Blogging Weight Loss Challenge: Day 69 of 70
June 17, 2009 Posted by Tyler CruzThis will be my last post before the final weigh-in as it we are now only 24 hours away from the conclusion of the Blogging Weight Loss Challenge: Cruz vs Volk. I can’t believe it has been 2 and-a-half months already… it’s scary really.
A few days ago, Jonathan Volk announced that he lost another pound, but that still leaves him with needing to lose another 4.5 pounds within 5 days, or an average of a pound a day.
Remember, there’s a $500 penalty if either Jonathan or me don’t lose 10 pounds within 10 weeks by tomorrow, so there’s more than just pride on the line. Considering that 4.5 pounds works out to 2.5% of his current weight, it’s going to take a lot of work for him to make the cut.
Yes, Another Personal Record!
I have now completed my 19th “run” around Westwood Lake. That works out to a total of 157 KM (or 97 miles). That’s equivalent to nearly 4 marathons!
The run before last, I finished with a new personal record of 58:09 which made me very happy.
Then, on my last run on June 12th, I set yet another new personal record, finishing in at 57:55! I pushed myself so hard the last stretch to my car it was insane.
Most people who jog the whole trail can do it in around 38-45 minutes, so my time is still pathetic, but I don’t care. When I started on April 8th my time was 1:06:00, so I shaved a full 8-minutes off my original time.
Doing 13KM Now
I did a total of 13KM (8 miles) on my last trek around Westwood Lake, increasing it by 1KM. I only record my time and go as fast as I can on the first 6KM, but the additional 7KM helps with the weight loss too of course.
When I got home, I noticed I had lost close to 3 pounds!
Westwood Lake Time
| Date | Time | Distance | Comments |
| My 2007 Best Time | 1:00:34 | 6 KM | My previous record… |
| April 8, 2009 | 1:06:00 | 6 KM | Feet and calves absolutely painful |
| April 12, 2009 | 1:05:33 | 6 KM | Feet, shins, and calves still absolutely painful |
| April 15, 2009 | 59:45 | 6 KM | Jogged a couple extra stretches |
| April 20, 2009 | 1:00:45 | 6 KM | Off my record by a minute  Shins killed me |
| April 22, 2009 | 1:02:30 | 6 KM | Shins and calves still very painful |
| April 24, 2009 | 1:01:45 | 6 KM | Came close to record but couldn’t push near the end |
| April 26, 2009 | 1:03:30 | 6 KM | Had a very bad first 2-3 KM |
| April 29, 2009 | 59:35 | 6 KM | Had a fantastic first 2KM |
| May 4, 2009 | 59:07 | 6 KM | Had great first 3KM with lots of jogging |
| May 7, 2009 | 1:01:27 | 6 KM | Lots of pain in the feet and shins, very bad first half |
| May 9, 2009 | 1:01:38 | 6 KM | Tried hard as usual but just couldn’t set record |
| May 12, 2009 | 1:03:15 | 8 KM | Had severe ankle pain. Extremely frustrating |
| May 17, 2009 | 58:57 | 8 KM | First time trying new shoes |
| May 20, 2009 | 58:48 | 6 KM | Did several sprint stretches near end |
| May 21, 2009 | 59:34 | 10 KM | First time doing 10 KM |
| May 24, 2009 | 59:15 | 10 KM | Sprinted hard the final stretch but no new record |
| May 29, 2009 | 58:23 | 12 KM | Sprinted hard the final stretch |
| June 1, 2009 | 1:00:51 | 12 KM | Was so hot out. Sapped my energy all out |
| June 7, 2009 | 58:09 | 12 KM | Pushed myself hard final stretch |
| June 12, 2009 | 57:55 | 13 KM | New Record! Jogged much more in the middle area |
(Note: Times are for first 6KM only)
Weight Loss Status
| Date | Weight | Total Pounds Lost | Days Left |
| April 11, 2009 | 205 | 0 | 68 |
| April 14, 2009 | 205 | 0 | 65 |
| April 19, 2009 | 205 | 0 | 60 |
| April 23, 2009 | 204 | 1 | 56 |
| May 3, 2009 | 201 | 4 | 46 |
| May 8, 2009 | 200 | 5 | 41 |
| May 18, 2009 | 200 | 5 | 30 |
| May 24, 2009 | 198 | 7 | 24 |
| June 5, 2009 | 196 | 9 | 12 |
| June 16, 2009 | 196 | 9 | 1 |
I saw a lot of consistent weight loss during the first week of June, but since then I have gained a pound or two. I started falling back a bit on my eating habits a bit such as eating before going to bed, skipping breakfast, and eating frozen/instant foods, etc. which is most likely the reason. I also lost control and went to McDonalds on one day.
