On my way to my slim 120....

Working off the weekend....

2008-10-19T10:01:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

I've had a decent start to the challenge this time. Not as good as last though.

CE 6/80/8
RT 1/25/4
CT 0/25/4
PG1 15/100 crunches
PG2 15/300 push-ups
PG3 328lbs /310 lbs (new scale from last challenge puts me up a little higher)
(CE = Clean Eating RT = Resistance Training CT = Cardio Training)

I had a relatively rough saturday (white castle, cookout, birthday/housewarming party).

I think I did pretty good though since my wieght didn't go up from friday. I didn't indulge too much. :-)

I have Dr appt tomorrow to have my heal looked at. I have to see if I can use the eliptical machine at the gym until I am fully healed.

I am in it to win it.

2008-10-13T16:58:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

I just signed up for the fall challenge. Below is my signup post.

I am going to increase some goals, and alter others. The goals from the last challenge were:

Clean Eating: 70/104
Resistance Training: 15 times
Cardio Training: 15 times
Situps: 40 in a row
Pushups: 30 in a row

I was only able to meet two of these goals. Mostly due to poor planning. My new goals are these:

Clean Eating: 80/104
Resistance Training: 25 times
Cardio Training: 25 times
PG1 Crunches: 100 (outside regular workouts)
PG2 Pushups: 300
PG3 be under 310

I think after going through the first one, I can plan better an acheive these goals.

Wish me luck!!

Still working...

2008-10-05T10:53:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

It has been a while, but I wanted to let you know I am still working out. I think I am going to cancel my gym membership for now since I have been focusing on the the abs diet workout at home.

I really enjoy the workout and it has prompted me to do some of the workout on a more frequent basis.

The next challenge starts on Oct 15th and I will be taking part in it.

Just a note: I am getting really frustrated with my scale. Weigh in day is sunday (today) and I stepped on the scale 4 times and got 4 drastic differences. 326, 322, 328, 324. I really don't understand why this happens and need to find a way to be more accurate.

Argh.

Sweating like a fat girl in church....

2008-09-24T21:36:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

I just did the abs diet power interval speed training. It was rough. A lot of jumping jacks, sprinting and other heavy knee related items. I got through it by taking longer to rest during low intensity and slowing down when my legs got too tired.

It took me about 30 seconds longer to recover than the people on the video. I used my heart rate monitor to keep me in check. The heart rate window I set was 130 to 163 (which is my max for training). So when my alarm went off that I was too high, I just went to low intensity until I was around 130. That works pretty well.

I would recommend this workout. It is easy to do in the house and is only 25 minutes long. I definately got a better workout than doing interval training on the treadmill. I will probably do this for the next 3 days so I can reach my cardio goal instead of going to the gym.

Home stretch.....

2008-09-24T09:06:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

I am still holding on to the challenge. I have to eat clean 5 out of 6 days to meet my clean eating goal. I can do it.

I have to do cardio 3 more times to meet my goal for Cardio. That means today thurs and Friday.

The next challenge will start on Oct 15th and I think I will sign up for that one too.

Holding steady....

On the disabled list....

2008-09-21T11:05:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

I am done with pushups for a while. I injured my arm (pulled or strained a muscle) and I can't do anymore.

There are 2 more days left. Today my numbers are:

CE: 59/92/70
CT: 12/15/43
RT: 16/15/43

I have to get to the gym 3 more times. Or at least use the stepper at work.

My weigh in today put me at 328.6. I was able to get through the weekend (so far) without cheating. I can only cheat one more half day. So I am choosing wisely. If I can get through today, then next week will be easy.

Still trying to decide whether or not to start the next challenge. I guess we will see when the time to sign up comes along.

T -10 and counting...

2008-09-17T08:55:00.003-04:00

Dear Diary,

These are my numbers:

CE: 52/84/70
CT: 12/15/42
RT: 15/15/42

I have 20 half days left to reach my Clean eating goal. Which means, I can only allow myself 2 half cheat days. With 18 left, that would put me at an even 70.

