Day 65 - 1Aug12

So I wanted to see my progress.  I've not been as consistent as I have wanted to be with working out.  I've been a lot more consistent with eating healthier.

I've found that my schedule gets me messed up quite a bit and that I am going to have to workout in the mornings before I get up, because I don't want to get out of bed.  I've been having a problem sleeping lately.  I think some of it has been sporadic workouts.  I've actually cut out most of my tea consumption to almost nothing and been drinking far more water during the entire day.  I have one 20oz coke in the morning (mostly b/c I hate coffee and the amount of sugar I have to put into coffee to be able to drink it is far more than the sugar in the coke -- and there's a lot more caffeine in the coffee than the coke) and the rest of the day is water, unless I workout at noon then I have a Gatorade.

I wasn't feeling great the last two weeks, but this weekend I flushed my system and have felt much better.  My headaches are almost completely gone now.  I ate crappy twice in less than a week and I think that was enough to throw me off.  So, now I am sticking with foods I can pronounce all of the ingredients to...that includes cheese that may not actually be cheese, but melts wonderfully on nachos.

So, considering that in the last 13 days I've managed to get in only 2-3 workouts, I've been doing better.  If I don't workout during the day I can't sit still.  I have to move around constantly; if I do not then I get this feeling in my body that I just need to run it off or do some sort of zumba-flashdance workout while screaming...so yesterday I ran up and down the stairs in the office a few times and that helped a bit.

My breathing isn't quite what I want it to be.  My trainer tells me there are some yoga breathing exercises that will help with that.  I keep telling my trainer that I need to go see a hypnotherapist; if only I knew one.

So, anyway, here are the following measurements after 65 days of changing my diet and exercising at least 2-3 times a week.  If you look at the navel measurement note that it is not measured by "sucking it in;" it was measured by "letting it go."    If I suck in my belly I can get that number down to 46.5 without trying and 46 if I really try... you'll notice that my navel measurement and my waist measurements are getting a lot closer together... woot!

I'm not disappointed by the weight measurement as the size is getting smaller.  That is more important to me.  I'm sure if I also worked out 2-3x a day like I want to I'd knock off a lot more weight and size.  I'd like to workout 2-3x a day, but my schedule isn't accommodating at this time.

I can tell you that people have noticed my size getting smaller.  I was told at work that too many more days of p90x and I'd need to get a new wardrobe.

Which also brings up one other thing.  I've been doing P90X2 for the most part, but I've become very addicted to Insanity.  It kills me to do Insanity, but I absolutely love it.

	13May12	7Jun12	31Jul12
weight	270	272	268
navel	49	48.5	47.75
waist	46.5	48	45
hips	54	52.5	NA
neck	18	17.5	NA

PS - Do not mistake my love for Insanity and P90X (and P90X2) as loving Tony Horton or Shaun-T -- I hate them so.  One day, I would like the smaller me to be able to tell Tony Horton how much I don't like him ;)

Day 52 - 19Jul12

This last month has been absolutely crazy.  I thought it had only been a week or two since I posted; imagine my surprise when I found out it had been a month (30 days exactly) since I last posted.

I've been doing fairly well.  My weight has fluctuated up and down some, mostly in the last week or so it has gone up due to a "flow" issue.

I've been eating very well.  Nearly every day I eat every two hours or so (generally not on weekends): where I have carrots, almonds, peanuts, sandwich or grilled chicken and a v8 or two then dinner is a fairly normal dinner.

I've been working out a little, not as much as I was.  A friend of mine wanted to workout with me and I waited for him, there were a few days that I did not workout b/c I was waiting for him.  I should have just worked out and I didn't.

The last month has been incredibly stressful and nuts with home life.

Last night I did the Insanity warm up and P90X2 Plyocide... I am definitely feeling it today.  My calves were on fire, but I feel really good.  I still have some out of breath times, but that's going away.  I now need to do Insanity for 60 days in a row and my wife will wear a costume I've picked out for a convention...Princess Ardala from the pilot of Buck Rogers - yeah, this is going to happen.

