Curtis, Un-edited

This post is two weeks late, but here it goes:  I gained weight for the first time since the start of the program.  1.4 pounds for the week, which put me at 170.2, back on the other side of the 40 pound mark.  I knew it was going to happen.  I knowingly and willingly broke my diet.  I enjoyed everything from pancakes to mexican food and beer.  You know what, it doesn’t even bother me.  I still hit the gym like I was supposed to.  It was only a matter of time before I had to re-introduce carbs to my body anyway.  Since then, I have pretty much mixed up my diet with grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, some pastas, rice, but still no bread.  I will say that I have had a bad sweet tooth lately.  Chips Ahoy cookies and snack cakes have been disappearing over the last few weeks, along with those 100 calorie ice cream sandwiches .  Again, I am not worried.  I am in this for the long run, so I will now eat what I want, just less of it, with more thought behind how it impacts my overall goals.

The comments on my weight loss and how much younger I look continue to pour in.  I will post before and after photos at the end of the year.

What a crazy week.  Between work and final exams at school, I haven’t had time to blog about last week’s progress.  Well, I lost 3.4 pounds, which put me over the 40 pound mark! 40.2 pounds to be exact, but don’t get too excited.  I have decided to slowly transition back to “normal” eating habits, and this week’s progress will be little, if any.  More on that next Monday.  I have been fairly active, mainly by using my new gym membership. I am starting to enjoy workouts more.  Working out seems to be a good way to relieve stress.  Last Sunday, I ran 2 miles without stopping, which is a new record for me.  I feel so much better at work now (I don’t get sleepy mid-day anymore).  I am now looking ahead to January 1st with a smile, knowing that one of my new-year resolutions will be to maintain my weight, and not to lose weight.  That is a great feeling.  Now that I have a month without school ahead of me, I can focus more on the gym!  I would love to go every day, and will try my best to make sure that happens.

My diet – like I said before, I would like to transition back into normal eating.  I pretty much shocked my body with carbs Sunday when I broke my diet for the first time.  I took my mother to IHOP for breakfast, and I had an omelette with pancakes.  Let me tell you something – it was damn good!  I don’t regret it at all.  I know that I am living a better lifestyle, and knew that I would run it off that night – which I did.  I can’t wait for summer to come.  I might finally be able to go swimming without being afraid of taking my shirt off!

I will end this post with a mid-week update.  As of today, my weight is the same as it was for last week’s weigh-in (168.8 lbs.).  See you next week.

After finding out that class was cancelled yesterday evening, I decided to take my first trip to the gym that my wife and I joined last week.  It is located just east of downtown Dallas, roughly a block from Baylor Hospital.  I arrived around 7:15pm, and got a good 45 minute workout in.

When we signed up last week, we were given a 15 minute tour of the facility.  There are three floors.  The first contains the lobby/reception area, as well as the swimming pools, spas, and locker/shower areas.  The second floor is where all of the workout equipment is.  All of the cardio equipment is nicely arranged with TV’s placed in view every two or three machines apart.  There are plenty of free weights, as well as various machines, including several “free-range motion” machines that focused on different muscles.  We were impressed by all of this, and made the decision to join.  The cost of membership is $110 a month per person.  Since my wife works for Baylor, she gets an employee discount.  On top of that, Baylor provides a subsidy for employees that lowers the the total cost to $80 per month for the both of us.

Second impressions – I walked up to the reception area, exchanged my badge for a locker key, and headed to the men’s locker room.  On the men’s locker room door, there was a sign that read “No females under 12 years old”.  I now know why.  After walking into the locker room, I made a left turn toward my locker area.  My eyes were greeted by a pair of pasty white, wrinkly butt-cheeks that belonged to some elder gentleman that had to be in his 60′s.  He had just hopped out of the shower, and was carrying on a conversation with another gentleman while drying off.  I guess that is to be expected, considering it is a locker room, but nonetheless it caught me off guard.

After locking up my valuables, I headed to the second floor.  I started out with a brief warm-up in the cardio area.  I jumped on one of the many available elliptical machines, set the workout program to “weight loss”, and began “runpedaling”.  I made up that word, and let me explain why.  If you have never used one of these machines before, the motion that your legs go through is like a combination of running and pedaling.  It is very awkward at first, and I found myself looking down a lot to see if I was doing it right.  After about 10 minutes, I still hadn’t gotten used to the awkward motion, and hopped off to do some lifting.  Big mistake.  My right leg nearly gave out, and my walk to the weight area was more like an injured limp.  At that point I felt like every other member was staring at me.

