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