Week 19 day 1

Posted on June 13, 2011 by admin

Today started out with a great jog with my wife.  We did 3.3 miles and there were some hills mixed in as a bonus.  I really needed a bathroom break half way through but there was nothing I could do but jog on till I got home.    I ended up being slower than I could have been but I was feeling some stomach cramps  so there was no reason to strain myself.   It is funny only a few months back I could not even think of jogging and here it is I am doing multiple miles.   That rocks.

Work was an easier day, no ladder work and not too much walking around.  I appreciate an easier day every now and then.

After work I did a garage lifting workout.  I am calling it the Terrible Two’s.  I did 2 sets of an exercise or muscle group then modified the exercise and did 2 more sets.  I feel like I workout out and my muscles we pushed in some new ways.  Here is what I did:

Double overhead press starting with the bar on the ground, lifting overhead, back to shoulders than back over head then down to the floor for a repetition.
70lbs-6,6

overhead press starting from ground
70lbs-8,8

shoulder press
90lbs-7,7

squats
90-10,10

bar in front squats
70-10,10

body weight deep squats
10,10

ez-bar curls with 50lbs
15,15

35lb dumbbell concentration curls each arm
4,5

chin-up pull downs on lat machine
108lbs-15,15

Triceps curl over head with ez-bar and 50 lbs
10,10

triceps curls/extensions over head 35lbs dumbbell
15,15

That kicked my ass! But it was good.

I ate well today and felt good for it. I consumed 2,343 calories which is slightly higher than desired but still I feel good. I ate so much fruit today. I had 2 bananas, an apple, cherries, a grapefruit, watermelon and cantelope. Dinner was my favorite. I had steak, pan roasted red peppers and yellow squash. It was delicious!

At this point I already ate one piece of steak.

I ran into a buddy I knew from work and he was amazing at my weight loss so far.  He is an inspirational transformation story himself.  He was on the heavy side and is now slim and muscular through diet and exercise.  Gerald is the man!

Not much else to say,  other than I look forward to tomorrow.

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Week 18 Day 7

Posted on June 12, 2011 by admin

Some days you’re the dog,  some days you’re the hydrant.

Today was not my day.  too many things seemed to work against me.  I set out for my morning workout to find my was blocked by the police.   The road on the way to my gym was closed for the air force bike ride that was taking place.  Not a big deal.  I’ll go to the other gym I belong to.  I park and walk to the from door and give it a pull and damnit it is locked.  The gym was not open.  I am thinking WTF?  it is 9:35 am.  Why are they not open?????  So I headed home and had some breakfast.  After cooling off I decided to get my bicycle out and go for a ride on the WO&D trail near my house.  I did have a good ride but initially I felt slow on the bike.  I was averaging between 7-9 MPH.   I used to ride at 10-13 MPH  so I felt like I was off.  It is a gradual up hill and I have not been riding much this year so I did not worry too much.  I rode out 30 minutes and turned back fo rmy truck.  On the way back I was flying!  I made it back in 20 minutes.  I was topping out at 19 mph on the way back.  I felt better seeing that.

I had a big bowl of home made fruit salad for lunch and I finally got to take a nap and relax for a while.  It felt great.  I watched some TV, played some video games, not a care in the world.   I debated on going to the gym in the evening but once my wife got home from shopping she needed help in the garden  so that stopped the idea of an afternoon workout.  I do not like skipping a workout but I do not need to exersice twice a day every day either.  sometimes you need a break.  Today was that day for me.

I did OK eating today.  I consumed 2,269 calories for the day.    My eating was somewha off with what I ate and when I ate it.  For breakfast I had a grilled cheese with tomato  and 2 morningstar sausage patties.   Lunch was a frut salad with a banana, apple, grapefruit, and apricot.  Dinner was ground turkey, kidney beans, fire roasted tomatoes, avocado, sour cream over lettece.  It was terrific.  Then my wife cut up strawberries and added blueberries.  What a meal.

