A Year of Loss and Health, Pirate

5k (Semi) Challenge

2011-06-27T07:53:00.003-05:00

So I never planned on running fast again. I mean, sure I'd hoped to run my next marathon quicker. I'd hoped to bring in a more respectable time during the next Run for the Roses (5k). But I'd never thought I'd be contemplating running 7 minute miles or even trying to get back to times I ran in high school.

All it took was some friendly goading from my best friend to put me back into the mood for speed.

So last night, after a small tweet back-and-forth, I decided to try a 5k at 7:30 minute miles. I was actually able to complete it. On a treadmill, but that was the best way to ensure I maintained pace. Also, there was a huge thunder and lightning storm all evening yesterday. No way to run outside.

As cool is it is to have done a 5k in 23:15, I think I'm going to wait awhile - get in a bit better shape (a month of working out and 30 pounds overweight is still not quite prime condition) - before I try the speed thing again.

I do have hope that I can bring my marathon pace down to 9:00 minute miles...that would get me done in just under 4 hours. I'd really like that.

Progress Report LIV - June 26

2011-06-26T08:55:00.004-05:00

Current Weight: 196.8 lbs.
Last Week's Weight: 201.4 lbs
Loss/Gain: - 4.6 lbs.
Weekly Percentage of Weight Gain: 2.3%

27.8 lbs. to Goal (169 lbs.)

This sure has become one roller coaster ride of a weight loss journey. Up and down and up...and now down again. I've said this many, many times before, but this time it - my weight - stays down.

I've been back at the diet since May 10th and the exercise since the start of June. It's done wonders. I've taken off 23.4 pounds in 47 days. That's essentially a half a pound a day!

Looking back a few posts, it was Christmas time again that sent me back up. I burned myself out with the diet and exercise. Add to that the temptation of the food at that time of year, and it was all shot again.

The cool thing this time around is that I've started back on the path BEFORE the summer. Typically I wait until August or September. I was laziest during the easiest months to workout. And that just packed on the pounds. This time around I'm taking full advantage of the weather and longer days. I'm getting the most out of this summer. Also, I'm eating more. That's helped with maintaining the diet. I'm not being so strict with the calories. I'm enjoying meals when I want. I'm just being responsible when I can.

Right now it's been a lot of biking and running. Fast running. For me. Which is an awesome thing. I love seeing those quick miles fly by. It's all building up to the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World in January. It should be a nice cap to the whole weight loss journey.

Here's a couple of graphs and charts because you KNOW how much I like seeing these. (Especially when they look like this.)

Back for the Thousandth Time

2011-05-15T09:23:00.004-05:00

With 2.8 pounds lost over the past 6 days, I'm back on track. For like the thousandth time. My weight loss journey would be some badass roller coaster. Huge ups and downs and seems to go on forever and ever.

I'm going to stay positive and believe that this will be the last big drop. Then it'll be just years of level - healthy - going.

There are no excuses other than the choices I made, but the past has past. I'm trying to be more Zen and living in the moment. I'll do what I can day by day.

The weight loss over the past 6 days came strictly by diet. I counted calories and was extremely strict in what I ate. Small portions in all the food groups daily along with 8 cups of water.

This week I'll get out and exercise in addition to the diet. It was a combination that worked so well for me last fall/early winter. It was manageable and not too unrealistic. It will help not having the two jobs this summer. It'll free up time so that the exercise doesn't eat up the time I would use for sleep. Being fully rested and unstressed helps with any weight loss program.

So, I'm back to it. Here we go again.

It Happened Again

2011-01-09T09:58:00.004-06:00

I did it again, just what I worried I might do. I fell off the weight loss train. Got mangled in the tracks, my plan all torn to shreds.

However, I am not going to let that stop me this time. Sure, I've spent the last two weeks eating like a pig and doing nothing for a workout other than shoveling heavier and heavier plates of snacks into my mouth. The guilt was ENORMOUS. And the pounds packed themselves back on. On the 2nd I was 204.4 pounds. Today I'm up one more at 205.4. I was all the way down at 193! That's 12.4 pounds in 2 weeks. That's an even worse gain than the last time I fell from the train.

*sigh*

There, that's out of my system. I'm done with the failure. The guilt is gone (or going). Today, I'm back. It's going to be difficult. I mean, I was standing in my kitchen this morning staring at all the tempting snacks sitting on the counter, some I purchased just yesterday. I was asking myself: "What's the worst that could happen if it's just one more day of snacking?" I knew the answer before asking the question. The worst is what has happened the past two times I went one day, then another, and another until I was back to the overweight wreck I've all too frequently become.

Breakfast today was 180 calories (Fiber One cereal and milk with a glass of V8). I drank 2 glasses of water. I faced my shame and updated my weight and restarted my tracking on The Daily Plate. I'm back.

This time until the end.

I'm going all Spartan on the calories again for a few weeks, just until I get under 200 pounds - 5.5 pounds to lose to reach that goal. I'll then start building the calories back up to a normal person's level, shooting to consume a net of 1,800 - 2,000 calories a day while maintaining my new healthy weight of approximately 165 pounds.

The exercise will have to decrease in hours because I simply don't have the time to workout as much as I did during November and December. I want to do more (write, draw, read, start to date...yeah, I need to get on that - that's what she said - if I want to have a family anytime soon). So the weight loss will be slow going. Once under 200 pounds I'll shoot for an average of 1.5 - 2 pounds loss a week. I'm hoping to be at my 165 pounds by the end of June. Just in time for RAGBRAI and the start of training for the Walt Disney World "Goofy" (half-marathon AND full marathon, back-to-back) next January.

Onward, Pirate! You've got some work to do.

My Charts - Dec. 26

2010-12-26T10:13:00.004-06:00

*sniff sniff* My graph, it's ruined. My poor slope.

Check out that final day!

Progress Report LIII - December 26

2010-12-26T09:45:00.006-06:00

Last Week's Weight: 193 lbs
Current Weight: 194.6 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 1.6 lbs.
Weekly Percentage of Weight Gain: 0.83%

4.4 lbs. Past Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)
4.7 lbs. to NEW Year-End Goal (189.9 lbs.)
25.6 lbs. to Goal (169 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 16:11:55 hours

Exercise Distance: 100.97 miles (9.00 running; 27.64 walking; 64.33 biking)

Calories Burned: 7,360 (1,051 avg. daily)

Weekly Calories Consumed: 15,289* (2,184 avg. daily)

Net Weekly Calories: 7,929 (1,113 avg. daily)

*On Friday and Saturday, a large portion of calories consumed needed to be estimated due to eating foods and recipes not easily tracked via the Daily Plate website. On Friday, 1,160 calories were estimated consumed, and on Saturday, 4,480 calories were estimated consumed.

BALLS! My first weight gain of the new weight loss run attempt. I sort of knew it might happen, what with the holiday and all. Still, it is disappointing because it ruins my graphs and crushes a bit of my spirit. And it was all the result of just TWO days (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day).

However, I'm not going to let it stop me. I decided Christmas Eve that these few days of holiday celebration only come ONCE a year, and that if I didn't ENJOY them then I'd be kicking myself for a year. Because in the end, does it really - TRULY - matter if I put on a few pounds? I can take them right back off, probably as quickly as I've been taking the pounds off up until this week. I decided to enjoy the days, taking care to not enjoy them TOO much. I didn't need to almost DIE like last year on Christmas.

Still, it is really frustrating when you look at the numbers of my superheroic workout week:

100 miles covered!
16 hours working out!
7,000 calories burned!

This was 6 more hours of exercise from last week, 50! more miles of working out, 1,00 more calories burned (but also 7,800! more calories consumed than last week - over DOUBLE).

The only thing I can think is that all the extra calories came in the last two days of the week when I was also getting the sickest. The overload and the weak body probably didn't help the weight burning process.

I am sick now. Sore throat, cough, congestion. I'm not going to stop working out, but I'm not going to push it to the extremes I did last week. I need to take the recovery time this week to let my body heal and get better.

The plan for this week is to still eat fully today (celebrating Christmas with mom today and more family at grandma's tonight). I'll then get myself back on schedule with strictly enforced caloric intake - not at a level to lose 4.7 pounds to meet the New Year-End goal (that's out, barring a miracle) - and 2 hour workouts following the new, more manageable schedule I created (more on that later). I'm going to pass on eating "fully" during New Year's; these few days around Christmas were enough.

We'll see where that puts me. I'm fully prepared (sort of) to see a gain again this week (sickness, off days, new workout schedule, some extra eating), but after the new year there are no good reasons to see any sort of gain. It's back on schedule, hitting it hard to lose the final 25 or so pounds to reach my goal.

My Charts - Dec. 19

2010-12-19T17:55:00.002-06:00

Calorie Update

2010-12-19T17:45:00.004-06:00

I decided - after bringing home three baggies of cookies from mom's, holding out against the onslaught of foods at grandma's, and wandering the aisles of the grocery store - that it was time to adjust my weekly weight loss goal, and thus my allowable calories per day. It was set at 3.1 pounds weight loss per week, but that would have given me only 993 calories per day this week. Just not enough by any means.

So I backed the weight loss down to 2 pounds per week, and that boosted my calories per day to 1,543. With the exercise I do, the foods I want to eat, and the holiday temptations, I think this is a much more reasonable expectation. It'll be a huge difference from the past 9 weeks, but hopefully it doesn't impact the weight loss too much. Granted, I don't expect to see my average of 5 pounds loss this week, but I don't want to see a gain. That's my biggest worry. If I see a gain I might give up and the past 9 weeks will have been all for nothing.

I was going to have to increase the calories at some point, why not now? I'm just worried. Worried, worried, worried.

Progress Report LII - December 19

2010-12-19T07:43:00.003-06:00

Last Week's Weight: 197.8 lbs
Current Weight: 193 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 4.8 lbs.
Weekly Percentage of Weight Loss: 2.43%

6 lbs. Past Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)
3.1 lbs. to NEW Year-End Goal (189.9 lbs.)
24 lbs. to Goal (169 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 10:43:01 hours

Exercise Distance: 50.92 miles (8.25 running; 17.95 walking; 24.72 biking)

Calories Burned: 6,127 (875 avg. daily)

Weekly Calories Consumed: 7,416 (1,059 avg. daily)

Net Weekly Calories: 1,289 (184 avg. daily)

Still killing it, week after week. I'm down a total of 46.4 pounds (an average of 5.16 lbs. per week) after only 9 weeks.

I tried something a little different this week. I ate more calories (68) on the days that I worked out to give myself a few extra calories on those days I knew I'd be cranking out negative numbers. Didn't seem to hurt the weight loss total. I'll continue the trend this week and next. After the start of the new year, I'll be backing down the weight loss, but for two more weeks I'll continue to be militant about it all.

This week holds the toughest day of the entire year: Christmas. Last year I ate so much I was crippled, curled up on the flow aching to throw up because my body went into calorie shock (too many calories of a type I was not used to - straight up sugar and processed food). I vowed I'd not put myself through that kind of pain again. However, there are so MANY temptations. And it's on Saturday, right before I weigh in. This is going to be a tough week.

Going to try my best to make it to the gym 5 times this week. I had good intentions last week, but by Friday I crapped out and skipped my workout. Still, I did manage 4 fantastic workouts, and I was able to log more hours at the gym than last week, going farther, doing more...killing it.

The Plan for Tonight--UPDATED

2010-12-18T08:28:00.004-06:00

The plan for tonight's workout:

3 hours and 10 minutes
[3:18:15]
1994 calories burned
[1937 - just short; damn]

Needs to include:

My missing run from yesterday (2.75 miles, with the last .25 mile sprint at 7.6 mph)
[Check]
A total walk/run/walk of 90 minutes
[Check]
A bike of 40 minutes
[Check]
Abs [Check]
Weights [Check]
Pushups [Check]
Stretching [Check]

[PLUS: Pushups!]

Since I consumed a level of calories yesterday based on putting in a workout, I've got to flip-flop my consumed calories today with those (shorting me 68 calories today). I'll still be over in my total calories for the week - when compared to last week - but this was a new plan, and the flip today will allow me to stick with the plan I made for the week.

There, all planned. Now hopefully the tickle of a cough doesn't explode into something worse throughout the day. I don't want anything keeping me from the gym tonight. (Can't believe I was so lazy yesterday.)

My Dilemma / My Good Night

2010-12-13T23:06:00.003-06:00

I Wish

2010-12-12T20:19:00.003-06:00

I have all these food cravings. The problem is, I see something wonderful

and so I make a low calorie, smaller serving of something along the same lines, and it's not nearly as good. (The pasta I cooked for dinners this week is just a simple rotini, sauce, and cheese.)

That's been the toughest part of the whole diet - satisfying, rather subverting, the cravings.

