100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #24

I have had 2 packages each of the fat-free Oscar Meyer bologna and hot-dogs in the fridge for almost a week now. This is verrrry unusual for me. If you look in my fitday logs from a couple of weeks ago, you will notice that these were a staple of my diet. There was nothing better than grabbing 2 slices of the 'bologna' for a quick 50 calorie pickmeup of goodness. And the hotdogs....wouldn't be unusual to nuke 4 of them and eat them on a fork for a 160 calorie bulk-fest. Now since I have decided to take a closer look at sodium, I've had to drop the hammer on these bad boys. 475 milligrams apiece for the hotdogs!!!. Eating 4 of them exceeds the new recommended 1,500 milligrams per day...just for that one food!!! Its been hard. They stare me in the face every time I open the door. And I know that the longer they sit there, the more likely I am to break into them. A 'normal' person would say, ya know...you could just eat one or two instead of an entire 12 slices per day! If I were 'normal', I wouldn't be in this predicament. Although, one of the things I've noticed about this journal is how 'normal' I am becoming. 'Normal' sized portions of food. A regular routine for workouts, meals and even laundry (have to be organized if you are doing multiple workouts per day, plus showering/changing/etc). Heck...I'm even starting to fit in 'normal' sized clothes.
Huh.

23% done and feeling good.

Super No More

I have dropped the last and final 'Super' from my BMI label. From Super-Super-Morbidly Obese...to Super-Morbidly Obese...to today, where I can stand up proudly and say, "I am Morbidly Obese!"

Sure, there is Severely Obese and just regular Obese (not to mention Overweight) left to go, but to lose that stigma of the Super label makes me stand a little taller. A little prouder. I'll suck in my ample gut just a little more with the knowledge that I've left my exclusive club and joined the ranks of between 3 and 8 million Americans who are card-carrying Morbidly Obese.

Rock on!

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #23

Didn't get 2 workouts in yesterday (because of work issues), and believe it or not, mentally and physically, I craved it. Bizarre. I need to buy a new belt. I've punched new holes in the one I have until its just silly. Darn thing is gonna loop around me twice soon!. To that point, even if the belt fits...using it to cinch pants that are 8-10 sizes too big isn't a pretty sight. Before I start tucking my shirt in, I'm going to have to deal with that also. Everyone says "that's the best kind of problem to have!"....but they're not paying for new pants!
Food situation was rough last night. Wife made baby-back ribs...(no sauce). Wasn't until we looked up calorie information that we found just how high in calories they are....40 grams of fat (plus 40 grams of protein) per serving!! Instead I had a chicken breast...but I sure could smell those ribs!!


22% done and feeling good!

Food is Fuel.....

Nobody looks forward to going to the gas station. Nobody says "Oh boy!, I'm going to stop and top off the tank!". Food is fuel. I don't need to look forward to meal-time...it's just a necessary task. Food is fuel. I need nutrients...I need vitamins...I need minerals.....I need the appropriate combinations of fat, carbs and protein. Food is fuel. I don't need 'flavors' of gasoline...I don't need high-octane. My body runs fine on 87 octane regular-unleaded. Food is fuel. Same station, same octane, same pump every week.....no need to 'mix it up', because my car/body won't care. Food is fuel. I don't need to get pleasure from my 'fuel'.....I need a high-energy, vitamin fortified sludge that has everything a human machine needs. I can get pleasure from other places...other activities. Food is fuel.

*sigh*. The car doesn't care...but I guess the driver does.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #22 (Weigh-in)

Third official weigh-in

Waist	57.5
Hips	51
Neck	17
Chest	50
Forearm	14
Bicep	19
Calf	21
Wrist	8.25
Thigh	30
Body Fat %	36.70% (-0.5 %, -2.5% overall)
Weight	372(- 8 pounds, -23 pounds overall)

Food/Exercise tracking can be found at: Fitday

21% done and feeling good.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #21

I haven't tucked a shirt in (except at an occasional wedding with a jacket over it) in over 10 years. I'm convinced that people don't really know how big you are if they can't see your belly in conjunction with your ass simultaneously. I think the time is coming, however to make the leap. I think I'll make the 350 pound mark (25 pounds from now) Tuck In My Shirt Week. Each day of the week, I will wear a tucked in shirt. We'll see how it goes. I have nothing lined up today for exercise...gonna wing it. Maybe I can scrape up a racquetball later in the day. I lost horribly to my brother-in-law yesterday (who was avenging his two losses to me the week before). I broke down and bought some half-salt...used very sparingly on some eggs and such. I've avoided like the plague my fat free bologna and hotdogs trying to keep the sodium intake at bay for the weekend. Doing fine with soda...only one (big one at movie) yesterday...none so far today. Big weigh-in in the morning...I'm praying for 6 pounds, hoping for 7 and dreaming about 10.

