It’s been a rough couple of weeks as far as the scale goes. Until yesterday, I’d only lost two more pounds over those two weeks, which was really starting to frustrate me. Certainly, a pound a week isn’t anything to be upset about in the grand scheme of things. That’s fifty two pounds a year. But, seeing as how there’s not a year between now and this summer, I was beginning to get a little annoyed.

However, between yesterday and today, another pound and a half has disappeared, which hopefully means I am back on track. Three days from Day 60, and while I had hoped to be able to put a 24 in the loss column for 60 days, 22 or 23 will be just fine, too.

Ignoring the weight part of it, my body fat percent is now consistently under 30 (today it said 29.2%), and I’ve been able to almost daily exceed my previous rep numbers on pushups. During the last sculpt workout, I managed 99 total pushups, 20 of which were declines. That’s not 99 in a row, but 99 spread out over the course of the 38 minute workout in sets of 20 or more (the last set, I did 30 before I collapsed). I’m hoping today that I can hit 100. 57 days ago, I could barely do 15 of them over a shorter workout.

I tried on a shirt that I wore to my 20 year high school reunion last summer. It was a tent. Can’t wear it. Right now, I’m wearing a shirt that I bought several years ago when I weighed (I think) about my same weight as I weigh now. I could fit my three year old daughter in it with me, I think. It’s sad, in a way, as it’s one of my favorite shirts. The days of XL shirts are over, it seems.

Woke up this morning, weighed in, and found I now weighed 18 pounds less than when I started. That’s the first time my weight loss has seemed like “quite a bit”. Three pounds a week so far which is really awesome. My overall goal is to get down to about 165, which is a sixty pound loss. I’m almost 1/3 of the way there.

Yeah, kind of late for doing that. Anyway, first 30 days, total weight loss of 11.6 pounds. Pretty much right on target, really. We’ve moved up to the second set of videos, and the workout is quite a bit more intense. Was almost like starting over, except that I didn’t hurt for days after doing it. The number of ab reps doubled, and the first day, I managed about 160 of them. The second time through the ab routine, I managed 195. Felt like I about killed myself, but I got through them. It’s amazing, really, how much change can happen in a month. When I first started, I could barely do five pushups (may have been less than that) without having to take a really long rest. I can now do twenty or more in a row. The ability of our body to change itself to meet new challenges is amazing.

Don’t think you’re going to get before and after pictures tomorrow – you ain’t. Even though it’s Day 30, and you’re supposed to take pictures, and I’m going to take pictures, I’m not going to scare you all by showing you what I looked like with my shirt off thirty days ago. I’m not even going to scare you by showing you what I look like now. I’m going to wait until the “real” after.

I’m fairly happy with the progress I’m seeing. Of course, I want more, but I’m edging close to three pounds a week which is pretty dang good. We’ll see what the scale says tomorrow, and I probably will at least post the numbers.

One of the side effects of this whole thing is that I seem to have significantly more energy on a daily basis already. I was able to do a bunch of woodworking yesterday – like six hours or more of it, and I’m not sore or tired today. And I did it the day before, too – even skipped watching some TV and worked on my workbench instead. It’s amazing, really, how much easier it is to get stuff done now that I’m not worn out as easily. It’s amazing how even just a couple of weeks of exercise and eating right can change so many things about how you feel. It’s a better pick-me-up than caffeine.

When you’re working on Power 90, or any of the BeachBody programs, they encourage you to NOT look at the scale every day. Why? Because a great many people can’t deal with the inevitable bouncing around that happens day to day because of water weight, excess waste hanging out in your bowels for a day, etc…

Case in point, four days ago, I weighed myself, and was at 219.4. Three days ago, 220.0!!! That sucked, really. Then yesterday, 219.6. Then, this morning, 217.6!!! That sort of stuff really yanks your chain if you’re focused on your weight, as a great many people are.

Fortunately, I’m more focused on how I look and feel and less on the actual number and seeing it fluctuate like that doesn’t bother me all that much. I’m mostly just curious about the journey downward, interested in seeing what happens and figuring out, if I can, the reasons behind whatever happens.

So, what does that 217.6 number mean? It means that I’m on target for my 30 day goal of at least 10 pounds lost. There are 10 days to lose another 2.2 pounds. My 90 day goal is to get under 200 which is certainly attainable. Ultimately, however, I don’t have a target weight, I have a target body. One that is fit and athletic (!!!). One that can keep up with my kids and fit on the rides of the traveling carnivals. One that I don’t feel like I have to hide, but instead want to show off. The weight itself is just one measurement out of many, and it’s more a curiosity for me than anything else.