My Charts - Dec. 12

2010-12-12T17:20:00.002-06:00

How I Track

2010-12-12T16:16:00.006-06:00

This is how I keep track - in addition to filling out my page on The Daily Plate - of what I've done throughout the week. Just an extra insight into my disciplined, healthy lifestyle.

FrontBack

Progress Report LI - December 12

2010-12-12T07:37:00.003-06:00

Last Week's Weight: 202.8 lbs
Current Weight: 197.8 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 5 lbs.
Weekly Percentage of Weight Loss: 2.47%

1.2 lbs. Past Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)
28.8 lbs. to Goal (169 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 10:06:01 hours

Exercise Distance: 43.43 miles (7.5 running; 16.32 walking; 18.33 biking; 1.28 elliptical)

Calories Burned: 5,967 (852 avg. daily)

Weekly Calories Consumed: 7,222 (1,037 avg. daily)

Net Weekly Calories: 1,255 (179 avg. daily)

I. Did. It.

I passed over the 200 pound barrier. And not just barely. This week I lost another 5 pounds, putting myself safely below the 200 pound mark. It was a tough week to get to this point. I worked hard to ensure I met my year-end goal a full THREE weeks early. Since I started this journey again 8 weeks ago, I've lost 41.6 pounds (an average of 5.2 pounds per week!). I'm now under 30 pounds from my goal weight. It just blows my mind to think that I've come so far so fast.

The hard work I mentioned? This week I exercised 3 more hours than last week, nearly doubled my total mileage covered, consumed fewer calories daily (barely), and burned about 2,000 more calories than I did last week. All of this in just 4 days of working out. I averaged a net of only 179 calories a day. That's a strict week.

In reviewing my data (which I do obsessively), I've noticed that I don't consume nearly enough fat. There's a huge discrepancy. When The Daily Plate calculates its percentages of the different nutrients and such, it does so based on the number of calories it suggests you eat daily to meet your weekly weight loss goal. For example, suppose I want to lose 3.1 pounds a week, it factors in my weight and gives me the total grams of fat I should consume, scaled down from a 2,000 calorie diet. I'm eating maybe 50% of the scaled down recommendation. So that's essentially a tiny amount of fat daily. I'm sure that isn't super great, but the low calories foods and small portion sizes I eat just don't contain much fat. I've always chosen foods with little fat, only now it shows more visibly with this low-calorie approach to weight loss. I need to do some research and find out just how important that fat consumption is. I may have to adjust some of the foods I eat.

Now that I've met my year-end goal, I need to think about the next three weeks, and plan for the new year. While I was sitting out in my hut, huddled next to the space heater at work, I did some planning:

I'm creating a NEW year-end goal of 190 lbs. I am 7.8 pounds away from that goal, leaving me an average of 2.6 pounds to lose per week over the next three weeks. That seems possible based on the progress I've made so far over the past 8 weeks. I gave some thought to the excessive (yeah, I see that) exercise and calorie deficit, and I came up with the following plan. I'm going to eat 1,100 calories on the days I exercise (an attempt to start building back up the consumable calories), while following the weight loss recommendation of total calories on the days I don't exercise (1,032). If all goes according to plan, that will give me a weekly total of 7,564 calories (avg. of 1,080 daily). This will allow me to eat a bit more on the days I need the extra calories.

That will leave me with just 21 pounds to lose in the new year. I'm going to slow down the weekly weight loss in the new year; that has always been the plan. I'm going to shoot for an average weekly weight loss of 1.5 pounds, allowing me to build back up the number of calories consumed daily to a more sustainable level. On this plan, it will take me approximately 14 weeks to reach my goal, sometime around mid-March. This is still well before my original projection of May. Fantastic.

To the Point of Exhaustion

2010-12-10T23:22:00.003-06:00

Workout Summary - 3:06:54 hours; avg. HR 123; Walk 1, Run 2.5, Walk 6.19; Stretching; Abs; Weights; Pushups.

Burned 1,877 calories, for a net -841 calories today.

I didn't go to the gym with the plan of a 3 hour workout. In fact, I had planned to workout 2 hours, maybe 2 hours 19 minutes to help round out my total weekly workout minutes. While I was walking and running the idea popped in my mind to try put in 3 hours. So I kept at the walking after my 65 minutes were up. I figured another 45 minutes would be a good addition. That 45 became 60, and before I knew it, my workout was already over the 2 hour mark.

I knocked out my stretching and ab routines (with the exception of one ab exercise due to the strain I was feeling on my already sore left lower ab), followed by my pushups. All that was left were my weights, and I could see that I'd be crossing that 3 hour barrier with them.

I outlasted everyone who was there when I arrive, and all but one of the people who arrived after me. The only guy left in the gym was a man who came when I had only 10 minutes left of my workout.

I was hoping that when I checked my burned calories I'd have crossed over the 2,000 mark, but I fell short. It was the lower heart rate during weight lifting that slowed the rate of burn. If I'd have had the strength of body (and mind) to get on the bike for 15 more minutes, I could have crossed that threshold. But I just couldn't. It took the last of my energy to get through the final 2 weight machines.

Even typing this after icing my left knee, I'm finding myself wanting to close my eyes and drift to sleep. I'm wiped out.

Dead tired.

Still, what a rush. What a workout.

Running Out of Clothes

2010-12-08T06:26:00.003-06:00

I'm down to my skinniest pair of pants. I've dropped from a 44 waist to a 38 waist...in just 7 weeks! I'm also at the notch I had to create on my belt because it no longer would cinch tight enough. I didn't think I'd have to go buy new clothes so soon, but I might not even make it to Christmas before I need some new pants. Definitely can't go to work pantless.

Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT complaining. In fact, I'm downright impressed with my progress. It's nice (again) to be out of the giant boy pants.

The Week of Killer Workouts (and Rest)

2010-12-06T22:42:00.002-06:00

I took Sunday off after a big workout Saturday...and because I can be lazy. I was talking with the Monkey about how tough it is to fit in a workout after my second job on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we both decided it would be in my best interest to take those days as my rest days for the week. That means I'll have workouts on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday (if I don't skip this one due to laziness after a movie), and Saturday.

In theory, it seems like a good idea, even though I'm a little worried about two rest days a week. (Seems counterproductive.)

Doing this I have to do all that was I was doing over two days in one night's workout. That makes for an extra long time at the gym. I was splitting the ab work and weight work up over different nights. Now I'm doing all of it, plus some extra biking or work on the elliptical trainer. I'm shooting for a workout lasting around 2 hours, burning 1,200 calories. That would give me 6,000 calories burned in a week.

Just typing it I now recognize how ambitious it sounds. But wouldn't it be cool if I could manage it? I'd be in pretty decent shape after a few months.

I know I won't have perfect weeks - I'm busy as shit. But I'll do my best and catch the rest when I can. Any workout is better than no workout.

My Charts - Dec. 5

2010-12-05T08:40:00.003-06:00

It was impressive to me, so I thought I'd share. Here are my weekly calories chart and total weight loss chart:

Progress Report L - December 5

2010-12-05T08:03:00.002-06:00

50th week since starting this twice-restarted journey of loss!
Last Week's Weight: 209.2 lbs
Current Weight: 202.8 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 6.4 lbs.
Weekly Percentage of Weight Loss: 3.06%

3.8 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)
33.8 lbs. to Goal (169 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 6:31:56.4 hours

Exercise Distance: 24.9 miles (6.75 running; 11.98 walking; 6.17 biking)

Calories Burned: 3,913 (559 avg. daily)

Weekly Calories Consumed: 7,280 (1,040 avg. daily)

Net Weekly Calories: 3,367 (481 avg. daily)

Simply stunned. There's no other way to describe how I felt when I weighed in this morning. I lost 6.4 pounds this week! That's nearly double what I lost last week.

And I guess it makes since when you look at the numbers. I worked out 2 more hours, covered 10 more miles, burned 1,600 more calories, and ate 500 fewer calories. Still...shocking.

I only have 3.8 more pounds left to lose to meet my year-end goal of 199 pounds. I think I can manage that in the four weeks I have left. Heck, I might even do it this week.

I was curious how this stretch of weight loss compared to the similar run I made at it a year ago. I started about the same time in October at about the same weight and worked hard to meet a similar year-end goal. So I looked back. During this same week last year I only had a loss of 1.2 pounds and was still 8.6 pounds from the year-end goal. I only exercised 27 minutes that week. And the week before, Thanksgiving, I actually put on 0.8 pounds. At the time I was reminding myself to hit the cardio to boost the calorie burn. (Which I did over the next couple of weeks: 4.6 lbs. and 3 lbs.) I was then at 200 pounds, just above my goal of 199. I then noted that the last time I was at 200 pounds I immediately put back on 11 pounds in two weeks on my way to putting ALL the weight back on. So what happened? I got killed at Christmas - even with 5 hours of exercise I put on 1.6 pounds and didn't stop there. I put it all back on again.

So here I am now, at nearly the same point I've been twice before on this weight loss journey - that 200 pound barrier. And with Christmas right around the corner.

People have been on my case for not being healthy or smart in going about this weight loss, but I am just worried. If I change things now, what's going to happen? I don't feel that I've taken anything to such an excessive extreme. I started out obese. I needed to lose the weight and I did while eating healthy (tracking the calories in smaller portions has been the key) and exercising (and I'm not above taking days off - the past two weeks have seen 5 days of rest). I'll set new goals, building the calories back up once I reach my goal - my healthy - weight. It will just take a bit more time.

Progress Report XXXXIX - November 28

2010-11-28T16:17:00.005-06:00

Last Week's Weight: 213 lbs
Current Weight: 209.2 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 3.8 lbs.
Weekly Percentage of Weight Loss: 1.78%

10.2 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)
40.2 lbs. to Goal (169 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 4:31:19.5 hours

Exercise Distance: 14.5 miles (2.25 running; 12.25 walking)

Calories Burned: 2,371 (338 avg. daily)

Weekly Calories Consumed: 7,705 (1,100 avg. daily)

Net Weekly Calories: 5,334 (762 avg. daily)

So the week started off well. I was working out like normal, albeit in colder and colder weather. It got to the point that no matter how warm I stayed inside my multiplying layers of clothing, my feet froze after about 20 minutes. I did what I had to: I renewed my membership to the gym. And that was amazing for my next couple of workouts.

Then...

Thanksgiving.

And while I didn't splurge on Thanksgiving, in fact I was downright strong-willed with only 1,048 calories, I didn't do so hot the next two days. Friday I had the most calories I've eaten since starting this weight loss endeavor again (1,375) and skipped my workout. Saturday I sat around the house all day long - again, no workout - and ended the night with 1,156 calories.

These two days didn't seem to hurt the progress this week, but they were a mental stumbling block that needs to be overcome quickly. It's like falling down in the middle of a marathon. I just need to stand back up, dust off my knees, and continue running. I didn't hurt myself to the point that I can't finish the race.

I need to make it through the night, a good dinner and a trip to the gym, and then I'll be back to my normal routine, vacation over. At least for another 4 weeks until my next vacation - this one even longer than a few days.

---

I think the thing I'm lacking at the moment is the motivation to continue. I'm down to that point where I'm only 10 pounds from where I always give up and revert back to my unhealthy ways. What is IT that gets me beyond that point?

Back to the Gym

2010-11-25T09:52:00.004-06:00

I went yesterday and renewed my membership (at a significant rate increase and 12 month contract) at the local Anytime Fitness facility.

And it couldn't have been more worth it.

I went late last night for my run and some weights and everything was just as I remembered it. It took some fumbling and an almost dropped iPod before I had everything set just right on the treadmill, but the run itself was great. I was able to push it a bit harder than I probably was doing outside because of the ability to adjust the pace, and stay on pace. I added a little sprint to the end of the workout, the last .25 miles. Overall: fantastic.

In fact, I could have stayed at the gym much longer than I did, getting reacquainted with all the different weight lifting opportunities. Knowing I'd be back in the morning was the only thing (okay, and it was already 11PM) that sent me home.

---

I didn't quite make it back to the gym at the time I wanted (5AM) this morning, so as to beat the crowd, but I was there at a little after 8, back on the treadmill for a couple miles of walking. I did some ab work and stretching after that. I love it. It's freezing cold outside and I'm able to still put in a fantastic workout.

Sure, it's expensive at about $1.37 a day, but there was no way I was going to be able to stay motivated as the layers of clothing needed to battle the cold outside kept adding up.

---

Chances are I'll be back tonight. I think I've got another hour in me. I might as well put in two-a-day workouts while I can on vacation because the time I'll have available when I go back to work Monday will be just as limited as before. If not more as things wind down toward winter break.

