Finding my way again

Well since my last post, I got in 1 three mile run on Friday, a personal training sessions on Thursday, and talked with a health coach on the phone.  The health coach is a thing we can do through work that I get points towards cash and I'm willing to see if it helps me on my path.  It was only an orientation call but it appears we will discuss what I've done in the previous week and set new goal for the following week.  This week my goals are to run 3 times (10 miles) and lift once.  Now the "week" runs from Thursday to Thursday since that is when the appointments are so I've only got 2 runs to go.  As for the weekend, my eating is not good right now.  I always feel hungry and I try to talk myself out of eating a snack but without fail I eventually grab something.  It wasn't terrible but I just never really feel full lately.  I'm sure the increased appetite has to do with the increase in cardio lately but I really have to find a way to defeat it if I want to make progress on losing weight.  Overall I was down  1 pound of last week but for me that could easily swing to a no loss or a gain just being that my body can swing 5 pounds a day easy, however it was a Monday morning both times so for now I'll count it as progress.  I need to find some new motivation as I don't have as upbeat of a mentally about this as I did last year but in reality,  I need to do it all over again.  I think I need to find some new blogs to read as that helped last year and most of the people I was reading are either really far along in achieving their goals or no longer blogging.  I need to find someone to identify with.  And most of all I need to quit making excuses and just do what I know I need to do to succeed.

Not the smartest thing I've done

Well I got to the gym yesterday after work and wouldn't you know it, I forgot my socks.  My choices were either to run barefoot in my shoes or with my work dress socks.  I opted not to destroy my work socks and went barefoot.  The first 10 mins were just fine but after that, it started to sting a little and by about 22 minutes, I wasn't going to run for 8 more minutes just to destroy my feet.  I had some lovely blisters on the bottom of my arches.  They feel ok today but definitely not as good as if I would have just worn socks.  I could have gone home and got some, but I since I was stopping right after work, I knew if I went home, I wouldn't end up going out and running at that point.  I'm glad I ran but my feet are not happy with me.

My next scheduled runs are Friday and Saturday, maybe Sunday as well.  Thursday is still going to be my lifting day where I workout in a group at Discover Strength and tonight I have an appointment to use up one of my groupons.  I have always hated having hair on my back and so tonight starts 1 of 6 sessions to have it removed.  Just one of the few things I'm doing to look good for my trip to St. Martin in a couple months.

It was a good year, Now I must focus not on what I've done but what I must do.

Last year was a great year.  I started out the year with a new job and a new enthusiasm for exercise.  I was running all the time and end up logging 275 miles.  I'm proud of that number but would like to beat it this year.  Since the last time I posted, I have still been working out.  Lifting weights and running a few times.  My lifting has been consistent but unfortunately so has my weight.  I've been stuck in place for about 3-4 months.  As much as I like lifting, the workout I've been doing are very hard and leave me unmotivated to go get cardio done.  I'm changing it up and will be lifting once a week and trying to run 3-4 times the rest of the week, for a total of 9-15 miles a week.  I seemed to do my best last year when I was focusing on 3 miles a run and eating better.  When I increased my mileage, I ate more and so the weight loss stopped.  Over all I was done 27 lbs last year and I would love to repeat that again this year and increase that number.  I have a vacation coming at the end of Feb. and want to lose at least 10-15 lbs by then.  I may not post on here as much but I will still be reading other blogs and finding ways to keep motivated.    The best part of my 2011 was also my downfall.  I didn't make the time to exercise but I wanted to spend every minute with her.  Now we are living together and have lots of extra time to spend with one another and with the holidays closed out, I'm starting back with a full head of steam.

On a side note, I did a Bod Pod test which uses air displacement and density to determine body fat.  I came in at 36.1%.  My goal is to be at 30% or lower by my birthday at the end of June.  I'll try to keep things updated here.  Maybe not everyday, but at least a few times a week.  I was most successful when I posted about what I was doing and I need to focus on doing that again.

