Day 9 -- Too much fat, too little protein...

As you can see from the fact that I'm posting what should be a TUESDAY blog at midnight on Thursday, about to flip over to Friday, I'm running way behind this week -- work, and writing at home, and working out is pushing me further and further behind, it seems.

I also haven't done the best job with my meal planning and eating, you'll see from the food I've eaten these next few days. My overall calorie intake has been okay, but the actual make-up of my calorie break-down has been pretty bad.

So, with that, let me jump right in.

Breakfast

Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites

Ham -- 1 ounce

Lean pork -- 5 ounces

Mixed veggies -- 1/2 cup

Yogurt

Snack

Yogurt

First dinner

Chicken breast -- 6 ounces

Fire roasted tomatoes -- 1/4 cup

Sweet potato -- 5.5 ounces

Second dinner

Some sort of beef/veggie/noodle mixture my wife made -- 1 cup

Snack

Turkey patty (no bun, just the meat)

Mixed veggies -- 1/2 cup

Total for the day

Calories 1,400

Fat -- 69 grams (told you it was high)

Protein -- 104 grams (and that was LOW)

Exercise for the day

Stationary bike

36 minutes

13 miles

565 calories burned

That's about it for a quick rundown of Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by!

Weigh-in Day...Uh Oh....

Well, Day 8 is the first weigh-in day,  my first full week at this.

Remember, I initially tried to start this on Thursday, March 30, when I weighed-in at a nice, rotund 288.6
pounds, but those first four days were a bit of a start-stop-kinda restart experience. So I restarted for good on Monday, April 3. Even with the up-and-down experience of those first four days, I still was down to 282.8 then, with a goal of dropping 11 pounds the first week.

So Monday morning I hopped out of bed, ran to the scales because I was sooooo excited to see the results. Okay, maybe not. Maybe I hit the snooze a couple of times, then gradually crawled from bed, went to the coffee maker and started my morning routine before remembering this was weigh-in day.

I kinda wish I had forgotten, because the results simply weren't what I was hoping for.

My one-week weigh-in? I tipped the scales at 277.6 pounds, far off of my 11-pound goal. I have to say, I was disappointed.

Not crushed, because that was a 5.2-pound loss. And I suppose I should feel pretty good, because if you go back to my original weight, I had dropped 11 pounds in 11 days, and no matter how you slice it, 11 pounds is a decent little start. Heck, the "official" first full week loss of 5.2 pounds is nothing to sneeze at. Still, I was hoping to be about 6 pounds lighter than that.

Boy, that idea of dropping 48 pounds in 60 days might not work out quite as well as I had hoped.

So this week is about analyzing what I did last week, where I may have made mistakes (eating popcorn at midnight two consecutive nights, even if it is "diet" popcorn is probably a good guess for one big mistake).

There's a program called Body For Life that is, in my opinion, one of the most sound, science-backed weight loss and fitness programs out there, developed by a guy named Bill Phillips. One of the things he says regarding weight loss efforts is this: It's about progress, not perfection.

That's what I have to keep in mind now. Last week was far from perfect, but it was progress.

This week? Well, it'll be better. Next week maybe I'll go for perfection!

Anyway, here's what I did on Monday in terms of eating and working out.

Breakfast
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Turkey bacon -- 2 slices
Coffee (with a little Splenda and 1/4 cup almond milk in it)

Lunch
Low fat taco meat -- 5 ounces
Kidney beans -- 1/2 cup
Salsa, lettuce/mixed greens -- 1 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/8 cup
Yogurt

Snack
Greek Yogurt

Dinner (just one today)
Chicken Parmesan, consisting of:
Chicken breast cooked in olive oil -- 6 ounces
Provolone cheese -- 1 slice, diet version
Spaghetti sauce -- 1/2 cup

Snack
Turkey patty
Slider bun
Tomato/ketchup/onion

Totals for the day
1,480 caloris
40 grams of fat
137 grams protein
36 ounces diet soda
80 ounces of water

Okay, the fat's a little high for that amount of calories, and the protein is low again. I guess I'm eating a few too many foods that are high in carbs and low in protein, such as regular yogurt and the bun with the turkey burger. Eliminating those things would definitely drop the carbs and a tiny bit of fat, but I'd need to replace them with something high in protein.I'll watch that in coming days.

For my workout, I did weight lifting, back and biceps today,

Seated Row -- narrow grip
130 pounds -- 10 reps
180 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each
Wide grip
160 pounds -- 3 sets, 10 reps each

Lat pull down
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps

Curl bar curl
40 pounds -- 10 reps
70 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps, 1 set, 6 reps

That back machine
80 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Seated machine ab crunches
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 15 reps each.

Okay folks, that's all for weigh-in day. Thanks for stopping by!

Day 7 Blog -- Eek! Hamburgers are EVIL

It's sooooo innocent looking.

Sitting there, beckoning you. It's almost as if you can hear its sweet, sultry voice, calling your name.

Of course you say no, how could you? You've made a commitment, a promise to change your life, to be different.

Still, it calls.

You step over, examining it. Oh, look, you think, it's lower fat. Surely that's okay, right? And you can grill it, cook away a quarter, or more, of the fat that's there, right?

What his this siren of temptation?

The plain old, juicy American hamburger.