We are having a party today at work for someone who is getting married. I gave money for lunch without thinking they probably won't have anything "clean" to eat. So I will just have to be careful with what I do eat. I would hate to use a cheat day already with so much time left. Especially since I want to go to the drive in one more time and I always cheat there. I mean, come on. It's a drive-in!

As you can see I reached my RT goal and will reach my CT goal.

My personal goals are going to be tougher. I can do 23 pushups in a row right now. That means I need 7 more to reach my goal. As for sit-ups. I don't think I will reach that, 40 in a row.

It's going to be tough these last ten days. I squandered all my cheats too early.

Live and learn.

Till next time, Ciao!

Push it up.....

2008-09-15T11:47:00.001-04:00

Dear diary,

Yesterday I started the third week of my pushup challenge. I had to do 5
reps of 20,15.15.13, and 20.

The last rep I could only do 10. So I did a total of 73 pushups. I was
barely able to do 2 a few weeks ago. Its really quite amazing.

Yesterday I went to the gym and did 30 minutes cardio. I did 20 on the
eliptical and 10 on the treadmill. I noticed my heart rate was easier to
keep up on the eliptical.

Today I am going to try to get on a schedule by going back to the gym
tonite. Gonna see if I can get mon wed fri going. For real this time.

There are 12 more days for this challenge. I'm not sure if I will do the
next challenge actually online. I may just use this blog to continue to
keep track of working out and eating.

I guess we will see how it pans out.

XOXO....
---This was sent from my sidekick 3

Today is the day..

2008-09-14T11:16:00.001-04:00

Today I will be making my triumphant return to the gym. Look out world,
here I come!!!

Weigh in today. 333.2 lbs 39,4% body fat

I think I will chanhe my weigh in to friday. I always eat more on
saturday and the skews my weighin haha
---This was sent from my sidekick 3

It was the worst of times.....

2008-09-10T08:40:00.003-04:00

Dear Diary,

Things just ain't the same. (Deborah A.) I have fallen off the horse and down the ravine. I need a rope to get back up.

I have been having a real difficult time the last few days staying on track. I'm not sure what happened to throw it off, but I am eating worse that I have since starting this challenge. In the beginning, when I would not eat good, I would still make better choices. Like if I ate ice cream, I would only eat a little. Well yesterday I ate a pint of ben and jerry's ice cream. That was the worse thing I've eaten in the past 4 weeks.

Then I realized today I haven't posted since my results on mens health since saturday. I am sure that has something to do with it. I am not keeping the challenge in my mind all the time anymore. I need to focus and get back on track.

I have been trying to keep up with CT's and RT's hoping that will help me get focused again. I'm going to try to eat clean for the next 3 days and hope that will help also.

It was the best of times.....

2008-09-04T10:58:00.003-04:00

Dear Diary,

Yesteday went well. I worked from home and that threw off my schedule a little, but was able to eat clean all day.

Today is the third day of the second week of the pushup challenge. I'm still a little sore from Tuesday, but I should be OK.

I will try to get to the gym tonite, if not then I will use the stepper again.

Back on Track.... sort of...

2008-09-02T21:30:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

The good news is I got another day of clean eating. The bad news is, I hardly ate today.

I was foiled several times this morning. First, I went ot eat my oatmeal (took a nice big spoonful) and it did not taste good anymore. I made it last week at work and put it in the fridge. Apparently that didn't hold well. So I wasn't interested in eating after that. Around 11am I went to 7-11 and got a coffee and a banana. I got back to work and the banana just didn't look right when I peeled it. Shwoooosh. Into the garbage. Then I went to moes and had the awesome triple lindy. 535 Calories, 15 grams of fiber, 38g of protein and 22 grams of fat. It is soo tasty.

Then for dinner I had meatloaf. Yum!

I did some cardio with the stepper at home tonite while watching a movie. I used my heart monitor to make sure my heart rate wasn't too high or too low.

Yay for me!

Um, who are you again?

2008-09-01T16:36:00.003-04:00

Dear Diary,

I know it's been too long. I have not been as good as I should have been this weekend. I have not had one complete day of good eating. I tried to get back on track with my normal breakfast, but I wasn't hungry so I didn't eat it. It's 430pm and all I had to eat was two spoons of oatmeal.

