My Fat Ass

My Dear Friend Shin Splints... You Have Returned!

2008-07-22T00:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that correctly, my shin splints have come back. I was fairly certain they would. I mean, they were one of the reasons I stopped street running, and renewed my 24 Hour Fitness membership.

Well, last night they flared up again while I was on my jog, and I couldn't finish. I had to hobble all the way back home to take some Advil and ice my shins up. Not fun, not fun at all!

So, it looks like I will be doing my cardio at the gym again (woo hoo!) which sort of sucks because the gym is really, really boring! At least when I am street running, I can change my route up and see new sites. Not to mention the thrill of dodging cars, because I am running at night, and they can't see me too well.

Maybe I will buy a bike on Craigslist, or a cheap one at Walmart and start riding all over town. That would be a good exercise, and something I think I could stick to (at least for a while). I currently don't have a bike because the last time my wife and I had bikes they turned into over priced clothes hangers. That, or they sat outside on our balcony collecting dust. If I get a bike, I will seriously have to think long and hard about it... Oh, and get some solid rubber inner tubes so I never have to pump them up (Damn I am lazy!)

Anyway, wish me luck on my shin splints.

Guess what? I started walking again!

2008-07-10T23:47:00.001-07:00

For those few loyal readers I still have out there, you remember that a few months ago I added walking at lunch time to my weekly routine. It was a great way to burn additional calories throughout the week in addition to my daily workout routine.

Well, I sort of stopped doing my daily walk when one of my friends left the company I work for. The reason being was he was my walking partner, and going to a walk by yourself at lunch time is boring as hell.

Well, the guy who replaced him has decided to start walking with me, so ergo, I have started walking again at lunch time! Hopefully that combined with my new cardio plan (Which appears to be working out nicely here on day two) will help me break this plateau I have found myself on.

Okay, now I'm sick of weight training... Hello cardio!

2008-07-08T23:52:00.000-07:00

Man! Sometimes I feel like I am forcing myself to workout! The last time I posted I mentioned that I was getting sick of cardio, and that every time I went to the gym on cardio nights I would dread it. Now I am feeling the same way about weight training!

Many people would simply give up right about now. I mean why not? I have gone for over half of the year staying in shape, and maintaining my 30lb weight loss more or less. Why not give into the laziness? Well, that is the sort of trap many people fall into, and that is why people lose weight and then gain it all back.

No, these are the times when it is important to look at what you have accomplished, and reflect on how hard you have worked to get where you are! Then you need to re-group and come up with a different workout strategy. Something slightly different to keep things fresh, and to keep your body guessing.

I have a friend that is the manager of a 24 Hour Fitness here in San Diego, and he and I sat down and talked about this very thing when I decided to take a break from cardio. He told me that was a good idea, because your body quickly adapts to your workout, especially if you have been doing it for a while, and eventually it isn't doing you any good to keep doing it. That is one of the reasons boredom sets in with a routine, because your body has already been there and done that!

I am going to change things up a little, and I am going to do cardio 7 nights a week! I will be doing it a little differently than I did previously. This time I will be jogging on the street three nights a week (If you recall, I haven't done street jogging since February or March) when I get back from jogging I will do a set of 100 cruches and 50 push-ups, then BAM! Done! Two nights a week, I will go down to the gym and do 15 minutes on the bike then do 100 crunches, then do 15 minutes on the elliptical, then do 50 push-ups, then BAM! Done! On Saturday and Sunday I will do either the street jogging, or the gym routine (Whatever my mood pulls me towards).

We'll see how this routine goes. Hopefully I won't get too burned out with it. I am hoping that since I won't be doing more than 20 or 30 minutes of cardio that I won't get burned out too quickly.

Wish me luck!

Not posting for a while...

2008-06-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

Before you start in, I know I haven't posted for a few weeks on my stats. That is basically because my stats haven't changed for the last two weeks, let alone the last two months.

Maybe, I should say that I have been sliming down more, and becoming more toned since switching over to the all weight training routine, but my actual weight has remained constant. Because of that, It sort of depresses me to have to crawl over to the computer on Friday to report that nothing has changed.