And it is evil, I tell you, evil. 

But first, let's take a look at my Day 7.

Sunday, of course was another weekend day, which meant the schedule of eating and working and all of that was off a bit. What that means is that earlier in the day, I was a little off in my eating, not taking in nearly enough, and I probably more than made up for it later in the day.

Today was also cardio day.

So, here was the line-up

Breakfast
Greek yogurt

Lunch
Last of the grilled chicken -- 4 ounces
Salad of mixed greens and lettuce
Edamame 1/2 cup

Latte (K-cup kind, not tooo many calories)

Hamburger (6 ounces, lower fat beef)
Bun
Cheese
Ketchup/onion/tomato
Mashed potatoes (instant, 3/4 cup)

Snack
Lean pork  -- 2.5 ounces
Mashed potatoes (instant, 1/2 cup

Totals for the day:
Calories: 1,430
Fat: 54 grams
Protein: 104 grams
Diet soda: 36 ounces
Water: 80 ounces

Wow, when totaling that up, I'm really surprise how low I was on protein. My goal is to be in the range of 160 to 200 grams each day. Part of what threw me off today was the weekend schedule thing and not eating every three or so hours.

The other thing was the aforementioned hamburger, that little grilled vixen. Even with low-fat beef, ground beef is a relative high-fat, moderate-protein meat. That hamburger, with the cheese (but it's LOW FAT cheese, so it's okay, right?) and bun, accounted for more than half the fat I had today.A whopping 29.5 grams of fat in one food -- 545 total calories, once  you count the ketchup, onion and tomato (heaven help us if I'd included mayonnaise. But I resisted, even turning away the low-fat mayo).

See, even one meal -- one part of a meal -- can wreak havoc on your weight loss if you're not careful. Of course, because I had been fairly strict all week, it's not like it destroyed my efforts, but it sure didn't help! Good thing I did a little longer cardio today...

For cardio, I did stationary bike.
48 minutes
16 miles
585 calories burned

Day 6 of 60 in 60

Today was Saturday, the first weekend day I've had since starting this little diet and exercise program, which means my whole eating schedule is off from what I'm used to. Still, wasn't a bad day, really.

We also did the weight workout that was scheduled for Friday.

Food
Breakfast
Eggs - 2 whole
Turkey bacon -- 2 slices

Lunch
Protein Drink (made from protein powder, skim milk and a banana)

First Dinner
Chicken breast -- 6 ounces
BBQ dry rub

Second Dinber
Chicken shish kabobs (chicken breast, peppers, squash, onions, marinated in Italian seasoning)
I had a lot of shish kabobs, but there was very, very little on each one. So, overall the breakdown comes out about like this
Chicken breast - 6 ounces
Veggies -- 1 cup
Corn on the cob -- 1 ear
Low-cal butter -- 1 tablespoon

Snack
Latte (one of those k-cup kinds, with no added sugar, cream, none of that stuff)

Snack again
Popcorn (that diet popcorn!) -- 2 bags

Total for the day
Calories: 1,655
Fat: 55 grams
Protein: 135 calories

Well, way too high on the fat, mostly because of the oil used to marinate the kaboobs. Next time, need to go with reduced fat.

Workout
Weights

Bench press
135 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
185 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps
225 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
205 pounds -- 1 set, 20 reps

Incline bench press
115 pounds -- 1 set, 12 reps
115 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Machine, seated chest flyes
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 12 reps each

Shoulders
Seated barbell press
65 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
95 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Front dumbbell raise
30/25 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps, split 5 and 5 with the weights
25 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Standing dumbbell side raises
15 pounds -- 1 set, 15 reps (I have to use light weights here because of my forearm/grip. that's why I often do these with the machine, so my grip doesn't come into play)

Shoulder shrugs
90 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Triceps
Seated overhead dumbbell extension
60 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps

Seated triceps machine pressdown
245 pounds -- 2 sets, 115 reps each

Abs
Machine crunch
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 15 reps each

Day 4 of 60 in 60: Still at it, even if my blogging is waaaay behind...

Yep, I'm still hard at it, trying to drop that fat weight, I'm just running waaaaaay short on blogging time. So, here's the scoop, I'm going to post three quickie blogs, not making any comments or sharing any of my witty jokes or life observations (well, maybe a few), just to catch you up to what's been going on.

So, without further adieu, here's Day 4, Thursday, April 6.

Today was cardio day. So here's my food, followed by my exercise.

Breakfast
Eggs -- 2 whole ones
Lean ham -- 1.5 ounces

Lunch
Some of that taco-style mix my wife made last night, which consists of:
Lean ground beef - 5 ounces
Kidney beans -- 1/2 cup
Salsa, salad (mixed greens and lettuce)
Mozzarella cheese - 1/8 cup

Snack
Low fat cottage cheese -- 2/3 cup
Pineapple -- 2/3 cup

First dinner/Lean pork -- 7.5 ounces
Carrots -- raw baby carrots

Second dinner
Grilled chicken
Salad (mixed greens, lettuce, tomato)
Black beans -- 1/4 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/8 cup

Snack
Baked baby red potatoes cooked in olive oil

Totals for the day
1,535 calories
48 grams of fat
163 grams protein

Diet soda -- 48 ounces
Water -- 70 ounces

Workout -- Cardio
Stationary bike
38 minutes
12.5 miles
460 calories

Day 3 of 60 in 60...or something like that

Wow, I keep getting later and later with my posts. Today is actually day 4, and we're more than halfway through the day and I'm just now getting around to posting Day 3 results.