20% done and feeling good!

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #20

First full day without added salt. Wow. By the end of the day, I could TASTE the saltiness of some of the processed foods that have been a staple of mine for the past months. I bought some Morton's salt substitute (that uses potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride)....ick. Horrible metallic taste...actually couldn't use it. I saw some things online about some that are potassium based that DON'T have that metallic tinge, but I can only order them online. I think I'll wait and tough it out a few more days before trying that route. The recommendations for daily sodium intake have been modified recently (by the Institute of Medicine) to only 1500 mg. I decided to see what was in some of the foods I regularly eat. Those 98% fat free hot dogs...of which I often eat 4 in a single sitting.....475 mg EACH!! Sheesh. I'll estimate 2000-3000 mg from just the foods themselves....PLUS another 4000 to 5000 mg in ADDITIONAL salt from that dreaded shaker (I sometimes actually salt each individual cucumber slice!) That can't be good. Well...I don't know if I'll be making any real dietary changes during this 100 day phase, but I will most definitely be more aware of it when I select and taste foods.

On another note, the scale continues to move again finally....gonna make a big push this weekend with racquetball, weights, etc and close the gap on those 7 needed pounds.

19% done and feeling good.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #19

Coming up on 20% of the way to my goal! Those first few percent are the hardest...when the finish line seems so far away. 20% seems like a hefty hunk to me....
First full day yesterday without additional salt. I made some chicken breast....added lemon pepper to some (never tried before). Not bad. the rest I had plain. It was edible. Green pepper also without salt....no big deal. I'll have to look into other non-sodium based spices and see what matches my limited palette. Scale moved a little this morning. I'm not stressing too much...I've seen changes of 3-4 pounds in just a few hours before....I have 3 full days left before weigh-in.

18% done and feeling good.

Nobody said it would be easy.

Decision time. Well, I told myself that I was performing these mid-week weigh-ins to keep alert for 'bad' periods to make adjustments before it is too late. Well....time to put money where mouth is. The only thing different about this week compared to the last 2 is the fact that I have eaten a LOT of salt and a LOT of diet-Pepsi. Same calories consumed, same (or more) exercise. Now as far as I know, the only real effect these can be having is water retention. And in the greater scheme of things, water retention will 'top-out' at a certain level and really have no effect on my long-term weight loss. But....I am dreading the 'under 7-pound' week. Plus, my doctor and I had a long talk about salt (he went cold-turkey himself) and its effects on blood pressure and other things. Time for an experiment. For the remainder of the week, I will not add salt to any food. I will NOT attempt to steer myself away from foods that already have lots of salt...but I will not add more (for which anyone who knows me will say is quite a task!). Also, I will restrict myself to 2 diet-sodas per day (and only one on weekend days). Just for this week to see if I can....and to see what effects it might have on my body. *shudder*

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #18

No scale movement since Monday's weigh-in. Frustrating. Calorie intake hasn't changed. Exercise has only INCREASED (mostly racquetball). Only thing different is the last few days I've had a lot of work stuff going on and the bulk of my evening calories have been injested just before bed (almost have to force myself to eat that last 600 calories or so). Salt usage maybe also increased. I really need to think about doing something there. I think I'm going to lay off racquetball for a while and move back to boxing, stationary bike and weights for a few days. Harder to get the calories burned, but I came close to injuring myself in the last couple of games and really want to avoid that.

17% done and feeling ok.

Other Things You Can Do in 100 Days

For me, losing 100 pounds will be a life-altering accomplishment. There are plenty of other things that could be done in 100 days that would equally change your (or somebody else's lives):

Write a novel

Draw 100 pirates

Hire 100 nurses

Achieve political redemption

Refurbish 100 computers

Run one hundred 10K races

Read the New Testament of the Bible

Create 100 self-portraits

Make 100 chairs

Kill 800,000 people

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #17

A tad of depression kicking in. Wife and child have been gone 5 days...I miss them. Lots of stress at work. I've trashed the house...must clean by Friday when wife returns. Still on track with calories/exercise....but you wouldn't think so by what the scale is saying (damn these illegal weigh-ins!) Did find some motivation in THIS http://www.pastaqueen.com/halfofme/progress.php blog. Her journey to lose 200 pounds (in 2 years) is nearing an end. Quite a transformation.

Chin up.


16% done and feeling ok.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #16

Hard day. Had to work late....they ordered me a plain chicken sandwich..showed up as chicken parmesan. Sat hungry while others ate pizza and meatball subs. Had a co-worker take pity on me and play racquetball at 8:30pm....burned off rest of remaining calories for the day (which I was glad for, because I dreaded going home and spending time in the basement on the recumbent). Gorged myself when I got home...almost found it hard to eat the remaining 700 or so calories I had left. Imagine that!

