Days 11-20

I have done well for my second week. I worked out almost every day (I missed Tuesday). I felt pretty good. Then came the sickness. The family got sick starting Saturday and I started feeling close to getting sick. In the past, I often get sick two weeks after starting a workout program. I wasn't about to, so I slowed down the pace until I can feel like I can get back into the groove. However, I have retained my eating habits. With any hope, by Thanksgiving, I will be back up to my one hour a day workout.

The sad thing about this "sick" week is watching the whole family get sick. Especially Logan. He really looked bad. But he is now looking much better and we still may get to celebrate Thanksgiving after all.

Fred

Body for Life

Cameron sent me his body for life book and video. I started to read it. I think it is good. However, I don't think I will start that yet. A lot of what I see is that it helps those who are somewhat fit, just trying to get to that next level. Sure, there are some that are probably in my boat, but I am not ready yet for that. I feel I need a couple of good months under my belt before I try anything else. Maybe it is just stubborn me, but whatever I am doing, I continue to feel motivated and since it is early enough in my training, I don't want to mess with something that seems to be working. However, I think I may try this down the road to jump kick things when I start to plataue. Thanks Cameron. I do appreciate your help and encouragement. I will let you know when I start this program.

Fred

Day 10 of 419

Today was a good day. After having a bagel for breakfast, I went out and worked in the yard as the November weather was great. After mowing the lawn and weeding, working up a good sweat, I had a small lunch, the other half of my salad I didn't eat last night. I then ended up working out. I decided instead of running five miles, I would ride the recumbent bike for a half hour to change things up, then get back on the treadmill and pound out another 2.5 miles. I did, and picked up the pace. It was good. Although I don't trust the workout computers on those things, according to them I burned over 1000 calories in my workout. Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Maybe more, maybe less, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that I did something. I am sure this is key. Just doing something.

I know there are many ways of working out and trying to lose weight. Some methods may be better than others, but the fact that I am doing something is great. It feels good. I am glad I am doing something about it.

Day 9 of 419

Today, I did not work out. I had it planned, but I just didn't get up in time. So I avoided food. But not that avoiding food does good things to your body. So although I limited my food intake, I did not expend what I was hoping. That and as a family, we decided to go out and eat, which I had just half an asian salad at mimi's cafe. It was good. The experience was good. The kids are great at restaurants.

I know I may have days like this where I did not find time to work out, but I will just continue the next day.

Fred

Day 8 of 419

I got up worked out, went to work, ate great.

No news.

Fred

Day 7 of 419

Here we are, one week after starting this new lifestyle.  I am finding that I am actually enjoying this way.  I actually feel that cutting out the sugar has increased my activity and at least my apparent activity.   I don’t know if I am actually more active when I get home at nights, but I feel like I am.  I feel motivated to continue with my change as I succeed each day.  I am not going to say it was perfect, but that is not what I am trying to be right now.  I am trying to improve and do things with the intent to change who I am as I do not like what I have become.  I want to be active in many things.  I think that is shown with my activity at work, church, civic, and family lifes.  I am very involved with each.  But the very things that I like to be active in, also have hindered my physical self.  There needs to be balance in all things, and my physical self needs a part of that.  That means something has to give.  I am trying to give up those things that I don’t need.  Like watching TV.  All too often I will watch the silly television when I have some free time.  But this last week, I have tried to focus on doing things with the family more during that free time, which allows me to free up other times to be able to work out.  Also, I am giving up a little bit of sleep.  Waking up early has offered me the ability to do more things, but it hasn’t taken away much.  I have always found that I don’t need 8 hours of sleep.  Six seems enough for me.  Maybe 6.5.  That alone allows me the time to get into the gym in the mornings and do some working out.

 

With that said, Wednesdays are Tiffany’s temple days.  She leaves the home every Wednesday morning about 5:00 and gets home about 8:15.   So instead of the gym, I did Taebo.  For some reason, I really don’t like Taebo.  Probably because I feel like when I have done it in the past, I feel forced to do it rather than wanting to do it.  But it is a good workout indeed, exercising muscles that may not get worked otherwise.  I think I will actually look forward to my Wednesday’s Taebo workouts.  It just adds things to the mix.

