Close, But No Cigar.

Well, my goal was to hit 329 by tomorrow morning, and I'm not going to do it.

That said, my weigh-in this morning did get me down to 332.0, meaning I've lost 15 pounds since I really started keeping track on November 23rd. That's nothing to sneeze at, friends. Losing 15 pounds in a little over 5 weeks puts me at just under a three pounds-per-week average. To be exact, I've been losing 2.53 pounds per week since the day after Thanksgiving.

That puts me on track to hit my goal weight of 260 by the 4th of July holiday. I can deal with stretching things out a couple of weeks.

I'll also be adding in cardio soon - something I should have done much earlier. According to a recent Men's Health article that I read, eating at a defecit of 1,000 calories per day and adding in 3-5 regular work-outs each week will likely result in a healthy 3 pound-per-week weight loss. So, that's what I'm aiming for.

The official weigh-in is tomorrow morning. The new blog name will rely on what my new 5-day weight average is. I'd love to see 331.4 so I can round down to "The 71", but we'll likely end up with "The 72". Either way, at least it's not still "The 100."

Slow but sure, people.

I Feel Good - Dunnuh Nunnuh Nunnuh Nuh

With all apologies to the late James Brown, I do, in fact, feel good this morning. I've been eating great all week, working out in some way shape or form every day, and seeing the weight loss.

If you notice my sidebar, my current weight is now down to 333.4. That's down roughly seven pounds since mid-December. Come Monday, I'm hoping that number is a bit lower. I'd like to see it at 330, though I'm not counting on that one. Still, even if I can get it down to 331 or so, I'd be pretty happy.

Hey, Billy. The biggest amount of change has come in the last 3-4 days since I picked my calorie intake up a little bit. Kudos for the encouragement.

Our next round of shirtless pictures is set for January 6th, and Beck and I are both kind of curious to see what changes (if any) are there.

We are both working hard, eating right, and staying true to the cause. While we don't NEED to see a big change next week, it sure wouldn't hurt to keep us motivated. On the flip side, if we don't see any visable changes, it'll be a blow to our determintation. Let's hope we don't have to worry about that.

If I don't post over the weekend, Happy New Year, everybody!

A Couple Things

> The calorie issue.

For those of you concerned about my caloric intake, allow me to explain. I eat when I'm hungry. Those days when I get hungry, I end up with an intake in the mid 2,000's. I just cannot get myself to eat when I'm not hungry, though. It feels wrong. If I can eat 1,800 calories and not feel the least bit hungry, should I force myself to eat more? Isn't that how I got here in the first place - eating when I didn't need to eat?

As an example, I TRIED to eat more yesterday. My goal was to get to at least 2,200. I had two lean turkey sandwhiches on whole wheat for lunch. I had 3 Zone bars as snacks throughout the day. We went to Applebee's last night, and I ate shrimp and steak teriyaki skewers over rice pilaf, and I had a tall glass of milk. I barely scratched 1,800 calories.

What am I missing here? I understand the "eat less more often" thing, but I'm already eating less. I'm just not hungry during the day.

Input?

> Shift.

This thing that we're going through is a life transformation. First, we had to shift our minds - change our way of thinking about food and health, in general. Now, we're shifting our bodies. Slowly we're seeing the weight drop as we workout more, eat better, and stay active. By doing both of those things, we're shifting our lives. We're becoming healthier, happier and more energized.

It's this thinking that has led me to start ShiftHF.com. Shift will be a health and fitness web site focusing on helping others shift their minds, thier bodies and their lives, just like we're doing. There will be three blogs covering weight loss, strength training, and general fitness. There will be weekly workout tips, a fact and fiction section, links to other great stories and recources, and a forum where weight loseres and weight lifters alike can talk, share ideas and techniques, and so on.

I'll keep you updated on the progress of the site. And if any of you would like to get involved, I'll do all I can to find a place for you. That includes marketing, writing, forum moderation - anything you can do to help the site grow. Just let me know.

In all honesty, I'd love to actually put some muscle behind this site and get it to grow. If any of you have abilities, talents or experience that could help the site blow up, I'd love to talk to you.

Plugging Away

I think I'm liking this new weigh-in method that I stole from Billy. Seeing how fat I am everyday - on paper - seems to make it more real to me. After my Christmas eat-fest upped me a pound, it kind of hurt to put it down on record. Worse than it hurts to just see it on the scale. Likewise, being able to enter your weight when it drops makes it feel that much better.

I had a great eating day yesterday, though I didn't work out. Still, I got on the scale this morning and I tipped the thing at 334 - the lightest I've been through this entire process, as well as over the last four years.

I don't think there's any chance I get to 330 by Monday morning, but I guess you never know. I'm aiming for 1,750 - 2,000 calories each day, and I want to get three total body workouts in between now and Sunday night. If I can do that, I guess anything is possible.

Also, I'll be adding my measurements to my sidebar later today. We bought a cloth tape measure and wrapped it around all of our goodies last week, so I suppose it would be beneficial if I actually shared that with all of you.

To my F.A.T. members - keep it up. No quitting, and no getting down over a couple of bad days. I'm not doing this without you.

I'm Back. Merry Christmas Dinner.

OK, I've been gone for a few days, and there are two reasons for that.

1. There hasn't been much going on. Between the blizzard, family get togethers, last-minute shopping, and so on, there hasn't been much worth writing about.

2. I decided I was going to enjoy Christmas - food and all. No point in sharing what horrible things I've done with all (4) of my faithful readers.

The good news is that I still made out OK over the last two days. With the exception of a few pieces of boxed chocolate on Sunday, I'm pretty sure I stayed under my 3,500 calorie maintenance level. Monday, that changed. I won't go into detail, but I ate a lot of food. Not much (though some) of it was good for me.

As I weighed myself this morning, I expected horrible things. But what I got wasn't all that bad - 336. And I've stolen Billy's weigh-in method, as well. I've weighed in every day for the last nine days, and my average is exactly 336. So, the blog name changes again.