I have decided that since nothing has changed, I am not going to waste my time, or your time. Don't get me wrong, I am not quitting, I am just not going to post unless something significantly changes one way or the other. For example, When I get down to 185, I will post about that. If I go back up to 200, I'll post about that. As long as I am maintaining the 190-195 range, I am not going to post about it. This lets me concentrate on working out, and eating right without the looming shadow of this blog.

I guess there isn't much else to say except, "See you at 185!"

I'm Sick of Cardio! I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore!

2008-06-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

Well, at least I'm going to do a lot less of it. For the last few weeks, when cardio night rolls around I cringe. It is so friggin' boring now! There are only so many cardio things one can do at the gym, before they all just blend together into one tiring, sweaty nightmare. Well, that is where I am at.

Also, I have hit another plateau. I cannot get below 188.5. In fact, since I got back from Colorado, the closest I have gotten to my 188.5 record, was 189, and that was a one day only thing. Most of the time I have been hovering around 192/193 and I just can't shake it.

I finally decided Tuesday night, that since cardio isn't working for me anyway, I will take a break for a bit. So If I am not doing cardio, what will I be doing? That's right, weight training people! Every day, I will be doing weight training. I will alternate daily between major muscle groups so they have time to rest, but I will be pumping cold hard iron the rest of the days.

To try to keep things fresh I will do weight training using my Total Gym on Mondays-Wednesdays-Fridays. On Tuesdays-Thursdays I will head down to the gym where I will do 10 minutes of cardio, then the rest weight training. On Saturdays-Sundays, I will do either Total Gym or the real gym depending on my mood.

With that in mind, I have developed a new weight training plan that I will rotate through throughout the week. I can do these exercises either at the gym or on my Total Gym. Here they are:

Now that we are up to date on the new workout routine, lets get to some numbers. Once again, they were not very impressive this week. I weighed in this morning at 191lbs. That is a 1/2lb drop from last week, which is really nothing to get excited about, but it is better than nothing. Here are my stats:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: .5lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: .26%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 31lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 13.96%

Besides what I already talked about, do you have any suggestions? Maybe diet wise, or workout wise? I am seriously all ears here. I do not want to get back to where I was, so quitting is not an option, but I am starting to get pretty discouraged.

Week 22 Results: Sorry so late

2008-06-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. You don't have to tell me that I am late on this post. I would have gotten this out on Friday 6/6 had it not been for the fact that my boss was out of the office. When he is out, you know what that means... You don't do shit!

I got so caught up in not really doing too much, that I actually forgot to post my results. It wasn't like my results were that great though. In fact, I gained a half of a pound since week 21. I weighed in at 191.5lbs. I was right about going on vacation. It seriously threw a wrench in my desire to work out. Sure I worked out when I was out there, but not every day. Now that I am back I have missed two days working out for one reason or another, and just last night I barely did my cardio (I usually try to burn 700+ calories, last night I only burned 300). I am just not into it like I was when I started. I seriously need some motivation!

Anyway, I know the date says 6/6 (I love blogger, I can change dates!), but really I am late on this. Here are the numbers:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: +.5lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: -.26%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 30.5lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 13.74%

I am still trying to beat my all time low of 188.5. I can use all the support I can get up in here!

Week 21 Results

2008-05-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to get this post out. It has been a hectic morning. One of my coworkers is leaving today so that means password changes!

Anyway, this will have to be quick because I have to get back to work. I weighed in this morning at 191lbs. I knew I was going to gain because I didn't eat too good while in Colorado, and also I didn't work out every day. Still, I was proud of the fact that I did work out a few times while I was there, and even when I got back. Hopefully next week I can get down below my 188.5 record from week 19.

