I did not fall off the wagon!

Ok, to those of you who don't already know, I had an accident at work last month that burned my right hand and put me on light duty for awhile. It was a very stressful time with taking care of myself and dealing with the investigation that went along with the accident. Well I am healed, the flight hardware I was working on is fine and delivered, and I am back online.

There has been some amazing progress on my journey, the weight loss slowed down, but I am still on track to reach my goal on time. I am currently down to 281 pounds, so that is a total loss of 25 pounds! The biggest news is that I had to go clothes shopping. I was in 46" waist pants (see I told everyone I was fat) and could only find pants in the big and tall section or online. Now I am wearing 42" waist comfortably and can shop where the "normal" people shop. In the shirt section I was wearing 3XL and my choice of clothes was again very limited, now I am in 2XL and the options are very opened up.  I was able to walk into the UnderArmor store and find the shirt I wanted in the color I wanted and it fit.

I don't know if this was far to Laura or not, but I have asked her that during my journey that no one but me buys me clothes. I have some stuff from my fall from in shape to fat that we have saved and I am looking forward to breaking that out again. There is one shirt in particular that I can not wait to wear again, it is this electric blue and yellow Hawaiian shirt that I look so good in, hopefully Laura hasn't gotten rid of it. 

So I am back online, continuing on my journey. I will keep everyone posted. 75 more pounds to go and I feel wonderful. Also as a side note I am so looking forward to my 50 pound reward from Laura, WoooHooo!

Peace to everyone this Christmas/Holiday/Winter season. Kiss your kids/dogs! Cuddle with your significant other and remember everything in moderation!

This next week is going to be a trying week. I am heading out on travel for about a week. The good news is that my hotel has a pretty good fitness center. I also got approval to go to the market to get my food, I don't have to try and stick to my diet eating out 3 meals a day. Wish me luck in sticking with the program.

Kind of had a rough week! I could use an emotional pick me up! Work has me stressed out and it has affected my mood and workouts. I could tell by the lack of weight loss, only one pound this week. So 287 pounds, 19 lost overall since Oct. 1st. The good news is that my clothes are a little more baggy!

Oh yeah my weight is 288lbs, 2 lbs last week, and 18 lbs total in a month!

Official weigh-in tonight went well, especially after pizza and candy on Halloween. So I have to wonder if it would have been better if I would have stuck strictly to my diet? Many people have told me that I shouldn't deprive myself because the diet won't work. I don't think this is depriving myself, it is a life style change, a choice, I want to live to see my daughters grow up! If that means no mountain dew and cutting back on sharp cheddar cheese, then that is a very small price to pay!

I had an awesome day! It was an off diet day, I did go over by 282 calories but I did not skip the exercise. I did do an early weigh-in, 288lbs, that puts me at -2lbs. for this week. I knew that weight loss would slow down, but I was hoping that I would hit -25 before the first slow down. I'll just have to step it up a notch or two!

Good Day

It has been a good day. Had a good hill walk. Kept to the diet. Laura got a new (used) bike, Thanks TC! The only off part of the day was waking up this morning, it was really hard so I didn't. That is why I did the hill walk to make up for missing the gym this morning. Good night to all!

Awesome start of the day!

Wow, I had an awesome start to today. I was out of the house within 15 minutes of my desired time, the drive to work was peaceful, and it was a beautiful crisp morning. My workout felt really good, 30 minutes on the elliptical, 15 minutes on the spinning bike, and 5 minutes of hitting the heavy bag (to the tune of Rage Against the Machine Bullet in the Head). Then I stepped into the office and things went chaotic. Lets just say I am glad to be home to my family and to have this day behind me. Thank You Family!

Woot Woop 290 Pounds!

