Week 20 Day 3

Posted on June 22, 2011 by admin

Another night of 5.5 hours of sleep.  I can’t break the cycle.  Well I am half way to the weeken so it is OK.

I had a decent morning workout.   I jogged for 25 minutes then did the elliptical machine for 25 minutes.  I had a good sweat going and I felt like I got something out of the workout.

My afternoon workout was a short one, only 20 minutes.  I jogged again and then walked 2 minutes to cool down.  I felt done at that point so I wrapped it up.  I weighted myelf when I first got there and I am down a little again.  I like seeing that.

It was not much but the scale is moving in the right direction.

I felt like I ate normally today but my calorie count for the day is low.  I only consumed a little below 1,900 calories.  I guess I started right with a breakfast 100 calories lower than normal, lunch was only 560 calories and dinner was 675 calories.  I did not have a evening snack either so I am way good for today.  Dinner was the best meal of the day.  I had chicken thighs and almonds cooked in the pan with some spices and Stubb’s marinaide over a big bowl of lettuce with some balsamic vinegar.  It was filling and I feel good after eating it.  I will recreate this meal again in the near future.

If I feel up to it I will do the 6 mile loop in the AM.  My neighbor asked me if I would jog a 5k in the near future and I said  yes.  He is much faster than me but is only now getting back into jogging after some procedures he had done that stopped him from running for a while.  I countered with a 10k offer and he seemed willing to

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Week 20 Day 2

Posted on June 21, 2011 by admin

So the alarm goes off way too soon and I struggle to get out of bed.  Not the start to the day I want but it is the one I get.  I look outside and the ground is wet so I decide to go to the gym to workout.  I knew I needed to run so I got on the treadmill and jogged 3 miles in 35 minutes.  Not bad.  I then did 20 more minutes on the elliptical stepper machine.   I broke a good sweat and this got my day going right.

Off to work and I was back home before I knew it.  Some days just fly by.  I rested a bit then went to the gym to do some lifting.

Assisted pull ups
+100-8
+70-4.5
+85-5
+100-5
+115-8

Assisted dips
+115-10,10,10,10,10

Bench press (my arms and chest was done before I even tried to do any)
135-10,10,10

Hammer strength shoulder press with a 45lb plate on each side
10,10,10,10

EZ-Bar curls with 50lbs
10,10,10,10

Dumbbell dead lifts
50lbs each-10,10
60lbs each-10,10,10

The dumbbell dead lifts are my new favorite exercise. I was panting like a dog after doing them. My heart was racing and I was sweating. This was a kick ass workout.

My nutrition for the day was pretty darn good. I had nice breakfast of an apple chopped up with a Yoplait light yogurt on top and 2 chicken and apple sausages. Lunch was 2 cans of tuna, light mayo, some green olives and a large tomato chopped up and mixed in.

This was a great tasting lunch FULL of protien. Dinner was my favorite though, I did a veggie stirfry and then cooked up some lean pork loin chops and mixed it all together with some wicked spices.

My total calories for the day were 2,329 calories.  I had  2 great workouts today and burned a bunch of calories so I am feeling good about today.  I am looking forward to conquering tomorrow!

 

 

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Brandy Day’s weight loss Journey

Posted on June 21, 2011 by admin

So today I am doing something a little bit different,  I have asked a friend from Myspace to share some of her insights  of her journey into fitness.   Here is what Brandy has to say….

I am on a weight loss challenge for myself also Joe, I started in the second week of May and have to date lost -31 pounds, I cut out all red meat and have started eating right, I eat chicken and turkey items..Like Turkey burger, turkey bacon, etc. It has become a great way of life for me…I am not calling it a diet..I take one step at a time and NEVER EVER look at the end result it seems to far away..I always make small goals and make sure to always reward myself for the goals that I accomplish…-30 pounds was my first goal and now I am going -25 pound goals from there…My ultimate goal is -100 pounds and I am almost a third of the way there already, but it does come with downfalls, I am not going to sugar coat anything..It is hard work and being mindful of what you decide to stick in your mouth…I also workout and walk all the time…I walk about 1 to 2 and a half miles a day and workout with my Wii…I also workout with my strength bands to try and get rid of this flab on the back of my arms…I am concerned about the excess skin that comes with weight loss, but I am going with one thing at a time….I noticed that if I call it a diet that I am more than likely not going to stick with it so I call it a lifestyle change…I have also included my boyfriend and my children as much as possible…We walk together and have outings together…I try to include them, my boyfriend has told me that he isn’t interested in losing weight until I have dropped at least 50 pounds he wants us to reach goals together and do things together and that will bring us closer….He is wonderful and for the most part is very encouraging…It helps greatly to have a great support system…My middle daughter is overweight so I have been helping her to be more healthy in her decisions of food…I want to thank Joe for offering me this opportunity to tell my story about how I am doing it….This is something I have wanted for a longtime and I have come to a point in my life where I need to do something for myself and I have chosen something that will help my arthritis and the self-confidence I have for myself….Thank you again JOE

Thank you again Brandy for sharing this with me.  I see a common thread in your,  mine and other’s successes,  It is a lifestyle change.  That can not be stressed enough.  It would make no sense to eat well, lose the weight then go back to eating unhealthy like before.  Lifestyle changes!

