Bit of a Struggle Right Now

Okay, I didn't post my longish blog Sunday, the one were I said I was going to talk about a study that seemed to indicate fat people, like me, might be destined to be fat (which I refuse to accept). I didn't blog Monday, either.

The reason?

Well, truthfully, I haven't been doing so well.

Regular readers will recall about two weeks ago I completed 30 days of eating clean. I had intended to simply continue that, at least until the weekend, if not beyond, but my wife and youngest child showed up at the house with THREE LARGE Pizza Hut pizzas, I was starving, didn't have anything prepared, so at the end of Day 31 I broke the consecutive day clean eating streak.

No biggie, right?

That was a Thursday night. Friday was good, but that weekend I went off the diet both days. Then last week I was fine Monday through Friday, but ended up taking both Saturday and Sunday off the diet. Yesterday, Monday, I was doing okay -- probably even under-eating a little -- until I got home and, well, I didn't do so well last night either.

I've still been working out. Last week I did miss a couple of planned cardio sessions, but I did an extra one on Saturday, which is normally my off-day, and yesterday morning I was at the gym on the bike. And I definitely haven't been slacking with the weight training.

That's the way so many of my previous weight-loss efforts have gone, though. I'll do great for a few weeks, drop 15 or 20 pounds, then a bad weekend sends me going the other way, gaining weight, eventually ending up heavier than I was at the start.

I really don't want to do that again.

Truth is, I could quit now, if I could hold my weight where it is, and be much better off than I was when I starting this. Even after these past few days, I'm 42 pounds lighter than when I began. I'm healthier, stronger, smaller, and I feel much better. I've been amazed at how fast the weight dropped off, how much my strength and conditioning have improved in such a short time.

But when I started this, I said my goal was to lose at least 80 pounds. Bad stretch of days or not, I'm still chasing that 80-pound loss.

That's not the only reason I started this. When I'm done with the weight loss, I want to run a 5K (3.1 miles) in less than 30 minutes. That might be laughable to some, but back on March 9, when I started this, it would have taken me 15 to 20 minutes just to walk a half-mile, and I couldn't have walked a 5K. Even now, it would take me forever to finish a 5K course.

I want to hike to the top of the Peaks of Otter. For those of you not from around this area of Virginia, the Peaks is on the Blue Ridge Parkway, in Bedford County. There are two peaks there, one that's quite popular called Sharp Top that's about 3,800 feet. or so elevation, and the other is Flat Top, which is around 4,000 feet elevation. Both have hiking trails, with Sharp Top's trail listed at around 1.5 miles (though some say 1.3 miles). However long it is, it's one tough climb.

Not to overstate the case, it's not like you're climbing Mount Everest, but it's a continual upward climb, over a well-worn yet rough-terrain trail. One guide I found simply gives this warning: This is a steep and strenuous route and should be attempted only by those in good health.

I can recall climbing that trail a number of times when I was a kid and teen-ager. At the top are these huge house-sized boulders. I can recall once a friend of mine and I climbed atop those boulders and watched a thunder storm roll in below us, at lower elevations. Cloudy or clear, it has some incredible views, and I'd like to think I could climb back to the top again, probably some 25 or 30 years since the last time I did it.

Beyond that? I don't know. We'll see. But for now, I know I'm not going to do any of that by letting myself get derailed on this little weight loss effort.

For now, my immediate goals are to get back on the regular, every day healthy eating and working out (including cardio!). Later, we'll see about pursuing some of those longer-term goals.

Now, I'm not going to write down what all I've eaten over the past three days, but I do want to keep you updated on the workouts.

Sunday, May 22.
Legs
Squats
135 pounds -- 10 reps
185 pounds -- 8 reps
225 pounds -- 8 reps
275 pounds -- 6 reps
225 pounds -- 10 reps
205 pounds -- 10 reps

Leg press
400 pounds
2 sets, 10 reps each

Lying Leg curl
90 pounds
3 sets of 10 reps each

Standing Calf Press
500 pounds -- 2 sets of 10 reps each

Machine weighted crunch
125 pounds -- 25 reps

Monday, May 23
Cardio
Stationary Bike
45 minutes 16.25 miles
600 calories

And, that's about it for today. I'll be back on later tonight with a separate blog updating you on today's eating and working out.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm Such A Slacker...

Two days without blogging...three days without cardioing (didn't know that was a verb, did you?)...yep, I'm slacking bad.

So that stops today.

I haven't fallen off the weight loss wagon, I'm still working out pretty hard with the weights, eating healthy, but I've fallen off a bit on the cardio and the blogging.

Part of that is something I've mentioned before -- planning. I cannot emphasize enough how important planning and preparation is, and doing things today with tomorrow in mind.

This may be a simplistic example, but here's what's tripped me up on my cardio this week. First, if you've been reading my blog, you know I did do some pretty long, hard cardio sessions Monday and Tuesday, so it's not as if I just stopped doing it. And Wednesday was a planned day of no cardio, so I guess missing two days isn't all that bad. Still, you can't make up for missing a workout.

Anyway, my problem was as simple as not going to bed early enough. I'm a natural night owl, and am definitely NOT a morning person. That was compounded a bit by working a lot of late-night editing shifts a few years ago, often working from 3 p.m. until 1 a.m. (which meant getting to bed around 3 a.m.) It's been a few years since I worked that shift, but I've never gotten over it entirely, in that I'm still on that internal clock that doesn't want to go to bed until 1 or so in the morning. Heck, I've always been like that. My sisters tell me stories of when I was a little tiny kid, and I would stand up in my crib and bang my head on the wall until it would bruise (and then keep banging) just to keep myself awake.

So that's what's in my genes, folks. I just don't like going to sleep until late, late, late. My problem is, I need to do cardio in the early morning, before work. Since I started this I've mostly been able to force myself to hit the sack by midnight, maybe 12:30 at the latest, and I can crawl out of bed and go to the gym the next morning. But when I go to bed at 1, 1:30, or even later, it's pretty tough to get up early and go to the gym.

I know, I know, it all comes down to discipline, something I've handled pretty well since starting this back in March. But every once in a while, those old habits sneak back in. That was the case this week, at least Wednesday night and Thursday night, so no Thursday morning or Friday morning cardio (though I did do weight training both nights).

And today, Saturday, is usually an off day, but I went ahead and did a cardio workout this morning. So all-in-all it's not like I've missed a lot.

As for the blogging? Hmmm...I just ran out of time. We've had a couple of long days at work, stories that needed a little more attention in the editing process, other things coming along. Couple that with the fact I'm doing more writing in the world of fiction, and I've just been running short on time. Those nights I stayed up late I wasn't watching Netflix -- I was working.

For now I'll try to keep up the daily blogging-- it's a great way to keep track of my workouts and eating, and I get notes from people when I don't blog, so it's a good way to keep myself accountable.

Now, for the past couple of days...I'm going in reverse order here, so I'll start with today and work back to Thursday.

Today (Saturday)

Workout
Cardio -- stationary bike
46 minutes (25 on level 6, rest on level 5)
16.5 miles
600 calories

Eating -- well, I am taking today off on the eating, which doesn't actually mean I'm overeating. As of 1 p.m. I actually hadn't eaten anything yet, though as I write this I have two pieces of pizza next to me, so that's changing...

