tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30869394208693820672024-02-08T11:57:43.114-08:00Plans Are For Fools!!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger176125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-86887675983955111392015-01-26T19:47:00.003-08:002015-01-26T19:47:29.925-08:007 and a half yearsIt's kinda crazy when I think about it but I started this blog damn near 8 years ago. How does time fly that fast?<br />
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As you could imagine a lot has gone on in that time. I've never again been the weight I was when I first typed this blog - so that's great.<br />
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I've also never fully given up on fitness or paying attention to my diet even when it's bad. That doesn't mean that I haven't gained weight, in fact out of the 115 pounds I initially lost by 2008 I've probably put half of that back on at times.<br />
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I just realized reading the right rail of my blog that 6 years ago today I was training for my first half marathon. It was my last half marathon too, ha!<br />
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I've changed my outlook and my methods, but I do still sometimes wonder if I can ever be as fast or as strong as I was 6 years ago. Especially in my 38th year. It's pretty lame to sometimes think about how at some point your best physical years will be behind you. I'm not there yet, but I already cringe just thinking about it, some day, not far off. I mean, look how fast the past 8 years have gone!<br />
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I still haven't been very motivated to blog. I rarely even check it, but tonight I did and saw Rip posting on his (http://ripx180.blogspot.com/) so it motivated me to do the same.<br />
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So, here's what I'm up to:<br />
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- trying to do cardio every other day. A few days I ran a 5k on the treadmill (i'm back in the land of cold winters again, at least for a while). Other times i switched it up with other boring cardio machines at the YMCA. I doubt this will last long if I don't find something that interests me. Perhaps I'll go back to training outside. Perhaps I'll try a marshal art? I don't know yet.<br />
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- doing weight training 3 days a week. Actually the first day was just a refresher and I was so god damned sore I didn't go for almost another 2 weeks! that's right! I'm not ashamed, I guess. But I'm back now, and the soreness the second time wasn't as bad. I find weight lifting to be pretty damn boring as well, but I'm doing it because I need to. The only thing that's fun it to see the weight you're lifting go up, but I'm not there yet.<br />
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- I'm not really doing anything special with food. Not counting calories and I don't plan to. I just try to be reasonable, most of the time. I will say that I've kept a no soda diet for, i guess three years now? I don't miss it. No diet soda for probably 3.5 years and no regular soda for maybe 5?<br />
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So that's basically it. It's not a bad plan, 3-4 days of running 5k's and 3 days of lifting. But as you can see it kinda lacks focus and perhaps the love/ambition that I had in the past. But at least I'm doing something.<br />
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Doing nothing wasn't working out as it actually makes me depressed and tired. Life is hard, ya know?<br />
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Ah well, I'll keep trudging on.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-78617453134137820092013-06-25T13:09:00.001-07:002013-06-25T13:09:56.794-07:00Doin' it in NYC<br />
I'm in NYC this week for work hence the title.<br />
First of all, thanks to the guys still reading and supporting. I really do appreciate that, it's an important motivator for me.<br />
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I'm still plodding along. I did decide a while back that it's not as important for me to weigh myself daily. It's a bit of a mental detriment and even small upticks from water weight or whatever make it annoying.<br />
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So that said I havent done a weigh in for a while, but I do know I'm still moving in the right direction. I'm fitting in clothing again that fit me when I was probably high 230's/low 240's, so that's good.<br />
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Everything I eat isn't perfect, but the portions are and I believe I'm being sensible.<br />
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Exercise still isn't ideal, especially this week with traveling, but I'm hoping to change that when i can get back into a normal schedule. I did bike commute 10 mile round trip 3 out of the 5 work days last week.<br />