I wish I had worked out this morning so I wasn't anxious to workout.  I get anxious now if I don't workout... that's the problem with working out, it becomes addicting - I just have to make sure it doesn't take over my life.

So tonight, I will be doing Insanity followed by some P90X2 Core

Day 22 - 20Jun12

one bag of almonds
one bag of carrots
2 bags of grilled chicken
v8
20oz Coke - I wanted to see if some of the "off kilter" was from aspartame - tomorrow, I'll drink coffee for caffeine instead of Coke or Coke Zero

Day 21 - 19Jun12

I felt great today until about 230 then my body crashed.  I had eaten the 2 bags of carrots, 2 bags of almonds, the coke zero, the grilled chicken and I was done.  I fell asleep a few times at my desk... I don't think I snored.  I also had a gatorade (I don't remember why, but at the time it seemed like a good idea.)

For dinner I had some awesome zucchini and squash stuff with parmesan on top, some butternut squash and couscous.

I'm getting ready to go do P90X2 Plyometrics...then shower and relax until bedtime.

My morning weight was 268.

Old Pictures

I found these old pictures from the start of P90X in the Spring of 2010.  They don't look right at all, but I'll bet they look very similar to what I currently look like...Ok, I'm more sexy now, but the size is probably about the same.



When you think of yourself, think about how you truly see yourself.  I don't see me as the guy above.  I see me as I was when I was 18-21 and about 150-170 pounds... now nearly 100 pounds heavier is what you see above.

If you want to put some perspective on that.  If I were 18 and carried my wife around, I would weigh the same as I do now if I were to step on a scale.

Day 20 - 18Jun12

I was missing salt this weekend and ate a bunch of bugles last night -- they were yummy.

Today for food at work I brought:
2 snack bags of baby carrots
2 snack bags of almonds
1 cheese stick
1 V8
1 bag of grilled chicken
1 20oz Coke Zero
2 Gatorade
salmon salad
1 serving of bugles

I don't remember what my start weight was this morning.  Last night it was 270.4 - I assume that is because I actually ate yesterday for the first time in a week I had more food than I've eaten most of the entire week.
I did P90x2 x2 core and feel fantastic. ive been drug down the last week and my body has been feeling blah. the bugles were for the salt..which tastes fantastic. Mypersonal trainer told me that the X2 core and plyo are full of mostly total body exercises so i can do those and be ok. so im just going to do those each day and thats it until p90x is over.
i weighed in tonight at 269.0

Day 17 - 15Jun12

Today has been much better.  The second day I started under 270.  I weighed 267.2

I have peanuts, almonds, gatorade, v8, a coke zero, carrots and grilled chicken for lunch.  I will be rocking tony horton's world tonight with X2 Core

Day 16 - 14Jun12

Today was much better despite not working out.  The devastating news from the other day has not quite passed.  I know I should workout even when there is bad news; debilitating news I would concur is the exception.  The difference is that I want to work out, but have been physically unable, not didn't workout and don't want to workout.  That's a huge change in my way of thinking.

I started off the day at 269.2 in weight and ended up the day at 269.6 - this is the first time in more than 2.5 years that I've started a day less than 270.

I had a gatorade, peanuts, almonds, grilled chicken, a tiny bag of crunchy cheetos, tuna casserole, zucchini and butternut squash.  A very good day of eating (save the cheetos)

Day 15 - 13Jun12

20oz Coke Zero
grilled chicken
almonds
v8
gatorade
tiny bag of crunchy cheetos

I still haven't recovered from the information I was given

Day 14 - 12Jun12

Stress from the last few days has pretty much subsided.  I've flushed most everything out of my system; I still have more "toxins" and stress to "flush" out of my system.

