It can change back so quick

It is crazy how quick I can put weight back on. I went about 3-4 days straight of not eating on diet and not exercizing just to rehab my IT band and I was up about 10 lbs last evening from about a week and a half ago. It was an evening weigh-in when I usually weigh in at night but regardless that is sad. I am going hard from here on out. I want to be the best person I can be not only for myself but my family. I know that most of it is water weight from all of the sodium but the fact of the matter is I slacked off!

The Good and the Bad

I have been really frustrated with myself the last 3 days or so but at the same time so proud. Isn't it crazy how our mind sets can change so quickly. The last 3 days I have made really bad food choices. On Monday night my wife and I ordered Pizza and last night we went out to Sizzler. Why is it that putting food in your mouth is so hard to resist. The difference is in the past it never used to bother me. As I sit here typing this out today I am discusted with myself for my poor decisions and know I will be better. I have not lost a dietbet game thus far and I dont know where I am right now with my weight. It is going to be tough to make the goal of getting down to 238.1 lbs. I need to stay consistent from here on out with my workouts and my nutrition or you will get to split up my $35.
Back about 4-5 years ago I lost about 50 lbs and was feeling good until I sprained my ankle REALLY bad. I couldn't walk on it for about 2-3 weeks at all and took about 3 months to get back to regular. This caused me to stop working out and start eating like complete crap again. About a week and a half ago I was out with our local running club putting in my long run. At around mile 6 I started to get a pain in my right knee but thought nothing of it and kept on running on. I should have listened to my body because at mile 11 I had to stop because of the pain and walked about 1 1/2 miles back to my car. I was extremely sore for about 2-3 days but it got better. So, smart me, decided this past Saturday I would go out with the running club again and do the 14 mile route. When I started I was feeling incredible and was even in front of everyone that was running (about 10 people that morning). My wind and cardio was really good. at mile 9 we got to the bottom of the steep hill and I decided right then and there that I was going to make it to the top and was not going to stop. I was trucking up the hill and believe it or not I actually felt really good when I hit the top. I turned around to go back down and that is when it hit me. My right knee in the exact same location as the week previous. I started walking immediatly because I didn't want it to get worst. I did some research when I got home and it is my IT band that I am having issues with. I have decided with research and getting other opinions that I am going to take 1-2 weeks off of running to let my IT band heal and get back to 100%. It is really frustrating and scary because I have come so far and have almost hit the 100lb mark. I do not want this to be a repeat of so many failed attempts in the past. That is why as of right this minute I am getting back on the wagon and going hard. I am going to eat on diet 100% and find other cross training excersizes other than running to do until I can get back out there.
Last night I was asked to go fill in for a player on a fast pitch softball team. It had been years and years since I have played any kind of fast pitch baseball and never softball. I said that I would go help out and boy am I glad that I did for a couple of reasons. I had a blast being outside and being active. It didn't even feel like a workout because I was having so much fun. I even did decent and never struck out. I at least made contact with the ball each time I was up to bat. The best feeling about going out though is I could tell a huge difference moving around with the weight I have lost. I could move around freely without any problem all. I didnt get winded. I actually felt as if I was a tiny bit athletic as well.
What I have learned today after sitting down to write this is. I am always going to have ups and downs with my journey towards health. It is all about the mindset that I have and being able to realize that I can constantly get better. Just like my favorite quote from Vince Lombardi goes. "The only place success comes before work in the dictionary." Get out, get moving and we WILL have success in our lives.

Gymnastics Gym Workout

Working out while the boy is napping

Burpee Challenge

It feels good to feel good

Over the past couple weeks but especially today I have started to feel different. Usually it feels like I have a huge spare tire around me (which I still do). However, I can tell that my stomach is starting to thin out a bit. That is where I carry almost all of my weight so for me to feel a difference there it is huge for me. Sometimes I wonder why I am doing all of this work for these slow changes but this is why. This is the motivation I have needed for the last 2 weeks. During the holiday season I had several "cheat days" and the scale reflected that each and every morning after. The good news is I am at 49.2 lbs lost right now and am hoping to hit 50 tomorrow or Sunday with some good workouts. It has been so great meeting others in the same shoes as me through myfitnesspal as well as dietbet. It is an insane amount of motivation to watch others become healthy and pushes me to continue for myself. I just have to say thank you very much.

Working out while the baby is sleeping

Running Vlog

40 Pounds lost

Before I came into work tonight I jumped on the scale and hit 40 lbs lost. Crazy feeling! I am hoping to hit 50 lbs lost by the end of the year. I think I can hit that goal. I will just have to stay consistent with my diet and workouts. It has been several days since I have worked out hard, I plan tomorrow to run about 4 miles outside since it is finally good enough weather to get out. The nice thing is my wife is off work tomorrow and is taking our son with her to have a girls day so I can get some good sleep when I get home from the graveyard shift and then get a good workout in. It is crazy how great I feel. There is so much energy inside and I feel like I can do anything. There have been several times that I have had a cheat day and I feel like absolute crap after eating. Don't get me wrong, the food tastes delicious and all but the bad type of calories puts my body into a slump.