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I guess that's it really. I'm just slowly moving in the right direction while trying to have somewhat of a normal eating life. Oh, and I realized that it's been over a year since I've had soda of any kind, diet or otherwise. I plan to keep is that way forever if possible.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-22539465698088839092013-06-10T15:53:00.001-07:002013-06-10T15:53:37.217-07:00Still Doin' ItI just thought I'd send quick update to let everyone who reads this (no one) know that I'm still doing this. I havent weighed myself in a few says, but at last check I was hovering around 245, or about 10 pounds since I got started on this.<br />
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The eating has been pretty good. The exercise is still a slow start as I've been so busy with work and life. I havent even been riding my bike to work, which annoys me. I hope to change that soon.<br />
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In any event, I'm still moving forward, or downward in weight, however you want to look at it.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-1554193252444299702013-05-29T14:06:00.000-07:002013-05-29T14:06:00.678-07:00Gotta be patientI've been having stomach pain over the past few days. Not like an "i'm hungry" pain but moreso an upset feeling. It always goes away when I eat something, so now I know they must be hunger pains of some sort. I've been eating well below my "lose 2 pounds a week" number, especially one day when i went on a 50 mile bike ride.<br />
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I guess I'm just saying here and to myself, I have to be patient that losing this weight is going to take time. I need to slow down a little. By that I mean I need to eat a little more.<br />
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Anyhow, my first weigh in last thursday was 254.6 i believe, and now I'm around 250, so that's the right direction.<br />
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Gotta get more exercise though. I'm coming up with a plan to do that.<br />
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That's it for now.<br />
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-BrianUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-45702841645217218872013-05-27T15:32:00.002-07:002013-05-29T14:02:40.521-07:00Weigh in/ ObservationsI did the initial weigh in the other day expecting to see around 260 and instead saw 254.2. Ok, better than nothing I guess. Since then I've been at it. 3 hour long bike ride yesterday, good eating going on I think 4 days now. I had a 252.2 weigh in the day after the first one, so I'm hoping to get below 250 reasonably within a week or so. Maybe earlier.<br />
I was just reading through my blog from the past almost 6 years. here's a few observations some of which I'd forgotten:<br />
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- I started out at 50 pounds heavier than I am now, and it took 100 days to get to what I weigh right now. So I havent totally gone back to the beginning, that's good.<br />
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- I lost nearly 100 pounds in 183 days the first time.<br />
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- I was averaging about 3 pounds weight loss a week. (i hope I can do this again, obviously). I know I probably won't be able to work out as much as I was before though.<br />
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- I more or less kept all the weight off for almost 18 months. It wasn't until 2 years after my goal weight was met I'd packed on about 20 more pounds. This coincided with major lifestyle changes, some of them planned.<br />
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- I've been 240lb + for about 2-3 years now.<br />
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- My original goal weight was 215 which i achieved Jan 2008, however i got as low as 198 during that year.<br />
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- I pretty happy in my clothing when I'm at least 230, ideally 215-220. I was never completely happy with a shirt off.<br />
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So, those are just some things I've been thinking about. I can't believe it was so long ago i first started this journey. I'm glad that lots of the good things I learned during that time stuck with me, but I hope I can find a way to better adapt to life's changes while still maintaining a comfortable weight.<br />
That's the hard part.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-57203838568877048202013-05-23T09:32:00.001-07:002013-05-23T09:32:04.272-07:00Today is day 1 of tracking calories again. I haven't weighed myself yet because I'm scared of the number,. I'm going to get things in line for a few weeks first then weigh myself. Anyhow i'm using MyNetDiary (http://www.mynetdiary.com/) from the Apple Ap store on my iPhone.<br />
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So far so good. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-12037027298389381992013-05-22T16:43:00.001-07:002013-05-22T16:43:52.032-07:00Plans Aren't For FoolsHey guys,<br />