Food
20oz Coke
Breakfast burrito
snack sized bag of Almonds
12oz can of V8
Grilled Chicken

How I feel in the Morning
I feel exhausted and worn out.  My weight this morning was 269.6.  My brain is a little fuzzy-headed.  It does not seem to want to shut down after being on such a high alert for more than 2.5 years...

How I feel during the Day

How I feel in the Evening

How I feel after the workout


Today was not good at all.  I found out some devastating information and did not finish my day

Day 12 - 10Jun12 and Day 13 - 11Jun12

These last two days have been filled with so much stress, which has translated to lethargic and fuzzy-headed.

I have either eaten well or virtually non-existent.

I have also not worked out.  It should've been the time to work out, but was more the stomach cramping, lethargy, and brain pain that I decided not to workout...  That gives me four days that I have not worked out...

So, how do I feel?  Worn out.  Most of that is due to stress, the rest is due to not working out and not eating entirely well.

Tomorrow, I will either workout with P90X2 or I will do 20-40 min on the elliptical.  I am leaning towards P90X2.  Then tomorrow I am planning not to have any coke.  I figure that I don't have Coke when I'm at home, so why continue.  Now, I need to ensure that my stepson doesn't add more than 1 cup of sugar to the pitcher of sweet tea.  I'd like to start cutting that out and only adding Stevia.  I really need to add more water to my consumption.

As for my plan so far I feel pretty well about it.  It isn't dreadful and I'm making course corrections as they come up.  I have a goal in sight and those tiny course corrections are going to take me to my goal.

My personal trainer says I am the worst client she's ever dealt with.  She has tried to fire me several times.

On another note, when I do P90X2, Tony Horton makes it look so easy to touch your knee to your elbow while in a pushup position... he doesn't have the ginormous fat belly in the way... just sayin... Put on a fat suit Tony and then yell at me!

Day 10 - 8Jun12 and Day 11 - 9Jun12

On Day 10, we ended up getting a lot of things done so late I did not work out.

I did very well with eating - which was 20oz of coke, some chicken, a cliff bar and I don't remember about dinner.

I did not workout b/c of the lateness of everything.

Day 11, yesterday, I didn't feel well and didn't eat well.  I had two hotdogs at lunch, some potato salad, and some pasta salad.  For dinner I had two hamburgers no bun and some sweet potatoes with onions.

I did not workout because of my stomach didn't feel well.

Day 9 - 7Jun12 - measurements

Today's workout was P90X2 X2 Core -- one of my three favorites of those I've done, so far in the P90X2 series.  Anything that I can do to workout my legs and burn my abs a little makes me happy.

Today's workout was much better than last weeks.  I was able to do more exercises than last week (meaning more reps and more types.)  A very good workout.

Food:
20oz Coke
15.5 oz Apple Juice
15.5 oz Orange Juice
12oz V8
12oz V8
a sandwich (made by my wife this morning)
a small baggie of baby carrots

I did ok.  My trainer has talked to me about replacing Coke with Juice and that I need to eat more solids and not just get my fruits and veggies via a can or bottle (so much for the vodka centrum diet;))

Measurement night... good stuff.

on 13May12 I took measurements with my trainer -

	13May12	7Jun12
weight	270	272
navel	49	48.5
waist	46.5	48
hips	54	52.5
neck	18	17.5

You can see that my waist got a little bigger... I think that is a faulty measurement either last time or this time.  In any case, you can see that there were some changes since the measurements 3 weeks ago (and only one week of P90X2.)  You'll see that my weight is a little larger than it was, but it'll come down in the next week or so.  We'll see it go down to 265 or lower.

After one week of workouts I feel great...sometimes tired, but great!

Day 8 - 6Jun12

I'd like to start by saying Thank you to all those who sacrificed their lives in France in 1944 (http://www.army.mil/d-day/).  Ever since 9/11/01 and then my return from Iraq I get very emotional about patriots and their service to my country.