Winner of Round 1 Dietbet

 I won the first round of the dietbet. I am so proud of myself. This dietbet is exactly what I needed to push myself to get healthy. Not only for this time but for my lifetime. I need to take care of what was given to me. We are on day 2 of round #2 of the dietbet and since I lost so much weight in the first round I only have to lose 2.6lbs to make the goal for this next round. I am kind of excited to see how much money I am going to win also from round #1. The cool thing about this group of people on the dietbet is each and every person is cheering eachother on to get healthy. You would think that with money involved people would want to win for the prize but it is a little community where people are there to care about and for each other. I have met and talked to several people that motivate me and push me to do more every day. I am down to 297.2 lbs and have lost a total of 38.6 so far. My goal is to get down to at least 220 lbs but it all depends on how 220 is on my frame.                                                                                                


 

 Wanna know what is extra cool? This morning while I was at work I was walking around doing some things that I do every morning. One of my coworkers stopped me and said "you are losing weight aren't you." This is the first person that has said anything so far. Dang it feels good to know that others are starting to notice the difference. I can't wait until I am down even more weight and see someone that I have not seen for a long time. That will be so cool.

Thanks for all of you guys that have followed and helped me out throughout this process by encouragement and support. It has certainly helped me push harder and harder each day.



End of round 1

Tomorrow is the weigh in day for the 1st month of the November - May dietbet transformer. I am under goal and almost to 100% of round number 2. Excited to see what I am finally at tomorrow morning. :) Wish me luck

Break Walk

Today was one of the first snowstorms here in Utah.  I was pretty sad just because it will make it harder to workout outside. During work today I decided that why is the weather stopping me. It was time for my break here at work and I went outside and walked just under 1 mile. It was cold and it was still snowing but it felt so good to get in some movement. Hopefully it is good enough weather to go running tonight. I just love my life

 

12-2-13 3.22 mile run

Eating like crap=weight gain

The past 2 days I have eaten straight crap. Don't ask me why but for some reason I did. After weighing in this morning I found that I gained about 6 lbs. It is so frustrating knowing that all of the work I put in to get down was lost in 2 days of eating. I know I can and will be better. One of the main reasons is I have not worked out the last several days because my wife has been working nights which in turn means that I have been in charge of watching my son each night. I am thinking of going and buying a jogging stroller so I can get out and run with him. He loves being outside and so do I. Wish me luck in this journey as I wish you luck in your own personal journey.

Put your fork down between bites

I have always devoured all of my food so quick that I almost don't even taste it. This has gotten me into trouble because I used to shovel it into my face so quick that I would get so sick and always eat way too much food. I have found that if I put my fork down in between bites I chew my food slower and enjoy the food. In turn, my stomach can tell me when it is full rather and just filling it way more than I should. If it is something I eat with my hands I have been making a concious effort to put the food down inbetween bites as well. I don't pick the food back up until I have completely chewed the food and swallowed. I read somewhere that most of us can eat a meal in 10 minutes, yet it takes our stomachs at least 20 minutes after we're done eating to signal our brains that we're no longer hungry. When we slow down we give our stomach just enough time to catch up with our brain, which in turn helps us eat less. So, next time you eat try it and see how it works out for you because it certainly works for me.

Party Temptation

Last night was a win for sure. We were celebrating my wife's step mother's 50th birthday. We all went out bowling. We all know what comes with a party though.... FOOD. I was really proud of myself because while everybody else was ordering food I respectfully declined but had 1 eclair when the desert was passed around. WIN. The best thing is when I woke up this morning I jumped on the scale and had lost 3 lbs from the previous day! woot woot

Winner and another 6 month diet bet

Got my confirmation email this morning from the Dietbet that i won $43.14. I am so excited. I have never won any kind of bet that has to do with a diet or getting my life back. It has been such great motivation that I signed up for the 6 month November-May diet bet where you are supposed to lose 10% of your body weight in the 6 month period. I am already about 10 days behind so I have to pick it up.

 

25 lb mark

This morning I jumped on the scale and was surprised to have hit the 25lb mark! woot woot. That is a great milestone. This is about 1/4 of what I want to lose. I pray that motivation continues not only until I am fit but throughout the rest of my life.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I FINISHED THE SHAYLOSS DIETBET. Not only did I finish it, I won. I ended up losing just over 23 lbs in 29 days! I feel great. I have a long way to go and will do this.

 

Final Weigh-in photo for the dietbet (dont mind me looking like a dead zombie, it was 4am and I have a mustache for MOvember)

I am proud of myself today

Wasn't feeling it much this morning when I woke up for my run. It was about 7 am and a brisk morning. I threw on my jacket and under armour warm gear for my head. I was all excited to see if I could beat my last time on the same 3.8 mile run. I started up mapmyrun and my bodymedia app on my phone and got my workout mix going. I ran my fastest 1st mile yet. The crazy thing is I have beaten my legs so much this last week that they wouldnt take the pounding today. I ran about 2 miles straight and had to walk about 1 1/2 miles straight after that and ran the last .8 miles. I was really disappointed in myself throughout a lot of the time I was walking. However, towards the end of the run I reminded myself that I was doing laps around everyone that was still sleeping or watching college football pregames. With time I will be able to run without stopping each and every time but I can consider today a win because I didn't shut off my alarm and go back to sleep. That would have been way easy to do. It took some mental power and motivation to get up and do work. I can say:

I PROUD OF MYSELF TODAY!