Here are the stats:

Weight Loss Since ~~Last Week~~Week 19: +2.5lbs
Percentage Since ~~Last Week~~Week 19: -1.33%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 31lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 13.96%

Sorry I missed Last Friday. I was on Vacation

2008-05-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was in Colorado most of last week, and just got back in yesterday evening, so I am sorry that I didn't report on my weigh-in last Friday. It wasn't like I didn't think about it though. On Friday morning I was at my sister-in-law's house, and oddly enough, she doesn't own a scale so I couldn't do my weigh-in.

I was pretty proud of myself. I did exercise while I was out there, though it wasn't everyday like I wanted. Our schedule out there is so hectic with both sides of the family, that it doesn't make it very easy to work out everyday. Last night, back here in sunny San Diego, was the first time I was able to do my full calisthenics workout since I left. I mostly did cardio while I was out there because it is easier to do that on a tight schedule.

The hardest part about working out while out there was the altitude. Our first night there, I was at my parents house that is over 8000 feet above sea level and I went jogging around their mountain. Not even a block up the road I started wheezing like a mofo. I guess I am just used to the thicker air down here at sea level.

Anyway, I will report back on Friday with my weigh-in. I am sure I gained since the last one since I ate like crap while on Vacation. It is hard to maintain a diet when everyone around you is eating like horses.

Week 19 Results: I Broke 190!

2008-05-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

You read that right ladies and gentalmen! I finally broke the 190 mark! Not only did I break it, I then took out a broom and swept up all the pieces! I weighed in at a svelt 188.5 pounds! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

I think the key has been getting back to calorie reduction like I originally started doing. I stopped trying the six meals a day thing because that made me eat more, and I wasn't good at controlling portion size.

I really don't have a lot of time to write today, so I will get right to the stats:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: 3lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: 1.57%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 33.5lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 15.09%

I am pretty happy about this. I can't remeber the last time I weighed under 190! Happy Friday everybody!

Change to New Workout Routine

2008-05-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, I think I may have bit off more than I could chew with the routine I talked about yesterday. I had to make some modifications to the amount of reps. Jumping Jacks stayed the same, but I changed the rest. All of them except crunches I had to drop from 15 to 10. The reason being is I couldn't make it past the 7th set last night which was approximately 105 reps of each exercise. Dropping down to 10 reps equals 100 reps total when done. For crunches, I actually increased them to 30 per set. That is because 10 crunches per set didn't do anything for me. So here is the new and final plan:

New Workout Routine

2008-05-13T08:41:00.001-07:00

Hey folks! Sorry it took me so long to come up with my new routine for this month. I have been debating on what I want to do. I have decided that I need some more resistance training because when I went back to cardio only (except the two nights I do Total Gym), although I was able to start losing again, I started to look more flabby. The weight training, although it was keeping me from losing poundage, was making me really toned, and I felt that I looked better.

So here is how I will change things up starting today. I will do resistance training three nights a week on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday, then an hour of cardio the rest of the time. I picked those days because it gives me two cardio days in a row before my Friday weigh-in.

For resistance training, I decided to go with a calisthenics circuit instead of using weights, or my Total gym (With the exception of the chin-ups as I want to work my lats and biceps). I feel this circuit will keep me toned, while also burning fat because I plan on moving from one right into another with little or no rest in between. Here is a breakdown of my circuit:

To avoid confusion, I will not do all sets and reps at once, I will do 30 reps of jumping jacks, then 15 reps of push-ups, then 15 reps of crunches and so on, then repeat. By the end of the circuit I will have done 300 jumping jacks, and 150 of everything else.

This will also be a good routine I think for when I go on vacation next week to Colorado. Working out on vacation has always been an issue for me. In fact, every time I get on a weight loss kick it ends the moment I go on vacation. I really hope this routine will keep things simple enough so I can workout anywhere.

What routines are you doing now? Hit me up in the comments.

Week 18 Results

2008-05-09T10:43:00.001-07:00

All I have to say is that 189 is a cunning and elusive number (Hence the Ninja). I just can't seem to break the 190's mark. I have been stuck in 190's hell for the last two months or so and I am getting pretty fed up. What does a guy have to do to start losing more weight?

