Week 22 update

I’m back! Yes, it’s been a while since I updated my site, but as you can see, I updated a lot today. I’ve actually been updating a local copy of my site for a little over a month now (since my week 14 results post), but I haven’t gotten around to posting everything live until today.

Note: In terms of the 20/20 program, my time in London was an excused absence, since it was a mandatory business trip, which means my program simply gets extended by a week. I ended the first of the two phases of the program while I was in London, but due to scheduling, I won’t be taking the end of phase 1 tests until this week, which is actually week 22. So I am now in phase 2 of the program, which is the same as phase 1, except that:

• I meet with my personal trainer twice each week (instead of three times)—my workouts are scheduled Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30PM.
• I meet with my dietitian every other week (instead of every week)—on Wednesdays at 5:30PM, starting this Wednesday.

As the formal structure of the program loosens, it becomes even more important for me to continue the diet and exercise routine on my own, and the London trip was a big test for me along these lines. Since my official weigh-ins are with my dietitan, I’ll be updating those every other week starting later this week.

I’m happy to say that the London trip was a successful one in all regards:

• Work was great—we got very positive feedback about our product from the MSN International folks, and more importantly, learned more about how they are leveraging our product for their sites, which will help guide future releases;
• Brian and I got to do some site seeing while there—highlights for me was a trip to Legoland Windsor on the Sunday we arrived and a Saturday afternoon exploring Camden Market before we left; and
• I was able to get 4 exercise sessions in during the 10 days we were there—not great, but far better than it could have been. The equipment at the hotel was terrible, but fortunately, the London office has a relationship with LA Fitness there, and I was able to use their facilities free of charge. Their equipment was still a big step down from the Pro Club, but it served its purpose, and it was fun to work out London style. The highlight in terms of exercise was jogging in Hyde Park on Sunday morning—it’s a very beautiful park and it wasn’t crowded at all.
• For Dad, I made it a point to try authentic Fish and Chips while I was in London—I’ve even got a picture. [My parents went on a 28-day European vacation this summer, and this was one of the things on my Dad’s list of things to do. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to do it while in the UK, so I promised him I would.]
• Yes, I had a few pints whilst there—it is London, after all.
• Favorite story: upon telling some of the MSN International folks about my goal to lose 75 pounds, one of the guys didn’t catch on right away—until he converted it to stones. Apparently, I’m planning to lose 5 stones, which got a huge reaction.

The victim of the trip turned out to be my Magic Bullet blender, which I had packed along so that I could have my shakes each morning. I found a grocery store near the hotel and stocked up on fruits and milk (emptying the mini bar to make room). Unfortunately, I would only get one shake for the trip—when I made the first one, I burned out the blender’s motor. Apparently, I needed both a plug and voltage adapter, and I only used a plug adapter. I had become accustomed to just having the plug, and the voltage difference didn’t occur to me, since everything I’ve ever travelled with before was computer equipment that is capable at running at both currents.

While there, I also started the long (and fun) process of replacing my wardrobe. I wanted to postpone the new wardrobe until ending the program in December, but as everyone who’s seen me lately will tell you, it got to the point of being silly—my clothes were just hanging off me. Allison suggested that I check out the Ben Sherman store while I was there, and I’m glad I did—I found a few things that I like a lot. Thanks to Darren Wicker for being a regular Ben Sherman shopper and being able to tell me right where it was—only a few blocks from the London office, as it turned out.

I continued the shopping spree after I got back, and am now well on my way to having replaced my wardrobe. Some fun facts:

My size	May, 2006	Oct, 2006
Pants	42×30	33×30
Shirt	18.5×35 (xx-large)	16.5×35 (large)

There’s no way I can overemphasize how nice of a change this is—especially since it opens me up to stores I couldn’t shop at before because they didn’t carry my size. I even ordered a few of my all-time favorite button downs: the Hyde Park by Lands’ End, which are limited in colors to just blue and white in my old size. So if you see me wearing a pink shirt and being happy about it, that’s why :)

It’s interesting to note that I did buy 2 pairs of pants about a month ago, and those were 36×30. I haven’t lost that much weight since then, but my shape has definitely changed. Another surprise: I now wear medium sweat pants.

I’ll have a medical update in about a week or so, and I hope to post pictures up one of these days as well, so check back. Sorry for going stale here for so long—I’ll try to keep more current now that the major changes to my site are in place.

Oh, and one last thing: if you’re in the market for some second hand XXL shirts, sweaters and jackets or 42×30 pants, by all means, please drop me a line—I’ll let them go for cheap.

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