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!

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 24 -- End of the Week!

Okay folks, I'm writing this one really, really late, so I'll be short and sweet.

I was tempted today. Twice.

First, some homeschoolers showed up at the office selling Krispy Kreme donuts. I'm not generally one who's tempted much by sweets, but come on, it was KRISPY KREME! Do you know how easy it would have been to buy a box (or two) -- you know, not for me, but the family at home. Really, for the family. Honest.

Yeah, you and I both know where that would have gone. So I calmly declined their offer, went back to my office and thought mean thoughts about my afternoon snack -- a salad.

The second temptation came a little later, as the afternoon wore on. I was sorely tempted to call home, ask my wife if she'd like to go out for dinner. You know how it is -- Friday, the end of a long, busy, tiring week and the idea of slipping out to Applebee's or somewhere else similar would have been so easy.

But I refused! Not so much for the food -- I actually can eat at Applebee's and mostly stay within the eating plan, but doing that would mean missing a workout, and that's what got me. I simply couldn't miss a workout.

So, I finished working, arrived home and hurried off to the gym before changing my mind.

I guess you can call that a good day. (It's even a better day as I write this, because the Celtics just hung a loss on Golden State)!

Anywhere, here's the scoop on what I've done today.

Workout
Back and biceps

Back
Seat Row
130 pounds - 1 set, 10 reps
210 pounds - 2 sets, 8 reps each
200 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Straight-armed pulled downs
80 pounds, 2 sets each

Biceps
Curl Bar Curls
40 pounds, 1 set x 10 reps
70 pounds, 1 set x 15 reps
*I usually do more sets and reps than this, but an old forearm issue from a couple of years back has flared up a bit, and if I'm not careful I could end up not doing any bicep work, and limited on the back work, so I took it easier tonight.

Ab Machine Crunch
110 pounds, 25 reps

Cardio
Stationary Bike
25 minutes, all lvl 5.
9 miles
275 calories burned

Food for the day
Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 white
Lean ham -- 1.5 ounces

Lunch
2 Chicken sandwiches (same as last night -- 4 ounces boiled chicken breast, THINLY sliced French bread, 1/4 Mozzarella cheese, homemade chipotle sauce, basil).
Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Snack
Salad -- 1 ounce lean ham, 1 boiled egg (gotta love Easter), mushrooms, lettuce mixture, 1 tablespoon fat-free Thousand Island dressing.

First Dinner
5 ounces chicken breast, onions, peppers, all in a fat-free fajita mixture.

Second Dinner
Lean hamburger steak -- 4 ounces
Baked potato  -- 5.25 ounces
Diet Butter -- 1 tablespoon

Snack
Boiled chicken breast -- 2 ounces

Total for the day
1,510 calories
69 grams fat
147 ounces protein

Water -- 80 ounces
Diet soda -- 36 ounces

Okay, that fat was WAY high for the way, mostly because of the hamburger (even lean, it's high-fat) and the chipotle sauce on the lunch sandwiches (it uses mayonnaise).

That fat, of course, bumped the calories up a little higher than I like, with protein a tad on the low side.

That's it for the day. Thanks for stopping by, and Saturday I'll share a little surprise I got today from another blogger (and I promise to post MUCH earlier)

Day 21...Tired, But Doing Well

Today is actually Day 21 of my diet and exercise plan, my attempt at losing weight, getting health and in shape.

So far, it's gone well, and I'd love to write more at length about some of the changes I've made, but it's late and I'm really dragging -- a long, hard cardio workout will do that for you.

So tonight I check in only to give an update on my workout and my eating plan for the day.

Workout

Cardio
Stationary Bike
46 minutes (37 minutes at lvl 5, the rest at lvl 4)
16 miles
535 calories burned

Eating for the day

Breakfast
Coffee
Fat-free GreekYogurt

Lunch
Denver steak -- 5 ounces
Veggies -- 1/4 cup

Snack
Salad (boiled egg, 1.5 ounces lean ham, lettuce and stuff)
Low Fat Greek Yogurt

Dinner
Lean pork chop -- 6/5 ounces
Baked red potato-- 4 ounces
Diet Butter -- 1 tablespoon
Small slice of French Bread

Totals for the day
1,025 calories
41 grams fat
145 grams protein

Water -- 75 ounces
Diet soda -- 24 ounces

Thanks for stopping in. Catch you all tomorow!

A Day Off? What's This?

Well, Day 12 is coming to a close, and I decided to take the day off, both from exercising and dieting.

Many weight-loss plans suggest an off day or meal here and there. The old Weight Watchers, way back before they started the point system, suggested a meal off each week. Body for Life, which I happen to think is the best, most complete nutrition and fitness plan around (if you ignore all the attempts to sell the mostly worthless supplements that you really don't need), suggests a full day off each week.

