[darkpuppet]

well, it's about a week before the official weigh-in of my challenge with a buddy ($650 on the line this time).. but I've dropped 14 lbs, bringing me back to my summer weight, and my strength is slowly going up..

strength indicators (max single rep - all free wieghts):
flat bench press: 285lbs
squat: 310lbs
wide grip chinups: 1 unassisted (hey, I still weigh nearly 300 lbs!!)
dips: 15 unassisted
deadlift: 225 lbs (4 reps)
dumbell Shoulder press: 95lbs/arm

mood and energy wise, I'm in a good place. I'm at where I was at in spring of last year, and I have 4 months before summer..

I'm still targetting on dropping another 35-40lbs of fat by summer. I am indeed ahead of my goals.

When summer hits, the weightloss goals will stay (10lbs/mo), but will probably shift away from weight training to concentrate on training for a 24 hour race or something for fall.

I'm not sure what it is, but I've been able to drop weight and train pretty well before, but for some reason, everything seems easier this time around. I think I've finally found the sweet spot for making progress without denying myself horrendously.

also have a doc's appointment next week to start regular checkups during all this.