Week 38 Day 7

Posted on October 30, 2011 by admin

I am still a little sore!  Not really bad, but I feel it in my neck, back and sides.  It is more of a stiffness.  It did not impact my workout at all today.  I was just sore.

AM:

30 minutes on the treadmill—jogged a mile up to 7.0 mph on the treadmill, walked 5 minutes, jogged a mile at 5.5 mph then walked 5 minutes.

30 minutes on the elliptical machine  I started on level 17 (it goes up to 20) and worked out up to level 20 then backed it down a level a minute down to level 15 then worked back up to level 20 again.  This was intense!

PM:

55 minute neighborhood walk with my wife.  We did 3 big hills.  It was cool to see some of the Halloween decorations.  I do up our house every year but I found someone that out does me in a big way.

Those folks went all out!  The cat was at least 20 feet tall.  I have never seen that level of decoration ever before.  I have something to strive for next year.

Dinner was quick and easy tonight.  We made ground turkey nachos with lettuce, tomato, black eyed peas, peach salsa, light sour cream and reduced fat shredded cheese.  We used baked tortilla chips as the base.  It was delicious!

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Week 38 Day 6

Posted on October 29, 2011 by admin

Travel day home!

So with the wrestling behind me I needed to get up early and get out of my folks house so I could beat the storm home.  It was rough because I was pretty pumped up from the wrestling event and I did not make it into bed until a little after midnight.  I was still up before 6am and ready to start my day.  The rain had started already so I skipped my morning jog in the hopes I could get on the road at least 30 minutes quicker.  Truth be told I was mildly sore and was happy to have an excuse to skip the jog.  I could have done it and I should have, but I did not.  I ate breakfast, packed up and was on the road in 45 minutes.  What a trip it was.  I hit snow in Pennsylvania 1 hour into my drive and the temps dropped below freezing so I took it easy with my speed.  My normal 4.5 hour journey took over 6 hours to get home.  That did include 2 bathroom stops and a lunch stop.  Here is what it looked like on the way home to DC.

Not to much fun driving in the frozen slush.  I made it OK and and that is all that matters.  There were multiple accidents involving multiple cars, but fortunately they all were skidded either onto the center median or far off the roadway on the right side shoulder.  No rubber necking delays.

Besides skipping my AM workout I skipped the PM one too.   I have not skipped a full day of exercise in a long time but felt it was appropriate today due to weather conditions and the comfort of sharing the couch with my wife.  We missed each other for these few days apart.   That is it for today.  Tomorrow I will be back at the grind.

 

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Week 38 day 5

Posted on October 28, 2011 by admin

Wrestling Night is tonight!

AM:

43 min jog  3.77 mile

PM:

3 minutes of wrestling.     I know that does not sound like a lot.  Just 3 minutes.  Those three minutes were an eternity.   I forgot about the nervous feeling I would get before stepping out onto the mats.  I forgot the feeling of standing before a crowd.  I forgot the feeling of locking up with an opponent and wrestling.  All for three minutes that felt like an hour.

It was a great three minutes.  My opponent was 10 years younger than me.  He outweighed me by a few pounds.  He was the better wrestler.  He won.  He deserved it.   He could have pinned me twice.   We went the full 3 minutes though.  I think that was good for both of us.  We each made a new friend today.

He is on a weight loss journey of his own.  He might stop by and check this blog out.  I hope he does. I also hope he will share some of what he has been doing as he is working towards getting in better shape.

After the adrenalin had worn off and I was sitting there cooling off I started to feel some soreness in my neck and chest muscles. NOT INJURY!  Just some soreness.  I fell like I did a regular workout tonight.  But it was only three minutes.   Those three minutes have done more for me than than my last 30 workouts have.  I feel re-energized.  I know I need to be pushing more in the gym.  My intensity needs to crank up some.  I have become complacent with my workouts.  I am working out like I am maintaining  myself instead of developing a better me.  Those three minutes were exactly what I needed to to gain the clarity I have drifted from.   I got good feeling about my next few weeks in the gym.

I stepped on the scale to see I was 258.5 lbs today.  I was glad to see that.   254 is right around the corner.

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Brandy’s Update, She is doing incredible!

Posted on October 28, 2011 by admin

Through my journey of weight loss I have made a few friends along the way.  Brandy is surely one of them.   She is a determined lady working hard and getting really fit!  You go Brandy!   Here is her update with what is going on in here daily life.