Maybe...just maybe I'll get this all caught up this weekend. For now, though....

Today would have been the end of week 1, had I remained with our original plan of starting March 30. Of course, those of you who are regular readers will recall beginning Friday night, the weekend wasn't the best of times -- at least when it comes to healthy eating and trying to lose weight.

I weighed in at 288.6 pounds that day, with a goal of dropping 11 pounds within the first week. Truth be told, even with the bad Saturday and Sunday (and Friday night), I may have come close to this anyway of we were counting this as the first full week.

But, we're not. I started over on Monday of this week -- three days ago -- at 283.8 pounds, but my goals remain the same: 11 pounds the first week, 27 pounds the first month. So, I'm looking to be at 272.8 by this coming Monday.

Toward that end, I'm still staying strict on the healthy eating and exercising. Here's how yesterday, Wednesday, Day 3, went, for both my eating and my exercise.

Breakfast
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 2 ounces

Lunch
Lean center pork -- 5 ounces
Baked sweet potato -- 6 ounces

Snack
Greek Yogurt (fat free, sugar free)
Banana

First dinner
Grilled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Black beans -- 1/8 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/8 cup
All mixed up with a bowl full of mixed lettuces and greens

Second dinner (plus late snack. I just ate the same stuff, spread out over a few hours, so it's all totaled as one meal)
Lean ground beef -- 8 ounces
Kidney beans -- 1/3 cup
Salsa -- 1/3 cup
Lettuce/greens -- 1 cup
Soft tortilla taco boats (that's what they're called on the box) -- 4 of them

My totals for the day:
1,530 calories
36 grams of fat
141 grams of protein
Water = 80 ounces
Diet soda = 48 ounces

Again, high on the diet soda, but getting better on the water intake. Protein was a little light. The fat grams aren't bad, especially when you consider 5 grams was olive oil, a healthy fat your body actually needs.

Now, for the workout. Wednesday was back and biceps days.

Back
Seated row (narrow grip)
130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
180 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each
(wide grip)
160 pounds -- 2 sets, 10  reps each

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

Screwy little back machine (I have no idea what it's really called -- you slide in it, seated, but you really have to scrunch in and your stomach is nearly on your thighs, then you push back all the way back until you're almost in a prone, lying position. Works the lower back, thus from henceforth in this blog it shall be known as the lower back machine).
65 pounds, 2 sets of 10

Biceps (I'm limited here because of some forearm pain I've hard periodically since doing something to it a few years ago)
Dumbbell curls
25 pounds
2 sets, 10 reps each

Preacher curls
40 pounds
2 sets, 10 reps each

Seated machine ab crunch
100 pounds
1 set, 15 reps
1 set, 12 reps

Well, that was about all for yesterday folks. If you have any questions, comments, or better yet the key to dropping 60 pounds really, really fast, drop me a line down in the comment section!

Day 2 of 60 in 60

Okay, the not-quite-as-late Day 2 blog is here!

As you know, if you've read any of my other blogs, I have a history of being able to lose weight relatively easily, once I get started on a healthy eating and exercising plan. The main problem, of course, has always been I never finish the program out to my goal, and then I gain so much back.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me, however, is how fast eating clean can make a difference in how I feel. Counting last week's false start, I've had two pretty clean days (Thursday and Friday), followed by two regular days (Saturday and Sunday) followed by two more clean days (yesterday and today).

Already I feel the difference. I don't mean I'm ready to go out and run a marathon, but just the simple act of eating clean makes such a difference in how your body works, which in turns controls how you feel.

How in the world do I ever let myself get into those little streaks of eating bad, overeating? And how did I let that go on for so many years? Of course, next month when two of my kids have birthdays, I may be looking at that cake and ice cream and say "heck with how I feel, I WANT SOME."

We'll see.

For now, things are going well. Today was one of my busier days at work -- Tuesday always is. We have a weekly then two sections for the daily stacked on top of each other during the day, so it's truly run as hard as you can go from the moment I arrive until I leave. Actually, more than that -- I usually log on early early morning and get a few things done from the house before heading in.

But, I did manage to stay on the eating plan and get 32 minutes of cardio tonight. Here's the breakdown of what I've had today:

Breakfast
Eggs -- two whole
Lean ham -- 1-1/2 ounce

Lunch
Grilled chicken breast (olive oil marinade) -- 6 ounces
Black beans (1/8 cup)
Mozzarella cheese (1/4 cup)
1-1/2 cup of mixed lettuce and greens

Fat free Greek Yogurt

Snack
1/2 stuff zuchinni from last night's dinner
Banana

First Dinner
Lean roast pork -- 5 ounces
Baked sweet potato -- 5 ounces

Second dinner
Chicken breast with BBQ rub -- 6 ounces
Regular baked potato-- 6 ounces
that lower-calorie so called diet butter -- 1-1/2 tablespoon

Snack
Chicken breast with BBQ -- 3 ounces
Instant mashed potatoes (1/2 cup)


Totals for the day
1,820 calories
48 grams fat
187 grams protein
Water -- 75 ounces
Diet soda -- 60 ounces (yeah, that's bad)

Okay, I was a little high on the fat today, primarily because of the lower-calorie "diet" butter. That alone was 8 grams of fat and 72 total calories. I probably should have skipped the mashed potatoes as a snack, too, which was a whopping 120 calories. I could have traded the potatoes for another 3 ounces of the chicken, gotten better nutrition and saved 30 calories. That and the butter-thing are two small poor choices that really add up!