I started off the day weighing about 272 or so.  This is an acceptable weight for the time being... next week, it will be a lot less as we see the pounds melt off.  In less than a month I will weigh about 255 or so...just sayin' I'll celebrate a lot.  I would have seen a huge reduction in weight by now save three things: 1) pizza yesterday 2) 20oz coke 5 days a week (and some sweet tea in the eve) 3) I'm sure there's something else I'm forgetting.

Today, I feel great.  Sore, but great!  I'm ready for tonights workout even though we're a half hour late to begin.

Today is P90X2 Day 7: Rest or X2 Recovery and Mobility

I was off thinking Day 8 being the 8th day I've worked out and that would mean X2 Core... it is not the case.  Dangit!  Well, I'm going to do some part of a workout even if it's 30 min elliptical at a higher intensity or something.

So today:
20oz Coke
breakfast burrito (made by my wife)
no snacks
2 apple juices (15oz)
one Dr Pepper (lunch)
one burger containing bacon, cheese and two burgers (I didn't order it that way it just came that way)  Today was abnormal in a coworkers last day was today so we went out to lunch with him to Rib Crib

I have not eaten dinner, yet.  I had some trail mix to keep me going until after my workout.  I don't know what's for dinner, yet.

All in all, better day, I need to cut out the coke and push more water.  Otherwise, I'm liking how things are going.  I'm not as exhausted, but still tired at times.  My sinuses seem to be clear today.

Tomorrow, X2 Core -- tonight, I think I'm going to relax with my wife and then tomorrow regret that I didn't do the elliptical.  I will try my best to get up in the morning and do the elliptical - by try, I'll have to set my alarm.

Day 7 - 5Jun12

Today was much better than yesterday.  I did not have the headache that I ended up with when I came home yesterday.  I did not take the multivitamin this morning, even though I am not sure that was the cause of the headache.

I take Zyrtec 10mg BID for allergies; Glucosamine 2tab QD for my knees (I've been huge for a long time, my knees pop constantly); and this morning I took one Guaifenesin and phenylephrine this morning for sinuses.

Today was a good and bad day for eating.  I had the normal breakfast sandwich (the sandwich my wife makes for my lunch that I eat for breakfast) and an apple juice.  I also had 20oz of cold Coke (I think this is going to be the thing that I'm going to have the most trouble with) and then for dinner I had only two small soft shell tacos (meat and beans with some cheese, a small dollup of sour cream and some lettuce, and guacamole) and some corn.  The bad part today: I had four slices of Dominos Pizza for lunch (at a coworkers going away party).  I knew I shouldn't have them and I fought with myself to eat the apple and crunchy cheetos (yeah much better than the pizza;)) or go down and get a [soy-like-beef-maybe] burger no bun... I didn't fight hard.  So I had three pepperoni and a chicken barbecue (very nice, sweet not fiery).  I also had three glasses of water and two glasses of sweet tea.

All-in-all, keeping up with myself - if I had not had the pizza, but opted for a V8 with the crunchy cheetos or something else I would feel a little better about my day, but I'm ok with how it ended.  The biggest thing to remember is how I feel about the fact that I "cheated."

I also did the P90X2 workout Balance and Power.  After doing one week and only a few of those workouts I still noticed that I had much more power, control, and energy to do this workout.  It felt great and, again with all P90X workouts, didn't suck so bad that I didn't want to keep going.  This feeling, right now, is the feeling that I need to remember each day before I work out - the post workout "high."

So, two feelings to remember: 1) slight disappointment in not sticking to my "goal" on eating for the day.  2) the post workout "high"

As for the rest, I'm a little hungry and want to eat a little something probably some peanuts.

My weight is a little higher today at 272 because of the pizza I ate.

Tomorrow, we're having another going away lunch for the same coworker...so I'm going to hope that they pick somewhere that I can eat mostly healthy foods and not like another pizza place.