I had thought about waiting until Easter to take an off day, but decided now, after 11 solid days on the program (and about 16 pounds lost), to take an off day, and then take another one on Easter (big family gathering and lunch planned that day). Afterward, I'll probably do two weeks or so before another one.

Why are off days important?

Well, for a number of reasons. On the exercise front, this would have been a cardio day today. My plan was to do cardio today, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday this week. Now, I'll do Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. So, overall, I won't be doing any less cardio.

My legs were a little fatigued after this past week, and I know from experience (remember, the KING of yo-yo weight loss and gain), that it's okay -- even good -- to be worn out and sore from hard work, but when you start to feel that fatigue that comes from repeated use over days, it's time to take a break. Besides, even the best workout programs will tell you that the rest and recovery from exercise is as important, if not more important, than the actual exercise. And, since one of my sisters thinks I need to take it easy because I'm old (even though I am the baby of the family), I'll now be able to tell her I took her advice.

As for the food, when you say off day, a lot of people immediately think "pig-out" day. An off day can be that, but you have to be careful about pigging out -- you can undo a lot of hard work if you really, really go overboard.

As much as an off day is a time to eat a little more, or some bad stuff you can't eat on the strict healthy days, it's also a time to just relax. On my eating routine, I plan out my meals, measuring and weighing the food, keeping track of what I'm eating, when, how many calories, how much protein, and so forth. That will get even stricter a month or so down the road, once the initial weight loss has slowed.

So an off day can just be a break for you mind as much as anything -- not worrying about planning the meals, measuring everything out. Just eating.

Did I eat too much today? Yes. Though today's too much was far, far less than I would have eaten in a normal day just a couple of weeks ago. My off day for food consisted of a few cookies, a couple of pieces of pizza, and a trip to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.

Along with a banana for breakfast, that's all I had today. I have to say, though, even though I got a smaller meal at the restaurant than I usually get there, I was still STUFFED afterward -- I've gotten used to eating smaller meals!

But, off day is over. I'm cooking and planning out the food for the week, and tomorrow morning I'll be at it again.

Ack! The LATE Day 10 Report (Okay, This Is Day 11, But I Won't Tell If You Don't)

Well, I missed getting my daily report out yesterday -- though it was NOT because I had a bad day. Just really, really long. Watching basketball really takes it out of you!

Seriously, I just didn't get the blog done until really late, and I figured all of my fans would be long-gone to bed, so I thought maybe I should wait until today to post Friday's news.

Anyway, Friday was a good day -- at home on a basketball-watching vacation day again, so the routine was a little off, but all was good. Since I'm posting a day late, I'll just give you a quick rundown,

Workout -- weight training
Chest, shoulders and triceps

Chest
Barbell bench press
135 pounds, 1 set of 10 reps
185 pounds, 4 sets of 8 reps each

Incline barbell bench press
115 pounds, 1 set of 10 reps

Machine seated chest flyes
115 pounds, 2 sets 12 reps each

Shoulders
Seats Barbell Press
65 pounds, 1 set 10 reps
105 pounds, 1 set 8 reps

Seated Side Raise (machine)
95 pounds
2 sets, 10 reps each

Triceps
Tricep pressodwn
150 pounds, 2 sets 12 reps each
150 pounds, 1 set 10 reps

Abs
Seated Crunches in the ab machine
95 pounds, 2 sets, 15 reps each

Now, for my food

Breakfast
Greek Yogurt

Lunch
Lean Pork Chop -- 6.25 ounces
Bake potato -- 7 ounces
Diet Butter

Snack
Boiled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Mozz cheese -- 1/4 cup

Dinner
Chili Verde (I told you there was a lot left over!)
Mozz Cheese -- 1/3 cup
Corn torilla wraps --2 of them

Snack
Granola Cereal - 3/4 cup
Almond Milk -- 1 cup

Total for the Day
1,445 calories
48 grams fat
139 grams protein

First Week Weigh-In...

Well, I'm guessing the little graphic there is a clue that it was a good weigh-in. I wasn't sure, especially after coming off of no exercise yesterday and eating that popcorn last night, but still, when I stepped onto the scale this morning the little digital numbers came up at 266.8 pounds -- that's exactly 11 pounds lost in one week!

Needless to say, I was happy with that result. I'm not getting too excited, though -- I've done this before. Remember, I'm the KING of of yo-yo weight loss. I've dropped 10, 15, 20 pounds many many times, only to gain that back, and then some.

But this might be the first time I've lost 11 in a single week, so I'm off to a pretty good start, I'd say.

Now, for my workout and food for the day. I had initially had a weight training workout planned for today, but I workout with my son often, and he wasn't able to go to the gym today, so I switched and tonight did the cardio I would have done Thursday, and tomorrow I'll do the weight lifting workout I was going to do tonight.

Make sense?

It's just as well, because I've been dragging all day. Long, long day yesterday (it was primary day in North Carolina, where I work), and I'd already been running way short on sleep all week, so I've been really tired. As much as I dislike cardio, it's easier than going down to the gym and lifting weights when you're dead tired.

