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.

New Years Day (the day after too)

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.

Christmas 2013

My family had a wonderful Christmas. It was a "delicious" Christmas as well which means I at way too much but planned on doing it and am back on track now. I had Monday and Tuesday off so was up before 5am and ran over 4 miles each day. It is insane how quick your body and mind can revert back to its old ways if you are not very careful and don't plan and execute.

With weightloss aside this was my favorite Christmas so far because I was able to spend it with my family. With us adopting my son just a little under 6 months ago it was a Christmas I will never forget that is for sure!

Running Vlog

5 mile run in 9 degree weather

It has been over a week since I last ran and worked out because it has been "too cold". What a great excuse! Also over the last 3-4 days I have not been eating all that well. There have been Christmas parties and family get togethers. The good thing is I think I have learned that every once in a while I can splurge just a little bit but get back on track immediately after. I work up bright and early and decided it was time for a run. When I took the covers off of me I could tell it was extra cold but I had slacked long enough. 

The trick is to make sure you have really warm workout clothes (I will probably post on that in the next day or two). As you can see from the first 2 photos It was FREEZING. 9 degrees does not feel all that great especially with snow on the ground. You know I was working hard when you are sweating in 9 degree weather. My forehead was completely wet and then turned to ice on my eyelashes. The best part of the whole thing is I ran just under 5 miles and it felt great. I think I could have gone for another 1-2 miles for sure. Isn't it incredible how our bodies respond to us when we want them too. It is even more true when we train them accordingly. Let this be the motivation you need to get out and do the little that you need to get your life back on track. It really is simple. Eat better and move more. Do your body a favor and take care of it.  

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.



12-2-13 3.22 mile run

100 mile goal

Lately I have been running more than ever. I was looking around on the mapmyrun website and found that I can create goals. It may sound crazy but I want to log 100 miles by 12-31-13. That gives me 35 days. I think it is doeable though because it is just under 3 miles per day on average. I have also set the goal to log at least 20 workouts during that time which should be a given if I log the 100 miles.

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.

Running Motivation

I was looking for motivation today on youtube and ran into this video today!



My favorite quote in this video went something like this , " whether you think you can or you can't, you are right"!

I CAN AND WILL DO WHATEVER I PUT MY MIND TO

4-16-13 4 Mile run

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!

Dont let the voice tell you to quit

 

I have found this quote to be very true the last couple of week. More than likely I will find it more to be true in the future as well. When I started running again last week I ran 1 mile stopped for about 15 minutes and then ran back the other mile. I was completely gassed (or so I thought). Our bodies can do so much more than our minds. If you push through that initial pain your body will understand that it can do it and you WILL succeed .