Tomorrow evening I may have my wife take measurements again to see what my one week size is.  I do not expect it to change from last weeks measurements.  Most of what I'm doing is chronicling my journey so maybe someone will find inspiration.

When I started P90X2 I did not meet the minimum requirements.  I don't recommend that for everyone.  I know that my legs are as big as trees and after some training (meaning a couple weeks) I can leg press more than 1100 pounds.  Right now, I could probably leg press 700 pounds easy... I haul 272 pounds daily, what's another 400?

I do feel a lot better after a week of workouts (meaning 3 or 4 that I did.)  I am also looking forward to being done so I can advance to the next step.  I would still like to add the elliptical to my workouts each day, but I'm not quite to that point, yet.  I'm almost there though.  My change will really need to be a change in attitude that I should come first and get out of bed to work the elliptical where I know I'll feel better about the day and kick that fat burning into gear.

Day 6 - 4Jun12

Yesterday was not a good day.  It started off ok, but ended with a stomach ache and an ocular headache.

I had one 20oz coke, an apple juice, sandwich, tiny bag of crunchy cheetos, a small bag of peanuts, an apple, smoked salmon, and some sweet potato chunks.

I felt so bad that I did not workout last night (P90X2 Yoga).

Day 5 - 3Jun12

Today went well.  I started off at 272ish and am now 271.8 -  If you haven't noticed, I weigh myself twice a day.  I don't do this to find out how much I've gained or lost, but out of OCD to keep track.  I also take the lightest one and put it into my weight trackers on my phone.

The P90X2 workout for today was Total Body + Abs.

I had some sauteed asparagus and some sauteed zucchini today with two fried eggs and 4 pieces of bacon and 1.5 slices of toast.  I also downed four glasses of sweet tea and two glasses of water.

I am still a little sore from the last workouts and was looking forward to this workout.  I was thrown off by my wife deciding not to workout with me at the last moment.  Normally any deviation causes me to not do whatever my plans were.  I decided to do them anyway.  I was also not prepared for the pullups/chin ups and some other exercises.  I did them anyway.  The workout ball was quite flat and I could not do any of the ball exercises save the chest press and 1 arm press.  I started to feel sick towards the end of the workout, so I stopped with 30 mins to spare (part of the 30 mins was stretching, so I skipped to the stretching portion and did that instead.)  I then meditated for a few minutes and calmed my mind.

During the workout routine I paused the BlueRay so I could set up the pull up bar then I did as many exercises as I could and even some that I shouldn't have (arm fatigue with a pull up bar may not end well.)  Overall workout with opening stretches was about 45 mins.

This morning while at WalMart I almost picked up a Coke, but did not.  This is a huge improvement over the mindless grabbing of something I see that I really want.  Most of the time I don't fight the grab and don't even think about it a second time.  Then after I have it I may think that I shouldn't drink it...but I bought it.  I did not have to go through that today.

I am hungry after the 45+ min workout I just did.  I'm going to eat something light and have a giant glass of water.

Tomorrow, I need to remember to pack the food that I should so I have it instead of not packing it and "finding danish."

Day 3 & 4 - 1Jun12 & 2Jun12

I did very well today.  I didn't overeat and I limited my carbs (for the most part).

My inner thighs are very sore from P90X2.

I didn't do so well keeping track of everything


Well P90X2 - Day 3 is over... Plyometrics.

Plyo is always harder the first time in a workout routine.  I remember how bad it sucked two and a half years ago and it sucked today.  However, I was able to keep up with more than half of the workout.  The parts I had a problem with were the ones where I did squats as I forgot that my knees need the glucosamine before doing too much.  When I go up stairs you can hear the popping.  The other thing that tends to destroy me is spinning and rapid ups and downs.  I have been sensitive to fast head movements for more than 15 years now and I always forget about it it until I bend over and jump back up.

I ended up eating some chicken alfredo with noodles - yeah some carbs.  I also ate the last of the cole slaw -- yeah also some carbs.  I had one glass of sweet tea.