4 Weeks In

Well its been 4 weeks and I'm still going strong on the weight lifting front.  I've been attending a 1-on-1 training sessions every monday and a group (3 people) training session on thursdays.  I've been getting in a few runs here and there while also trying to increase my awareness of my calorie intake.  The calorie intake has been suffering some and so I'm trying a new technique I've read about that will hopefully focus my mind on how many calories I'm eating by confining my eating window to an 8 hour period.  It's called intermittent fasting and I learned about it on leangains.com.  I've been at it for a week now and I am down some weight, not much, but it makes me think about my food choices a little more.  Essentially I just don't eat for a 16-18 hour window and then consume all my calories for the day within the next 6-8 hours.  I try to make the calories in the window have a good balance of carbs and protein.  Another thing I've been doing is consume a snack of chocolate milk right after my weight lifting as it is suppose to have a good combination of protein and carbs that your muscles are shown to have a high uptake of immediately following weight lifting and will increase recovery.  

Up until yesterday, my strength gains had been minimal.  Now its not that I haven't felt stronger but more that I haven't been reaching many of my goals when I go into lift.  I kept stalling out at 11 reps instead of getting 12 or something similar but yesterday I went it to work out and it was totally different.  I had felt tired all day and really not that motivated but being that I had a scheduled training session, I was going to go get my butt kicked no matter what.  This time they switched it up and I did legs first and from there on out, I either achieved or exceeded my goal reps for every single machine I had to do for the day.  It felt really great to see that progress and that had even happened on the few machine I had achieved my goal on previously.  I felt much stronger and encouraged.  Then I woke up this morning and weighed myself and saw a nice drop in weight, clocking in at 295.3.  I hadn't been expecting immediate result weight wise due to the muscle building phase that was occurring but I was hoping it would start taking affect sometime soon even if it was slower.  I also decided to take some measurements to keep track there and I'm going to do this Bod Pod to get an accurate assessment of my body composition.  My current measurement where 48" Waist (around belly button), 47" chest, 16.5" bicep, and 28.5" thigh (around upper thigh).  Hopefully keeping track of these will yield some other results that show progress over the next few months.  My goals are to lose 25-30 pounds decrease waist and chest measurements and increase bicep by the time I go for my trip in February. 

Let the Destruction Begin

Of my muscles that is.  I went in for my first 1-on-1 training sessions yesterday and although they only last 1/2 hour, they are brutal.  This training is high intesity training and in the allotted time we did 10 exercises and after each one I felt devistated.  I'm sore today but not too bad but I feel good about starting it.  I'm marking today as the start of a new journey on the weight tracker.  I'll be going in to get a full body composition assessment in a month or so and will share those results.  My weight would have been better this morning but last night we went out to watch the football game and for a friends birthday, had a few beers and eat some food so that has propped the number up some but not too bad.  It's abotu 2.5 lbs higher than it was after my workout.  I check my weight too much but I do have a healthy understanding of my fluctuations because of that and realize what certain actions will do to my short term weight.  Although I'll be tracking my weight as a tool to keep myself on track, the real goal is to fit into my clothes better and look better overall.  In 4.5 months I'll be in a sandy paradise and would like to look my best for the occassion.  I'm also trying out a new breakfast of rolled oats with milk and some granola instead of an omellete or a muffin.  Curious to see how this helps as it comes strongly recommended by many.

Far from Perfect

Well it was something I said I never wanted to see again and I saw it today.  The scale hit 300 again.  That means I've put back on 15 of the 40 I lost.  Even though I wasn't posting, I was lifting and working out during August and September but my eating habits were extremely poor.  On top of that over the last 2 weeks my activity has disappeared and the scale has shown it.  I refuse to let this stand.  I'm starting a new workout program on Sunday which entails 2 High Intensity Training weight lifting sessions with a personal trainer per week.  On days off I'm going to get in 1-2 simple cardio sessions of 30-45 mins and 1 interval training cardio that will only be 10-15 mins long. 