That doesn't mean I had a terrible week. I mean, it could have gone better, but at least I didn't gain weight. That is lucky for me, because on Wednesday I completely lost my mind and pigged out like it was 1997. My friend from work had a birthday party, and we all went out to lunch at an all you can eat pizza joint. Needless to say I fell into temptation, then later that day since I had already screwed up so bad I figured what the hell when I ate two cupcakes. At least I still went to the gym and worked out for my hour.

Anyhoo, here are this weeks results. I am hoping to get to 189 before I go back home to Colorado in a few weeks. I am really going to try to eat like an anorexic cheerleader next week to try and get there. Enough about that though, I stepped on the scale this morning and weighed in at 191.5lbs. That is a 1/2lb weight loss from last week. Here are the numbers:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: .5lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: .26%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 30.5lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 13.74%

I can use some encouragement up in here! I want to hear from you in the comments if you are out there!

Week 17 Results (Part B)

2008-05-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! Welcome to my first official Friday weigh-in post! That's right, if you read my post from Monday, you know I have switched my weekly day of reckoning to Fridays.

This week has been pretty good for me since Monday. I have stayed on track, and kept my portions small which has paid off. This morning I got on the scale and weighed 192! That is a 1.5lb loss since Monday, and even a .5lb loss since the previous week! Here are the stats:

Weight Loss Since ~~Last Week~~ Monday: 1.5lbs
Percentage Since ~~Last Week~~ Monday: .78%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 30lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 13.51%

I'm sorry this post is short this week, but as I already mentioned, I already wrote on Monday. Stay tuned next week for my new weight training routine for May.

Week 17 Results (Part A)

2008-04-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

This week wasn't that great of a week for me. I really like the eating more often plan, and maybe a little too much. I think the way you are supposed to do the whole eating every 2-3 hours thing is to eat small meals. Well, almost all last week I have been eating regular sized meals for almost all of those. So my weekly results aren't really a surprise to me.

Besides my portion size, I am also making another change. This one you should take note of. I will be moving my weekly weigh-ins from Monday's to Fridays. There are a few reasons for this but mainly it is because of my life scheduling. I think it will just be better if I weigh in on Fridays. I will have another weigh in post this week called part b (Now you know why I called this part a).

So here are the results. I weighed in at 193.5 this morning which is a one pound gain. It is still below 195 which I wasn't able to get past for about a month. At least I am not quite back in that boat. I am hoping to be down to 190 by next weigh in which of course will be Friday for part B. Here are the weekly numbers:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: -1lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: -.52%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 28.5lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 12.84%

If you have been with me since the beginning, let me know what you think about moving the weigh-ins to Friday in the comments.

Week 16 Results: I'm a loser baby!

2008-04-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

All I have to say is wow! This is the first official weigh-in in about a month that I have seen results! If you have read my last few posts you knew I was changing my strategy up a bit. I decided to go back to more cardio training and less weight training, and I have also changed my "diet" from just eating no more than 2000 calories a day, to a regimen of eating 5 to 6 small meals a day every two to three hours. It has only been a week, but it is looking good so far!

I stepped on the scale this morning, then had to step on it again two more times to make sure I did it right. Staring back up at me was the beautiful numbers 192.5! Can I get a hell yeah?!?!?

Now I am not going to get too excited until next weeks results because I have been hovering in the 195 range for about a month now, however I have never gone below 195 officially until today! Next week, I am shooting for a goal that I have held onton for the last month, which is to be 189lbs. Keep your fingers crossed for me on that one. I haven't been below 190 in a few years.

So lets get to it. 192.5 is a 2.5 pund loss from last week (Can I get another hell yeah?!?!?). Here are the weekly stats:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: 2.5lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: 1.28%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 29.5lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 13.29%

Let me know how you are all doing out there! Hit me up in the comments!

New Eating Plan

2008-04-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

If you have been following along since the beginning of this year, you know of my successes and my failures during this whole life change. Thus far the only thing I have been changing has been my workout routine in an attempt to keep my body guessing and to avoid a plateau. Of course you all know that I have hit a major plateau. For the last month I have been hovering around the same weight. That is completely ridiculous!