Overall, I feel great.  The workout almost stinks when you are doing it, but I always get started thinking, "man 58 minutes" then when it's over I think "what happened to the 58 minutes?"

I weighed myself tonight instead of this morning - I was at 273.0 -- I expect some fluctuation due to starting the new routine.  We'll see what tomorrow holds

Day 4 - I rested.  I stood up most of the day, but did not eat a bunch of junk and my weight is 271.  Some of this is due to a little muscle being built, the rest is water and food.

Today, I am taking it easy as well.  I will do 15-20 mins on the elliptical.  I was going to run around with the kids outside, but it rained very heavily last night and this morning.

Later tonight, I'll be doing the day 3 of P90X2 - I don't know what that routine is, but we'll see.

The most important part about this workout routine that I would like to point out is that I'm excited and dreading the workout.  Excited to do it (I feel that need like I did when I was running) and dreading it because it's a workout - there's more excitement than dread so we're still good.

Day 2 - 31May12

What happened:

Yesterday, I decided not to do P90X.  It was not because I wasn't interested in working out.  I was really wanting to work out.  However, my stomach was bothering me a little and my wife was not feeling well, so I sat with her on the couch and watched 24.  For those saying, "you could have worked out and watched 24."  That is true.  I really wanted to work out and part of me wishes I had worked out, however, we traded last night for tonight.  My backup day is Friday, so if I miss a day then I can make it up on Friday... all is good.

How I feel:
I was not sore until late last night.  My inner thighs were a little sore.  This morning my abs and glutes are a little sore.  I've stretched some and that has helped.  I am both looking forward to working out and partially dreading the hour of "partial death" that comes with it.  I am more looking forward to working out than the dread of the workout.  The other good news is that I am dreading not working out more than looking forward to working out.  Let's see if you caught that.  I am looking forward to working out, AND I am severely dreading not working out.


Yesterday:
I had a banana then I had to eat a hamburger (soy burger with bacon) at lunch, I was very hungry and knew I wasn't going to feel well if I didn't eat.  I used to be able to skip eating for days at a time; as I've gotten older (ok the last year) I have found that I need to eat regularly.

Last night:
We had beef, chicken, or pork sandwiches with cole slaw (incl bacon).  They were delicious.  I hadn't thought about it until just now, but I had bread with those - of which I should have remembered not to have carbs after 2.  I am unsure of how the carbs in the bread and the cole slaw affect my workouts and goal.  I do, however, need to remember not to eat carbs after 2pm.
I also ate some trail mix with raisins, m&ms, cashews and peanuts - stupid carbs

So far today:
I have done horribly this morning.  I didn't grab any fruit, nor did I make lunch.  I thought about it after I was in the car driving.  Maybe one of these days I'll remember before I leave the house or listen to my wife when she tells me that I could make my own lunch or asks me if I'm going to make my lunch.

So how horribly have I done.  I couldn't find anything in the vending machine (yeah vending machine), so I grabbed two danish... After I ate them I decided to check out the contents -- I ate 860 calories with those two danish.  I have also had one 20oz Coke, a V8 and the rest of my afternoon will consist of an Apple Juice and an Orange Juice (only 100% juice).

Danish = 860 Cals
20oz Coke = 240 Cal
V8 = 70 Cal
Minute Maid Apple Juice = 210 Cal
Minute Maid Orange Juice = 220 Cal

We're having leftovers for dinner, which consists of an Alfredo sauce, but I don't know what it is I wasn't around Wednesday when everyone else had it.

Summary:
I'm motivated.  I haven't been motivated in over 2.5 years and even then I wasn't so much motivated as I was just doing it - I eventually got motivated, but then other portions of life caught up and I stopped working out.