I used to work as a personal trainer in the weight room at my high school when I was 15-17 and worked with our strength training coach at the time who had worked for the Minnesota Vikings for a short period of time.  I enjoy these types of workout and I was in great shape.  I then found out that my coach at the time had opened a training studio and that is where I will be training.  The reason there are only 2 workouts is to ensure proper rest time from a highly intense workout for you body to recover and build maximum muscle.  I will be doing a Bod Pod session as well which uses displacement to determine lean mass, fat mass, and body fat % in about 3 weeks. 

My goals will be first to get back into proper healthy activity and diet.  I'm not going to specifically follow any sort of diet but will be consciously making smarter eating decisions and that will be helped by eating more home cooked foods with my girlfriend.  Weight wise I'm want to begin trending back in the correct direction towards 225 and hopefully get much closer by the end of next February as I will be traveling to a Caribbean island and would like to look better by then.  My cardio will be doing distance running again because the temperatures have cooled off here in MN and I can survive again :).  I'll be tracking my workouts here and some gains as well.  Starting next Monday I'll begin tracking my weight here as well.  I'm sure I will struggle in the beginning but reading through my earlier posts here is very motivating and I hope to push my weight back under control soon.

Wake Up

Didn't realize it had been a week since I had posted.  Just put up a 4 mile run yesterday which still involves some walking even though the temperatures are cooling off but it really is only adding about 30-40 seconds per mile to my total pace.  I'm progressing slowly but I feel much better in general due to the increase in exercise.  This weekend will be a big test because I'm going out of town and need to make sure I still get in my 3 mile run on Saturday and 5 mile run on Sunday.  I'm a little concerned about the upcoming long distances for training but hopefully it will start to come back to me.  On the eating front, I have been eating and cooking healthier and my weight has reflected it slightly.  I'm currently hovering around 291 and am hoping to be in the low 280's by early September.

Sticking to the Shade

The shade has been my friend lately when running.  I look for it and seek out the side of the road that I can find it on.  Honestly running in direct sunlight is brutal right now.  Yesterday I put down 4 miles but couldn't quite do the entire run without walking some.  I got to the bottom of a large hill at the 3 mile mark and had to walk to the top of it (about 1/4 mile) before I could get my legs under again.  It probably wasn't the smartest thing I could do but I did cut the lawn before going for a run hoping to get some cooler temperatures, but cutting the grass takes 1.5 hours so it was quite a bit of exercise.  I'm pretty sure once the temperature drops down some I'll be better but that time couldn't come sooner.  If only I lived somewhere that was 60-70 all the time; Great running weather.  Confirmed the fix with my foot pod again yesterday which makes me happier about the thought of running indoors this winter.  Week 2 ends with a 3 and a 4 miler on Saturday and Sunday respectively.  Weight wise my appetite has been stronger lately and I need to get ahold of that.  I'm trying to drink some hot tea to help suppress it.  My goal is to be at 280 or near it by Labor day and hopefully into the low 270's or upper 260's by race day in mid October.

Summer Heat

It's a bit discouraging when you get out there for a 3 mile run and can only go half way before needing to walk but thats what happened yesterday.  I'm not going to let it get me down.  The temperature was in the upper 80's with a very high humidity but it wasn't too bad when I left the house in mostly shade.  However between the 1 miles and 1.5 mile (turnaround) point, there was no shade and it zapped all the energy I had in me.  It's very difficult to get back into running in heat like this, but I have no choice because I will run that half marathon come hell or high water.  And I'm seriously considering running the half marathon in Las Vegas in December.  If that means I have to walk some during this heat, thats fine but I will do the full distance and I will achieve these goals.  There is a possibly I could go use the gym track to escape the heat and I may do that today especially since I've finally got the app to correctly gauge my distance using the foot pod.  At least I don't have to count laps or guestimate based on time. 