I'm gathering not a lot of folks come here anymore. I haven't posted in a fear years. It also seems almost all of the pics in my posts are gone because I switched hosts and forget I had a lot of stuff linked here. Anyhow, here's a quick update since we last chatted:<br />
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- I no longer live in the Philadelphia PA area. I moved to San Jose California is early 2012 to work for my new employer, a popular online auctions company...<br />
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- My kids are older, as you'd imagine. My son will be 4 in July and my daughter 3. With that comes a busier schedule. Less "me" time.<br />
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- I'm still active in that I ride my bike a lot including to work almost daily. In fact I just recently purchased a car after going almost a year without.<br />
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- I weigh more than I did when we last chatted. I'm certainly not on the levels I was when I started this blog (300+ lbs at that time), but I'm not near the lowest either ( high 190's). I'm not happy with whatever my weight is, but most importantly I feel tired all the time. I know I need to get back on the horse but I'm being very lazy.<br />
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- I've tried some things over the past few years to get back into the run of things, but nothing has stuck. I got back into running again but then my California allergies kicked in causing a pause in my running which I never picked back up. It's been that way for about 5 months.<br />
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- I'm still doing things to improve myself such as , I've always hated my stupid crooked teeth, so I got braces . I'm 6 months into that, and have about another year before that's done. Better late than never eh?<br />
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- I'm looking to start feeling better about myself both physically and mentally again, and I need to figure out a way to do that. Holding myself accountable and having you folks keep me that way was HUGE to me back in 2008-2007 when I started this. I'm back to do the same.<br />
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Hopefully some of the original folks are out there, and maybe there will be a few new ones.<br />
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Anyhow, posting this is hopefully the first step on my comeback train.<br />
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Talk to you soon.<br />
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-Brian<br />
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p.s. I forgot to mention I also have grown a ridiculous mustache and feel kinda like my dad. I think I'll keep it for a while. <br />
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<img border="0" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/302701_4944381575196_963505044_n.jpg" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-20313369475840082082011-03-07T08:35:00.000-08:002011-03-07T08:42:02.188-08:00"title goes here"I weighed myself on Saturday to find 238.2, which is cool. It seems like I'm losing something lie 1-2 pounds a week I guess. That's pretty good. Looking at my past logs I don't think I've been in the 230's for that long in over a year or so. I'm happy about that.<br /><br />I need to really get serious about building some muscle if I'm going to keep weight off. That's my thought of the day.<br /><br />So I'm still in weight loss mode. That's always been easier for me than maintenance mode.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks for the comments on my last post. You guys have always been so supportive and still read this even after what, almost 4 years? I really appreciate it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-9371748534408283992011-03-01T06:05:00.000-08:002011-03-01T06:27:31.405-08:00Eat ItHello,<br />I'm not going to start off with apologizing for not posting for a while. It just is what it is, at this point in my life I'm probably not going to post a lot. Eat it.<br /><br />In any event, last time I posted back in September it looked like i was trying to get back on track weight wise. I got off that track. I don't know what I got up to weight wise and I don't think I will ever know, but it wasnt pretty.<br /><br />I spent this past Christmas being the heaviest I've been since loosing 100 pounds in 2007-2008, I'm sure of that.<br /><br />Like all of the other slackers, I started doing something about it Jan 1. Not as much because it's a new year, but more because I'd started a new job. A job with a gym, and job I could get back to cyclo-commuting to.<br /><br />I also went on a sort of South Beach thing. Basically doing low carb, but not paying a lot of attention to volume or calories.<br /><br />It's worked. I don't know exactly what I dropped because I didn't weight myself when I started, I couldnt take the number. Didnt need the dissapointment.<br /><br />Now I'm right at 240 and still going strong. I've been getting some exercise here and there, but most of this has been diet.