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Week 20 Day 1

Posted on June 20, 2011 by admin

There is 6 weeks left and I am in the final stretch.  Looks like I may not make my goal in the remaining 6 weeks, but I will make it!      I did the math and I will need to lose 5.3 pounds a week for the next 6 weeks.  That is not likely.  Not impossible, just not likely.

I still don’t know where I am at on the scale from this big weekend that just passed.  I ate a lot of good food but the calories were way high.  I also only worked out once a day for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  That is double damage to my progress.     Today I got back to 2 workouts a day but the weather conspired against me.  It was raining at a steady pace this morning and I did not want to jog in it with threat of thunderstorms.  Unfortunately my gyms bith open at 5am on Mondays which meant I needed to workout at home.  I did my best and rode my airdyne stationary bike for 50 minutes.  It sure beat doing nothing.   My only other option would have been to get my work stuff together and hit the gym at 5 am and shower and leave to work from there.  I did not want to do that.

Anyway,  I did my time at work then decided on a garage weight lifting routine for the afternoon.  Here is what I did:

Squats
70-6
90-8
110-8
138-6

bar on chest squats
70-8

body weight deep squats
10

Over head presses starting with the bar on ground
90-5,5,5

over head press from chest
90-8,8

Curls with EZ-Bar and 50 lbs of weight
10,10,10,10

double handed tri’s behind my head with 35lb dumbbell
15,15,15

This was not a record lifting session but it got me sweating and my muscles working.  Tomorrow I will be jogging one way or another in the AM.

I did much better eating today.  I totalled 2,303 calories.  I ended up eating 2 smaller dinner meals tonight as I felt really hungry and needed to eat some before my lifting today.  This was the first time I felt hungry like that.  The eating before did not seem to hurt my efforts lifting but I would not do that on a cardio evening.   I am not sure if I will be going to weigh in tomorr

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Week 19 Day 7

Posted on June 19, 2011 by admin

Another off day.  I feel like I am in a funk.  I did a gym workout for 45 minutes on the elliptical stepper machine.  It felt good and I broke a good sweat but I never felt like the rest of the day was flowing right.

I caught up with some movies and tv shows and I also ate too much today.  It was a lose lose situation.   I expect work tomorrow will have me back in the groove and on routine.

Tomorrow will be a run in the AM and weights in the PM.    I look forward to getting back to where I should be.

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Week 19 Day 6

Posted on June 18, 2011 by admin

Today began slowly.  I was tired from lack of sleep all week,  tired from being up late last night and tired from the wine and beer.  Not hung over, tired and feeling slow.  I slowly ate breakfast, I slowly helped pack our company’s car with bags and bikes,  I slowly went back to bed and slept another hour.

I got up and still felt slow.  I had not exercised yet and I was already looking to eat some lunch.  My wife and I decided we would eat luch while watching a tv show we recorded and would go for a hike today as our activity.    We decided on a local trail system near the Potomac River that was heavily shaded.  That was important as it was very humid and the temperture today was going to be in the high 80’s.   I bought a new cell phone and decided to try it out on this hike.  The quality is better.   I can see my Honey Bunny much better.

We hiked for 87 minutes and I was sweating  by the gallons.  I guess the wine and beer had really rocked my body.  I was breathing harder and sweating more than I was expecting.  It is a good think I don’t have company over more often!  After getting home and showered I felt like myself again.  It was good.  Before we knew it dinner was calling and we had a desire for salmon.  I pan cooked the salmon and in a seperate pan cooked a potato that I cut into small cubes, a whole eggplant cut into larger cubes, 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and paprika.

The dinner was good and later in the evening I had some rainbow sherbet as dessert.  Of all the evil dessert choices we could have made sherbet seemed like not such a bad choice.  It is light, cold and sweet, just like most desserts are.  It is also only 110 calories a serving.

 

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Week 19 day 5

Posted on June 17, 2011 by admin

Quick post for now,    Tonight was a family reunion party with family I have not seen in 30 years.  We had 10 folks toatal and 5 bottles of wine to go with a great dinner.  It is too late tonight to break the day down,  I’ll catch it up tomorrow.

Updated 6/18/11

OK here is the breakdown for yesterday…

The morning started like any other and my wife amd I went for a 3 mile jog through the neighborhoods.  It was enough of a workout since we did the 6 mile jog earlier in the week.  Work was on the easy side and I had some shopping to do for a dinner party with family I have not seen in 30 years.  It was a great reunion.  I met my family’s daughters for the first time  and also had the pleasure of meeting a local young couple as well.   All this running around to get ready for the party meant I did not do a PM workout.  That was bad for me, but hey this is real life and I had not seen them in 30 years!  I had to skip one for them.