Tomorrow is back to the grind

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Week 18 Day 6

Posted on June 11, 2011 by admin

Ah the joy of sleeping in!  I made it to 6:45 am!   Those extra 3 hours felt great.  My wife and I decided on a hike near the Potomac river as a morning cardio activity.  It was about an hour long and had some good ups and downs.  There was sand to walk through, rocks to navigate over,  little streams to cross and shade for a lot of the way.  There were also bugs and spider webs and lots of sweat!  A good workout for sure.

W needed to go to the mall to check out some items and decided on getting massages at one of the places.   It was intense, painful, relaxing and tensing all at the same time.  The place was all Asian staffed and all they did there was massages for 10, 20 or 30 minutes.  We went with 20 minutes and it was plenty.  My wife had to ask her person twice to go more gentle as she could not take the force of the massage.  I suffered through it and was picturing my guy’s full time jog as a Ninja assasin that specialized in killing with pressure points.  I was ready to tap out a could times but could not bring myself to do it.   I have had deep tissue massages before and know they don’t feel good at the time but you feel better later.    When we were doneand walking to the next place we both realized we felt light like we were floating.  That was a weird sensation, especially for both of us to feel the same way.

The day went on with chores and helping out some family with stuff and I finnally made it to the gym for a PM weight lifting session.  I was feeling weaker today and don’t know if it was because of the massage, or if I was feeling tired, of if I did not feed my body propperly today up to that point.  Here is what I did:

assisted pull-ups
+70-4
+85-5
+100-5
+115-5
+130-7

Assisted dips
+130-6
+115-6
+100-6
+85-6
+100-6

Bench Press
135-12
185-5,4,3,3
135-10

squats
95-10
145-6
95-10,10

ez-bar curls +50lbs
15,12,10,8,8

Hammer strength over head press
+90-10,10,10,10

I was spent after this. I was also ready for some dinner. I headed home and cooked some lean burgers on the stove top and we also ate raw carrots and cherry tomatoes with our burgers. For dessert we had watermellon.

I am over on my calories for the day. I ate 2,450 calories worth of food. One thing I did do differently today was to eat a snack prior to my morning cardio. I had a apple with a spoonful of peanut butter. That was about 260 calories right there. I’ll look to do better tomorrow but I was not terrible today. I did have an active day with 2 workouts. Here is to seeing another day pass. I look forward to tomorrow.

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Week 18 Day 5

Posted on June 10, 2011 by admin

Today started with an adventure!  My wife asked if we could jog some hills.  I mentally plotted a course through our neighborhood that hit 5 good hills and two small gradual hills.  It kicked my butt!  We did 4.2 miles in 58 minutes.   Not fast but not bad with the hills.   I was soaked all the way down to my sox.

I ate well again but did eat some heavier foods today.  Lunch included left overs of the tortellini, chicken , asparagus and vodka sauce  mix  and dinner was steak, corn on the cob and potatoes cooked in the frying pan.  I added white onion and red pepper to the potatoes and portobello mushrooms to the steak.  I try not to do heavy meals back to back days but I just did not feel like salad and steak tonight.  I was saving the potatoes to make mashed potatoes this weekend but this meal really needed something more than steak and corn.

Before dinner I went to Bally’s again for a cardio workout.  I got on the scale to see where I was at and BAM!  I lost some more weight.

I see so much more of my feet in the picture now.  That is a lot of weight gone.  But hey I got a long way to go still.

My afternoon workout was 30 minutes on the elliptical machine.  I started on level 18 for 3 minutes, then level 17 for 3 minutes, then level 16 for for the balance of the time.  I did sweat a bunch but my heart rate never got much above 120 except for the 3 15 second sprints I did in the last 3 minutes where I got the machine up to 13.4 mph and 16.1 mph.  I checked my heart rate then and it took a while to get the reading but when I did it was at 140 bpm.  I guess I need to start doing silly fast sprints when I use the elliptical trainers now to get more out of the cardio time.