Tonite I will eat a healty dinner. I think eating crappy (especially yesterday) took its toll on me today. My stomach is in the "what the hell is going on here?" mode which is probably why I haven't really eaten. I haven't done any cardio work since Wednesday (I think).

I might try to use my stepper tonite, if I feel a little better, for about 20 minutes. My whole family has been off this last week when it comes to eating and excercising.

It is so much easier to do when I have work because I am on a schedule. I may have to bring that schedule into the weekend (though I doubt I can muster up that kind of energy haha).

They're out to get me....

2008-08-28T17:49:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

I think they are trying to keep me chubby. At work today there was an ice cream social. It was like a sundae bar with all the fixings. I didn't have any though. I really wanted some.

I got hungry around 4. Luckily there was trail mix in the vending machine. Phew! Dodged a bullet.

As I was walking out the door, there was a plate of brownies sitting in the cafeteria. Oh man, do I Love brownies!! I didn't eat one though. I thought to myself, "It's not worth it."

I think this challenge has taught me, it is really good to eat healthy, but if you are going to fall off the wagon, make sure it is for something you REALLY want.

That's my new motto.

Uh oh... I need a new belt!

2008-08-28T11:45:00.003-04:00

Dear Diary,

I went to put on my new belt I bought a few weeks ago and I am now in the last hole. It's a nice belt too. Oh well, I guess it owuld be worse if I had to get a bigger one.

My knees are still giving me trouble when I workout. Yesteday I helped a friend paint and my knees were very swollen this morning. I need to rest them so I can go to MoMA on saturday. I think I will go to a sporting goods store today and try to find a good knee brace.

I ate well yesterday except I had a root beer soda. Since that was the only thing that I shouldn't have had and I know I didn't go over my calorie intake, I counted the whole day as clean eating.

I weighed in this morning at 328.8. I am officially able to use the Wii Fit. Now I just have to get it back from my friend Kieth who I lent it to. I told him he could have it for one more week. Maybe by then I will be down to 325 and I won't have to worry about using it one day and being too heavy the next day. I am really excited about being able to use it. It is one of the reasons I started this challenge.

Also, my body fat is below 40% now. I think it was 38.something. That is a big positive for me, more than the weight. It shows I am losing fat which is important.

I want to take a moment to thank my beautiful wife and my great friends who have been supportive of me in my quest for greatness (or slimness). It is very important that I have these people in my life.

Oh My Gosh....

2008-08-27T08:35:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary, it has been many days since we last saw each other. Much has changed.

Not really though, just wanted to be dramatic. My friend Glenn reminded me I was slacking on entries. Thanks Glenn.

Saturday Night some friends and I went to the drive-in and I ate yummy drive-in food (of course nothing clean). Then Sunday was my son's 5th brithday. I had some cake and pizza. Nothing too bad. Saturday was by far the worse day. My weigh in on sunday was up from last week. 337.8 lbs. The sunday before I was 337.2 Drat!

Monday and Tuesday were good days. 3 out of 4 days of clean eating. I was able to get back on track at work and have my oatmeal breakfast (which is what I will be having in a few minutes).

Last night I took a walk to my friend Eric's house (he recently moved to the same town as me) which is 1.8 miles away. I used my heart rate monitor to make sure I got in a good workout. I wore my new shoes again and got blisters....again. I think they are almost broken in. My feet hurt a lot today though. I am wearing sneakers to work because they are the most comfortable.

This morning I weighed in at 332.2. WooHoo

Tonite I will start day 1 of the second week of my pushup challenge. and I am going to try to use the same challenge for situps. Maybe I'll do it while I watch the convention.

Time to get to work.

What's a brother gotta do to get a taylor ham sandwich?

2008-08-23T13:21:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

I was foiled in my quest for a delicious taylor ham sammy. I walked to a deli that was about a mile away and they were closed. So I decided to go to another deli, and once I got there I decided I didn't want one right now. So I walked about 3 miles around town and still haven't eaten today.

I will drive to a place I like and get one now. I did my pushup challenge and got in 45 minutes of cardio (actually an hour but 45 minutes in my heart rate zone). I feel good. I just wonder when my legs will stop hurting.

:(

everybody's working for the weekend....

