12-2-12

First part of my goal is down as of this weekend. I have made it to 20 lbs lost. That is a pretty good feeling know that I have met one of my goals.

     Welp, I am dumb, I deleted the pictures that I did have here.. Oh well, moving right along.

 

 

     So this is me, 20 lbs lighter and feeling pretty good. I have been doing a lot of walk away the pounds and yoga. I have also been able to enjoy a good sauna from time to time over at the in-laws to help my muscles feel a bit better. I'll get on a bit later to add to this but I thought I would put these up so I can see if I can spot any changes.

11-25-12

     So, over the last couple of days the wife and I have been doing duel workouts. Works for me since I can't run right now. Damn IT band. It's ok though. I am still a bit upset about that IT band but I know now that I was trying to do to much too soon. When I have it feeling better I'll do some walking on the treadmill but I am going to stay away from walking til after Christmas I think. Meanwhile doing yoga and walk away the pounds I should still be able to keep losing weight. I have been doing pretty well keeping track of the calories and I have a weigh in due in the morning. Let's hope all that water I had to drink this morning it out of the system by morning. If not I may have gained a pound.
     So, like I said, tonight we did Yoga and then we did Walk Away the Pounds 2 mile. I have to be honest, the yoga that we have been doing didn't exactly get me ready for tonight. We were doing all kinds of things that we hadn't really done before. One really nice thing though is that there was some push ups and sit ups involved with the selection that we turned on. I guess there are 7 of them on the DVD and also there is a way to "matrix" a few workouts together. It has left me tired and a bit sore. Both are good things!
     The two mile walk was nice and after the yoga we did it was enough. I am thinking it's probably time to move up to the three mile walk though as I still had a little more to give after the two mile. That fact right there is pretty nice to be able to state. So, that's it then, the wife and I are going to move on to the three mile walk from here on unless we just are not feeling it.
     So it's about that time I guess. Motivation time. However, instead of pure motivation tonight I think I am just going to give myself a list to follow. While my main goal here is weight loss I need to remember that it's about an overall wellness so here goes my list.

1. Think wellness not weight loss. The way I need to look at it is that with wellness the weight loss will happen. Keep in mind why I am doing this. The wife, the kids, myself.
2. Set reasonable goals. While it would be nice to think that I can go from not doing anything to running a 5K in 9 weeks, I ended up hurting my body trying. 
3. Limit but do not eliminate. Sometimes you just need a slice or two of pizza or a burger from Mcdonalds and that is ok. Just don't fall into the trap of doing it every night and day.
4. Pace yourself. This gets back to the fact that I hurt myself already trying to take on too much too fast. When the IT band is better don't just start running again. Build to it and you will be fine.
5. Celebrate the small victories. You need to set very small goals for yourself every week. Set yourself up to succeed and not to fail.
6. Keep working out with the wife. It's good to have an accountability partner. Someone to tell you good job once and a while and someone to say, you know it's ok to stop if you need to. Let her be your voice of reason. You'll need this more and more with time.
7. Somehow, (still need to figure this one out) I need to shut off the negative self talk. I need to stop bashing on myself if something doesn't go the way that I want it to or think it should.
8. Learn to recognize how far you have come. This one can be very tough because it always seems to take a long time before you notice anything good about yourself.(me anyways) So if you get a complement from someone don't be so quick to let it go over your head. Hear what they are saying and realize that it's true.
9. This one is right up my ally. I need a theme song like Rocky had. I think it would be cool to have a song that I can listen to and it would cue my body to get ready to go. (I'll have to work on this one)
10. Think of how good it will feel when you are back in a size 34 pant. For too long you have been in a 38 knowing all to well that there is an issue there. Remember, smaller clothes sometimes cost less. That will be money that I won't mine spending.

     So, there is a list of things for me to keep in mind. I hope to hell if the need arises that I can look back on this list and say "oh, there it is right there, I am ok." 

11-19-12

     Day...whatever, I am going to start just using the date for the blog titles. I simply can't keep track of how many days I have been trying to get back in shape. Anyway, let's start off with what I have been doing. I have been hunting a lot. I have also been in a bit of pain. Ok, maybe a little more then a bit of pain. I guess the pain is coming from something called the I T band? I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with a computer but everything to do with the outside of my right hip. I am being told that it normally comes from an imbalance of upper leg muscles. Looking at my legs, my quads are very large and my hamstrings are good size but apparently not strong enough to balance out my upper legs. As a result, I have pain. The kind that almost brought tears to my eyes the other day when the wife was trying to stretch me out. It's doing a little better at this point. I can walk. It's not perfect by any means. We did yoga tonight and it was hurting some. Not just the hip area though but the lower back. I have to assume that they are connected.
     So this week is the first real challenge to my diet. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. To say I am a bit nervous is an understatement. I don't feel like I can run yet so I guess its going to be long walks on the treadmill this week. I also have more hunting to do. Deer camp is great for that. I'll be walking a lot there. Still, with this damn injury or tightness, whatever you want to call it, I just don't think I should be running. No problem. I'll just need to walk, walk, and walk some more.
     Motivation time... 

This is the third week or so of my diet and I am feeling it. I am tired and sore. All will be ok though. I know that things will feel that way until my body stops the revolt. I understand that I didn't get out of shape over night and thus will not get back into shape over night. I am not looking for a "quick fix" or anything. Put in the effort and you will be rewarded. Do not fall off the train because of the holidays!!!  This is important...  trust yourself, and if that fails, trust your wife. Being fat sucks and I am sick of it! That's why it's important. NIKE!!

Day 6 a little late..

     So last night I got a new treadmill. It looks pretty cool and I can't wait until tomorrow night when I will be running on it. Last night was good though. The wife and I did a 1 mile walk away the pounds and I started using the strength bands a little to try and help rebuild my shoulders. After that we did about 20-24 minutes of Yoga. I am still tight as hell but I know it will get better. My only problem with yoga is this. Any ladies that might stumble on this sorry, my only problem with yoga is my balls. They seem to always be in my way. I put my legs together, boom in the way, I do locust  and my balls and penis are mashed into the floor. Honestly, I know other guys do yoga..  but how?
     Anyways, Tonight is my night off from working out. Instead I get to go and play darts. It's a good game that takes an incredible about of focus. I like it.
     Motivation time.
     So far, I have lost 11 pounds and it is feeling pretty good. Keep it up Chris. You are doing exactly what you want to do. You have laid it all out on the line. You will/must succeed.



Side Note: I will say that I am hungry a lot of the time but I figure I am eating on most days about 2/3 the calories that I was so to take 1/3 away is a pretty big deal. I know it's for the better though.

Day 2.

Day 2,
     I said I wasn't going to do this everyday but here I am.  I have to do something to settle down after a workout. I may as well spend 15 minutes on the computer or so and put down my thoughts for the day and for the exercise. Today was an interesting day. My tummy was rumbling most of the day and it's simply just not happy with the idea that I want to lose weight. I look down at it and tell it tough! My belly, my rules and you will get smaller! So, I got home tonight and we had Tomato soup and that was pretty good. After, the wife and I decided on a yoga to do. Yoga for weight loss what the title of it. It was about 53 minutes long and I was able to almost keep up with it. Turns out, my old life style not only left me fat but I have lost most of my natural flexibility. I could cry about that one thing alone. It's something that I have always had pride about. Now, it's gone. I am sure I can get most of it back but with some of the various injuries I have had I don't think I will ever get it all back. It was good though. I can really find myself want to do it again. I'll work my way up to Julian someday.
     So, that was pretty much it for today. I think I'll start saying one reason why I am doing all this to myself when I post. It will be a good way for me to find some simple motivation at the click of a mouse. So, for tonight here goes.
     Remember why you are putting this strain on your body, it's for the greater good.
     For the next few months your working on yourself more then you thought you would.
     Work harder at this then you have in your life.
     Work to make the jaw drop of your most beautiful wife.
     Let your stresses out or they will come back to haunt you.
     Starting to understand this, what a break though.
     Want the wife to not just look at me with love,
     Want her to remember why she fell for me even though I was undeserving of.

     Wow..  broke out into poem there..  trust me, I will not do that one again. Still, the thoughts in there are true. I love her more today then the first day. I know that sometimes my brain makes more out of something then it should but sometimes it's not that far off. Either way it is what I am thinking. I have made myself a promise that if something pops in that I am going to bring it up with her. If it's not right or I am making too much of it I am going to have to trust her enough to trust me enough to open a dialog about it and tell me I am wrong. Low self-esteem + Fear of exclusion + Fat = a lot of things to work on. I can change. Will I get over all of these things?  I don't know. Will I work on it? You know it.

-C-