After the botched cardio attempt, I wanted to make sure I got a good upper-body workout.  I chose the “free-range” machines over the free weights, and did bench presses, chest flys, curls, lat pull-downs, tricep presses, and rows.  I spent more than 30 minutes doing multiple sets of each, and I walked out feeling like my mission was accomplished.  This morning was proof of that.  I woke up good and sore, and couldn’t do as many push-ups as normal.

Tomorrow I will try my first lower-body workout

Last week was tough to gauge based solely on my weight loss, but I was sick to my stomach mid-week.  This caused me to lose 3 pounds in one day, and gain over 2 of those back over the following three days.

The results:  I lost 2.4 pounds last week, which puts me at 36.8 pounds lost since the start.  I actually had to go shopping last week to buy jeans and shirts that fit, since my current clothes look like trash bags on me  When my diet is over, I will post before and after pictures on this blog for you to see.

As far as the diet goes, I finally cheated!  I had a beef enchilada, some refried beans, and some chips and salsa from On The Border.  You don’t know how good that was after months of chicken and fish.  The funny thing is that it didn’t kick my body out of ketosis.  I am not sure why.  I figured that I would be spending the rest of the week trying to get my body into fat burning mode.  On the exercise front, all is well.  It is a lot easier to run when you have lost 37 pounds.  No knee pain, more endurance, faster overall time, etc.  I am now at sets of 40 on push-ups, and 200 on crunches.  I feel better overall, and am not sleepy all the time like I used to be.  My wife and I joined the Baylor Tom Landry Fitness Center, and I hope to start using my membership starting next week.

I am still on target to be at my goal weight a week or two early.  For now, I have decided not to change that goal to 160.  I can’t wait to see how this week goes.

I lost 2.8 pounds last week, which puts me at 34.4 pounds lost since September 18th.  I now have less than 10 pounds to go  I don’t know what excites me more; the fact that I am so close to my target or the fact that I am 5 pounds ahead of schedule.  Five pounds means I will be finished 1-2 weeks sooner.  At this point I am debating whether I should change my goal to 160 or not.  That would be 5 more pounds to shed, which would bring me closer to the “normal” BMI level (165 for my height is considered overweight).

I found something at Walmart that has done an excellent job of knocking out my sweet tooth cravings – an Atkins branded shake.  They come in packs of four (11oz. boxes) and cost ~$6.50 as of this writing.  I have only tried one flavor, the dark chocolate royale.  If you are a dark chocolate fan, and are cutting carbs, then these are an excellent option.  Each 11oz. box comes in at 2 net grams of carbs (6 grams gross and 4 grams of dietary fiber), and contains 160 calories.  I have gotten to the point that these have become meal replacements, as they do a good job of keeping me full.  In the last week or so I have substituted these for my typical egg white/turkey bacon breakfast, and they haven’t left me disappointed.

Also, I have become attached to Monster Energy Absolute Zero drinks.  It’s probably not a good thing, but I don’t expect that it will be long-term.  They just taste so good!  Between these and the Atkins shakes, water hasn’t been a big part of my diet recently.  That will change this week.

One final note – I will be visiting the Baylor Tom Landry Fitness center this week to inquire about a membership.  It is a really nice looking facility.  It appears to be a lot cleaner than your typical 24-Hour Fitness/LA Fitness/Name Your Gym Chain, and has more amenities.  A competition pool, therapy pool, nice showers with towel service, tons of state of the art equipment, no meat-heads, etc.  On the negative side, there is only one location (downtown), and costs more than the chain gyms, but the pros just might outweigh the cons here.

Yesterday was the first real test of dedication.  Thanksgiving typically means turkey, ham, dressing, rolls, cranberry sauce, tons of desserts, etc.  This would typically push any new dieter into relapse.  Luckily for me, I am so far into my diet that I was easily able to overcome the temptations.  My Thanksgiving meal?  Turkey, ham, potato salad (very little potato salad and more of solid egg white chunks), and greens.  All of that, washed down with a Monster Energy Absolute Zero (which I am now hooked on).  Results?  This morning I was 1.2 pounds less than yesterday’s weigh-in, and my Ketosis sticks are still showing “strong” on the indicator label

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Down 3.2 pounds for the week, 31.6 pounds altogether.  Current weight is 177.4 pounds.

