The Comeback Workout

I just wanted to note real quick the great workout I had today. I'm proud of myself for getting in there and getting it done. I'm calling it my comeback workout, because it's the first time since being back from Oregon that I Felt really good. I don't know if it all came from a deep desire to punish myself for the days I was off my routine and program, or if I just started to really get off on the endorphins.

I was busy all day long. I had to get the kids' inflatable pool set up, and I had to assemble the boys' basketball pole and hoop, which took all day pretty much. And on top of that, I had to try to do some repair work to my truck. I was getting kinda down as I saw my window of opportunity slipping away for a workout. I wasn't even going to do it, but around 8pm I just suddenly got a burst of will power, and I went for it. I just did weights, working chest, biceps, and forearms. I really got a good pump, and felt great at the end.

It was like I stood up in defiance or something. I know that most likely the scale is not going to love me tomorrow night, but I've decided I don't care this week about the scale. The main thing is, I'm feeling back on track, and with the program again. In fact, I might just skip the scale for a week, and just set a goal to work really hard every day. I also got my eating back in check today, and I'm feeling great about that.

I'm recognizing my mistakes this week, and why I made them. A main mistake was I didn't really set a goal for this week. I knew that I would be falling off the wagon when I went to Oregon, and I think on a subconscious level, I actually planned to fail this week. I never made a plan for success during the trip. Now, that I know that, I can plan better in the future for life's disruptions.

So, here's to another week. I might have taken a couple of steps back, but now I'm going to charge ahead. . .like a linebacker, and plow through into the next week.

Over and out.

Back in The Saddle

I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about this week. It's been one of those weeks where a wrench was thrown into the gears of my routine. I had to fly to Portland, OR. to help my brother move here to Idaho. We got up early Wednesday and flew to Portland, spent all day sweating and grunting as we loaded up all his stuff into a U-Haul. Then straight away, we took off, trying to beat rush hour traffic. We ate once at a sandwich shop at around 11am before loading the U-Haul, and I don't think we stopped to eat at a Wendy's until around 6pm maybe. By this time I was ravenous and there was no way I was settling for a salad. So, I went for some big burger and fries. At the gas station we bought chips and licorice, and we didn't stop again till 2am to check into a motel.

The next day, right back on the road until we got burgers again at a Jack in The Box at around 11am. I didn't eat again until I got home around 5:30pm that night. I was dying for something healthy. I immediately made and consumed a chicken wrap with tomatoes, I guzzled water all night, and snacked on some carrot sticks. I have to say that for two days, I basically broke all the rules and went against everything I know about losing weight, I'm not going to beat myself up about it too much since a lot of the main factors were out of my control.

The main problem was allowing myself to get too hungry. When you go as long as we did between meals it is almost impossible to resist temptation when you're standing there at a Wendy's to order food. It's also impossible not to reach into those chips and licorice when you're really hungry. I'm used to eating every two to three hours, so my body was wondering what the heck was going on! The other bad thing is, that getting that hungry, was probably putting my metabolism into "starvation protection mode" and slowing waaaay down to conserve energy. Then when it was suddenly bombarded with high fat calories, the sensible thing to do was to store as much of that energy as possible.

On the bright side, I think I expended a lot of calories loading and unloading the truck those two days. What effect it had, I don't know. I am feeling a bit apprehensive about my weigh in Sunday night. I'm afraid I might have done enough damage to negate some of the progress I've made up to his point. The good news is I have two days before my weigh in to try to recoup back some of that two days of debauchery. Honestly, I will be pleased if the scale just stays the same and shows no loss, but no gain either. I have a feeling at this point though, that I might be showing a couple of pounds in the plus column.

I just need to plow forward. Get back in the saddle so to speak. And that's going to be the difference. In times past, I might have given up after a week like this. In times past, two days of debauchery would have led to an entire week of it, and then eventually to an entire abandonment of my plan altogether. I may have gained a couple pounds this week when all is said and done, but that is not going to stop me or discourage me from continuing onward. I knew when I began this, that not every week would be perfect. I knew I would suffer from set backs and some disappointments. The key is going to be to not let those set backs and disappointments discourage me, and cause me to self-sabotage.

Arighty then. . .enough typing now, it's off to the basement for a workout. Back in the saddle!


Over and out.