 

Aside from exercise, I did good with my eating today as well.  Tiffany has been helping me a lot with getting my lunches ready.  I can’t tell you how much nicer that is.  She creates something healthy where maybe due to time, I wouldn’t  So a big thanks to her.

 

BTW, I will only measure myself the first of each month.  So no pictures or measurements for the next three weeks.  I don’t want to be somebody focused on the scale.  Hopefully checking myself only once a month will help me focus on my lifestyle change rather than simply my weight.

 

Cheers,

 

Fred

Day 6 of 419

This morning Stunk.  I got home just after midnight from work (which is about normal after a Day 3 of close) with the need to pull reports for meetings the next morning.  Of course, our system goes down every night at midnight and doesn’t come up again until about 5 in the morning.  This is its daily maintenance schedule.  Then, every two hours the system goes down to update any changes that may have been made.  Suffice it to say, this is normal and I have to plan accordingly to pull my reports.  Well, since I have been trying to leave at 6:15 to go work out, I needed to pull the reports before I left and send them to various people to prepare for our meeting.  Because of the late night, I had a struggle getting out of bed, arising just after 6:00.  Well, by the time I got on the laptop and pulled up my programs, the system had gone down.  Since work, and especially this meeting (other meetings, not quite so important) is important, I needed to wait for the system to come up so I could pull my reports and send them to the appropriate people.  So I couldn’t go work out.  Since Day 4 is busy with reporting, I started working on other reports waiting for this system.

 

Well, on top of this, I had the planning commission meeting, which was longer than usual as we are discussing some vacant land and discussing (fighting) on whether we should make it commercial, residential, or what density of residential.  Again, took me longer than I wanted.  When I finally got home, Tiffany was tired from fighting the kids all day (Fighting may not be the right word, but they were on one yesterday, especially Logan).   So she decided to go out to the Library to take some books back and have some alone time (kind of, she decided to take Logan.)

 

I ate well, but wasn’t able to get my exercise in.  Perhaps I could have at done Taebo, but after a long night the night before and not much sleep, I was tuckered and didn’t want to.  So I didn’t.  I should change that and do it any ways, even if it isn’t full speed.  I should do something.  But hey, putting kids to bed isn’t always an easy task, so count that as my workout for the day.

 

Cheers,

 

Fred

 

Day 5 of 419

Today (when I say today, I mean yesterday as I write a day behind sometimes) I woke up and worked out in the morning – about 1000 calories worth - , had an apple and a yogurt for breakfast in the car on the way to work, and plopped myself onto my chair and worked for the next 14 hours.  The third business day of every month means long hours as we close our financial books from the prior month.  My numbers came in decent and aside from a few indecent numbers, I came in pretty close to what I expected, which is generally good.  Unless the boss wants more than what I predicted.  But when that happens, where am I going to get extra money?  Any ways, I had some leftover mashed potatoes and some chicken for lunch and then work brought in Olive Garden for dinner.  I was taking my chances with that.  Work always has dinner catered on day 3 of close and more often than not, it is good, and there is often too much food.  So I too often over eat.  Not this time.  Nope, I took a small plate of lasgna and noodles and salad.  Knowing that the Olive Garden throughs in tons of garlic, cheese and butter, of course it tastes good, but it is not that good for you.  So I limited myself to a small portion and only one at that.  I am proud of myself for not going back for seconds or thirds as sometimes I do.  With my estimations, I stayed well below my caloric intake bar I set and although I sat around all day, I came out ahead.

 

Fred

 

Day 4 of 419

Today, I started out OK, but ended up probably not as good as I should have.  I had a small bowl of oatmeal in the morning.  Had some leftover ribs for the night prevous for lunch (probably about 300 Calories worth) and then had a large steak and potato dinner.  We invited Jenny and Jeremy over and in the process of chatting, I over ate.  That and I had a cinnamon roll that Jenny brought over.  Maybe one would have been fine, but I snacked on more as I was just sitting in front of the food.  But boy, did we grill up some great steak!  It was the best I have had in a long time.  Maybe it was due to my grilling skills.  Maybe, but probably was due to Tiffany’s rub.  MMMmmm good.

