I was traveling yesterday, so I missed my regularly scheduled weigh in.  I did step on the scale when we got home, and I’m pretty sure that I’m past the 25 pounds mark, but I’ll know, officially, next Monday.

It’s been nearly two weeks since I was able to go to the gym.  I’ll be going tonight, and I can’t wait.  I had planned to go yesterday, but we didn’t get home soon enough!  I have some new shoes, and I can’t wait to see how they feel when I hit the treadmill.

As far as diet news goes, I’ve done very, very well.  I haven’t cheated, even once, and I feel great.  Honestly, I haven’t missed the cakes and cookies.  In fact, it feels good not to have to deal with the sugar highs and sugar lows.

As far as exercise news, I’ve been away from the gym since last weeks kidney stone incident.  I’ll be back on schedule when we get back home, but for the next few days, I’ll do some walking around my in-laws’ neighborhood and play some soccer with my kids.

I brought my scale with me, so I can do my official weigh in on Monday.  With all of the stress associated with Christmas, and traveling, I’m proud that I’ve managed to “stay strong”.  It feels good to feel (and to be) in control.

Friday, I weighed in, and even though I hadn’t been to the gym in several days, I still managed to lose weight!  Even when sick, I stayed with my eating plan.  In fact, I haven’t cheated even once since September 29.  Seriously, that’s 83 days without ONE bad eating decision.  Pretty rad.  (This includes the four Christmas parties that I have been to this month, and Thanksgiving!)

Tonight, we had a Christmas party for our kids at church.  Several folks complimented me on my weight loss, and one person even said, “I barely recognized you.”.  If I’m getting these positive reactions after 23.4 pounds, imagine what will happen when I reach my goal weight!  Awesome.

Speaking of my goal.  I want to lose a total of 90 pounds, but when I mentioned that to a few friends, they all stated that I shouldn’t try to lose that much.  According to the height/weight ratio charts that I find on the web, at 5 feet 8 inches, my goal weight should be between 135 and 165 pounds.  Right now, I’m at 228.8.  (That’s the smallest I’ve been in five or six years.  Pretty cool.)  As of now, I’m going to keep 90 pounds as my goal, but I might fine tune that goal, as I get healthier and healthier.

Oh, I’ve now lost five or six inches in my waist.  I had to drill an extra hole in my belt this morning.  This is the second extra hole that I’ve had to create since I started The 929 Project.  It feels great to lose pounds.  It feels super great to lose inches!

Tomorrow, after my official Monday weigh in, I’m going to head to the gym.  I’ve really missed running and lifting weight.  It will be interesting to see if I’ve regressed, or if the extra rest actually increased my strength.

Math is constant, metabolism is variable.  If I send $2000 to a creditor, my balance will be reduced by $2000.  This works, every, single, time.  But, if I eat 2000 calories, my weight (on the scale) might go up, it might go down, or it might stay the same.  Why?  Because weight loss isn’t just about calories consumed, it’s also about calories burned, hydration, heart rate, exercise, heredity… The list it endless.  With debt reduction, I can factor in interest rates, terms of the loan, and payments, and I can pinpoint, to the exact day, when I’ll be debt free.  With weight loss, I can run all of the calculations that I want, but I can never ensure exactness.  This frustrates a math nerd like me!!!

Finance is private, fatness is public.  Let’s face it, when you see someone who is overweight, you notice.  But, how do you know if your neighbor is broke?  For all you know, he’s living off of a ten million dollar inheritance.  Or, he’s so deep in debt that he’s thinking about running away to Panama.  Not so with the fat guy.  There aren’t enough black shirts and black slacks in the world to cover up the fact that a fat dude is a fat dude.  And, as a fat dude, this is discouraging.  With my finances, I can share as much or as little as I want.  I’m in control.  But, with my weight, no matter how hard I’m working, there will still be people who see me and make judgments based on appearance.

Debt reduction is mental, exercise if physical.  Let’s face it.  It is much easier to hit the ’send’ button and make a credit card payment than it is to hit the gym and walk 2 miles.  For a dude like me, who loves reading and writing, it’s much easier to spend my time dealing with cerebral pursuits.  I don’t particularly enjoy exercising, it takes time for results, and I get frustrated being surrounded (at the gym) by people who are in far better shape.  If I know that making a payment, today, will save $15, I’m very motivated to make that payment.  But, if I’m only ‘pretty sure’ that going to the gym will make the scale move, I’m just not that motivated.  It all goes back to the fact that debt reduction is exact while weight loss is inexact.

Debt reduction requires a plan, weight loss requires a plan.  When getting out of debt, I created a plan and I followed it.  When losing weight, I have failed to stick to a plan… I’ve created several plans, but I have not coupled planning AND determination.  Until I do, I won’t make much (if any) progress.  Note to self:  Create a plan you will follow AND then follow it!!!

I don’t pretend to be a weight loss expert.  In fact, I’m pretty much the opposite of an expert.  But, I do know a thing or two about debt reduction.  I have to learn to focus on weight loss, just like I did with debt reduction.  Hopefully, this post will be the first of many where I begin to put the pieces together.

Maybe it’s my general lack of focus on personal stuff, but I really haven’t been thinking all that much about losing weight or exercising.  Instead, I’ve been busy with work stuff and family stuff.  But, as usual, when I neglect my health, my work also suffers.

This morning, I woke up and did some stretching.  We are about to head to the beach – and I hope to go for a long walk and burn a few calories.  The weather here is awesome, so that makes getting outside and moving fun.  Hopefully, this week away from ’stuff’ will help me refocus and move forward.

I must admit, the past three weeks have been tough, dealing with the stress of the birth and then being sick.  But, it feels so good to have the other kids back in school and to be able to get back to our regular schedule.  Mommy is staying home with baby and I’m able to get back to my regular work.

I think I’m going to have a little turkey bacon and some strawberries.  I’m also going to drink a very large glass of water.  I feel a bit dehydrated, and I know that the water will make me feel so much better.