2008-08-23T10:03:00.003-04:00

Dear Diary,

Skipped another day. Not much happened. I ate clean in the morning, but capped off the night with food from wild ginger. Oh so yummy!!

Today is the second day of the hundred pushups challenge. I completed it but was still only able to do 38. On day three I have to do at least 41, so we will see what happens.

I plan to go to the gym, but being that I just did te pushups, I am pretty tired. It takes a lot of effort to lift 330+ lbs off the ground 38 times. PHEW!

Tonite I am going to the drive-in so I know it won't be a clean night tonite. And I kind of feel like having a taylor ham sandwich today so I am not sure what the rest of the day will be like.

I was up in weight today over the last week, but it isn't my official weigh in. I'm sure it's because I ate chinese food last night. I always eat too much because I hate re-heating it. And it's sooo darned yummy.

Other than that things are going well. My sons were doing push-ups with me. It makes me happy when I think, if I stick to this workout routine and 52 day challenge, I can instill some good habits instead of the usual bad ones. :-)

xoxo

New Accessories and other things...

2008-08-21T13:29:00.002-04:00

Dearest Diary,

Please forgive me. I did not get a chance to make an entry yesterday.

I bought new sneakers for working out and I bought an F11 polar heart rate monitor. It is really cool. It will track your workout progress and upload it to a website so you can see your improvements and what not. Very nifty. I just wish it would track calorie burning for the day. You have to be in excercise mode to do that.

Yesterday I ate pretty well. I can't remember what it was, but I had something I shouldn't have had so I only got half a day of clean eating. I did go to the gym, but couldn't work out as much as I wanted because my new sneakers gave me a blister. I tried to do other cardio (eliptical and bike) but it was too late.

I did a max fo 205lbs for the chest press. I did 30 reps at 130 lbs. 10 reps at 190 and 2 sets of 5 reps at 205. Pretty good. Someone told me about a website called http://www.hundredpushups.com/ and I am going to start using it. I really wonder if it will improve my pushups. I also increased my situps to 20 in a row.

My pants are fitting better and my boobs are getting perkier (not that I want to continue to have boobs, but it is an improvement). I want to increase my workouts a little more. Maybe 45 mins on the treadmill. Maybe I can start that next week.

15 days in and still going strong.

TTFN.

Another day....

2008-08-19T09:24:00.001-04:00

Dear diary,

Just checking in. Went to the gym last night. I bumped up the incline
from 4 to 5 and it was a big difference. It kicked my dairy air. I was
only ableto keep it at 5 for 20 minutes, then I dropped it back to 4 for
the last ten.

I'm trying to watch my heart rate, but the machine was giving false
readings saying my rate was over 200. The trainer at the gyme said
sometimes the machines get messed up from people spraying the sanitizer
on the screen. So I may need to get a watch to work with my monitor.

I lowered my seated chest press weight to 130 and did 30 reps straight.
Then I went up to 190 for 10.

Had a full day of clean eating yesterday, but strayed after midnight,
when I should be in bed.

Gonna rest tonite, my feet have beem hurting for a few days. I wanna try
to just chill.

Til we meet again....
---This was sent from my sidekick 3

I'm gonna need a pankin'

2008-08-18T08:57:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

Oh man was I bad yesterday. I have 3 (yes three) slices of pizza yesterday, a zeppole and about a quart of raspberry iced tea. Plus a bowl of cereal before bed.

It's ok though, don't get mad. I had planned on being bad last night. But today is a new day and I plan to be oh so good.

I had a rough day yesterday. I pulled an air conditioner out of my wall and had to patch up the hole on the second floor. Being that high on a ladder is just another reason why I know I need to lose weight. I was on one of tos folding ladders and I felt like it was gonna collapse.

Then I got stuck in the window and seriously thought I was going to have to require help to get out. BTW, it wasn't a regulation sized window. So I had to take out one of the panes to finish the job. What a mess!

So today I will have my oatmeal with PB and raisins and decide what good food I can have for lunch.

I'll let you know what happens.

Hasta La Vista.

Weekly Weigh In

2008-08-17T10:12:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

As I said last night, I am starting the weekly weigh in.