Why am I motivated?  Well, 10 years ago I was motivated to run.  I ran a lot and after 5 months I was able to run 5 minute miles for a Physical Fitness Test (PT test).  I became disenfranchised when I failed said test because I ran out of energy (long story, but I did the test the day before because I wanted to ensure I could pass, then I didn't replenish my carbs the way I should and didn't eat before I ran the next day and was flat out done).  I was so pissed at myself I said I wouldn't do it again.

That didn't answer why... the simple fact is that 2.5 years ago I saw a lot of results with P90X and I am going to continue through the full 90 days this time and not just 4-6ish weeks of it.  I am adjusting my night to ensure that I get in this workout.  I know that after the first two weeks of working out with P90X I had more energy and was able to chase my kids without getting winded.  I also lost inches (INCHES) off my waist and was fitting into clothes and also clothes becoming more loose when I stopped.  I was motivated then, but the timing wasn't right for many reasons that included a workout time after 9-10 pm and getting up at 6am.  Exhaustion and kids were making it difficult to workout (that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it).

And finally the why.  I'm motivated because I want to feel better, be able to keep up with my kids, not die sooner, and my wife should giggle when she sees me with a tight tshirt on -- not just when I wear the Captain America Abs Tshirt.

Day 1 - new plan P90X2 - 30May12

What happened:
I followed most of my plan - except that I was not able to eat chicken yesterday.  For dinner, I had a soy burger (that contained some beef).  I did the P90X program.  There were times that I couldn't believe that it was taking so long, but when it was done, it seemed to take no time at all despite it was an hour long.  That's the great thing about P90X to me; I start and before I know it the time is up.  P90X is so fast paced from exercise to exercise.  I'm told Insanity is a bullet train and P90X is a steam locomotive.  They both get the job done; they get the goods where they need to go, but once you've rode the bullet train, you'll never ride the steam locomotive again.

I think after P90X I would like to do 30-60 days of Insanity.  I'll leave that to my personal trainer.  She hasn't started defining the plan for the post P90X workout, yet.

I did have some issues with a headache and some dizziness due to sinus pressure in my right ear and then rapid movements up and down.  There were a few exercises that I had to modify so I wasn't popping up and down so fast.

How I feel:
I feel pretty good.  I slept great last night.  I woke up with some energy and not sluggish as normal.  My head still kind of hurts from sinus pressure.

So far today:
I have had a cold cut sandwich made by my wife.
I have had 20oz Coke

A new day

Yesterday was my first day of a "real" workout.  I had intended to do a lot of different exercises, food plans, and more.  The problem was motivation.  It's been nearly 2 months since my last post.  In that time, I could have made some good progress.  The problem has been that I have never devoted time to myself and it is very difficult to get over that issue.

I made the decision this last week to start working out.  I get bogged down with a lot of details, I'm sure I'm not the only one.  I start out with something simple: "I want to run."  The next thing I know I'm doing research that a 10 minute run becomes 3 hours of prep (overexaggerated) and the run.  I've decided that I am cutting out all of the details and putting myself into one class - the follower.

My workout plan: 
When I get up do 15-20 mins on the elliptical at a fast pace with a setting of resistance between 5 and 7.
Lunch on MWF will consist of 15-20 mins of the elliptical with a resistance of 10 and the pace will be set by merely maintaining the "sweet spot" on the elliptical.
At 8 PM Sunday through Thursday P90X2.  P90X(2) contains stretching before and after.
Friday night and Saturday elliptical 15 minutes resistance of 1 at a slow pace merely to keep the legs stretched
Friday and Saturday stretching in the morning and evening (this can be stretches or yoga).