I haven't worked out since Beck and I went through my total body torture on Thursday (though I did some push-ups and a set of curls on Friday), so I'll be back at it today.

The best thing I can take from this experience is this: I know I cheated. I made the conscious decision to eat things I shouldn't eat, and to eat MORE of those things than I should. In the past, it was just a given. "Of COURSE I'll eat crap - it's what I do." Not anymore. I had an actual feeling of guilt as I was eating this stuff last night. A feeling like I was doing something wrong. To me, that says a lot about where I am in this "transformation" I'm going through.

Back at it, people. Keep on me, Rob, Billy and Beck. We still need it.

Snow Day!

26" of snow kept Becky home, and it kept both of us from leaving the house.

But were we going to let that stop us??

Hell no!

We both did the total body workout that I posted a few posts down this afternoon, and we're both happy to report that we feel it. We're a little tight or spaghetti-like in places, but it feels great. Beck liked it so much that she's considering making it her regular weight workout.

I aim to please.

Not much else to report, so I'll call it done.

Buh Bye!

My Achy Breaky Heart. And Arms. And Back. And Shoulders. And...

Yessir, I'm sore.

As much of a pain in the neck as it is (and arms, and back, and thighs...), I love it. For once, it tells me that I'm doing something right. I worked, and now I'm healing.

This will be a short post. Afterall, it's taking me almost an hour just to move my arms enough to type this much. I just wanted to celebrate my morning-after soreness.

Whee!

Then and Now

Well, there it is. I'll keep the shirt on, thanks. I'll add to this photo every 6-8 weeks. Hopefully, we'll all see some major changes.

Finally Working Out

This is the workout I just (mostly) completed. Let me tell you, those reverse lunges, and that freaking Superman thing. Damn.

Like the image says, three times a week, adding in cardio. I'm gonna be buff stuff in no time.

Maybe.

Click on the image for more detail.

A Dangerous Trend

EDIT: After typing this, I weighed myself, just for the heck of it. 336. Two pounds down from yesterday. I'll keep the blog title the same until next Monday, hoping to make a major change.

I ate like a pig last night.

It was all healthy - PB on whole wheat, protein bar, a little dairy, etc. - but I still ate when I wasn't hungry. I ate strictly out of boredom.

The ONLY thing that kept me from eating junk food? We didn't have any junk food.

Thank God.

I was pretty depressed about the one-pound gain, and I was home alone with a sleeping baby last night, so the boredom just seeped in. And the food followed.

I ended up at roughly 2,900 calories yesterday, which is still 600 below my weight mantenance level. So it's not ALL bad. Plus, I'm pretty sure I got it out of my system, as I've only had 300 or so calories through 10am my time. I'm on pace to have a pretty decent day.

I need to snap myself out of this. For the last five days, All I've wanted to do is eat. Again, thank God I don't have any junk in the house, or I'd be screwed.

I didn't even workout yesterday. I was too tired and depressed about some personal things going on. I'll be hitting the weights right after I finish posting this blog. I just hope that helps. It usually does.

We Are NOT Amused

First, look at my blog title. You'll notice it moved in the wrong direction.

Second, look at my FitDay caloric intake for the last several days. If you add up my caloric defecit for the last week, it comes up to 10,767 calories. At 3,500 calories per pound, that's 3.07 pounds lost. But how many did I lose? I GAINED one, dammit!

Now, I know the calories weren't all the perfect calories. I did snack a little bit, and there were a couple of times I had white rice instead of brown, etc. But I stayed at LEAST 600 calories under my weight maintenance level every freaking day last week.

How is this possible? What did I do wrong this week? Like I said, I know I didn't eat the perfect meals, but it's my understanding that I could eat five double cheeseburgers today, but as long as I stay under my maintenance level, I won't put any weight on. I won't be healthy, but I won't get any more fat that I am now. If that's the case, I don't see how some sesame chicken and some chocolate - spread throughout the week - can make me ADD a pound, when my caloric intake never even made it to the maintenance level.

I just don't get it.

Alright, screw this.

I got my weights yesterday, so I'll be doing a total body workout from an old Men's Health three days per week. I'd do more, but I've been reading more and more about letting your muscles repair between work outs. Don't want to overdo, and I want the boys to have a chance to heal and grow.

I'm about to eat a bowl of Fiber One cereal, I'll have a Zone bar for a snack in a few hours, I'll grab a PB sandwhich for lunch, an apple for my mid-afternoon snack, and then a decent dinner. In the middle of it all, I'll find time to work out.

This pound really should have thought things through before it decided to come back. I'm gonne kick it's little 3,500-calorie ass. And then all of his buddy's are screwed, too.

330 by 01/01.

Yikes.

Rut.

I'm in one.

The diet thing got very easy for the last week or two, but that seems to have been a phase that has now passed.

I have had more junk food cravings in the last 24 hours than I've had in the last six weeks. I can taste burgers, pizza, Little Debbie's, peanut butter cups, Hershey bars, chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream.

I've been able to withstand it, for the most part, but I did have a couple of cheat meals this week. Even so, I have not come within 700 calories of my weight maintenance level of 3600 calories. So, I guess that's a small victory.

And this hunger. I mean, it doesn't matter what I eat, or how often I eat it, I've been hungry almost non-stop since yesterday morning. Protein doesn't help, Fiber doesn't help. I eat, and 10 minutes later, I want food. I've been trying the little "snack through the day" thing, but it's not so much as taking the edge off.

I'm hoping it's just a little bump in the road. If it's not, I'll have to come up with something. I can't be this hungry all the time and hope to stay at or below 2,000 calories. A man has to eat.

The struggle continues...

Just a Few Notes

> To end any potential confusion about the weight loss:

In January of 2006, I weighed 360 pounds. I gave up sugared drinks, and moved to a third-floor apartment in February. The next time I weighed myself - just a few weeks ago - I had dropped about 13 pounds. I credit this to a slight increase in activity, and drinking only tea, water and diet soda.

So, I'm still trying to lose 100 pounds, but I'm starting for real at 87.

> I cheated last night.

