60 Days and Counting

Benchmark#2 down. P90X day 60 was today! That means I am just 30 days shy of finishing the program, but still a long way away from where I hope to be someday. My 60 day measurements saw a big milestone for me...but also a little disapointment. Of course I'm referring to the fact that I hit the major 20 POUNDS lost milestone, but I also know that if I had not slacked off for 2 weeks it could have been closer to 30. I also lost 7 total inches, including 2 more from around my belly. I'm getting smaller, but seeing my body starting to return to some type of respectable form is not without its drawbacks. Let me explain to you what I mean.

In our house, we have a spot on our wall with some of our favorite pictures from our wedding day. Brittani looked so beautiful, and it was such a great day. One major problem...I WAS A BIG FAT ASS! Here's the problem I have...in those pictures, I'll always be 304 lbs. My face is so fat that I couldn't even keep my eyes open when I smiled. It made me sad to think that someday my kids will want to see the pictures of our wedding day, and will see how fat and unhealthy their daddy was. I wish I could go back in time and take all those pictures over again after I lose all the weight I want.

Enough reflection, time to look forward. I'm approaching the next 30 days with one major goal in mind. I want to hit 30 lbs lost by day 90. My one concern is that with a new baby coming any day, Its going to be a real challenge to make time for my workouts each day. Its going to be tough, but I know that Brittani is behind me, and she knows how important this is to me. She has assured me that I will still have time...if I can stand to put my baby boy down for long enough!

Check out my day 60 results below. Still a long way to go but I like the progress I am seeing!!!

Day 1

Day 60

Splash Zone!!!

You know the splash zone at Sea World? The first several rows where they give you the disclaimer "you will get wet". Well the splash zone at our house is about a 6 ft radius where the sweat flies during my workouts. I was going to work out tonight with no shirt on, but thought better of it when I considered my poor wife sitting on the couch, and the fact that she was well within the splash zone. Shirt or no shirt, I had a great workout tonight.

I had a great weekend of relaxing and pool time! Starting friday, we hit the pool for 3 days in a row. Olivia loves it, and since I'm losing weight, I fit in my boardshorts from a few years ago. I love that I saved a whole bunch of my clothes from years ago, with the plan that someday I would fit back into them. Well that day is today! I also have a whole bunch of golf shirts, t shirts, and dress shirts that I am hoping to fit into in a few more weeks. I can't wait until I can wear all these new clothes to work, and really show off the hard work that I've been doing.

I've been doing much better these last few days with my nutrition and with my motivation. I decided that I don't really need to make every single decision about losing weight. I was putting so much pressure on myself before, but now my attitude is a little different. I know I'm not going to lose the 80 lbs I want to lose in 90 days. I probably won't even lose that in 180 days. But 10-12 months down the road, I know I can be at my goal weight and living a happy and healthy life.

Push Ups or Earth Downs?

Today began my final phase of the P90X workout challenge. I started on May 14th, day 1 began with Chest/Back and I barely made it through the first workout. I wasn't even able to complete most of the pushups without dropping to my knees. I totaled 102 pushups, but well over 50% of those were from my knees, and I still struggled so much. My next week, i was determined not to spend any time on my knees, and when I couldn't push anymore, I simply stopped. In that second week, I was able to complete 74 REAL pushups.

I once heard that Chuck Norris doesn't do pushups, he does EARTH DOWNS! Chuck Norris has nothing on me after my workout today! Today, 7 weeks after that second workout, I started week 9 of my journey. That very same Chest/Back workout yielded 121 REAL pushups. The feeling that I have right now is unbelievable. Coming off the rough stretch that I have had these few weeks, and being able to perform (yes I consider it performing) at a high level, and see that much improvement in my workouts only makes me want to push harder through these next few weeks. For some people, the results of their hard work show up in the mirror, but since I have always considered myself an athlete, and a very competitive person, I am more motivated by seeing the increase in the numbers of reps or weight I am able to move.

Now my arms and shoulders are shot...barely able to move. Plans to grill a pork loin on the BBQ tonight, and enjoy my night at home with my girls. Hopefully we will soon be joined by our son Owen, who is set to make is arrival any day now. We sure do wish he would come already!

A Good Pizza Slap To The Face

Man that last blog was really a downer! I'm done being that guy who sits and feels sorry for himself. I know I can do this, and I have 33 days left to prove to myself and everyone else that I have what it takes to finish what I have started.

As I think about what to write in this blog, I have decided that its important to go back and reflect on what has happened that last few weeks. Its been tough, and it really sucks having to own up to my lack of focus. I got distracted, but I'm not finished. A few days back, when I was having a particularly bad day, Brittani gave me a great piece of advice, that took a while to sink in. "Stop being sad about it and just fix it" she said (actually texted). Pretty simple piece of advice, but its really what I need to do. Whats done is done, can't fix it, can't change it, but I can make sure it never happens again! That's why tomorrow, the beginning of my final phase of round 1 of P90X, is going to mark my complete re-dedication to all aspects of the program. The diet is going to be cleaned up, I'm back on track with workouts, and I'm ready to finish this thing out strong.

What can you do to help? First off...if you see me with a cookie or a cheeseburger in my hand, I want you take it, slap me across the face with it, and then throw it away. I don't need that garbage in my body anymore. On second though, I don't want pizza grease and cookie crumbs on my face or in my hair, so you can skip the face slapping. The point is, I do need help with this. While I understand that each decision is my own to make, I can always use input and guidance from my friends and family. Thanks everyone for your words these last few days. Its great to know that I have inspired a few people, and that everyone is behind me and cheering for me! Love you guys!