Friday
Workout
Back and biceps, minus the biceps because I've still been having more issues with the forearm.

Seated row -- regular grip
130 pounds -- 10 reps
200 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Wide-grip
160 pounds -- 3 sets, 10 reps each

Lat pulldowns
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Seated machine crunch
125 pounds -- 1 set, 20 reps

Eating for Friday
Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 1 ounc

Lunch
Low-fat ground beef -- 3 ounces
Frozen veggies -- 1/2 cup
Fat free Greek yogurt

Snack
Boiled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Frozen veggies -- 1/2 cup

Dinner
Fish -- 4 ounces (I have had Salmon or Talipia every day this week, twice one day. I don't want any more fish!)
Rice -- 1/2 cup
Veggies -- 1/2 cup

Totals for the day
Calories -- 1,100
31 grams fat
118 grams protein
60 ounces of water
32 ounces diet soda

Thursday
Workout -- legs
Well, okay, it was an abbreviated leg workout, between the two main Sunday leg workouts.

Squats
135 pounds -- 10 reps
185 pounds -- 10 reps
225 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Supersquat machine
180 pounds -- 10 reps
270 pounds -- 8 reps
360 pounds -- 8 reps

Standing calf press
450 pounds
2 sets, 12 reps each

Abs
Seated machine crunch
125 pounds -- 2 sets, 20 reps each

Food for Thursday
Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 1 white
Lean ham -- 1 ounc

Lunch
Lean ground turkey -- 2 ounces
Veggies -- 1/2 cup
Rice -- 3/4 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/4 cup

Snack
Chicken breast -- 3 ounces
Mixed lettuce and spinach -- 1 1/4 cup
Fat free Thousand Island dressing

First Dinner
Chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Veggies -- 1/2 cup
Rice -- 3/4 cup
Teriyaki Sauce -- 1 tablespoon
Sesame Seed Oil -- teaspoon

Second Dinner
Tilapia -- 4 ounces
Veggies -- 1/2 cup
Teriyaki Sauce -- 1 tablespoon
Sesame Seed Oil -- teaspoon

Totals
1,245 calories
35 grams fat
109 grams protein

Water -- 65 ounces
Diet soda -- 20 ounces

Okay, that's it for the Long, SuperDuper Thursday-Friday-Saturday blog! I'll have more tomorrow, including (if I get the time) some thoughts on a recent study that suggests fatness is...well, it's inevitable for some of us (though I refuse to accept that).

More on that tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by.

And the Wednesday Blog moves to Thursday...

Yep, in keeping with the week's theme of blogging a day late (and being far more than a dollar short), I bring to you the special Thursday edition of my Wednesday blog.

Same story -- busy with work, with writing, with working out, and next thing I know the clock's on the upward swing toward 1 a.m., so I didn't manage to get back online for my blog last night. I do PLAN to blog again tonight, but here's the quick scoop on how Wednesday went.

The workout today was particularly challenging. You know how some days you just have it, and some days you don't? Well, this felt like a "don't" day. I did increase my weight and reps some during the chest workout, but really seemed to run out of gas about the time I hit shoulders, so the rest of the night was a struggle, and I even fell off a bit on the weight or reps.

Workout
Chest, shoulders, triceps

Chest
Flat bench press
135 pounds -- 10 reps
185 pounds -- 8 reps
225 pounds -- 6 reps (yeah! My first time back to 225 pounds in a good, long time!)
210 pounds -- 8 reps
200 pounds -- 8 reps

Incline barbell press
135 pounds -- 8 reps
145 pounds -- 6 reps

Flat bench dumbbell chest flys
40 pounds, 2 sets, 10 reps first, 12 reps second

Shoulders
Seated Barbell Overhead press
95 pounds -- 8 reps
105 pounds -- 8 reps

Seated machine side raises
110 pounds -- 10 reps 1 set, 8 reps second set

Seated Rear Deltoid Flys
125 pounds -- 2 set, 10 reps each

Triceps
Tricep pressdown
160 pounds -- 10 reps
150 pounds -- 10 reps

Seated machine tricep dips
255 pounds -- 15 reps

And that's about it for Wednesday. Thanks for stopping by, and check back in later for the actual Thursday blog on Thursday. I'll get it done...really...I think...most likely...

My Tuesday Blog on...Wednesday?

Okay, I know I said in my early "Miss Me?" blog yesterday I said I'd be back on later Tuesday to update that day's eating, exercise, and maybe say a thing or two about the rest of May. You know how it is, I got busy (doing some writing), and the next thing I knew it was late and I was simply too tired to stay up and blog.

So you get a short little Wednesday-only version of my Tuesday blog, to let you know what I ate yesterday and what workout I did. Nothing big.

For the workout on Tuesday:

Cardio -- stationary bike
60 minutes (known in some parts of the world as an hour).
21.75 miles (that's an odd figure to stop in, but remember, the gym bike is now measuring in kilometers, and I stopped at 35K).
800 calories burned

Eating for the day
Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs (1 whole, 2 whites)
Lean Ham -- 1 ounce

Lunch
Lean ground turkey -- 3 ounces
Bakes potato -- 4.5 ounces
Kidney beans -- 1/2 cup

Snack
Salad (1/2 cup kidney beans, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 2 tablespoons salsa, on a lettuce/spinach mix)
Fat Free Greek Yogurt

First Dinner
Tilapia -- 4 ounces
Rice -- 1/2 cup cooked
Mixed veggies -- 1/2 cup

Second Dinner
Eggs -- 2 whole
Lean Ham -- 1 ounce
Whole Wheat Tortilla
1/2 tablespoon spicy mustard

Total for the day
1,340 calories
37 grams fat
118 grams protein

Water -- 60 ounces
Diet soda -- 28 ounces

And that's about it for the day, folks. Well, for yesterday. Back later with the Wednesday Blog on Wednesday.

Still Around, Still Working Out, Still Losing Weight

Everyone miss me? Wonder where I've been?

Well, I'm still hard at it, eating healthy, working out, and...well, mostly anyway.

I decided to take a few days off, but not from everything. On Friday, which was May 13 I believe, I was just really, really tired, so I skipped the workout that day, and did no working out on Saturday, either, but that's normally an off day for me.

Saturday and Sunday I took a bit of a break from the healthy eating. I didn't pig out or anything, but I ended up with some pizza, and a little food from Taco Bell, as well as just general stuff from around the house.

As for the blogging? Well, I took what's amounted to a four-day break on that, so let me bring you up to day.

I did do a regular leg workout on Sunday, even though my eating that day might not have been the best. And yesterday, which was Monday, I was back at it with the regular healthy eating, cardio in the morning and a back and biceps workout at night.

So, let me bring you up to day quickly on my eating and working out these past two days, and then I'll be back on later with my regular Tuesday blog to talk about some things coming up this month.

First, Sunday's workout, which was legs. And let me say I may have discovered something, or at least rediscovered something I recall from years ago. I've been doing legs on Sundays now for a while, and you may recall I've complained about being a little sore and stiff the next day or two afterward. With the graduation and Mother's Day weekend throwing the schedule off, I did a full leg workout the Sunday before Mother's Day, then another leg workout the Thursday before Mother's Day, then another leg workout the Wednesday after Mother's Day, followed by one this past Sunday.