Exercise:
Cardio, stationary bike.
32 minutes, levels 3-4 at various times, 11 miles covered, 385 calories burned.

Well, thanks for stopping by. Come on back for my next blog, I'll tell you how much I weighed on Wednesday morning, after two days (I know, you're not supposed to weigh-in like that, but I did!)..

Day 1A -- 60 in 60

That's right, since I had a bit of a false start with the original Day 1, this will be day 1A.

Of course, even this is late. I usually try to do my blog at the end of the day, late at night, but was simply too tired last night. So, you get the LATE Day 1A blog. Since it's late, I'll be quick and to the point.

Monday I did weight training for the workout, and did okay on the eating. Perhaps even came in too low there. And remember, many days I'm going to spell out exactly what I do, exercise wise, as well as what I eat. I figure if anyone wants to give this a try, this can be a bit of a model to follow (though if you're not used to working out, you might want to go easier on the weights at first).

Also, I'll share some good, tasty, healthy recipes along the way!

Here's my workout for the day (Monday)

Weights (Chest, shoulders, triceps)

Bench Press
135 pounds -- 10 reps
165 ponds -- 8 reps
195 pounds -- 8 reps
225 pounds -- 6 reps
195 -- 8 reps

Incline Bench
115 pounds -- 15 reps
100 pounds -- 12 reps

Seated flyes (machine)
95 pounds -- 2 sets, 12 reps each

Shoulders
Seated rear shoulder flyes (machine)
120 pounds -- 2 sets, 15 reps each

Seated side raises (machine)
85 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each.

Triceps
Cable press-down
130 pounds -- 15 reps
130 pounds -- 12 reps
130 pounds -- 10 reps

Weighted, seated crunch (machine)
95 pounds -- 15 reps
95 pounds -- 12 reps

That's it for the first day. You'll notice I do some work with machines. I prefer free weights, but the machines sometimes offer two advantages. First, I've got a bit of a forearm issue from an injury a couple of years ago, and if I put too much stress on it (such as doing standing flyes with dumbbells), I can find myself out of workouts for a week or two.

Second, they can offer a little bit of a cardio effect. Last night I was working out with my youngest son (usually both of my sons work out with me, but the older one was working). So during the shoulder portion of the workout, we each took a machine, did a set, then switched and did a set of the next exercise, then the next, then the next, with no rest breaks in between. Same with the triceps and ab work. That's hard to do with free weights because you have to change weights on the bar, which gives you a bit of a rest time. With machines, you just pull a pin out and slip it back it on the weight pack and you keep on moving.

We also probably went a little light on the shoulders. I wanted to do some overhead presses, but some older guy was more or less camping on the over head press machine (By that, I mean he would do a set, then just sit there for four or five minutes, like it was his living room sofa, before doing another set, then just sitting there. Man, do the work and move on!) We could have done presses with the barbell, but we were running a bit behind, so we just skipped it.

As for the eating? Here's how the day played out.

Breakfast
2 whole eggs
2 ounces lean ham

Lunch
Check breast, grilled, with some spicy coating -- 6 ounces
Black beans -- 1/4 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/8 cup
Mixed lettuce/greens salad

Snack
Greek Yogurt (light, fat free)

First dinner
Lean Pork (grilled, light olive oil-based marinade) -- 5 ounces
Mixed veggies -- 1-1/2 cup

Second dinner
Stuffed zucchini (recipe below)

Snack
Baked tilapia -- 5.5 ounces

Totals
1,240 calories
38 grams fat
163 grams protein
Water -- 60 ounces
Diet soda -- 48 ounces

Well, clearly I need to up the water and cut back on the diet soda. Otherwise, I was a little low on total calories and protein for the day. I had intended to also have oatmeal at breakfast but ran out of time, a banana with my yogurt for the afternoon snack but wasn't that hungry, and I had intended to eat the fish, along with a sweet potato, for dinner. Unfortunately, I was running late from work when I got home and we went to the gym, so when I returned home I was too hungry to wait for it to cook, so I just had the stuffed zucchini for dinner, the fish for snack, and no sweet potato.

Oh, well, the diet's a work in progress.

Here's the recipe for stuff zucchini:

A zucchini cut in half length-wise, hollowed out, then stuffed with a mixture of 1-1/4 ounce lean ground beef, tablespoon of tomato sauce, tablespoon of spaghetti , a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese, all baked in the oven).

Well, I'm off, flying into Day 2A. Thanks for stopping by, come on back tonight to see how the day goes.

60 in 60 April Fool's!

Those of you reading this blog may remember last week, I think it was Thursday, I started a little program called 60 in 60, which was really about dropping 48 pounds in 60 days.

Well, APRIL FOOL's -- I really wasn't starting Thursday. I'm starting today.