16 pounds total weight loss! I couldn't believe it so I had to weigh in twice, once at home on the Wii and then again at work on the calibrated scale and they match. The blogosphere can be mad at me for going an entire week without posting, but I had a rough week last week. I was working 12 hour overnight shifts at work and more than once I found myself falling back to bad habits telling myself "Oh I'll just pick something up on the way to work." That something would have been McDonald's or Sonic, which is not really on my new life plan. But, I have the best wife ever and she said, "No I'll pack your lunch for you!" So my thought of the day is why do fat people always have the most diet advice? I found myself doing it today to a buddy, Sorry Brent. I was also thinking about the things that I want to do when there is 100+ pounds less of me, no Ironman for me, no marathon, I can't deal with the running it is just not my thing. So if any of you have any ideas please let me know. I do think a trip to Las Vegas with the wife is in order, maybe I won't feel like a beached whale sitting by the pool.

Weekly weigh-in that I was scared to do...

Well here is the first excuse for not posting on my blog at daily intervals. I have been working 12h shifts overnight testing at work and I am just beat, my circadian rhythm is shot. Good news is that I have the best wife ever and she has been keep me on my diet.  I don't have that much time for an in depth post so I will just lay it out there. Weight this week 293 pounds, so 6 pounds last week, and 13 pounds overall. I have a feeling that it is still a little to much in one week but I do not feel bad or weak or tired (except working 13 hour days).  Well it is time to get ready again, back to the grind.  Take care all!

A day I wish I could forget! Didn't fall off the diet but did not get a workout. Bummer, I can feel it in my attitude!

Ok day, long day, one of those days that never seemed to end. Left the house at 4:45 am, got home at 9:30, and alarm set for 3:00am tomorrow. Killer work out, 800 calories short on diet. Weight was 299, 5lbs last week, 7lbs total.

Good Day! I stepped up my workout today and now I am exhausted. Tomorrow is my first official weigh-in, I can't wait to post an official update! The diet is going good, except I am having a hard time getting enough calories!

Long but good Saturday

It has been a good day. Yesterday was interesting, I forgot my lunch, had a wedding, and had my first introduction of trying to stick to a diet while eating out. It went alright, I was only over by 300 calories total for the whole day. In hind sight I should have made that my free day, but I had it in my mind that today was my free day off the diet. Surprisingly I stuck to my diet until it came to dinner and the only "extras" where two pieces of bacon, 2 links of sausage, and a Dr. Pepper can. You know what I could have done without it all. Tomorrow I am back to the approved foods list and working out. We will see what the scale has to say on Monday night. We did go on a walk to the park today and played with the girls. I did find the bulk food section of Sprouts natural market today, and they had wasabi peas!!! My wife is the best, she is totally into helping me out with everything from diet to working out to motivating me! A hui hou!

Long Day

It was a very long day and I am tired. My girls are awesome! Kait did really good during her "Spaced Out" performance. We went to dinner at Applebees and I managed to stay on my diet. I ordered Shrimp and Parmesan Sirloin, when it got to the table I asked for a box, cut everything in half and only ate half the meal. The other half will be for lunch or dinner a couple of days from now. I can not believe how much food they put into one portion. I am still feeling really good, just tired! May you have air in your tires, wind in your hair, and gas in your tank!

Life is good

Ok first off let me tell everyone that life is flippin awesome, I feel amazing. I know that I said that I would only update my weight on Mondays, but after I got off the scale today I had to dance a little jig and post my results! I weighed in after a normal day, normal diet, 1.5 liters of water throughout the day at a little less whopping 299 pounds! I know that it is only the first week and it is a result of water retention and eating less but let me tell you as a fat man being under 300 lbs is a good feat! I know not all weeks will be like this but it is a very motivating start. So for those of you keeping score, starting weight 306lbs, weight tonight 299lbs. Also if you are keeping score contact me and we can work on finding a new hobby!

The second day is the hardest...

Not really in my opinion. It was an easy day except I forgot to eat until the monkey hiding in my gut started howling. I feel like I am snacking all day.  I got closer to my calorie intake today, only 300 calories short. I have to work on the balance a little more, way to much protein (almost twice what myfitnesspal says I should have) and my carbs and fat are low. I guess that is better than the other way around. Exercise felt good, a little repetitive though, the machine says I went 2.4 miles but I don't see any difference in the scenery. I am looking forward to getting on a bike! Thank you to all who have helped get me started and keep asking me how it is going. Who knew a fat mans blog could bring family and friends tighter! "Once more into the breach..."

