Starting weight: 186.4 lbs
Last week’s weight: 178.6 lbs
Current weight: 177.2 lbs
Weight loss this week: 1.4 lbs

Getting there! Just two weeks left until the SSA SoCal conference. JT is currently beating me by a tiny bit, so I may be ramping up the exercise for the remaining time. Should have gone by percentage lost – it helps when you weighed more to begin with. *cough*JT*cough*

It’s funny. I keep thinking about the happy dance I’ll do when I make the 10 pound mark, but that’ll still only put me at my weight when graduating undergrad. I’d need to lose another 15 to get back to my high school weight, when I was still out of shape and a little pudgy. I’d like to blame the ramen and peanut butter sandwiches that basically made up my diet for four years, but that doesn’t excuse the grad school weight.

Oh well – I’m almost there!

Starting weight: 186.4 lbs
Last week’s weight: 179.8 lbs
Current weight: 178.6 lbs
Weight loss this week: 1.2 lbs

My weight was so perfectly stable at 179.8 for the whole week that I thought my scale was broken. But then I magically lost 1.2 lbs this morning. Weight loss is weird.

But yeah, not a good week for being healthy, thanks to lots of stress at school, no time to go grocery shopping for healthier food, and womanly issues. Yay hormones!

Though now’s my chance to pull way ahead of JT, while he’s at an atheist conference gobbling up conference food all weekend. Mwahaha!

Starting weight: 186.4 lbs
Last week’s weight: 182.8 lbs
Current weight: 179.8 lbs
Weight loss this week: 3.0 lbs

Under 180 pounds, wooo!!!

Though when I look back, I weighed about 175 pounds before my senior year at Purdue. That’s what applying, interviewing at, and actually starting grad school will do to you – stress eating until you gain 10 pounds. Hurray.

Other than that, I don’t have any major weight loss revelations this week. I learned I don’t have to completely deprive myself of stuff like pizza and chocolate – I can just eat them in moderation. Amazing how that works.

Oh, and if you’re doing your own New Years resolution, maybe you’d be interested in the Secular Student Alliance’s Carrot and Stick Project. Executive Director August Brunsman found effective motivation to get healthy – he wrote two checks, one to the SSA, and the other to Campus Crusade for Christ. If he made his goal, he’d tear up the check to CRU. If not, well… you see why he lost the weight. Eek, CRU.

Starting weight: 186.4 lbs
Last week’s weight: 181.8 lbs
Current weight: 182.8 lbs
Weight loss this week: -1.0 lbs

Whoopsie!

But I’m not worried – so many things cause minor fluctuations in weight, and I was down to 180.2 earlier this week. Since then I started EA Sports Active (less evil now that I’m on Easy mode, but still effective) . From the level of soreness that’s producing, I’m probably gaining muscle weight, which is good!

…And I totally gorged myself on Indian food for dinner last night, so I blame that too.

So, I’m not disappointed. I’m still on a good trajectory. I’ve been eating a lot better and actually doing more than sitting in front of my computer (though I still do that a lot).

Though JT pointed out that Lyz has added a Final Weigh-In to the SSA SoCal conference schedule. What is this nonsense, Lyz?! Not all scales are calibrated the same! And people weigh more in the afternoon! And I’ll be wearing significantly more clothing than when I usually weigh myself! AND YOU PUT IT AFTER LUNCH! That’s just cruel.

Don’t make me play the “I’m technically your boss’s boss” card ;P

…Time to go eat a salad and play DDR.

DDR was getting a little tedious to play every single day. And while it’s good cardio, it doesn’t really work out any other parts of my body. That’s why I was all excited when my package came in today containing EA Sports Active 2. I could, you know, go to the gym or something, but I’m a hermit with a PS3, so why not.

With the hokey opening sequence and mind numbingly simple initial explanations, I assumed this game must be made for old people who are trying to get in shape using their kid’s video game console. Based on that observation, I thought it would be perfectly fine for a young adult who’s been playing DDR for a week to start on Medium instead of Easy.

Holy fuck.

I only made it through half of my work out before quitting because my legs were cramping up and I felt like I was going to vomit. That’s including watching minute long tutorials before each exercise. And by watching, I mean flopping onto my couch like a beached whale and frantically pressing the “Show Tutorial Again” button.

No one should have to do mountain climbers followed by bent arm side planks.

The salt in the wound was having the game tell me I only burned 55 calories, despite the fact that all of my muscles burned and I felt like I was about to die. Maybe it was supposed to make me vomit. That would certainly get rid of some calories.

Fuck you game.

EDIT: 20 minutes have gone by, and I still feel like heaving. I’m having flashbacks to middle school gym class… Except my legs hurt so much I don’t know if I’d be able to dash to the toilet in time.