However, for the most part I’ve been doing pretty good. I’ve been continuing to do my daily routine and have kept pushing myself at Westwood.
I just weighed myself and I’m 196, but that’s because I just got back from a very tiring badminton session. The past few days I’ve actually been averaging 197, so it’s probably better to say that I still need to lose 2 pounds to be safe by tomorrow.
While I still have another 1-2pounds to go by tomorrow, I’m not too worried. I’m going to do Westwood Lake again tomorrow and plan to do 14 KM (8.7 miles). That alone should burn off 2 pounds, and if it doesn’t, I’ll go out and ride my new bike for a bit which should hopefully help burn off another half a pound.
Jonathan and I didn’t set an actual time when we had to weigh ourselves tomorrow, only that it had to be on June 18th, so that does help us a bit. It sure is cutting it close though. Stay tuned for the final results either tomorrow or the day after!
Wow nice job there! 8 minutes off a time is quite a bit. You seem really tired in your video! As you should bee too. You are right about not caring that most people get it in at a faster time, because you are obviously improving and putting real effort into it! Getting yourself into a Running routine is the best way to lose weight, not only because of the exercise but because your metabolism will naturally increase, especially right after a run (when you would be the most hungry anyways!) Although I see you have been eating some unhealthy foods, but it hasn’t put you in any real trouble 😛
Tyler,
Keep up the good work, You may want to step on the scale after you wake up since most of your body weight is water after you go to the bathroom in the morning you may be light enough to break the 10 pound barrier. Give it a try it may work if not its time to give it all you got on the last day!
Good luck! Looking forward to the results!
Come on Tyler, you can do it 😀
Avoid eating salty foods now, because salt will make you retain water and water is heavy. That might help you shave off a pound right there.
🙂
-Paul
Very good and impressive.. keep going…
2 pounds in one day is not an impossibility, but it will be tough. You dont just lose weight by running and cycling, you need to get that stuff out of your system as well, so try to spend some more time in the bathroom.
You need to burn roughly 3000 calories to burn one pound. Or 6k in one day. Good luck.
I gotta agree with not eating salt. LOL, just go on a liquid, salt free diet until tomorrow night and you’ll be fine.
Well, lets say I can’t wait until tomorrow comes around to see the results! I’m a little excited… especially if Jonathan doesn’t make it lol.
Jay
That is pretty cool that you are breaking your time everytime so nice work on that. Greg Ellison
Just make sure you sweat off as much as you can the last day, stay away from salt (as suggested) and do your morning “business” before weigh-in lol.
Good luck Jay. I think you are going to make out. Wish I had jumped on it but just never found the time.
Best news though is you will be done with these posts (hopefully)!
One thing to save your car battery: turning the ignition half way so the fan turns on is not the full A/C and drains your battery super fast. It’s best to turn the car on completely to get the full A/C effect and not drain your battery. Had to throw that in as a former mechanic. haha
Yeah, I only do that for about 2-minutes tops though just to cool myself down because I’m aware of the battery suckage…
Great job! We all fall off the bandwagon everyone once in a while. It’s what we do to not continue going down that path that counts. Keep up the good work!
I personally think it is simple to lose 10 pounds in a 2 month time span if the eating habits are a lot better.
Of course muscle could weigh more though.
-Mike
Oh my, I admire your resolve! The key to weight loss without the risk of running into the dreaded yo-yo effect is consistency, and I can see you have a lot of it!
As for your opponent …. well, the only way he could do that, if he hasn’t already, is spend a day in a sauna to sweat the water out. That’s an old trick used e.g. by boxers.
Anyway, I just wanted to say good luck and may the best one win!
When I made the comment before about not running again so soon, I didn’t realize that may had 31 days. Good luck.
10lbs in 3 months? LMAO. Fix your diet, hit a gym. I lost 10lbs in under a month…
I’d hit the laxatives Tyler. You’ll drop a few pounds there too 🙂
This is just amazing! I felt I am motivated to start a weight loss regimen myself and blog about my progress. It has been a long awaited dream to stay fit and not fat!
very impressive and motivating to see the results you attained from your efforts! Congrats on setting and beating goals and hope you win!
Hi, good post. I have been wondering about this issue,so thanks for posting. I’ll definitely be coming back to your site.
I personally think it is simple to lose 10 pounds in a 2 month time span if the eating habits are a lot better.
Indeed What a Great job! We all fall off the bandwagon everyone once in a while. It’s what we do to not continue going down that path that counts. Keep up the good work!
I have been wondering about this issue,so thanks for posting. I’ll definitely be coming back to your site….
[…] But all our hard work paid off, as I set a new personal best time! My last best time was set during last year’s blogging weight loss challenge, on June 12, 2009. […]