So, here are the stats for the day:

Workout -- Cardio
Stationary Bike
33 minutes (13 minutes at lvl 5, 20 minutes at lvl 4)
11 miles
355 calories burned

Food for the day

Breakfast
2 whole eggs
1 ounce lean ham
Coffee

Lunch
Chicken breast -- 5 ounces
Homemade BBQ sauce
Rice -- 3/4 cup
Veggie -- 1/2 cup

Snack
Lowfat Greek Yogurt

Dinner
Chili verde

Second Dinner
Lean ham -- 6 ounces
Bake potato -- 5 ounces
Diet butter -- 1 tablespoon

Water -- 60 ounces (though I'll probably have some more before bed)
Diet soda -- 36 ounces (caffeine!)

Totals for the day
1,300 calories
35 grams fat
123 grams protein

Overall, low on protein, low on carbs, probably a tad low on calories.

Thanks for stopping by!

Day 6 -- Busy, busy, busy

So, where you wondering where my post was for the day? I've been running about as hard as I can since getting out of bed. I work fulltime as a newspaper editor, and some days are just waaaaayyyy too busy. Not to mention that tomorrow is primary day in North Carolina, where I work, so that's kept me hopping.

A lot of days are going to be like this -- just one post, instead of two, most likely toward the end of the day. Hopefully, I'll be a little earlier in the evening than I have been today.

I did NOT let the busy schedule stop me from working out, though, as well as staying strict with the food. I'm really dragging right now, though, so I'm just going to post my eating for the day, the workout, then I'm off to bed! Tomorrow I might chat a little about JC Penney and the all-knowing Mr. Miyagi.

Okay, for my workout today. I did chest, shoulders and triceps.

Chest
Barbell Bench Press
135 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps
185 pounds, 2 sets 8 reps each
175 pounds, 2 sets, 8 reps each

Incline barbell bench press
95 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps
115 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps

Seat Machine Chest Flyes
110 pounds, 2 sets, 12 reps each.

Shoulders
Seat Barbell Overhead Press
65 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps
95 pounds, 1 set 8 reps
95 pounds, 1 set 6 reps

Seated Machines Reverse Flyes
125 pounds, 2 sets, 12 reps each

Triceps
Cable pressdown
150 pounds, 1 set of 12 reps
140 pounds, 1 set of 12 reps
120 pounds, 1 set of 12 reps

Ab work
Seated crunch
95 pounds
1 set, 15 reps
1 set, 12 reps

Now for the food.

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Ham -- 2 ounces

Lunch
Lean pork chop, 4 ounces
Brown long grain rice, 1 cup
Mixed veggies, 3/4 cup

Snack
Banana

Dinner
Fish (pollock) -- 4 ounces
Rice -- 3/4 cup
Veggies -- 1/2 cup

Second Dinner
Protein Drink

Snack
Boiled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/6 cup

Totals for the day

1,354 calories
27 grams fat
139 grams protein
80 ounces of water
24 ounces of diet soda (that's LOWER folks!).

And that's all for the night!

Day Three -- tired and sore

Just a quick update, with more later, but Day 3 can be summed up in two words...Sore and Tired.

The soreness actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Most of the soreness from the chest workout on Wednesday has faded, but my triceps (back of the upper arm) are sorer today, partly from Wednesday's working and partly from Thursday cardio on the stationary bike. Sometimes, just to be different, I'll climb on the bike upside down and pedal with my arms.

Okay, not really -- but I had you wondering, didn't I?

The bike workout did contribute to the arm soreness, though. Just think -- when you're on a bike, you're leaning down on the handlebars, your weight on your arms. You're not really giving your arms a workout, but you are tensing and using the muscles. So, that's why my triceps are a little sorer today.

As for being tired, that's mostly from lack of sleep, which is one of the really bad habits I need to break. Did you know that long-term lack of sleep is a major contributing factor to high blood pressure and heart disease? Some studies have even shown it to be one of the MAJOR factors in heart disease. One day, I'll write a blog about it, citing some of those studies.

Unfortunately, I'm one of those people with too much to do (or sometimes just stupid stuff to do, like binge-watch a television show on Netflix). I'll often think "I'll just go short on sleep, what's the big deal?" Yeah, I might be sluggish and tired the next day, or have a headache, but so what? I'll just make it up on the weekend.

Well, that's actually a bad, bad thing to do from a health standpoint, and it's something I need to change. But this week I've already started tackling the bad eating habit and the lack-of-exercise habit, so the sleep will have to wait. Besides, this week is the ACC basketball tournament, and...well...come on, it's BASKETBALL! I'll work on the sleep next week, after the tournament, because, after all, it's BASKETBALL.

That's all for now, I'll post later regarding today's workout and eating. Thanks for stopping by!