Not Much To Say

I don't have much to say today - I gained 3.8lbs since the 4th of May - Haven't been real good nutritionally, haven't been real good physically, drank too much a couple of times... I pretty much got out of the last two weeks exactly what I put into them, basically nothing outside of a few bike rides... Doesn't mean I'll quit trying...

FTF, and KTF

Brad

Quick Update - Pain

We'll we went out for 15 miles on Monday night and I have felt NONE of the pain I was feeling on Sunday so I anticipate smooth sailing from here on out, I made a slight adjustmet to my seat and position on the pedals and all is good...

KTF & FTF - Bc

APRIL - HUMMMMMM

April was an exact ZERO, no gain, no loss.... Hummmmm, not totally sure how I should feel about that.... Basically I took two weeks off for Rest and RELAXATION and then made the last two weeks of the month count for 7 pounds. I guess I really have nothing to complain about - The vacation was AWESOME and planned and a much needed break from the GRIND, it did more for my mental health than anything you can imagine. LIFE IS GOOD...

Eric busted my ass about getting back on the trail again since summer is fast approaching and I was glad he gave me the boost to get it going again. Did 16 miles on Thursday night and then 24 on Saturday, oh, did I mention I purchased a new bike, one that actually fits me, WOW, that makes trail riding a whole lot more interesting. The last bike really made me work and struggle at times due to it simply being a standard sized mountain bike ( I couldn't get the seat high enough and it always felt like a elephant riding a trike. :-) I bought a new hybrid and the size is perfect for me, I LOVE it. My QUADS were a little sore on Sunday but I plan to go again tonight...

I do have a little something going on in my left hip/pelvis though. Its hard to describe but its a shooting pain where it feels like I lose strength in that joint for a second or two. It is pretty painful but only lasts a couple of seconds. It happened 5 or 6 times over the course of the day on Sunday, it doesn't last long, maybe 2 seconds and then its gone. Haven't felt it when riding and have done some research online to try to figure it out, could be a couple of different things so we'll see how it goes after another couple of rides and a bit of adjusting of the point of my seat. It may just be getting used to being back on the trails but we'll keep an eye on it and let you know. If all goes well we plan to take the Wabash Trail in Council Bluffs on the infamous TACO RUN this Thursday or maybe next Thursday. More to come on that in the next few days.

I am looking for bigger and better things for the month of MAY, our 17th anniversary is next Saturday and I sure plan on celebrating 17 more if not 37 more.... :-)

Until next time I will continue to FTF and KEEP THE FAITH...

A LOSS

323.2 this morning for a 3 pound loss last week. Here is the kicker I had made almost 6 pounds for the week by Saturday morning. Saturday night I did a little overindlugence with a few Margaritas, Blue Yummy's, some Single Barrel and my buddy JONNIE. ANYHOW, Three pounds for the week is okay by me, no doubt about it. My nutrition was great last week outside of Saturday so that is pretty much back on track, I only worked out once and that was kind of half hearted so all in all it is what it is. NOW, this week I need OVER 4 pounds to avoid a NET GAIN for the month of April. I am feeling motivated to make SURE that happens so stay tuned for more to come.... HELLO GYM, remember me????

Keep the Faith and FTF...
B

Back in the Saddle

Okay, so maybe a little residual effect from vacation but today the scales told me it likes the expanding numbers and really wants my number higher. 326.2 today and I say PISS on the scale, its back in the saddle time. I've had my vacation now its back to work. Look for good things next week, leaving the office right now, heading to the gym tonight.

April POST Vacation Report

Well, if you follow my other blog you'll know we had a 10 day excursion to the Masters Golf Tournament, Myrtle Beach, Pinehurst and various other destinations. We ate well, we drank well and really has an AWESOME time. It was a well deserved break from the grind of trying to maintain the healthy lifestyle.