Another Week Down. . .In weight that is.

Alright! Today was weigh in day, and it turns out I was pleasantly surprised with a weight loss of 3.2 lbs! I'm pretty stoked about that, but to be honest that's losing more in one week than I really should. Anything more than two pounds a week, and you're running the risk that some of that loss is lean muscle, and I DON'T want to sacrifice lean muscle just to feel better on the scale.

I was surprised because I was not adhering as strictly to my program as I have before. At least in terms of working out I wasn't. Unless you count playing paintball for a day, and working hard physically in my garden and yard as working out. I did get one official workout in out of four days. The one thing I did do right was stick to the correct eating plan pretty well. That reaffirms what I've been told before; that what you eat is 90% of how effective your weight loss plan is going to be.

Anyway, this next week will be tough to keep it up. I have to fly to Portland on Wednesday with my brother, and then we're driving back Thursday. Staying with any kind of program those two days is going to be pretty tough. I'm expecting we'll be hitting McDonald's restaurants on the road and crap like that. I'm trying to come up with a plan where this little trip will have the smallest impact possible on my current fitness gains. I hate to go backwards after the hard work I've put in over the last several weeks. We'll see how it goes.

For now I'm just reveling in my new level of leanness, and enjoying the success thus far. I can see into my future and I know I'm on the right path. I'm armed with the right knowledge and I have the will power to stay on this path until I have achieved my goals.

Over and out!

Exercise Can Be Fun

This morning I went and played paintball with some of my friends for a few hours and had a super fun time. And talk about a workout! Lots of running, crawling, ducking, etc. I've been playing paintball now for about twenty years, so this wasn't like anything new to me, but I've never looked at it as a form of exercise. It was just something I did.

After today I thought to myself that I would be in great shape if I found a way to play paintball every day! And it wouldn't even be a task, or a chore. It'd just be plain ole' fun. I would just have to watch my calorie intake is all.

I think that's part of being fit and in shape. Not just spending time in the gym and counting calories, but living a more active lifestyle period. On top of working out and eating right, I could play paintball more often, maybe start up mountain biking again. Stuff like that.

Well, that's my thoughts for the day. Today is supposed to be my back workout, but I'm struggling coming up with the drive after playing paintball. Maybe later tonight. My weekly goal of losing two more pounds is quietly whispering to me in the back of my mind, "Don't skip your workout. . . .don't skip it."

Trust me you get plenty of exercise trying to avoid one of these welts!

This Week's Goal

I'm at work while posting this, so I'm going to have to be quick and to the point. I just want to jot down my goal for this week. I think I'm going to chance it and go for another two pounds on the scale.

So, during this week, even though I have four days off starting tomorrow . . . I am not changing from my routine. I am not slacking off just because I have done so well so far. I am continuing the attack. I'm kicking the fat while its down. I am eating five to six low calorie high nutrient meals a day. I am eating on average between 1700 and 2000 calories a day. I am maintaining a strict training schedule where I work out every day, and on Saturday when I come to work I am weighing two pounds less on the scale, or I'm noticing definite changes in how my uniform and gun belt are fitting.

BOOOYAAAAH!

Over and Out

Two more pounds. . . outta here!

Well, despite all my ranting and raving in the previous post on how I'm not going to let the scale determine how I feel about my success this week, I am happy to report that I did meet my goal by losing two more pounds! And it feels great. The scale tonight officially read 221.8 lbs. Which is close enough for me.

That makes a total of about nine pounds lost in about a month. That's right on track with Tom Venuto's two pounds a week rule for sure long-term weight loss. I'm feeling pretty good.

Now I have to go back and read my food and fitness journal I've been keeping and read about what I did this last week to make it a success. Like how many calories did I average a day, and what foods did I eat, etc. I pretty much already know, but it helps to go back and review while planning for the coming week.

Now to think about what kind of goal to set for next week. Do I dare go for another two pounds? Why not? what's the worst that could happen?

Another post to follow when I have it figured out.

Over and out.

Staying Positive

Well, tonight when I get into work is when I have my weekly weigh in to see how I'm doing. Last week, I weighed in around 223.5 lbs and I set a goal to lose two more pounds by today. I'm a little bit nervous about it because I cheated yesterday a little bit an weighed myself on the bathroom scale at home and it didn't seem to show that I'd lost. If anything the bathroom scale shows I may have gained! I will just have to wait and see what the digital scale out at work says and go from there.

