Day(s): 50 thru 71 - Penance is due!

You'd think that with loads of time on your hands it would be quite easy to make time for daily fitness and activities.  What's so interesting is how much time you waste when there is so much of it to spare.  Whether it's waking up late, nestling right into the couch for a 'Law and Order' marathon (hey, it happens) or accidentally ending up in front of a large bowl of ice cream instead of the treadmill... you find that you end up not spending your time as productively as intended.

Don't get me wrong.  It's not that I've been a total oaf for the past two weeks (one more week off to go).  I've just eased up on a few of my steadfast rules.  My portions have grown a bit and I did get a little lax with my no dessert policy, but for the most part I've been on board.  

I went to Hawaii last week... and that was the biggest challenge.  Beautiful beaches and amazing pools, great food and delicious beaches all added up to a no-gym day!  Boo!  I tried to rationalize my behavior by saying that I was 'active' while I was there, but how many calories do you really end up burning by snorkeling or touring?  My guess is not enough.

Snorkeling in Molokini - a sunken volcano!

I've come too far to relapse!  So now it's time to pay my penance.  Although I never really completely slipped from my routine or my rules, I did so just enough that I have to work hard to reverse any sort of lazy-like effects that may set in.  81 days will be stretched to 100 days (does that seem extreme?) to ensure that I follow through.  But hey, don't I look much better in the picture above than the one where I have three chins and four stomachs?  

Day(s) 32 thru 49: I'm ready for my close-up!

Hi All...

Although my blogging has slowed down, my weight loss has definitely not!  I hit a plateau around day 35 and then finally had another push in the past week.  I've lost another 6 pounds and clocked in at 194!!!  That makes 21 lbs. of loss so far and only 4 lbs. from my target weight of 190!

So I figure that it's time to now start the prep work on my 'after' picture.  Let's first give you an idea of where I started just 49 short days ago...

Yikes... 'before' sucks!

The 'after' picture best look much better then the 'before' picture.

So here is what I need to do to prepare for my model-like skinny pic...

• 32 more days in the gym (for a tidy 81 days all together)
• Teeth whitening?
• Full body waxing
• Time in the tanning salon
• New digs

Well, most likely that checklist won't be fully accomplished, but anything that alters my look from the above picture is more then welcome.  I'm thinking the gym time is and will be number 1 priority.

Keep your eyes peeled for a stunning new version of me!

Day(s) 26 thru 32: Mile High Club?

It's no wonder that people who travel often are more likely to get fat.  This statistic (one that I completely made up in my own head) is supported in many ways.

First, it's very hard to jump into a routine when your schedule is constantly changing and up in the air.  Time zones differ, kick off and end times to your day are in constant flux and you never know where you may end up tomorrow.

Second, eating and living a health lifestyle on the road is much more difficult when you are out of town.  Cooking your own meals is nearly impossible due to hotel jumping and access to good healthy food is almost non-existent.  The best bet you have on the road is Google mapping the nearest Whole Foods.

Last, gaining access and having time to find a gym or workout locale is very difficult and often times undependable.  It becomes even more impossible on days that include long flights (especially those that cross the county).  You either have to wake up super early and head to the gym (and workout with all of those super fit people who you find on the treadmill at 6am) or you have to make a midnight run.

Which leads me to my super cool idea...

"Mile High Club" Bag?

Airlines have been good at catering to the traveler in so many ways, ensuring that life in the air is not too far off of that on the ground.  They've added in-flight internet and gourmet meals (for those of you up front).  You can play video games and even chat from seat to seat.  So I think it's high time to put in place some sort of fitness club on the plane.  This way on those really long flights from coast to coast we can all begin to use those wasted hours to stay fit.  I would call it the Mile High Club.

Would you join?

Day(s) 22 thru 25: I've lost a dime and a nickel!

Hi All...

Well I know my daily posts have been lazy, but I promise you my daily activities have been nothing of the kind.  My crusade continues each and every day with vigor and focus.  In fact, I've been working so hard that I thought it was high time to step on a scale and see how I've been doing.

I was very nervous to do so.  I figured my weight loss has slowed a bit even though my workouts were increasing in intensity.  Long arduous hours at the gym with no reward was not sounding like a good equation and I was very worried about the result.  Never the less I decided to hop on the scale and face the music.

Wow... I'm no longer in the 200's!  I clocked in at a fantastic 198 today (no shoes, no clothing, no additional weight).  I've lost a total of 17 pounds in 25 days!  I was thrilled!  I was mesmerized!  I was confused!!!