15% done and feeling good

The case of soda, water and 3 mystery pounds.

Kind of irritated. As early as Thursday/Friday it was looking like a 10 pound loss week. In fact, Friday I WAS down 10 pounds. I was sure that this was going to be a MONSTER week. Then came Sunday. While I kept the calories at 1500 and did 1000 calories of exercise....I drank a LOT of diet soda. Maybe 5 cans? And I sat around a lot. Sunday night I stepped on the scale and lo and behold...I was only down maybe 6 pounds. AHHHHHGGGGG. I kicked the scale, drank a large glass of water and went to bed. In the morning it had settled out at 8 pounds lost for the week. So what's the deal? There's not enough sodium in soda to cause that kind of water retention (55 grams per can?) I did eat a copious amount of salt on Sunday (on cucumbers, turkey, pork roast, fries, lettuce, etc) This morning during racquetball, my partner (and myself) noticed an unusual amount of sweat covering my shirt...another sign that there was a lot of water trying to escape. Should I give up the soda for the duration? I don't think I can do that on top of the 1500 calories per day plus exercise. You can only ask so much of a person. Hmm....maybe no soda on Sunday. Yeah...that's the ticket. I had a fantasy about limiting my 'extra' daily salt (outside of what is in the foods themselves) to just one of those little fast-food packages. That would be a hoot. *Sigh* Another reason why mid-week weighings are bad!

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #15 (Weigh-in)

Second official weigh-in

Food/Exercise tracking can be found at: Fitday

Waist	57
Hips	51.75
Neck	17.5
Chest	48.5
Forearm	14.25
Bicep	21.5
Calf	21
Wrist	8.5
Thigh	32.5
Body Fat %	37.20% (-1 %, -2% overall)
Weight	380(- 8 poudns, -15 pounds overall)

14% done and feeling good.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #14

Next weigh-in tomorrow. Hoping for big numbers. Felt like a lot more exercise this week....really due to coming to terms with that recumbent bike I have in the basement. Breaking up a 20 minute workout into 3 minute intervals helps. Lots of racquetball as well...started playing WITHOUT the elbow strap (for tennis elbow). I found that my arm hurts MORE while playing with it on than without it. Hunger was the big issue this week for me....kept it under control with snacks/gum...stayed the course on 1500 calories so far. Added a few new foods that helped also. Wife found a low-sugar Smuckers grape jelly that I really like. For 120 calories, I can have 2 pieces of toast with jelly....yum! Also did a lot of turkey breast...and more chocolate than in days past. Sometimes I guess I'm willing to forgo the volume of lower calorie foods for the taste of a bit of chocolate. Really interested in what tomorrow's measurements and weighing shows.

13% done and feeling good!

At the Movies

Went to the movies today. In the past, going to the movies was a risky thing. Theater chairs aren't designed for larger people, and more than once found myself trying to wedge into a chair that actually cut off the circulation in my legs. Found myself hoping and praying that the movies I wanted to see were showing the 'luxury' theater (with wider seats) so I could go. It was a real pleasure to be able to find the movie I wanted, at the time I wanted...with no worry about what theater it was in. Life sure is different for the not-as-fat.
Didn't have the time (or supplies) to cut up some cucumbers or green peppers to sneak in...not even any gum. Uh oh. Bought a large diet soda at the concession stand....and a big bag of M&Ms. Counted out 33 of the little suckers (about 112 calories) and immediately tossed the rest of the bag away. Ate 10 of them towards the beginning of the movie....13 in the middle and the last 10 towards the end. Am I the poster-child of self-control, or what? Ahhh...but 3 hours later I can still smell the popcorn....and the nachos...and the hot-dogs....and the pretzels....

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #13

Another weekend....dangerous time for me. Even more so because the wife and child are away for the weekend. Must keep self occupied. Will probably go see a movie (bringing green-peppers and cucumbers with me) and the go to work for a while. Maybe scrounge up a racquetball game with the brother-in-law. The key is to avoid being at home with nothing to do.

12% done and feeling good.

DANGER: Hunger

I haven't felt hunger and hunger-pains in over 12 years. It's a nasty feeling. Started a couple of days ago...at night or early morning. I'm smart enough to do something about it (eat a banana or some nuts), but it's not a good sign. Could easily trip my body into starvation mode where my metabolism will slow down....counteracting all the work I am doing. In the greater scheme of things, that body reflex won't stand up to the restricted calories and increased exercise for long...but it could easily derail me for a week or two. Part of it is because I've slowly been shifting my calories earlier in the day (as part of the plan) but my body is SO used to getting a lot of calories at night (tv watching, snacking, etc). I really never understood the 'I am so starving!' comments before this week that other people made. To that point, I don't think my eating (overeating) ever had ANYTHING to do with hunger. I don't remember once sitting down in the last 10 years and eating copious amounts of food because I was actually hungry. At some point along this journey (maybe my third phase), I'll have to address the psychological issues at work and the root causes of why I gain pleasure (or avoid pain) from eating. But for now, keep the eyes on the prize...100 pound in 100 days!