<br /><br />My goal is to get to about 220, so another 20 pounds. My lowest weight was around 203 or so, but I really can't maintain that unless I'm doing lots of cardio all the time and eating spot on. 215-225 if more what works for me, and looks good. In fact if I put on more muscle like I want to it could even be higher.<br /><br />but right now I want to get to 220 or so.<br /><br />Things that are different this time than say, 2007, is that :<br /><br />- I'm not weighing myself every day. Some people may agree with this or not, but at least during this phase I don't want to do it. I don't want to be obesessive, I just want to do my thing without having to "monitor" progress or stats all the time. I just want to be normal.<br /><br />- Low carb not low fat - I did low fat the first time, but I also counted calories and everything else. I'm doing low carb just because. I don't know if one is better than the other, but I figured i'd try something new. I do think low carb or at least South Beach makes you lose weight fast at first, which is something I needed for a mental boost. Long term I think South Beach is crap and not realistic.<br /><br />- less exercise - not on purpose, it's just that this time around life is different. Even though I can ride my bike to work it's twice the distance so more of a time commitment, and I have 2 kids as compared to none in 2007. I have to be more strict on diet.<br /><br />- Build Muscle - I'm not doing this yet, but I really think I need to build more muscle otherwise I'm always going to be flip flopping like this. in 2008 when I weighed 203, I was fit but not toned. 220 with more muscle mass will look and perform way better than 203 and no tone. Cardio was what I did all the time because it was what was easier for me to do. I need to do more muscle building stuff this time. I havent started that yet.<br /><br />- be normal - in 2007-20008 I was crazy. Posting on this blog daily, cario a few times a day, lifting 3 times a week (for a while anyway), eating spot on. But none of that really is what normal people do. It's what someone trying to lose 100 pounds does. And I did it, in 6 months. But this time I need to do this a different way. I need to just take my time, not worry about things as much, but just consistently be good with food and exercise.<br /><br />I'm at a point right now, even at 240, that I feel pretty good about myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to lose another 20, but I at least don't feel like a failure, and a borderline fat slob like I did 2 months ago. Part of that is because I'm not obsessing over numbers. I truly don't care what waist size my pants are, or what the scale says today. My progress gauge is just, how do I feel? Am I happy with myself?<br /><br />So the answer is yeah, kinda. I'm happier than I was. I'll be happier in another 20 pounds, and I'll get there.<br /><br />So that's where I am right now. I probably need to switch up the low carb thing soon because I'm starting to get more workouts in, and I feel like my body is getting too used to low carb. We'll see.<br /><br />One way or the other I'll get to 220. Definitely by the first day of Summer, if not sooner. Perhaps I'll post again then, if not sooner.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-35126601497915377192010-09-28T04:52:00.000-07:002010-09-28T05:01:56.024-07:00The good the bad and the uglyHello,<br />The good news is that I ran 6 miles on Sunday morning. That's the first time I've run that far in probably 10 months. I was slow at about a 10 minute mile average, but the stamina was there. I'm happy about that. It double the amount of anything I've run recently.<br /><br />The bad news is that this morning I weigh 246. Now I do have some soreness from the run and I suspect that 4 lb jump is most likely water retention. It certainly wouldnt be the first time I've had a 4 pound jump from water retention. In fact many runners will tell you that they often find they've GAINED weight while training for a marathon for example.<br /><br />With that said even taking into account those 4 pounds I'm less than impressed with my progress thus far. I'm trying not to get discouraged though. I do realize I still need a solid plan in place that I don't have. I'm just struggling to come up with a plan that is so adaptable based on my hectic schedule. My schedule is no excuse for my diet though and it's still not what it should be so I should be looking there.<br /><br />So I'm thinking about trying an actual diet of some sort. I don't know what yet, so I'm open to suggestions. In the end I can probably eat about 2200-2400 calories a day and lose about a pound a week. I'm just struggling with doing that.<br /><br />Until next time.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-67926215645645104492010-09-23T06:51:00.000-07:002010-09-23T06:56:46.433-07:00Plugging away, maybe running in placeI'm still around. Progress is slow and this week was difficult from a workout perspective. I only ran once so far, but I hope to again tomorrow. Eating has been maybe a 6 out of 10 on the perfect scale. As a result I'm sticking around the 242 ish mark. Kinda spinning my wheels I guess, but at the very least I know where I am and I'm not gaining.