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.