Dinner was pleasure for me to make.  I used to cook in the Army and don’t often get the chance to cook for more than 2-4 people.  Cooking for 10 had me thinking of my Army days.  The meal was going to be steak and chicken kebobs on the grill but there was a threat for rain so I pan cooked the meal instead.  I also had chopped red peppers, onions and mushrooms pan grilled and we served this with a mixed greens salad.  We also had fruit salad, rainbow sherbert, hummus and pita chips.  Besides this we had lemonade and 5 bottles of wine.  5 bottles for ten people where 2 of the ten are not drinkers!  We were laughing hooting and hollering.  We shared stories and memmories.  It is a night to remember and cherrish.  We made some plans to visit them in Texas next year since we will be going that way to climb Enchanted Rock with some online friends.

Now for the bad… I only had one workout for the day.   I ate well but did have more quantity and calories than I normally would.  I also had 3 beers during the day and about a bottle of wine myself throughout the night.

 

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Week 19 Day 4

Posted on June 16, 2011 by admin

Today was a take it easier kind of day.    My morning workout was low impact.  I did 15 minutes each on the elliptical stepper, the bike and the elliptical machine.  I also did 3 sets of crunches.

Work was an easier pace also.  I worked steady but did not have to break a sweat today and that was nice.

After work I hit the gym and did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine for some bonus low impact cardio.  It felt good but I missed the jogging.  Good thing tomorrow morning will be a run day!

My eating was off today.  My breakfast was good and so were my 2 break snacks but lunch today was the left over pasta, ricotta cheeses and sauce   joined with some cantelope and a grapefruit.  It was a heavier meal and a higher calorie one.  In itself that would not have been terrible but I had a middle easten meal for dinner.  It was a little over 1,100 calories just for the dinner.  My total calories for the day were a high 2,501 calories.  I will need to tighten up tomorrw during the day since we are having company over for a family meal and it might be a high one as well.

That’s it for today

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Week 19 Day 3

Posted on June 15, 2011 by admin

Today was a record setting day!  My wife and I went for a 6 mile jog this morning.  Last time it took us 1 hour and 22 minutes.  Today we did it in 1 hour 13 minutes!   That is averaging 12:17 a mile.   I am very happy with that.

Work was a decent day.  I did not work too hard so that helped me with the 5 hours of sleep I had last night.

After work I hit the gym for some weight lifting.  It was tough going there,  I really wanted a nap instead.  I made it though and here is what I did:

Assisted pull-ups
+100-6
+85-5
+100-5
+115-5

Bench press
135-18
185-5,5
135-12

hammer strength shoulder press with a 45lb plate on each side
12,12,12,12

dumbbell dead-lifts (weight X 2 dumbbells)
40-10
50-10
60-10

Dip press machine
90-10
180-10
235-10
180-10

That totally kicked my butt!

I followed my plan and ate well all day.   For breakfast I had a bowl of instant oatmeal,  2 morningstar sausages, 4 hard boiled egg whites and a laughing cow light cheese wedge.  This was under 400 calories.  For my morning and afternoon snacks I had a special K bar, 90 calories each.   Lunch was a tuna salad combination that totalled 500 calories and dinner was chicken breast, black beans, peach salsa, feta cheese and green olives over a salad with balsamic vinegar as a dressing.  I also ate a wedge of laughing cow cheese  for a total of 667 calories.  So far for the night I am only at 1,863 calories.  I will probably have some fruit before the night is out to bump my calories closer to my 2,200 goal.

One thing is for sure, I am no longer a young man.  I feel aches and discomfort in my knees from the run today.  I was good most of the day but alas jogging is still rough on me.  I hope as I get lighter the discomfort will go away but that may not happen.  at some point in the future I may need to concentrate on shorter faster distances and see if that feels better for the rest of the day.

I am opening a new area on this site to incl

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Week 19 Day 2

Posted on June 14, 2011 by admin

Can you believe it?   Things are going great.  I have almost lost 20% of my starting body weight.  That is impressive.  I can’t wait to see how I feel once I hit my goal weight.

This morning was a gym workout and I started with the treadmill for 30 minutes.   I jogged 2   12 minute miles  then started to bump the speed up a little bit for each minute after until I reached 30 minutes.  I then did 20 minutes on the eliptical stepper machine.  I felt really good after this workout.

I worked an honest day and they got their money’s worth out of me.  I was up and down ladders and rushing here and there.   Work was a workout.

After work I went to the gym to weigh in and get 30 more minutes of cardio in.  I did the eliptical machine at level 15 and pushed it for mini sprints.  Total sweat workout.  Sweet!

I ate well today, of course!   today I re-introduced yogurt into my diet.  I had half an apple cut up and put my light yogurt over it to keep it from browning.  I liked it.  I was so happy to see the scale below 290lbs.  Dinner tonight was a pasta meal with prego sauce, ricotta cheese and chicken meatballs.  I did eat too much pasta but it was a celebration of sorts so I will accept it and I enjoyed it.

Tomorrow we are planning to do the 6 mile loop in the AM workout.  I hope to have a better showing than last time out.

66.8 pounds do

 

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