We had no food in the house, so we ordered Chinese. I had sesame chicken, again. I ate it all, again. The good news is that I came it at just about 2,700 calories for the day, still almost 800 calories below my maximum intake. Still, eating 16 ounces of breaded chicken covered in sesame sauce, a cup of white rice, and three crab wontons in one sitting can't be good.

> Photo op.

After posting my picture from 2001 yesterday, I got bored. I dressed in a similar shirt, stood in a similar pose, and took a nearly identical picture in my mirror. I expected to see Ralphie May in the after photo, but I was somewhat surprised to see me. A me that looked like he put on a little weight, but still, me. It's the first time in a long time I haven't looked at myself at felt disgusted.

If asked, I may post the before and after. We'll see.

> My weights are coming.

On Saturday, I'm getting - free of charge - two dumbells, and about 90 pounds of iron weights. I'll be adding in several moves that I found in the 2/06 issue of Men's Health that, when added to my push-ups, will give me a full-body, life transformation workout.

> Speaking of push-ups...

I still can't quite do full sets of 10 on the floor, but yesterday I ripped out two sets of 20, two sets of 15, and two sets of 12 on the kitchen counter. Still only like lifting around 140 pounds, but it was like lifting 140 pounds 94 times.

Today, I rest. If I could move my arms, I might do more...

> News coming soon.

Becky, Rob and myself have all made commitments to become better, healthier people. The truth is, we were all fat. And now that we're going through this life transformation, we're hoping to become F.A.T.

If you'd also like to become F.A.T., or if you're curious what that even is, keep checking back.

> Just for laughs.

Me at 250

Not a great shot, but this is a picture of me at about 250. I have arms. Kind of big ones. And underneath that shirt is the beginning of ... wait for it ... a CHEST!

With some increased muscle mass/tone, I'm hoping that 260 this time looks like 250 that time.

In a few months I'll be posting another picture - me looking like that in June of 2007.

Bonus Material

You know, as Rob, Becky and I go through this whole transformation, it's easy to focus on the obvious changes. Our pants are looser, our shoulders look bigger, we might see part of an ab, etc. We focus - rightfully so -on what the scale says, and how many calories we take in on any given day.

But I'm starting to notice some other changes. Changes that could mean that my body has more life in it now than it did five weeks ago.

Back in January, I was given a C-Pap machine. It's an oxygen mask you wear at night that keeps your air passage open. Mine closed an average of 83 times per hour thanks to my sleep apnea. Sleep apnea, for those that don't know, is an affliction that keeps you tired and weak in the short-term, but could also lead to strokes and heart attacks in the long term.

Well, long story short, I can't sleep with that mask on. Too uncomfortable. So, because of that, I often wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air, or choking. An average of one to two times each week, normally.

But since I've started eating healthier and excercising, I haven't woken up choking or gasping once. Apnea is partially caused by being severely overweight. I was 365 when I was diagnosed. As I sit here at 337 - still a long way to go - this is proof that I'm on the right track.

Also, I have somewhat severe acid reflux disease. That heartburn kills me when it hits. It's bad enough that I've been prescribed meds for it for the last two years.

I'm happy to report that I have not had any heartburn since the diet changed. Nothing.

This is why I'm doing it, people. Sure, I'd love to look like Bill Goldberg, or any number of Men's Health cover men, but that would just be a bonus. I want to live past 40. I want to see my kids graduate college and get married (in that order, girls). I want to retire to the Bahamas with my skinny, healthy wife.

It starts here. It ends here.

Another Goal

Not so much to do with weight loss, although there is a good connection.

Some of you know that I used to be part owner of my own magazine. Long story short, I lost it due to money and politics. I have missed it horribly for every second it's been out of my life. I've made numerous attempts to get back into publishing, but I keep coming up short.

I have had several pieces published in Mile High Sports Magazine, and The Stampede magazine here in Denver, and that helps to scratch the itch a little bit. But the truth is, I want my own magazine, again.

Several months ago, Beck and I started the process of creating our own magazine. It looked great, conceptually speaking. I even put out a call to writers, and I had over 200 replies from some of the most qualified candidates I've ever seen for a start-up.

There were just two problems:

1. No investor.
2. It's a health and fitness magazine, and I was (am) fat.

For the last few weeks, the itch has been getting to me. I want this. Badly.

Maybe it's because I'm going through this transformation, but I feel more qualified to run this thing, now. I'm the lightest I've been in two years, I'm working every day, I'm eating clean. Everything that I'd be preaching in this magazine.

It would help everybody look like that (future) picture of me you see here.

http://cohealthandfitness.com/

There it is. My dream. I want it. My designer is in place. My writers are in place. I even have the printer and photographer on stand-by. All I need is the money to get it going.

I have no doubt that I could make it work. I know the game, and I have allies here who would likely guide me as a new publisher. I'd need to find some good sales people, which might be the toughest part. But Colorado is one of the healthiest States in the nation, and there isn't a publication dedicated to keeping it that way. This would fill that void.

All I need is the cash for the up-front costs, and it would take off.

Anybody want to buy in?

A Good Problem to Have

First, let me say that I weighed myself this morning, mainly out of boredom. I saw the scale sitting there, all alone, and thought I'd give it something to do.

Well, Mr. Scale rewarded me by showing me at 335. I did everything I could to get my weight back to the 337 it showed yesterday - adjusted my feet, leaned forward, bent at the knees - but it woudn't budge off of the 335 mark.

But since my official weigh-ins are Monday, I won't be changing the name of the blog, yet. Still it was a good feeling.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to talk calories. My goal for the next 20 days is to stay at or below 2,000 calories each day. I was sure it would be a problem, noting my love of food, and larger-than-human appetite. But yesterday I had to force myself to eat something just to get my calorie level up to 1,600 for the day. I wasn't hungry at all yesterday after living pretty much on oranges and a peanut butter sandwhich (on whole wheat). Then we had a healthy Japanese meal (white chicken, brown rice, homemade teriyaki sauce). So I added up my calories, and I was just over 1,400.