No soreness to speak of, and that reminds me of years ago, when I was working out regularly. If I did squats every 4 to 5 days, I rarely had any soreness or stiffness, unless I went really heavy. If I waited a week between workouts, I was always sore. So, unless I want to continue to deal with stiffness, I may have to do TWO leg workouts every week. Hmmm....avoiding pain by inflicting more pain. Something doesn't sound exactly right about that. Anyway, I'll let you know what I decide. For now, Sunday's workout:

Squats
135 pounds -- 10 reps
185 pounds -- 8 reps
225 pounds -- 8 reps
275 pounds -- 6 reps
245 pounds -- 8 reps

Leg Press
400 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Leg Curls
90 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
100 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
100 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

Standing Calf Press
450 pounds -- 2 sets, 12 reps each

Seated Crunch, 125 pounds
1 set, 20 reps
1 set, 15 reps

And now for Monday's workout, back and biceps

Seat Row
130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
200 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Wide-grip seated row
160 pounds -- 3 sets, 10 reps each

Lat pulldown
100 pounds, 2 sets, 10 reps each

Dumbbell Bent-over row
60 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Curl-bar curls
40 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
50 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
60 pounds -- 1 set, 6 reps (that forearm issue reared it's head again, with some significant pain there starting on about rep #2, so I decided to quit at 6).

Seat Crunch (abs)
125 pounds -- 20 reps
125 pounds -- 15 reps

Cardio
Stationary bike, 52 minutes
18 miles
650 calories burned

Now, for Monday's eating (gotta cut back here a bit to make up for the weekend!)

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 1.5. ounces

Lunch
Lean ground turkey -- 4 ounces
Rice -- 1/2 cup cooked
Veggies -- 1.2 cup

Snack
Salad, consisting of 1 ounce lean ham, lettuce and spinach mixture, fat-free Thousand Island dressing
Fat Free Greek Yogurt

First Dinner
Talipia -- 4 ounces
Rice -- 1/2 cup cooked
Veggies -- 1/2 cup

Second dinner
Salmon -- 4 ounces
Baked potato -- 9 ounces (kinda big)
Diet butter -- 1-1/2 tablespoon

Totals for the day
 1,275 calories
31 grams fat
121 grams protein

Water -- 90 ounces
Diet soda -- 28 ounces

Thanks for stopping by! I'll have more later tonight!

I did it -- 30 consecutive days of eating clean!

Yesterday, Wednesday, May 11 was my 30th consecutive day of eating clean.

Some of you may recall the blog I mentioned when I started this. For a quick recap, I had just completed my first month of the weight loss efforts, and had lost a little more than 21 pounds and was doing a little bit of a happy dance. Actually, if you count the weigh-in just two days before I started my diet, my loss was closer to 23 pounds. That was about 23 pounds in 32 days.

I did that mostly through restricting calories a fair bit, eating mostly healthy foods, working out with weights consistently and doing cardio three or four days a week. On the eating front, I had maybe three off-days (and an off-night), when I didn't count calories or worry about what I was eating -- I just chowed down on whatever I wanted.

I decided to change things up just a little at the conclusion of those first 30 days. After a day off of eating whatever the heck I wanted, I dove into Month Two, this time determined to eat clean every single day, not even taking off or a bad snack. Never in my life had I eaten absolutely clean for more than two weeks at a time, so I felt like this was a pretty significant challenge, although once in the midst of it I found sticking to the plan surprisingly easy. Even though I had the occasional stray craving (hot wings, pizza, Big Macs), I was never really tempted to go off the 30-day plan.

I had also decided to actually increase my food intake on a daily basis, all in the form of more lean protein, more complex and healthy carbs, and more veggies, with very little in the way of processed food. That's the one area I fell down a bit -- not eating enough. Overall my daily average of calories was a little higher the second month, but there were a few days where I simply didn't eat more than 1,200 to 1,300 calories, and there were quite a few where I didn't go over 1,500 calories.

Still, i can't complain too much. In addition to really dropping the weight, I continued making improvements in my weight workouts, adding a fourth day each week to the weight training, and I experience strength gains in the weight room, as measured by being able to do more weight, for the same number of sets and reps, in most of my exercises.

I've also experienced increases in how hard and how long I can do on cardio workouts, so I'm guessing the calorie restrictions haven't hurt me too badly, while allowing.

The most amazing part of the second 30 days? Continued weight loss at a pretty good rate. As of yesterday, I was at 238.2 pounds, down exactly 18 pounds from the weigh-in at the end of Month 1. After dropping 23 pounds the first month, I really didn't expect to lost more than 12 or so pounds the second month.

I attribute that fast second-month loss to lots of working out and staying absolutely clean in my eating for the full 30 days.

Other changes I've noticed from 30 days of eating clean?
- My blood pressure has dropped. That first month it fell just a bit, but over the course of this second month it's dropped quite a bit. That could simply be the cumulative effect of all the weight loss, but I suspect it has a lot more to do with eliminating bad food, eating healthy, and cutting out most sodium from my diet.

- Headaches have disappeared. I've been plagued with the occasional migraine headache off and on over most of my life, since I was a teen-age. In recent years, those headaches had become much more frequent. I don't mean to suggest every day, or even every week, but they had become part of my life, sometimes lasting two or three days. Some were from lack of sleep and I suspect some were blood pressure related. Other than the one that came with my cold a couple of weeks ago, I don't know that I've had a single one this month, and I didn't have many last month.

- More energy, higher level of focus. I've written several times that I have many bad habits to change, and one of those is staying up far too late, getting far too little sleep. I'm making some progress in this regard, but i still don't get a healthy amount of sleep. However, I've found that I have more energy, more focus at work, and can more readily go on less sleep (not that I should). This might be a result of the overall increase in fitness or the cumulative effect of the weight loss, but I also have to believe it's from fueling up the body properly.

- Just a general better feeling all the time. I don't ever have that "too full" feeling, or never feel listless or bloated or any of the things that can sometimes follow a big meal, or bad food.

I'm sure there are others, but man -- these alone are reason enough to stick with clean eating on a consistent, long-term basis, even without the weight loss.

So, what's next? I don't know. I was going to write that I'm going to finish out the week strict and clean in my diet, but my wife showed up tonight, just about the time I walked in from the gym starving, with Pizza Hut pizzas. I, of course, had not planned anything for dinner and there was nothing within an hour of being ready, so I went ahead and broke the consecutive clean eating streak at 30 -1/2 days.

We celebrate my youngest child's birthday this weekend -- her 15th! -- so there will probably be some cake and ice cream involved. And my middle child has his 21st birthday ten days afterward, so there might be some more cake and ice cream and bad food on the menu. Outside of that, I don't know that there's any reason to change my eating from what it's been until Memorial Day. That'll be up to three off days between now and the end of the month. Other than that, I'm going to stick with the clean eating.

Why would I do anything else, with the results I've seen?

Anyway, that's my really looong post for today. Now, for my workout and eating today:

Workout
Cardio
Stationary bike
36 minutes, 15 minutes at level 6, the rest at level 5
12 miles
425 calories burned

Today's eating

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 1 ounce

Lunch
Boiled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Mixed veggies -- 1/2 cup
Fat free Greek Yogurt

Snack
Fat free Greek Yogurt

First dinner
Boiled chick breast -- 4 ounces
Mixed veggies -- 1/2 cup

Snack
Power bar

Rest of the evening -- Pizza!