My food plan:
Cut my one 20oz Coke a day down to less than 12oz - I have been told to just get rid of it... but if you've ever had a nearly frozen Coke in the morning, it is delicious - I'm going to have a hard time just dumping it.  However, my eventual goal is to remove it from my diet save one "cheat" day after P90X2 is complete.  My goal in the next two weeks is to cut out Coke completely, replacing it with Tea.  When I am at home I don't drink Coke, I drink Tea sweetened with less than a cup of sugar per pitcher (ironically, a giant Coca Cola pitcher.)
V8 - I don't like a lot of vegetables, though I do eat them.  However, I need a snack during the day and eating a pound of baby carrots seems extensive... so V8 it is.
Chicken - grilled chicken
No carbs after 2 pm.
The rest of my food plan, I don't know, yet - I'll have to have my wife tell me so I can post it.
Water

That's about it.  I don't want to spend hours prepping for something when Tony Horton has already done it for me.  I had really good success with P90X in Jan/Feb 2010, so I look forward to continuing on that path.  I figure that I need to kick my butt for 90 days and then I can see where I'm at.  If I had started this the last time I posted in this blog, I'd be nearly 30 days away from finishing it.  Let's do this.

Measurements:
269.4 - my average has been 275 for nearly 4 years in which time I've dropped below 270 only 3 times (once during P90X jan/feb 2010, once about a week ago and once yesterday)
69.5" tall
As of 13May12
38" shoulders
49" navel/umbilicus
46.5" waist
54" hips
18" neck
40.1% Body Fat Percentage
108 lbs Body Fat
162 lbs Lean Mass

Day 3 - April 4, 2012

I've been limiting myself to one 20oz of Coke a day. I get it when I first get to the office at 7:30-8. (The pop machine makes it nearly freezing and it's still very cold when I finish it about 13:30). I ate a sandwich today that my hot personal trainer made for me. It was supposed to be my lunch, but I ate it for breakfast. I don't like being around people I don't know in public places - especially when that public place reminds me of the HS cafeteria. Then for lunch I ate the breakfast granola bar. I had an orange for a snack (which my hot personal trainer cut for me and put into a ziploc baggie... yeah she's hot). I have had another 32 oz of H2O (and one 1/2 glasses of tea) or so since 13:30ish when I finished my Coke. Dinner was some taco noodle stuff, almost no cheese at all and a small piece of chicken (4oz or so).

My workout for the day was a 15 minute set on the elliptical with varying degrees of resistance and intensity. For example, I started with a lower resistance for 2 minutes then moved up resistance and intensity for 2 minutes then moved up again for one minute to the max. Then, varying times I move back down and up on resistance and intensity. At the end, I stretched.

My legs were slightly jello, but more than that, this lack of Coke has meant that I lose a lot of the "energy" I had after the workout. I know that will balance out some as my energy increases from the workout and my appetite increases from burning all that energy.

All-in-all I have been more hungry the last few days, but I've been able to stave it off by drinking or eating pecans (I had some sunflower seeds yesterday).

I just weighed myself at 273.8 - I know some of that weight is hold over and after a few days it will melt off.

The workout was quite pleasant while I watched Prison Break (How did I not watch this when it was on TV?). The minutes for the workout seemed to fly by and before I knew it I was laying on the mat stretching (no I didn't fall off the elliptical, it was meant to be this way).

PS - in case I haven't mentioned it, my personal trainer is HOT!

Day 1

I didn't weigh myself this morning, but I'm confident in saying that I'm between 270 and 275, probably closer to the 275, as that's the weight I've been for the last couple of years. It doesn't really go up nor down past either variable for very long.

I had a small bar for breakfast, I don't even know what it was since it wasn't satisfying.
I had one 20oz of Coke - I should just stop, but cold Coke... really?
I had no lunch as I forgot my chicken in my backpack.
I did have 2 fiber pills about 10 am
I had some sort of cleanse (20 drops) and some water

I am unable to have caffeine after 2pm (holy crap this sucks).

I'm extremely hungry and very cranky right now. I want to eat a lot and have some caffeine.

Initial Post

For a few years I've struggled with weight. Most of my struggle has been lack of motivation and being downtrodden from doing "diets" and workouts for months at a time with little to no results.

I'm starting a new regime with My Momentum Fitness owner and trainer Missy Martin (http://mymomentumfitness.com) -