The weekend is here and I am sure there will be some interesting things going on.  Maybe some urban mall hiking?  Definately some real hiking is the weather allows.  And time to catch up on sleep!  I already staerted that today.  when I got home from work I took a 45 minute nap.  I was soo tired I did not want to go to the gym.  The 45 minutes got me back in the game.  It is 9:20 and I am ready for bed.  Unti

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Week 18 Day 4

Posted on June 9, 2011 by admin

I did it!  I ran a mile in under 10 minutes.

I was not chocking and coughing when done so that was really cool too.  I own 10 minute miles now!  I now have to up my distance again or work on doing 2 miles for time.  I had some pep in my step after this.  I then did 30 minutes on the elliptical stepper machine.  This was a great workout despite only being 40 minutes.

Work was another great day too.  I cruised through the day and did not let little things side track  me.  Two of my co-workers also commented on the weight I lost and how I need to but new clothing since my shirts don’t fit anymore.  That was cool to here.  We usually bust each other’s chops more than compliment each other so it was good to here.

We are in the middle of a heat wave with temperatures in the high 90’s.  I was feeling ambitious so I did a garage workout today.  I left the side door wide open and the roll up door open a foot.  I was sweating big time and it felt good.  a few times when I was between sets I would step out the side door and feel the cool of the 90 degree plus temperatures.  I was that hot in the garage.  I did drink plenty of water when working out.

I ate well all day again with the usual stuff for breakfast and lunch.  Dinner was more ambitious with Tortellini, asparagus, yellow squash, chicken breast and vodka sauce to top it all.

Dinner was almost 900 calories but I stayed very close to my 2,200 goal.  I consumed 2,298 calories.  I like it.

tomorrow is going to be a jogging day with the wife in the AM and I promised her hills!  I can’t wait to see how hot it will feel tomorrow morning.  Well it will be Friday and that makes everything better!

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Week 18 Day 3

Posted on June 8, 2011 by admin

So what do you do, when what you do does something that surprises you, when you do it?

Today was a kick ass morning workout.  My wife and I went for a 3 mile jog.  We averaged 12 minute miles and that was with hills!   For me that was great.  My wife could have gone faster for sure but she still enjoyed the time in the AM with me.

Work was a normal day, for what normal days have become.  I was busy and walking all over the place, up and down ladders, etc.  I felt good doing it.

After work I went to Bally’s to work out and I got on the scale,  drum roll please….

I like this routine stuff.  The same thing with the same results.  Good results!

I ate well all day.  I had a hotdog (Gasp!  not an evil hotdog!) with my hard boiled eggs and instant oatmeal.  The hotdog was close in calories to what I have been eating.  The rest was the usual stuff.   I had a special K raspberry crisps bar for a snack mid morning and the tuna salad with lettuce for lunch.  I also ate a grapefruit and an orange with my lunch.  My afternoon snack was a banana  on the drive home.  Dinner was left over turkey burgers chopped up and we added black beans, Peach salsa and sour cream to the mix and had it over salad.

I also had fresh cherries and some cantalope for dessert.   For the day I ate 2,201 calories,  Spot on!

My workouts today were both good. 3 mile jog in the AM and 30 minutes on an elliptical machine at levels 15 through 17.  I sweated really good during both cardio sessions.

Hey what more can I say,  LIFE IS GOOD!

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Week 18 Day 2

Posted on June 7, 2011 by admin

Where to start?  I went to the gym this morning and decided on a low impact cardio session since jogging with my wife the morning before and jogging during my PM workout yesterday.  I used the elliptical stepper machine.  The thing is neat.  you can do stair stepper motions or elliptical stepper motions and vary the shape of the elliptical foot travel as you go.  I did 45 minutes and felt OK with the workout.  I was running a bit late or I would have done it for a little longer.

I made it through another day of work.  There were funny times and frustrating times, just like anywhere else.  I have been fortunate to be working solo  for most of my time on the site so I only had to worry about me and my work vs. having to worry about what the temporary employees are doing.Once I set up my work area I can jam with my ipod and punch down the closets.   This has been a nice change of pace for me.  I am also more active on this site and that is a good thing for me too.