Totals WITHOUT the pizza
835 calories
16 grams fat
100 grams protein

Water -- 80 ounces
Diet soda -- 24 ounces

With the pizza? Who the heck knows. Anyway, tomorrow it's back on the wagon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Half-way there! I've lost 40 pounds in 9 weeks

Okay, way back when I started this weight-loss effort, I said my eventual goal was to get healthy, fit, and be at a weight I was comfortable with. Having spent most of my adult life in the decidedly overweight category, I really wasn't sure how much weight to set as a goal, so I selected 199 pounds as my target.

That would be dropping 80 pounds. Yep, you might remember, the day I stepped on the scales and decided changes had to be made, I was 279 pounds.

Well, I can now say I'm more than half-way there.

This morning I tipped the scales at 238.2 pounds -- that's 40.8 pounds lost in nine weeks. Well, okay, I didn't officially start this until March 9, so technically it's been nine weeks and 2 days since I weighed in at 279. Either way, that's a lot of weight, in a considerably shorter time frame than I anticipated.

Truthfully, when I started this I wasn't entirely sure I'd see any success. I've done the up and down, up and down weight loss and weight gain so often, usually coming out heavier at the end than when I started, that I had to question whether this would be just another one of those failed attempts at getting fit.

I still haven't met success -- I have 39.2 pounds yet to lose to reach my target -- but I can actually see it on the horizon now, and not as distantly as I once thought. It's not going to happen overnight; heck, it's probably going to take a lot longer than the first half of the weight loss took, but it is within sight.

There are also some potential pitfalls along the way, the old "ah, one piece (of pie, cake, pizza, etc., etc.,) won't hurt," Or the "I'm just so tired, and I'm doing so well, I can skip tonight's workout (or this morning's cardio).

The truth is, either one of those statements would be true, and eating one bad thing or missing a single workout wouldn't really be the end of the world. Problem is, when you do both one day, or you end up eating something bad two or three times one week, and next thing you know you're right back at eating bad food all the time.

And that ain't going to happen.

The weight's come off much faster than I anticipated, so far, but it's still been a lot of work. Sometimes it's been fun, it's almost always felt rewarding, but it's also been a ton of work, and if nothing else, I'm not going to let all of that work and effort and sweat go to waste.

So it's on to the next 40 pounds (or 39.2)! And after that? We'll we figure that out as we start getting within grasp of that 199-pound mark. For now, it's back to the gym, back to the food planning, back to the weight loss pursuit.

Toward that end, today I sorta combined a couple of workouts. This was scheduled to be a back and biceps workout, with no cardio. But, if you've been reading along you may recall because of this past weekend's planned events, I knew I wouldn't get a Sunday leg workout, so I did a partial leg workout last Thursday (okay, about 80 percent of the normal leg workout), with plans to get a shorter leg workout in another day this week, followed by a full leg routine on Sunday.

Well, today was that day. I did a good portion of the usual leg routine, along with my normal back workout tonight, but skipped the biceps. They get a secondary workout with back work anyway.

So, here's my workout for the day:

Legs
Squats
135 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps
185 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps
225 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps
255 pounds, 1 set, 6 reps
225 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps

Leg curls
90 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps
100 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps

Standing calf press
450 pounds, 1 set, 12 reps
500 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps

Back
Seated machine row
130 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps
200 pounds, 2 sets, 10 reps each

Wide-grip seated rows
160 pounds, 2 sets, 8 reps each

Dumbbell bent-over row
65 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Weighted machine crunch
125 pounds -- 1 set, 20 reps
125 pounds -- 1 set, 12 reps

Eating for the day

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 1 ounce

Snack
Powerbar (yes, yes, I know, dubious health benefits at best with all that sugar)

Lunch
Boiled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Rice -- 5/8 cup, cook in sesame oil
Veggies -- 1/2 cup, cook in sesame oil

Snack
Fat free Greek Yogurt

Dinner
Boiled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Rice -- 5/8 cup, cook in sesame oil
Veggies -- 1/2 cup, cook in sesame oil

Snack

Haven't had that yet, but will update when I do

Totals for the day

Calories -- 1,160

Fat -- 33 grams

Protein -- 94 grams (wow, that's really low. I'll add to that in a bit with my snack)

Water -- 70 ounces so far

Diet soda -- 36 ounces

Yet another milestone, and so much to say!

Over the past few days I've had a great deal I wanted to write here about my weight loss, a few articles I've read about weight loss in general, and a study that shows a bleak future for those of us who are a little more rotund than we'd like.

My biggest obstacle in all of that is simply time. Long hours at work, writing at home, working out, doing things with the family, and trying to squeeze in a little sleep tends to leave the blogging time in short supply.

So today I'll just tell you I've reached another milestone in the long saga of the belt. Yep, that little leather strip meant to help hold my pants up, the one I couldn't even come close to wearing just nine short weeks ago, the one that even the wise old Mr. Miyagi thought had no significance, is now holding my pants in place while buckled on the fifth hole (with the sixth and final hole being the tightest setting).

I've had this belt for a couple of years, ever since I outgrew the last one, so it's kinda fun to see myself actually shrinking to the point I might not be able to use it much more.

Of course, with every milestone, there's a reminder I still have a long, long way to go. Remember when I talked about the Danger Zone of Dieting (also known as The Delusional Zone)? You can click on the link to see what I'm talking about, but in short, that's the time when you start to feel really good about your weight loss, you're noticing differences, seeing major progress, and you start to think you're thinner and more fit than you really are.

That's why I call it the Delusional Zone. It's also a dangerous time, because it's far, far too easy to figure you'll just skip a workout because, you know, you're tired, you want to do other stuff, and you've done so well it's not going to be a big deal. Or, you might decided to take an extra meal off the diet, or an extra day -- again, because you're doing so well, dropping all that weight, have gotten so skinny.

Well, I've felt that little bit of delusion creeping in here and there lately. It's been easy enough to hold it at arm's length because I had committed to 30 days of clean eating, with no off meals or days, so going off the eating plan simply wasn't a temptation. And other than altering plans for the weekend of my daughter's college graduation and Mother's Day (which actually turned into taking care of the sick wife day), I had determined I'd do workouts of various sorts at least six days every week during the 30-day period. So, in that respect, it was also easy to avoid falling off the workout plan.

So what's the little fail-safe now?

Pictures.

Let's face it, when you drop 40 pounds, that's a lot of weight, and I'm closing in on the 40-pound mark. When you have clothes that you couldn't wear because they were too small that are now actually too big, that's a lot of positive change.

But, when you're 40 to 50 pounds overweight, that's just awful. I mean, who wants to carry around an extra 40 pounds of fat every day? Who wants the damage that does to your heart, you joints, and the other issues that come with being that far overweight?

And there's nothing like seeing pictures of yourself for a really good, semi-objective view of what you really look like, and how far you still have to go.

