Sore

I'm pretty sore today. I put two good days of running together Thursday and Friday and my calves are pretty sore. Yesterday, I finally found the chain to hang up my punching bag, so I go to use the heavy bag for 15 minutes or so, then spent some time working out with the tractor tire, so my shoulders are pretty sore this morning as well. Everything is going well so far. I haven't really started trying to lose any weight yet, but I can tell by the way my clothes are fitting, that the weight is starting to come off a bit. My jeans are starting to get pretty loose, but my shirts actually seem to be fitting about the same. No big surprise, because between swimming and the weight lifting I've been doing, I feel like my shoulders have been getting pounded pretty hard.

I almost bought a new pair of jeans last week for the first time in over a year. I've been wearing a 40 waist for awhile now. I've gone through stretches when they fit comfortably, or even a little loose, but right before starting this challenge, I spent a couple of months wearing a belt to hide the fact that I couldn't comfortably button them anymore. How embarrassing is that? I couldn't button my pants and sit down without cutting off circulation to my lower extremeties!! But last week I tried on a pair of 38 waist jeans, and while the waist was actually too loose, they were still a tad snug in the legs. I'm hoping that if I have another good week of eating and working out, I should be able to actually get into a new pair of jeans by Friday.

I haven't been getting much sleep this week. I've been staying up way to late every night watching the Olympics. I've really been enjoying watching Michael Phelps, and I think my new favorite Olympic sport may be trampoline, but the track and field was what I was really waiting for. I've enjoyed watching Bernard Lagat run the 1500 and I spent over 2 and a half hours last night watching the women's marathon, but the highlight so far has to be Usain Bolt running the 100. I can't fathom someone running so fast and doing it so effortlessly. Makes you want to do some speedwork!!

Here is my favorite commercial I've seen during the Olympics so far. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ae3tFI8wXE

Back to the Plan

I've decided to give up on the 240 by tomorrow plan. It wasn't going to happen anyway, but post wedding rehearsal dinners are never going to help the weight loss. That's OK, though. Trying to lose a bunch of weight this week has taken me out of my game plan. I want to just lose a couple of pounds a week without having to get ultra-strict on my diet. I know me, and I'm not ready to stick to that kind of plan yet. So no weight update this week. The running/walking is starting to go well, and I'm still experimenting with ways to use the tractor tire, so that is fun. Still no pics yet. Not my fault, though. I'm not the family photog. Maybe next week!!

One Down

245.8. A little over a pound better than I hoped. Now let's see if I can have a really good week and get down into the 230's. Bought some new running shorts and a sleeveless running shirt today, so I'm getting ready to go try them out. Pics next time.

Here's a video to get the runner's out there pumped up a little (in other words Aaron, the other one or two people out there don't care). I'm not fancy enough to add it correctly, so you will just have to click on the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7A_QUlMbvY

Goals

205 is the goal. 45 pounds. Actually 47, because I was a little over 252 when I started. But I agreed to use 250 as a starting weight so I could make sure my buddy was in on the challenge. A couple of weeks ago when I got going, I set the following weight goals: 247 by 8/1, 239 by 9/1, 229 by 10/1, 219 by 11/1, 209 by 12/1, then a couple weeks to drop the last 4 or 5. So basically, 2.5 pounds per week. Nothing too dramatic.

But after a couple of weeks of working out pretty regularly, I'm starting to feel a little greedy. The goal is still to weigh under 247 tomorrow morning, but I've set a new intermediary goal - 240 by next Friday, 8/8. My brother in law is getting married, and I thought it might be nice to not look pregnant in the pictures. At least not full-term pregnant. Maybe just a little bump.

Sorry no pictures yet, but when you do most of your walking/running after dark, pictures are a little harder to take. Trust me, once the weight starts dropping, your going to be seeing more shirtless pictures of me than Matthew McConaughey and Pamela Anderson combined.

I did the 1.5 mile loop that Aaron and I used to do a couple of times tonight, by the way, and it brought back fond memories. I've said I'm not real big on the team concept, but I do miss having a running buddy. Update on the weight goal comming tomorrow.