Weight Loss Graph - November 21

2010-11-21T08:45:00.002-06:00

Progress Report XXXXVIII - November 21

2010-11-21T08:26:00.003-06:00

Last Week's Weight: 218.4 lbs
Current Weight: 213 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 5.4 lbs.
Weekly Percentage of Weight Loss: 2.47%

14 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)
44 lbs. to Goal (169 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 6:16:26.4 hours

Exercise Distance: 22 miles (6 running; 16 walking)

Calories Burned: 4,251 (607 avg. daily)

Weekly Calories Consumed: 7,516 (1,073 avg. daily)

Net Weekly Calories: 3,265 (466 avg. daily)

Sweetness! It's just like I'm on THE BIGGEST LOSER: put up a good week's weight loss and the next week suffers. And THEN the following week you're back to the big numbers. Like this week: 5.4 lbs.

Actually, it probably has more to do with the change in exercise. After a month of basically the same workouts, my body had adapted to lifestyle and settled into a groove. Shake it up by adding in running and a few new weight lifting exercises and the body goes into weight loss shock again. I just need to keep things fresh.

And I was less stressed.

Ah, who knows? Could be any of those things, or nothing at all. I'm just happy with my progress, and my goal looks to be within reach again. I only need to lose an average of 2.33 pounds a week to meet the year-end goal.

It was nice getting back into the running, but it's getting a little late in the year for it (outside, at least). I'm going to go to 24 Hour Fitness and renew my membership on Wednesday. It's an additional expense, but it ensures I'll be able to workout no matter the weather. It also allows me the opportunity to vary my workouts to a larger degree. I'm most excited about being able to continue with the running once the weather turns bad. And let me tell you, the cold is already starting to frustrate me - too many layers.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with how the week went. I didn't average very many calories, but at this point I need that deficit to power the weight loss. The challenge I'll have after the new year is building the calorie consumption back up to a reasonable, sustainable level while not adding weight. It'll be a delicate balance between diet and exercise. But that's a challenge for later.

Run #2

2010-11-17T21:22:00.003-06:00

Tonight was my second night of running this week. And it was not as easy as the first.

That's not to say that it was overly difficult. In fact, after the first mile, I actually started to find my rhythm - my pace - and was able to finish strong. I went into the run a bit sore, even after a 2 mile walk last night to loosen the stiff muscles. My bad knee (left) ached some throughout the day and was sore after the run. Not so sore that I'm concerned any more than normal. I stretched like I've been doing for the past month, and then iced the knee. That's about the best I can do.

As for "killing it," I'm not doing too bad. The extra two miles last night should push my weekly total to 20 miles, unless I'm willing to add another 2 miles tomorrow or something more on my rest day, Saturday. Shouldn't push it too much though. I don't want to burn myself out.

Inspiration...and the Right Attitude

2010-11-15T21:08:00.003-06:00

A tweet I read linked to this article, and I have to say, that while written probably for women...it's quite awesome. It's motivating. It has a great message. And, well...just read it. "A Call to Arms (And Abs, Quads, Calves, and Shoulders)"

Here's a sample:

"Lose 12 pounds by tomorrow by doing these three exercises! Hungry? Eat seven almonds! Fuck that."

"My attitude toward my body changed as well. I stopped really thinking about how it looked and instead focused on getting shit done, realized that any physical changes I was seeing were happening because my body knew best how to shape itself to complete the task at hand."

But seriously...READ. IT.

Killing It

2010-11-15T19:51:00.003-06:00

I'm going to kill it this week with my workouts.

I started running tonight. I'm easing myself back into the routine. After three weeks of building up to this point by walking, I figured I'd start easy with a mile warmup walk, then two miles running, finishing with a mile walk to cool down.

It went very well. In fact, I felt like I was flying. What a difference 20 lbs. and a month can make. The running was not this easy when I did the same at Run for the Roses back in October. That's not to say it was all peaches. I was still a bit mentally fatigued at the end of my two mile run. It wasn't bad, but there was that creeping voice in the far back of my mind urging me to stop, walk it in. I ran through the voice, but it was there.

I also added 5 more pushups to my set, a set of 12 squats with weight, and a set of 12 lat presses. Needed to do more than just curls.

It has crossed my mind that the weather will not hold out forever. Tonight it was a brisk 40 with minimal wind - tolerable. But the rain and snow and ice will be coming soon enough, and I'll be left without the outdoors to workout in. It's $35 a month to join back up with the 24 hour fitness place near home. Expensive, but necessary. Especially if I plan to continue this weight loss journey through the winter.

I will have to look into rejoining. Can't keep killing it if I have nowhere to run.

Progress Report XXXXVII - November 14

2010-11-14T07:58:00.002-06:00

Last Week's Weight: 220.4 lbs
Current Weight: 218.4 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 2 lbs.
Weekly Percentage of Weight Loss: 0.9%

19.4 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)
49.4 lbs. to Goal (169 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 5:43:12.2 hours

Exercise Distance: 18 miles

Calories Burned: 3,257

God, I'm disappointed! Even though I worked out a hour longer, went six miles farther, burned 670 more calories, I lost less than half what I lost last week. And it's not as if I ate any more this week than I did last week. In fact, I probably averaged just a few calories less per day this week than I did last week. I didn't eat any differently. It's...disappointing.

*big breath*

I understand I can't always expect to put up large numbers. I was a lot more stressed out this week with work and car problems. I probably got less sleep than I should have. I didn't push my heart rate up during my walks; I walked a bit more leisurely. I just lost 19 pounds in three weeks. All those things could have had an impact on my weight loss this week.

Two pounds is still a loss. It put me under 50 pounds towards my goal weight. I can still consider the week a victory.

I can't let it bother me. I just need to move on and do what I do for a successful next week. This week I'm going to start running again. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I'm going to walk 1 mile, run 2 miles, walk 1 mile for my workout. Starting at this distance has worked for me in the past. The nice thing about running is that it ensures my heart rate will be elevated for at least the two miles I'm running. I might also add some exercises to my weight routine, which currently only involves curls (although it's an impressive amount of curls 1 set of 55 reps at 35 lbs.).

To reach my year-end goal I need to lose an average of 2.77 lbs. per week for the next 7 weeks. I'm going to try and keep my calorie intake around 1,171 calories per day (90% the recommended amount for a loss of 3.1 lbs. in a week). I was a bit more hungry this week than I've been in the past few, so I may actually eat all 1,191 calories I'm recommended. We'll play it by ear.

Progress Report XXXXVI - November 7

2010-11-07T07:32:00.005-06:00

Last Week's Weight: 225.8 lbs
Current Weight: 220.4 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 5.4 lbs.
Weekly Percentage of Weight Loss: 2.39%

21.4 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)
51.4 lbs. to Goal (169 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 4:32:01.7 hours

Exercise Distance: 12 miles

Calories Burned: 2,587

That's frustrating. No, not frustrating...disappointing? I can eat fewer calories, workout more, burn more calories, and still lose less weight? I understand - and so am not really disappointed - that as you lose more weight it becomes harder to lose weight. Still, I like those big numbers and will keep shooting for them. I'll need decent numbers to reach my year-end goal anyway.

It is amazing that I've lost 19 lbs. over the last 3 weeks. That's an average of 6.33 lbs. a week. Not too shabby. It'll be nice to get to my first goal, but the real challenge will be working on those last 30 pounds. I've made it to the point where I'd be ready to tackle those 30 pounds, but then backslid immediately after.

I noticed this week that I had to tighten the belt a little bit to keep the pants from hanging too loose. I was looking at my belt and I noticed the notch I had to add to the end of it when I was down just over 200 lbs. last December. Now I've got something to shoot for again. I'm working toward that notch.

And on a related note, it's a nice feeling having your clothes a little baggy instead of tight and constricting, squeezing the comfort from the day.

On the workout plan I created while standing around at work a few weeks ago I noticed that I'm supposed to start running again this week. I think I'm going to push that back one more week to give myself the chance to build up my total weekly mileage a little more so that the addition of running isn't a doubling of what I'm doing now.

I'm also instituting a (mostly) rest day on Saturdays instead of working out 7 days a week. I work Saturday and more often than not I'm working hard, and I'm exhausted by the time I come home. Pushing carts for hours or moving concrete blocks takes a toll. It does elevate the heart rate, especially at the speed in which I work - always trying to get done as fast as possible. I might still take a leisurely walk or something like that on Saturday, but I'll otherwise take it easy and try recover from the week's workouts.

Progress Report XXXXV - October 31

2010-10-31T10:55:00.005-05:00

Last Week's Weight: 232.2 lbs
Current Weight: 225.8 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 6.4 lbs.
Weekly Percentage of Weight Loss: 2.75%

26.8 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)
56.8 lbs. to Goal (169 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 3:58:14.1 hours

Exercise Distance: 10 miles

Calories Burned: 2,452

I'd say my second week of weight loss was a success. Adding in the exercise component - keeping the daily caloric intake relatively the same as last week - kept my weekly weight loss number high. 6.4 pounds is still quite impressive.

The exercise activities I began this week were: walking, an ab routine (crunches, inhales, leg lift curls, leg lifts), pushups, weights (arm curls, arm reverse curls), and a stretching routine. I wore my heart rate monitor to measure calories burned.

Thursday night/Friday I was not feeling very well. Feverish with an upset stomach. Couldn't place the cause of my discomfort, but it didn't last much past 24 hours, so I'm thinking it was nothing more than a bug.

I can tell you this: My arms were killing me all week! Jumped into the weights with only arm curls, but I tore my muscles up. Thursday night, in addition to the sickness, my arms hurt so bad I had difficulty falling asleep. 55 reps of 35 pounds (1,925 lbs. of weight being curled) might have been an extreme start. Still, I stuck with it, and my arms, while no longer throbbing extensions of pain, are adapting.

Need to work over the next few weeks on finding some recipes to cook that I can store as leftovers throughout the week so that on nights I work or am rushed for time I have something filling, and healthy to eat.

To reach my year-end goal weight I need to lose an average of 2.96 lbs. per week for the remaining 9 weeks, so I've set my Daily Plate calorie goal at a loss of 3.1 lbs., giving me 1,250 calories a day as my consumption goal.

What A Difference A Day Can Make

2010-10-27T21:05:00.004-05:00

On Monday when I went out to walk at 8 PM it was a warm 70 degrees. I was in shorts and a t-shirt and it was entirely comfortable, if not a little warm as I turned around and had the wind at my back.

Two days later, at the same time of night, the temperature has dropped 30 degrees, and the winds are gusting over 30 mph. I'm bundled up in slicks, a long-sleeve shirt, and a jacket. Hat and gloves, too.

Big change. But I suppose this is the end of October, and these are the conditions I need to expect for awhile now.

I'm ready. This is my season, my weather. Bring it on!

Progress Report XXXXIV - October 24

2010-10-24T19:55:00.007-05:00

Starting Weight: 239.4 lbs
Weight: 232.2 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 7.2 lbs.
Weekly Percentage of Weight Loss: 3%

33.2 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)
63.2 lbs. to Goal (169 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 0

Exercise Distance: n/a

I'm back. Back on The Daily Plate, tracking my calories (and soon exercise) in an attempt to take off the pounds that hold me down, that hold me back from life as I want it.

I've set my weekly goal as 3.3 lbs. I've marked my lifestyle as lightly active. I was allowed 1,260 calories a day last week, and 1,202 calories a day this week. Adding exercise into the mix should keep the weight coming off, but it'll take some tweaking to figure just the right amount of calories I'm able to consume to maintain the energy for exercise and still lose weight. That's part of the challenge of a healthy life.

Can't promise the attention to detail I provided in the past with regards to posts about exercise, or regular blog postings in general. The time I have is limited. I'll do my best to keep the world (my 2 or 3 readers) informed.

Thanks for the support. Wish me luck.

(It's only my life.)

He's Back, Bigger than Before (but shrinking)

2010-10-24T19:37:00.006-05:00

It's funny what a year off from healthy living can do.

Funny in a sad way because I packed back on all the weight, plus some. I was over 240 pounds a couple of weeks ago. Funny in a great way because I lost a massive amount of weight in just my first 6 days of starting back. And funny in a maddening way because when I look back to a year ago, I was consuming only about 1,400 calories a day and netting a -666 calories after at least an hour of exercise a day, and I know (think) I can't come close to that now.

How do I juggle two jobs, a tendency to eat when stressed (and let's face it, when am I not stressed, depressed, or otherwise moody?), a change in the weather for the poorer, and the other inherent difficulties of losing weight?

The best I can. That's the only answer that I have. The only answer there is.

I was able to follow the suggested number of calories to consume during my first week, and that number only shrinks with each passing week and pound lost. I know what happened in the past, but this is a different time, a different life, and I can only do what works for me now.

This week I add exercise to the mix (outside on the days it isn't raining and doing what I can inside on the days it pours). I can't expect to see weight loss numbers like I saw this week, but at least with the addition of exercise I stand a chance of continuing to lose weight on a weekly basis.

