Half-way there! I've lost 40 pounds in 9 weeks

Okay, way back when I started this weight-loss effort, I said my eventual goal was to get healthy, fit, and be at a weight I was comfortable with. Having spent most of my adult life in the decidedly overweight category, I really wasn't sure how much weight to set as a goal, so I selected 199 pounds as my target.

That would be dropping 80 pounds. Yep, you might remember, the day I stepped on the scales and decided changes had to be made, I was 279 pounds.

Well, I can now say I'm more than half-way there.

This morning I tipped the scales at 238.2 pounds -- that's 40.8 pounds lost in nine weeks. Well, okay, I didn't officially start this until March 9, so technically it's been nine weeks and 2 days since I weighed in at 279. Either way, that's a lot of weight, in a considerably shorter time frame than I anticipated.

Truthfully, when I started this I wasn't entirely sure I'd see any success. I've done the up and down, up and down weight loss and weight gain so often, usually coming out heavier at the end than when I started, that I had to question whether this would be just another one of those failed attempts at getting fit.

I still haven't met success -- I have 39.2 pounds yet to lose to reach my target -- but I can actually see it on the horizon now, and not as distantly as I once thought. It's not going to happen overnight; heck, it's probably going to take a lot longer than the first half of the weight loss took, but it is within sight.

There are also some potential pitfalls along the way, the old "ah, one piece (of pie, cake, pizza, etc., etc.,) won't hurt," Or the "I'm just so tired, and I'm doing so well, I can skip tonight's workout (or this morning's cardio).

The truth is, either one of those statements would be true, and eating one bad thing or missing a single workout wouldn't really be the end of the world. Problem is, when you do both one day, or you end up eating something bad two or three times one week, and next thing you know you're right back at eating bad food all the time.

And that ain't going to happen.

The weight's come off much faster than I anticipated, so far, but it's still been a lot of work. Sometimes it's been fun, it's almost always felt rewarding, but it's also been a ton of work, and if nothing else, I'm not going to let all of that work and effort and sweat go to waste.

So it's on to the next 40 pounds (or 39.2)! And after that? We'll we figure that out as we start getting within grasp of that 199-pound mark. For now, it's back to the gym, back to the food planning, back to the weight loss pursuit.

Toward that end, today I sorta combined a couple of workouts. This was scheduled to be a back and biceps workout, with no cardio. But, if you've been reading along you may recall because of this past weekend's planned events, I knew I wouldn't get a Sunday leg workout, so I did a partial leg workout last Thursday (okay, about 80 percent of the normal leg workout), with plans to get a shorter leg workout in another day this week, followed by a full leg routine on Sunday.

Well, today was that day. I did a good portion of the usual leg routine, along with my normal back workout tonight, but skipped the biceps. They get a secondary workout with back work anyway.

So, here's my workout for the day:

Legs
Squats
135 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps
185 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps
225 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps
255 pounds, 1 set, 6 reps
225 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps

Leg curls
90 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps
100 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps

Standing calf press
450 pounds, 1 set, 12 reps
500 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps

Back
Seated machine row
130 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps
200 pounds, 2 sets, 10 reps each

Wide-grip seated rows
160 pounds, 2 sets, 8 reps each

Dumbbell bent-over row
65 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Weighted machine crunch
125 pounds -- 1 set, 20 reps
125 pounds -- 1 set, 12 reps

Eating for the day

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 1 ounce

Snack
Powerbar (yes, yes, I know, dubious health benefits at best with all that sugar)

Lunch
Boiled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Rice -- 5/8 cup, cook in sesame oil
Veggies -- 1/2 cup, cook in sesame oil

Snack
Fat free Greek Yogurt

Dinner
Boiled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Rice -- 5/8 cup, cook in sesame oil
Veggies -- 1/2 cup, cook in sesame oil

Snack

Haven't had that yet, but will update when I do

Totals for the day

Calories -- 1,160

Fat -- 33 grams

Protein -- 94 grams (wow, that's really low. I'll add to that in a bit with my snack)

Water -- 70 ounces so far

Diet soda -- 36 ounces