I don't want to stay at an unhealthy level of calroies, but it's kind of tough to force myself to eat during a diet. I feel like I'm cheating by eating extra food, when all I'm doing is getting my intake up to a level that will keep my metabolism running.

I think it's pretty much a just a mental block. I've been so used to eating what I want when I wanted that now, everytime I eat outside of a meal, I feel like I'm reverting back to those old habits.

I think weighing in at 325 in three weeks will help me through. Don't you think?

Also...

For those who drop by and read what I'm up to, allow me to point you in the direction of the person who started this whole thing for me.

My wife has been going full-throttle for six or seven weeks now, working out for one hour every weekday. Her weight-loss is starting to show thanks to her determination, which was showing from Day One.

Drop by her page if you have some time. It's more of a record of the work she's doing, but I know she'd appreciate any comments you wanted to drop on her.

Becky's Page

Three's a Crowd - So I Got Rid of Three More

That's right, baby. The streak continues.

My weight, as of 12-11-2006, is now 337 - roughly the weight I was when my oldest daughter was born in November of 2004. So, this is the lightest I've been in over two years, which is equal parts sad and exciting.

I now need to lose seven pounds in the next 20 days to hit my goal of being at or under 330 by the New Year. Shouldn't be a problem.

This week was a bit of a challenge for me. There was a lot of stress to deal with in our family life, and on pretty much a nightly basis, I wanted to eat mass quantities of junk food. We came close a few times, but at no point did either Beck or I go over our calorie limit. The closest I came was when I took out an entire sesame chicken dinner. It put me up in the mid-2,000's for the day, still safely under my max, but it also gave me one meal that week that helped to kick my metabolism into gear (hat tip, Rob).

I've increased the amount and difficulty of my push-ups, changing up my "grip", and my angle. I'm hoping working a few extra muscles will benefit me. I'll also be getting a dumbell set with 100 pounds of iron weights this weekend. I'll be able to add in curls, military presses, bent over rows, shoulder extensions, and a few other excercises to my routine as of Sunday morning. Ideally, that would take my weight loss cloder to four pounds a week. And as soon as I get down to 300, or so, I'll be starting my training for the Alzheimer's 5k Run in September.

All-in-all, a pretty good week, though I don't feel the same energy today that I felt last Monday. Maybe when I'm down to 330 next Monday, I'll get a little more excited.

Note to everybody that reads:

PLEASE, keep on me. Tell your friends. Send out a spam email. I appreciate everybody dropping by, but I'm only getting roughly 6-8 visits each day. The more people who read this, the more people I'm accountable to.

Thanks!

New Goal for the New Year

So, as I type this, I weigh in at 340 pounds (weigh in is Monday morning). I've been told numerous times that the best way to hit your long-term goals is to set several short-term goals to nail along the way.

So, in that spirit, here is my newest short-term goal:

I will be at or below 330 pounds by January 1, 2007.

To do this, I'll need to consume no more than 2,000 calories a day for the next 21 days, and I'll need to keep up on or increase my push-up routine over that same time-frame.

I'll need to lose 3.18 pounds per week for the next three weeks. Not an easy task, but I have been averaging 3 pounds a week since Thanksgiving, anyway, so it is possible. No cheating, no laziness.

If (no, when) I hit this goal, I will be the lightest I've been since well before my oldest daughter was born - just over two years ago.

Keep on me. I gotta do this.

Nice Pants

So, you know that pair of jeans or cargos you own? The ones that, when they come out of the dryer and you put them on, they're a little bit too tight? The ones that you wear anyway, because you know they'll loosen up as you wear them?

Yeah, I have a pair of jeans like that.

I pulled them out of the dryer this morning and slid them on. I prepared to inhale deeply, so I could get them buttoned and zipped.

And then I noticed something. I didn't need to inhale at all. In fact, I needed my belt with a quickness, or I was going to be giving my wife and kids a little show.

That's right, folks. My "tight" jeans are now so loose, that I need to fasten my belt an extra notch in so I can keep them up.

Scales can only tell you so much. This little adventure proves to me that I'm doing well and losing my baggage.

I read in Men's Health that for every four pounds of weight you lose, it's about an inch off of your waist. So, as I'm hovering right around the 8 pound mark, that means I've already taken off 2" from my waistline.

On the right track, people. On the right track.

Today Won't Be Easy

Today is the two year mark since my mom passed away - a victim of Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

As I mentioned in one of my first posts on this blog, watching my mom suffer from and eventually succumb to that disease was one of the driving forces behind my "inflation." Those three years were the three worst in my life.

I won't go into everything that AD did to my mom, as I honestly just don't have the stomach for it today. As it is, I can't shake the scene of her last few minutes.

And, as is my MO, all I want to do is sleep and eat. It's the closest thing to "depression" that I've known. This eats at me. I try to just focus on my day, but it's next to impossible. If I didn't have these girls here relying on me, I'd be in the fetal position on my bed, accompanied by a box of Little Debbie's and some cheeseburgers. Food is my comfort today. My wife is at work, my brother is at work, and my dad lives 1,100 miles away. It's just me here today.

But as hard as it will be, I'll make it through the food cravings. Partly because we don't have anything in the house to eat besides grains and proteins. But the point is, this whole thing is a life change. Which means I need to change EVERYTHING, especially when it comes to how I handle stress. Today will be a big challenge in that regard.

And, not to get too cheesy, but I know my mom would be pround of the changes I'm making, and I wouldn't want to let her down.

Picking It Up

I've done OK the last couple of days, though fighting off the stress has not been easy. I've been craving junk food for 48 hours now. Some BK, a few cookies...something.

So far, my cravings have been somewhat curbed by eating extra good stuff - another PB sandwhich with natural PB on whole wheat, two chicken sandwhiches instead of one - and so on. Even though I've eaten more in the last two days than has been the norm since I started this routine, I'm still an average of 750 calories under my weight-loss max for each day.

Today, I'm going to aim for 1,750. I've heard it's good to keep your metabolism guessing by not eating the same amount of calories every day, so that's what I'll do.

Other than that, not much to report.