I am happy to report that this morning I stepped on the scale at 322.8 and really was pleased all things considered to only have a small gain on the scale during the last 15 days. Playing catch up this week and getting back into the routine has taken most of my time the last few days, now its time to get back on track. I plan to hit the GYM tomorrow night and once this weekend and then kick it back in hard starting next week.

Although I didn't quite hit my April 1st goal of 310 lbs I believe I can still hit my July 1st goal of 290 if I work real hard and get focused again. Goals aren't supposed to be easy, they are supposed to challenge you and make you work hard to attain them.

We'll see what we can do, I really look forward to getting back into the gym, I am kind of "jonseing" for it right now... That's probably a good thing huh... :-)

KEEP THE FAITH and FIGHT THE FAT... Bc

March 2009 Recap

You know March was only a 4.2 pound month but in looking at it from a high level, I wont be upset with it. It was a loss, I had one week in there where I really didn't put forth the efforts and GAINED several pounds for the week, even if that week is a break even week that would have made March a 12 pound month and I would have been very happy with that. I have to say my calories are up, my fat content is up and my alcohol consumption is up so its no wonder it wasn't something AWESOME, BUT I wont classify it as a disappointment cause it wasn't.

March Counts
Ave Cal - 2169/day
Ave Fat - 36%
Ave Carb - 37%
Ave Protein - 20%
Alcohol Consumption - 8%
Feb Weight Loss - 4.2lbs.
2009 Weight Loss - 41.2lbs.
2009 Weekly Average - 3.49lbs

I have to say I am at a point I've been MANY times before in my battle. Feeling pretty good, feeling strong, wearing smaller clothes, getting a few compliment and all in all in a GOOD place. Its easy at that point to become distracted as I've done many times before so I am not on GUARD for that to happen. To be honest I enjoy now working out more than I have in the last 20 years and wont let that end. I really want this to be a lifetime habit and I think I am at a crucial point in turning that corner and gaining it as a HABIT not a NEED.

Part of what helps me be successful is being ANAL about tracking my dietary intake, I haven't missed a day since January 5th when I "Restarted" my journey. For me its a constant reminder of the task at hand and helps me keep focus. NOW, moving forward I wont be physically going the the computer to track this each and every day, it can get monotonous, boring and time consuming. I am going to rely in my knowledge and my internal "clock" so to speak to help me with this process - If its going to be a lifestyle change and become a habit then it needs to be transparent and just part of the daily routine so this is the challenge ahead for me.

With all this being said April will be a big challenge for me as several of us head out on a 9/10 day cross country trip on Friday morning. We're pulling my camper and going to Augusta National for a day (The Masters) and then on to Myrtle Beach and Pinehurst among other stops. I call it taking a break from reality and from the GRIND of the office and everything else, exercise and diet will still be on my mind and I wont go off the diet and go CRAZY while we are gone but I do intend on having a little fun on the trip. I wont blog here until I get back but if all goes well I'll get a few pics up on our camping blog during our trip. The Link is on the top left of this blog if interested. A net ZERO for the next 10 days would be FANTASTIC but a plus 2 or 3 would be okay. Now, there is a LOT of physical activity planned over the next 10 days so who knows I may even drop a couple of pounds - Either way FUN in moderation is my goal, I haven't used a vacation day yet this year and its been a long cold winter so I deserve this break. If you're so inclined pray for our safety...

Thanks for listening,

Keep the Faith and FIGHT THE FAT.... - B

Week 12 - No Time ?

Today's Weight = 319.2 (+1.2 wtd/-41.8 ytd)

I averaged 2101 calories last week with the following breakdown; Carbs - 42%, Fat - 35%, Protein - 19% and Alcohol - 4%.