So, yeah, seeing myself in the mirror and how much I've lost, feeling the clothes get loose and knowing I'm making progress is great, but for now I'm still trying to focus on where I really am in relation to where I need to go -- and I'm still a long way toward really being able to get comfortable with my weight and fitness level.

Now for today's action:

Workout
Cardio
Stationary bike -- 53 minutes, all on level 5
18.5 miles
730 calories

Eating for the day

Breakfast
Coffee

Lunch
Lean ground beef -- 3 ounces
Bake potato -- 4.5 ounces
Mixed veggies -- 3/4 cup

Snack
Lean ground beef -- 2 ounces
Cheese -- 1/8 cup
Salsa -- 1 tablespoon
Salad

First Dinner
Lean pork -- 4 ounces
Mixed veggies -- 3/4 up

Second Dinner
Lean ground beef -- 1 ounce
Kidney beans -- 1/2 cup
Cheese -- 1/4 cup
Salsa -- 2 tablespoons
Two whole wheat tortilla wraps

Totals for the day
1,100 calories
42 grams of fat
107 grams protein

Water -- 80 ounces
Diet soda -- 24 ounces

Thanks for stopping by!

Day 28 of Clean Eating!

That's right, four weeks ago today is when I started my own self-challenge to eat clean for 30 days. While I've had a couple of days where I had to really watch what I was doing, but overall it's been easier than I anticipated.

More on that later this week, after I've actually crossed day 30.

For now, let me just dive into today's workout and eating, and then I'm hitting the hay -- that clock rings awful early for these morning cardio routines! I will say the gym was extremely busy tonight -- 19 people all in the weight area, and not a soul on the cardio equipment and only one person using the nautilus machines. After my son and I finished our chest workout in the weight section of the gym, we ended up doing shoulders on the machines because all of the free weight shoulder stations were in constant use. No complaints, though, because every one of those people were working tonight, no playing around or talking.

Workout
Cardio
Stationary bike
48 minutes -- all on level 5
17 miles
630 calories

Weight training -- chest, shoulders and triceps day.
Bench Press
135 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
185 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps
215 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps
205 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps
195 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

Incline Bench Press
135 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
135 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

Seated Chest Flyes with machine
125 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Shoulders
Nautilus seated shoulder press
110 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Seated side raises on the machine
110 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
110 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

Rear delt flyes on the machine
135 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Triceps
Cable press down
150 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Seated machine press down
245 pounds -- 1 set, 15 reps

Abs
Seated crunch
125 pounds -- 1 set, 15 reps

Eating for the day
Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs (1 whole, 2 whites)
Lean ham -- 1 ounce

Lunch
Lean ground beef -- 4 ounces
Baked potato -- 4.5 ounces
Veggies -- 2/3 cup

First dinner
Lean pork -- 4 ounces
Veggies -- 2/3 cup

Second dinner
Eggs -- 1 whole, 1 white
Homemade southwestern hashbrowns (spicy!) -- 1 cup
Lean bacon -- 3 slices

Total for the day

1,000 calories
39 fat grams
104 protein grams

Yes, that wasn't enough calories or protein, but there was a point in the day when I was a little afraid I was getting the stomach virus my wife had -- I was feeling kinda queasy around lunch time, so I skipped the Greek yogurt, and skipped the afternoon snack. Whatever it was passed by the end of the day, though, and I'm feeling pretty good right now.

Water -- 70 ounces
Diet soda -- 12 ounces

Eating Clean Isn't Always The Same As Eating Healthy

Today didn't go anywhere near as planned.

As you may know from past blogs, we had planned a big Mother's Day celebration with my wife and most of our kids (our oldest and her husband were going to be gone, but the rest would be here).

That changed about 3 in the morning, when my wife woke up sick ... REALLY sick, as in losing throwing up, fever, aching -- all the bad stuff.

So, Mother's Day celebration in our house, including eating out at one of my wife's favorite restaurants, has been put on hold. We still had the crew in, and I grilled chicken breasts, hamburgers and hot dogs, along with baked potatoes. I, of course, passed up the hot dogs, and I had a hamburger, but it was that super-lean, 95-percent ground beef, with no mayo, no ketch-up, none of the bad stuff. Just a slice of tomato.

I have to say that made it a little easier to stick to the cleaning eating plan, but it certainly was not the way I'd want. 

Even though I stuck with the clean eating both yesterday for my daughter's graduation, and today with the muted Mother's Day gathering, I can't say I ate exactly healthy. Eating healthy means regular, small meals, every two-and-a-half to three hours. Healthy meals with lean protein, veggies, complex carbs. And it means a heck of a lot more protein than I took in.

Saturday I took in more calories than any other day since I started the 30-day clean eating program, and the bulk of that was in one meal. Again, today, I actually only ate twice. Not exactly the way I should be eating, I know, but I can still honestly say I'm still on my 30-day healthy eating plan (just three more days to go as I write this)!

Anyway, here's the scoop from the past couple of days. No working out either day, as planned, although, I bet I walked a solid 30 minutes, at a decent pace, before and after my daughter's graduation -- most of it before. Walking from the parking lot to the building where the ceremony was held; walking from there afterward across campus to the building where a "little" reception was planned, but we skipped it after seeing a line a mile long; followed by walking to the campus Starbucks because we have two Starbucks addicts among our family;  then walking all the way across campus to get back to our car. So maybe, just maybe that counts as a teeny tiny bit of cardio?

Saturday, May 7.

Breakfast

Coffee

Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Lunch

Small, tiny, little burger of lean meat

Bun

Tomato/lettuce

Dinner

New York Strip Steak -- 5 ounces

Rice -- 1-1/2 cup

Veggies -- 1-1/2 cup

Shrimp -- just a handful

All cooked in sesame and soy oil

Chicken broth soup with mushrooms

Salad (tomatoes, lettuce, onions)

Salad dressing -- 2 tablespoons

Snack

Raisin Bran

Soy milk

Totals for the day--1,730 calories

56 grams fat

90 grams protein (way, way too low.

Water -- 65 ounces

Diet soda -- 24 ounces 

SUNDAY

Breakfast -- nothing, skipped it

Lunch

Super-lean hamburger meat -- 5 ounces

Whole wheat hamburger bun

Provolone cheese

Baked potato -- 6 ounces

Diet butter -- 1 tablespoon

Dinner

Lean pork -- 4.25 ounces

Provolone cheese

Rye bread (2 slices)

1,035 calories

38 grams of fat

90 grams of protein (again, far too little)

Water 60 ounces

Diet Soda -- 24 ounces

A Big Day!

Forget my little daily reports about weight loss, eating healthy and working out. Today, it was all about this:

This was the crew celebrating my oldest graduating from college. Well, this was a few hours after graduation, at the conclusion of dinner at Kabuki's and the restaurant staff came out with a little cake for her. The happy grad is front and center, and the rest of the crew are my kids, son-in-law, sister and brother-in-law. Big Day!

And yes, I stayed on the eating clean plan, though probably a few too may calories (and I did NOT even touch the cake).

More later about my eating and calories for the day, but for now, this is what we did today!

Ready For The Big Weekend (Or, How Many Times Can Plans Change?)

All those plans I outlined yesterday to shift things around to get all of my weight training and most of the cardio this week, in light of the weekend plans (YEAH ERICA -- my oldest getting her bachelor's degree Saturday!!!)?