<br /><br />Plans for the future are to really start running more and training for a 5k and maybe a half marathon. Like I've said in the past I really operate more efficiently when I have clear goals and a path ahead of me. I need that right now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-78050741935622423862010-09-17T10:28:00.000-07:002010-09-17T11:08:28.775-07:00OkKindof hanging around the same weight arent I? Maybe this is the normal rate of weight loss for someone? I don't know. I'm watching the calorie and fat intake. I'm running or hitting the gym 3 times a week. I have had a bit of a cold which has kinda kept me pretty inactive aside from the workouts but I'm doing what I can.<br /><br />One day I had a 239 weigh in, then a perfect eating day, then the next day it was 244. What the hell was that about? I dont know but I'm not letting it change anything.<br /><br />So I'll just say I'm still working at it, I just don't seem to have much in the way of numbers to show for it yet. It's been 2 and a half weeks though and I am down 5 pounds give or take, so I'll take that for now. I really need to be firmly in the 230's though by October 5th or so. Maybe that's a goal.<br /><br />On an unrelated note, I'm attempting to get this blog current. I really don't want to dwell on what I've done in the past. That said I will leave some of my accomplishments up because they do motivate me to move forward, get back to that spot, or even improve it.<br /><br />I've also cleaned up the blogs I follow. I deleted any blogs that haven't been updated in the past 3 months, though most had not been touched in over a year. I need new teammates who are into this thing with me so we can help motivate each other, so if there is anyone who is reading who is keeping a fat loss blog, please send me a note so I can add you!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-12738232979290373672010-09-13T10:08:00.000-07:002010-09-17T10:33:10.654-07:00The Wheel in the sky keeps on turning...The slight upwards movement in the weight isnt attributed to anything bad. I think that 239 was just a freak low weigh in when I barely ate any dinner the night before.<br /><br />I'm still moving forward. Running when I can, riding when I can, always trying to pay attention to what I'm eating and how much. I've got a cold/sore throat thing going on. I've noticed that this is happening to me more since I've had kids, but I'm not letting it stop my good habits. This morning during my run I had to stop a few times to blow my nose, heh.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-60179636542227314432010-09-09T05:09:00.000-07:002010-09-09T05:14:08.679-07:00Moving AlongI've been lucky to be able to get 4 or 5 "workouts" in in the past 6 days.<br /><br />I rode my bike to work one day (28 miles round trip), I took my son on a 15 mile bike ride, I did the elliptical at the Y, and I'm about to attempt another run.<br /><br />I'm still working on a schedule per say, but at least I'm able to get some workouts in. It's starting to look like we're at a point with the kids where I can at least have a half hour in the mornings to do something, a run, or possibly ride the bike to work a few days a week.<br /><br />The eating has been on too, in fact I'm sure I'm under eating from a calorie standpoint. Honestly I dont care , I feel fine, I have energy, and the weight is dropping. SOme of that weight has to be water (look at the chart on the right), but again, it's progress in the right direction so I don't care what it is. I'm happy to be back in the 230's. My goal right now is 220.<br /><br />Well, I've got to run (literally) and then get to work.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-63304129022379724662010-09-06T07:05:00.000-07:002010-09-06T07:12:31.544-07:00Get me a paddleHopefully I can be out of the 240's relatively soon. Since I've started to really dial in my food intake I've dropped 4 pounds. I expect that's a lot of water weight, but I'll take it. I really do need to see numbers to feel like I'm doing something and to keep me motivated. That's why it really is a worst case scenario if I allow myself to stop doing weigh-in's. I guarantee that's a huge part of what got me here again.<br /><br /><br />In other new's I'm going to see if i can manage to ride my bike to work a few days this week. Logistically it's a pain but when I can manage it I basically get 2 hours of cardio a day which is great. As a fall back measure if I can't ride I'll get in some gym visits either in the AM or in the afternoons.<br /><br />That reminds me, I need to get some new headphones for working out. Working out with no music is like canoeing without a paddle. You can do it but it sure aint no fun!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-57815444749479081262010-09-04T06:27:00.000-07:002010-09-04T06:45:27.589-07:00ProgressI've made some progress. Not the kind you're thinking of probably. Over the past few weeks I've started to semi pay attention to what the hell I'm doing from an eating perspective. I have been to the gym once and ran once but it's very hard for me right now to find time to exercise or even build it into my schedule just because of the world. I really do hate to make excuses but I'm working my full time job, working my side job trying to grow that business, and helping raise our 1 year and 1 month old children with my wife. Just finding sleep is hard enough to be quite honest. Did I mention we're also painting our house, repairing a leaky roof, moving bedrooms around and doing general remodeling?