Thanks to everybody who has recently visited and chimed in. Please keep it up. It truly does help!

Sometimes You Get Lucky

Yesterday was not a great day.

I had a potential job opportunity slip through my fingers - one that would have allowed to once again run my own magazine. THis time, somehwat appropriately, a health and fitness magazine. The possibility existed that I'd be able to build it from the ground up, and eventually take it national.

The problem is, the powers that be thought the numbers I gave them that would be needed to fund it were per year, when, in reality, they were per issue. So, their potential bill quadrupled, at the very least.

So, the idea got shelved, and I lost out on something I wanted badly - again.

Here's where I admit my weakness. If we would have had junk food in this house yesterday, I would have taken it out with a quickness. I searched all of the cupboards and the freezer. I looked under my bed. I went rummaging through the girls' diaper bag. Nothing.

As I've stated before, I am an emotional eater. Yesterday proved that. The only thing that saved me was the lack of crap in the house.

So, kudos to us for clean eating, and not bringing crap in the house.

But shame on me for being so weak.

Sometimes you get lucky.

The 80?

Yes, The 80.

I can't tell you how great I feel this morning. As you can see on the top of this page and this post, the name of this blog has been changed again. This time, three more pounds have taken the voyage and left my body. That brings my official total in this little life transformation to seven pounds of weight vanquished from various flabby parts of my bod.

I'm rightfully proud of myself today.

And there's more good news where that came from.

As I stated earlier on in this blog, I don't currently have the ability to hit the gym, hire a trainer, buy a weight set, etc. So, I've been doing what I could do, in this case, push-ups. Lots of push-ups. Over the last three weeks, I've done anywhere from 40-80 a day. Well, I noticed something over the weekend - Change. Muscle growth in the arms and shoulders, definition across my back and upper chest, and new strength and energy. Don't tell anybody, but I freaking flexed in front of the mirror for the first time in at least a decade - and I mostly liked what I saw.

Now, I understand that I have a LONG way to go. I mean, this thing is still called THE 80 for God's sake. For any other human, knowing you have to lose 80 pounds is depressing. Not for me. I'm more motivated this morning than I've been at any other point in this process.

This was supposed to be a life change, and that's exactly what it's turning into. I now snack on oranges during the day instead of Krispy Kremes. I don't blink at using whole wheat bread and buns. We made Turkey chili last night, and neither of us missed beef for a second.

And here's the kicker.

To reward ourselves for a great week, we each went out and bought ONE candy bar. My bar of choice was a SNICKERS. Well, we sat down to eat them last night, and two bites in, here's what I thought:

"OK, this is good, but I didn't need it. I should have just saved the calories."

The only thing I'd ever thought while eating a SNICKERS before last night was "hey, can I have another SNICKERS?"

That tells me that this is now a way of life for me. Eating better has already become a habit.

Seven down, 80 to go.

And they will go. Oh yes, they will go.

Two More Down

Well, after three days of barely eating anything, I'm down two more pounds - leaving just 83 left to go.

My flu is mostly gone, so I'll be back to somewhat normal eating today - aiming for 2,200 calories, max. I'm using the Men's Health Abs Diet guidelines, trying to put some fat-burning food in every meal - whole wheat breads, almonds, dairy, eggs, etc.

The whole "eating healthy" thing is slowly starting to become a habit. We've already switched from white rice to brown rice, and white bread to whole wheat bread. We just made the switch from 2% milk to 1% this week - and I barely notice the difference. I haven't had any real junk food (Peanut Butter Cups!) since the day after Thanksgiving, which is pretty freaking impressive for me.

The slim possibility exists that we could be getting some heavily discounted workout equpiment from my wife's company, Lamar Health, Fitness and Sports. The good news is that we'd have a treadmill and a functional trainer in our home, and we'd get them both dirt cheap. The bad news is that we won't have anywhere to put them until February when we move.

Until then, I'm sticking with the push-ups (I'm already feeling stronger after three weeks), and I'm still looking for a cheap dumbell set to add a few other excercises in. I really believe that if I can get some weights in the house, I can make soem things happen.

The struggle continues...

Three LIttle Letters to Help Keep Your Diet Moving

F-L-U.

I got it last night around 5pm, and I still feel like crap this morning. Blowing the diet should not be a concern, as the thought of food makes me want to hurl.

Wheeee!

1,750? No Problem.

So, to get my sorry butt back on track yesterday, I aimed to eat no more than 1,750 calories.

How did I do?

How does 1,588 sound?

Damn right it sounds great.

So, explain to me why my scale says I'm back up FOUR FREAKING POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!

I'm hoping it's just the crappy bathroom scale we paid $20 for being off. I mean, there is no way I've eaten that much over the last five days to put my weight back up there. I've been back under my maintenance level for the last four days, so there's no chance I've put weight on that way.

Unless the mega amounts of push-ups have already started building some more muscle - which I doubt after only two weeks - then I have no clue.

I'm aiming for 2,000 calories today. Shouldn't be a problem.

Where There's a Will...

Hey, anybody have a will I can borrow?

Here's some revealing information about the K-Dog: I can't say no to crap food.

It's impossible. Cookie? Sure. Peanut Butter Cup? Two, please. Medium grilled chicken pizza? Yep, I'll eat it all, thanks.

Yes, I ate an entire medium pizza last night.

The good news, if there is any to be found, is that I still came in at a defecit of roughly 500 calories, meaning I didn't ADD any weight. But even so, I felt horrible last night. I was riddled with guilt. I did great for roughly two weeks, then I let sickness and family stress derail me for a few days. Now I'm finding it tough to get back where I need to be.

Today is going to be tough. I'm aiming for a max of 1,750 calories to make up for yesterday. Zone bars, peanut butter, and whole wheat bread will be the order of the day.

Note to wife: Apples, Oranges, Grapes and Carrots. All should be on our next shopping list.

Working Out on My Time

So, one of the decisions I made whenI started this thing was that I was going to do it on my own - no personal trainers, no crazy diets, no expensive gym memberships. My hope was that, by losing 100 pounds by simply eating better and becoming more active, more people would be moved and impressed enough to give it a try themselves.