That's changed again. We're having to leave earlier than I had anticipated tomorrow, and the gym doesn't open until 8 on Saturday mornings, so no cardio tomorrow or Sunday. Oh, well, I still managed to get the weight training in -- even a little extra on the legs this week. My biggest challenge, of course, will be on the eating front this weekend. Somehow, some way, I'll stay clean -- I'm just a few days away from that 30-day cleaning eating mark!

Today was a pretty blah day -- long day at work, normal workout (though having to make a few concessions to a sore forearm), and lower-than-normal eating.

Here was my day:

Workouts

Cardio

Stationary Bike -- 52 minutes

18 miles

675 calories

I did this a little differently today. Usually I select a "manual" program, and punch in just a constant level of resistance and go all-out most of the time, bumping the resistance up a little higher for a few minutes during the session.

Today I selected the "interval training" program, and while it was okay, I really didn't feel like I worked as hard. It started out at level 2 for a minute, level 3 for two minutes, and at the end went to level 3 for two minutes and level 2 for the final minute. In between, the program would have me at level 4 for three or four minutes, followed by level 7 for four minutes, then back to 4, repeating that cycle. 

I might try it again, but if I do I'm going to set it for slightly higher levels.

Weight training

Back and biceps

Back

Seated machine row

130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

200 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Wide-grip row

160 pounds -- 3 sets, 8 reps each

Bent-over dumbbell row

60 pounds -- 1 set 10 reps each

Biceps -- didn't do much here, just a token set, because of the forearm.

Curl bar curls

50 pounds,1 set of 10 reps

Abs

Seat machine crunch

125 pounds -- 2 sets of 15 reps each.

Food for the day

Breakfast

Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites

Lean ham -- 2 ounces

Lunch

Lean pork loin -- 4 ounces

Mixed veggies -- 2/3 cup

Fat free Greek Yogurt 

Snack

Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Dinner

Chicken breast cook in olive oil -- 3 ounces

Cheese -- 1/4 cup

Salsa -- 2 tablespoons

Salad mix

Snack
Granola -- 1 cup
Almond milk -- 1 cup

Totals

1,095 calories

30 grams fat

96 grams protein 

Wow, I had no idea I was that low on everything until calculating it all here. Well, I did say I was trying to cut down a bit over these past several days, just in case we have a few extra calories tomorrow.

Water -- 80 ounces

Diet soda -- 24 ounces

That's about it. Very light day on eating, though I'll probably have another snack before bed -- if I do, I'll update the list.

Thanks for stopping by!

Altering The Routine for a Big Weekend Ahead

One of the things I'm learning through this process of losing weight and getting fit is that one of the keys to success is planning.

It's hard to eat right during the day if you haven't plotted out your menu, cooked the food and packed everything up in the appropriate-sized servings. And starving when you arrive home from work, or after a workout, without having planned what you're going to eat -- and ensuring it's ready or can quickly be prepared -- are recipes for disaster.

Working out is similar -- you can't hop out of bed at 6 in the morning to head to the gym if you didn't go to bed until 2 that morning. And you have to look down the road at potential obstacles to your regular workout routine, occasionally making some changes to your normal schedule to accommodate those obstacles.

This weekend is one for me -- a big obstacle in sticking both with the 30-day clean eating plan and my regular workout routine. Saturday my oldest daughter is graduating from Radford University (YEAH!!! -- more on that in a later blog), and then Sunday is Mother's Day. 

Thankfully, Radford U. is less than an hour's drive from where we live, but we'll be hitting the road somewhere between 9 and 10 that morning and won't be back until sometime late that evening. Since Saturday is normally my off-day for workouts, that shouldn't matter, right?

Well, on Sunday we'll be taking my wife out for Mom's Day, and since my oldest son has to work that night, we're limited to lunch. And since the gym is only open 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, that means I can't get in for my regular leg workout -- and there's no way I'm going to go two weeks between workouts (from last Sunday until the Sunday a week after Mother's Day).

That's where planning and shifting things around a bit come in. Thursday is usually one of my two long cardio days. However, today I did a leg workout. A little bit lighter than normal for a Sunday, but still a pretty good, taxing workout. Afterward, I did a light, easy cardio workout (probably ridiculously easy for most people). 

Tomorrow, Friday, I plan to do my regular morning cardio and evening weight training, then Saturday I'll go down to the gym as soon as it opens, get a quick, hard 30-minute cardio routine in, and use Sunday as my off-day.

Then, next week, I'll probably do another, abbreviated leg routine either Tuesday or Thursday, followed by full legs that Sunday, and then I'm back on the regular schedule.

In re-arranging the schedule like this, I'm probably sacrificing a little in the cardio work, and maybe even getting a tiny bit more work for legs. If I didn't do this, though, I fear I'd end up missing legs altogether this week. At this point, I'm willing to give up a little on the cardio in exchange for keeping the weight training on target. 

I'm also doing a little advance work on the eating front, as well. I'm not going to slip on the 30-days of clean eating, although it's likely I might end up taking in a few more calories each day than normal. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow I've tried to cut my calories a bit, just about 100 to 150 fewer calories each of the three days, from what I might otherwise take in. 

I've also checked out nutritional values on the menus of the places we'll eat (both my daughter and my wife long-ago made it known where they wanted to go on their respective big days), so I'll know what I'm going to eat before getting there. And, at the reception my daughter's department will have for their grads after the ceremony, when everyone else is munching on cookies and punch, I'll be sneaking bites of a protein bar (though, if they have any fresh fruit among the refreshments,, I'll probably partake of a few bites).

See, just a little bit of planning and these things can be handled just fine.

Now, for today's workout and eating!

First, let me note that I did some treadmill walking today, after doing the leg workout, for my cardio. I've learned the hard way to take it easy after a leg workout, so I did the walking instead of the bike. I have to be careful with walking, however. I'm so big and fat when I try walking fast, or for long distances, I get terrible shin splints! I mean, some serious soreness and pain in the shins that takes a long time to go away. And it's not muscle soreness, not the good kind of soreness. 

Anyway, I've lost enough now I can throw in an occasional walk, and I plan to do that from time to time to vary the cardio a bit, but when I walk it'll be short, relatively slow, and not all that difficult, until I lose more weight and build up to it. The folks at The Carroll Wellness Center tell me the new cardio equipment will be in late this month, and I'm looking forward to having a working stair climber. I actually enjoy doing the stair climber, and I can do that without any shin issues!

Workout

Cardio

Treadmill walking

22 minutes

1 mile

155 calories (yeah, not a lot)

Weight training -- legs

Squats

135 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

185 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

225 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

245 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

205 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

Leg extensions

110 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Lying leg curls

70 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

100 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Standing calf raises

450 pounds -- 2 sets, 12 reps

And that's about it!