I'm 30 years old now. And it's time to finally be healthy. I'm looking to be down under 200 by year's end. By summer I hope to have met that goal I set a few years back: 169 lbs. and in the best shape of my adult life.

The ball's rolling...

Week of Working Out - Dec. 27

2009-12-31T19:21:00.002-06:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
December 21st – December 27th.
---
Monday: BIKING (22:15 minutes) – on trainer in garage; approx. 3.66 miles at 10 mph.

PERFECT PUSHUPS (3:00 minutes) – 2 sets Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

ABS (6:00 minutes) – Crunches: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Inhales: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Scissor Leg Lift: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10.

Tuesday: WEIGHT LIFTING (4:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.), Hammer Curls (15 lbs.), Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.).

STRETCHING (4:00 minutes) – stretched arms/chest/abs after workout.

Wednesday: BIKING (1:03:30 hours) – on trainer in garage; approx. 10.58 miles at 10 mph; a few breaks of less than a minute each to coast.

PERFECT PUSHUPS (3:00 minutes) – 2 sets Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

ABS (6:00 minutes) – Crunches: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Inhales: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Scissor Leg Lift: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10.

Thursday: BIKING (1:40:54 hours) – on trainer in garage; approx. 16.6 miles at 10 mph; a few breaks of less than a minute each to coast; 1,273 calories burned.

WEIGHT LIFTING (4:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.), Hammer Curls (15 lbs.), Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.).

STRETCHING (4:00 minutes) – stretched arms/chest/abs after workout.

Friday: BIKING (1:07:42 hours) – on trainer in garage; approx. 11.28 miles at 10 mph; a few breaks of less than a minute each to coast; 834 calories burned; avg. HR 136, in zone 1:00:19 hours.

PERFECT PUSHUPS (1:30 minutes) – 2 sets Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

ABS (2:00 minutes) – Crunches: 1 set of 13, 12, 11, 10; Inhales: 1 set of 13, 12, 11, 10; Leg Lifts: 1 set of 13, 12, 11, 10; Scissor Leg Lift: 1 set of 13, 12, 11, 10.

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Rest

Progress Report XXXXIII - December 27

2009-12-31T19:14:00.002-06:00

Weight: 201.6 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 1.6 lbs.

31.6 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
2.6 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 5:51:51 hours (Biking: 4:14:21 hours; Perfect Pushups: 7:30 min.; Weightlifting: 8:00 min.; Abs: 14:00 min.; Stretching: 8:00 min.)

Exercise Distance: 42.12 miles (Biking: 42.12 miles)

On the plus side, I did get out on the bike trainer. And I purchased a heart rate monitor to more accurately track the number of calories I burn during my workouts.

That’s all I can chalk up to the plus side of this week.

Just as I knew would happen, Christmas – and the obscene amount of (tasty) food available – brought me to my knees. There was no way (easy) way to accurately count the number of calories consumed Christmas day, so I was forced to estimate. 9,000 calories. (And I’m hoping that the number is on the high side, though I fear it may not be high enough.) I did a little better (still about 5,000 calories) the day after Christmas, but there were still too many temptations.

My body, last night, decided to try and kill me. I was sick – or felt sick – but my body would not let me do anything to fix that feeling. Couldn’t throw up for the life of me – and I hate throwing up, but I thought that must be the only way I’d get a release from the intense pain – and I suffered for over an hour rolling and rocking back in forth in front of the toilet, trying to find comfort. I finally just went to bed, and tried to calm myself enough to pass out. I must have eventually done so, because I slept and woke up feeling much, much better. There’s still a hint of stomach pain. The only thing I can think is that my body went into shock over the amount of unhealthy calories I’d consumed in a 2-day period. I’ve said “never again” to holiday binges like this before, but sweet monkeys, this was painful.

I am pleased that I was out on the bike and that I kept up on the exercise. It could have made the week much, much worse. I have five more days this year to bring things back under control so that I can start the new year out on the right foot. I’m not going to meet the goal I set out on January 1st, but I will get there by my birthday this coming year. I’m seeing results and it’s motivating.

Oh, and if you’re curious to see my daily nutrition/exercise progress, check out my page on The Daily Plate.

A Quick Comparison

2009-12-20T08:04:00.000-06:00

My weight is currently the lowest it’s been in YEARS (200 lbs.). I went back to earlier this year on March 8th when I found myself at 200.2 lbs., pleased to be halfway to my goal of 170 lbs., and at the time that was the lowest my weight had been in years.

And then within 2 weeks of that achievement, my weight had jumped back up 11 lbs. ELEVEN POUNDS IN TWO WEEKS! It was disappointing, and it set me on a path that led to gaining back the 30 lbs. I had lost earlier in the year.

So here I am, down 30+ lbs. (again), within 1 lb. of my year-end goal weight, and only 11 days until the New Year.

I’m not scared, but I am concerned. I need to be careful. It all comes back so very, very easily.

Progress Report XXXXII - December 20

2009-12-20T07:43:00.003-06:00

Weight: 200 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 3 lbs.

30 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
1 lb. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 55:00 minutes (Perfect Pushups: 9:00 min.; Weightlifting: 16:00 min.; Abs: 18:00 min.; Stretching: 12:00 min.)

Exercise Distance: 0 miles

This was a tough week. It was difficult maintaining such a low calorie intake with the added temptation of Christmas cookies and candy piling up in my pantry. I did very well, though. I limited myself to 2 cookies the entire week, while also managing to average only 1,099 net calories a day (after exercise). It’s a very low number of calories, but I know that this week, with Christmas, the calories may add up. I am 1 lb. away from my year-end goal, so I need to be careful. I don’t want to flush all the hard work I’ve done the past 3 months down the drain in the last 11 days of the month.

Still, I want cookies! And food.

I’m just going to have to get on that bike trainer. It’s been tough not being able to walk outside (slick, snow covered roads) and burn big chunks of calories through cardiovascular work. There’s only more snow forecasted for this week, so trainer I must ride.

Oh, and if you’re curious to see my daily nutrition/exercise progress, check out my page on The Daily Plate.

Week of Working Out - Dec. 20

2009-12-20T07:33:00.001-06:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
December 14th – December 20th.
---
Monday: WEIGHT LIFTING (4:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.), Hammer Curls (15 lbs.), Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.).

STRETCHING (2:00 minutes) – stretched arms/chest/abs after workout.

Tuesday: PERFECT PUSHUPS (3:00 minutes) – 2 sets Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

ABS (6:00 minutes) – Crunches: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Inhales: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Scissor Leg Lift: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10.

Wednesday: WEIGHT LIFTING (4:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.), Hammer Curls (15 lbs.), Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.).

STRETCHING (2:00 minutes) – stretched arms/chest/abs after workout.

Thursday: PERFECT PUSHUPS (3:00 minutes) – 2 sets Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

ABS (6:00 minutes) – Crunches: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Inhales: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Scissor Leg Lift: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10.

Friday: WEIGHT LIFTING (4:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.), Hammer Curls (15 lbs.), Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.).

STRETCHING (4:00 minutes) – stretched arms/chest/abs after workout.

Saturday: PERFECT PUSHUPS (3:00 minutes) – 2 sets Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

ABS (6:00 minutes) – Crunches: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Inhales: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Scissor Leg Lift: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10.

Sunday: WEIGHT LIFTING (4:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.), Hammer Curls (15 lbs.), Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.).

STRETCHING (4:00 minutes) – stretched arms/chest/abs after workout.

Week of Working Out - Dec. 13

2009-12-13T12:09:00.000-06:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
December 7th – December 13th.
---
Monday: PERFECT PUSHUPS (2:00 minutes) – Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

ABS (3:00 minutes) – Crunches: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Inhales: 2 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10.

Tuesday: WEIGHT LIFTING (4:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.), Hammer Curls (15 lbs.), Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.).

STRETCHING (2:00 minutes) – stretched arms/chest/abs after workout.

Wednesday: PERFECT PUSHUPS (3:00 minutes) – 2 sets Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

ABS (5:00 minutes) – Crunches: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Inhales: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 10, 9, 8, 7.

Thursday: WEIGHT LIFTING (3:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.) – left arm only, Hammer Curls (15 lbs.) – left arm only, Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.).

STRETCHING (2:00 minutes) – stretched arms/chest/abs after workout.

Friday: PERFECT PUSHUPS (3:00 minutes) – 2 sets Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

ABS (5:00 minutes) – Crunches: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Inhales: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10.

Saturday: WEIGHT LIFTING (4:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.), Hammer Curls (15 lbs.), Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.).

STRETCHING (2:00 minutes) – stretched arms/chest/abs after workout.

Sunday: PERFECT PUSHUPS (3:00 minutes) – 2 sets Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; 1 set Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

ABS (6:00 minutes) – Crunches: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Inhales: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Leg Lifts: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10; Scissor Leg Lift: 3 sets of 13, 12, 11, 10.

Progress Report XXXXI - December 13

2009-12-13T12:04:00.003-06:00

Weight: 203 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 4.6 lbs.

33 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
4 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 47:00 minutes (Perfect Pushups: 11:00 min.; Weightlifting: 11:00 min.; Abs: 19:00 min.; Stretching: 6:00 min.)

Exercise Distance: 0 miles

I was a little concerned about my weight loss this week because I started the week off last Sunday going out to eat. I did my best to make a smart choice (herb grilled chicken breast w/broccoli), but even it was cooked in butter – tasted amazing – and was more calories than I had allotted for the day. To make up for that I was shorting myself 125 calories a day the rest of the week all in hopes of losing the 2.7 lbs. I have The Daily Plate calculating calories for me. It appears I shouldn’t have been worried. The little bit of exercising I’ve been doing, along with sticking to the diet gave me better than expected results.

(It also helps to not have any snack food around the house. Being broke means you only buy what you need to eat.)

My right shoulder is sore. I imagine I’ve pulled a muscle there doing either my pushups or weights. I took some Advil, took it easy on the weights one day with my right arm, but it’s still a dull pain, almost as if the muscle is strained. I don’t want to quit the pushups or the weights, so I guess I’m going to try more Advil and maybe some ice or heat. Still, it’s frustrating. I’ve never had much luck when it comes to upper body work; my body (elbows, shoulders, muscles in general) always seems to crap out on me. And then I give up.

Halfway through the month and things are going well. Now comes the hard part: the holiday. 4 lbs. to go to meet my year-end goal!

Oh, and if you’re curious to see my daily nutrition/exercise progress, check out my page on The Daily Plate.

Week of Working Out - Dec. 6

2009-12-06T08:12:00.003-06:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
November 30th – December 6th.
---
Monday: rest

Tuesday: PERFECT PUSHUPS (2:00 minutes) – Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

Wednesday: WEIGHT LIFTING (4:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.), Hammer Curls (15 lbs.), Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.); set of 12: Triceps Dips.

CRUNCHES (1:00 minute) – 10 crunches.

Thursday: PERFECT PUSHUPS (2:00 minutes) – Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

CRUNCHES (2:00 minutes) – 13, 12, 11, 10.

Friday: WEIGHT LIFTING (4:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.), Hammer Curls (15 lbs.), Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.).

STRETCHING (2:00 minutes) – stretched arms/chest/abs after workout.

Saturday: PERFECT PUSHUPS (2:00 minutes) – Regular (from knees) 4,3,2,1; Wide (from knees) 4,3,2,1; Close (from knees) 4,3,2,1.

CRUNCHES (2:00 minutes) – 13, 12, 11, 10.

Sunday: WEIGHT LIFTING (4:00 minutes) – Set of 12 reps: Curls (15 lbs.), Hammer Curls (15 lbs.), Barbell Curls (40 lbs.), and Reverse Barbell Curls (40 lbs.); set of 5 reps: Front Press (40 lbs.).

STRETCHING (2:00 minutes) – stretched arms/chest/abs after workout.

Progress Report XXXX - December 6

2009-12-06T08:02:00.005-06:00

Weight: 207.6 lbs.
Loss/Gain: -1.2 lbs.

37.6 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
8.6 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 27:00 minutes (Perfect Pushups: 6:00 min.; Weightlifting: 12:00 min.; Crunches: 5:00 min.; Stretching: 4:00 min.)

Exercise Distance: 0 miles

Starting with December 1st I’ve been doing a better job following the diet that was working so well for me during the month of October. This week I also began a pushup and crunch routine, along with some weightlifting. This didn’t add up to a lot of exercise time, but did make my arms and chest extremely sore. They are feeling better now after a week of strain, and it is my hope to keep this program up throughout the month of December to see what kind of results I’ll achieve.

But, if I want to reach my Year-End weight loss goal I’m going to have to step it up in the cardiovascular department. I need to get back out walking (and running) nearly every day. Without that larger calorie deficit, I will not be able to lose the 8.6 lbs. I have left in the remaining 25 days.