My plan is to jump on the push-up plan. Do two sets of 10 push-ups three times each day. Hopefully, I will also have time to go out and do some cardio work two or three days a week - playing basketball, going for a walk, attempting to jog, etc.

Here's how it will benefit me:

The push-ups would allow me to "bench" roughly 60% of my body weight - 207 pounds. Of course, I'm so out of shape, I can no longer put 200 pounds up. So, I'm doing push-ups at a 45-degree angle (using a kitchen counter), meaning I'm lifting more like 40% of my body weight - 138 pounds. So, I'm essentially doing a toning workout for my chest, back, shoulders and triceps by lifting 138 pounds 60 times each day. I'll do this for a week (maybe two), then drop to the floor, where I'll be hitting the 200 pound mark - hopefully.

Two to three days each week, I'll also try to find 30 minutes of spare time to take a long walk or jog, play some basketball, etc. Just something to get my heart rate up above resting level.

I'm also in the hunt for a cheap set of dumbbells and roughly 100 pounds of weight. Having these would allow me to add in curls, military presses, shoulder extensions, and bent over rows - all things I can do while at home with the kids.

Hypothetically, putting all of these together would give me pretty much a full-body workout, get me some lean muscle mass to increase my metabolism, and get my cardio level back up above basement level.

And all for less than $50.

So, money and time cannot be used as excuses. I can do sets when the girls are sleeping, I can do push-ups when I make them lunch, and I can do some lifting after they go to sleep at night. If I can find the time, you can.

Back On Track

Even after a family-forced stop at a local pizza buffet, I stayed a good 200 calories under my maximum intake yesterday. Not too shabby.

I'm back to my push-up routine today, hoping next week provides some time for a few cardio workouts.

In other news, the name of my blog temporarily changed to The 84, as I dropped another three pounds. But after screwing up on Thanksgiving, it's back to The 85 - which is still better than The 87 or The 100.

Tiiiiiiiiime, is on my siiiiiiide...Yes it is!

Comment Away

OK, I followed Rob's advice, and have opened the blog up to any and all comments from the peanut gallery.

Peanuts...mmmmmmmmm.

Actually, peanuts are OK, if you only take about an ounce at a time. Great source of protien.

My FitDay is back online today, as well.

Thanksgiving was a speed bump, not a road block.

Thanksgiving: The Day the Diet Forgot

Turkey, Lions, Broncos, homemade peanut butter cups, more turkey, then sleep.

Back to being good tomorrow, I promise.

No, I haven't quit.

But these last four days have been tough.

I can't go into a lot of detail, but we'll just say that there has been a lot of family stress and drama since Saturday, and I haven't been handling it well. And with Thanksgiving coming in just 24 hours, it likely won't get better until next Monday.

But you have my word that I am not done. Not by a long shot.

I posted this blog to keep myself accountable, but also to help motivate others. Well, today, an old friend of mine followed my lead and made his own weight-loss journey public. That's enough to keep my head in the game for a while longer.

Go visit his page, and give him some support.

Kicking My Butt

This cold blows.

I think there's a pun in there somewhere.

Anyway, I'm WAY below my max calorie intake because I'm too sick to want food. I'm floating right around the 1500 mark for the last few days, even though I haven't put any of it in FitDay.

Hopefully I'll start feeling better tomorrow, and I can get back on track with the whole documenting my physical transformation thing.

Because if you're still reading, you're addicted.

91 Days (I got lucky)

So, if you go check out my FitDay from over the weekend, you'll see that I could have - maybe should have - killed my diet.

On Saturday, Beck and I went shopping for birthday gifts for our daughter. We were gone for over eight hours. As you might guess, I guy gets hungry when he's out and about for eight hours. So what do we do? Well, we ate fast food THREE FREAKING TIMES.

The first stop was at a Japanese eatery called Tokyo Joe's. Keeping my diet in mind, I went as healthy as I could go - all-white meat chicken, brown rice, diet Pepsi. Not bad, especially considering it was all we'd eaten at that point in the day. Fast forward a few hours. We go to my brother's to pick up the girls, and they ask us to stay for dinner. Great. What are we having? Sesame chicken and shrimp. Battered, fried and doused in sesame sauce. Again, I tried to stay healthy. I ate just a few tablespoons of rice, and three-four pieces each of chicken and shrimp.

Finally we got home, put the kids to bed, and lounged on the couch.

For a few minutes. What do I foolishly do? I go to freaking Chik-Fil-A, and I get us each a CHick-Fil-A combo - and I get me an EXTRA sadwhich.

At 9:45 at night!!!!!!

For what it's worth, I felt sick as a dog after I ate everything, and I seriously regretted it. Luckily, upon getting all of the calorie info into FitDay, I SOMEHOW ended up at 2210 calroies. Just about 100 above the 2100 I'm trying not to top.

I got lucky.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Calorie Defecit goals and results for the week:

Daily defecit goal - 1,500 calories
Basal Metabolic Rate - 3,653
Daily intake goal - 2,150

Daily Defecits
Monday - 1,760
Tuesday - 1,225
Wednesday - 1,545
Thursday - 991
Friday - 1,937
Saturday - 1,443
Sunday - 1,633

Total Calorie Defecit - 10,534

Estimated pounds lost - 3.009

94 Days - 95 was not so good.

I'm a cheater. I admit it.

Out of laziness, we decided to order pizza last night. Not a great idea for people in the middle of new diets and weight-loss programs.

I went into dinner needing roughly 1100 calories to fill my daily limit of 2200. I ended the day 420-ish calories OVER my daily maximum. The good news is that I was still 1000 calories under my base rate, which doesn't kill my diet too badly - it just slows it down.

In other news, I was flipping through an old Men's Health, and I found a great 20+ page feature on a five-week life transformation. Included are recipies, a great full-body workout (that only takes 30 minutes), stress reducers, and bedroom tips.

Not that I need any, because I don't. I'm serious. I know pretty much all a man can know about that area of life. You're welcome, honey.