Stats:

337.2 LBS
40.1 % bodyfat

I am not 100% sure what my weight was before, though I am sure it was more than this. However, this will be my starting weight.

11 days into the challenge and I am not feeling trapped or like I am refusing myself food. While i don't always eat as much as I should, I am making better choices. I have to start bringing lunch to work.

Next stats will be next sunday. Today I have my weekly car meet for http://www.m3fu.com and we will be going for pizza. So I will have an off day tonite. I will try not to go overboard.

Wish me luck!!

2008-08-16T20:09:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

I haven't been eating well. Not eating bad, but not eating enough. Today so far I have had one pb&j (natural PB, polaner all fruit with no sugar added, and whole wheat bread) and some multi-grain bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I also had coffee and ovaltine (be sure to drink your ovalitine? A crummy commercial?).

I have to plan better.

I am excited today because I bought a new scale. It is made by conair for weight watchers and it goes to 350lbs. It also does bone mass, body fat and % of water. It's pretty cool. So tomorrow starts my weekly weigh in now and I can keep track of all that other stuff too.

I'm really hungry but don't know what to eat. I hate when that happens.

nighty night diary.

Ahh fridays...

2008-08-15T10:30:00.002-04:00

Dear Diary,

I'm not sure if I told you, but on fridays, I get out of work early. It's very exciting.

I am going to meet a friend for lunch then go to the gym. I only got to go once this week. I have to be more proactive in that. My wife goes to the gym regularly so I have to get on a schedule that doesn't conflict with that.

I weighed myself this morning and my current weight by my bathroom scale is 339.5. So I am under 340 by half a pound. My weight has dropped, but I am not sure how much. This 52 day challenge is going better than I thought, but not as good as it can.

To weigh myself, I have to start the scale with an 8lb weight on it. Once the scale zeroes out, I take the weights off, then I get on the scale. once I register, I have to add the 8lbs to whatever the scale says. I will have to do this until I get to 333.9 which is the limit of my scale. So I have 6lbs to be able to use the scale without trickery.

Last time I went to the gym I was able to do 175 on the chest press. I should be able to do more next time. I really have to work on the situps too.

That's all for now. Maybe I'll send you some pictures from the gym again, I know how you like them.

Toodles

Seeing improvements

2008-08-13T18:27:00.004-04:00

Dear Diary,

I'm pretty excited. A week ago I was barely able to do 1 push-up. Now I am able to do 10 perfect pushups. The 10th one was tough, but I did it. I think doing 40 in a row, might have been too big of a goal, but that's ok. I will still try to get as close as I can.

My limit for sit-ups is also ten so far.

Other than having a tough time with lunch, I am doing pretty well with clean eating. I have been able to do a full day again today (so far). Although, I have to check the status of pumpernickel. If that isn't considered clean eating then I missed the first half.

I just ate dinner though, and it was yummy chicken burgers made by my wife. They were quite delicious.

I work from home tomorrow so it should be ab easy day for clean eating.

hugs and smooches.

The force is strong....

2008-08-13T12:37:00.000-04:00

Dear diary, I was tempted by the fruit, but stood strong. Today is
nicoles birthday and they brought in a cake that can only be described
as chocolatey yumminess. I was able to refuse it and I am now going to
lunch.

You can have a piece for me.
---This was sent from my sidekick 3

Drat

2008-08-12T10:32:00.003-04:00

Dear diary,

Sorry I let you down. I didn't go to the gym last night. My wife was being held hostage by and insane radiologist. By time she got home I was too tired to go.

We had wheat bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dinner. Then before bed I have raisin bran.

Yeah I know I shouldn't have had it, you can stop shaking your eFinger at me. I will be at the gym today for cardio and strength training. I promise.

Love, me.

Ps, don't tell the fries where I'm going. I'm afraid they will try to stop me.

---This was sent from my sidekick 3

Back on the wagon...

2008-08-11T11:47:00.004-04:00

Dear Diary,

Have you missed me? Sorry I have been away for so long. I had a very busy weekend, with no so much good eating.

