you in on how my first 5k went. Well I am honored to let you know that you can read it on Amy's blog over at FatGirlsCanRun.com. It was only my second guest post ever and I was truly flattered that she would want me to share it over there.

So head on over and take a gander! I had fun writing it and I hope you get something out of reading it. Oh and thanks again Amy for the great opportunity. I really means a lot that you let me share it on your blog.

You can also follow Amy on Twitter and enjoy her tweets like so many others already do.

A Prodded Post

At the thoughtful and much appreciated prodding of my friend Patrick (@Rspnsblty199), I'm going to give you a rundown of how the first week in May went for me. This is actually something I should be doing every week but I don't always get to it...OK almost never get to it.

May 1st weigh-in

"The Stairs"

Not much is new since my Official Monthly Weigh-In post. This past week was pretty good as far as my eating goes. I hit the gym when I was supposed to and got some decent workouts in. I also had some lazy workouts, but at least I got out there. The "secret" to this whole weight loss thing (or part of it) is to move more than what you were before and I am definitely doing that. I need to get back on the weight training kick I was on, but with it being so nice out lately I just wanted to workout in the park. I've taken to continuing my HIIT training on a nice set of stairs there and I'm actually enjoying it.

Oh, and as you might have read in my Biggest Winner post, that contest started yesterday and my first official weigh-in is today! I know, it's kind of weird that my first weigh-in is a day after the contest starts, but it's a city wide contest and there are weigh-in sites all around the city. My site lets you weigh-in every week on Tuesdays and Thursdays so today is the first day I am able to do it. No big deal though. I don't mind giving the others a  one day head start. They are going to need it! ;)

Click for vinnyslavin.com

Last but not least, this past week I have been working on a new website. I put it live last night but it is FAR from being done. I just wanted to see it up and test my plugins for the comment section. If you would like, stop on by and take a look around. Click some links, test some buttons and make a comment. You can reach it at www.VinnySlavin.com. I have some very cool things planned for it and it has nothing (or very little) to do with fitness. It's kind of a place for me to get my other views out. It's also going to be a place where I can let my inner geek flow, write about product reviews, and possibly get some interesting conversations going on today's news topics. I'm really going to try and make it a site you'll want to visit daily. Keep in mind though that I am a major n00b when it comes to WordPress, so don't expect a fantastic site just yet. I'm still learning. Also I don't mind suggestions or critiques of the site either. So let the comments flow...good and bad.


Well that was my first week in May. I'm still waiting for my first clothes shopping trip since starting to lose weight and that might be coming soon. I can't wait to see how many inches I've dropped.

 
So what about you? How did your first week in May go? Do you think your goals will be hit by month's end? Let me know, I love hearing about it.

Official Monthly Weigh-in and April Wrap-Up

Like every first of the month I laid in bed this morning wondering what the scale will read when I step on it. For this weigh in I wasn’t expecting good things.  April wasn’t any more stressful than any other month, but I did let the food get the best of me and I gave in to way too many urges. I really need to work on that. It’s really hard for me to say no to food when it’s staring me down. Sometimes I can control it, but this past month I didn’t do so well. My nightly food binges are the worse. The only way I can seem to control them is to head to bed early and that can’t happen all the time.

This month wasn’t all bad though. I did run my first 5k race (that was supposed to be a casual practice walk for my first official one May 22^nd) and I logged some pretty decent miles for the monthly Go the Distance Challenge. I’ll talk more about my 5K later when I guest post for FatGirlsCanRun.com!

When I got on the scale this morning I wasn’t expecting a big loss. Actually my thought was; I hope I didn’t gain too much. I honestly thought I would have been OK with a slight gain. I'm super excited about my 5k and I know I’m getting healthier so a slight gain would be OK for the month after eating the way I did.

So what did the scale have to say about all this?

The Proof!

OK, so it’s a measly one pound loss from last month, but I will take it! We all want to see the scale numbers move drastically down each time we step on it. So after all the problems I had with night binges this past month, I can honestly say I more than OK with a one pound loss.

Oh…and did I mention I ran a 5k?!

I've gained a great deal of knowledge so far. One of the most important things I’ve learned is this is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. I will hit my goal weight; I have no doubts about that. I would also like to hit it by December. If I do, fantastic, if I don’t, I’ll just keep moving!

Weight loss totals:

Starting weight: 320 pounds

April weigh-in: 275.2

May weigh-in: 274.2

Total loss so far: 45.8 Pounds
Short term goal: 260 pounds (14.2 pounds to go)

Long term goal: 200