Here again lies the quandary that I find myself in from time to time, NO TIME, or the perceived no time. I've been busy and we had a camping trip thrown in there for good measure, I've had to take the camper in to be repaired one night, another night go and pick it up, another day busy at the office late and so on and so forth so I haven't had time to pay attention to my exercise especially. Sounds GOOD right... Yea, that's the ticket.... Well, I am going to have to call BULLSHIT on myself. Its not about time, its about priorities and I've let a few other things take priority to my exercise this past week and I paid for it on the scale. Not bad but it is losing the same weight again even if its only 1.2 pounds this week, the fact that I have to lose it again should be motivation enough to help me gain some priorities.

My monthly update will be coming up shortly, more to come...

FTF - B

Week 11 - Motivational Week

Today's Weight = 318.0 (-7.4 wtd/-43 ytd)

I averaged 2042 calories last week with the following breakdown; Carbs - 36%, Fat - 35%, Protein - 19% and Alcohol - 10%.

I made it to the gym three times last week and did cardio twice BUT had three great lifting sessions. Its kind of interesting I had LESS cardio than lifting for the week, nutrition was basically the same as the week before (no drastic differences) and I had a VERY successful week as far as the scale goes. SO, I am going to try to replicate last weeks efforts for this week, more lifting than cardio shooting for 4 lifting sessions and 2 cardio sessions and we'll see what happens. This week and last week combined gave me an 11 pound loss in two weeks but the previous week was almost a 6 pound gain (that week was also a HIGH calorie week SO) so I'll be on the guard this week cause a couple of good weeks tend to be followed by a bad week for me. Not going to let that happen this week. 2000 cal average, 4 lifting sessions and 2 cardio sessions. I even had a couple of drinks too many on Saturday night last week so we'll aim for that again this week... :-)

SKIP IT - One tidbit that helps me trim calories each week is using mustard instead of mayo on things, now I am lucky because i actually like mustard so that helps but YOU'D be amazed as the calories you can save by changing this practice. I know, a lot of people cant stand mustard and LOVE their mayo BUT too BAD, if you are serious and want a little helper consider the following using ONE ounce measurements:

Mustard (M)had 19 calories and 1.1 grams of fat - Regular Mayo (RM) has 203 calories and 22.2 grams of fat - Diet or Low Calorie Mayo (LCM) even has 66 calories and 5.4 grams of fat.

Some things to consider:

You "healthy" turkey sandwich on two pieces of whole wheat bread will be in the neighborhood of 225 calories dry, now add one ounce of M and you get 244 calories and low fat to boot, on the other hand add one ounce of RM and you've almost doubled your caloric intake to almost 430 calories and close to 30 grams of fat. Even using LCM you increase your calories close to 300.

Big Deal, Hog WASH you say. Well even at ONE turkey on whole wheat sandwich a week for 52 weeks a year you will save close to 10,000 calories in a years time. Make that two sandwiches a week and you are looking at 20,000 calories in a years time. HUMMMMMM, I think you get my picture, seems like a no brainer to me...

Keep the Faith and FIGHT THE FAT

B

PS: I've been told I am looking good several times in the last few days in the office, I guess I must be making progress...

Week 10 - The Right Direction

Today's Weight = 325.4 (-3.6 wtd/-35.6 ytd)

I averaged 1967 calories last week with the following breakdown; Carbs - 40%, Fat - 33%, Protein - 21% and Alcohol - 5%.

I had hoped for more after last weeks major set back but I'll take it. Saturdays are a key day when weigh ins are on Monday and Saturday was by far my worst day so I can be happy with the loss this week. I actually only worked out twice last week so I pretty much got what I deserved. My nutrition was really good with the exception of Saturday so with two more workouts and a good Saturday it could have been a couple of pounds more. Oh, Well, we are moving in the right direction and overall since the 5th of January I am down over 35 pounds so, once again I'll take it.

Doesn't look like we'll make our 100 pounds by the masters trip but 80 would still be pretty darn good, actually the progress we've made overall is really pretty darn good.

Trying to regain a little focus this week and hit 4 workouts and NO BAD days nutritionally so we'll see how that goes.

Keep the Faith and FIGHT THE FAT - Bc