Weighing In: Haunted and Slightly Obsessed with the Number 196

The number 196 is a great number. I have been seeing it a lot lately. Unfortunately this lovely number has been the source of much frustration for me of late.

Now 196 bottles of beer for a party would be a nice number - roughly 8 cases of beer. I graduated from High School is 1996, so it is one 9 away from that monumental year. And 196 is about how many time I have tripped walking out of my parents house while growing up - oh wait, that would be my clumsy friend Eric Hill :)

Honestly, 196 has been my weight for the last 5 months. With few exceptions, whenever I weigh myself the scale in my bathroom weighs me in at 196. I am 6'2 or so and have been trying to get the weight off. I have some extra lbs. were most men gain as this AGE – around my waist and chest.

Below outlines what I have been doing:

Fitness:
I trained for most of the summer and ran a half marathon in Chicago a few weeks ago
have been working out with a personal trainer 1-2 days a week on improving my weight training skills
have been going to the gym at lunch or after work
walk to and from work - about 2 miles a day - sometimes 4 miles if we don't have a dog walker on a particular day

Food:
Oatmeal or Wheat Chex for breakfast
water all day long
turkey or chicken salads and or sandwiches for lunch
a smart protein and veggies for dinner
snacks includes apples, bananas, yogurt or 100 calorie pudding

AND STILL AT 196. NOTICE NO BEER INCLUDED IN FOOD!

Could I work out harder? Yes! I guess I now know what I need to do to maintain, now I need to go the extra effort and stop the binges I tend to reward myself with, like eating so many of my favorite Chicago foods after the half marathon.

Here is to hoping 196 turns into 180 -186 by turkey day – if I could run 13 miles in the pouring rain I can shed these extra pounds , wish me luck!

AND - THE PHOTO ABOVE IS FROM WHEN I WON MY COMPANY PIE EATING CONTEST - YUMMY PUMPKIN PIE - IRG!