Okay, that's not entirely accurate. I did start Thursday, just as I outlined in that day's blog. And Friday was going along just fine and dandy, I had eaten healthy all day and arrived home Friday evening ready to head to the gym and that's when I saw our driveway was full of cars.

Seems we had a visitor. A young man who's a close friend with most of my kids, who's in the Army, was home for a short leave. My sons wanted to put off our workout until Saturday, so they could hang around with him, and by the time all was said and done we took the crew out for a late Mexican dinner.

So much for the diet or the workout, right?

Then Saturday morning I realized we were really, really low on groceries. Never start a new eating plan the day before grocery day.

So, I just scrapped the whole thing and decided to OFFICIALLY start the 60 in 60 today, Monday, April 3 (although we did get a good weight workout on Saturday anyway).

Now, I realize, especially given my track record of, shall we say, less than stellar success at this weight loss and fitness thing, this is not an auspices start to my 60-in-60 program.

But, today I'm back on the eating plan, with a date at the gym tonight. And, I did lose a few pounds over the past four days anyway, though we're not going to count those. We'll start today, with a new weight in of 282.8.

So, my first goal here is to come in at 271.8 a week from now, and overall to come in at 234.8 within 60 days.

Starting TODAY (really, truly, the real deal this time, I mean it...)

Ready, set, GO! Day 1 of 60 in 60...

My scales on Day 1, this morning.

Well, day one of my 60 in 60 program is coming to a close, so I figured I'd log on an let you all know
how it's going.

First, I know, I know, I said my goal is 48 pounds in 60 days, and that remains the plan. But you gotta admit, 60 in 60 sounds better than 48 in 60. Right?

Okay, I started out day 1 with measurements, to see just where I am, and I'm telling you it's bad. I tipped the scales this morning at 288.6 pounds.

Wow.

And I'm not about to tell you the rest of the measurements. Later, after I've lost a bunch of inches, we'll revisit what day 1 was. For now, I'm targeting 11 pounds in seven days. That's all that matters -- 11 pounds the first week.

The way I'll do this is I'll go through my day's eating, give totals for calories and certain micro-nutrient counts, then I'll give you the scoop on my exercise for the day.

This is Day 1, and I'm still feeling my way through this some. After completing the day, I realize my fat content is high, though the total calories aren't so bad. Still, that's something to work on.

Here's how my day went in terms of nutrition.

Breakfast
2 whole eggs
1.7 ounces lean ham

Lunch
Boiled chicken breast, 6 ounces
3/4 serving whole wheat penne noodles
3/4 cup mixed veggies
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce.

Snack 1
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup canned pineapple

Snack 2
Fat free Greek yogurt

First Dinner
5 ounces ground chicken
3/4 cup mixed veggies, onions, papers

Second dinner
Two hamburgers (low-fat meat, 2.5 ounces each)
Two whole wheat buns
Super-thin cheddar cheese on the buns, along with tomato slices

Totals for the day
1,640 calories (not bad)
52 grams fat (kinda bad)
170 grams protein (okay)
Diet soda -- 48 ounces
Water -- 54 ounces

Okay, not a bad first day. More than half my fat came at second dinner. I had planned on a lower-fat meal, but when I returned home from the gym my wife had already cook the burgers on the grill, and they were made with low-fat ground beef, so I went ahead and ate them.

Tomorrow I'll do better.

As for the exercise, this was a cardio day. I'm not that big of a cardio fan, and you have to realize I'm starting from ground zero here with cardio -- I haven't done any real cardio in close to a year, so this will be pathetic, at least in the beginning. I enjoy the weight training days, and even through my fatdom, I've been doing a bit of weight work here and there with my sons, so I'm not actually starting as a beginner there.

Anyway, for today's workout:

Stationary bike (levels 3 and 4)
32 minutes
10 miles
365 calories burned.

I'm feeling pretty good right now. It's late -- nearly 11 -- and I have about an hour's worth of proofreading to do on a novel. Actually, a lot more than that, but that's all I'm going to get done tonight.

Any questions or comments, please feel free to post them here and I'll answer.

Thanks for stopping by.

60 pounds in 60 days?

Yep, that's what I've been looking for -- the perfect diet and exercise program, the one that has the weight just melting off of you.

It's out there, right? Every yahoo who's read a nutrition article or taken an exercise class thinks they have the perfect plan, it can't be hard to find, right?

Okay folks, I'll admit, my idea of a 60-pounds in
 60-days plan may be just a taaaad extreme.

Sorry folks, it ain't out there. I've searched high and low, Googled, Yahooed, WedMDed, I even Binged (we'll keep that just between the two of us, okay?). I've checked out bodybuilding sites, running sites, diet plans. I even made a visit to Oz (the doctor and the wizard),

Best I can find are a few plans that promise 8 pounds in two weeks! Up to 20 pounds in two months!
Up to two dress sizes in two weeks! (Um, not that I'm into, you know, dressing in dresses -- though, if it would get me 60 pounds of fat loss in two months I'd be tempted to slap that thing on and just call it a full-body kilt).

Of course, I knew going in there's no such thing as a 60-pound in 60-day plan. So I'm going to put together my own nutrition and exercise plan, with the goal of dropping 48 pounds in 60 days. Not exactly 60 pounds, but still -- 48, that's a HUGE challenge, you have to give me that.