I have changed back to a more cardio intensive routine. That of course started on Monday. I haven't however changed my 2000 calorie a day program. Well, the time is right to make a change in the nutrition department as well. I took a nutrition class in college, I read Men's Health, and I also surf the web...a lot! All of these sources pretty much say one common thing. Eat more! That's right, that wasn't a typo. One way to boost metabolism is to eat small portioned meals in greater frequency (About every 2 -3 hours) instead of three large meals. I keep hearing this, yet haven't gone through with it because though it sounds wonderful to stuff your face all the time, this takes some serious planning and sacrifice. Not to mention, you have to get the people you care about on board so they can help you out. For me, this will be a tough sell for my wife. She is very budget conscious, and might not like the idea of having to buy more food because I am now eating a lot more.

So I will try this out for the next couple of weeks. I'll of course keep you posted on my progress. Let me know if you are doing this plan, and if it works for you! Hit me up in the comments!

Week 15 Results. Something Has To Change!

2008-04-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

I have just been reviewing the last couple of weeks worth of results and I have come to realize that I really having changed any weight for about a month now. I have been fluctuating around the same 195ish area, and thus I have come to the realization that my current routine isn't working for me.

This all started when I added more weight training in to my weight loss regimen. I feel like any weight that I have lost I just gain back as muscle. That isn't necessarily bad, except that wasn't what I set out to do in the first place. Because of this I have decided to go back to my "roots." I will go back to my January/February workout routine with a couple of adjustments. For my cardio nights (5 nights a week) I will do an hour of cardio instead of only 20 minutes, and instead of doing 2 sets of 15 for everything, I will do 3 sets of 10.

Mathematically, I think this will do the trick. If I do 20 minutes on the treadmill, 20 minutes on the bike, and 20 minutes on the elliptical then I will burn over 700 calories per cardio day. Multiply that by five days a week and I will be burning over 3500 calories per week. Not to mention my January/February workout plan also had weight training on my Total Gym two nights a week. I was watching The Biggest Loser, and they said that in order to lose one pound per week you have to burn 3400 calories.

Here is the routine I will do:

If you are sharp, you may recognize the routine as February's workout. I picked that one over January's as I feel that it hits all of my muscle groups making for a good all around workout. I am hoping that this will keep my muscles toned while I burn off the fat around them. I guess we will see next week right?

So here are my results. I weighed in at 195 this morning. That is a 1.5lb loss from last week, but like I said, I have been hovering around this week for the past month. Here are my stats:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: 1.5lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: .76%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 27lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 12.16%

Have you had to make changes in your routine because it wasn't working? What did you change? What did you think you were doing wrong? Let me know in the comments.

Week 14 Results. I am not too happy

2008-04-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

So I started my new workout plan for the month, and I am not sure I will stick with it. I stepped on the scale and I weighed 196.5 this morning. That is a 1.5lb gain. I was particularly careful with what I ate so it must be the new routine.

This new plan incorporates more weight training that I have been doing, and less cardio, so my thought is that the gain is in muscle. That by itself isn't really a bad thing, but it doesn't follow along with my original goals. My plan was to first lose the weight, and get down to 170. Right now I would be happy just being in the 185 range, but that is neither here nor there. Once I reached my goal, my plan was to then lift more to get all cut up. I think I may have jumped the cutting up gun here with the adding of the additional weight training.

I will give this plan one more week, but if I don't start seeing some weight loss, I will re-evaluate my program to incorporate more cardio than weight training. I already modified my schedule this week and instead of weight training on the weekend I did one hour of cardio on Saturday and Sunday. I think if I hadn't done that my weight gain would have been greater. Here are my weekly stats:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: +1.5lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: -.77%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 25.5lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 11.48%

What do you think? How do you think I should proceed? Let me know in the comments.