Update

Things have been going pretty much according to plan so far. I've been very careful with the new diet (even though it really isn't a diet), but fell off the wagon a touch today. Kary and Logan came down to OKC to take me to lunch, and Logan picked Johnnie's. Now, I can't very well go to Johnnie's and eat a chef salad, can I? Damn right. Chicken fried chicken sandwich it is. Other than a few stray french fries from Emma's Happy Meal last week, that was the first fried food I've had in a couple of weeks.

My plan for the diet is pretty simple. Stop eating so much crap. That's pretty much it in a nutshell. Losing weight isn't easy, but it's not rocket science. I'm not sure why, but I tend to rebel against organized weight loss programs, running programs, training programs, etc. Some of the ladies at work have lost weight using Weight Watchers, and while I applaud them for finding something that works for them, that just isn't my thing. Call me selfish, but I'm not willing to bust my ass, lose weight, and then have everybody tell me "Isn't Weight Watchers great? It works so well!!" F U Weight Watchers!!! I don't want to train with a group of other runner's for a race, and then give all of the credit to the group effort. Nobody helped me get this fat (except maybe Ronald McDonald and the Schwan's guy), and I feel like losing the weight is something I need to do by myself.

So step one in the new diet is cutting out fried foods. Which isn't to say that I won't ever be eating fried foods, just severely limiting my intake. So I am taking my lunch to work to avoid the fast food trap, and eating healthy snacks. Not too tough. Workouts have been going great. Lots of swimming and a little more running each day. Throw in a couple of weight lifting sessions each week and things are starting to look up. I am experimenting a little with protein intake during and immediately after workouts, so I'm curious to see how much difference that can make. Right now, I'm not really focusing on the weight loss aspect, just trying to add strength so I can really push myself down the stretch of this challenge. I'm hoping to post pictures next time. Maybe some good-ass redneck tire flippin' pics!!!

Wednesday

So the biggest difference between the weight loss plan this time and last time is going to be cross training. I meant to do more (any) cross training while preparing for the Route 66, but it just didn't happen. To be able to really get into some solid cross training, though, I'm really going to have to focus on building a solid base. Right now, I just don't have the strength to train long enough or hard enough to burn the calories I need to. So for right now, I'm not as worried about losing weight as I am about adding strength and muscle. That's part of the advantage of only weighing in once a month as well. The little weight fluctuations that are bound to occur won't effect me as much.

I plan on spending the rest of July and August concentrating on gradually cleaning up the diet while focusing on swimming, walking (to build foot and ITB strength), and weight lifting emphasising the big power exercises. Diet-wise, I'm going to gradually start phasing out the bad foods one at a time. Starting this week, I've cut out all fried foods. In a week or so, no more non-diet sodas. I'm definitely going to have to build in some cheat days, though, so I can stay relatively sane. I've cleaned up my snacking at work a bit, and loaded up on salad fixings here at the house for dinner. Lots of red beans, eggs, and grilled chicken to keep the protein high.

I hope to start adding some pics to the blog soon, but that is going to be up to the missus, since she is the official photog in the family. Plus, self pics while swimming may be tricky. Swimming is enough of an ass-whip by itself without trying to make sure I get a great self portrait (while making sure my stomach isn't in the pic).

Weight Loss Challenge, Take 2. Hundred.

So I am involved in yet another weight loss challenge. Mano a mano with one of the guys from work. He is a runner, so we have decided to make the prize running related. Winner gets either a new pair of shoes or entry into the race of his choice, with a $100 limit.

I'm not sure why I think this time is going to be any different, but for some reason I do. So far, not all of the challenges have been disasters. The first one I entered, I started off weighing a disgusting 275 pounds, which I have whittled down to a rotund 250 pounds and kept that 25 pounds off for a couple of years. No point dwelling on the fact that at one time, I was back down around 230, though, right?

I have a plan this time. A long range plan that I think is going to be better in the long run. Details to come later, but trust me on this one. I have a plan. I'm not sure if it makes it better or worse that I know exactly how to lose weight and get in shape but haven't in a decade. But the plan this time is fool-proof.

So I start this challenge weighing 250, and the shoe donor weighs 200. D-Day is the Monday before Christmas. I plan on weighing in once a month for the next 5 months. The goal? 45 pounds. While I want to start running again, though, I don't want to be built like a runner. I'm thinking more along the lines of a strong safety. Long, lean, and muscular. I have a picture of the finished product in my head. I just have to find it. Last time I saw it, it was between some 80's song lyrics and an obscure Caddyshack reference...