Eating for the day

Breakfast

Coffee

Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites

Lunch

Lean center cut pork loin -- 4 ounces

Sweet potato -- 5 ounces

Mixed veggies -- 1-1/3 cups

Snack/first dinner

Chicken breast cooked in a bit of olive oil --4 ounces

Salsa -- 2 tablespoons

Mixed salad -- mixture of multiple lettuces, spinach, and other green stuff)

Second dinner

Chicken breasts again, cooked in a bit of olive oil -- 5 ounces

Cheese -- 1/4 cup

Salsa -- 3 tablespoons

Mixed salad -- bunch of green stuff again

Snack (which I haven't eaten yet, but I'm going to do that as soon as I post this)

Granola -- 2/3 cup

Almond milk -- 1 cup

Totals for the day

1,260 calories

34 grams of fat

119 grams of protein (far too few, but it's hard to get enough protein on less than 1,260 calories).

Water 60 ounces
Diet soda -- 24 ounces

Eight-week Weigh-In And Meeting a Blog Reader!

Today marks exactly eight weeks since I officially started the weight loss efforts, and I weighed in this morning at 245 -- that's 34 pounds less than when this started. That's a lot, at least to me. I still have a long way to go, with a goal of losing 80 pounds of fat, but I'm getting close to the half-way point!

I also met someone in real life who's been reading my blog. Well, I mean other than relatives. When I walked into the gym tonight the center's director, a guy named Greg Hampton, was working with a new member, walking the person through a workout on the Nautilus machines. But when I walked in he stopped for a minute, told me he'd been reading the blog and enjoyed seeing my progress. (I would put a link to him here, but some folks don't like that, and since I met him in real life and not online, and didn't ask if it would be okay, I'll forgo that).

A little bit later, after Greg was done with the new member, he came over to where I was working out to chat a few minutes, mostly just to see how it was going, make a few encouraging comments on my work and progress, that sort of thing. I have to say I really appreciated him doing that. Devotees of my blog will know that I've made little comments from time to time about a piece of equipment there not working, or some other little problem, but all in all it's actually a really nice facility. I work out at The Carroll Wellness Center, and it's really more of a community center than strictly a gym. 

Don't get me wrong, they have a lot of weight equipment, and some big dudes working out hard, just like you'd see at a more hardcore gym, but they also have an indoor swimming pool, a gym, indoor and outdoor walking tracks, and a lot of activities for kids and families (they even have a child care service so parents can get a break from their kids to workout).

It's not perfect -- but then whatever is -- but it's a good center and some really friendly staffers. It's hard to go in or out of there without getting a smile and a hello from at least two or three of them. Anyway, I'm not trying to turn this into a commercial for the center, but it is a nice place to workout, with a load of alternatives for whatever you want to do -- my wife and youngest do Zumba there three or four nights a week, and several of our crew occasionally utilize the basketball courts, so we definitely get a lot out of the center.

For today, I was on my own working out -- my son was a little under the weather so he decided to sit out. 

Today's schedule:

Workout

Weight training -- chest, shoulders, triceps

Chest

Flat bench barbell press

135 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

185 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

210 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

200 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

190 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps (just barely -- not having a spotter is great motivation to finish off that last rep!)

Incline barbell bench press

135 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Flat-bench dumbbell flyes

40 pound dumbbells -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Shoulders

Seated barbell press

115 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

100 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Machine side raises

115 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Seated machine rear delt flyes

140 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Triceps

Lying curl bar tricep extension

50 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

40 pounds -- 1 set each

Seated overhead dumbbell extension

60 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Abs

Seated Machine Crunch

125 pounds -- 2 sets, 15 reps each

Food for the day

Breakfast

Coffee

Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites

Oatmeal -- 1/3 cup dry

Lunch

Chef Salad (not in the plans for the day, but I rarely get to eat lunch with my wife, so yeah, I went out today for lunch because she was around, and the chef salad was the ONLY thing on the menu that would qualify as healthy, clean eating)

Note: The salad was about 3 ounces turkey, 3 ounces ham, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, lettuce, some grape tomatoes, and a few onions. NO dressing.

Snack

Fat free Greek yogurt

First dinner

Center cut pork loin, 4 ounces

Mixed veggies -- 1/2 cup

Second dinner

Garlic chicken -- 5 ounces (and I do mean GARLIC --I could walk through a room full of vampires right now and be safe)

Baked potato -- 5 ounces

Diet butter -- 1 tablespoon

Total for the day

1,270 calories

45 grams fat

124 grams protein

water -- 65 ounces

diet soda -- 30 ounces

I might get a little snack before bed, if I do I'll update. If not, that's it for the day.

New Habits Die Hard

There's an old myth about forming new habits, that you have to do something 21 times for it to become a habit, such as working out every day.

That's a load of baloney. For something to truly become a habit, it takes a lot longer than 21 repetitions. My doctor once told me it actually takes a full year of doing something before it starts to become a habit. (And let me add a quick disclaimer here for my family, many of whom immediately think there must be something seriously wrong with me every time I mention the world "doctor": she told me that a long time ago, not recently -- I haven't been to the doc since I last spoke with all of you!).

Having said all of that, I seem to have fallen into a bit of a habit since adding leg work to my routine a few weeks back, choosing Sunday's as the day to do legs. My thinking was that legs take a little longer to do, and Sunday afternoons would generally be days where I wouldn't be up against any time constraints.

Prior to adding the leg work to my exercise routine, I had begun doing my cardio in the mornings, usually every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The week immediately prior to starting legs I also did a Wednesday morning session.

However, that first week after doing legs, I managed a Monday morning cardio routine, but by Tuesday morning my legs were so sore and tired I slept an extra hour Tuesday and did my cardio for that day in the evening, after I got home from work. Of course, that meant no cardio on Wednesday -- there's no way I can climb on the stationary bike Wednesday morning, less than 12 hours after the Tuesday night session -- and I do a session of weight lifting on Wednesday nights.

Of course, the second week I did legs on Sunday, I fell into the same schedule, a Monday cardio session followed by some leg and knee stiffness, so I did cardio Tuesday night instead.

Last week, the same thing.

This week, however, was going to be different -- I was determined to be up early Tuesday morning, no matter what, so that all my cardio sessions were back to mornings.

Well, guess what? I was up too late last night, much later than I had planned, and just a couple of hours after going to bed I awoke again because of some pain in that knee, so I ended up skipping the morning cardio. By tonight, though, I was feeling okay, and with no weight training slated I ended up back at the gym for some cardio -- and it turned out to be a pretty good, hard-paced session.

So I don't know, have I now formed a new habit, always doing my Tuesday cardio at night for various reasons? I'd rather do the mornings -- fewer people crowded around at the gym, and that gets the work out of the way first thing, leaving my evenings free for writing.

But is just doesn't seem to work out for whatever reason. So maybe I've formed a new habit, after just three or four weeks. It certainly wouldn't be the worst one I've ever developed.

Anyway, enough of that...now for the details of the day!

Exercise
Cardio -- stationary bike
62 minutes (20 on level 6, 5 on level 4, the rest on level 5).
22 miles (or, on the gym's bike, 35.5 something or other -- I think kilometers)
805 calories

Food for the day

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Fresh cut pineapple -- 1/2 cup

Lunch
Roasted chicken breast (cooked in olive oil) -- 4 ounces
Brown Rice -- 2/3 cup cooked
Mixed veggies -- 1/2 cup

Snack
Fat Free Greek Yogurt

First Dinner
Roasted chicken breast in olive oil -- 4 ounces
Cheese -- 1/8 cup
Salsa
Salad mixture (lettuce, spinach, etc.)