Think I can do it? One of my kids has already weighed in saying no. We'll see.

Here are my weekly/monthly goals.

Week 1 -- lose 11 pounds
Week 2 -- drop 5 pounds
Week 3 -- drop 5 pounds
Week 4 -- lose 5 pounds
That leaves me two more days until a full 30 days are up, and I'll drop one more pound those days, for a grand total of 27 pounds the first month.

We'll take a look at setting weekly goals for the second month at that time.

Here are the ground rules I'll go by:

1. No drugs or supplements that screw around with your metabolic rate, heart rate, or anything like that. The ONLY supplements I may take will be protein powders/drinks, possibly some fish oil for achy joints, and maybe a few vitamins, though that would be a first for me, and a potassium supplement. The potassium is probably a must -- I've been down the road of severely low potassium levels before, and believe me it ain't pleasant (and it's far worse than a few cramping calves).

2. No days below 1,000 calories, and probably none below 1,200 calories.

3. Hold or increase strength over the two months.This is a key -- I want to exercise and eat in a manner that retains, or increases, lean body mass and strength. The weight loss has to be all fat!

Well, that's about it. All-natural, no ultra-starvation diets. Other than that, I'm pretty much anything goes.

I've already got a pretty good idea of what I'll be doing -- high protein with lots of lean meat, moderate carbs with lots of veggies, and low- to moderate fat, spread over five or six meals a day. Combine that with lots of water intake, three to four cardio sessions a week and three weight training sessions and it ought to be simple, right?

We'll see.

Anyway, that's the plan. Tomorrow morning -- Thursday. March 30 -- I'll do the official weigh-in and measurements. Every day, as I have time, I'll blog, telling you about the day, outlining what I ate for the day, what exercises I did that day, maybe tell you a little bit about what's going on at work, with my kids, my writing, whatever.

And each week, on Thursday, I'll weigh in and report the results.

Of course, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop them off here and I'll respond. Heck, go head and put in the comments whether you think I'm crazy or not....go ahead....

Ready?

Let's roll!

Uh oh...now life gets serious...

Hey folks, it's me...the fat boy who WAS going to lose all kinds of weight and get fit.

Remember?

If not, just scroll through my old blog postings, where I chronicled my amazing journey to weight loss, fitness....and failure.

A quick refresher.

I started last year, I think around the first of March, with the goal of losing 100 pounds. That's a lot, but I weighed in that day at 279 -- and I'm only 5'10". Heck, even at 179, I'd still weigh almost 30 pounds more than I did at my old high school graduation (more on that later).

Of course, I'm cursed with being the King of Yo-Yo dieting. If you look up that phrase in the dictionary, you may very well see my picture. It's nothing for me to drop 15-20 pounds in a month, only to gain it back the next month, and then some.

But 2016 was going to be different! First, I had never weighed that much, and something just had to give. I felt bad all the time, my blood pressure was through the roof, and it was just no fun being that big.

Second, I was going to do this handy dandy little blog, chronicling my efforts -- no, my success -- along the way. What was even cooler was getting a few tweets and comments from Mark Webster. Those of you who read my blog regularly back then (my sisters, my children, once or twice my wife) remember him as the Dude Who Ate (And Worked Out) Like The Rock For 30 Days.

So I was set, inspired, and rolling -- dropping 45 pounds in 60 days. And then...nothing.

No, worse than nothing. I started the ever-dreadful regain of the weight. I made a couple of half-hearted attempts at getting back on it, but I just got lazy, started eating bad, quit working out, and not only did I regain every single pound but...yes, you know what's coming ...I gained EVEN MORE. A few weeks ago I topped out at 298 pounds, if you can believe that.

Thiiiiissssss close to 300.

I've dropped off some since then, seemed to have settled around 285 pounds, but wowzers, that's just too much weight. Still, I haven't managed to get myself to any kind of consistent healthy eating plan, I'm not doing any cardio, though I have been hitting the weights some.

But then it happened. The notice that changed everything.

I discovered vanity.

Okay, let me explain. This morning, I received a FB message from an old friend from high school, a guy I graduated with. It was a group message, with a handful of us on it. Seems my alma mater -- Roanoke Valley Christian School -- will be marking 40 years since its first graduating class.

Let me take a moment to emphasize this is NOT 40 years since I graduate, but 40 years since the school held its first-ever graduation. We don't want any misunderstandings here.

Anyway, this friend, who I shall call...I don't know, maybe "Lewis," was asking out help in collecting the whereabouts of old RVCS alum, and in the course of the group message -- which kept growing during the day as we found more of us on FB -- someone suggested we have a reunion of our graduating class.

Well, that seems like a swell idea. Other than a dozen or so of us getting together a year or so after we graduated, we haven't had any kind of get together. Being a rather small group -- our class only had 25 students -- we were fairly tight-knit at the time, though we drifted apart relatively quickly.

Then it dawned on me -- no one will recognize me because there are freaking TWO of me now. I mean, I'm nearly twice as large as one my graduation day, when I came in at a svelte 150 pounds.

Given that the school's graduation is June 2, and any reunion we have would probably be around that date, I am in full panic mode! This is, after all, March 27. That's only 66 days away.