I'm hoping the plan adds to me experience here over the next 13 weeks.

Stay tuned.

95 Days

Some quick hits, then a pleasant surprise:

> Diet going strong. Staying at or below my 1,500 calorie defecit with realtive ease. Not TOO hungry during the day.

> Still have NOT worked out once. I'm struggling to find the time with the craziness of our schedules.

> Zone Bars rule. They taste great (in most cases), and get me through my snacky periods.

OK, as you can see, the name of the blog has changed. No, I didn't lose 13 pounds yesterday. I did however, weigh myself for the first time in over a year. I had been estimating my weight based on clothes sizes and appearance - both were the same they've been for the last year. But we purchased a home scale last night, and I weighed in at 347 - 13 pounds less than I assumed.

While I'm not totally convinced it's correct, I'm going with it, anyway.

87 more to go by 5/11/07.
47 by 2/11/07.

96 Days

Yesterday wasn't bad. I'm sick (gotta love colds), so my energy level was non-existent, plus having the two kids doesn't help. That said, I totally crushed my calorie goal yesterday.

My aim was to eat roughly 1500 calories less than my Basal Rate (roughly 3,750). So, anything around 2,250 would be fine by me. Well, as you can see on my FitDay from yesterday, I ate most of what I wanted, snacked on some veggies, still had a sweet snack, and experienced very little in the way of hunger pangs - and I still came in 300+ calories under my goal.

If it's TRULY that easy, I'll be losing around 3.7 pounds each week from diet alone. Toss in three or four good workouts, and that number comes very close to the 4.3 pounds per week I mentioned yesterday.

And the good news is, I'm not starving myself, I'm not getting too drastic and eating only paper, and I'm OK with it.

All-in-all, I'm pretty happy with Day One: Part Two.

97 Days

I need to average 4.3 pounds per week of weight loss.
I'll be eating at a calorie defecit of roughly 1,500 per day, which should give me a three pounds per week weight loss before factoring in my workouts.

I'll be working out 3-5 times per week, for an hour each time.
Thirty minutes of weight lifting burns an average of 259 calories.
Thirty minutes of moderate effort on a stationary bike averages 605 calories burned.

At best, I'll be burning 864 calories per workout for the first two weeks, before I move to jogging/running. If I workout three days per week, I'll burn off roughly 3/4 of one pound (2,592 calories). At four days, I'll burn 50 calories less than one pound (3,456 calories). And if I manage five days, I'll burn about 1.25 pounds per week.

So, let me sum it up:

Diet Plus
3 workouts - 3.75 pounds per week
4 workouts - 4 pounds per week
5 workouts - 4.25 pounds per week.

I'll need to toss in some extra activities - walking the mall, a short hike, increased playing with the kids, walking to Target; not driving - to give me a little extra boost.

It's gonna be close. The odds are kinda stacked against me.

Oh, well. What's new?

FitDay - Follow Along

If you're curious what kind of foods I'm eating to meet my goal of 60 pounds by Feb 1, you can follow along with my daily caloric intake HERE.

I've reset it for this 97-Day push.

Failure

OK, so the first two weeks or so of this program haven't gone well.

My diet hasn't changed, and I've had no time to get to the gym. Working 25-30 hours from home while raising two kids (one of which needs CONSTANT attention), has been wearing me out. I'd essentially already given up.

Why bother?

Then I talked to my dad.

He's getting remarried in February - just over two years after my mom passed away. I've never met his new fiance', but she seems great. If my dad is marrying her, she must be. Well, it was made known to me that, at the wedding, each individual family will be having portraits taken. So "Mr. I don't like to have my picture taken" is going to HAVE to have his picture taken in roughly 15 weeks.

It should also be mentioned that I don't own a suit (not even a dress shirt) that fits the super-sized frame. And we're not really in the position to go buy the 46 yards of fabric that it'll take to make a suit to fit me, either.

So, that leaves me with only one solution:

Get serious.

As of today, Sunday the fifth of November, it all changes. The diet, the laziness, the determintation level - everything. I've asked my brother (who is in MUCH better shape than I am, but who has still mentioned the desire to shape up a little) to commit to three nights each week as my workout partner, knowing it's much easier for me to do this with somebody there with me. If he can't or won't do it, it'll be up to me to push myself.

My new goals - to be completed by February 11, 2007:

Lose 60 pounds
Run 1.5 miles with no breaks
Increase bench by 30% of current

And here's a lesson learned. Had I just manned up and started this thing when I said I was going to, I'd likely already be well on my way to meeting these goals. But, because of my laziness and excuses, I'm two weeks behind.

Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts should be interesting.

Challenge Number One

Well, I said I'd pst about my challenges as they came, I just didn't expect such a major one in my first day.

Challenge #1?

Time.

I thought I'd have it taken care of. I knew it would be tough with a newborn and my wife going back to work. Of course, the newborn was up until 3 off and on two nights ago, so my 6 A.M. workout was out of the question. So, go at night, right? I waited until 8 P.M. to head over, assuming the crowd would have thinned out. Not so much. I opened the door to find a dozen or so fit, toned teenagers working out and dancing to their music.

Maybe it was a pride thing, but I wasn't about to sit there and put my flab and weakness on display for them all to see. So, I walked back home.

Not a problem, I'll just go tomorrow!

Nope.

Newborn - again - up all night.

So, I'll try it again tonight, hoping for the best.

In the mean time, I did follow my "diet" to the "T". I actually ended up about 330 calories below where I should have ended for the day.

It's just one day, but it's kind of depressing. Hopefully I'll get my hour in tonight, and I'll feel a little better.

The Goals

Here are the goals I'd like to hit - no, crush - by November 23, 2006.

Weight Loss - 15 pounds
BMI - Reduce by 3 points
Cardio - Run 1 mile with no breaks
Strength - Increase total bench by 20%

Then and Now

As I get set to start my physical transformation, I thought it might be interesting to show some pics of me back when I was in shape, and some pics of me in my current state.