Hello everyone… again… To date I have lost 65 pounds and have lost several, several inches. I have went from a size 26 to a size 18 and can even fit in a pair of 16’s… All my clothes are too big for me lol.
I have been walking and also have started riding a bike generally everyday. I have slacked a little on my eating habits, but still do not eat junk food. I eat foods that are high in protein and that are low in calories. I do not think that I have actually hit my calorie count since I started with my lifestyle change, but came close… I am working on that. I need to get my Wii hooked back up so that I can exercise regularly, not just walking and riding a bike.
I have been a lot more active and have been through a lot that could have held me down in my process, but being that I am determined to get this for me… I let nothing stop me!!! In the last month there have been a lot of triumphs for me and my family… We finally have our own place and my children are so different (in a good way) now that they are “home”…not just in a house… I am better also, for a little while I was taking depression medication which hindered my lifestyle change because it made me so sleepy I was not doing anything, but sleeping. I have been able to take myself off of the medication and am doing well… I plan on working harder than ever now that stress is at a minimal and things are back in order..
My general menu for the day
Breakfast: Nutrigrain bar and a glass milk or scramble eggs and a slice of toast
Lunch: A healthy choice meal and water
Dinner: baked chicken, steamed vegetables, rice, and bread of some sort
I have some snacks in between- I get the 100 calorie packs for snacks. I have gone from drinking regular pop to diet pop, but I do not recommend it to men, it contains aspartame and can cause complications with your prostate. I also drink more water, but will admit not enough…
I hope the next time I write it will be to say that I have hit my below 200 mark I am so close…

Thank you Joe for your inspiration…

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week 38 day 4

Posted on October 27, 2011 by admin

AM:

3 mile jog with my wife through the neighborhood

PM:  traveled to NJ,  I am wrestling tomorrow!

It was a rough trip to NJ.  It normally takes 4.5 hours and today it took 6. Weather was tough, traffic was tough, construction was tough.  Oh Well.  I can’t wait for the matches.  I hope to leave the mats without being to sore.

Billy, thanks you always know what to say, even when it is best to say nothing at all! (I kid, I kid)  Check your email!

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Week 38 Day 3

Posted on October 26, 2011 by admin

AM:
33 min jog 3 miles
30 min elliptical machine

PM:
15 min Dumbbell aerobics, 3 sets of (Push-ups, over head presses, dead lifts, body squats, curls, sit-ups)
20 min bike
10 min jog

I feel really good today. My workouts were very sweaty and I got my body worked! I am really excited about getting to wrestle on Friday. I hope to do well. I hope my exercising will allow me to be competitive. I am slower, weaker, and out of practice for wrestling. Hopefully my opponent will be even more slower, weaker and out of practice. Oh well no matter what it will be fun getting to wrestle again.

Dinner tonight was the best we have had for weeks! OK maybe that is an exaggeration, but it was really good. Veggie stir fry with steak. YUM!

 

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Week 38 Day 2

Posted on October 25, 2011 by admin

WooHoo another day!

AM:
20 min jog
15 min bike
20 min elliptical machine

PM:
Weight lifting!

Assited pull ups 5 sets
Incline bench press 5 sets
leg press 5 sets
lateral raises 3 sets
Dumbbell dead lifts 4 sets
Curls 4 sets

I ate well today. Of course dinner was the best. Anyone that knows me knows I put hot sauce on everything. I love adding hot peppersto food I cook and like to kick it up a notch, BAM! so I made Wasabi Chicken.

I am someone who believes spicy foods are good!  If it make you cry, you know why, the spices!  One time I made a chili so hot my wife could not eat it and I had opened my sinuses and tears were rolling down my face.  All that thanks to Dave’s Insanity sauce.   That was hot.  Now back to my Wasabi chicken.  It is not wasabi at all.  It is pureed broccoli with some shredded cheese and sour cream mixed in.  I don’t think I could eat that much wasabi if that was what was really on the chicken.  Very enjoyable.

So how many of you believed that was wasabi on the chicken?

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Week 38 Day 1

Posted on October 24, 2011 by admin

More job searching.  It’s tough out there folks!

AM:
60 minutes on the elliptical stepper machine

PM:
30 minutes (5 sets of push-ups, body squats, dumbbell overhead presses, dumbbell dead lifts, curls and sit-ups)
30 minutes elliptical machine

I am having a hard time trying to active during the day since I need to work on the computer and fill out job applications. It takes me hours and saps my energy. I also take a 1 hour break and watch some TV during the day. Factor in breakfast, morning snack and lunch, well my day is gone! It happens so fast!

Dinner was pretty good tonight. We had shrimp over salad. The shrimp was not the best tasting but it was a good dinner. Next time I will pick a different brand of shrimp.

 

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Week 37 Dat 7

Posted on October 23, 2011 by admin

We went on a hik etoday!  It was cool.  We went to Accotink Lake in Fairfax County, VA.  The hike was 4 miles around the lake plus the access trail we took to get to the lake.  There were lots of folks out and about and mountain biking around the lake is common.  There were also other smaller trails off the main one for mountain bikes.  It was just what we needed.

AM:

20 min 2 mile jog
30 min elliptical machine

PM:
5 miles of hiking, most of it around the lake.

Today was a great day.

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Week 37 Day 6

Posted on October 22, 2011 by admin

AM:

43 minute treadmill jog, 4 miles

PM:

80 minute bike ride with my wife through some neighborhoods.  There were some hills!

 

Not a bad day, but not a great one either.  I was up late last night and woke up earlier than I wanted to.  I felt tired today and tried to take a nap on the couch but was woken up by the phone.  I feel really tired now and ready for bed.  I hope tomorrow will be better.

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