On top of all that though, I've been thinking about this past week. I set that goal and I have to admit that it did wonders for motivating and driving me to eat right and get my training in every day. Tonight, perhaps the scale will not reflect the past week's efforts as I fear, and that's the danger of using the scale only to measure my success. So, I'm going to do my best to not allow the scale to determine how I feel about this past week.

In Tom Venuto's, The Body Fat Solution, he talks about how from day to day our body weight can fluctuate as much as five pounds, factoring in just water retention and things like that. To feel successful, all I really need to do is look back on this past week. I feel really good about how I ate, and trained all week. I stayed motivated, and had a strong will power. The other thing going for me, is I can feel for a fact that I've lost some fat as my clothes are fitting looser than before. I got to work last night and strapped on my firearm and duty belt, and it all felt a little looser than a week ago. And that's the true measure of success In this whole get into shape business. It's quite possible that I've been adding muscle and losing fat simultaneously and they've been canceling each other out.

The scale is good tool for measuring some success, but it shouldn't be my primary motivation from week to week. Of course, it eventually has to reflect my efforts. If I can get down to less than 10% body fat, I sure as heck will weigh less. Man look at my rambling rant today! You'd think I'd already weighed and found that I'd gained ten pounds by the way I've gone off today.

Regardless of what the scale says tonight, I'm going to just continue to charge forward with the same plan. I'll have to reset my goal and try again for next week. It's probably time to take some measurements as well. I'll update when I get the scale results as soon as I can.

Over and out.

Guilt-Free Hamburger & Tator Tots

About an hour ago I got back from one of my favorite local burger joints, Leo's Place, in Idaho Falls. At Leo's I enjoyed a big ole' half pound burger and a plate of tots, plus a diet Coke. And the awesome thing is, I can honestly say that I didn't "cheat, fall of the wagon, depart from the program", etc. In times past I'd probably be sitting around feeling guilty for such a decadent pleasure as a burger and tots.

But since my recent enlightenment I know that little free meals like mine tonight can be enjoyed occasionally and I can still continue to lose weight. The danger in times before would have been a feeling of guilt, which would lead to a feeling of failure, which would in turn lead to a feeling of hopelessness, which would eventually lead to a binge. . . causing more feelings of guilt and hopelessness and probably abandonment of the program entirely.

Those days and those feelings are in the past now. Tom Venuto believes in living life. We aren't robots, we are human beings. We require variety in our lives and simple pleasures. This isn't an excuse to eat whatever I want all the time. But, as long as I don't over indulge by stuffing myself, and ninety percent of the time I eat only the good, healthy, nutritious foods, and stick to my training program, then I will be fine. The weight should still come off. Maybe slower than a lot of programs out there, but it will be for sure and life long.

Tomorrow will be like any other day for me ninety percent of the time. Get up, eat a good healthy breakfast, workout, etc. I weigh myself on Saturday. That gives me plenty of time to get the burger out of my system.

Just about through this day

So far today, I'm hanging in there. Today is a day off from work. I have to have extra will power on these days not to eat bad for me foods. The bad part is, I work rotating twelve hour shifts, so I get four days off in a row. That makes it harder to stay good all those days. My wife made some banana bread, and chocolate chip cookies the other day, that have been calling my name all day. So far I have been able to resist their call. I keep remembering the goals I wrote down in the last post and how by Saturday I want to be down two more pounds. I think it has really helped me through this difficult day. Tom Venuto may be on to something with this idea of putting your goals in writing and reviewing them often.

This morning was a day off from lifting, but I jogged on the treadmill this morning for about thirty minutes. twenty minutes of H.I.I.T (high intensity interval training) and then ten minutes of moderate jogging. I burned about 450 calories according to the treadmill. Not bad.

It is 8:15PM and I'm only up to 1400 calories eaten so far today. That's not enough. I need to eat something soon with about 300 calories in it and that should be good for me today.

Tomorrow I am planning on a leg workout. I'd like to actually get down to the gym and do some free-weight squats if I can since I don't have a squat rack in my basement gym. But, if I must, I can do dead lifts and dumbell squats in the basement. Either way I have to make it happen. Maybe tomorrow I'll allow myself a free meal. Nothing out of control, just something I'll enjoy, but a decent portion.