Day 1...Done!

Success!!! I worked out, ate healthy, and was very productive at work all in one day.  The eating healthy is going to take some getting used to, I was hungry once in the afternoon and now before bed I am a little hungry. I did not eat enough today, my calorie intake was only 1412 calories which is about 1000 calories less than my target of 2440/day. Proteins, carbs, and fat were in pretty good balance.  Cardio felt good though my heart rate was a little high, which I expected for day 1 of exercise.  I am going to make Mondays my weight update day, so today I am 304 pounds (yes I am still fat). Over all I feel really good and now it is time to go get set for tomorrows adventure. Today's motto, "Every journey starts with a single step!"

The Day is Here!!!

Well actually the day is tomorrow morning. I have everything set, my work clothes are packed, my workout clothes are laid out, my daily food is portioned and I am ready for bed. Laura says that I am acting obsessive about laying everything out but, I informed her that this is the way that I am going to have to do things. I guess it might be a Marine thing! Well my next post will be day 1 of my journey! Semper Fidelis!

Mt. Fuji Japanese Steakhouse...

Well, tonight we took the family to Mt. Fuji for a wonderful dinner. Well lets just say that the next time we go it will be Oct. 2011 as a celebration dinner after a celebration bike ride. If I could figure out how to make the noodles is some fashion that fits into a Paleolithic diet I would be great. But you know what it is not the end of the world, one of my new motto's "Eat to live don't live to eat!"

Diet foods!

Well Laura and I just got done with end of the month shopping and picking up foods for my diet. I can not believe how much processed food there is at the normal market. It was difficult to find snacks that did not resemble eating wood chips or modeling clay. I am still searching for recipes to use and have found some pretty good ones using a lot of vegetables and some interesting spices. The hardest part for me is not going to be the sweets, it is going to be cutting out soda pop and cheese and bacon. The soda pop shouldn't be that hard, I still have black coffee! The cheese and bacon (pork) will be OK. Like my Mom says moderation is the key. I am looking forward to the vegetables and exploring new natural flavors and eating things as close as possible to their natural state!

Tools of the trade!

Ok, I have been getting the word out to as many people as possible that I am starting this wonderful journey. I have gotten very positive responses, mainly "Wow good for you!" and "That is a really aggressive goal!" Well, yes it is. Why set a goal that is not aggressive, if it were easy the US would not be the heaviest nation in the world. In this digital age there are many tools to help with working out and weight loss. So I will tell you what tools I am using. For tracking my daily activity I am using an iPhone app "Myfitnesspal," also at work we are encouraged to use Virgin healthmiles and we can get health insurance credit for it.  The nice thing about myfitnesspal is that it tracks both activity and diet. Speaking of diet I have heard many words of wisdom on what to eat and what to avoid. After doing some research I am still confused, so I will be doing more research and trying parts of a couple of different programs, the basis of which is body for life. If anyone knows anything about cross-fit please let me know. FYI the diet and exercise starts on Oct. 4th and I will be tracking as much as possible. Thank You and may your life be interesting!

Let the journey begin!

I welcome you into my little slice of life. This journey is not beginning on the best of notes. I am 35 years old and weigh 306 pounds. There I said it, I am fat and out of shape. Now lets do something about it! If you are here odds are that I invited you to be part of my journey to a healthier me, a thinner me, a happier me.  I vow to update regularly and keep you all informed of my progress. I will be making goals and setting targets along the way and all that I ask is that you keep up with me and help motivate me. My family is behind me and I have made the decision to make this change publicly. The first and main goal that I have is to be less than 205 pounds by October 1st, 2011. I will do this by changing my diet and excercise.  Thank you for embarking on this journey with me!