You better believe, I've spent my spare time today hopping around the net, looking for the miracle fitness plans that melt 80 pounds in 60 days. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'd still need to drop another 20 to 30 pounds, but hey, let's not go overboard -- 100 pounds in 60 days might be just a tad unreasonable.

So, my search for the 80-pound-loss-in-60-day plan took me to...well, it's late, this has gone on really long, so check back with me tomorrow when I share the miracle plan I found.

See ya then, and thanks for checking in after all these months...

Hmmm...nothing clever for a headline today, but I'm still at it!

Yes, I made it to the end of Day 2 of my return to the healthy eating and weight loss.

But it's late, I'm tired, so I don't have a lot to say today, other than I'm on my way to 199!

Now, for my day:

Exercise
Cardio
Stationary bike
47 minutes
16 miles
575 calories

Food for the day

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

Lunch
Ground Turkey -- 3.5. ounces
Rice -- 1/4 cup (nothing magic about a quarter-cup, other than that's all that was left)
Mixed veggies -- 1/2 cup
Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Snack
Blueberries -- 1/2. cup
Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Dinner
Ground Turkey -- 4 ounces
Mixed veggies -- 1/2 cup

Chicken -- 3 ounces (just a little snack)

Lean turkey patty
Sweet potato -- 5.5. ounces
Diet butter

Totals for the day
1,420 calories
55 grams fat
128 grams protein

Water -- 70 ounces
Diet soda -- 24 ounces

A Lost Month? Maybe...

Well folks, it's been a while since I wrote, and things haven't been going nearly as well as when I was writing every day.

I don't mean to suggest I've dropped off this fitness plan entirely, but I've been far from consistent over the past month, especially with the eating.

For a quick recap, on May 11 I weighed 238.2 pounds. Now, for a guy my height -- 5'10" -- with a generally medium-sized build, that's way, way, way overweight. However, it represented a 41-pound loss in just 9 weeks (well, okay, 9 weeks and 2 days). I recently went to see my doctor and she was amazed (my normal disclaimer goes here: for my family, who believe every time I mention the word "doctor" I must be suffering from a dozen different diseases and be on the list for a quadruple organ transplant, this was a regularly scheduled check-up).

Heck, the nurse kept asking me question after question after question about my eating, my exercise -- not out of professional curiosity either, she simply said whatever I was doing, she needed to do as well.

Over these past four weeks, though, I've not been eating terribly healthy, at least not with any consistency. I've fallen back into my old habits of eating badly for a few days, or eating healthy at work then eating bad at night. I went two weeks between cardio sessions at one point.

The long and short of it is I've gained back a bit of weight. I stepped on the scales this morning and was surprised at how much I'd put back on -- I weight 250.2 pounds. Yep, I've gained 12 pounds in four-and-a-half weeks.

Remember all those times I said I was the king of yo-yo dieting? THIS is what I was talking about. It's just so easy to fall back into old habits, and those old habits don't take long to wreck everything.

What frustrates me most is not just the fact that I'm 12 pounds heavier, but I'm 20 pounds heavier than I could have been at this point. Maybe more.

If I had just stayed the course, even with an off day every week, at the rate I was going I think it's safe to assume I would have continued losing 2 pounds a week or so, maybe more. It's not unreasonable to think I could be sitting here talking about being 230, 228, even 226 pounds at this point, That's still a fair bit off my goal of 199, but at that point it's within sight -- almost within reach.

Instead, I've still got 51 pounds to go. Heck, I'm closer to where I started (279 pounds) than my goal.

The news isn't all dire. I did get back in the gym last week for three full weight workouts, and two cardio sessions on Thursday and Friday. I played a little basketball yesterday and felt pretty good. Heck, I even managed a nice little acrobatic lawnmower maneuver yesterday that would put some Cirque Du Soleil performers to shame (and I discovered my mower turns a lot faster on sharp corners than I had anticipated). None of which I could have done three months ago.

So it's not as if I've fallen all the way back to where I started.

But I could, easily enough, I suppose, though that might be harder this time. I've said before one of the things that inspired me to do this blog as I make another attempt at losing weight and getting in shape was the Dude Who Ate Like The Rock for a month, Mark Webster. I thought it would be kind of fun to chronicle my successes -- and failures -- along the way.

I also thought that if I put this out there, writing most every day, it would be more difficult to fail because people would know who I am, know what I was doing, and know if I fell short. You know, it's not the failure that bothers us sometimes, but the idea that everyone knows we failed is most troublesome.

And guess what? It's kind of worked. Over the past week I think I've had about a dozen people who asked me what was up, what was happening, why haven't I been blogging. Even Mark, The Dude, sent me a tweet to check on how I was doing. The director of our gym, who follows my blog, ran into me the other day and asked. One of my sisters called me to see what was up with the missing blog. Several others, most of whom only know me from this blog, have done the same.

So, you know, if I'm not going to have to look down in shame every time I see these people, it's time to get back to it, which I started today. I've finally made it all the way through a whole day on my healthy eating plan, and I think one good, solid day will get me back on track. Now my goal is to see how fast I can get back to where I was at 238, and then charge on back toward my original goal.

Can I get back to that 238 in a week? Two?

We'll see.

But for now, here's what I did today.