You Can't Handle The Truth

The wall is up, and I don't know how to push through it. I'm sitting here at 6:05 am, sitting on the couch in my workout clothes, watching the food network when I should be working out. This is how the last 2 weeks have gone for me. I am really, REALLY struggling with motivation. I can't put my finger on why, but I have gone the last 2 weeks only hitting about 50% of my weekly workouts. I'm on day 54 of P90X, and I feel like I've completely lost my way.

The hardest part is not knowing what the heck my problem is. Today I was determined to get back on track, yet here I sit on my couch writing this blog, knowing full well that I should be doing Core Synergistics. I can only hope that in the next few days I can pull my head out of "you know where" and get this ship on the right track.

It Came And It Went

Week 6 is done! I'm almost half way done with P90X! Today, I finished up Day 42 (X Stretch) of the 90 day program that is helping me to return to a normal, healthy lifestyle. I'm still rocking my workouts each morning...or at least most mornings. The schedule was a little off this week, but I managed to get in 5 workouts total in the last 6 days, thanks to a couple of days with double workouts. It was a little harder recovering from all the celebrating we did last week, but I think I'm finally back on track. This was not a bad week, but my workouts were at different times than normal, and I had 2 days where I did absolutely no workouts =(.

Tuesday- I was supposed to do Yoga tuesday morning, but it didn't happen for me. I still can't get myself very motivated to do this workout. I really don't like it, and its hard for me to get up at 5:00 am to do the 98 minutes of boring yoga. I wish it was different...and I hope my attitude will change over the next week before I have to try again next tuesday. I got a new yoga mat and yoga blocks from my mom for my birthday, so I better get my butt in gear and acutally use them! I did get a cardio X workout done on tuesday, so it wasn't a total waste. Olivia joined in on this workout! She wanted to be close to Daddy...even if I was dripping sweat on her poor little head. Let me just say that its not easy to hold "downward dog" with your 18 month old crawling under your body!

Downward Dog and Runners Pose

And the aftermath of Cardio X!!

Wednesday- This was a totally wasted day for me. Tried to go and play racquetball in the morning but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. It totally threw me off for the whole day. I had a bad attitude until I went to bed, and didn't really get motivated to do anything all day. Wednesday was a bad day...glad it came and went pretty fast.

Thursday is my favorite day of the week. It started off with a great Legs/Back workout, and finished up with FIT CLUB in Temecula. I look forward to FIT CLUB each week. I love being around all the positive energy in that place, and its so encouraging to see new people coming every week! It really helps remind me of how far I have come in the short amount of time that I have been active again.

Today was a rest day, but I just finished up my X stretch routine and I'm totally rested and relaxed and ready to push through the weekend with no distractions and no excuses. Each time the weekend comes, I usually find a way to get off track and break my routine...but not this week. I'll be up at 7 am, working on Chest/Shoulder/Triceps with my brand new resistance bands (also a gift from my mom). Now that I have all this shiny new equipment, I feel like I can really challenge myself and get the most out of the workouts!!!

Double Down

Happy Belated Father's Day to all the dads out there. Nothing we do in life is more important, or provides as much happiness as being a father and raising a family. I'm so lucky to have a beautiful daughter who makes me laugh and smile every single day. And I can't wait to meet my son Owen in less than a month! I can't believe he's almost here!! I want him to meet his skinny daddy and be so proud of me when he grows up!

Its been a few days since my last update, so instead of giving you a complete re-cap of the last 5 days, I'll just highlight the important parts.

- Friday was my birthday, so I gave myself a free pass as far as my diet is concerned. I woke up in the morning and did some light stretching while I watched a few minutes of SPORTSCENTER before I headed off to work. I ate out twice, but I deserved to indulge a little bit. At dinner, I could have done way worse than I actually did. I did have 2 beers, but stopped there...and I did have some appetizers and pizza...but nothing close to how much I would have eaten if I were still in my old ways. In some ways, I'm proud of myself for having the self control to know when to stop. It was great to be able to enjoy a night out with my friends, and not be up all night with heartburn or gas...or worse.

- I have a confession...I skipped my P90X workout on Saturday. Don't worry, I didn't just lay around the house eating donuts and ice cream. I was up bright and early to go play racquetball with a former player of mine, Jimmy Vargas. Turns out, Jimmy has been reading the blog and invited me to get my ass kicked on the court. I haven't played racquetball in about 3 years, but it was fun catching up and playing none-the-less. Racquetball is great cardio, even if we did spend a lot of time talking and reminiscing about days past. We also had a chance to get a quick Chest/Shoulders/Triceps routine in after we played...so I still got all the muscles worked that I needed to. Thanks for the invite Jimmy...looking forward to next week!

- Father's day was awesome. It was a great day from start to finish. I decided that rather than sit around all day and do nothing, I would be productive...like a father should. Brittani and I used the time we had while Olivia napped to wash the car, do some laundry, and clean up the kitchen. I completely skipped my Plyometrics workout, but plan on making it up tonight after Olivia goes to bed. A great BBQ with family (combined with birthday celebrations for my sister and I) ended the day on a high note!

- Today I start doubling my workouts. My plan is to do an extra Cardio X workout for the next 23 days unitl I reach day 60. I'm hoping my body can keep up, and I can stay disciplined enough to stick with it. I think i can make some really great progress if I really push myself for these next few weeks. Keep on reading everyone...It makes me want to push harder to make all of you proud!

Alligator Arms and Un-Hitched Wheels

Phase 2 of P90X is in full effect. Its really fun doing these new workouts, and learning the crazy new exercises. There are two new strength training workouts that have been a lot of fun. Each one focuses on all muscles associated with pushes (chest/shoulders/triceps) and pulls (back/biceps). My arms are still sore from monday's back/biceps. One of the people on the Beachbody website referred to this feeling as "Shampoo X", because its very difficult to shampoo your hair if you don't have full use of your arms. I prefer the term "alligator arms", referring of course to the stumpy little arms that alligators walk around on. Of course its not all fun and games...still have yoga, plyos, and kenpo to go along with the new DVDs. Yoga...ugh. How I have begun to loathe yoga. Its so boring, and so long. I have trouble staying focused for the full 98 MINUTES. Most of the time, I feel great after doing it, but in the moment...all I can think about is how I can't wait for it to be over.