As much as I don't want to, I know I must focus on my eating again because my weight gain is affecting my clothes.  Even though I did not gain much (5-10), my clothes are feeling a little tighter and I want to remedy that quickly.  One thing I'm struggling with is late night hunger which I never had before when I was using tobacco but without tobacco, it seems the craving for nicotine was replaced with food.  I think the running will help suppress some of my appetite because it has in the past but if nothing else I just need to make better choices as well.

First of many long runs

It was a decent start to my training week, I did miss a run due to a wedding for a friend that I was in but otherwise everything was good.  I got in my long run yesterday but instead of running outside (93 degrees) I went to the gym and ran around the track for 40 minutes which at my usual pace is 4 miles.   I didn't take an exact measurement and actually felt like I was running so I probably went over which is just fine.  I usually run a lap in a minute and its 10 laps to a mile but I was doing some laps in less than 1 minute according to the clock which was nice to see since I had been a little slower outside since I started but was pretty sure that it was because of the heat and now I know that is why.  My weight didn't do me any favors this week and I'm not 100% sure why with the increased activity.  I need to watch what I eat better so I can begin losing more weight.  On to week 2 of the 1/2 marathon training, nothing really crazy this week but I may utilize the gym until this heat calms down. 

I've had better days (but it was still pretty good)

It wasn't the prettiest of returns but at least I came back.  Starting a new running schedule felt good last night.  I was a little slower and yea I did have to walk but after 3 miles I felt pretty damn good considering it was 89 out and I hadn't run in almost 2 months.  The warmest temperature I'd run in up until now was only in the upper 70's with little humidity.  All things considered, it was a major success.  I'm back at it and with only a 5 lb gain, I'm really not too far off of being right back where I left off.  The next step is to officially sign up for the 1/2 marathon I want to run and then I'll have no excuses.

Back in the Saddle Again

Well, I've been gone for almost 2 months now but starting today, I'm back.  I have not been running or eating very well but that is going to change.  A big reason behind it has been the girl I've been seeing.  I can't get enough of her and so I spend a lot of my time with her.  Another big reason has been some house projects that I've been spending all my other time outside of work on.  But the plan was to run the Whistlestop half marathon on October 15th and starting today is my 12 week program to train for it.  I was at the point of running 11 miles before and I know I can do it again.  The best part is my girlfriend and best friend will be running it as well so there will be plenty of motivation.  I may not be posting as much as I was before I quit but I'll be around.  I'm really hoping to carry this running stint all the way through the winter into next spring as winter is typically a bad weight gaining time of year for me.  I'm gained a little bit of weight but still feel good about my weight loss up til this point.  This journey will be about running a half marathon until October and the weight loss will be an added bonus.  I've gained a different perspective and my happiness and now derived more from my friends and girlfriend than the way I look.  I want to be healthy to be able to do more and be with them longer and I know the rest will fall into place. 

I have done something very healthy for myself in the last month that has made things a little more difficult on the food front.  I used to be a chewing tobacco user and on June 23rd I quit and haven't had one since.  I really don't miss it and most if not all of the cravings are gone, but I do seem to have more of an appetite than before.  I believe its is just as much related to the lack of exercise but in the end quit tobacco will be 1 million times better for me than just about any other decision I've made up until now and soon it will be a long distant memory.

Loss of Motivation

I've been losing motivation to run lately.  I don't want to but it has happened and I need to find a way to break through it.  I haven't been running nearly enough since I ran the 11 miler.  Between going on dates with my new gal or just making up excuses to do other things, it hasn't been getting done.  I need to find a way to get this motivation back and get my butt back out there.  I'm considering switching things up for a little while.  The switch would involve running less but lifting weights.  I want to build some muscle to help in the weight loss.  I don't mean I will cut out running at all.  I just mean instead of 4-5 milers maybe just doing 2-3 and lifting for 45 mins.  Something has got to change because as happy as I am to have lost 40 lbs I don't want to stop losing anytime soon.