Oh, and if you’re curious to see my daily nutrition/exercise progress, check out my page on The Daily Plate.

To Build A Better Bicep - December 1

2009-12-01T22:28:00.008-06:00

I’ve had a set of the Perfect Pushup disks sitting in my living room – unused – for over 3 months. It was finally time to bust them out and build myself some biceps.

I’m going to follow the plan that came in the box and see what happens after a month of pushups. Now, I’m not going to stop working out (walking, biking, weights, etc.), instead I’m just going to pay more attention to pushups in particular and see what happens.

I did measure my biceps before beginning – unflexed: 12.5 inches; flexed: 13.5 inches – and I will measure again on December 31st. I’m not expecting huge changes (although, how cool would that be?), but I wanted to make a comparison.

Oh, and this pathetic thing:

Unfortunately it’s my arm. Let’s see if I can’t go all Popeye on these bad boys.

Progress Report XXXIX - November 29

2009-12-01T22:12:00.006-06:00

Weight: 208.8 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 0.8 lbs.

38.8 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
9.8 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 0 hours

Exercise Distance: 0 miles

Even with Thanksgiving and some just terrible diet decisions I managed to only gain 0.8 lbs. I shouldn’t feel as happy as I do about this. I should think about just how much I might have lost if I had been doing things the correct way.

It is my goal to lose 10 lbs. in December so that I can meet my Year-End Goal of breaking the 200 lb. mark. It’s going to take a massive amount of willpower and discipline to succeed. It all starts December 1st.

Here's my last 10 days of calories consumed and burned:

Oh, and if you’re curious to see my daily nutrition/exercise progress, check out my page on The Daily Plate.

Week of Working Out - Nov. 29

2009-12-01T22:12:00.001-06:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
November 23rd – November 29th.
---
Mondays: rest

Tuesdays: rest

Wednesdays: rest

Thursdays: rest

Fridays: rest

Saturdays: rest

Sundays: rest

Weeks of Working Out - Nov. 22

2009-11-22T14:37:00.000-06:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past two weeks,
November 9th – November 22nd.
---
Mondays: rest

Tuesdays: rest

Wednesdays: rest

Thursdays: rest

Fridays: rest

Saturdays: rest

Sundays: rest

Progress Report XXXVIII - November 22

2009-11-22T14:25:00.008-06:00

Weight: 208 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 4.6 lbs.

38 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
9 lbs. to Year-End Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 0 hours

Exercise Distance: 0 miles

October went swimmingly, but November, not so much. That’s not to say that I haven’t lost weight; I have. I just don’t understand how. The past two weeks I have not worked out, and I have not eaten healthily. My caloric intake has been massive (compared to October totals), and I’ve been stressed. Not a winning combination.

Or so it would seem.

Last week I lost 3.6 lbs, and this week 1 lb. I’m getting closer and closer to my year-end goal. Still, I have a feeling that these last 9 lbs. are going to be a beast to unload. Hopefully with almost a week of vacation from work – that is, unless I gain the part-time job I’m interviewing for on Tuesday and start Wednesday or Friday – I can get back in the habit of healthy eating and exercise.

But there is Thanksgiving, and the meals and movies and temptations involved.

Nothing to do but try. And hopefully succeed.


November 15	November 22

Oh, and if you’re curious to see my daily nutrition/exercise progress, check out my page on The Daily Plate.

Counting Calories - Week of November 8

2009-11-08T13:09:00.002-06:00

2 weeks ago…
Recommended calories to be consumed per day for a moderately active individual at 214.8 lbs with a weight loss goal of 2.7 lbs for the week: 1,789 (day)

Total calories consumed (week) --> Total calories consumed (day)
9,328 (week) --> 1,333 (day)

Net calories consumed (week) --> Net calories consumed (day)
2,225 (week) --> 318 (day)

Calories burned (week) --> Calories burned (day)
7,103 (week) --> 1,014 (day)

Last week…
Recommended calories to be consumed per day for a moderately active individual at 211.2 lbs with a weight loss goal of 2.7 lbs for the week: 1,755 (day)

Total calories consumed (week) --> Total calories consumed (day)
20,382 (week) --> 2,912 (day)

Net calories consumed (week) --> Net calories consumed (day)
19,191 (week) --> 2,742 (day)

Calories burned (week) --> Calories burned (day)
847 (week) --> 121 (day)

Week of November 8…
Recommended calories to be consumed per day for a moderately active individual at 212.6 lbs with a weight loss goal of 2.7 lbs for the week: 1,768 (day)

Total calories consumed (week) --> Total calories consumed (day)
9,800 (week) --> 1,400 (day)

Goals for the Week
Net calories consumed (week) --> Net calories consumed (day)
4,200 (week) --> 600 (day)

Calories burned (week) --> Calories burned (day)
5,600 (week) --> 800 (day)

*All of the calculations are based on averages for the week and day.

Week of Working Out - Nov. 8

2009-11-08T13:08:00.000-06:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
November 2nd – November 8th.
---
Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: WALKING – outdoors at 6:00 AM; 4 mile out-and-back course, with 2 loops around the complex for 4.62 miles; 1:02:41.00 hours; temp of 49 with little to no wind; the entire walk was nice and uneventful; felt great to be back exercising after a week off from any activity; 847 calories burned.

Progress Report XXXVII - November 8

2009-11-08T12:57:00.005-06:00

Weight: 212.6 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 1.4 lbs.

42.6 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
13.6 lbs. to New Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 1:02:41.00 hours (walking: 1:02:41.00 hours)

Exercise Distance: 4.62 miles (walking: 4.62 miles)

Not the best way to start November. I did not follow my diet. I did not exercise. And there was no good reason why I fell back into familiar bad habits. (Well, aside from stress and laziness.)

Monday through Saturday I raided the leftover Halloween candy stash. I also ate McDonalds twice and had pizza one night. I’m sure all of this wouldn’t have been so terribly bad if I’d done the even the easiest of workouts.

I’m just pleased I didn’t gain more weight than I did. Here’s to hoping I can turn things around this week. So far today has gone pretty well.

Here's my last 10 days of calories consumed and calories burned:

Here's my last 30 days of calories consumed and calories burned:

Oh, and if you’re curious to see my daily nutrition/exercise progress, check out my page on The Daily Plate.

A Disaster of a Week

2009-11-05T06:56:00.003-06:00

This week - at least the first half - has been a total failure. No exercise. A crap-ton of candy consumed. Just poor choice after poor choice. I've already eaten more than my normal week's worth of calories, and that was by Wednesday.

Doing some calculations, it does look like I might be able to salvage some of the week. If I can reign in the calories to my weekly goal of 1,400 a day, while also burning a minimum of 800 calories a day over the next three days, I might be able to maintain my weight. Best case scenario would be a loss of maybe a pound, but I'm not holding out any hope. I thoroughly screwed myself earlier in the week.

It's frustrating how easy it is to fall back into bad habits.

Counting Calories - Week of November 1

2009-11-01T11:18:00.005-06:00

2 weeks ago…
Recommended calories to be consumed per day for a moderately active individual at 220 lbs with a weight loss goal of 2.7 lbs for the week: 1,837 (day)

Total calories consumed (week) --> Total calories consumed (day)
9,806 (week) --> 1,400 (day)

Net calories consumed (week) --> Net calories consumed (day)
4,177 (week) --> 597 (day)

Calories burned (week) --> Calories burned (day)
5,629 (week) --> 804 (day)

Last week…
Recommended calories to be consumed per day for a moderately active individual at 214.8 lbs with a weight loss goal of 2.7 lbs for the week: 1,789 (day)

Total calories consumed (week) --> Total calories consumed (day)
9,328 (week) --> 1,333 (day)

Net calories consumed (week) --> Net calories consumed (day)
2,225 (week) --> 318 (day)

Calories burned (week) --> Calories burned (day)
7,103 (week) --> 1,014 (day)

Week of November 1st…
Recommended calories to be consumed per day for a moderately active individual at 211.2 lbs with a weight loss goal of 2.7 lbs for the week: 1,755 (day)

Total calories consumed (week) --> Total calories consumed (day)
9,800 (week) --> 1,400 (day)

Goals for the Week
Net calories consumed (week) --> Net calories consumed (day)
3,850 (week) --> 550 (day)

Calories burned (week) --> Calories burned (day)
5,950 (week) --> 850 (day)

*All of the calculations are based on averages for the week and day.

Progress Report XXXVI - November 1

2009-11-01T11:04:00.005-06:00

Weight: 211.2 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 3.6 lbs.

41.2 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
12.2 lbs. to New Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 7:56:08.25 hours (walking: 6:42:32.20 hours; running: 1:13:36.05 hours)

Exercise Distance: 37.41 miles (walking: 29.41 miles; running: 8 miles)

This was another great week for me with regards to exercise and weight loss. I did have ambitious plans of fitting in 50 miles of exercise distance, but with two days of rest it was impossible to accomplish. Still, I’m pleased with the amount of exercise I did manage. (I had a run Saturday of 4 miles at a pace of 8:44 minute/mile – one of my best runs in the past few years!)

I also managed to meet my calorie goals for the week. Actually, I blew them away. And that might not be a good thing – there is only so much of a calorie deficit a body can handle. I did only manage to lose 3.6 lbs., down quite a bit from last week’s 5.2 lbs., and it’s frustrating because I ate less and worked out about the same, but it’s still a loss, so I can’t complain too much.

November is a new month, so I’m going to try different approaches to the calorie goals and weight loss expectations. Some of this will come with the change in weather and some will come with an increase in workload. My hope is to maintain a large weekly weight loss (at least 2.7 lbs.) while also getting a bit more than 1,400 calories a day.

October was a bang-up month! I ended up losing 21.2 lbs. over the month, for an average weekly weight loss of 4.5 lbs. And check out my graph for calories consumed and netted over the course of October.

Oh, and if you’re curious to see my daily nutrition/exercise progress, check out my page on The Daily Plate.

Week of Working Out - Nov. 1

2009-10-26T20:14:00.008-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
October 26th – November 1st.
---
Monday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:00 PM; 4 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around the complex for 4.62 miles; 1:03:38.00 hours; temp of 48 with winds from SSW at 5 mph; beautiful walk, if not a bit chilly; 867 calories burned.

Tuesday: RUNNING – outdoors at 5:45 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 4 miles with splits of 9:52.00, 9:31.66, 9:42.53 and 9:30.45, for a total of 38:36.64 minutes running, followed by a 3.62 mile WALK to cool down/additional workout for a total of 1:05:04.52 hours walking; course was 2 loops of the 4 mile route, with 2 loops around the complex to end; temp around 50, winds from SE at 7 mph; both knees hurt terribly bad – grinding pain on the inside bottom part of knees – during the entire first mile (hence the slow first mile split); the slow first mile running set the slower pace for the rest of the run; once the knees warmed up? the rest of the run went better; there was no mental block keeping me from completing the fourth mile; the walk felt chilly from the temp drop with the setting sun and sweat from running, but it was still a great workout; 895 calories burned walking and 627 calories burned running.

Wednesday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:30 PM; 4 mile out-and-back course with 1 loop around complex, then 2 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around the complex for 6.93 miles; 1:35:40.00 hours; temps from 58 down to 53 with winds from SE at 14 to 21 mph – chilly in that direction; legs felt tired and knees still a little sore – I may be pushing the exercise a bit too far; lot of traffic at every intersection I crossed – it was beginning to piss me off; 1,315 calories burned.

Thursday: Rest – rainy weather all day and not motivated enough to set up the bike trainer in the garage; felt terribly guilty about not netting a low number of calories – those 1,350 calories for the day felt like a massive (but tasty) weight on my consciousness.

Friday: Rest – still rainy (even though the weather man said it wouldn’t be); when it did clear off it was already late and I decided to use the day for another break.

Saturday: RUNNING – outdoors at 1:30 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then an amazingrun of 4 miles with splits of 8:55.54, 8:48.60, 8:48.35, and 8:26.92, for a total of 34:59.41 minutes running, followed by a 5.62 mile WALK to cool down/additional workout for a total of 1:30:01.68 hours walking; course was 2 loops of the 4 mile route and the middle two miles repeated a 3rd time, with 2 loops around the complex to end; temp of 53, winds from W at 10+ mph; the entire workout was fantastic, but the run was especially impressive: each split was quicker than the last, and that includes waiting for traffic and stopping to tie a shoe during the 3rd mile – fastest, best run since the training I did for the marathon a few years ago; everything was perfect; 2 hours later and my legs were tired; 1,238 calories burned walking and 625 calories burned running.

Sunday: WALKING – outdoors at 7:30 AM; 4 mile out-and-back course, and the middle two miles were repeated a 2nd time, with 2 loops around the complex for 6.62 miles; 1:28:08.00 hours; temps of 49 with winds from S at 9 mph; the entire walk was nice and uneventful; 1,191 calories burned.