 

I still avoided candy and the like and really, when all was said and done, probably met my caloric needs for the day and didn’t exceed it. 

 

Any ways,

 

Cheers,

 

Fred

 

Day 3 of 419

Tiffany was up in Logan since Friday, so Saturday morning I worked up a good sweat cleaning the house. Running up and down stairs, bending over, and putting things away was a good workout. After all was done, I had a bowl of pasta and then went on a 5 mile walk.

I am trying to be careful not to starve myself as that has often been the case when I start a diet program. Instead, I am trying to snack here and there on apples, oranges, and bananas. I think it is working. Tiffany and I went to the adult session of stake conference, after which, as is tradition for the last couple of years, we went out to eat. We ended up at Applebees and I had some ribs. Probably not the best I should have ate, but since I had not eaten much that day, I figured it would be alright. That and work paid for the meal (Due to large amounts of time and effort, the boss told me to take my wife out to dinner and submit the expense to work) I figured I could splurge on something a little nicer.

Kudos,

Fred

Day 2 of 419

Not so bad again.

I worked out for an hour this morning, ate a banana and yogurt for breakfast. Had a salad for dinner and a couple of soft tacos (no meat) for dinner. I then had a strawberry fruit shake for a dessert/snack. I admit to have added a little sugar in the shake, but not as much as I would usually. I think as time goes by, I will like the natural flavors without adding sugar.

Overall, a good day 2. There are hunger pangs throughout the day, but they are more because my mind thinks I need something and not really hunger pangs. So far, it has been easy to say no to candy and chocolate, but we are only in the beginning. We shall see how hard it gets as time goes on.

Cheers,

Fred

322.2 Pounds and counting... Down

Today is Day 1 of 419. So far, not too bad. Not that I expected it to be on day one. It will be day three, day 12 or day 54 that will be rough.

I measured my official weight today. I came to 322.2 pounds. About where I expected. So my goal is 222.2 pounds.

OK, here is the plan of attack to lose one hundred pounds.

Long term Goal – Lose 100 pounds by December 24, 2008 and fit back into a size 36 waist pant.

Mid term goals – Lose 28 pounds by February 1, 2008. (lose about 2.2 lbs per week) Be able to fit in size 40 pant. Lose 55 pounds by May 23, 2008. (lose about 1.7 lbs per week) Fit into size 38 pant. Remaining 45 pounds by December 24, 2008. (lose about 1.3 lbs per week) Fit into size 36 pant.

Short term goals – Weekly – Cardio 1 hour 6 days a week (750 calories per hour). Lift weights for 30 minutes 4 times a week.

No candy or chocolate. Exceptions may exist on the following holidays. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve, Valentines, My Birthday, Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day. Deserts are OK on weekends, but no other time, and even then, I will avoid eating them or eating too much of them.

The goal will be to start simple. I am not worried as much as how I get my calories but that I limit them. I am not as concerned at first about muscle gain, rather cardio. As time moves on, I will start to watch carbs, fats, proteins and their respective benefits as well as ensuring more time is spent working the muscles correctly. As time goes on, I may ask for help on the best ways to do this, but that is it for now.

Cheers for one good day done.

Fred

GOALS

Obviously, I am not starting out without the end in mind. What a foolish thing to do. I will later detail out my goals, including mid term goals, workout plans etc. But let it be established that my goal is to lose 100 pounds from the starting weight determined on November 1st. This must be accomplished by December 24, 2008, almost 14 months from the start of the plan.

I have chosen this as my goal as my goal is to create a lifestyle and not just a diet plan. This is sufficient that I will need to work at it daily but will not be such a burden or too high where I will not be able to achieve it. This is achievable, but it stretches me and forces me to work hard.

So there it is
Lose 100 Pounds by December 24, 2008!!

Please help me achieve this in whatever way you deem reasonable.

Thanks,

Fred

In the begining...