As I glanced at myself in the mirror following this revelation I couldn't help but wonder where all of this weight had vanished from.  I've still got my belly.  I've still got my love handles.  And I've still got a jiggly behind.  Hmmm.

I'm tempted to go out and get 17 pounds of ground beef and paste it to my body to figure out exactly where all of this weight vanished from.

My excess fat measured in burgers!

One area that I know I've lost weight in are my fingers.  You see, when I was married last September I had to buy an enormous ring (I mean really big)!  I figured it was because I had 'working mans' hands, but apparently they were just fat fingers.  I wonder if my toes are skinnier too?

Well, it's back to the gym to work on that belly, love handles and literally work my ass off!

Day(s) 19 thru 21: Double Duty

I've successfully made it through my first solid three weeks of this program.  It's amazing how quickly the time has been going.  At first 81 days seemed like such a pipe-dream.  There was no end in sight.  Now I'm 3 weeks in out of 11.  I'm 25% of my way through the experience.  Crazy!

Week four begins my experience with INSANITY.  I have to tell you that I'm quite nervous to take this on.  I've been very good about hitting the gym and getting in a good solid workout, but this program is going to kick my butt.

In order to prepare at some level I've been getting my workouts up over an hour on a consistent basis.  That might not seem so impressive to you, but for a guy who used to lay down and take a nap as a choice leisure activity this is quite some challenge.  Today I pushed even harder.  You see, my weight loss has slowed significantly.  I'm still hovering over 200 lbs. with very little loss this past week.

So I've decided to go 'Double Duty' this week to kick it back into gear.  Today I hit the gym twice.  This morning I got in a good 40 minute run just to kick start the day.  Then I hopped in my car and drove to Reno (through a blizzard) for work.  Once I checked into the hotel I hit they gym again for a grueling hour and a half workout.  I'm hoping this new push will kick start some more weight loss and maybe even a little muscle growth too boot!

This new level of intensity combined with INSANITY should do the trick.  I'm guessing that by the end of this week I'll be intense and insane!

Day(s) 16 thru 18: I long for cookies!

Eighteen days in now with complete compliance!

Every day so far has included a rigorous workout (more so now than in the beginning, but what the hey).  I've increased time spent at the gym to about an hour give or take and push each day to exceed 600 calories per workout.  In eighteen days I've limited beer intake to a bare minimum.  I could count on one hand how many beers I've had since I began this routine (that would have been hard in a single night before).  And I've been working hard to cut out sweets altogether.  

My one and only break from this was a delicious, glorious and rewarding soft serve cone at Stinson Beach.  Wow.  That was soooo good!

The sweets thing has been the hardest part so far.  You'd think that waking up and pushing myself to the gym or cutting out the lovely taste of a microbrew might pose their unique challenges, but the alluring call from a cookie in a case at a cafe has had the greatest pull on me so far.

Temptations so far have include the following...

-Snicker doodle cookies at Nordstroms Cafe

-Chocolate Tuxedo Cake that Kevin ate in front of me 4 days ago

-Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream that Kevin ate in front of me last night

-Gummy Bears that Kevin ate in front of me last week

-The non-present Twix Bar that Kevin told me he ate 3 days ago

You'd think that I would have broken against all of this pressure, but the thought of all the work that I would have to do to work off an additional 400+ calories for these missteps is just too much to bare.  It's so hard to just keep myself focused on my 45 minute goal and to have to add on another 20 minutes because of a damn cookie is just unacceptable.  No way in hell will I pay that price.

In the meantime I think I just need to work on removing the temptation altogether.  By the way, does anyone have a spare room to house Kevin for the next 63 days?

Day 14 + 15: Week 3 Begins

At the onset of each new week I've been pushing myself to up the ante just a bit more then the previous seven days.  Week 1 had the arduous task of getting off my lazy bum and getting down to the gym (an incredible feat in and of itself.)  Those seven days were spent trying to stay motivated and just cranking out thirty minutes or so of a reliable workout.

Week two was all about pushing further and increasing endurance.  My workouts increased in time and difficulty.  Thirty minutes turned into forty-five or fifty.  Resistance went from 20 to 35.  Pace and distance were monitored and increased each and every day.

Now that week three has begun (and only leaving me with seven more days before INSANITY begins) I've decided to push myself even further.  This week it will not only be about increasing time and resistance, but also adding variety through weights and machines to begin muscle development.  All this in a hope to avoid complete exhaustion and breakdown when my new routine begins next week.

This is me and my broken back in about a week.

You see, I'm concerned that INSANITY will be completely insane!  My hope is that these initial 21 days will at least provide some sort of into course that will set me up to avoid unbelievable pain!

Wish me luck this week... and more so next week!