So instead of just covering the amount of gain/loss each week I’ll also toss in some of my other goals that I am working on at the gym, on the court, or on the field. However, just to keep up-to-date I weighed in at 189.2 pounds for a loss of .8 pounds from last week. The amount of weight that I lost does not reflect well to how good of a week I had on the diet.

At the gym

I was able to cover a few goals that I had for myself at the gym for this week. The first was actually timing out a sub-10 minute mile. Although I had never timed myself running prior to this week, I already knew going in that I should be able to accomplish this. So, this I accomplished pretty easily (and by easy I mean sweating like a pig).

My next goal was to be able to run 2-miles, since that was something I had not tried to do before. For those of you that do not know, running and I do not get along, in fact – I loathe it. But, I have goals and I am going to make them. So I ran two miles but I added the goal of making it in less than 20-minutes which I just barely made it. I actually had the opportunity to do this twice this week and the second time I came in at 19:20. I’m looking forward to giving this another try and coming in under 19 minutes before moving onto my next goal.

In my I ran one mile post I said: “So, what is my next goal? I’m going to run a mile in the seven-minute range.” Well, that is kinda what I am working on right now. I’m slowly building up my stamina for longer distances while simultaneously going a little bit faster each time. My new goal is 1 mile in 8-minutes and 2 miles in 18 minutes. I’ll let you know how this goal goes.

In the field and on the court

A small group of us went to the park this weekend to play frisbee, a little tennis (I am absolutely horrible at tennis, and I do mean horrible), and basketball. The weather was great (though we’re expecting bad weather this weekend, ugh).

Andrew and I playing frisbee – March 2007 – Photo credit: Eliza Devroe

It was nice to play at least a little frisbee again for the first time this season. One of my goals is to be able to play competitive ultimate this year sometime. I may have to find a local team or something since I don’t know enough people that would like to do this to create my own team. If anyone knows the best way to do this, hook me up.

Tennis seems like a pile of fun but I’m just horrible at it. Obviously it is because I’ve only played like 30-minutes worth of tennis in my entire life – but maybe I could try to play with Andrew a little this year.

The first game of basketball was a game of 21 with Andrew, Paul, and I. And I was shooting really, really well. Then, when we hopped into a larger game – my shot went into outer space for some reason. I was having trouble getting any type of rhythm back and I was starting to get frustrated – which is the worst thing to do. But I had a great time and it was good exercise. I love basketball.

That was my week of activity. Running, working out, some sports, and a fairly decent diet. The change in weather definitely helps me to keep on top of things and I’m looking forward to making and setting new goals on the scale, at the gym, in the field, and on the court.

[tags]weigh-in, diet, the-diet, andrew nelson, paul kozlansky, running, 2-miles, gym, ultimate frisbee, basketball, tennis, goals[/tags]

Playing frisbee

Recently, we’ve started playing ultimate frisbee. Just before camping we decided to give this game a whirl, and ended up playing until it was too dark to play. While we were camping we played a little frisbee every day we were there.

While camping though, Bryan decided to pull a Jet Lee on the frisbee and he broke it. Quite possibly the best frisbee ever made, was broken and smashed into tiny pieces.

So, we wanted to play on Sunday and we were left with needing to buy a new one. After hitting a few stores we went to Dick’s Sporting Goods and they had official size and weight Ultimate Frisbees. Score.

On a side note, for those looking to get into ultimate frisbee there is a difference between frisbees that I wasn’t necessarily aware of prior to Sunday. The normal household frisbee is much lighter than one used for ultimate frisbee. Also, a freestyle frisbee should not be used for ultimate frisbee. Here is a comparison shot for the two of them.

Left: Freestyle, Right: Ultimate

At first glance, they probably look about the same size. However, the ultimate frisbee is slightly larger and heavier than the freestyle frisbee. Both of which are probably heavier than your household frisbee. The freestyle frisbee weighs in at 160 ounces grams while the ultimate frisbee tips the scales at 175 ounces grams. The added surface area, and weight, make the ultimate frisbee extremely stable in the air and make accurate long-range passes much more possible.

One of the most attractive things about ultimate frisbee is that anyone can play. Young or old, man or woman, anyone can play this game and have a good time with it. It is a lot of running, which is what attracted me to this sport to begin with. As you know, I don’t like running unless there is an objective.

So, go get yourself a frisbee and a few friends, and have fun. Oh, and the official name is simply “Ultimate”, since Frisbee is a copyrighted trademark of WHAM-O, Inc. Official rules are not too hard to come by, so get out there and start throwing.

Update – In my haste, I accidentally wrote down what the frisbees weighed in the wrong unit of measure. Instead of ounces, it should have been grams. Thanks to Ben for noticing.

However, food can be delicious and fun and add a lot to an experience. And a day’s worth of overeating can be easily averaged out during a week of low calories. — Brian (bovious)

An excellent point. Food is meant to be enjoyable. Yet I still believe in moderation, and I think you can still enjoy food without simply eating too much of it.

So, how did I do this week? Last week my weigh in was 206.6 pounds. This week – 202.0 pounds. As I said last week, I did increase my calories slightly, but I also played a fair amount of basketball and ultimate frisbee so I’m pretty sure my results are coming from the exercise.

The recent heat wave probably helps too. Last night we played basketball in a 102-degree gym. My sweat soaked through my shirt to the point where I looked like I had jumped in a pool with my clothes on. You know your making progress when you actually enjoy that type of exercise.

Here’s to hoping that next week my scale reads something below 200 pounds for the first time in many, many years. How did your week go?

[tags]diet, the-diet, weigh in, basketball, ultimate frisbee, weight loss[/tags]