Week 2
January 28 Weigh-In Results
Drum roll, please…
Jan 21 weight: 344.2
Jan 28 weight: 338.2
I lost exactly 6 pounds in one week. Absolutely phenomenal.
That’s Some Good Eatin’
How’d I lose 6 pounds my first week? I did it by eating three square meals a day, including a healthy breakfast, fast food or leftovers for lunch, as well as a huge southern dinner complete with meat and veggies.
With this so-called diet, I’m also able to eat out several times a week. A few things I’ve ordered includes:
* Mushroom Jack Fajitas from Chili’s (700 calories)
* Hamburgers from McDonalds (2 for lunch, 500 calories total)
* Funk Meister tacos from Moe’s Grill (2 for lunch, 420 calories total)
As you can see, this isn’t rabbit food.
Healthy Choices at Restaurants
I look up calories on everything I eat these days. I’m not going to be a number cruncher for life, that’s just not sustainable — I consider what I’m doing now to be studying.
Even with common sense on your side, it’s extremely hard to recognize good restaurant food from the bad. I was watching Oprah (at the gym, not at home) and a guest asked the question:
What’s worse, an Arby’s roast beef sandwich covered with melted cheese or an Arby’s turkey sandwich?
Most of you would guess the roast beef slathered with cheese — I did too, it seems like common sense — right? Surprisingly, the Arby’s turkey sandwich has about twice as many calories as the roast beef w/ cheddar.
All the calories are hidden in the sandwich’s bread, ready to murder you and your loved ones.
January 29
Much like many of you that are reading this and are overweight or extremely obese, I was overweight through my childhood. While I was overweight growing up, I was also always active. I played sports all the time through school or through the YMCA. The Y was a big part of my upbringing — I played both soccer and basketball for three years during middle school.
During middle school and into my first year of high school I played basketball and football after school. As I said, I was always active, I just had a typical southern diet at home.
In case you’re not sure what a typical southern diet is for a teenager:
- Breakfast: Poptarts, honey smacks cereal, biscuits, repeat
- Lunch: School cafeteria (check below) + soda
- After school: Chips, cookies, whatever processed food we had
- Dinner/Evening: Dinner w/ second helping, takeout, + 2/3 sodas.
High School
After my freshman year in high school and completing my one year of compulsory physical education, I stopped exercising. Homework became the first-thing priority after school, followed by going to work to pay for car insurance and to have spending money.
At the end of high school I was probably 40-50 pounds overweight.
After High School
I’ve always been an entrepreneur — instead of going to college after high school, I decided to create my own business. I’m a self-taught guy. I have a library card, I read newspapers, industry magazines, non-fiction books, etc — but I digress.
After staying home for a year after high school and watching my business flourish, I moved into my own apartment. This is where my lifestyle and my weight finally decided to take the plunge into the third level of hell.
After working hard through high school and not having money my entire life, I finally had some money — and, being by myself, I didn’t cook much — so, you guessed it, I went out to eat.
Love and the Marriage
I reckon when I got married I weighed about 250 or 260. I’m tall and I have an athletic build, so it’s not like I was a butterball — even though it looked like I had a couple of them in my stomach.
Advice: if you don’t want to gain weight, don’t get married. Okay, I don’t actually suggest that, but it’s true.
After joining a new family, moving into a house with a new person, and realizing my life is now intertwined with someone else, my weight was the least of my concerns — and it stayed that way until last July.
In July of 2008, on my two-year wedding anniversary, I decided to enter into my 10th or so diet regimen (I wonder if I get a prize for my 10th try?).
Of course, that failed within a few days. It always does — except this time. I swear to God it won’t this time.
I’ve been on my new diet/exercise lifestyle for two weeks. That’s the longest I’ve ever made it before. And while I’m still obese for now, you sure as hell can’t call me sedentary.
My Mind’s on the Music
Why workout to music? It distracts you from all the pain while on the treadmill.