Counting Calories - Week of October 26th

2009-10-26T20:07:00.005-05:00

2 weeks ago…
Recommended calories to be consumed per day for a moderately active individual at 224.4 lbs with a weight loss goal of 2.7 lbs for the week: 1,878 (day)

Total calories consumed (week) --> Total calories consumed (day)
9,953 (week) --> 1,421 (day)

Net calories consumed (week) --> Net calories consumed (day)
4,633 (week) --> 661 (day)

Calories burned (week) --> Calories burned (day)
5,320 (week) --> 760 (day)

Last week…
Recommended calories to be consumed per day for a moderately active individual at 220 lbs with a weight loss goal of 2.7 lbs for the week: 1,837 (day)

Total calories consumed (week) --> Total calories consumed (day)
9,806 (week) --> 1,400 (day)

Net calories consumed (week) --> Net calories consumed (day)
4,177 (week) --> 597 (day)

Calories burned (week) --> Calories burned (day)
5,629 (week) --> 804 (day)

Week of October 26th…
Recommended calories to be consumed per day for a moderately active individual at 214.8 lbs with a weight loss goal of 2.7 lbs for the week: 1,789 (day)

Goals for the Week
Total calories consumed (week) --> Total calories consumed (day)
9,450 (week) --> 1,350 (day)

Net calories consumed (week) --> Net calories consumed (day)
3,850 (week) --> 550 (day)

Calories burned (week) --> Calories burned (day)
5,600 (week) --> 800 (day)

*All of the calculations are based on averages for the week and day.

Week of Working Out - Oct. 25

2009-10-25T22:17:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
October 19th – October 25th.
---
Monday: Rest – physically exhausted; could not bring myself to workout (a mistake because of the rainy weather later in the week).

Tuesday: RUNNING – outdoors at 5:45 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 3 miles with splits of 9:08.35, 9:21.17, and 9:17.35, for a total of 27.46.87 minutes running, followed by a .62 mile WALK to cool down, and then a 2.62 mile WALK out-and-back- course with 2 loops around the complex for a total of 1:00:23.33 hours walking; 58 degrees, and perfect until the last mile or the run and the 2nd workout when a rainy mist arrived, but never got too bad.

Wednesday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:00 PM; 4 mile out-and-back course; 55:52.53 minutes; temp of 62, but with huge drop during the last quarter mile as a rain storm blew in, cutting out my normal 2 loops around the complex; left knee felt a bit sore.

Thursday: Rest – rainy weather all day and not motivated enough to set up the bike trainer in the garage; felt terribly guilty about not working out for the second time this week.

Friday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:15 AM; .31 mile loop around complex; 4:29.08 minutes; too rainy to continue; low 40’s and windy; a bust of a workout, but at least I tried.

RUNNING – outdoors at 7:30 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 3 miles with splits of 9:05.54, 9:22.91, and 9:09.25, for a total of 27:37.53 minutes running, followed by a .62 mile WALK to cool down, and then a 2.62 mile WALK out-and-back- course with 2 loops around the complex for a total of 59:42.47 minutes walking; temp of 41, winds from WNW at 8 mph; could really feel the chill from the west, but had a nice view of the stars above and a shiny crescent moon; leg stiff the first mile of the run, but loosened up after.

Saturday: WALKING – outdoors at 7:15 AM; 7.24 mile out-and-back courses (4 mile loop and 2 mile loop) with 4 loops around complex; 1:42:14.00 hours; temp of 31 with winds from WSW at 5 mph making it a chilly start, but it seemed warmer when the sun came out.

WALKING – outdoors at 4:00 PM; 2.93 mile out-and-back course with 3 loops around complex; 41:28.44 minutes; 54 degrees with light rain sprinkles.

Sunday: RUNNING – outdoors at 3:00 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 4 miles with splits of 8:53.04, 9:11.55, 9:06.32, and 9:23.96, for a total of 36:33.93 minutes running, followed by a 3.62 mile WALK to cool down/additional workout for a total of 1:04:12.07 hours walking; course was 2 loops of the 4 mile route, with 2 loops around the complex to end; temp of 53, winds from N at 10 mph; could really feel the chill and strength from the north; blasted through a longer workout because I felt great coming off my weight loss for the week; later in the night my legs are exhausted after three big days of working out.

Progress Report XXXV - October 25

2009-10-25T22:15:00.001-05:00

Weight: 214.8 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 5.2 lbs.

44.8 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
15.2 lbs. to New Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 8:00:20.25 hours (walking: 6:28:21.92 hours; running: 1:31:58.33 hours)

Exercise Distance: 37.58 miles (walking: 27.58 miles; running: 10 miles)

There were a couple of days of rest this week that made the remainder of the week a bit more structured and stressful than normal. No matter, I rose to the challenge and banged out three big days of working out, resulting in three straight days of netting a negative number of calories. All of this, I’m sure, helped to create that awesome weight loss I achieved.

I did some calculations (I’ll post more about them later), and then some extrapolation while running, and it is possible - however unlikely – that I could reach my original goal of 170 lbs. by the end of the year if all could stay the same as it is now. It’s impossible – especially with the upcoming winter weather conditions, two big holidays and the food that entails, and an increasingly busy work schedule. Still, it’s cool to think that the possibility exists.

I do have one giant bag of Halloween candy sitting on my kitchen counter, tempting me to tear into it. I won’t; I’ve become disciplined. And I don’t want the guilt of seeing my calorie graph all messed up. But it’s there. Calling…

Oh, and did I mention that I bumped my run today up to 4 miles? It’s been over 2 years since I ran more than 3 miles. It was a big mental block to power through, but I hope since I did it once I can do it again. We’ll see Tuesday, my next day to run.

I Tried

2009-10-23T05:54:00.002-05:00

Last night I went to bed hoping I'd wake up early enough that I could squeeze in a workout before work. The waking would be hard enough, but even if I did manage to wake in time, there was still the constant rain that would need to have cleared.

I did pull myself from bed. I checked the window, and it looked as if the hard rain had passed. I could still see some plops in the puddles, but I geared up for my workout.

Within moments of my walk it became clear that even such a little amount of rain was going to soak me (and my shoes) to the point that I probably wouldn't be able to run a workout after school. I turned back from my walk and here I am.

(I wish I could afford that gym membership because then the weather could suck it.)

At least I tried.

End of the Week Crunch

2009-10-22T21:34:00.002-05:00

My apathetic Monday, and the rainy weather today, has left me in a bit of a bind concerning my caloric intake this week. I was impressed with my weight loss last week (4.4 lbs), and hoped to recreate it again this week. To do so, I needed to consume about 1,400 calories a day, while adding in enough exercise so that I only netted 660 of those calories.

Between Friday and Saturday I must now average a burn of 1,243 calories a day through exercise to reach this goal. That's double workouts. And those are draining experiences.

I'll be curious to see if it happens. If it does, I wonder if the two days of rest and one day of 1,500 calories consumed will have an impact on that weight loss number.

And if I don't meet my weekly calorie goals, I wonder just how much weight I will lose?

(It better be at least 2.7 lbs - the weight loss amount "promised" based on a "moderately active" lifestyle and a diet of 1,837 calories from www.thedailyplate.com.)

Stressed Eating

2009-10-22T16:55:00.003-05:00

I eat when I'm stressed.

That becomes obvious on days like I had today when I try to follow my careful counting of calories. I'm not going to splurge and gorge myself on food, even though I want to do just that. I'll maintain my daily goal of less than 1,400 calories, but it won't be easy.

I guess I have always been aware of this connection between stress and food, but it's never been as painfully obvious as it was today.

Ah, weight loss. You enlightening bastard.

Calorie Counting

2009-10-18T21:20:00.000-05:00

From October 11th to October 18th, for my weight of 224.4 lbs., and attempting to lose 2.7 lbs. during the week, it was suggested that I consume 1,878 calories a day to meet my goal. That would be 13,146 calories for the week.

I ate a total of 9,953 calories during the week (~1,421 calories a day). With exercise, I consumed a net of 4,633 calories during the week (~661 calories a day).

I ended up losing 4.4 lbs.

This week I’m supposed to shoot for 1,837 calories a day. I think I’m going to try and keep it right around the 1,400 calories I consumed last week and see if I see the same results.

What I really want is a heart rate monitor that also tracks the calories burned. I want to wear it throughout the day to get a more accurate count on the calories burned to help plan the calories I can safely still consume and healthily lose the weight I want to lose to reach my goal.

Week of Working Out - Oct. 18

2009-10-18T21:19:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
October 12th – October 18th.
---
Monday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:00 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:08.69 minutes; temp of 42; sore left leg: outside of knee, Achilles tendon, and blister on heel.

Tuesday: RUNNING – outdoors at 5:30 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 3 miles with splits of 9:26.07, 9:59.41, and 10:05.92, for a total of 29:31.40 minutes running, followed by a .62 mile WALK to cool down for a total of 23:24.09 minutes walking.

Wednesday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:00 PM; 2.62 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around complex; 36:33.97 minutes.

Thursday: RUNNING – outdoors at 5:30 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 3 miles with splits of 9:33.04, 9:47.32, and 9:35.99, for a total of 28:56.35 minutes running, followed by a .62 mile WALK to cool down for a total of 22:59.13 minutes walking; temp of 48, calm but cloudy; run felt quick, but great.

Friday: WALKING – outdoors at 11:00 PM; 2.62 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around complex; 35:52.19 minutes; temp of 43 with light drizzle, but it was calm; used the stress of the day to power through the walk, and felt amazing afterward.

Saturday: RUNNING – outdoors at 7:00 AM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 3 miles with splits of 9:33.64, 9:32.93, and 9:30.38, for a total of 28:36.95 minutes running, followed by a .62 mile WALK to cool down for a total of 23:19.89 minutes walking; temp of 39, calm and still dark to start; no leg troubles except for sore blister during the mile warm up.

WALKING – outdoors at 8:00 PM; 2.62 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around complex; 36:34.38 minutes; nice walk with no leg problems at all – the lanced blister was much improved.

Sunday: WALKING – outdoors at 8:15 PM; 2.62 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around complex; 36:00.21 minutes; temp of 56 with 11 mph winds from the south; blood blister on left side of waist is sore, but didn’t bother me during the walk; was jumpy in the dark because of scary movie this afternoon – the heart rate was definitely up.

Progress Report XXXIV - October 18

2009-10-18T21:17:00.002-05:00

Weight: 220 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 4.4 lbs.

50 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
21 lbs. to New Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 5:28:57.25 hours (walking: 4:01:52.55 hours; running: 1:27:04.70 hours)

Exercise Distance: 26.34 miles (walking: 17.34 miles; running: 9 miles)

This has been a great week for exercise. I’ve been out everyday (some days more than once), and I’ve lengthened my walks to include another 9-10 minutes. My big concern is that when the weather finally turns bad (i.e. snow and/or ice) and I can no longer walk and run on the roads, I’ll drop back out of the habit. I don’t have the money to afford a monthly gym membership, so I’ll have to get creative.

The diet is going well. I like the up and down of my graph of calories consumed on days I run instead of walking. It makes a neat pattern. I’m still keeping both my total calories consumed and my net calories less than recommended until I can judge just how accurate the program is in predicting my weekly weight loss based solely on my height, weight, daily activity level, and the exercise I put into the program. I’m not starving, but I do get pretty hungry after longer workouts.

I did add another serving of vegetables to the dinners I ate this week. I’m hesitant to add more fruits until I can find some lower calorie fruits I enjoy.

Picked up a couple of treats (Smokin’ Cheddar BBQ Doritos and fun-sized 3 Muskateers bars) at the store – we’ll see how portioning out these impacts the diet. (I did notice that it was more difficult to fit them in today and not exceed my daily calorie goals.)

Damn Double Heel

2009-10-17T09:53:00.003-05:00

No, I don't really have a double heel. Although the blister on my left foot has grown nearly that large.

I struggled with blisters earlier in the year when I was working out as much as I've been the past few weeks. I can't remember if they ever went away, or if I just managed them with lancing and draining.

I thought about taking a picture and posting the blister in all its disgusting glory, but decided against it. Why ruin a good day for some unsuspecting person visiting the blog?

I did lance the mother, and will see how things go with another, shorter workout later today.

Progress Report XXXIII - October 11

2009-10-11T14:03:00.006-05:00

Weight: 224.4 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 3.8 lbs.

54.4 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
25.4 lbs. to New Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 4:10:47.94 hours (walking: 3:40:03.15 hours; running: 30:44.79 minutes)

Exercise Distance: 19.1 miles (walking: 16 miles; running: 3.1 miles)

Boo ya! Another week of weight loss. I’m steadily working my way towards my goal. It was a good week, with exercise every day and the diet strictly followed. What I need to do now is increase the exercise so that I can increase my calorie intake – 1,500 calories a day is not a lot of food. Don’t get me wrong, it’s enough; I’m not starving, but I guess I just wish I could have a little more leeway in my choices.