Alright, it’s time for the first report from my weight loss competition with JT Eberhard!

Starting weight: 186.4 lbs
Current weight: 181.8 lbs
Weight loss this week: 4.6 lbs

Yay! …Okay, before anyone pops in and says “JEN! That’s not less than 2 pounds! I thought you were going to be healthy!” let me explain. The first time I weighed myself was in the afternoon after eating a big lunch and while wearing jeans. Every subsequent weighing has been in the morning before breakfast while wearing lighter pajama pants. Weight fluctuates throughout the day, and when I weigh myself in the afternoon it’s higher. Next week my weight loss should be closer to 2 lbs.

The most helpful tool I’ve had so far is using LoseIt!, a calorie counter. I’m a data geek, so I love being able to see trends in my own eating habits. I feel motivated to keep using it because I want a larger sample size! I was quickly able to see how many calories pop, beer, and even juice add to my day. I’ve been drinking a lot more water because of that.

And even a half hour of DDR every day has been really helpful. I started getting Cs on standard mode, and I’m already back to getting As on heavy. And my legs no longer feel like they’re going to fall off after just a couple songs! EA Sports Active 2 should arrive Monday, so then I’ll start working on other parts of my body.

You should also know that the stakes are somewhat higher. Phil Ferguson of Skeptic Money wanted to get in on our little competition, even though we have a week’s head start. If either JT or I can lose more weight than Phil before the end of the contest, he’ll throw in $100 to the Secular Student Alliance. And if both JT and I lose more weight than Phil, he’ll throw in $250. Unfortunately for Phil, his wife is on “Team Jen,” so he’s a bit doomed if she does a lot of the cooking.

And unfortunately for JT, some of the SSA staff is on Team Jen. Jesse sent me a hilarious photo of him “sabotaging” JT’s sandwich with mayo. No where is safe, JT. Mwahahaha.

(Remember, you can pledge here!)

Today is the first day of my weight loss challenge with JT Eberhard. I’m already a day ahead, because JT is spent all day driving to his new home in Columbus, OH. Victory is mine! …Of course, he’ll probably more than make up for it with all the calories he burns unpacking. Hm.

Anyway, this isn’t going to turn into a weight loss blog, but I will, however, update you on my progress every Saturday, mainly so you can yell at me if I’ve been slacking off. For those who are concerned that I’m going to be frantically starving myself in an attempt to win a bet…don’t worry. I like food way too much to do that. And the goal isn’t just to lose weight – I live way too sedentary of a lifestyle, and I want to get in shape. I mean, my 64 year old father is infinitely more active than I am – he golfs or plays tennis every day. I mean, that’s great for him, but I shouldn’t be winded walking up hills at age 23.

My goal is to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, since anything more than that 1. Isn’t healthy and 2. Isn’t sustainable. I’m going to adopt three basic healthy habits (though for more, totally check out Greta Christina’s Fat Positive Feminist Skeptical Diet):

1. Reduce pop consumption. No drinking pop while in lab or class, and no buying pop at the grocery store. I’m not strong willed enough to remove it entirely, but it’s better to have it be a treat at an occasional dinner than a staple.

2. Bring lunch to work at least 4 out of 5 days of the week. We have a cafe in our building that’s delicious, but it’s also totally fattening. Not only will this be healthier, but I’ll also save money.

3. Exercise for at least a half hour every day. I’m kind of a hermit and hate people watching me at the gym, so my two weapons of choice are EA Sports Active 2 (in the mail, recommended by a friend) and Dance Dance Revolution. I used to play DDR a ton in high school. In fact, me not playing it is pretty well correlated with me gaining weight. I played a half hour today, and man, do I suck after not practicing for so long. I’m motivated to exercise just so I can start scoring As on Heavy again.

Also, totally need to remember to wear my sports bra while playing. Didn’t really have boobs when I used to play…ouch. Quickly vetoed the idea of recording myself playing as proof, as much as some of my readers may enjoy that.

I bought a cheap scale too. The scientist in me is already annoyed by its accuracy and precision, but it’s good enough. I really just wanted to be able to make a nifty graph, because I’m kind of a nerd about data. And before any “never ask a lady her weight” nonsense starts, I’ll just tell you. Partially because I don’t give a damn, and partially because I want to track my progress here.

Starting weight: 186.4 lbs
Goal for SSA SoCal con: 175ish

To put that in perspective, I was 165 when I started college. I could have stood to lose a few pounds even then, but I was also two cup sizes smaller, so it probably cancels out.

I can’t wait to put all the weight back on via alcohol once I defeat JT. Mwahaha!