Thursday, March 27, 2008

Observations

Today's Weigh-In: 208.9 lbs :-(
5-Day Average: 208.08 lbs.

I know I haven't blogged in a while, sorry about that. My average is going up, which sucks. I haven't been eating poorly or anything (except for a bit of candy on Easter), but I feel like I have been eating too much. A little extra chili here, a bit of almonds and beef jerky there, it all adds up. I'm going to need to start measuring again, at least until I get a better idea of how much I really need to eat.

I don't think I will be able to achieve my goal of 205 lbs. by the end of the month, which really pisses me off. I just have not done well these last few weeks, and I need to straighten myself out. Thankfully a new month approaches, and with it a newfound desire and motivation to work out hard and eat right.

If I had to point to a few things that caused me to miss my goal they would be not working out enough (was shooting for 5 days a week, ended up averaging about 3), not getting enough sleep, and just eating too much. These can all be remedied, and they will be. I'm not that far away from the 100s, so I really need to want it.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Stuck in a rut

Today's Weigh-In: 206.0 lbs. (new low!)
5-Day Average: 207.15 lbs.

My weight is still coming down, but I'm not feeling as good today. I feel like I have my eating under complete control, so now other aspects of my life are starting to bother me more, as I don't have the same kind of control over them. I'm kind of sliding back into my old habits of: come home after work, make some dinner, sit down and watch TV and drink a few beers. What I should be doing is coming home from work, making dinner, and doing chores, reading a book, talking to my girlfriend; you know, useful things. But I just don't seem to have the desire to be productive any more, and it's really driving me crazy. Heck, I don't even like television, but I'll sit there and watch mindless dreck just because I don't want to have to engage myself at all, and that's just wrong in my mind. I need to shake up my routine or something and just get out of this rut that I'm in. This is more a motivational post for myself than for you guys, but I just thought I would share.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Feeling good

Today's Weigh-In: 206.8 lbs. (new low)
5-Day Average: 208.15 lbs.

Well, I'm coming down. If I can hold onto today's weigh-in, I'll only need to lose 1.8 more pounds this month to reach my goal. So that's pretty sweet.

I've finally gotten back into working out full-time this week, and boy did I need it. I'm shooting for 5 workouts a week, and as long as I don't get injured I should be okay. Diet has been great for the vast majority of the time (I had a couple beers last night for St. Patty's day but only a couple).

I'm almost half-way to my final goal of 185 lbs. I'm pretty sure the last 22.5 pounds are going to be harder to take off than the first, so I'm going to have to make sure that I'm on the ball. I don't foresee having any real slowdowns until I hit 190-195, since that will put me at about 13-14% body fat, and I've never been leaner than that in my life. Oh well, I'll worry about that when the time comes. For now, I'm feeling good.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Game face

Today's Weigh-In: 210.0 lbs.
5-Day Average: 209.9 lbs.

Well, I'm stuck at 210. My eating has been fine, I've been planning every meal and eating my allotted calories. I just haven't been working out like I need to be. I usually workout in the mornings before work. But Monday I had a dentist appointment, Wednesday I had a chiropractor appointment, and today my truck got towed from my apartment complex for not having the right tags. So the only day I've exercised this week was Tuesday, and that was a more strength-oriented workout. I'm hoping to be able to workout tonight, as my Crossfit gym has a 7:00 session on Thursday nights, but I might have a meeting (not sure yet). Sigh.

I should be able to workout tomorrow and Saturday no problem, so that should kick me back into weight-loss mode (instead of stupid maintenance). I just have to make sure I eat 100% over the weekend to make up for the lack of exercise throughout the week. I'm so close to the 100s that I can taste it. So I've gotta put on my game face and go at it with all I've got.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Yo

Today's Weigh-In: 209.0 lbs.
5-Day Average: 209.73 lbs.