Last week was interesting.  I posted mid-week due to crossing the 30 pound mark, and then experienced 3 days of “no weight change”.  I didn’t let that get my spirits down.  I have come to realize that the last leg of this journey will be the toughest, as there are fewer pounds to lose.  I promised myself more cardio last week, but didn’t quite meet the commitment.  I ran a total of two times.  The second run was cut short because the weather was cold, which seemed to affect my breathing.  Also, my knees were sore from running the night before.  I think I am going to back off on running and switch to something less impactful, like my recumbent bicycle.  I have also given heavy thought to joining a gym, as there are only so many workouts I can do at home without any equipment.  Again, the diet was the easiest part.  I only eat three times a day, and I seldom get hungry between meals.  At this point, my breakfast is still two egg whites/2 turkey bacon strips.  Lunch and dinner are typically one grilled chicken breast and a single serve steamed vegetable pack.  I try to limit sodas to one or two per day (Coke Zero), and drink as much water as possible.

According to my weight tracker I am more than 4 pounds ahead of schedule.  I need to crank up the effort on the exercise side of things so I can hit 165 sooner!

November 16th, 2011.  I am 59 days into my new lifestyle, and 30.4 pounds less than what I was when I started on September 18th.  I don’t normally post mid-week, but I was too excited not to post this.  30 freaking pounds.  From my perspective, that is the equivalent of two bowling balls.  That is more than the weight of my 11-month old son.  That is the equivalent of 3.6 gallons of water.  Words can’t express the excitement I feel inside right now.

First off, the results.  For the week I am down 4.8 pounds, and 28.4 pounds total.  I am officially past the halfway marker.

Before you congratulate me, I have a couple of confessions.  I did really well sticking to the diet, but the cardio portion of my exercise routine was virtually non-existent this week.  No, I haven’t lost the determination to run, I simply just didn’t want to do it for various reasons.  I will get back on track next week, and will probably either increase the distance or try to shorten my time.  My other confession is that this diet has become very monotonous, and that is starting to get to me.  This has bothered me before, but not as bad as it did this week.  The only thing that helped me overcome it was to think of how close I am to my goal weight, which is 15.6 pounds away as of today

I said before, I think my mind is now strong enough to overcome any temptations to go crazy.  Here is a good example of my dedication.  Every other Friday, I like to join a few co-workers for lunch.  I do this as both a treat to myself (helps with the monotony), and as a test of dedication to my diet.  This weeks’ choice was Razzoo’s.  For those not familiar with this restaurant, the chain serves cajun-styled food (mostly fried).  Let me put it a better way – the food is so unhealthy that they do not even publish nutritional information on their website.  This should be a great test, right?  Well, it was.  After scouring both the lunch and dinner menu’s for ten minutes looking for something that wouldn’t kick me out of Ketosis on the first bite, I settled on blackened tilapia.  This came with green beans, dirty rice, and a very tempting buttery slice of toasted garlic bread.  Two things I would like you to know – First, I didn’t even think of the only dish that I normally eat there, which is crawfish etouffee (1,200 calories or more??).  Second, when I was finished eating, the rice and bread sat on my plate, untouched.  Hurray for me, another personal victory.

Down 2.6 pounds, 23.6 pounds total

Last week was a decent week.  The low carb diet change is still working.  I am starting to notice that my face and neck are slimming.  Running is getting easier.  I had to take a couple of days off from it due to sore knees, but am now back on track.  I was able to run a full mile without stopping, (although it took 10 minutes)  I can now do 35 reps per set of push-ups, and I have upped my crunch reps to 300 (still one set).  I started doing tricep dips by facing two chairs toward each other, and pushing my body up and down on one chair while my feet are propped up on the other.  That is giving me a nice burn in the back of my arms, which is what I wanted.

This week I am going to focus more on exercise.  I want to gradually increase my crunches to 500 per day (one set), and get total push-up reps to 200 per day (multiple sets).

You have got to check out the weight chart.

Down 3.4 pounds, 21 pounds total (I have broken the 190 mark!)

