A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words (Or At Least 30 Pounds)

For tonight's blog, I'm going to share a couple of pictures -- one of me shot a couple of weeks before I started this little fitness pursuit, and another shot today.

The first picture, on the left (the one that looks like I have a basketball hidden in my shirt where my stomach should be), was shot on Feb. 28, when I was probably around 276 or so pounds. Ten days later, when I decided something had to change, I was actually 279 pounds.

The second picture, on the right, was shot this morning (April 27), and while I didn't weigh this morning, I'm somewhere between 247 and 249 (249 was my weight two days ago). I'm trying to stand as much in this picture as I can like I did in the first one for a good comparison.

For those of you who have been reading my blog a while, please note the lack of a belt in photo No. 1, and the use of one in photo No. 2 -- on hole No. 4! (If that means nothing to you, you'll need to go back and check out some of my older blogs.)

I get that I'm still a FAT boy -- I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 pounds yet to lose. These are definitely not before and after pictures; they're more like before and in-progress pics But, I believe I can actually see a difference. What do you think?

I know I've been writing about all the ways I've measured my progress -- weight loss on the scale, inches melting away, clothes fitting that I couldn't wear before (and the good old belt as well), but seeing the pictures, actually seeing what I look like from a different perspective, shows there is a noticeable difference.

And I'll tell you something: I'm far from the most disciplined guy in the world; I'm far, far from the hardest working guy in the gym; and I certainly don't have the best genetics in the world for this type of stuff (not to mention that, as much as I hate to admit it, I have a few years on me). I say all this to lead into my next statement: if I can do this, anyone can.

I had two main reasons for writing this blog -- not just tonight's installment, but the whole thing.

First, to help keep myself accountable and motivated. People I know in every day life read this, as well as others who have commented here or on my Facebook account or on my Twitter account (look me up, send me a friend request, follow me and I'll follow back). I did not want to go on a blog, tell everyone what I was doing, talk about big weight loss plans, and then fail! Knowing I'm going to blog about how well, or how badly, I did is quite a bit of motivation to stick with it.

Second, I'm hoping that other people might see this -- folks who have gained weight over the years and can't seem to get healthy; people who need to take control over their lives again but don't know how; people who have tried one fad diet after another; or maybe folks who are doing okay but simply want to get a little fitter, in a little better shape. If you read my blog, if you see my progress -- especially knowing where I started, hopefully you'll take a few steps in the right direction in weight management and fitness.

I can tell you it really does feel great to be setting a goal -- what I think has been an ambitious goal -- and then start to see definitive, measurable progress. And even if I weren't after some major weight loss, exercising and eating as I have been certainly has me feeling much, much better on a daily basis.

Want to get started for yourself? Read through some of my blogs, back from the beginning, for some ideas on eating and working out. Drop me a comment or question here, or look me up on Facebook or Twitter -- I'll be glad to give a few pointers, or at the least show you some resources you can check out to see how you can make changes in your own life.

Now, for my day today.

Workout
Weight training for back and biceps

Back
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

Nautilus Lat Pulldowns (as opposed to the regular wide-grip bar, which puts too much stress on my forearm).
140 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
140 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

Bent-over dumbbell row
65 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Biceps
Curl-bar curls
50 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each
I'm still taking it easy here, not stressing the forearms, but this was a slit increase in weight and sets/reps, and if I do them really slowly. toward the end I actually started to feel the burn a little in the biceps. That felt good! I'm still limited on these, though. For now, anyway.

Seated weighted machine ab crunch
125 pounds -- 2 sets, 15 reps each.

That's it for the day. Pretty good back workout, but I still can't do a lot with the curls, and no cardio today.

Eating for the day


Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 white

Lunch
Lean pork -- 5 ounces
Brown Rice -- 1/2 cup cook
Mixed veggies -- 2/3 cup

Snack
Protein bar

Snack 2
Fat Free Greek yogurt

Snack 3
Powerbar Triple Threat
Note: I ended up messed up on my meals today, resulting in three snacks instead of one snack, an early dinner and a later dinner)

Dinner
Lean pork -- 5 ounces
Southwestern hashed brown potatoes

Totals for the day
Calories 1,440
Fat -- 42 grams
Protein -- 158 grams

Water -- 90 ounces
Diet soda -- 24 ounces

Thanks for stopping by.

Words Every Dieter Wants to Hear: 'You've Gained Weight, Haven't You?'

Yep, that was the question posed to me today, which was great timing since I was starting to feel pretty good about this dieting thing -- yesterday I stepped on the scales and I had lost 19 pounds.

My reply?

"Yeah, I've picked up a little."

Okay, let me give some context here. I was at a family Easter gathering, and the gentleman who asked me his was asking if I could still fit into some shirts he had given me a couple of years back, shirts that had grown to large for him. At the time he gave them to me, I could fit into most of them, and I did wear them -- they were nice shirts!

But over time I had grown out of them. Remember back in my first blog when I talked about how much weight I had been gaining? Well, even though I was plenty big back then when he gave the shirts to me, I was probably 10 to 15 pounds lighter than I am now.