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #12

'illegal' weighings are yielding EXCELLENT results. You might ask why I am breaking one of my 'pillar' rules by not waiting until Monday...and I have an answer for you. I don't have a lot of leeway (at least in the first few weeks) with this. If I come up a pound short this week, it will be nearly impossible 'catch up' . To catch up even a single pound in a week would take an additional 500 calories burned per day. That might kill me. God forbid it was 2 pounds!. So, if I can track progress, I can adjust a bit mid week before it's too late.

So...thats my rationale for mid-week weighings.....



11% done and feeling good.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #11

10% in...so far so good. Was a struggle to work out this morning (racquetball partner canceled on me so I stayed at home and did a stationary bike workout). Boxing hasn't felt 'right' the past couple of days, so I have avoided it. Maybe this weekend I'll get back into it. Really need to stick with the plan and get moving with the strength training. My equipment at home is just so crappy (shaky/skinny bench, single dumbell, etc) that I get annoyed more than I get a good workout. The gym at the office is better...just have to get a fixed schedule for it and track my sets/reps properly.

10% done and feeling GOOD!

Before and After Part II

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #10

Heck of a morning. 4 degrees (feels like -6). Brrrrr.
Pillar regarding 7 hours sleep has been in jeopardy this week...got 6.5 hours a couple nights already. Must either get home earlier or wake up later. Body needs rest. Soreness has diminished somewhat. I take Aleve every so often just to prevent it, but I've noticed my body getting used to the additional exercise. I guess my if body got used to hauling around 300 extra pounds, it could get used to anything.

9% done and feeling good.

The Buffet Challenge

Heck of a challenge to the 'pillars' of the plan last night: "I will not eat anything where I do not know the exact caloric makeup". Stonefire Pizza Co. It's sorta of a Chuck-e-Cheeze on steroids with a full casino-style buffet (pizza, pastas, Chinese, salad, deserts). And....I wasn't just with the family...was with friends as well. I had almost 600 calories remaining when we showed up there. There was simply no non-salad buffet items that met my criteria (except maybe white rice...and for 200 calories per serving, I wasn't touching that). So, I stuck with cucumbers, green peppers and iceberg lettuce. 3 servings of it. Plus diet-pepsi. It was hard. Then one of the other pillars was in jeopardy: "I will not eat off my son's plate". The rest of the table (including son) went back up to the buffet, leaving my son's plate with 3 crispy, golden brown, beckoning chicken nuggets. Surely just one nibble surely wouldn't be missed.....

I didn't do it. Got home a few hours later and gorged on roast beef, fat free bologna, Skinny Cow ice cream and pudding (fitday logs).

1,459 calories, baby! *whew*

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #9

Good exercise day yesterday...I pushed the recumbent bike to 20 minutes (in 3 minute sprints). Co-worker lent me some 12 ounce boxing gloves....nice. Tapped the bag a little bit last night but was not really into it. Weights and racquetball this morning....everything is hunky-dory. Arm is much better.

8% done and feeling good.

Only 10 Pounds until I'm not 'Super' any more!

If I lose 10 more pounds, I join the ever expanding (pardon the pun) ranks of 30 million Morbidly Obese people!!.
Currently I am listed as Super Morbidly Obese. Ahh yes, I remember the day when I dropped from the ranks of Super Super Morbidly obese (yes, they have a category for that) to just Super Morbidly Obese...that was a day to remember.

Here's a calculator and chart for your edification:

http://www.johnhustedmd.com/bmi.htm

Here...take my car keys and drive....

Scary words for me to hear. Not because I am a bad driver (I guess I am, but that's not it) but because I fear not fitting behind the wheel of someone elses car. I actually had to shop around years ago (1998?) to find a car that I fit in comfortably. My Dodge Intrepid is roomy enough, but for the last 8 years I've had the steering wheel in my belly as I drove. I actually had to either pull my shirt up or wear a jacket to ensure that the steering wheel didn't rub against my belly or thighs and make black marks on shirt/pants on my way to work. I actually considered buying a smaller steering wheel for my wife's car which we like to take on long trips so that I could help with the driving. Lately, however, I have a good 2 inch gap between me and the wheel. Yesterday a friend asked me to drive his car (he wanted to ride with another guy) and I almost balked. Instead, I poured myself into his Isuzu Rodeo...and guess what? I had room to spare!