<br /><br />That said there is no excuse for what you put in your mouth no matter how busy you are so I've been making a kinda of half ass lame attempt to monitor what I eat for the past few weeks as I've mentioned here. It may be working or it may not , because up until this morning I ha vent had the balls to weigh myself. With the numbers being the major motivator for me it was really hard to be a strict as I should have been when I didnt even know what it was doing.<br /><br />This morning I weighed myself. I had to do it. If nothing else I need those numbers to see if I'm making any progress.<br /><br />Out with it: This morning I weigh 247 pounds. I have mixed feelings. I'm pissed off at myself for letting it get there (I should be maintaining 215-225), I'm relieved I finally know the answer and can start seeing results , I'm embarrassed I'm 45 pounds higher than my lowest ever weight, I'm happy I still kept off 50 or so of the 100 I lost.<br /><br />Mostly though I think I'm really to just not cry about it and move on with getting it fixed. So that's progress as far as I'm concerned. <br /><br />Hi, my name is Brian, and I've got 30 pounds to lose.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-9989909031021280352010-08-19T21:19:00.000-07:002010-08-19T21:22:06.562-07:00Day 3 - HiHello<br />just wanted to get one record that day 3 went well. Not working out unfortunately but the eating was pretty good. I'm still not ready to weigh myself but I'm getting excited about when I am. I really want to be able to track progress with numbers. Soon I'll take the plunge...<br /><br />Anyway, Hope all if going well and perhaps I'll have a bit more to write tomorrow. Good Night!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-51254752349289284392010-08-18T15:35:00.000-07:002010-08-18T16:01:17.931-07:00Day 2 - Breaking My Silence and Hopefully ThiersYup, still here. Two whole days and going strong :)<br />I did well today on the food front. Made sure to eat breakfast where I had a small bowl of cream of wheat and a coffee. For lunch i had a giant salad. I forget all that was in it but it did NOT have cheese, dressing with any fat in it, or anything that was glaringly bad.<br /><br />I didn't do any snacking except for about 6 skittles that someone had sitting on the desk behind mine. Not a good thing to be eating but I at least was aware of what I was doing and really did stop at 6, just a small handful. Basically the theme here is that I'm the one in control.<br /><br />By the time I got home a bit ago I was starving and had a probably 160ish calorie no fat bowl of cereal with skim milk. Again, I didn't say I was eating healthy, just that I'm in control and not taking in a crap load of calories.<br /><br />This is important because all around me both at work and at home are bad temptations. I have to make my son mac and cheese for dinner and not eat any. Candy type snacks all over the place at work, and so on. I plan to take a trip to Trader Joe's and get some better snacks to have on hand at my desk at work, which i expect to be a big help. The temptations are always going to be around so I have to get back to managing them better. Having better alternatives at hand was a huge help last time I did this and eventually it became second nature.<br /><br />Aside from all of that if I'm lucky I'll go for a short run tonight after the kids are in bed and my wife gets home. <br /><br />As I mentioned before there is no way I'll be able work out twice a day 6 days a week like I was basically doing when I lost 100 pounds in six months in 2007. This is a different animal this time, but I know I can make it work.<br /><br />the huge elephant hanging over my head right now is the part where I weigh myself. I'm a numbers guy, and it's a huge motivator for me to be able to measure my success in numbers, even if I'm just seeing a pound or two a week. The catch 22 is that I'm not ready for the mental setback and pissed off scene I'm going to have when I see whatever that number is. I'm hoping by this time next week I'll be mentally ready to get on the scale. But who knows, maybe I'll do it sooner.<br /><br />I will give you some other numbers in the name of coming clean.<br /><br />July 2007 waist size in jeans - 44<br />July 2009 waist size in jeans - 34<br />July 2010 waist size in jeans - 36/38 (ouch, it hurts to write that)<br /><br />July 2007 weight - 300 I think (I'll have to check the first page of this blog when I'm done writing this :) )<br /><br />July 2008 weight - 204 (only really maintainable for me if I'm super active and eating perfectly. I'm 6'3 and not a small guy)<br /><br />July 2009 weight - 215-220 - this is what I think is my sweet spot. Still fit into 34 pants. Looked OK without a shirt on, could still eat some cheese or some beers now and again. This is where I'd like to get back to.