Run for the Roses (my 13th consecutive showing at this run!) was a lot of fun. My uncle Jeff came with me this year, and we had a great run. It was chilly, but not unpleasant. I’m going to do my best to find the motivation to add running to my workout regime. It would be nice to run until the weather forces me off the roads.

Week of Working Out - Oct. 11

2009-10-09T17:58:00.003-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
October 5th – October 11th.
---
Monday: WALKING – outdoors at 8:30 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 26:53.21 minutes; temp of 60; felt quick, but was probably due to the fact that I haven’t exercised since the end of July.

Tuesday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:30 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:27.37 minutes; temp of 52 with winds of 21 mph; out trying to beat the rain – and I succeeded, barely.

Wednesday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:00 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:42.01 minutes; temp of 66 with winds of 14 mph; legs a little stiff and sore heels where I’ve had blisters from walking in the past.

Thursday: WALKING – outdoors at 4:30 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:41.81 minutes; temp of 49; just the right amount of chill in the air for a short walk; feeling less stiff, but there’s some new-to-exercise chafing that’s annoying.

Friday: WALKING – outdoors at 4:15 PM; 4 mile out-and-back course; 55:21.57 minutes; temp of 53; perfect, beautiful walk; feet sore from rubbing in shoe on inside of both heels.

Saturday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:30 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:08.48 minutes; temp of 39; blister on left inside heel is a pain, but not while walking.

Sunday: RUNNING – Run for the Roses XXIII – 5K; 9:00 AM; 30:44.79 minutes – 1st mile split: 9:55; 2nd mile split: 19:35; temp of 30 degrees, but bundled up I was warm by the 2nd mile; very fun run; felt great even hours after the race; no problems at all with blister on left heel; ran with Jeff.

WALKING – outdoors at 12:00 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:48.70 minutes; temp of 40; nice recovery walk after the run earlier in the day.

Progress Report XXXII - October 4

2009-10-04T16:02:00.007-05:00

Starting weight on October 1st: 232.4 lbs.
Weight: 228.2 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 4.2 lbs.

58.2 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)
29.2 lbs. to New Goal (199 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: none

Exercise Distance: none

So I was gone for a while. Okay, not a while – a long time. I could make excuses, but they won’t change what’s happened. Basically I quit exercising and quit watching what I ate. I ballooned back up to 232.4 lbs – only 4.4 lbs from where I started this year. And this was after losing close to 30 lbs!

Frustrating, to say the least.

I’m back on the warpath now. I started with the beginning of the month – October 1st – weighing in at 232.4 lbs. Over 3 days I’ve managed to lose 4.2 lbs by simply eating the correct foods at the right portions. I’m holding myself accountable for the calories I’m eating, and it has worked wonders.

I’ll start the exercising again this week, and we’ll see where it goes from here. I know my original goal of 170 lbs is unreachable (with healthy weight loss), so I’ve adjusted my expectations and hope to reach 199 lbs by December 31st.


August 23	October 4

Week of Working Out - Aug. 2

2009-08-06T16:27:00.001-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
July 27th – August 2nd.
---
Sunday: rest

Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: rest
---

Progress Report XXXI - August 2

2009-08-06T16:25:00.002-05:00

Weight: 227.6 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 5 lbs.

57.6 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: none

Exercise Distance: none

Late in posting because there was nothing here to post that I was pleased about. Some of the weight gain had to be due to the fact that a lot of what I lost on RAGBRAI was water weight, but still…I didn’t exercise and I ate crap all week. So there’s that too.

RAGBRAI XXXVII - July 19-25, 2009

2009-07-26T11:47:00.001-05:00

The big RAGBRAI post is up over at Another Great Escape, Pirate.

Week of Working Out - July 26

2009-07-26T10:00:00.001-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
July 19th – July 26th.
---
Sunday: RAGBRAI Biking – 68.44 miles in 5:11:36 hours on a tandem with Jeff at an average of 13.1 mph with a maximum speed of 44.4 mph.

Monday: RAGBRAI Biking – 78.59 miles in 6:42:08 hours on a tandem with Jeff at an average of 11.7 mph with a maximum speed of 37.6 mph.

Tuesday: RAGBRAI Biking – 81.19 miles in 6:34:48 hours on a tandem with Jeff at an average of 12.3 mph with a maximum speed of 38.3 mph.

Wednesday: RAGBRAI Biking – 53.86 miles in 4:23:21 hours on a tandem with Jeff at an average of 12.2 mph with a maximum speed of 39.3 mph.

Thursday: RAGBRAI Biking – 81.35 miles in 6:11:57 hours on a tandem with Jeff at an average of 13.1 mph with a maximum speed of 40.9 mph.

Friday: RAGBRAI Biking – 80.76 miles in 6:06:42 hours on a tandem with Jeff at an average of 13.2 mph with a maximum speed of 34.5 mph.

Saturday: RAGBRAI Biking – 48.68 miles in 3:28:03 hours on a tandem with Jeff at an average of 14 mph with a maximum speed of 41.1 mph.

Sunday: rest
---
I would have provided more information about temperatures and specifics of the ride, but by the end of the week it all blurred into a jumble. Know this: it was VERY hilly, mostly cool with only one day of real heat and sun, and rain on the ride for half of one day. The last two days of the ride were the easiest, while the other five days were killers.

Progress Report XXX - July 26

2009-07-26T09:58:00.004-05:00

Weight: 222.6 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 7.4 lbs.

52.6 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 38:38:35 hours (biking: 38:38:35 hours)

Exercise Distance: 492.87 miles (biking: 492.87 miles)

RAGBRAI XXXVII

This was the one week of the year I knew I’d get some exercise. One would think that that would guarantee weight loss, but I’ve proven that assumption wrong in the past. I took the extra effort to ensure I didn’t gain weight by overeating on the ride by bringing my own healthy snacks and limiting consumption to one big meal (dinner – mostly pizza and salad buffets) a day. It worked pretty well after the first couple days (extreme dehydration and discomfort from the drastic change in exercise time and diet).

Now that I’m home, coming off a big week of exercise and weight loss, I’ve got to make sure I stay on the wagon and continue marching toward my (unreachable?) goal weight of 170 lbs. by December 31st.

Oh, and 38 hours of exercise: impressive!

Week of Working Out - July 18

2009-07-26T09:35:00.002-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
July 13th – July 18th.
---
Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: Bike – 2.42 miles in 14:52 minutes, riding around the campgrounds in Council Bluffs the day before RAGBRAI on a tandem with Jeff.

Progress Report XXIX - July 18

2009-07-26T09:32:00.004-05:00

Weight: 230 lbs.
Loss/Gain: 0 lbs.

60 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 14:52 minutes (biking: 14:52 minutes)

Exercise Distance: 2.42 miles (biking: 2.42 miles)

I was happy to not gain a huge amount of weight before leaving for RAGBRAI. I mean, I was already up to 230 lbs after being down so close to 200. When I was losing weight I imagined it would make RAGBRAI so much easier – and it probably would have helped – so I wasn’t happy leaving to ride another year with a lot of extra weight.

Also, because RAGBRAI starts on a Sunday and we need to be at the campgrounds Saturday, this week’s progress report is a day short (ended on a Saturday). Next week’s report will run from Sunday to Sunday (a day long). This should be the only glitch of the year with regards to weights, face photos, etc.

A Brief Interruption

2009-07-18T07:00:00.002-05:00

I'm off to ride RAGBRAI this week. I'll catch up with all posts next weekend. 442 miles of riding, here I come!

Week of Working Out - July 12

2009-07-13T20:38:00.001-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
July 6th – July 12th.
---
Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: rest

Progress Report XXVIII - July 12

2009-07-13T20:36:00.002-05:00

Weight: 224.4 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 5.6 lbs.

63.8 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: none

Exercise Distance: none

Depressed, really.

Week of Working Out - July 5

2009-07-05T16:07:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
June 29th – July 5th.
---
Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: rest

Progress Report XXVII - July 5

2009-07-05T16:06:00.003-05:00

Weight: 224.4 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 1.4 lbs.

58.2 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: none

Exercise Distance: none

*frown*

Week of Working Out - June 28

2009-06-28T16:18:00.001-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
June 22nd – June 28th.
---
Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: Bike – 25.11 miles in 1:31:38 hours, at an average of 16.4 mph; rode the loop from home, north through Grimes, over by Saylorville Lake, south by Camp Dodge to 70th Street and then back west to home, with a loop over by Ry’s along my walking course; HOT – high 80’s – and overcast and humid, with only minimal winds.

Thursday: Bike – 29.19 miles in 2:02:42 hours, at an average of 14.2 mph; rode from home to the Saylorville trails between Johnston and Ankeny and went north to the Mile Long Bridge, then west to Beaver Avenue and back through Grimes on my way home; HOT – high 80’s (feels like 98 – according to the Weather Channel, and ME) – and sunny and humid, with only winds from the west at 15+ mph.

Friday: rest

Saturday: Run – 3.1 miles (5k) in 30:15 minutes; ran with Jeff an out and back course on the south side of the main drag east-west through Prairie City; mile 1 at 9:08, mile 2 at 18:51; hot – low 80’s – and sunny and humid, with winds from the south at 15+ mph.

Bike – 3.88 miles in 25:34 minutes; rode with Jeff from his house to the start of the Prairie City Days 5k at the ball fields on the south side of town and then back afterwards; hot – high 80’s – and sunny and humid, with winds from the south at 15+ mph.

Bike – 19.07 miles in 1:22:11 hours, at an average of 13.8 mph; rode with Scott and Steve from grandma’s in Altoona on the trail to Pleasant Hill and around Copper Creek Lake 2 laps before returning; hot – high 80’s – and sunny and humid, with winds from the south at 15+ mph.

Sunday: rest

Progress Report XXVI - June 28

2009-06-28T16:14:00.004-05:00

Weight: 224.4 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 0.8 lbs.

56.8 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 5:52:20 hours (biking: 5:22:05 hours; running: 30:15 minutes)

Exercise Distance: 80.35 miles (biking: 77.25 miles; running: 3.1 miles)

I did a much better job this week getting out there and exercising. It was only 3 days, but each day was a long, tough workout. I’m hoping – that is, if I can walk (sore body from the unexpected 5k run) – that I’ll get out more this week. The weather is supposed to be a bit cooler and not as humid. Maybe I won’t feel as close to dead after a workout if that’s the case.

What I need to watch is the eating. Still doing a poor job of eating the right foods in the right amounts. Too easy to be gluttonous when you just sit around home all day.

Not Quite a Triathlon

2009-06-27T12:30:00.003-05:00

I have a feeling my uncles are out to kill me. Yesterday Jeff called me and asked, out of the blue, if I’d like to run a 5k in Prairie City today. Run a 5k? Sure, I haven’t run in over 2 months – why not!

Not an hour later, Steve asked about doing a bike ride in Altoona. Sure, why not. I’d already be in the neighborhood and sweaty.

That meant a tough morning for me.

Prairie City Days 5k – The run went about as well as I could have expected. Actually, it went better – quicker – that I expected. I was able to finish the race at quicker than 10-minute per mile pace (my “normal” speed). I didn’t need to stop and walk. I finished. Overall, it was a success. Near the end I had a shoe come untied and needed to take off the hat so my bald head could breathe, but I did not stop. We even rode our bikes from his place to the start of the race and then back afterwards. It was a great, early start to the morning. Wish I would have remembered to stop my watch at the end, but I’m sure my finishing time was right around 30 minutes – one of my better 5k’s in the past 6 or 7 years. [UPDATED - race results have Jeff and I clocked at 30:15]

Bike Ride – It didn’t take long, only about 12 miles, before I began to notice that the run had eaten away a lot of my power and motivation to be outside in the hot, muggy weather. I also had some stomach cramping (probably should have had more than a granola bar for breakfast) that made the last 8 or so miles uncomfortable. I was just happy for the ride to be over.

And that no birds attacked me.
---
Run Summary: 3.1 miles (5k) in 30:15 minutes; ran with Jeff an out and back course on the south side of the main drag east-west through Prairie City; mile 1 at 9:08, mile 2 at 18:51; hot – low 80’s – and sunny and humid, with winds from the south at 15+ mph.

Bike Summary: 3.88 miles in 25:34 minutes; rode with Jeff from his house to the start of the Prairie City Days 5k at the ball fields on the south side of town and then back afterwards; hot – high 80’s – and sunny and humid, with winds from the south at 15+ mph.