Ok time for a few updates. This week began with Brittani and I celebrating our second anniversary. This year, we went to brunch at one of our favorite restaurants, El Torito. Of course its not really possible to stay on track while having brunch at a mexican restaurant. I ate some things I shouldn't have...and I regretted it immediately. I felt absolutely terrible for the next two days. I felt lazy, tired, and other feelings...but I will spare you the details. Now with my birthday coming up on friday, I'm worried about going out and having a good time, knowing that I may really regret it the next day. I'm going to do my best to not go completely overboard. I know my birthday only comes once a year, but I can't let one day knock me off course.

Its been really cool going into work and hearing praise from people who don't even know that I have been trying to lose weight. I have learned through experience that if you tell people you are trying to lose weight, they will always do the nice thing and say "oh wow you are looking so great". The fact is...I haven't really talked to people at work about my weight loss journey, but they have definately been noticing. Its also really fun getting comments from so many people who are reading my blog. So many people have told me they love reading, and this has been a great accountability tool for me. I promise you all that I will continue to update you regularly, if you promise to keep holding me accountable!!

Now as a special treat...here is one of my 30 day result pictures!

Before
Weight: 304.8 lbs
Belly Measurement: 50.5 in



















30 Days
Weight: 292.2 lbs
Belly Measurement: 47 in

30 Day Results

My first 30 days officially came to an end today. P90X phase 1 is complete, measurements are in, new pictures will be taken tomorrow. Overall, I'm feeling a mixed bag of emotions regarding how they turned out. I'm obviously extremely happy that I have made some progress and have gotten off to a good start with what is going to be a total lifestlye change. When I look back at where I was 30 days ago, I have really come a long way. Every single part of my health is improved. I am more flexible, which means I don't wake up in the morning with aches and pains in my back and hips and feet. I'm smaller, so my clothes are fitting better and my confidence is up. My diet is so much better, so I don't get heart burn or feel like I am so tired that I just want to lay around all day. Its just a great feeling knowing that I'm off to a great start!

The other side of things is...I feel like I could have done better. I feel like I should have lost more weight than I have. I'm not totally disappointed, but I would have liked to see a lower number on the scale. Its hard to imagine that I didn't lose more, because I feel so much different, but I expected for it to come off a little faster. In all honestly though, I am so motivated for these next 30 days...I know I'm going to kill it!

So here are the numbers...the important ones anyways:

Starting Weight- 304.8
Current Weight- 292.2
Total Weight lost- 12.6 lbs.

Starting Belly Measurement- 50.5"
Current Belly Measurement- 47"
inches lost- 3.5"

Starting Chest Measurement- 52"
Current Chest Measurement- 51"
inches lost- 1

Starting Hip (butt) measurement- 49.5"
Current Hip measurement- 48"
inches lost- 1.5

Total inches lost- 6

Not bad Huh??? Thanks again to everyone for your love and support. Just knowing that people are reading my blog and providing small words of encouragement makes me keep pushing harder. I need every bit of it as I continue to improve my health and my life for the better. Tomorrow is our 2 year wedding anniversary, so I am taking extra pride in reporting that I am about 8 lbs lighter than I was on our wedding day! I love you Brittani...here's to 50+ more years with the greatest wife ever!

Low Carb is NOT for me

There isn't a whole lot to report on this week for my workouts. Its been a combination of Yoga and Stretching these last few days, which has left my body totally relaxed and ready to get started on phase 2 of P90X. I'm rested and ready to go. Tonight's FIT club workout was awesome! Rev Abs with Brett from the Biggest Loser is a great way to finish the day!

I've really been experimenting with different things in my diet. As days have gone by, I have realized that a "low carb" diet is NOT for me. There are just too many things that I love, that I'm simply not willing to give up. I'm not going to stop eating cereal for breakfast, and I'm not going to stop eating fruit for snacks. Those are things that I can control the amount that I eat, and especially with the cereal, I can choose better options than Cocoa Pebbles. I know, that for myself to be successful in this lifestyle change, moderation is going to be key. I've started journaling my food this week, and its helped me really keep an eye on what I've been putting into my body. Its cool being able to track my calories each day, and compare with the week as a whole. I've been able to stay right around 2,200 calories a day, and that keeps me totally satisfied. I snack when I need to, I don't gorge at meals, and I am making sure to drink plenty of water. I've also been getting to sleep before 10:00 each night this week, which has made waking up at 5:45 am a whole lot easier.

I only lost 1 lb this week, but again, I know its the big picture that matters. I'm losing inches, and we'll know just how much progress I've made on Sunday because that marks the end o fmy first 30 days. Look for the measurement results in my next blog entry on Sunday!!!

Stretched to the Max

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh...

