Alright. I finally weighed myself last night and it was not pretty. I've been working out regularly, but I've not really been watching what I eat. I've attempted to keep track on my points and usually succeed through lunch, but by dinner and then add on the snacks I usually fall off the wagon. Thus I have not really been on program.

I'm going to continue to lift weights 3 days a week. I will still proceed my lifting with 30 minutes of cardio, then lift, and then end with 30 more minutes of cardio. The good news is the weight lifting is starting to feel more natural. Less pain means that I can concentrate on my form and completing each move. This is key.

I'm not going to get down on myself for being up 10-15 lbs. I am just going to make a plan and fricking stick to it already! Weighing myself and getting an idea of where my body fat is finally woke me up. I weighed in at 154.6 lbs. (late evening on the 22nd after eating all of my meals, drinking 192 oz of water, and not having a bowel movement) and my body fat is 24.4%. Z talked me into concentrating on lowering the body fat which will in turn lower my weight instead of being so caught on in the numbers. It was really hard last night. I felt absolutely huge after I weighed in. I felt just fine before. I felt lean and strong. Z was right next to me when I did it and still thinks I'm hot, even though I didn't feel like I was after I saw the number. I'll get over it once things start to change, but that will start once I start following the plan.

Z doesn't feel that WW is an appropriate plan for me to follow as far as weight ranges are concerned, because of my body build and my muscularity. I know that I want to be leaner and of course weigh less, but I want to be able to maintain it long term and have it not be impossible to do. I will probably still document points for a while since I'm already paying the money, but I will also use fitday. I've used it on and off in the past, but since it's free it doesn't hurt to give it a try, right? Plus trying something new might just stir things up. I'll need figure out how many calories I need to be consuming and how much my body burns at rest etc., but I'm actually looking forward to that since it will give me other numbers to fixate on instead of the weight - for now anyways.

The new scale that Z bought is a Tanita scale with a body fat analyzer.

Part Tanita BF-680 - Tanita BF-680 body fat scale with 2 person memory

Two person memory for fast, simple operation. Athlete mode for accurate measurement on athlete body types.

Features:

* 300 pound capacity, .2 lb. increments, .1% body fat resolution

* Adult, child, Athlete and weight-only modes of measurement

* Recall compares your current and last weight & body fat %

* Healthy range indicator bar shows where you score

* Guest mode allows measurement without storing data in memory

* Extra large 2 line display

* Uses 4 AA batteries (included)

* 3 year parts and labor warranty

* Click here to download a Tanita manual.

I've never taken my body fat into account, though it has been mentioned to me several times by friends and family that I should monitor that more so than my weight since I'm so athletically built. I'll give it a try. I'm not sure what I'll shoot for just yet, but I'll figure it out.

Today knowing the new numbers helped me stay on track - so far. I still have dinner to worry about, but I think I'll be ok. Before it was easier to continue to eat what I wanted, because I hadn't weighed myself in a while and didn't know the damage. Now that I have I want the numbers to go down! I glad that Z bought a new scale.

Tonight is a back, more biceps and whatever else I decide to throw in along with my 60 minutes of cardio. Feeling good today. I'm just a bit sore. My feet still hurt and the top of my right foot is still numb, but I'm ready for another good workout.

On Sunday I'll be able to start working out in the morning again since I'll be working the late shift again. I'm not sure how long it will be for, but I'll try to make the best of it while I'm on it to see if I can make some improvements.

One day at a time. Keep on, keeping on.

(Engaged 9/16/05)