After work I hit the gym for a weight lifting session.  Here is what I did:

Assisted pull ups

+70-5
+85-5
+100-5,5

Bench press
135-20
185-5,(4,1),3,3
135-10

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

leg extensions
130-10
150-10
170-10
190-10

Triceps curl downs with rope
57.5-10
52.5-10
47.5-10

I also was lucky enough to be invited to pay a bonus amount for parking owed to my county as a thanks for not paying to park in the first place.  Yep a 35 dollar ticket.  I earned it.  I have not paid more than once we going to my one gym.  It is street parking with pay stations, nit even real meters.   I am not even sure how many times I have gotten away with it but I got busted this time.  Oh well.

For the most part I ate well today.  I can in high on calories,  I consumed 2,511 calories for the day.  I know where I went a little crazy.  I had white rice twice today and that added up.  I also had a nature valley peanut butter granola bar instead of a special K bar.  That right there is about 400 calories extra.  I really wanted the peanut butter granola bar so I feel no guilt there.  I should have skipped the rice with dinner since I did have a hamburger bun with my double stack turkey burger tonight.   Tomorrow morning is a run morning outside so I will see if I can push it more and maybe get some of those calories burned.

Good news from an online friend—-She has been dieting and has lost 18 pounds in a month!  You go Brandy!

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Week 18 day 1

Posted on June 6, 2011 by admin

It’s a back to work Monday!  I guess it is wrong to be excited about going back to work.  Work can be such a great source of entertainment though.  Some days I feel like I am working at Dunder Mifflin,  if they did cabling work.  We have all kinds of charactors working for us since we have a bunch of temps working with us.  It really is that funny sometimes.

Since it is Monday and my gym does not open early on Mondays (why the hell not?  I bet more people would start their day better if they hit the gym first) my wife and I went on a 3 mile jog through the neighborhoods.  The hills killed me.  I did it though.  I have not had the feeling yet where things are getting easier.  I remember that from years ago as I added distances to my runs.  there would be this day where it just clicked and I was no longer struggling with my speed or hills.  That day has not arrived yet for me this time around.  I think it did for my wife.  She averaged 9:41 a mile for her 5K Global Race for the Cure.   My Bunny is a faster bunny!  Faster than me!

I worked my day away and hit the gym after work to get some bonus cardio in.  I stepped on the scale to see and WOW I lost weight weight again.  BooYah!

I am loving life!  Pretty soon I will be looking at 275 on the scale.  This journey has been amazing so far.   Good times, bad times, it does not matter.  It has been a real experience.

I made a big mistake tonight.  I forgot to take pictures of the amazing dinner we shared with our brother and sister-in-law.  We had a BBQ with  filet mignon, chicken breast,  onions, red peppers, pineapple, mushrooms, and cherry tomoatoes served with white rice with some honey added.  We also toasted the meal with some sparkling white wine.  I over did it a little with a second serving of rice.  I should have skipped the rice and had the fruit cup dessert instead, but I really liked the rice.  Hey it was my choice.   I totalled 2,369 calories for the day.  That is a little high but I was very active at work and I did 2 cardio sessions today so I am owning that meal completely.  Tomorrow will be another great day.  I look forward to

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Week 17 Day 7

Posted on June 5, 2011 by admin

Another day has gone by, another week has gone by.   I feel good. Today had a workout high mixed in wiith some mediocracy.  I got the extra sleep I was looking for.  I got about 10 hours solid sleep.  I woke up stiff and sore so I know I got plenty of sleep.  I hit the gym and jogged 2 miles and then got on the elliptical stepper for 20 minutes.  My initial goal was to do 60 minutes of cardio, but I felt done at 45 minutes.  I did fele like weight lifting so I started with squats, then assisted pull ups, and finnaly assisted dips.  I am at a new lower amount for the assisted pull-ups and that kicks ass.