That's not me screaming. That's a nice relaxing sigh after a much needed, restful day. Stretch X this morning was just what the doctor ordered! This was my first time doing this 60 minute stretching routine, and I don't think I will be missing it again. It was so great waking up this morning, walking downstairs with no shoes on, and stretching every single muscle in my body until I felt like Gumbi. In all the years I have worked out before now, I have never been big on flexibility. I always used to tell my clients "stretch after you workout", but I never really did it myself. I was a weight lifter...and those guys don't typically stretch. Man was I wrong!! Feels good to try something new and not be totally frustrated with the results. Stretch X may become one of my favorite days of the week =)

Not much else to report on the diet front. I cheated a bit on Sunday, but got right back on track monday and tuesday. I know 1 days is not going to killy my progress, but I felt guilty immediately after I downed a bratwurst at the baseball BBQ. I turned right to Brittani and said "i shouldn't have done that". Miraculously enough, I have managed to stay below my calorie count each and every day since I started my P90X adventure. I feel like this week has been my best week so far. My clothes are definately starting to fit a little looser, and my belly doesn't stick out quite so much...even after dinner when I'm typically pretty full! It feels good knowing I can cut out the junk food, and not crave it or feel like I'm missing out on too much. Plus, we're saving money cus I'm not sneaking in "McDoubles" or getting starbucks 3 times a week.

Big weigh in on Thursday to see if my hard work is paying off. I'm hoping I lost at least 3 lbs this week, but more importantly I'm really hoping that when I go birthday shopping in a week or 2...I can shop at a few more stores. I'm sick of the "Big and Tall" section at JC Penney!

Frustration Abounding

This week begins my recovery week for P90X. Its supposed to let all my muscles recover from the strength training workouts I've been doing for the last 3 weeks. That's all well and good, but I don't know who decided to put 2 Yoga X workouts in the RECOVERY week. Yoga is the toughest workout I've done so far (until Core Synergistics). I have a feeling that I'm going to be much more flexible by the end of this week, but I have a hard time believing I will feel "rested and recovered". Wondering how my last few days have gone? Here are the updates from Sunday and Monday.

Day 23- Core Synergistics

This was by far, the most frustrating workout since I started P90X. Core Syn is a mixture of strength training, and pilates type exercises, focusing on the muscles from your lower chest to your upper thighs. It uses multi joint movements, and burns a ton of calories. The problem I have is that the muscles in my abs, lower back, and obliques are still so weak. Many of the exercises were so hard that I couldn't hold them for as long as I needed to, and some of them I couldn't do at all. I kept falling out of the positions that needed to be held. I got so frustrated that I turned off the DVD about 12 minutes early, and didn't complete the bonus round. I was really down and upset with myself for being such a pansy, but I know I can do better next time. This was a really difficult workout, and next time I will finish the bonus round!!

Day 24- Kenpo X

My favorite workout again this morning! Kenpo is always awesome, and I'm always soaked with sweat by the time I finish. This morning was a little different...I drank a little too much water on one of the breaks and barfed a little while I was in full Kenpo mode. Lucky for me, I made it to the sink in time. It wasn't fun working out with that taste in my mouth for the last 20 minutes either. Its cool though...Its not like i've never thrown up before from working out!

Looking forward to trying Stretch X tomorrow for the first time. I'm pretty sore from Core Syn and could use a good hour of stretching!

Its a Bumpy Road

Rough couple of days. Once again I have had trouble sticking with a routine that was working so well for me in the beginning. The culprit this time...staying up too late. The problem is that once Olivia goes to bed at around 8 every night, Brittani and I usually have dishes to do, showers to take, and a house to clean up after "Hurricane Olivia" runs wild through the house all day. By the time we finish our "chores", we like to sit and relax and enjoy our time together. Unfortunately that usually means we head off to bed around 10:30-11:00 pm. It makes it pretty challenging to wake up at 5:50 am in order to get my workout in before work. Here is how the rest of my week went:

Wednesday I managed to wake up early and do my legs and back workout. This is becoming my favorite workout of the strength training days. I like it because I'm VERY good at it!! My whole body is screaming at me to stop, but I always get through it, and hobble up the stairs and stumble into the shower to start my day. Its brutal and grueling, but I love it.

Thursday was a different story =(. I actually got out of bed at 5:45, went to do my weigh in (2 more pounds down), and stood at the door arguing with myself about working out, or going back to bed. In one of my weaker points...I caved, and climbed back in bed under the warm covers for another hour. I thought all day about how I was going to make up my Kenpo workout, but I just couldn't find the time to get it done. On top of that, I missed the fit club workout to do some grocery shopping and family time. So yesterday I worked out ZERO times...I'm still kicking myself for that.

Today I woke up with a new attitude and a new determination. I got up nice and early (on what was supposed to be my rest day) and jumped, kicked, and punched my way through Kenpo X. I really pushed this morning, really wanted to make up for the fact that I had been letting my head get in the way of my progress. I feel good, and now that I'm starting the second phase of P90x tomorrow, I feel totally ready. My plan of attack...get to bed earlier, even if it means skipping my favorite TV show or cutting back on my XBOX time. I can't expect my body, or my mind to hold up over the long haul if I don't get the rest I need.

Special side note: I made one of my favorite meals last night and managed to cut out a bunch of the fat and calories by making a fuew substitutions. We had a nice big pot of chili, made with ground turkey instead of beef, vegetable juice instead of tomato soup (loads of sodium) and loads of veggies and beans. I had to add in a packet of chili seasoning, which added a bit of sodium back in, but I couldn't afford to buy the cayenne, cumin, and chili powder that the recipe called for. Never-the-less, it was great, filled me up, and best of all: TONS LEFT OVER FOR LUNCH NEXT WEEK! Keep reading people...I love hearing what you have to say about my blog!

Routine Broken Pt. 2

What was all that crap I just wrote about breaking my routine??? Well it happened again. This morning I woke up with some real soreness in my back from 2.5 hours of yard work at my mom's. Even though I have been working out for 3 weeks now, I'm just not used to that kind of manual labor anymore. Yoga was exactly what I needed today, but I was just too sore to do it in the morning. I thought about skipping it all together but I got some great advice from my big brother (he has the heart of a champion). He said "no matter what, just get it in sometime today". Well it was tough fighting the urge to forget about it today, but I finally got it in from 8:00-9:30 pm. Just finished up and I'll tell you one thing...Yoga is exaclty what my back needed today. I may have dripped sweat all over the rug (sorry babe), but it felt good. Some of the advanced moves are still out of my league, but I'm going to continue to give it my best shot and hope for improvements each week.