My "now" pics are actually roughly one to two years old. You see, I've stopped allowing pictures of me to be taken because I'm too ashamed of how I look. I don't mean to be too melodramatic, but I just can't stand to be photographed. It makes me sick to my stomach.

I've had a few taken since the arrival of my daughters, but they are few and far between. Look at these "current" pics of me, and add about 30 pounds. That's the real me.

Let's hope that changes, soon.

The first three pics in this series are of me from roughly September of 2001 through about July of 2002.

In the top one, there isn't a thing hanging over the waist band. I'm so slim, I almost vanish when I turn to the side. Today, you could hide a small family of illegal immigrants behind me. It's not pretty.

Pic #2 is from the shores of Lake Michigan, about three months after I was married - Summer of '02. It was around the middle of 2002 that I stopped caring. My mom was getting worse, I lost a great job, and I started to eat my way into a comfort level I could live with.

Pic #3 is me proudly displaying my Red Wings love as the playoffs started in 2001. Flat stomach, broad chest and shoulders - only one chin. Those were the days.

The bottom two pics, as I already touched on, are actually two years old. In the pic at the Mackinac Bridge, I'm actually using my daughter as a shield. Like her 20-pound frame would hide my extra 75 pounds.

The other "now" pic is actually a good year older. The extra chins are marching in, the cheeks are fatting up and puffing out, and I was probably getting winded from sitting for so long.

That pic was probably about the time it started getting REALLY bad. I lost yet another job, had no friends to be active with, and, in truth, I didn't care. Video games and digital cable were my new workout routine, and it showed.

As I look at these "now" pics, it kind of sickens me that I'd be ecstatcic if I woke up tomorrow and looked in my current life like I did then. And even then, I was morbidly obese.

Tomorrow starts my re-shaping. I'll either be up at 6 to workout before Becky leaves for work, or I'll be heading over once she gets home. I'll be doing one hour, five days each week. Cardio for 30 minutes, weights for 30 minutes. My diet won't be doing a 180, but I will be cutting back in some very key areas. Fruits and veggies will get more playing time in my eating habits, and my junk intake will be sliced to a fraction of what it is right now.

Again, just a reminder, I WILL NOT be hiring a trainer. I WILL NOT be going on any special diets. Everything I'll do to get back into shape will be things that anybody could do. My workouts will come from old issues of Men's Health. My diet will consist of this crazy method: eating less crap.

Please, pimp this on your blog (if you have one), tell a friend, post the link on a weight-loss forum. The more people reading this, the more people I'm accountable to.

Thanks, and wish me luck.

The 100?

No, this isn't a sci-fi show on USA. This is my life. More accurately, it's me taking it back.

Here are the sad details.

I am 30 years old. I stand 6-8. I have a wonderful wife, and two gorgeous daughters. I am working as a sportswriter - my life's dream. I live in a great apartment - complete with vaulted ceilings and a fireplace! Honestly, I have a pretty decent life.

Now.

The truth is, it wasn't that way as recently as three months ago. Actually, pretty much my last five or six years have been borderline hell. My motto for most of that time? "It could always be worse." Unfortunately, whenever I said that to myself, things actually got worse. I won't go into graphic detail, but I will give you the Cliffs Notes version.

Over the course of four years, I lost three jobs, lost my grandmother, lost one of my best friends from high school, and watched my mom slowly die. My family spent time on welfare. We had catastrophic auto issues - $2,500 worth of repairs at a time. We were nearly evicted - twice. I helped start a magazine, gave up tome with my family, as well as turned down jobs that would help me care for them, and I ended up being forced out of my own creation.

Those four years could have been devastating for me, but luckily I had something to comfort me.

Food.

I never really knew it before all of this, but I am an emotional eater. Something bad happens? A box of Little Debbie's should do the trick. Have a good day? I'm gonna celebrate! Break out a box of Little Debbie's! I'd stop at McDonald's, and instead of having A burger and some fries, I'd have FOUR burgers and fries. Maybe toss a milkshake on, just for good measure. I'd order Chinese - a family-size meal - and clean the entire thing out in one sitting.

And the more I ate, the less energy I had. In 2001, I was playing basketball three times each week, lifting weights three times each week, and going for a quick one-mile run at least once each week. It's gotten so bad, that even remembering those times gets me winded.

In all seriousness, I lose my breath from tying my shoes. Shoot, I lose my breath from breathing. We live on the third floor, and after climbing them to come home, I'm so out of breath that you'd think I just ran a quick 5K. I chase my daughter around for 10 minutes, and I need a break. It's bad.

I'm scared to death for me and for my family. I'm 30 years old, and I'm an easy 100 pounds overweight. I have severe sleep apnea. I wake up choking two or three times each night. I get migraines weekly. I'm always tired. The way I'm going right now, my kids will be fatherless in ten years. My wife will be looking for a replacement. I don't want that to happen.

So here we are - at The 100. Why The 100? Well, each one of those digits represents a pound I need to lose. As my weight drops, the name of the bog will change. I lose 10 pounds - you'll be visiting The 90. Lose another 8? Welcome to The 82. When the number hits zero, the blog goes bye-bye.

So how will I be going about losing this weight, and what can you expect to see here? Well, I don't have the budget for a personal trainer. I don't own a Bowflex. I can't hire an in-home chef to make me the perfect meals. What I have is a small weight room in my apartment clubhouse, a new Men's Health every month, and a few hours a week to make it all happen. As for what you'll se here, I'm hoping to toss some before (2001), after (today), and way after (six months from now) pics up so you can keep track. On top of that, I plan on doing some video blogs, in which I'll discuss my workout routine, where I've fallen short, and how I've overcome challenges. I'm also hoping to get weighed and measured every few weeks so you can all keep track of my progress as we go.

Please, I beg of you, comment regularly. Motivate me. Yell at me for slacking. Tell me I'm still fat. Tell me I look great. This blog is my ticket to accountability. Hold me to this.

I'm hoping that 100 shrinks quickly. No offense, but I don't want you around here any longer than you need to be. Just like my belly.

Wish me luck.