Squats

bar-10
95lbs-10
145-6
195-3
145-6
95-8

Assisted pull-ups

+85-5,5,5,5

assisted dips

+160-6
+145-6
+130-6
+115-6
+100-6

What a great surprise it was to be stronger with the pull-ups.   I might actually make it to doing body weight pull-ups in the future.

I headed home and enjoyed a great breakfast. 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites scrambled with turkey sausage and cheddar cheese.  I also shared an apple and banana with my wife and I did have some peanut butter with honey as well.  Breakfast was a large 654 calories but I ate it at 10:15am  so I would have had a 400  to 500 calories breakfast and 90-200 calorie snack by that time so I did not freak over the meal.  At around 1:00pm I had 2 slices of leftover pizza.  That was 420 calories there.  Not horrible and my fat intake is better today since  I only ate one whole egg for breakfast.  With lunch gone we went grocery shopping.  I realized I never took any pictures of what the grocery cart looks like when we are stocking up on food for the week so here goes:

Do you see a common theme there?  LOTS OF FRUITS AND VEGGIES!   They are your friends, eat them!  They do good things with your body.  We added some steak, chicken and shrimp to the cart as well.  If you substitute fruit into your meals for higher calorie “snacks” you will lose weight.  Eat more veggies and less pastas, breads, and rice and you will lose weight.  You do not need to eliminte stuff completely from your meals but limit the bad stuff and eat more of the good stuff.  It is that easy.  Add exercise and you will become a different person.  Too easy.

Besides grocery shopping I went to a sporting goods store to pick up a curl bar for the garage.  I also bought two  25lb plates to go with it.  I figured I would not want to be swapping the same  plates each time I use the curl bar so now I have dedicated plates for the curl bar.  I also decided to do a light lifting workout to try out my new purchase.

curls with ez-curl bar plus 2-25lb plates

10,10,10,10

overhead triceps curls with ez-bar plus 2-25lb plates

8,8,8,8

bent over rows

70lbs-10,10,10,10

lateral raises/upright rows

70lbs-10,10,10,10

This was a decent light workout.  My muscles feel worked.  Now time for dinner!   We decided to enjoy shrimp with oven roasted yellow squash, eggplant, and red pepper.

I was still hungry after this so I had a bolw of lettuce with the remainder of shrimp on it with balsamic vinegar as a dressing.  It was great.   This was one amazing meal.  Later for dessert we shared a juicy grapefruit that was not too sweet or tart.

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Week 17 day 6

Posted on June 4, 2011 by admin

My wife did it!  she ran in the Global race for the cure!  I am soo proud of her.

While she was doing that I went for a hike  off the George Washington Parkway at Turkey run park.  I did not see any turkeys.  I had a great hike.  The Potomac was high but not overflowing onto the trail.  There were baby ducks swimming with their moms, and all kinds of birds singing to me this morning.  The hike lasted an hour and I was ok with the hike back up to the park.  I never had to stop to catch my breath.  I even jogged some on the level areas.   This was very empowering since last time I felt like I could not breath coming back up to the parking lot.

I went home and caught a nap before having to pick up my wife.  It was much needed.  Later after lunch I helped move funiture out of a house in DC for some bonus activity  and before dinner I went to the gym and sent 45 minutes divided between the elliptical machine, the stair stepper and a mile on the treadmill.

Calorie wise I ate well today totaling 2,013 calories, but my fat intake was almost 50 % of my nutrition for the day so I know I was off.  Breakfast started me off wrong when I cut up a hotdog as my meat product with 3 scrambled eggs and some cheese.    Lunch was ok with 2 cans of tuna with 1.5 servings of light mayo  over some lettuce.  Dinner was 2 slices of pizza, a salad, half a grapefruit and some honey roasted nuts.  It looks like EITHER my breakfast OR dinner choice would have been ok if I did not have both of them on the same day.  Lesson learned.  There is leftover pizza  so I know I will need to eat low fat the rest of the day if I decide to eat some of it.

Tomorrow is going to be great as I plan to sleep in as late as I can before going to the gym.  I really need a long night of sleep.  My luck I will be up by 6am.  If that happens I am going to la

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