Food was suprisingly good over the weekend! We had 3 separate BBQs and I feel pretty good about how I ate at each one. I wasn't perfect of course, but I still got to enjoy some of my favorites (carne asada and ribs), while avoiding the things that normally do me in (liquor and chips/dips). I even enjoyed a small piece of chocolate birthday cake! Sticking with the same kind of stuff: lots of fresh fruits, salads for lunch, and yummy low fat dinners. It seems to be working so far! My work pants and belt now have trouble staying up...which is both a blessing and a curse. Its hard to buy new clothes for myself with a new baby coming in just 6 weeks, but my birthday is right around the corner so I'm going to have to spoil myself and get a few new items for my wardrobe. Thanks again for all the support and well wishes! Until next time...DO YOUR BEST AND FORGET THE REST!!

The Day That Almost Wasnt...

Ever had one of those days when you feel like doing ABSOLUTELY nothing? Today was definately one of those day. The morning started out a little different, I decided to sleep in again. I think that was my first mistake. I'm learning that breaking my routine makes it hard for me to stay motivated throughout the day. When I workout first thing in the morning, It gets the day off to a great start and I feel like I can take on anything the day may hand me. On days like today, I just kept putting my workout off and saying "I'll do it later". Well as we all know, things get in the way and "I'll do it later" turned into "I'll make it up later in the week". Then a little voice in my head said "You will be so mad at yourself if you skip this workout". Ok so in reality this voice didn't come from my head, but from my #1 supporter and coach, my wife Brittani! I can safely say that without her, I would have skipped this workout, and she was right...I would have been pissed at myself. Once again, she saved the day, and kept me focused on the ultimate goal!

Once the workout began, I completely forgot that I didn't want to start, and focused on giving my absolute best during the whole hour of Plyo X. It kicked my butt, more so than previous weeks. I don't know if it was the sleeping in, but I seemed to be moving slower than normal. I pushed through the brick wall of doubt in my own mind, and finished up strong. I need to just stick with my normal routine, because no matter how tired I am in the morning, I always feel so good after the workout. I am such a creature of habit, and this is really the best thing for me. If anyone is up at 5:45 in the morning...just know that I'm right there with you, sweating my butt off, and melting the pounds away!

On a different note, I had a really good day with my nutrition. Breakfast was a bowl of frosted mini wheats with some sliced strawberries. My morning snack was a nutrigrain bar (didn't feel like making something). Lunch was awesome. I made great salad of some grilled chicken, sliced peaches and grapes, and some crispy onion strings with fat free ranch dressing. It was absolutely delicious. Followed that up with a yogurt and mixed nuts for my afternoon snack. We ate dinner out...but it was actually really a better choice then we probably could have made at home. We ate at "FlameBroiler", a newish asian place in murrieta. I had a bowl with half chicken, half steak, brown rice, and some steamed veggies. It was awesome, low fat, and just about the perfect amount of calories that I'm supposed to have. Looking forward to another fantastic day tomorrow! KEEP PUSHING PLAY!!!

Push Up or Shut Up

Man-O-Man...what a day today was! It was so nice to sleep in a little bit this morning before we woke up and got going with our day. Slept in until about 8:30, which is a full 2.5 hours later then I normally get to. I decided I had earned the morning off, since I have been working my butt off for the last 2 weeks at 6 am to drop this weight. Yesterday was my day off, so I stretched a little and played some golf. Had a great day, and only drank 2 beers out on the course, which is a huge improvement from years past. I did work hard today, just a little later then normal.

Today was the beginning of week 3, which is the last week in phase 1 of P90X before the recovery week. I am really going to BRING IT this week, so I feel like I've really earned the recovery time. So today was Chest/Back, third time doing this workout, and by far the hardest workout so far. Each week, my one goal when I begin a workout is to improve over the previous week's results. I know that if I can continue to improve, that the pounds will fall off and I'll be in the shape I want in no time. I really pushed myself to my limit today, to the point where i collapsed a few times during my pushup sets and just wanted to lay there on the floor. I had Brittani recording my workouts for me, so she provided a little extra encouragement for me when I wanted to give in. Want to know the final results? Well in my C/B workout last week I did a total of 74 pushups (4-5 variations). Today, with the help of my beautiful wife cheering me on, I cranked out an amazing 97 PUSHUPS! This is one of those moments when I feel extremely proud of myself. I was totally exhausted after working out this afternoon, but this made it totally worth it! Exactly what I need to keep my head in the right place!

Double Workout Thursday!

Thursdays are usually real tough days for me! First thing in the morning was Kenpo, 1 full hour of punching, kicking, blocking, and sweating. Its my favorite P90X workout by far. Yesterday was kinda rough. I woke up in the morning and felt a little twinge in my knee as I was getting ready for my workout. I decided to push through, and I figured it would go away as I started to warm up and stretch my body before the workout. It did! About halfway through the workout though, I slipped (on some sweat on the wooden floor) and in trying to catch myself, I tweaked the knee again. Not enough to really stop me, but enough to be annoying for the rest of the day. It feels better now, just one of those things that happen when you get your body moving after years of sedentary lifestyle.

