Finally things are feeling like they are back on track. After gaining some weight last week I wondered if I had lost all I was going to see on the scale but this week things are looking better. My weight as of this morning: 161 pounds. That makes for a total of 15 pounds in 8 weeks. I would have liked quicker loss but am told slow loss is better in the long term as your body doesn’t regain weight as quick if it’s gradually lost.

I definitely had the symptoms of loosing inches this week, none of my clothes fit right. I had paper bag syndrome all around my belt regardless of what I wore. My shirts also look like they are hanging on me instead of fitting. Nice problem to have of course, but I’m just not used to seeing that so I may need some new clothes before long.

OK, now for the measurements:

Measurements for Week 9 Feb 26 2006

Height 5-8
Weight 161.00 down 4
Stomach 33 down .5
Thigh 20.5 down .5
Chest 40 down .5
Bicep 12.50 same
Waist 32.00 down .50 (I really thought this had gone down but maybe next week)
Wrist 6.75 down .25
Ankle 8 down .5
Neck 15.5 same
Body Fat: 15% down 1% Awesome!

I’m glad my body fat percentage continues to drop so I know I’m loosing fat instead of muscle. That is a nice safeguard. I definitely feel better and have more energy to work and do things around the house. I also don’t feel exhausted when I wake up in the morning which was the case back when I started the diet.

After 1 week using an internal cleansing product, I have noticed other changes as well. The product is made by Dr Natura and is called Colonix. I am trying it out as a first time user of anything like this, along with two friends. The details of that experience is better documented on Experiment Monkey under the category, Colon cleanse with friends. I haven’t had any bizarre discoveries yet just noticed I have to “go” more often, that’s about it. My friends have had varied results which arehilarious in the most disgusting way–but hey, everyone has to go eventually right?

I have noticed my skin looks better since starting the colonix stuff but I can’t tell if that’s from the cleansing (they say complexion is linked to your colon condition) or if I am just continuing to heal from the chemical peel stuff. Time will tell, as always!

My goal now is to get my waist down to a 31 or 30. Everything else feels about right now. After that I will start weight lifting to get more tone in my abs. By the way, I read that the secret to getting a flat stomach and reducing love handles is to rid your intestines of all the junk etc etc. I’m curios how true that is and will let you know what happens as I continue on the product for 3 more weeks. My stomach definitely is getting smaller, but then it has been since I started dieting…but flat?…hey that would be cool!

My weight has bounced around a lot this week. I was moving from one side of town to another and had a tremendous amount of physical workouts each day. I stayed on the diet with only a few unavoidable meals that had some carbs. I am also testing a fiber cleanser for intestinal health which may be throwing the other parts of the diet off. Once again, my theory of diet and exercise has been proven! That theory: if you just want to loose weight then diet only. You will not loose as fast if you add exercise too soon.

Its better of course to diet and add exercise but I feel it is more goal oriented to drop the pounds first then go work out. Each week I have had physical workouts; I’ve either gained or lost very little weight.

OK now for the numbers, which are not all bad…My weight this week is 165 up two pounds form the week before. This is truly my plateau for weight loss, I’ve been floating around this number for weeks! That said, I checked my measurements and my stomach shrank a half inch, I am now at 16% body fat. Big improvement over 22% where I started.

It’s the difference in having 26 pounds of fat (still need to loose more of that) vs. almost 39 pounds when I started. This reaffirms that the weight I am loosing is fat and not muscle, so it’s all good.

Here is the rest of the measures, which are up and down like crazy from last week.

Measurements for Week 8 Feb 19 2006

Height 5-8
Weight 165.00 up two (sigh)
Stomach 33.5 down .25
Thigh 21 up .50
Chest 40.50 up .50
Bicep 12.50 same
Waist 32.00 down .50
Wrist 7 up .5
Ankle 8.5 up .25
Neck 15.5 down .25
Body Fat .16% down 1%

With all the lifting and walking I did while moving, I think many of these numbers may shift over the next week. We will see…