That's it for now. Over and Out.

Vision & Goals

First of all I have to congratulate myself on a loss of two more pounds this week. I weighed today and was stoked to see I am now at 223 lbs. I was at 230 lbs about three weeks ago. What I really need to do is get a pair of body fat calipers so I can start tracking my body fat % instead of just pounds lost. I lift a lot of weights and so actual loss measured in pounds might not be as signifigant.

But for now, here's a short term goal for me: Next Saturday I am down to 221 lbs. Two pounds a week is considered the maximum you want to lose every week Anything beyond that, you are in danger of losing lean muscle mass, and I don't want that!

Tom Venuto advises that we should put our goals in writing, and read through them often, as well as re-write them several times. It somehow solidifies our intent into the subconscious. So here's a little try for me.

VISION: My vision is that at forty years old (currently I'm thirty six) I am in the best shape of my adult life. I have been staying on the straight and narrow for years now and have figured out exactly how to maintain my optimum weight, health, and body fat. I am eating healthy, nutricious meals ninety percent of the time. My energy and activity levels are through the roof, and I am an example to my friends and family of what they can achieve and accomplish with the right amount of knowlege and motivation.

LONG TERM GOAL: For now my long term goal is: I need to come up with a date, but roughly in three to four months from now, I have lost thirty pounds of fat. I weigh somewhere in the area of two hundred to two hundred five pounds, the main thing being my body fat percentage is under fifteen percent. I am fitting into clothes I haven't been able to wear in years. I am still aggresively pursuing even a leaner fitter body, because I'd like to see my six pack at least once in this life. I feel great and look great too.


Ok, well there we go. I need to come up with some more specific stuff for that long term goal, like a date and body fat numbers and weight and stuff, but I think that's pretty good for now.

Today I worked chest and biceps. I really burned them up too! Good solid workout.

My theme for a while is: "If pain is weakness leaving the body, then hunger must be fatness leaving the body"

Over and out.

I just finished reading "The Body Fat Solution" by multi-champion natural bodybuilder, Tom Venuto. I'm not new to Tom's philosophy or techniques. Last year I read his E-book, "Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle" Also known as "BFFM"

I have to say I've never read an author on the topics of health, nutrition, and weight loss that makes as much common sense as Tom Venuto. Tom immediately slices through the murk and fog out there permeating the fitness world, and gets right down to basics. Basically (pun intended) it all comes down to calories in VS calories out. If you want to lose body fat then you have to force your body into what Tom calls, a calorie deficit. Essentially, burning more calories every day than you consume. According to Tom, there is no miracle pill or miracle diet out there that will yield the kind of results promised in all the glossy ads in the fitness magazines.

A new twist however, is Tom's emphasis on the power of the subconscious and mind control. In fact the whole first third of the book deals with issues like, emotional eating, relapse, goal setting, etc. I found Tom's insights on these subjects to be invaluable to me. One of my favorite parts of the book is when Tom asks the reader to imagine that he could go into a "software" store and buy software that you could reprogram your brain with any habit or belief. . .what habits and beliefs would you buy? Then he goes on to say that this is literally possible with some mental training. Just great stuff.

So, now I'm into this BFFM and seriously going to go for it. I feel like my eyes have been opened wide and with the knowledge I've reaped from Tom it is possible for me to obtain the level of health and fitness I desire. In fact, I lost five pounds just while reading the book. It had the effect of immediate motivation on me. So, I will be using this blog as my personal progress journal. I'll be recording my weight loss, my food consumption, my workouts, my goals, etc. By doing this publicly on the net I hope to be able to force some pressure and accountability on myself. I plan to (Gulp) post before and after pictures eventually.

This isn't one of those 12 week crash course weight loss extravaganzas. It's going to take time. I have probably a good 25 - 30 lbs to lose and I figure I'll be losing maybe 2 lbs a week tops. . .that would be a good week! But, slowly and surely will be the winning strategy in the end.

So here's to success for me! And maybe down the road I will be able to help and inspire my friends and family to go for it too. Below is picture of Tom Venuto I have decided to use as my personal inspiration. Something to set my sights on.

Mind you he does not take steroids, fat burners, and all that garbage.