Last night was a bit of a change of pace from the normal fit club workout. The church where we meet up to workout was hosting a graduation last night, so we had to work outside. It was fun, but man was it windy and cold!!! Started off by "power walking" in a huge loop, that by my guess was about 1.5 miles, though I could be way off since I have no experience power walking. It was a little frustrating, because although I was moving as fast as I could go, I started falling behind the rest of the group within the first 5 minutes. Thankfully Mindie stayed behind and walked with me, or I probably would have really slowed down and gotten discouraged. The group kept pulling away in front of us, and no matter how I tried, I just couldn't keep up. By the time we finished, they were out of sight and someone had to come back and show us where the rest of the group went. We finished up the workout with some squats, a whole bunch of stairs, and waaaaaaaaaay more lunges than anyone should do at one time. Needless to say, after Kenpo in the morning, and this workout in the afternoon, my legs were dead. Made for a good night sleep though!!!

I wanted to extend my thanks to everyone who reads and comments to me throughout the day. It means a lot and helps keep me going!

Legs and Back: What a "Soup"er workout!

Cheesy title??? Maybe, but I'm trying to stay creative! Its not easy coming up with clever titles to my daily blogs. This one in particular I has me very excited. I KILLED it this morning during my legs and back workout! As I said before, legs are definately one of the strong points on my body (good genes) and today they definately showed up to party! Now lets all be totally honest...NOBODY LOOKS FORWARD TO LEG DAY. I mean nobody. If you say you love working legs, you are a big, fat liar. The thing about working legs is that a GREAT leg workout can totally ruin your entire day, AND YOU'RE HAPPY ABOUT IT! I know that after over 100 lunges on each leg, combined with single leg wall sits (couldn't do those last week =), and I don't know how many different types of squats, my legs were wrecked for the whole day. I was beat! My legs were wobbly as I walked up the stairs and I almost fell flat on my face trying to get into the shower. Don't ask me how I made it, but I survived the day and feel great about it! The best part...I almost didn't make it out of bed this morning. I'm so glad I did, cus I feel a huge sense of accomplishment knowing I got out of my own head and KEPT PUSHING PLAY!

Now for the best part of today's blog. Here is the recipe for the minestrone soup I made 2 nights ago for dinner. Its packed full of goodness! Tons of veggies (fully customizable of course), virtually fat free, and is absolutely delicious. While we're on the subject of food, thanks to everyone for the snack suggestions. I'm looking forward to trying some of your favorites, and maybe even posting a few of my own in the future. Here's the soup recipe, if you make it, let me know how you like it!







Minestrone Soup


8 cups low sodium V-8
1 yellow onion (chopped)
4 yukon gold or red potatoes (diced in 1 inch pieces)
2 carrots (diced)
4 stalks of celery (diced)
1 green bell pepper (diced)
1 cup fresh green beans (chopped to bite size pieces)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 can (16 oz.) fire roasted tomatoes
1 can (16 oz.) whole kernel corn
1 can(you get the idea) dark red kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans
8 oz. whole wheat pasta (i used rotini)
1 handful chopped italian parsley
1 handful chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Prep: Heat oil in large stock pot. When oil is hot, add garlic, onions, carrots, bell pepper, celery, and green beans and salt and pepper. Saute for 3-4 minutes, then add potatoes (with more salt and pepper). Continue saute for another 3-4 minutes. Add V-8, cover and bring to a low boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then add remaining canned ingredients, along with a little more salt and pepper. Cook the pasta in a separate pot until pasta is "al dente" (or slightly firm still). Add pasta to pot and continue simmer for another 10 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through. Right before serving, stir in fresh herbs and ENJOY!!!

P90X ruined my golf swing

Yeah thats right, I said RUINED! You see, I'm much more flexible now than I was just 2 weeks ago, which means the timing on my swing is completely different. Now, I have to completely re-learn how to swing a golf club. Don't get me wrong, I love the increased flexibility from all the stretching and dare I say...yoga. I'm not complaining though, I feel so great after only 11 days of working out that I can deal with a few errant golf shots.

I never thought I would say this, but I really look forward to 5:50 am, when I crawl out of bed and make my way downstairs to work out. I have a huge sense of accomplishment knowing that I have sweat my butt off before many people are even awake. The last 2 days have been great! Yesterday I really pushed myself and had a great Arms and Shoulders workout in the morning. I followed it up by making a big pot of minestrone soup for dinner. The soup was amazing, and there's so much left over that I'll be eating it for lunch over the next few days. This morning...another crack at yoga. I must say, as much as I wanted to hate it and get frustrated and quit, I really did improve in just 1 week. There are still many postures and poses that I can't do yet, but I'm getting there. I know that if I just keep at it, I'll soon be able to conquer Yoga X!

Plyo X-cellent!

Now that week 2 of P90X is in full effect, I'm planning on spending more time on imporving my diet. Mindie was nice enough to let me borrow the nutrition guide that goes along with the workout program, so I've gone through that and identified a few key places where I can make further improvements to my diet. My goal of course will be to lose as much fat as possible, so I'm really trying to cut down on condiments and sugar (other than my fruits of course). The P90X diet guide calls for a man my size to be consuming around 4,000 calories a day, and still be able to lose weight. I'll be honest and say that I am finding it difficult to put that much "good food" in my body each day. I don't want to keep eating, just to get to 4k calories, especially since portion control is the #1 reason why I'm in this mess to begin with. So the 4,000 calorie diet may not be for me. Instead, I'm simply going to focus on eating as clean as I possibly can, and eating as much a normal person would. I know my calorie needs will be higher because of the intensity of my workouts, so having good healthy snacks is going to be instrumental to my success. If anyone has any healthy, fulfilling, delicous snack ideas/recipes you would like to share...PLEASE DO!

With all that being said, another great workout in the books today. I did my Plyo X this afternoon while Olivia took her nap. This workout in particular takes the intensity to a whole other level...AND I LOVE IT! It most reminds me of being a football player again. It was football that initially made me really love working out to begin with, so anything that can make me feel like a player again is a huge help. I had an audience for part of my workout...Brittani was sitting here watching bits and pieces. At one point she said "I am getting tired just listening to the way you are breathing". It was an awesome workout, and I must be doing something right. Just take a look at these pictures!!!