Well, after the disappointing plateau in week 5, I think I am back on track.  I think the diet change is working as expected.  I have limited my net carb intake to around 10 per day, which is well under the induction phase limit on the Atkins diet.  I also purchased some Ketone test strips, and am periodically testing to make sure that my body is in Ketosis.  As I stated in my last post, I am not going crazy.  Breakfast consists of two egg whites and two turkey bacon strips.  If you haven’t tried turkey bacon, you are in for a treat.  Lunch and dinner typically consist of a single chicken breast, and steamed vegetables.  Occasionally I will substitute the chicken breast with tilapia.  My grocery store has single serve steamed vegetable packs that taste pretty good.  I think I will stay the course with the diet, and modify my exercise routine a bit.  My running routine will remain unchanged, but this week  I should be able to do 30 reps per set of push-ups.  I am also going to widen the position of my hands to work more on the outer chest.  Also, I want to incorporate more weight-free exercises into my routine (I don’t have a weight bench).  I need to figure out how to get a good bicep/tricep workout without weights.  I will let you know how this goes.

First off, the results.  I am down 1.6 pounds for the week and 17.6 pounds total.

The frustrating part is that I worked really hard last week, but stumbled upon the dreaded plateau. Over a four day period my weight did not change.  Next to the difficulties of the first week, this has to be the most difficult thing I have encountered so far.  My suspicion is that it may have to do with my diet.  I am down to 1,000 calories per day, but I am consuming breads, rice, and pasta.  I think it is time to switch up the diet a bit.  Next week I am switching to a low carb diet, similar to Atkins.  I do not plan on going crazy and eating everything in sight.  Instead, I am going to shift my diet toward lean meats/steamed vegetables and continue eating smaller portions.  My exercise routine is still pretty much unchanged, although I can now run about 3 quarters of the mile without stopping.

Wish me luck.

Down 3.4 pounds, 16 pounds total

There isn’t much to say about the past week.  I am happy with my progress so far.  I am seeing noticeable differences in my shape.  My mother commented on how much I have slimmed down, and said I know longer have a “moon” face  I have remained very disciplined when it comes to the diet, but not as much on the exercise part.  My new running routine consists of a one-mile walk and a one-mile run.  I can now run about half a mile without stopping and gasping for air.  My push-up routine is still the same, but I have increased my crunch reps to 200 per day.

I have almost no urges now to raid the refrigerator.

Down 4.0 pounds for the week, 12.6 pounds total

What an exciting week!  I have officially broken the 200 pound mark.  It has probably been 5 years since I last weighed under 200.  I lowered my gross calorie intake to 1,200, and also increased the exercise activity a bit.  I have added jogging and running to my nightly walk routine, and am now doing 50 crunches per set.  I am also now able to do 20 push-ups per set, so I know my body is getting stronger.  The urge to eat bad foods creeps up periodically, but focusing on getting to my goal weight helps me fight the urge and stay motivated.  Dieting during the week is easy because work keeps me occupied.  Weekends are tough because I am easily distracted and not as busy.  Sometimes I want to just jump in my car and head to Whataburger, but seem to able to talk myself out of it every time.

Results – 6.4 pounds lost!

I hope that this past week will end up being the most difficult in this journey.  Oatmeal for breakfast, lean pockets/soup/leftovers for lunch, and cooked meals for dinner weren’t so bad.  What was bad was looking at labels while grocery shopping to figure out what I could and couldn’t eat.  What was worse is that I truly “felt” hungry most of the time, and had to force myself not to eat.  It wasn’t easy.  Here is a tip for anyone who is having the same hunger problem – drink water when you get the urge to eat.  If you don’t like water, put some crystal light in it.  Raspberry lemonade crystal light is my favorite water enhancer so far.  The peach tea flavor isn’t too bad either.

Exercise – Walking was the easiest, while crunches and push-ups were the hardest.  Crunches made my lower back hurt.  I could only do a few sets of 25.  As for push-ups, I could only do a couple sets of 10.  I am fine with this as it is better than what I was doing before.  I should be able to improve on both as I progress.

How did I let it go this far?  I don’t like what I see in the mirror.  I can hardly walk without my knees hurting.  I can barely get through the day due to feeling so sluggish and out of gas.  I am 5’6″, and my scale currently reads “209.0″.  Let’s see, according to the National Institute of Health, this means I have a body mass index (BMI) of 33.7.  Their ranges indicate that I fall into the obese category.  I am pissed.  I am pissed at myself for being lazy.  I am pissed at myself for not giving a damn.  It is time for me to make a change.  For the sake of my family, and myself, I have to turn this around.