100 Push Up Challenge

BTW, Last Week I started the 100 Push Up challenge and now am on to Week 2 Day 2 tomorrow.  I felt I was losing some muscle and wanted to regained any lost upper body strength.  I'm hoping to transition this into a strength training program by August or September.  Right now I'm doing the lightweight version because I've always had a sensitive shoulder and quite honestly push ups at 283 pounds is still lifting a lot of weight.  Once I'm done with the lightweight version, I will either do the regular heavy weight version or a modified heavy weight version and by modified I mean starting at the week 3 of the heavy weight and creating my own additional weeks to push myself beyond  to keep adding strength.  I know I don't have many followers but Who is with me?  It's really not all that difficult and takes like 10 mins to do so why not.

It's been a long tough month

Just like the title says, its been a long and difficult month of May.  My weight loss slowed down significantly and I kind of started slacking in my running, not in being active just running.  One problem with summer and the nice weather is there are so many other things to do between yardwork, Twins games, walks around the lakes, etc.  However, it looks like I had a pretty good break through weight wise this week and lost 2.2 lbs which is the biggest loss I've had in a while and I'm happy to cross over the 40 lbs lost mark and set sights on 45 lbs.  My clothes are getting much baggier and my work slacks are almost to the point I can't wear them. 

When entering in my weight today I realized it was my 20th week on here and started to think back on the journey so far.  I'm happy to be where I am now, if you would have told me I would do this well back in January, I would take it 10 out of 10 times but I'm not satisfied with the end result.  I don't plan on just being happy where I am and settling in here.  I've got another 58.8 pounds to go to be where I really want to be.  The biggest things this journey has taught me is patience.  I don't have to get to that weight immediately but as long as I keep going in the right direction, I will get there eventually.  If it takes me a full year or more I'm fine with that.  Would I like to be further along, sure but I know I've been my own worst enemy from that standpoint.  I've made steps in the right direction that aren't drastic or impossible to maintain.  I can keep going forward on my journey because really its just the way I'm living now and hopefully the weight loss just keeps up.  If not I will makes changes but for now I like the way this is going.

Measuring Up

Well I haven't posted a picture in a while but I did take some measurements yesterday so I thought I would share them.

Neck: 17.5"  (18.5")
Chest: 47.5"       (50")
Shoulders: 56"
Waist: 45"    (49")
Hips: 46"         (49.5")
Thighs: 27.5"   (28.5")
Arms: 16"    (17.5")

Almost all of these are drops except thighs and neck since the last time I measured, but from the start they are all big drops.  My original numbers are next the the new ones. Total I've lost 16" (counting each thigh and arm loss).  Also this morning my weight was down to 282.4 which  always has me wanting to move my weigh in's to Tuesday because they are typically the lowest but oh well.  I'm getting close to the 270's and haven't been this low since late 2005.  I'm more confident about myself and happier.  Also an ex-gf of mine who is a really good friend now will be in town this weekend and she hasn't seen me since last November where I was either right around 325 or maybe even a little higher.  I'm excited to show off a little.  I also talked to a good friend of mine yesterday who wants me to be an usher in his wedding and I'm looking forward to where I will be at the time of his wedding and how I'll look in a tux.  Yesterday's run was good, 5.5 miles up some pretty terrible hills.  I wore the HR monitor for the first time in a long time and had some interesting results.  I'm not sure why but its seems that the HR monitor was reading much higher than it should.  I wouldn't expect it to be too high without proper skin contact more too low.  I check it to another HR monitor before I left and it was right but its says I was in the highest zone for 37 mins, the next highest zone for 13 mins and the last few for the rest.  My average HR was 169 so I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if I just have an extremely high HR while running.