New Month, New Workout Plan

2008-04-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

I failed to post my new workout plan for April in my weekly results post like I normally do, but then again it wasn't quite April yet, so there you go. Last night I went to the gym and decided to start doing my new plan, which really is an old plan of mine. It is a step away from the Metacafe 300 Workout idea that I was doing, and goes back to my Navy roots.

When I was a young, hot sailor in the Navy, I used to workout fairly regularly. I followed a tip from one of the body building guys in my division to lift weights every day, but do a different muscle group each day to give them a couple of days of rest. I developed a three day workout cycle where I would work a different set of musles each day, then repeat the schedule. I decided to go with that again. Since I also want to keep cardio in for fat burning, what I decided to do is begin each workout with 20 minutes of cardio, then go into weight training using the 3 day rotation you see here:

I will try this out for a week or two, and If I start seeing the results I want then I will stick with this for the whole month. If not, I will come up with something better. The only problem I see with this is I might have to stop using my scale as a measure for change since I will be gaining more muscle weight. That might not necessarily be a bad thing, I will just have to re-evaluate my goals.

Are you guys still with me? Have you changed your workout routines at all? Let me know in the comments.

Weird Al - I'm Fat

2008-03-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

This is a classic! I don't know what got me thinking about it, but I just had a flash of this music video in my head and I knew I had to find it and post it here. Well, here you go:

I hope you enjoyed it!

Week 13 Results. I am Bringing Sexy Back!

2008-03-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everyone! I am guessing that you can tell that it was a good week for me by the upbeat feel of this blog post! Well, you are absolutely correct! This was a good week for me.

My wife is out of town, so since I have nothing better to do, I was able to get some more time in at the gym. In fact, Friday night, and again last night, I worked out for two hours in the gym. I am glad I did too, because now I am back on track.

Another awesome thing that happened, was on Saturday I went clothes shopping because I keep having to pull my pants up, and my shirts all look too big. I bought three pairs of jeans, and four t-shirts. The cool part is I now fit into 34 inch waist pants, and I can now sport a medium t-shirt again! I haven't done that in about four years! Last Christmas my wife's aunt and uncle got me a t-shirt from the Marin Brewing Company that was an extra large, and the scary part was that it actually fit! Now I am sporting a size medium! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

On top of all that I hit my weekly goal. I stepped on the scale this morning and weighted in at an even 195lbs! That is a three pound loss from last week! I was seriously concerned last Monday when I gained a pound, so I really knuckled down the rest of the week, and busted my butt this weekend.

Anyway, without further ado, here are my weekly stats:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: -3lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: -1.52%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 27lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 12.16%

When my wife gets back I promised her I would update my picture on the blog since I lost some poundage so that you can see the difference...Oh, and so you don't have to look at the ugly picture of my fat ass. Look for that in about two weeks or so.

Week 12 Results, Can't Say I'm Surprised

2008-03-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

Last week I totally fell off the wagon. I was snacking a lot more than normal, especially in the evenings, and that followed me into the weekend. I still worked out every day, which is nice, but the over eating killed me. I really have to focus again, and get back on track. I really don't want to get back where I was at the beginning of this year.

So here are my numbers. I am keeping this short because I want to get this post over with. I climbed on the scale this morning and weighed in at 198. That is a 1 pound gain from last week. I am really disappointed, but it also really motivates me to want to do twice as good next week. My goal was 195 for the week, so for my sanity I have to get there next Monday. Here are the stats:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: -1lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: -.51%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 24lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 10.81%

So anyway, I did this to myself. I don't want your pity or sympathy. If you are reading this, and you see me everyday, then I do want your help and support. I like the way I am starting to look, and I love the way I feel now that I am in better shape. I never want to get back to 222 pounds, and I won't with your help and a little bit of will power.

Week 11 Results

2008-03-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has taken so long for me to get this post out for those of you still following along with my progress. I feel a lot has happened since last weeks weigh-in.

One thing that happened, was I finally broke down and got my membership to 24 Hour Fitness back. My wife was already a member, and there was a special offer to add me for only $24 a month with no initiation fees. I was tired of driving all the way back to work on the weekends to use the gym, and sometimes Tae Bo gets old, so having this gym membership again is nice.