So yes, even though I have lost 19 pounds in the past two-and-a-half weeks, I am still heavier than I was when he gave me the shirts.

While no one wants to be told they look bigger, particularly when they are in the middle of a weight-loss program, this was a good thing for me.

A very good thing.

Here's why. I've had some success with this. I still have sooooooo much further to go, but 19 pounds is nothing to sneeze at. And that's the problem When you're losing weight relatively easily, when the exercise is consistent and you see increases there, it's far too easy to back off, to take it easy.

Just like me this weekend. Friday night, if you'll recall from that day's blog, I skipped my workout. Not because I was lazy, but simply because I wanted to catch Virginia playing that night in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen tournament game. Just one workout, right? No harm, right?

Besides, Saturday morning I went down to the gym and rode 17 miles on the stationary bike, by far my best day so far in cardio.

Now, today, Easter Sunday, was an off-day. It was a scheduled off day. No trip to the gym, and eating whatever I want at a family gathering. No biggie, right?

Well, Saturday night I decided to start that off-day a little early. I didn't eat much Saturday -- two chicken sandwiches (boiled chicken, low-fat mozzarella cheese and rye bread), and a Greek yogurt. That's all, until Saturday night, when I started Sunday's off day a little early. I didn't pig out, but I did eat two bowls of left-over chili, with a little cheese in it. Later, two small Cadbury creme eggs.

Now, missing the weight workout Friday really isn't a major deal. Having an off day Sunday isn't either. Heck, starting that off day a few hours earlier on Saturday night really isn't a problem, either.

But when you combine them all?

That's a bad weekend, and a recipe for disaster when you're trying to lose weight and get in shape, and it's far to easy to justify that in your mind when you're dropping weight and meeting with some success.

So yeah, I was glad someone asked me today if I've gained weight. That was a good reminder of where I am, contrasted with where I need to be and want to be, and that helps me focused just a little bit harder, maybe avoid these sorts of lapses in eating healthy or working out consistently.

There's not a lot to report for the weekend. I didn't eat great Saturday -- I didn't pig out or anything but not entirely healthy. Today I wouldn't say I really, really pigged out, but I did eat too much, and I did eat unhealthy choices.

As for the exercises, nothing today, here's what I did Saturday;

Cardio
Stationary Bike
50 minutes (35 minutes at lvl 5, rest at lvl 4)
17 miles
525 calories burned (that takes care of one bowl of that chili!)

That's it for the weekend folks. Happy Easter!

Tomorrow Never Comes

Given that yesterday (Sunday) was an off day, I decided I'd try to go just a little light on the eating today, a plan that was working quite well until I arrived home after a looooong day at work to find a big pot of chili on the stove.

Chili.

One of my favorite foods.

So I decided to, you know, have just a bit. Maybe a bowl. Or two. After all, I've done quite well on this little diet and exercise program, lost weight pretty fast, so one evening off the diet won't hurt, right? I can always go back strict tomorrow morning.

And that's when I stopped.

I've mentioned in some of my other blogs that I'm the KING of up and down dieting. In my very first post, way back on March 9 that I had hit 279 on the scales a few days earlier, something like 80 to 100 pounds over what I should weigh.

Maybe in some later posts I'll go into the reasons, some of the things driving me to eat over the years, but one thing suddenly stood out for me -- one of my problems over the years, one of the things that have undercut other weight loss attempts, was the fact I was always willing to go all-out, work hard in the gym, be super-strict on the diet -- tomorrow.

There was always a reason to say I'd start tomorrow.

Problem is, if you're not really willing to do what has to be done today, tomorrow never comes.

So I didn't eat any chili tonight. (Well, okay, I had ONE bite). There will be a tomorrow -- some tomorrow, down the road, I'll hit my ideal weight, I'll be 80, 90, maybe a hundred pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of this -- and on that day I'll eat all the chili I want. Or pizza. Or doughnuts (though I won't quit the nutrition and exercise plan, it'll just change, because I don't want to do this yo-yo thing any more, either).

Until then, though. except for the occasional planned free day, I won't be putting things off until tomorrow. I'll keep eating right today.

Now, for my day's eating and exercise.

Exercise -- I did both weight training and cardio today, although the cardio was a little shorter after having done the weight training.

Cardio
Stationary bike
25 minutes (9 at lvl 5, the rest at lvl 4)
8.5 miles
350 calories

Weight Training
Back and biceps

Seated Row
130 pounds, 1 set for 10 reps
200 pounds, 4 sets, 8 reps each

Lat pulldowns
100 pounds, 1 set x 10 reps
90 pounds, 1 set x 8 reps

Curl-bar curl
40 pounds, 1 set x 10 reps
70 pounds, 3 sets x 8 reps each

Food for the day

Breakfast
Greek Yogurt

Lunch
Bottom round steak, 5 ounces
Mixed veggies, 1 cup

Snack
Banana

Dinner
Boiled chicken -- 6 ouncs
Mixed Veggies -- 1 cup

Second Dinner
Protein Drink

Total for day
Calories 1,026
Fat -- 26 grams
Protein -- 139 grams

Water -- 60 ouncs
Diet soda -- 36 ounces

That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by!