Even better...I've been used to people leaving the front-passanger seat open for me whenever a group of us go out for lunch or whatever. Lately, I've been climbing in the back (much to their shock).....plenty of room now.

Life is good.

Blood/Urinalysis Test Results

Apparently got them in mail on Saturday...didn't find them until today.

Blood Pressure: 140/90 (hypertension runs in the family)
Cholesterol: 192
HDL: 31
LDL: 144
Triglyceride: 87
Blood Sugar: 98 (fasting test)
Blood count, metabolic panel, thyroid test and urinalysis were all "acceptable".

Good reference site for interpreting the results can be found here:
http://www.healthandage.com/Home/gid2=2350

All in all, not horrible for a 400 pound guy. He expects the LDL to decrease with further weight loss/exercise so no medication. He wants to test me again in a year.

I might drop him a line asking for my test results from 2004 when I was 500+ pounds....

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #8 (Weigh-in)

First official weigh-in

Food/Exercise tracking can be found at: Fitday

Waist	58
Hips	52.5
Neck	17
Chest	50.5
Forearm	14.5
Bicep	20.25
Calf	21.5
Wrist	8.25
Thigh	29
Body Fat %	38.20% (-1 %)
Weight	388 (- 7 poudns)

7% done and feeling good.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #7

First official weigh-in tomorrow morning. I worked my butt of this week. Ya know....when I think about the first 130 pounds or so, it was a relatively painless process: Reduce my calories to a more reasonable level and wait 6-8 months. Not to say that it wasn't 'hard' (considering my eating habits for the last 12 years were working against me), but compared to this past week, it was a walk in the park. 1,500 calories is a fairly low number. And so far, I've averaged almost *1200 calories burned per day in exercise.

Predictions for tommorrow? I think that my original calculations on what I had to burn and how much my basal requirements are (and my illegal mid-week weighings), I think I was pretty close to the mark. (considering the huge difference in calcs that certain sites gave me....like Fitday says that I burn 4,500 calories WITHOUT exercise which is horse-pucky) That means I expect right around 7 pounds loss on tommorrow's weigh-in. We'll see. There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip. The fact that some of those Biggest Loser folks (especially the ones that had starting weights similar to mine like Erik) did double-digit losses multiple weeks in a row is amazing. That means (probably) another 2,500 calories burned per day ABOVE AND BEYOND what I have been doing. Sheesh.

6% done and feeling good


*exercise calculations are open to dispute because accounts vary widely about calories burned per minute of specific exercise...especially when you are a larger person and the stats are extrapolated from experiments with 'fit' people.

I can be any weight I want....

Because I am such a big guy trying to balance on a small scale, it's hard to stay still enough to get a good weight reading. Depending on how I place my feet and how I lean, I can make the scale results vary by up to almost 10 pounds. So....this has burned me in the past when trying to hit a certain number, I will 'lean into it'. Then the next week I am screwed because I try to 'center' myself properly. I think for my official weigh-ins, I will average the highest and lowest that I can make the scale read Or....stand in the exact center and stand as straight as I can...head level...looking at the same point on the wall. Glance down, and that will be the weight. I wish I had thought about this before my starting weigh-in.
Ah well...over time it really doesn't matter, but these small weekly milestones hold a lot pf psychological sway.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #6

Ok...so which of the 'rules of the road' have I broken so far:

1. I will not eat anything where I do not know the exact caloric makeup. So far so good.
   
2. I will not exceed 1500 calories per day. I knowingly went over last night (by 30+ calories) by eating a head of lettuce. So far...my only real slip.
   
3. I will not eat of my son's plate. So far so good...this has been a hard one.
   
4. I will track caloric intake religiously and exactly. So far so good.
   
5. I will get a MINIMUM of 7 hours sleep per night. I think one night I had 6.5 hours...other than that, still doing ok.
   
6. I will not cause damage to my body. Body seems to be doing fine. Tennis elbow is nearly gone. I take a few advil when I remember just to keep the aches and pains at bay...but feeling pretty good.
   
7. I will not get discouraged by a bad results week. No official weigh-in yet.
   
8. I will not weigh myself mid-week. I blew this one. I actually hid the power cord for my scale but later 'found it' and have done a few weighings over the last 2 days (including this morning). *sigh* I justify it in my head that I 'need' to do this to see if the current plan is correct (calorie/exercise wise) and if I should adjust something.

5% done and feeling good.

Last bike ride of the season?