Week 2 begins

This morning marked the beginning of week 2 of my life changing workout habits! I had a great first week, not just because I had great results, but I really am loving the workouts and I look forward to waking up each morning to do them. So excited to get started with my second week, that I woke up at 7:30 am on a saturday morning to get moving. Chest and Back: Part Deux was a big succes in my book. I did a total of 66 REAL pushups. Now that may not seem like much for some people, but for me that was a big improvement. Last week, in my very first P90X chest and back workout, I wasn't even able to do 20 total. Last week, I had to drop down to my knees after the first set of regular pushups. This morning, I not only did the first set, but followed them with Military pushups, wide pushups, and decline pushups. The only thing I had to compromise on was the Diamond pushups...I have a feeling its going to be a few more weeks before I am able to do those. For the back portion of the workout, I increased the resistance of my bands for the pullup exercises, and was able to do more reps for the rowing exercises. I also found that in just one week, my cardiovascular endurance is better. I didn't find myself breathing like a fat guy this time, I had much more control and wasn't gasping or getting lightheaded. Plyo X tomorrow should be a good test for just how much I've been able to improve my cardio endurance.

Off to the park today with the family! I'm leaning towards a video blog once or twice a month, just to mix it up a little. Bye for now!

My little sweetie giving me kisses for a job well done!

Day 5 & 6

Day 5

This was a tough one. Started off yesterday morning with a great legs and back workout. I say great, but what I really mean is TERRIBLE! I was a trainer for 5 years, and I can say that outside of 10x10 sets of volume squats, nothing else comes close to this leg workout. The back exercises were a welcome "break", if you want to call it that. Lots of different kinds of lunges, squats, and the devil's favorite exercise...WALL SITS! I was toast afterwards...barely made it upstairs. The worst part, Tony Horton (the guy leading the P90X workouts) is laughing and smiling the whole time.

Day 6

Woke up this morning and felt like someone had been punching me in the butt for 8 straight hours. I consider my legs one of my strongest body parts, and my actual legs aren't sore, just tired. This morning's workout was Kenpo X. Kenpo is kickboxing, and its high tempo and a lot of fun. I've really been looking forward to this workout since I started P90X. I think next time, I'm going to count the total number of punches, kicks, and blocks done. It has to be close to 500 of each, if not more. I almost fell on my butt twice during the workout, not because I lost my balance or anything, but for another reason. Let me give one piece of advice to anyone who is planning on doing P90X anytime in the future...DON'T DO KENPO X ON A RUG SITTING ON A WOODEN FLOOR. Each time I kicked, or punched, or leaned to the side, or blocked, the whole rug would slide along the floor. Eventually I moved the run and didn't have anymore near accidents. That would have been embarassing...yelling up at Brittani while she and Olivia are fast asleep because I fell on my butt. Maybe I need to get a "Life Alert" bracelet to wear while I workout instead of a heart monitor! Finished off the night with another great, fun workout with the Sunridge Fit Club. Much smaller group this time, but its so great being active and working hard with a whole group of people who are so positive and motivating.

And finally...the moment of truth. Last week, first thing thursday morning, I woke up and weighed myself. I weighed in at 303 lbs. This morning, I did my first weekly weigh in, and I was a little nervous. I didnt make the right choice a few times during the past week, but i hoped that the changes I had started to make would pay off with some quick results. In my mind, I pictured a number around 298. I was totally shocked when I stepped on the scale and it said 293! I LOST 10 LBS IN ONE WEEK!! Talk about instant gratification! I know I have such a long way to go, but this motivates me even more to keep working hard. Thanks for all your love and support. I'm well on my way to hitting my first goal of 30 lbs in 30 days!

Yoga...more like NO-ga

I don't like Yoga. Talk about a humbling experience. I'm pretty sure that I was totally unable to do about 50% of the yoga poses/moves this morning during the 90 minute P90X yoga workout. I've never been the most flexible guy, but this just made me feel about as flexible as a log. When I reach for my toes...I can only get to my knees. I don't know how people find this "theraputic" or "relaxing". It would be pretty funny to set up a video camera (maybe an idea for a future video blog) so I can see how ridiculous I look while I'm trying to touch my right toe with my left hand while reaching through left leg with my right arm and scratching my head. Ok...so I didn't actually have to do that...but some of these poses came pretty darn close. Yoga totally pushed me beyond my comfort zone, and I like that. Its always fun to try new things. I'm sure I'll get better the more I keep at it, but this starting out stuff is pretty difficult right now. I'm still pretty sore from some of the other workouts I've already done, especially in my chest and triceps. The yoga definately will help relieve some of the soreness as the days go on.

Mindie (my sister in law and beach body coach), and my brother gave me some words of encouragement today regarding my diet. They gave me the nutrition sheets that go along with the P90X workouts, so I'm going to start tracking what I eat and make sure I'm not sabatoging my workouts with garbage food. Hopefully, at my 30 day measurements, I'll have some great results to share with everyone. I'm staying motivated, and everyone is being so encouraging. I appreciate all the tips and kind words everyone is sharing. Thanks again...until next time!

Holy D.O.M.S

That's an acronym for delayed onset muscle soreness, and let me tell you...I am feeling it today! Woke up this morning at 6:15 am to get my day started with a workout. As i drop my leg over the side of the bed and go to push myself up, my left arm goes limp and i fall back down. LOL. I eventually made it out of bed, but I would have loved to be a fly on the wall to see how i did it. My chest and upper back were absolutely screaming at me...maybe even crying. All those pushups I did a few days ago really caught up with me today.

