More Proof That Diet is 80% of the Struggle

Thanks to Mr. Achy Shoulder over here on my left, I haven't been able to do anything more than taking some walks for the last few days. The pain is pretty intense at times, and my movement is somewhat limited (though it feels about 20% better this morning). So, I've been sure to watch my food intake like a hawk.

Over the last four days, I've eaten 100% clean. Well, 99.999% clean. I did have a few of my daughter's frosted animal crackers. Maybe 200 calories worth over that time. Anyway, I've been snacking on apples and grapes, I've been eating only brown rice and whole wheat bread, I've cut my milk intake down by a good 8-16 ounces a day, and it's been only the leanest of meets going in the mouth.

Point being, I weighed in at 313.5 today, the lowest I've weighed in so far. The weight brings my 5-day average to 315.6, also a new low by one tenth. And that's with a 318 that comes off tomorrow. If I can keep this pace up, I should easily be able to hit my goal of weighing in at 310 at least once by Monday.

Man, I can't even tell you how it would feel to know that I'd only be 10 pounds away from getting out of the 300's for good. And as great of a motivator as that is, it's nothing compared to getting to 299. And I already know that hitting 299 would allow me to feel like I was in the home stretch. I'm pretty stoked just thinking about it.

And a tool that I'd like to use to get me there is L.A. Boxing. I was trolling around their site yesterday, and I read the description of the boxing classes they teach.

You'll get a workout that doesn't miss a spot: a 1,000-calorie-an-hour cardio bomb and a superb all-body tuner that builds shoulders and forearms and works legs, hips, abs, upper back, triceps, biceps and lats. (Want to blast your delts? Try holding 16-ounce gloves at chin level for two rounds.)

This boxing class will teach you boxing skills and technique, increase your muscular and cardio endurance, take your core strength to a new level, and burn off more than just calories. A cardio boxing, bag work and core strengthening segment will always be done.

I'm a Rocky freak, so anything that gets me to box is fine by me. (By the way, Rocky Balboa is out on DVD, so go pick it up.)

Needless to say, I inquired about pricing, and memberships range anywhere from $40 to $100 per month. As somebody who just had his pay cut in half, I don't know if I can justify the monthly bill right now. That said, I plan on trying to find the extra money somehow. I know how my body works, and if I could take two of those classes a week, and keep up with my walks, basketball, and pushups/situps on my other days, I'd lose weight as fast as it could possibly come off.

We'll see if I can make it work.

The web site also has another version of Fitday/Calorie-Count. It's the best I've seen so far, with the one exception being that they don't have quite as many foods in their database. But what they miss with foods, they make up for with personalized protien, fat, fiber, and carb suggestions, a meal planner, graphs to show your progress, links to ask the LA Boxing Dietician a question, and a host of other extras. The link is http://www.laboxing.purewellness.com.

Have a good one, everybody.