I got to ride my new bike for probably last time of the season. Was almost 41 degrees...went with a coworker at lunch. 6 miles, about 32 minutes. Averaged 11mph. (actually averaged over 12 for the entire ride until the last hill. I had to granny-gear my way slowly to the top, but I made it!) Fitday says 500 calories. Sweet. I have a 'super-size' seat that I bought for $70...worth every penny. I don't think I could/would ride with a 'regular' seat. It looks like a giant black mushroom...but it sure does feel good. I'll miss it over the next few months...(especially the calories I could burn)

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #5

Have a couple of people at work who boxed in a previous life. Gonna get a lesson or two from them so I dont cause myself injury and get the most from my heavy bag workouts. Had to force myself to eat last night. Got caught up in a work issue and by the time I got home at 9:30pm, I still had 400 calories left...forced down some chicken and such....before going downstairs to work out.

Weekend is going to be hard on the whole food/calories front. At work I am occupied for some 10 hours with other things...gonna have to keep myself busy. Better figure out some projects for the weekend BEFORE end of today.

4% done and feeling good.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #4

I have a new favorite exercise..... hitting the heavy bag. I picked one up for 40$ using Craigslist...came with heavy bag gloves (lighter, less padded than regular boxing gloves) and a chain. So I hung it from a support beam in the basement a week or two ago in prep for this phase but haven't really done anything except slap it around until last night. I don't have a lot of experience with boxing in general...picked up some things in the Marines and I like to watch it on TV, so I was a tad afraid of causing injury.

I really liked it. I mostly only do jabs and crosses....can't seem to do hooks or uppercuts without it seeming awkward or painful (will have to practice). But, I'll tell you...I spent 20 minutes on that stinking recumbant stationary bike and didn't even brake a sweat. 5 minutes at the heavy bag and I was huffing and sweating like a 30 minute racquetball game. I'm trying to figure out where the exertion comes from...is it simply the energy that goes into moving the arms...the weight of the bag pushing back...or the fact that you put your whole body into a punch. Either way, it was fun.

3% done and feeling good.

Doctor's Appt - Physical Exam

Physical exam today. Nothing extraordinary to report. Blood pressure is marginally high (140/90) which is the lowest they would consider medication for. Doctor is not recommending that because of my current weight loss program. He'll test me again in April/May and see how it is. Had a long discussion about salt and its effects on things. He went cold-turkey himself with salt... was hard. Would be SUPER hard for me. Sometimes its the only reason I tolerate certain foods...they are simply a vehicle for the salt. :)
Blood-work (had to fast for 12 hours) results will be mailed to me in a few days...if anything is wrong, doc will call me. He was excited that I had lost the 130 pounds so far....mostly because of the effects it will have on my circulation, and hence my problem leg. Otherwise he poked and prodded and found nothing of interest. I'll consider that (and my blood work results if they are fine) a clean bill of health to continue with the plan.

Hungry-Man Dinner

Picture a giant quarter-pound burger (cooked weight!) - on a super delicious roll.
(the wife then adds mushrooms and onions but feel free to add other freebies like pickles and lettuce)
Then add over HALF A POUND of awesome steak fries.
I am in heaven.
Thats over a POUND of food for only 540 calories.
YUUUUUMMMMMMMM!!!!

Supreme Lean ground beef...160 calories per 4 oz.
Village Hearth rolls....80 calories.
Oreida Steak fries....100 calories per 3 oz.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #3

Did a lot of reading about tennis-elbow...think I can kep it under control. A lot of it is related to technique...how I hit the ball. If I can adjust that properly as well as some exercises that I found, I should be ok. That's good, because racquetball saved me yesterday as far as calorie burning. I think I was sitting on only 300 calories burned until I played last night. Tried some more eliptical last night...did almost 7 minutes this time (instead of the 5 minutes in the morning). It does have a weight limit (325? 350?) which I am exceeding...and the wife noticed the machine 'stressing' with me on it when it reached levels 8-10. I may have to avoid it for a while, but it is a HECK of a workout.
Added some brisk mall-walking yesterday which was reasonably pleasant. At least I get to see things and change up pace as I want. I may add some stair climbing (we have at least a 4 level staircase in our building on the back-side that might be interesting to try for a good 20 minute deathly workout.

2% done and feeling good!

Exercise versus calories

I really think the calories portion of this phase will be the easy part. The exercise will be the hard part. This morning, I gave up on the elliptical after only 5 minutes (that thing is HARD). I then did stationary bike for another 10 minutes. I tried to get motivated and do crunches/aerobics but got nowhere. Arm hurt too much to think about weights. *sigh* Looks like I will try a 30 minute mall-walk at lunch and try again tonight with elliptical. Racquetball is easy because its fun...its a game...not just mindless plodding along waiting for your time to be up. Biking is fun because you can stop pedaling...coast speed up...do sprints...see things...go places....etc. I'll have to find some more winter activities that 'do it for me'. A drill instructor would help. I remember a few years back when I had some money, I actually put an add in the local paper for a personal 'drill instructor' to put me through the daily exercise paces...much as the trainers do on Biggest loser. Its a lot easier to motivate yourself to do pushups, monkey-puckers, squat thrusts, situps, etc when a large angry man is screaming at you.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #2