I need really loud and really fast music when I workout. What I don’t want to listen to though:
- Ladies gossiping on the treadmills
- 35-year old drama queen on her cell phone
- 80’s and 90’s pop music being played on the PA system
- The 17-year old 120-pounders grunting with every repetition
- Court shows being watched by my fellow cardio colleagues
Did I mention I need really loud music to listen to when I workout? It’s an absolute must.
January 30
I was in the gym yesterday and I saw a “newbie” come in. We get a new one every other day.
This lady comes in, probably 400 pounds or so; she looks extremely uncomfortable. I know the feeling, it’s not about being nervous or afraid on your first day at the gym, it’s about knowing that you don’t “belong” there.
She comes in, doesn’t do any stretches, and sits on the ab crunching machine. She did ab crunches, continuously, for about 10 minutes. No sets, just nonstop — then she left the gym.
Spot training so doesn’t work. You can’t focus on one body part like abs and expect a few crunches to give you a six-pack, regardless of what the late night infomercials tell you. You gotta lose that fat first, man.
Deliciously Healthy
My healthy, extremely delicious Red Lobster meal:
- Water: 0 calories
- 1 Pound crab legs: 180 calories (no butter)
- Mashed potatoes: 180 calories
- House Salad w/ a little ranch: 110 calories
470 calories — that’s some pretty good diet food.
Week 3
February 1
I’ve found going to the gym early Sunday morning is extremely peaceful, as it’s always pretty quiet. I like working out alone, not really sure why.
I did nothing but cardio; I spent 40 minutes (plus two more for cool down) on the elliptical and burned 642 calories. That’s the longest I’ve ever spent on one machine.
Best of all, I wasn’t tired when I finished. Sure, I was drenched in sweat, but my lungs and legs could handle more. When I first started going to the gym two weeks ago, I could barely do 20 minutes on a lower resistance level (currently at 7 out of 20).
My how things change…
February 2
A recent weight-related embarrassing moment occurred just over this last Christmas. My wife and I were at her parents house and my sister-in-law wanted us to play their new Wii Fit game.
I heard about all the craze over Wii Fit, so I wanted to try it out. Well, to do so you have to step onto a “balance pad,” which acts as a scale. You step on and it can generate your Mass Body Index (BMI) for you — tell you about your weight, whether it’s healthy for your size, etc.
I should have ran away, but I didn’t. I stepped onto the scale, stood for about 10 seconds, then this huge error message appeared across their television and, worst of all, line of sight:
Sorry, you weigh too much to play this game.
Fast forward to this morning. I’m in my office planning my wife and I’s last Valentine’s Day alone together — our baby will be here on or around March 22, so I wanted to make this one pretty special.
I decided to look up the weight limit to play Wii Fit — 330. Know what that means? In late December my weight stopped me from doing something I really wanted to do — and only about six weeks later, that won’t be the case.
February 4 Weigh-In Results
It’s been two weeks since I started weighing myself. The results from this week were just as phenomenal as the first.
Jan 21 weight: 344.2
Jan 28 weight: 338.2
Feb 04 weight: 333.0
I lost 5.2 pounds in the past week! I’m so happy with myself, even considering my poor food choices while watching the Superbowl (cheeseburger and fries, anyone?).
I can start to see a slight difference. My arms seem skinnier, as does my face. It’s hard to tell if my stomach is shrinking, it’s so big to begin with.
February 5
On Tuesday, I wore clothing that was less than perfect-fitting to the gym. Without giving out too much information, my thighs were rubbing together while I was doing elliptical and I formed a severe welt on my left thigh.
It was hard to walk Wednesday without aggravating the welt and causing a lot of pain, let alone exercise. But, determined as I was, I hobbled into the gym, placed myself on the elliptical, and typed in 45 minutes into the machine as my duration instead of the usual 40.
These are the kinds of days people quit their gym routine. “Oh, I’m too tired,” or “Oh, I don’t feel well” — then they go home, relax, and go, “Wow, it’s a lot nicer not having to spend the time to go workout at the gym.”
That’s not for me. Not this time.
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Are you changing your lifestyle? If so, tell us about your successes and setbacks so far.