Workout was another tough one. Shoulders and Arms today, gotta get those big guns!! Despite my soreness, I was able to complete the whole workout and man was it tough. Again I found myself having to modify a few of the exercises, and check my ego at the door and drop weight when i needed to. I think the biggest thing for me right now is that I finish, which I have done with every workout so far. I don't really care how much weight I am lifting, I'm just shooting for as many reps as I can get with good form and full range of motion. I am feeling very encouraged at this point. It seems like immediately after I finish a workout, I can't wait to get started on the next one!

Trying to make some better choices in my diet too. I know all this hard work will be a great start, but I have to make the effort to improve the food that I'm putting into my body also. The main thing for me is the portion control. I have been known to eat my entire dinner, and then finish off whatever Brittani and Olivia haven't eaten from their plates. Pretty embarassing...But I have made some positive changes. Here are just a few ways I have changed things up...and you can too!

1. Lots of FRESH FRUIT!! Olivia eats it all the time, so we just buy a little more and eat it right along with her. We picked up some AMAZING strawberries at the farmer's market this weekend!
2. Normally lunch would be a sandwich on some type of big hoagie roll. Gone are the rolls (well at least from the pantry), and I've replaced them with plain old tortillas. A little romaine, grilled chicken, cheese, and some ranch dressing makes a great wrap. My recent discovery is that crispy onion string (like french's) add a great crunch and lots of yummy flavor to salads and wraps. I know its not perfect, since they are fried, but its not like I pile them up and devour a whole bag at once.
3. We made the switch to diet soda. Now I know soda in general is bad for you, but this is a huge step for me. I love Dr. Pepper and on a regular day I would drink 3-4 of them while sitting at my desk at work. The diet stuff is good, but its not the same. I am drinking maybe 2 of them a day. No sugar, no calories...much better than my previous bad habit. I also am drinking a lot more water.

I know the diet stuff isn't perfect, but its a start. If I'm being completely honest, I never want to have to give up the foods I love the most, so I'm probably never going to. I figure these little changes are going to help me get started down the right path and we'll see where I end up!

The Mother of All Workouts...Days 1 & 2

Introduction

My first introduction to P90X came a few days ago when I went to a class with my sister-in-law Mindie. The class was the first time I had exercised in about 4 months. The video we did in the class was Cardio X, just one of the workouts in the P90X library. From what I've heard its the easiest one, but it sure kicked my butt. What I loved about this particular workout was that it was completely different then any other workout video I had ever done. The best part was that I didn't find myself getting bored or every thinking about how much time was left in the workout. There were times when I wanted to sit down, but I kept on pushing and had a great time. Mindie gave me the whole P90X workout series yesterday and I got started!

Day 1

The first workout was a killer Chest and Back workout. The whole workout was a bunch of different variations of pushups and pullups. Its tough to do pullups at 304 lbs, but the awesome thing about the video is that it provides variations for every single pullup exercise if you are unable to do it. I used resistance bands, with door attachment and did every exercise with as strict form as I could. As far a pushups go...those were ugly. After the first set of standard pushups, I had to do the rest of them on my knees. I was disappointed, especially since I used to be able to crank out pushups like nobody's business. The second part of the workout was Ab Ripper X...which I failed at miserably. I just didn't have the strength in my core to do any of the exercises. Again, it was a disappointment but I am starting at square one. Needless to say, I still got a great workout and was totally exhausted afterwards.

Day 2

I woke up this morning extremely sore in my upper back and triceps. As the day wore on, I started feeling it more in the wide parts of my chest and armpits. Lucky for me, today's workout was Plyo X...THE MOTHER OF ALL P90X workouts!!! This one was a bunch of combinations of moves that completely blew my mind. Plyometrics is a way of "jump training" that is common for most athletes. Having been a trainer and coach for a few years, I was able to learn a lot about plyometrics, but this was like nothing I have ever seen before. The workout had, by my estimation, 20-25 different moves. For an hour workout, to do 2 sets of 20 different exercises is unheard of. This workout left me feeling particularly light-headed afterwards. Really made me realize how far I have to go. I haven't been this wiped out since.....EVER! Looking forward to Day 3 and whole new set of challenges.

Xs on my clothes have got to go!!

Hey Everyone! Thanks for taking the time to stop by and visit my blog. I created this blog to document my weight loss adventure. I refer to it as an adventure because I have started down this up and down path many times, only to be deterred by my own lack of focus and desire. Many of you know that I used to be a personal trainer, and a very good one at that, so its even more embarassing that I have allowed my own (un)fitness level to get drop as low as I have. I am tired of seeing the number of Xs on my clothes increasing. In fact...I'm ready to be rid of that stupid letter for good!!

We all need someone/something to help us along the way. As far as inspiration goes, I need not look any further then my own family. I am lucky enough to have a wonderful family that lovcs me just the way I am, but I know I can be a better father, husband, brother, son and uncle if I can get all this jiggly fat off my body. Years ago, my mom and sister both asked for my help in losing their weight, and I am so proud of both of them in the incredible amounts of weight they have each lost. I have been fortunate enough to see the results first hand, as they have both done such a great job sticking with it. They now serve as a HUGE inspiration for me, as I attempt to do the same.

Enter the blog. I used to preach ACCOUNTABILITY as a huge tool for my clients in their weight loss. We all need friends and family around us to keep us focused, and keep us from making porr choices that may hinder our progress. I am hoping that my friends who read this blog will be able to provide that support that I need to keep working hard. If you are looking for motivation, I hope my words can serve as a helpful bit of reading for you as you take your own path to health and wellness. P90x is my workout of choice, looking forward to challenging myself and seeing those Xs disappear. Thanks again...wish me luck!