Around 7:30pm last night is when the hunger hit. I had about a 100 calories left...had a banana and some gum. Lasted until 8:30 when I fell asleep on the couch and the wife put me out of my misery by sending me to bed.
Little sore...obviously overdid on the racquetball yesterday. HAVE to find that forearm strap (for tennis elbow)....really killing me. Its just such a fun game (with the right partner) and burns so many calories that I cant avoid it. Its on the list of exercises that burn the most calories per hour: http://www.shapefit.com/cardio-exercises.html

I think I will stick to elliptical/stationary bike today for aerobic...leave the weights until tonight when my arm settles down a bit.

1% done. Feels good.

100 Pounds in 100 Days - Day #1

Food/Exercise tracking can be found at: Fitday
Measurements (inches)

Waist	58.5
Hips	52
Neck	18
Chest	51
Forearm	14.25
Bicep	22
Calf	21.5
Wrist	8
Thigh	32
Body Fat %	39.20%
Weight	395

Photo - 525 minus 130 pounds

Day minus 1 (100 pounds, 100 days)

Final stages of preparation....

Cooked 3 pounds of chicken breast....hard boiled 18 eggs.
Looked up and experimented with timer on digital camera (still have to decide where to take the pictures)
Had wife assist with starting measurments.
Prepping the downstairs 'gym' for clutter/worry free workouts.
Staging workout clothes for the week.
Will buy some vitamins today.

Day minus 2 (100 pounds, 100 days)

Getting all the laundry done so I have workout clothes and such ready for the week. Organization will be crucial.
First attempt at constructing a meal-plan for first week....not going well. I'd like to front-load calories in the morning...and ensure that there are a few scattered snacks. but I'm realistic enough to know that evenings will be tough.

I was thinking about caloric breakdown like this:

• Breakfast - 450 calories...cereal, milk, egg whites
  
• Mid-morning snack - 100 calories. Either pre-packaged 100-cal snack pack or fruit)
• Lunch 400 calories - subway oven roasted chicken-breast or plain home-cooked chicken breast , or bologna/hotdogs with some filler calories for jello, pudding, fruit, etc.
• Late day snack - 50 calories. Homemade snack pack or fruit, etc)
• Dinner - 350 calories - large salad- cucumber, greeen peppers, lettuce, chicken, etc. Misc other vegetables like backed potatos, other meats (supreme lean ground beef burgers, pork, as available)
  
• Evening snack - 150 calories low cal ice cream or pudding/whipped cream, etc
  

Food Pillars of the Plan

Not to say this is all I will eat, but the primary staples will come from here. I am all about volume.
(click to enlarge)

Day minus 3 (100 pounds, 100 days)

I need to start lowering my calories over the next three days so as not to shock my body into starvation mode on Monday. Theoretically, I made a 'lifestyle change' last April to keep my daily calories below 2000 for the rest of my life.....but I know that the lack of movement in the scale for the past few months means that I am, uh, well, not doing it. :)

Right forearm is killing me..some form of tennis elbow. Started a couple of weeks ago and has pained me on and off. Have to buy one of those arm support things to wear while I play.

Rules of the Road (100 pounds, 100 days)

Immutable, non-deferrable, carved in stone.

1. I will not eat anything where I do not know the exact caloric makeup. If I eat out, it better be someplace that provides nutritional information or I will suck on a diet coke and smile happily.
   
2. I will not exceed 1500 calories per day. I will not play the 'I worked out more today, so I can eat more calories' game. If I burn extra calories, that gets me to my goal quicker. Exercise calories are flexible and inexact, consumed calories are NOT!
3. I will not eat of my son's plate (lord knows how much damage I'm doing to his psyche as it is) or directly from a cereal box/chip bag.
   
4. I will track caloric intake religiously and exactly. Food scale will be used as appropriate. No 'eyeballing' or 'guestimating'. I've been known to underestimate (especially when I REALLY wanted something) by as much as 50%.
5. I will get a MINIMUM of 7 hours sleep per night. If I have to stay up late (work issue or other reason), I will defer wake-up time and move exercise to accommodate.
   
6. I will not cause damage to my body. Pain and soreness is normal. If I am truly injured, I will see a doctor. If I damage something, I will switch exercises/techniques until healed. There are plenty of ways to sweat.
7. I will not get discouraged by a bad results week. Between water flucuations, muscle mass buildup, magnetic field interference and solar flares, my weight loss will not be linear. Every week is simply a small battle in a larger campaign.
8. I will not weigh myself mid-week. It will just frustrate, annoy, confuse and distract me.
   