Second Dinner
Sesame chicken and noodles (3/4 serving of whole wheat noodles, 5 ounces of chicken breast, 1/2 cup mixed veggies, all cooked in sesame oil)

Late snack
Real fruit, no-sugar added popsicle

Totals for the day
1,230 calories
33 grams fat
119 grams protein

Once again, I'm getting far too little protein, partly as a result of simply not eating enough, and partly from a result of not planning properly to have a higher protein-to-carb ratio.

Water -- 100 ounces
Diet soda -- 24 ounces

21 Straight Days Eating Clean....

Yep, it was exactly three weeks ago today when I started my 30 consecutive days of clean eating, which came on the heels of dropping 21 pounds during the previous month. That first month, of course, I ate pretty low-calorie most days, with what amounted to an off day each week, where I ate whatever I wanted.

This second 30 days I decided to go with no off-days, staying clean the entire month, while concentrating on eating a little more in the way of complex carbs each day. I was a little worried that eating clean -- and eating more food -- would end up slowing my weight loss, but that hasn't proven to be a problem. While I didn't weigh today, last week I crossed the 246-pound mark (245.8 pounds on April 29) which means I'd already dropped more than another ten pounds about 18 days into the clean-eating month. My goal this month was to drop another 14, and I'm closing in on that.

Okay, that's a lot of numbers. I guess the long and short of it is I'm still losing weight at a pretty decent rate, though admittedly I've not been eating as much as I had planned so far during the second month of my weight loss efforts.

Today was also the day I promised to give you an update on the legs -- I did go a little harder in some respects yesterday, and I have had some soreness today, but nothing like the past couple of weeks, and I've certainly not been as worn out today as last Monday, so maybe the idea of no cardio on leg day (Sunday) along with eating a little more after the leg workout is helping.

Oh, and one note on the bike that's now measuring in kilometers instead of miles: another guy who works out at the gym and uses the bike a lot stopped me and asked if I had noticed the bike measuring "funny," (you might recall a couple of days ago I mentioned the one stationary bike the gym now appeared to be measuring in kilometers instead of miles.) Seems he's kind of frustrated, too, that no one at the Carroll Wellness Center much cares about getting anything working properly because of this long-promised all-new cardio equipment upgrade. We'll see...

Cardio
Stationary Bike
50 minutes
28.5 "miles" (which I think should be kilometers because of the screwy, broken bike at the gym -- which would actually be just a shade under 18 miles if they would fix the bike)
685 calories

Workout
Back and biceps

Seated Row
130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
200 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Wide-grip seated row
160 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Lat Pulldowns
90 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each
NOTE: This is the first time in a while I've done regular lat pulldowns, because the angle I hold the bar stresses the forearm. Thought I'd give it a try tonight, and things seem to have gone okay, though I have to use lighter weight, and just go really, really slow and controlled to make the work harder,

Biceps
Curl-bar curls
40 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
60 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
Note: The forearm felt okay tonight, even with a little more weight. If all continues well, I may try adding a third set next time.

Abs
Machine seated crunch
125 pounds
1 set, 15 reps
1 set, 12 reps

As for the food, here was what I took in today:

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites

Centercut lean pork loin -- 5 ounces
Rice -- 2/3 cup cooked
Mixed veggies -- 2/3 cup

Snack
4 ounces chicken breast, cook in olive oil
Lettuice/spinach salad mix

Snack 2
Fat free Greek yogurt

Dinner
Sesame chicken (i serving whole wheat noodles, 5 ounces chicken breast, sesame oil)

Snack
Raisin bran (1 cup)
Almond Milk -- 1 cup

Totals for the day

1,420 calories
46 grams fat
121 grams protein

Far too low on protein, high on carbs today.

Water -- 95 ounces
Diet soda -- 24 ounces

Well, that's about it for Monday. Thanks for stopping by. Keep checking in -- one day this week I'm going to blog about new studies that show scientifically why people who lose weight often have trouble keeping it off -- through no fault of their own.

Well That Didn't Go As Planned...

I didn't blog yesterday (Saturday) because there wasn't a lot to write -- the cold was still lingering, well, no, that's not true, it's lingering today. Better, but I still am sneezing and coughing. Yesterday was the worst day of the cold -- sore throat, feeling really bad. 

Saturday, of course, is my off day from working out, so the wasn't affected, but I didn't eat a lot early in the day simply because I didn't feel much like it, and what I did eat isn't exactly bodybuilding food (tomato soup and crackers).

Still, by the latter portions of the day I was back to eating normal, and today I expected to go a little light on the leg work, but once I got into the gym things felt pretty good, so I actually went heavier on a couple of lifts. Kinda funny how that happened, and that's what I was referring to with the title of today's blog. 

Even before I was sick I had thought about dropping some in weight or sets in leg day, because I'd been so tired and sore afterward the past couple of weeks. And yesterday, when I was really feeling bad, I figured there was no way I'd do a full leg workout.

But once I was in the gym, doing that first set of squats...I don't know, things just kinda happened. I did go a little lighter on the leg presses, but did heavier squats, and an additional set, and it felt really good. Maybe tomorrow will be the real test, when it's time to crawl out of bed and head to the gym for some early morning cardio.

Otherwise, it was mostly a fairly sedate weekend -- not doing much Saturday but editing and writing (not for work, but for my fiction), and today mowing, working out, getting back into the swing of everything.

I'll go into my work, then today's eating, then yesterday's eating for those of you who like reading that sort of stuff.

Sunday workout -- legs

Squats (in the order I did the set)

135 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

165 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

225 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

255 pounds -- 1 set, 6 reps

225 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

185 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

Leg press -- 380 pounds

2 sets, 8 reps each

Leg extensions

115 pounds, 2 sets, 10 reps each

Leg curls

70 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

90 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

95 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

Standing calf press

410 pounds -- 2 sets, 12 reps each

Food for the day (Sunday)

Breakfast

K-cup cappicino

Lunch

Baked chicken breast, 4 ounces (cooked in a little bit of olive oil)

Long grain rice -- 2/3 cup cooked

Snack

Protein Drink with a banana chopped up in it

First Dinner

Lean center-cut pork loin -- 5 ounces

Baked potato -- 5 ounces

Diet butter -- 1 tablespoon

Snack

Lean center-cut pork loin -- 3.5 ounces

Total for the day so far (I'm sure I'll have something else before the night's over, I'll update when I do)

1,095 calories

30 grams fat

121 grams protein

Water -- 53 ounces

Diet soda -- 24 ounces

Saturday eating

Breakfast -- coffee

First Lunch 

tomato soup

crackers

Second lunch

Taco flavored grilled chicken -- 2 ounces

Cheese -- 1/8 cup

Salsa and corn -- 2 tablespoons

Kidney beans -- 1/4 cup

Salad mix (lettuce, greens, etc.)

Dinner

Baked chicken breast -- 3.75 ounces

Red potatoes baked with olive oil and rosemary

Second dinner

Bake chicken breast with olive oil

Cheese -- 1/4 cup

Tomato

Salsa (2 tablespoons)

Salad mix of lettuces and greens

Snack

Granola -- 2/3 cup

Almond mild -- 3/4 cup

Totals for day

1,435 calories

41 grams fat

105 grams protein (way low here)