I did good Saturday and had 1 whole day of clean eats. Once midnight hit, it all went downhill. It's ok though I was at a friends birthday party and I knew it was coming. But I made sure it was after midnight before I had a drink. After we left the club (around 4am) we went to a diner and I had taylor ham and fries with cheese and gravy. The good news is, I barely ate the fries because I was a little grossed out by all the gravy.

It continued with dinner on sunday where I had Chinese food (very good food, I might add).

Weekends are going to be tough for me because I tend to stay up later and then get hungry before bed. I need to get some better snacks in the house.

So Monday starts a new day. I had my oatmeal with natural PB and raisins for breakfast. Now I have to find a sensible lunch. Wish me luck, Diary. I'll need it!

xoxo

P.S. I put a weight on my scale this morning as it turned on, so it was 11 lbs in the negative. I learned that (by my bathroom scale) I weigh 339. That is 6 lbs away from registering on the scale. I wonder how long it will take for me to get there. I will be going to the gym tonight.

Oh, its on!

2008-08-08T11:03:00.000-04:00

Dear diary,

Its only been a few days and I notice a difference. It might be in my
head, but I feel a little better.

Today I had 5 grain oatmeal with natural pb and raisins. Very yummy. I'm
on par for a clean eats morning.

Tonite will be the test. Me and the beautiful mrs are going shopping
this weekend. We are going to start meal planning, much to her
excitement.

I think I have a little more of a positive outlook also. I know its
early to say, but I think this time the better living will stick.
---This was sent from my sidekick 3

Here I am

2008-08-07T20:00:00.000-04:00

Dear diary,

I just did 20 minutes on the treadmill and now I am doing some strength
training. The machine in the picture is for the abs. Since one of my
goals is to do 40 situps in a row, I better start working on it.
---This was sent from my sidekick 3

Sitting in panera

2008-08-06T21:20:00.001-04:00

Dear diary,

Sitting in panera with friends. I'm drinking water. I have been able to
eat clean for the second half of the day. I had sausage and peppers with
potatos for dinner. Very yummy. I was gooing to go to the gym, but went
to the driving range instead. I'm working on my one handed swing.
Getting pretty good.
---This was sent from my sidekick 3

So far not so good....

2008-08-06T13:39:00.003-04:00

Dear Diary,

I tried to "eat clean" so far today and came up short. I learned that Cheerios is not as good as it seems to be, and I have to be more careful when reading labels. I had a good lunch or wendy's chilli and a plain baked potato with a large unsweetened iced tea. Very yummy. However, the chilli isn't as clean as I thought either. Drat. Diary, this is harder than I thought, but I am getting help over on the men's health forum.

Tomorrow I will start my day with 5 grain oatmeal with PB and fruit. That will be deliciouso.

Ciao.

Every journey starts with a first step....

2008-08-06T09:07:00.000-04:00

Dear Diary,

Today is the first day of my Mens Health 52 Day Challenge. Wish me luck.

I sort of started yesterday. I ate pretty well. I had one of those foot long sandwiches from Subway (chicken breast, lettuce, red onion, and lite mayo on wheat). They I had grilled chicken breast (salt,pepper and a litle worstechire sauce) with broccolli and carrots. Then I walked for 20 minutes around the neighborhood.

Before bed I ate some reeses cereal. Gotta cut that out.

Today I bought some cheerios for breakfast with my coffee. I left my wallet home and needed to borrow money from someone at work.

Phone testing

2008-08-05T15:46:00.001-04:00

Just making sure it works.
---This was sent from my sidekick 3

My first entry...

2008-08-05T15:04:00.000-04:00

Dear Diary,

Today I signed up for the 52 day challenge. I hope I can achieve my goals. Since I was a child I have been overweight and have never been able to really shop at regular stores.
At 33 years old and 340+ lbs, I have gout (which I’ve had since 24), I’ve had knee surgery, high cholesterol, high sugar, and a slew of other bad stuff.

I’ve tried using pills to lose weight, but that backfired and I put the weight back on plus more.
My goals for the 52 day challenge are:

Clean Eating: 70/104
Resistance Training: 15 times
Cardio Training: 15 times
Situps: 40 in a row
Pushups: 30 in a row

Thanks to some support from family and friends, I think I can achieve these goals.