Today was the last day of a lot of things for a long time. As such, it really seems very solemn as I realize what I am about to embark on. A heavy heart in some ways, but determined none the less. Starting tomorrow, I begin a journey that will take me up and down emotionally, but hopefully ultimately up in emotions and down in weight. As I ate my last donut (maybe ever) I wonder why I even ate it in the first place. It is worthless, and I know it. As I sucked on some candy from the kids Halloween candy stash, I really wonder why I desire it so. It must be due to how we are wired in the brain. But like many things in life, this is something that I need overcome.

So, here we go. Here are some before pics of me. G rated. I figure that there is enough of me to see through the shirt, you didn't want to see ALL of me. If I had taken off the shirt, I am not sure that I would have had anybody back to motivate me further!

Also, here are my current measurements, all except for weight. My scale doesn't go above 300 pounds and therefore I will have to wait until tomorrow morning to use the scale at the gym. I will post it tomorrow.

Neck - 18.25

Chest - 54.00

Left Forearm - 14.00

Right Forearm - 14.25

Left Bicep - 16.75

Right Bicep - 17.00

Hips - 48.50

Waist (Big Buddha) - 51.75

Left Leg - 27.5

Right Leg - 27.5

Left calf - 19.25

Right Calf - 19.00

Height - 78 (6'6'')

Weight - To be determined

Welcome

One of the finest moments in life is when you get to see your own child brought into this world. Well, maybe not the miracle of birth itself. In a lot of ways the birthing process is really, well, quite disgusting, but miraculous none the less. But the moment you first hold that son or that daughter in your arms all the pain, agony, or difficulty to that point washes away and you know it was all worth it. Not that I, as the husband, had to go through that much to get there. But c'mon, it's not like we fathers have an easy road in preparation for a new little one that comes into the family. We take on more responsibility from the wife, hoping to allow her a little more time off her feet. We are left alone more often as the wife spends time resting, allowing her body to use the energy to create that miracle inside her. We get to hear complaints about body size that we don't dare respond to, one way or the other, for fear of retribution or emotional outbursts. We often take on more financial responsibility that will last a lifetime. Not only do we need to provide for hospital, doctor, and other medical payments, but the little one that was born will need to be fed and given opportunities to grow and learn. That often comes at a price at which I need to prepare for. It seems that too often the women get the bulk of compassion, and probably rightly so, but the husband doesn't necessarily have a peachy role either.

But I digress. In essence, it is tough for the preparation of a new family member by both sexes. The husband just doesn't get much credit. Not, at least, until he holds his new infant son or daughter. Then all the sweat, tears, and worries are paid in full. And then some.

But are there other moments in life that you are paid through diligence? Of course there are, there is no doubt. And that is what I am using this blog for. I am in the search for diligence on something that I struggled with over the last 7 years. I have slowly gained 100 pounds. There may have been times that it wasn't that slow. It would appear that about 55 pounds have come in the last three years since I took on my new job. I used to park the car at the bottom of Old Main Hill to get a good climb and walk to class everyday. Since graduation, I get a good drive to and from work and not much else. I often get home and have to take care of other cares including family, home, church, and civic responsibilities which are all good, but leaves me with little time and motivation to do something active. But that is exactly what I need to have - success in the area of life that makes you feel like you can do anything. Being overweight breeds more unwanted pounds as each ounce I gain makes it that much more difficult to get off my duff to exercise.

Therefore, after trying many times to take off the weight, I am going full force. As part of the full court press that I am using is including friends and loved ones to keep up on me and keep me honest. By telling people of my goal, they can help me accomplish that which I desire. I have already told coworkers of my desire, my church companions, my spouse, and my family. I hope you all will all assist me. I will give specific directions later but I want to thank any extra time you may spend on my behalf for encouraging me, motivating me, nagging me, etc. Thank you, it is much appreciated more than you can know.

With that, starting November 1, 2007 I am going on a crusade to lose 100 pounds, hopefully within a year, but my specific goals will be shared on a later post. After my goals are attained, I will change them up, but will have goals throughout my life in this area as it has proven a difficult thing for me for many, many years.

Again, thanks for the time you may use to help me.

Nathan
aka Fred