Workout
(No cardio -- back's still a little sore from the lawnmower acrobatics)

Chest/shoulders/triceps

Chest
Dumbbell Bench Press
60 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
85 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Flat Bench Barbell Bench Press
185 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
195 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps (If we'd known the bench was going to be open so soon, we wouldn't have done the dumbbells).

Incline Barbell Bench Press
105 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
115 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Flat bench dumbbell flys
40 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps

Shoulders
Seated Barbell Shoulder Press
95 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
105 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Machine rear delt flyes
125 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Machine seated side raises
110 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Triceps
Tricep cable pressdown
150 pounds -- 1 set, 12 reps
140 pounds -- 1 set, 12 reps

Seated Tricep Machine Dips
255 pounds -- 1 set, 15 reps

Machine Crunches
110 pounds -- 1 set, 20 reps

Eating for the day

Breakfast
Eggs -- 1 whole jumbo, 2 regular whites
Lean ham -- 1 ounce
1/2 cup blueberries

Lunch
Boiled chicken breast -- 4.5 ounces
Rice -- 1/2 cup
Mixed Veggies -- 1/2 cup
Sesame Seed Oil -- 1 teaspoon
Reduced Sodium Soy -- 1 tablespoon
Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Snack
1 cup red grapes

First dinner
Boiled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Rice -- 1./2 cup
Mixed Veggies -- 1/2 cup
Sesame Seed Oil -- 1 teaspoon
Reduced Sodium Soy -- 1 tablespoon

Second Dinner
Lean ground turkey -- 4 ounces
Mixed veggies -- 1 cup

Snack
Raisin Bran -- 1 cup
Almond Milk (unsweetened) -- 3/4 cup

Totals for the day
1,380 calories
40 grams fat
132 grams protein

Water -- 74 ounces
Diet soda -- 24 ounces

That's it for the day! Thanks for stopping by, and I'll be back to this every day for a while now, so come on back!

I'm Still Around, Working Harder Than Ever...

Okay, that headline might be a slight exaggeration, but I AM still around, and still pursuing my weight loss and fitness goals.

I just took a little detour over the past week or so.

Of course, some of it was planned. I workout at the Carroll Wellness Center, and they were closed last week because of some rather significant upgrades the facility folks were making there. Virtually all of the cardio equipment has been replaced with nice, new, sleek-looking machines; the broken dumbbells and weights have been replaced, and we even have some new benches and other material.

Along the way, the folks there put in new flooring and painted the walls -- it's actually looking pretty slick looking in there, almost like being at a whole new gym.

Of course, that mean no working out last week. I did take a couple of shortish walks (20 minutes) and did a little bit of stationary biking one night with an old bike I had set up on a stand to keep it from taking off, but mostly last week was simply no exercise.

And since I wasn't working out, I might not have eaten as healthy as I should have.

I don't want anything to think I just lost it and ate a dozen tacos and a pound of hot wings every night. Most days last week I actually ate like I was still on the weight-loss plan during the day, and went off at night. Still, as much as I hate to admit it, I believe I picked up a few pounds last week. I was actually afraid to step on the scale this morning when I went back to the fitness plan fulltime.

Maybe I'll weigh myself tomorrow, I don't know.

Anyway, I'm back, full force, ready to spend the next 10 to 12 weeks seeing how close I can come to finishing off my goal of dropping 80 pounds. Even a week off isn't going to derail this -- I've come too far, and worked too hard, to fall completely off the wagon.

So today I was back, fully, and other than a birthday dinner coming up on Friday, I don't know that I'll be off the eating plan more than a couple or three times over the next couple of months.

So, here's the school on my day today -- because I haven't worked out in more than a week, I did take it easy, doing lighter weight and, in some cases, fewer sets. I'll be back to the my previous levels within a week or so.

Workout -- Chest, shoulders and triceps

Chest
Barbell bench press
135 pounds -- 10 reps
185 pounds -- 8 reps
205 pounds -- 8 reps
195 pounds -- 8 reps

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
60 pound dumbbells -- 2 sets, 1 at 12 reps, 1 at 10 reps

Shoulders
Seated Barbell Overhead press
95 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Seated machine side raises
95 pounds -- 2 sets, 12 reps each

Seated machine rear delt flyes
125 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Triceps
Seated Dumbbell Overhead Extension
60 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Machine Triceps Dip
255 pounds -- 1 set, 15 reps

Abs
Seated Machine Crunch
110 pounds -- 2 sets, 15 reps each

Food for the day
Coffee
Breakfast
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 1 ounce

Lunch
Whole Wheat Noodles -- 3.2 ounces
Boiled Chicken Breast -- 4 ounces
Mixed veggies -- 2/3 cup
Sesame Oil -- 1 teaspoon
Soy sauce -- 1 tablespoon

Snack
Seasoned Chicken Breast -- 4 ounces
Mixed greens salad
Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Dinner
Chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Sandwich bun
Cheddar Cheese -- 3/4 serving

Totals for the day
1,085 calories
27 grams fat
119 grams protein

Water -- 68 ounces
Diet soda -- 34 ounces

Wow, I haven't eaten much today, and I'm still hungry. I might have a little late-night snack before bed. If I do, I'll update everything.

Thanks for stopping by!

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!