Not much to say today, but wanted to at least post something. This whole daylight-savings thing is throwing me off. I can't fall asleep at my normal time because it's too early, but I still have to wake up at the same time, so I've been getting less sleep than I need. And I do not function well without my 8.5 hours. So I've been dragging a little bit, and just being lazy in general. I ate fast food today (oh noes) because I'm out of food at home, but I'll still aim to be under 2200 calories for the day. Weight is still moving down, which is good, but I feel like I could be doing better. I'll go shopping tonight, and hopefully, if I get enough sleep, I'll be re-motivated tomorrow.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Veinte libras


Today's Weigh-In: 208.4 lbs. (new low)

5-Day Average: 210.28 lbs.


Well, my average is 210, so I say I've achieved my goal for today. I was worried there, as I had a 212 weigh-in earlier in the week, and I didn't think I was going to make it. But I ate great this past week, and worked out as hard as I could. I had to take Wednesday and Thursday off from working out due to soreness and a bit of elbow pain, but I got back into it this morning and felt really good. No more pain, so I'm happy. Now I need to focus on my monthly goal, which is 205 by March 31st. 5 pounds in 3.5 weeks should be totally doable as long as I watch what goes in my mouth.

As of today, I've officially lost 20 pounds, as my first official weigh-in was 230.2 lbs. It's taken quite a while for such a small amount of weight, but I know that I've done it the right way, and I haven't sacrificed any muscle or health in the process. I'm bigger, stronger, and fitter today than I've ever been in my life. I still have 25 more pounds to go, but now I have the confidence that I can actually do it, and maintain my healthy lifestyle forever. It's not hard any more. It's just habit. Sure there are days when I don't eat as healthy as I could. And there are days when I don't get in a workout. But that's life, and that's the way life will always be. I'm living my life as though I'm going to do this forever, because I am. Sure I'll eat more calories when I'm maintaining my weight, but the quality of food won't change. I've learned the habits that are necessary to stay healthy, and that's really the most valuable thing.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Filthy Fifty

Today's Weigh-In: 209.0 lbs.
5-day Average: 211.0 lbs.

Finally saw a number that wasn't 212 on the scale today, and I earned it. I ate great yesterday, and got in an insane workout. Let me share it with you, and you can give it a try:

The Filthy Fifty
For time:

50 Box Jumps/step ups on 24" box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood (36 pounds)
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees (with 8" vertical jump from squat)
50 Double unders

Time: 43:31

The only substitutions I made were I used a 14 pound ball for wall ball, and I did 150 single jumps instead of 50 double-unders (it's a jump-rope exercise). Last time I did this, I scaled everything to 30 reps, and did much lighter weights (26lb. kettlebell, 6lb. ball), and even then I barely survived. This time I felt great, and next time I will do it 100% as prescribed with no substitutions.

My body is beat, and I have to take care of some things today, so I will be using today as a rest day, and come back stronger tomorrow. If I can stay at or below 209 I will make my goal by Friday, so here's hoping :)

Monday, March 3, 2008

March goals

Today's Weigh-In: 212.0 lbs.
5-Day Average: 211.85

Alright, back to the grind. Got in a good workout this morning:

Angie
100 pullups
100 pushups
100 situps
100 squats

Took me 44 minutes, but I got it done (used assistance on the pullups, though).

I made a big batch of healthy food this weekend so I should be good for the rest of the week with regards to eating. I made a huge thing of turkey chili, a corned beef brisket which I trimmed all the visible fat off of, and a really good sauce I'm going to be using for chicken and brown rice. I have 4 days until my goal of 210, so I gotta hit it hard this week. My alcohol free month is over, but I'm only going to relax it a little bit. No alcohol at all except on Saturdays. I think this will provide a good balance of healthy lifestyle with moderation. I'm sick of seeing 212 on the scale, so I'm going to do what it takes.

New goal for March: 205 lbs. by March 31st. 6.5 pounds seems to be about right for me if I work hard. Also, that would put me at a goal of under 200 for April, which should be sweet. Let's see if I can pull it off.