19.07 miles in 1:22:11 hours, at an average of 13.8 mph; rode with Scott and Steve from grandma’s in Altoona on the trail to Pleasant Hill and around Copper Creek Lake 2 laps before returning; hot – high 80’s – and sunny and humid, with winds from the south at 15+ mph.

A Sudden and Mysterious Injury

2009-06-26T11:20:00.000-05:00

As mysteriously as my sore left knee appeared, the pain has suddenly disappeared. Monday night I was jarred from sleep by a very sore left knee. It was as if the ligaments had been stretched beyond breaking. And the pain continued – probably exacerbated by 50+ miles of biking the next few days – until it was suddenly gone when I woke this morning.

I have a feeling something got out of alignment while I was sleeping and finally found its way back into place, days later. Whatever it was, I’m just glad it doesn’t hurt anymore. It was painful and annoying.

Biking - June 25

2009-06-25T17:34:00.002-05:00

Turns out there is a reason I enjoy my 20 mile loop course so much: it’s mostly downhill. You know how I know? I rode part of it – about 10 miles – going the opposite direction and it was entirely uphill. Balls!

And that wasn’t the worst part; that was just the last 10 miles of my ride.

I left home planning a short ride of only an hour for a leisurely 14 or 15 miles. It was hot and my knee was no better and I wasn’t all that excited about doing the ride in the first place, but as often happens, as soon as I got going, I kept going.

Once I decided to extend my ride, I wanted to see just how far it was to Kyle’s Bikes in Ankeny. I got to the Saylorville trails between Johnston and Ankeny, and changed plans. I hopped on the trail headed north and rode to the Mile Long Bride (turns out to be only .94 miles long). I took the bridge west to meet up with my loop, and rode the course in the opposite direction the 10+ miles to home.

And then the bird attacked me again. Same spot and all. It was as if the bastard bird was waiting. More screaming and arm waving ensued. As an added bonus I got to do this routine in front of a car coming up behind me. I’m sure it was quite the show.

Earlier in the ride, while cruising up the trails I was almost knocked off my bike by a deer. Right in front of my bike the deer burst across the path. At the time I thought the birds had recruited other animals to the cause. After the bird attack later, I’m sure they have.

I’m a marked rider. Beware.

I also decided that I’m a bit of a trail snob. After riding the wonderfully smooth (and relatively flat) trails north of Ankeny and over at Chichaqua, I don’t think I can ride the HORRIBLY maintained, bumpy as hell, hilly Saylorville trails. That was 12 miles of the worst riding I’ve had in years.

I don’t think I have heat exhaustion, but it was a killer ride. There was no way I could go another mile. I was done at 29; there was no reaching 30. The sun even managed to eat through my sun block, not burning my arms and face, but toasting them a much darker tan than they were a day ago.

Ride Summary: 29.19 miles in 2:02:42 hours, at an average of 14.2 mph; rode from home to the Saylorville trails between Johnston and Ankeny and went north to the Mile Long Bridge, then west to Beaver Avenue and back through Grimes on my way home; HOT – high 80’s (feels like 98 – according to the Weather Channel, and ME) – and sunny and humid, with winds from the west at 15+ mph.

Biking - June 24

2009-06-24T18:32:00.002-05:00

Another in– it being summer and all – what I’m sure will be a long list of HOT bike rides.

Even though my left knee was in pain and it was the warmest part of the day and I didn’t really feel like riding, I decided to get out on the bike. A quick change of the batteries in my bike speakers fixed my lack of music problem and was probably the deciding factor in me riding today. A quick change and an even quicker charge of the iPod, and I was out the door.

And it couldn’t have been a more AWESOME ride. Aside from the attacking bird, the ride was near perfect. It was hot, sure, and I was sweating, but I was also cruising along very comfortably. It was almost as if I had been out riding every day the past few months. (I have not.) Needless to say, I’m excited about getting back out there soon.
---
Ride Summary: 25.11 miles in 1:31:38 hours, at an average of 16.4 mph; rode the loop from home, north through Grimes, over by Saylorville Lake, south by Camp Dodge to 70th Street and then back west to home, with a loop over by Ry’s along my walking course; HOT – high 80’s – and overcast and humid, with only minimal winds.

Week of Working Out - June 21

2009-06-21T19:11:00.002-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
June 15th – June 21st.
---
Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: 22.07 miles in 1:24:40 hours, at an average of 15.6 mph; rode the loop from home, north through Grimes, over by Saylorville Lake, south by Camp Dodge to 70th Street and then back west to home; HOT – high 80’s – and sunny and buggy and sunny, with only minimal winds.

Sunday: rest

Progress Report XXV - June 21

2009-06-21T19:07:00.002-05:00

Weight: 225.2 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 1 lb.

57.6 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 1:24:40 hours (biking: 1:24:40 hours)

Exercise Distance: 22.07 miles (biking: 22.07 miles)

The Sun Is Not My Friend

2009-06-20T15:01:00.002-05:00

I knew it was going to be a tough ride. The sun was out and the temperature was 85° and rising.

It was also 12:15.

Rides after noon in Iowa – in the summer – are never pleasant. But, with RAGBRAI only 28 days away, I had no choice. Train, or die.

I was actually excited to get back out on the bike after a week off (flat tire – and yes, this time I asked at the bike shop to be shown how to fix my own flat tires) because I was given a new speaker to hook my iPod into (thanks Grandma and Steve for the birthday present) that I wanted to try.

Turns out I should have tested the speakers a bit more before setting off on the ride. The sound was terrible and quiet, and after 9 miles I just shut the whole thing off because it wasn’t doing anything but pissing me off. I’m thinking – hoping – that it was just some near-dead batteries causing the distortion and quietness. I’m going to take some new AA’s out there in a little while and fire it up once more. (*crossing my fingers*)

I decided to ride the one ride I know well that takes me out on the country roads instead of staying on the much busier streets in town. I’ve only ever ridden this entire loop once before. It was last year, with Steve, and it just about killed us – heat, speed, and distance. I remembered it was 25 miles (including some extra diversions), and thought it would be nice to know the loop’s true distance.

So I set off.

Like always, my left knee – and my mind and body in whole – didn’t warm up until I was north of Grimes, about 7 miles into the ride. It wasn’t that I was having difficulty keeping a strong average speed, I just felt tired and weak and whiny.

Warmed up, though, I picked up the pace and flew past the “mile-long” bridge over Saylorville Lake. Heading east, out in the country with few cars swinging around to pass me, I was beginning to enjoy the ride. I could see downtown Des Moines off in the distance, could watch the National Weather Service “soccer” ball tower get closer and closer. It was all good.

With a couple miles of downhill/flat road I was able to pedal easily at 20 mph. I pushed it here to help keep my average from falling too much when I hit those last 3 miles of my ride – the uphill battle to home.

And then, 19 miles in, I hit the wall. In all honesty, I’m glad I made it as far as I did. I haven’t been working out regularly in months so I can’t expect to not find that wall waiting near the end of any workout in the foreseeable future.

Tired, cursing, and breathing heavily, I powered up the hill home. I was sure I’d collapse as soon as I unclipped from the bike, or in the very least, puke, but I managed to contain myself.

I know I need to do more of these rides in the sun to better acclimate myself to the conditions I’ll face on RAGBRAI, but I think I’m going to shoot for a shady, slower ride tomorrow. I’m not Superman, you know.

Not yet.
---
Ride Summary: 22.07 miles in 1:24:40 hours, at an average of 15.6 mph; rode the loop from home, north through Grimes, over by Saylorville Lake, south by Camp Dodge to 70th Street and then back west to home; HOT – high 80’s – and sunny and buggy and sunny, with only minimal winds.

Week of Working Out - June 14

2009-06-14T22:05:00.001-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
June 8th – June 14th.
---
Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: 20.85 miles in 1:31:18 hours, at an average of 13.6 mph; rode Altoona to Pleasant Hill, and back, with Steve – entire trail and 3 loops around the Copper Creek lake; cool – high 50’s – and misty and messy, with strong wind from the North.

Sunday: 32.09 miles in 2:07:11 hours, at an average of 15.1 mph; rode Ankeny to Slater, and back, with Steve – with 1.5 loops around DMACC lake at end; warm – high 70’s – and sunny, with moderate winds from the South-South East.

Progress Report XXIV - June 14

2009-06-14T21:56:00.004-05:00

Weight: 224.2 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 4 lbs.

56.6 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 3:38:29 hours (biking: 3:38:29 hours)

Exercise Distance: 52.94 miles (biking: 52.94 miles)

It’s a great feeling to have been out exercising once again. Okay, so I’m sore and tired and not feeling great great, but I am happy to be active once more. (And look: 50+ miles in two days - not bad.)

What I’m not so impressed with is the weight gain. Gah. That’s going to change this week. There are no more excuses for the poor diet choices I’m making. I’m going be counting calories each day. That will help. It has to. I’m almost back to my starting weight.

(There. A smile. Happy, Steve?)

A Need(?) for Speed

2009-06-14T21:53:00.001-05:00

Today’s bike ride was a beast. The ride was eleven miles longer than yesterday, with an average speed closer to 2 mph faster! By the last 7 miles I was exhausted. Spent. Legs like noodles and arms nearly too weak to stay on the handlebars.

I rode with Steve from Kyle’s Bikes in Ankeny, on the trail, north to Slater, and then back by way of DMACC, with one and a half loops around the lake. The wind was out of the South-South East, giving us a bit of a tailwind on the mostly uphill ride to Slater. Coming back the wind was against us, so even the mostly downhill ride seemed tough. By the end I was convinced that I had flat tires – what else could explain the sheer difficulty I was having pedaling? (Well, the fact that I’ve not exercised at all the past two months, plus a 20-mile ride yesterday, might have something to do with it.)

My knees and legs are shot. I’m limping around like a much older man tonight. My arms and neck saw some sun and are burned, but not badly. I’ll sleep well tonight. That’s for sure.

And I’ll be right back out there tomorrow, but maybe at a slower pace.
---
Ride Summary: 32.09 miles in 2:07:11 hours, at an average of 15.1 mph; rode Ankeny to Slater, and back, with Steve – with 1.5 loops around DMACC lake at end; warm – high 70’s – and sunny, with moderate winds from the South-South East.

Biking in the Rain

2009-06-13T16:45:00.002-05:00

Okay, so it wasn’t exactly raining. It was more of a mist, or sprinkles. Still, by the end of the ride we were a mess.

We? I rode with my uncle Steve. He had my RAGBRAI bands and jersey, so we decided to meet for a ride. And let’s face it: we both needed a ride. (We planned for a Tuesday night ride, but were rained out earlier in the week.)

We rode at a good pace for not having been out much (me) and for just having knee surgery (him). The ride out was easier than the ride coming back – uphill and into the wind.

There’s even talk of another ride tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting. I need to be out every day in prep for RAGBRAI. It’s sunny now – I should go out again today…

Ride Summary: 20.85 miles in 1:31:18 hours, at an average of 13.6 mph; rode Altoona to Pleasant Hill with Steve – entire trail and 3 loops around the Copper Creek lake; cool – high 50’s – and misty and messy, with strong wind from the North.

Week of Working Out - June 7

2009-06-07T17:49:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
June 1st – June 7th.
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Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: rest

Progress Report XXIII - June 7

2009-06-07T17:47:00.001-05:00

Weight: 220.2 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 0.8 lbs.

52.6 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: none

Exercise Distance: none

Week of Working Out - May 31

2009-06-02T21:41:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
May 25th – May 31st.
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Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: rest

Progress Report XXII - May 31

2009-06-02T21:39:00.002-05:00

Weight: 219.4 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 4.8 lbs.

51.8 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: none

Exercise Distance: none

Week of Working Out - May 24

2009-05-24T19:52:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
May 18th – May 24th.
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Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: 14.98 miles in 1:06:21 hours at an average of 13.5 mph; rode Altoona to Pleasant Hill with Ryan; warm – high 60’s with minimal wind.

Sunday: rest

Progress Report XXI - May 24

2009-05-24T19:50:00.003-05:00

Weight: 217 lbs.
Loss/Gain: + 2.4 lbs.

47 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: 1:06:21 hours (biking: 1:06:21 hours)

Exercise Distance: 14.98 miles (biking: 14.98 miles)

I managed one bike ride. That’s all I can say. Here’s to hoping it’s the start of something more, something more like the beginning of the year.

Week of Working Out - May 17

2009-05-17T21:11:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
May 11th – May 17th.
---
Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: rest

Progress Report XX - May 17

2009-05-17T21:10:00.002-05:00

Weight: 214.6 lbs.
Loss/Gain: - 1.8 lbs.

44.6 lbs. to Goal (170 lbs.)

Exercise Hours: none

Exercise Distance: none

So, yeah, I lost weight. Not by changing my diet or exercising. Just pure, dumb luck. I hope to do better this week.