Month: July 2012

Posted on

Time for some new goals!

Its about time to catch up on progress and to start thinking about setting some new goals.  I have been keeping track of my food for 302 days straight.  I have been logging everything I eat, every exercise I have done and have weighed in every single day.  If you have been paying attention to anything I have said; you would know that I’m a firm believer that keeping track of what you are eating and weighing yourself regular are key to success.  I have been using MyFitnessPal.com (well, more specifically, the iPhone app) to track all of my eating, weighing and exercise.  If you want to get started, this is a great way to do it.  Its free and has a very supportive community.  If you do sign up; feel free to “friend” me (turbodog14); and I will cheer you on!

So, lets recap the goals that I had set and see where I am at:

  1. Size 38″ Pants by August:  DONE!  I’m currently wearing a size 38 comfortably!
  2. Not be a liar on my driver’s license weight by end August:  DONE!  I currently weigh 224 (down 4 lbs from the 228 on my driver’s license).  Please keep in mind that I haven’t changed my height or weight on my driver’s license; ever.  So yeah, I weigh less now than I did when I was 16
  3. Run a 5K by the end of summer:  DONE!  I ran the Unlimited Performance 5K in Sycamore on June 9th (Happy Birthday Mom!).  Read about my experience HERE. In fact, I’m currently running a 5K 3 times a week; and am trying to push up to a 10K… Maybe do the Pumpkin Run in October?

 

I have spent the past couple of weeks trying to think of some new fitness and weight loss goals.  I am trying to focus on short and medium term goals.  I’ve found that trying to set a long term goal and to put date parameters around it is very difficult when it comes to my own personal weight loss journey.  I would rather set an aggressive short/medium term goal and really push for it.

  1. Drop another pants size by December 31: and with that finally buy a few pairs of pants
  2. Achieve a “Healthy” BMIby December 31 (more on this below).
  3. Finish a 10K by December 31st

 

Once I hit my driver’s license weight a few weeks ago, I really stagnated for a couple of weeks and it was really frustrating.  I realize that the stagnation was a result of being lazy about food.  I was still working out and running hard; but I just wasn’t as disciplined as I usually am about food.  Don’t get me wrong; I didn’t start pigging out; I just was not a precision eater, like I have been for the past 302 days.  I went up by 5 lbs in that short time.  I found that if I want to see where the “end” of this journey is, I am going to have to stay focused and to have concrete goals.  The good news is that when I hit 228; I went from “Obese” to “Overweight” on the BMI chart for my height.  That was sobering.  I think I look pretty damn good, but even according to my doctor; I’m still overweight.  In fact, when I went to visit him last week he was very impressed with how I have done and how far I have come, but mentioned that if today was the first day that I had ever met him he would encourage me to eat right and exercise to drop a few pounds.

At my height and body frame, the top end of the “Normal” BMI weight range is 195.  I’m pretty sure that I haven’t weight under 200 lbs  since Junior High.  That is completely insane!   So, in order to hit an insane goal; I need some insane motivation!   With the help of my lovely wife, we have set up a little wager.  We are both going to strive for “Healthy” BMI. The actual number to lose to get to a  healthy BMI is a little higher for Michelle; so we adjusted the final weight number for her to make it more fair. So, the first person to hit their magic number (mine is 195, hers is @%&$!) by December 31st is the winner.  The stakes are high.  The winner gets to decide on a weekend get away for us… either the winner plans it, or the winner can make the other person plan it.  It is entirely up to the winner how to handle it.  I’m thinking that it might be fun to go to the NFL Pro Bowl in January…    In order to make sure that we are keeping pace with the required weight loss (which comes out to around 1.5 lbs per week); we have set up check points every 7-ish weeks.  If you hit your number for the check-in you get a mini-prize.  The winner of the check point gets an additional prize as well.

That should keep things interesting and motivated until the end of the year!    What is your motivation to keep going?

I have said it many times:  If I can do this, so can you!!  Get started and just keep going!!!

Posted on

A “New” Me!

So, as I have been doing since October 17th, 2011; I went to the gym last night for my thrice weekly workout.  I see basically the same set of people every night that I go.  I like to refer to myself as the “formerly fat guy”.  There is the “girl who wears too much make up”, the “staffer who won’t stop hitting on every girl that walks by”, the “used to be a fat girl, but now is smokin hot”, and then there is the collection that I like to refer to as the “Meatheads”.

 

The Meatheads are a special group of dudes who wear their under armor shirts a little too tight; and their shorts a little too short and like to warm up with bicep curls.. then max out with bicep curls and cool down with more bicep curls.  Now, don’t get me wrong; they are all put together the right way; muscles on top of muscles and obviously they have been at this for a while.  Their work really pays off.  I can’t help but laugh when I see them flexing in the mirror while trying to look like they are just stretching.  I’d be lying if I weren’t just a little envious of their physiques.

 

Last night was slightly different for me.  You see, last week I decided to shave my goatee.  I haven’t been without facial hair in probably close to 16 years.  Michelle has only seen me without facial hair once; when I accidentally shaved it off before a friend’s wedding (OOOOOOPS).   I think that maybe I was hiding behind the facial hair.  I’m not sure why, I just always felt comfortable with it, and thats “who I was”.   I think the shaving was more symbolic of my metamorphosis into something new.  I’m creating a new life for myself and at the center of that is being healthy.  Why hide behind the d-bag goatee anymore!  Who knows, maybe I will grow it back.. just so my kids will recognize me again!  HA!  So, when I got to the gym and went to work on the dumbbells one of the meatheads came over to me and said “Hey, you shaved, it looks great. You look 10 years younger”.  So, I was totally in aww that one of the meatheads recognized me and complimented on how I looked.  That was pretty cool.    I then realized that if that meathead was writing a blog; maybe I was one of his “guys” that he would refer to with quotes around a description to be funny.

 

What should my “nickname” be?  I’m partial to “formerly really fat guy”.. but I’m open minded..

 

Anyhow:  This is what I look like now: