A week done well.... mostly

So I'd argue that I didn't lose much weight because I am experiencing what The Biggest Loser calls "The Week 2 Plateau." In reality, I had a rough Saturday which influenced by weight on Monday. I drank more than I wanted to, and I hate fried food. No excuses. I goofed on the diet.

On the brighter side, I found a website that has podcasts that I can spin to regularly. They have 5 videos with music and directions. They really help with the workout, and they force me to focus and therefore, I'm less bored and can go longer. I'm pretty psyched about them, and like most of them. The website is thesufferfest.com if you want to check them out for yourself.

Weekend + Eating Well = eeeeeeuuuuughhhh

Weekends are easily the worst time to try to stick to an eating plan of any sort. I do best when I have a schedule, but when the weekend came around, I stopped going along with my eating schedule. I didn't even keep track of my calorie intake today, because I woke up late, ate a very early lunch, then had 1 snack before the Eagles game. During the game I had 2 beers (one at the start of each half), then had dinner. As a side note, boo Cardinals.

This afternoon, my fiance and I made it official and signed up for the Bike MS City to Shore 2009. We signed up for the 100 mile ride. Now we've got 9 months to get ready for it... LETS RIDE!

By the start of the first weekend

I've been doing very well so far and have lost almost 5 pounds. My eating has been pretty consistent; falling between 2000 and 2500 calories... typically about 2300. I'm also spinning on the indoor trainer for at least 30 minutes, but yesterday I went for 45 minutes because my butt is starting to feel better sitting in the saddle for a longer period of time.

My fiance and I went to Performance Bike yesterday to pick up our brand new bikes. We had a credit on my membership card so we got a few accessories too. We ended up coming home with our bikes, a hand pump, a floor pump, 4 tubes, 4 water bottle cages, 3 tire levers, and a helmet... and it only cost me 30 bucks for all of the accessories.

What's left is a pair of shoes for me and some clothes... guess I need to save some money. I'm excited for it to get warm outside so we can go out and ride our new bikes!

Food is going to be a little more difficult this weekend because I'm waking up later in the afternoon so my eating schedule is a little bit thrown off. I also want to have a few beers during the Eagles game, but I wouldn't mind having one tonight too. I'm going to limit myself to 3 per week, but I'll have to budget out some calories for the beer.

GO BIRDS!

First day of the program...

Today went VERY well. I didn't work today because my client canceled our appointment, so I took advantage of the time and tried to fine tune my eating schedule. I woke up and had a 2 servings of egg beaters, two slices of toast with peanut butter, and a cup of yogurt. I was surprisingly full. I used the rest of the morning to do a little research, then made a protein shake which was DELICIOUS. I was shocked at how good it tasted. I didn't add any sugar to it at all, and added some protein powder that, in milk, is disgusting. When I was done with the shake, I hopped on the bike and did a half hour spin. I could have done more, probably, but the TV show I was watching went to commercial and I realized how bored I was... and my butt hurt. I ate very well for the rest of the day and ended within my calorie goal of 2000-2500 calories.

When I weighed myself this morning, I was a little disappointed to see 269.5lbs, even though I expected it to be there, I'm also disgusted at how far I let myself go. I'm very fortunate to have such a loving and supporting fiance. She doesn't mind listening to my list of food, how many calories I'm eating, and how much I'm exercising. She encourages me every step. I hope the rest of the week goes this well.

Training Starts

I found out over the weekend that my mom and step-dad are both very interested in getting healthy and losing weight as well. So today, my step-dad and I went out to get a resistance trainer, even though my bike isn't ready. We decided to hook up the old Trek I rode the City to Shore ride last summer so we could all ride on it.

Tonight, after dinner, I set up the Trek on the resistance trainer and went for a 30 minute spin. It was nice. I got sweaty and felt like I burned off some calories. I also tried to eat pretty well today, but tomorrow the real plan begins. I'm stoked.

Preparation

I got a phone call on Friday saying our bikes weren't going to be arriving for pick-up until Monday or Tuesday. Bummer. I was hoping we could pick them up today so we could look at some trainers. I really have the itch to get on my new bike and just ride... even if it is inside.

Today, my fiance went grocery shopping with me which was a big help. I decided that I was going to cook my food for lunch on Sunday and keep it in the refrigerator, then pack it the night before work. I also am planning out my whole day of eating ahead of time so I know when I'll be able to eat. That's always been part of my problem. I just "feel" hungry, then grab some food... I think I'm actually just bored. I view eating as more of a pleasurable experience than a necessity most of the time. I guess what I'm saying is that I want to eat for purpose from now on, not for pleasure.

We got lots of chicken, fruits, and veggies. I want to find some protein powder so I can make a healthy snack that I can have at work. I don't get a break to eat a snack from 9:00am until 1:30pm. That's too long to go without food. I'm not usually feeling too hungry by the time I get to eat lunch, but it catches up with me later in the day. I'm hoping to stay on top of the feelings of hunger instead of letting them creep up on me and attack later in the evening when my body doesn't have the time to burn calories anymore. I'm also planning on working out after work every day (except maybe Thursday... I have two night classes that night).

I'm gonna weigh myself in on Monday mornings before work and then post it on the side bar with the date. Hopefully that number slowly gets smaller and smaller. I will really enjoy seeing my progress every week. I'm gonna kick the food and exercise program into high gear on Monday. I can't wait.

The Beginning

I'm 6'1" and I weight 270lbs. How'd I let that happen.... again? Growing up, I was never skinny. I weighed over 300lbs in high school. I got myself down to 207 at my lightest by joining the wrestling team in my junior year. I kept my weight down around 215-225 for the longest time. I felt great about myself. I went off to college and I was very aware of what I ate and made sure to work out frequently. When I turned 21 at the beginning of my junior year in college, the drinking began. It started slowly. I didn't like beer, so I stuck to hard liquor, but that didn't last long. Once the beer began, the empty calories starting pouring into my body once again. I also stopped going to the gym. Two big mistakes. Before I knew it, I had ballooned up to 250lbs.

The summer after I graduated from college, my step-dad mentioned to me that we should do the BikeMS City to Shore ride. He got me excited to work out again. He had two hybrid bikes, and he let me barrow one to train on. I started that summer and lost a little bit of weight, but I knew I was getting healthier. My friend and I started training together for the ride. It was wonderful. I hadn't been on a bike in YEARS, probably since middle school. When I first started, I was so afraid to get on the bike because I was afraid I would blow the tires out due to my weight. I didn't. My friend and I started riding a few times a week and rode a path from Valley Forge to Manayunk on occasion, which was straight and flat; ideal for a big boy. By the end of the summer, I had started working, and had less time to ride, but my friend and I still did short rides after work before it got dark. I had a hard time finding time to ride on the weekends because I wanted to visit my girlfriend. We don't get to see each other much, because we're both in graduate school and we live an hour train ride apart.

When the BikeMS City to Shore ride came, I felt prepared. Unfortunately, due to health complications, my step-dad could not make the 75 mile trip with us, but my mom and him, and my beautiful girlfriend met us at the end of the five and a half hour ride. Once the ride was over, I had nothing to train for anymore, so I stopped riding, and started drinking again... more heavily and frequently than I had. My girlfriend told me recently that I traded my bike in for beer, and when I thought about it, she was right. I rationalized it by saying it was too cold to ride, and my friend who did the ride with me and I share a passion for good beer. We drink together. It's a bonding thing... something to do.

My girlfriend told me after the BikeMS City to Shore ride that she wanted to do it with us next year. I was so excited. She knows exactly how to motivate me. I love playing sports with her. It's exciting and it's great for our relationship, and my health. She's already in great shape and I'm sure I look like quite a load standing next to her. Last weekend, we went to Performance Bike and both of us bought brand new bikes. She's going to be riding a K2 Mach 1.0 and I'll be on a K2 Mod 3.0. We got great deals and decided we would train to do the century ride in the BikeMS City to Shore 2009 bike ride.

I want to use this blog to track my/our progress in training and in my weight loss. This isn't a New Years Resolution. Nobody follows through with that crap. This is serious. I'm out of shape, overweight, and a little scared that I'm going to get seriously sick some day and leave (as of January 5th, 2009) my new fiance without a man to take care of her. I'm going to use fitday.com to track my food intake as regularly and accurately as I can, and update here with any interesting information about my journey with weight loss and training, hopefully motivating others to get active and get healthy.