Before and After Part I

Day minus 4 (100 pounds, 100 days)

Aborted workout this morning (workout partner had back issues...went to breakfast instead)
My scale is a lying, cheating, no-good, trickster.
*sigh*
THAT is why we don't weigh ourselves every day.

Why weighing yourself every day is bad.

A friend of mine played racquetball with me yesterday.
Just before we played, he weighed himself on the gym scale at 278 pounds.
Afterwords...about 45 minutes he weighed again...272 pounds.

That doesn't even count the sweat inside his shirt/shorts/hat. Bet we could have wrung out another pound or two from that.

wow.

Day minus 5 (100 pounds, 100 days)

A little racquetball this morning...
a little biking at lunch.
Gearing up for the big start date.
Grocery run this weekend to make sure I have everything I need for next 2 weeks.

100 Pounds, 100 Days....getting organized

1. Weigh-ins. I'm torn between daily and weekly. You can learn so much more about your body through daily weigh-ins...the cycles you go through, the patterns, etc. But with somebody as big as I am, its not unusual to have a 5 pounds sway from day to day. That can be depressing. I think I'll go with weekly...every monday Morning (after sleep, before breakfast, before workout).

2. Pictures. I'll take and post weekly pictures (during weigh-in). Front facing and side facing. I'll have to figure out how the camera works. I have both still and camcorder (both digital). I'll probably wear shorts and tshirt (tucked-in).

3. Measurements. I'll take and post weekly measurements...chest, waist, hips, neck, forearm and bicep. I already have tailors tape measurer.

4. Meals. I think I'll plan out my meals for the first couple of weeks That takes a lot of pressure off trying to decide how many calories are 'left' and making choices. Going to be cereal (total or cheerios...both whole grain) for breakfast along with some protien (either chicken breast or egg whites). Lunch wil revolve around chicken (subway, breast from home, etc) along with salad stuff (cucumber, green peppers, iceberg lettuce, etc). Dinner is up in the air at the moment. Will have to discuss with the wife. Snacks will be fat-free jello and pudding, 100 calorie packs of this or that, grapes, apples, etc

5. Vitamins and Supplements. Will go with with daily multi-vitamin (men's formula) , a small portion of walnuts daily (for omega-3 fatty acids), and a couple of aspirin every morning. Alieve as necessary for pain.

6. Workouts. I think I will plan out the first couple of weeks here also. Probably alternate cardio and strength between morning, lunch and evening. Plenty of cardio options with the eliptical, new bike, heavy bag, recumbant exercise bike, etc. Still have to come to terms with the smallish weight bench at home. Hurts to do bench-press or anything else on it (wobbles and is a bit skinny for me). Must concentrate on major muscle groups (chest, back, abs) at first and then more specifics later (biceps, forarms, calves, etc)

7. Tracking. Will use Fitday to track food and exercise. Best free service of its kind. I will publish public view into my journals on Monday.

Day minus 6 (100 pounds, 100 days)

Decided not to ride bike to work today (may not be able until spring)...way too dark at 6:00am...and at 6-7pm around here. I have no lights yet...no body reflectors and no helmet. Probably not a good idea. I will probably bring with me (in my car) tomorrow...supposed to be up to 52 degrees...and ride at lunch.

Racquetball this morning....lost 1 game to my regular playing partner (15-10), and played 2 cut-throat games with a him and a third person....won both. Yay.

Trying to gradually step up the exercise and step back on the calories until the 8th so it's not such a shock to my system.

Have another friendly racquetball game tonight.

Other failed attempts (100 pounds/100 days)

http://tru2myart.livejournal.com/13335.html
and
http://blog.myspace.com/blahblah

First bike ride to work

6 miles door to door. (Click to enlarge).
Granny gears took me through last hill...pedaled the whole way. Not sure about the way back....
I think going home will be more uphill. *sigh*

UPDATE: I made it home....embarassing long amount of time (35 minutes)...last uphill killed me.

I want to ride my bicycle.

I want to ride my bicycle.

Gorgeous day. 43 degrees. New bike.
I'm home by myself with the child, though...not much chance to ride. I took a 10 minute jaunt around the neighborhood before the wife left...loved every minute of it. I felt like a teenager again.

Hills suck. Even in the easiest 'granny gear', it's not fun pushing almost 400 pounds uphill.

Goal is to start riding to/from work (weather permitting) by Jan 8th. It's about 5 miles...couple of hills.

Start Date for 100 Pounds in 100 Days

January 8th.
The 100 days will end on April 17th...one year to the day since I officially started this life-changing odyssey. That will also (if successful) put me at over 200 pounds gone from this massive frame in one year.
That would make me happy.

This is Day -7.