Also, Saturday I totally pigged out for the first time since I started this life style change. I took my 3 year old daughter to my friends daughters birthday party. He had a Mexican taquería come in to cater the food and I lost my mind. During the five hours I was there I had two beers, two slices of pizza, two rolled tacos, two fish burritos, two shrimp burritos, and one gordita. Later that evening I had heart burn like a mutha. I felt so damned guilty that I decided to double my workout. That night I did a full hour of Tae Bo, then I welt to the gym for another 40 minutes of working out. I am sure I worked it all off, but that little relapse scared me a bit.

Besides all that, this has been a pretty good week, which brings me to my results. When I stepped on the scale this morning I weighed a cool 197lbs! My goal for next week is 195! Here are the stats:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: 2lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: 1.01%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 25lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 11.26%

If you have been following along since the beginning, I want to know how you are doing with it. Hit me up in the comments.

Week 10 Results, I'm below 200!

2008-03-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

It is official! I am now below the 200 pound mark! I haven't been below 200 pounds in a very long time. I almost can't believe it! I am getting to the point that I need to go clothes shopping again because my jeans are too loose. I spend most of my time pulling them up. My wife is complaining that the seat of my pants just sag down now because my butt is too small to fill out my big ol' jeans.

Anyway it is pretty great! I really like this new workout program I am doing where I do weight training three nights a week, and cardio four nights. Two of those nights are doing Tae Bo. Let me tell you, I did Billy Blank's Ultimate Tae Bo Boot camp on Saturday and I wanted to cry to my momma. That was a great workout. If you think Tae Bo is for chicks then you are sadly mistaken. I think most grown men would have cried at this workout. Well, maybe not, but you get the point.

So enough jibba jabba, here are my results. I weighed in at an even 199lbs this morning. That is three pound loss since last week. I think that was really surprising since I went to lunch at my friend Thom's house where his father in law cooked for 30 people, although there were really only eight or nine of us. I felt like I ate a little too much there, but I compensated by not eating dinner. That was okay because at dinner time I still felt full from lunch. Also besides Tae Bo, I had to get new tires put on my car, and get an alignment done. It was going to take two hours, so I walked home from the shop which is almost a mile. All of that stuff helps. Here are my stats:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: 3lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: 1.49%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 23lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 10.36%

I know for sure that I will not make my original goal of 170 by April. I mean April is next month for crying out loud. That doesn't mean I am giving up though. I will keep going until I get there. If you have given up already, it is time to get back on the horse. Don't give up!

Week 9 Results. I think I hit a plateau.

2008-03-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

So I climbed on the scale this morning and my weekly number was less than exciting. I weighed in at 202lbs, which is still a one pound loss from last week. Sure that is nice, but April is only one month away and I am still 32 lbs from my goal. There is no realistic way I can reach that be months end.

My wife suggested that I hit a plateau and I think she is right. The thing to do when you hit a training plateau is to change up your workout routine. For the last two months I have only done weight training two nights a week, and did cardio five days. This month I will change things up a bit, and do weight training three nights a week, and cardio only four. Also, I have primarily counted on running, or if my shin splints were too bad, biking and elliptical. For cardio I will still do those things, but only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Saturday and Sunday I will be doing Tae Bo, or other Aerobic workouts. I am hoping that this significant change will significantly get me closer to my goals. Currently my short term goal is 199 lbs, and of course my long term is 170. I will post my new weight training routine for you, but first here are my weekly stats:

Weight Loss Since Last Week: 1lbs
Percentage Since Last Week: 0.49%
Weight Loss Since The Beginning: 20lbs
Percentage Since The Beginning: 9.01%

Here are my workout charts for this month if you want to follow along on your Total Gym:

On top of these, since the majority of my noticeable fat is now on in my love handles, and stomach, I will also ad ab-roller crunches to my cardio nights. I will get rid of this excess baggage come hell or high water!

Are any of your guys who are following along still working out? Let me know how you are doing in the comments!