Guilty Weekend

So running and working out did not happen at all this weekend.  But I'm still down weight for the week and I'm very happy about that.  I know I will get there eventually and there are times I wish it was faster but I had a great weekend so I'm not too concerned right now.  First Friday night was a great night on a brewery tour of a smaller brewery that my friend and I all love.  It was fun to listen to the owner talk so passionately about the business and about how they go about making their beer.  He was willing to answer every question with enthusiam as well.  I stayed out that night with friends and had a great time.  The running was really shut down this weekend by the crazy storms around the area.  There were major thunderstorms all day Saturday and Sunday including hail and tornados that destroy some areas of minneapolis.  Even where I work there are trees that are easily 50+ years old pull right out of the ground.  So needless to say I wasn't going to run in that.  I could have gone to the gym and maybe should have but didn't.  Instead I spent most of my weekend with someone I just met and really enjoy.  And so I decided to take advantage of the fact that at 40 lbs down, a better look, and a new sense of confidence, I could get back in the dating scene and try to find someone to be happy with.  It's only been 3 dates so far but I like where things are headed.  Getting back at it today.

A difference in thinking

Well the last few days have involved zero running.  This is probably not good considering I'm planning to run 12 miles this weekend and most likely a half marathon in 2 weeks.  However, Tuesday involved some pretty heavy yardwork for about 3.5 hours so there was plenty of sweating and exercise involved.  Today I have to drive my friend to the airport and immediately go to my softball game so it looks like I may miss today as well.  And yesterday I had a date which felt good and it went really well.  It's been over a month since my last relationship ended which I didn't say much about, but I'm back out there and hopefully it won't interfere too much with the running schedule.  (Thankfully this one is a runner so maybe I can make that into a date sometime.  5k around the lake sounds nice to me)

The best part about this whole thing is that in the past I would have easily drifted away from my program or been worried that I might not get it started again.  This time I'm not even worried.  I've felt bad about missing a few running days but I know I'll get right out there as soon as I have time.  Also on Tuesday I know last summer I would have been dead after about 1 hour of the work I did and I went 3.5 hours and really wasn't that tired, the sun was just going down so I ended because trust me I still have plenty of repairs still to do.

New to IKEA

Well my weight loss wasn't quite where I wanted it to be this week, but it's still down and I'm happy about that.  It may drop some more today as on Saturday I was out having a good time with friends, aka drinks, and usually after a day or two my weight drops off from the gain of all the liquid so it may just need some leveling.

Yesterday was a pretty quiet day but it was beautiful outside.  Really a great day when you can just open all the windows and let the crisp air in; very refreshing.  I also learned about IKEA this weekend.  Yes, I knew what it was and had looked online at it before, but had never actually been there before.  I've been missing out.  That place is fantastic and I was able to find a new bed frame and nightstand to really class up the bedroom and it only cost $300 and my other options at the typical furniture store was upwards of $800-900.  It's not as nice of material but for what I'm trying to get out of it, IKEA had exactly what I needed.  Looking forward to adding some additional furniture to my house from there in the future.

Crank it right past 10 to 11.

Yep you heard me.  I was going to do 10 this week because I did 9 last week but I found a group called Team Ortho that is organizing the Marathon/Half that I might run at the ending of my training that has training runs.  The setup on the long run of the week and people can come run on a new course each week and there are water stations along the way.  It was nice to explore a nice running area and not have to worry about needing to have water with me.  However, the run they were doing this week was 11 so I went with it.  It was terrible weather, 45 F, cloudy, windy, rainy, ie not so fun.  I kept a good pace and felt great until around mile 8 it started getting really tough and around mile 9.5 I felt like I hit "the wall" because all of a sudden I had nothing left in my legs, no energy what so ever and I thought I was going to have to stop.  The only thing that kept me going was the mental aspect and telling myself not to quit and then it was over and I had a new rush of energy which carried me to the end.  I finished in 1:50:39 and although my glutes and hamstring felt incredibly awkward and painful, I was happy I woke up early to do this run.

I cannot believe I ran that far for that long today.  Anytime I had ever heard someone talk about running 10 miles, I couldn't comprehend that distance on foot.  Hell until about 1.5 months ago I couldn't comprehend running for more than an hour.  Then today I put out almost 2 hours worth of running in terrible conditions and really only needed about 20 more minutes and I had a half marathon.  One step at a time, but this is somewhere I always wanted to try and get to but was always too scared to do it.  Not anymore.