<br /><br />July 2010 weight - ??? - I'm going to guess at best case high 240's, at worst high 250's. If I went and weighed myself now and it was over 260 I think I'd cry.<br /><br />So there are some numbers to work with until I get hard current numbers. Not ideal, but it did feel good coming clean.It's never too late right?<br /><br />One of the hardest parts for me is that I really not only felt good about myself before, but I felt like an inspiration to others because of all that weight I lost. Now I feel like I'm borderline looking like another douche bag who is on the way to gaining it all back. It used to be that people who I had not seen in forever commented how I was a changed man. Now no one says anything. <br /><br />Silence is bad in this case. <br /><br />Working on changing that and starting with me. Booyah!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-25231209901605173842010-08-17T14:58:00.001-07:002010-08-17T15:08:53.745-07:00I'm BackI don't know if anyone reads this stuff anymore, but I'm back for another round of catch up. In the past 13 months or so I've had a lot of life changes. A new son last summer, and new daughter this summer, a new job, and basically a new life. Unfortunately not all of my good habits that I learned over the course of this blog have stayed with me. I have not weighed myself in who knows how long. Slowly my eating habits have gotten worse, I simple don't have the time to dedicate to all of the physical activities I did before.<br /><br />My new job that I've been at for the past 5 months doesnt allow me to bicycle commute like I could at my last job. Much of my time is taken up by work and family.<br /><br />The excuses are all over the place. <br /><br />The worst part is that I spend a lot of time being pissed at myself for falling off the wagon instead of doing things about it.<br /><br />So I'd really like to put that to a stop. It's going to have to happen slowly, unlike last time.<br /><br />I'm going to start:<br /><br />- paying attention to how many calories I consume daily. I'm not going to count, but I'm going to have an idea of what I'm eating and try to keep the number low. I did this for a long time during maintnence and it worked.<br /><br />- working out in some form 3 times a week. It may be a run, it may be a bike ride, it might be a trip to the YMCA. What's been hard for me is that I don't have any set schedule. I really can't go to the gym the same time every day like I did before. I need to be more adaptable and go when I can in between working and being with my family.<br /><br />- setting some goals. I might sign up for another half marathon in the winter, but in the short term I'm going to sign up for some 5k's or something. 18 months ago I was running half marathon distances in under two hours. Lat night I went got a 3 mile run, which turned into a 2 mile run because I thought I was going to die. I need to start from ground zero and build myself back up again.<br /><br />- I'd like to blog when I can because that was a good help, but honestly a lot of that will depend on if anyone reads it. I really did get a lot more from blogging when I was doing it with other people. Hopefully that can start up again.<br /><br />That's all I've got now. I've run out of time to be on the PC :) That's how life is these days.<br /><br />Hopefully I'll be back soon with some positive updates that show I'm back on track!<br /><br />-Brian<br /><br />p.s. I think I have 30 pounds to get back to where I want to be, but I won't know for sure until I weight myself. I'm just not ready to do that yet though...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-3592326051349954592010-03-10T13:38:00.000-08:002010-03-10T13:45:02.942-08:00Fat In the WaterI mean dead in the water.<br /><br />Work is KILLING ME. It's zapped my completely both emotionally and physically. The time of year isnt helping.<br /><br />Between a sickness and then crazy work stress and hours I've stopped running. I'm not eating well either. Weight is probably around 240-ish. Ick, not good. My good maintenence weight is around 215-220.<br /><br />I'm working on getting into a new position with a different company that will help take away much of the stress. Hopefully I'll know something in the next few days.<br /><br />If anything out of all these negatives at least I'm aware of what's going on and I am really trying to do what I can to keep things in control, but it's really really hard right now.<br /><br />Just wanted to come clean. Overall I'm really not happy with how things have gone the past 6 months and I do feel like I need another lifestyle change to get things back in check. No, I'm not looking at losing 100 + pounds like the first time, but this stage is no less hard and maybe harder then when I first decided to get healthy almost 3 years ago.<br /><br />Trying to hang in there. Stick with me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-1522659941343211632010-01-08T08:50:00.000-08:002010-01-08T09:13:24.034-08:00FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! Right?AS has been said thousands of times by probably thousands of people, maintenance is a bitch! I mean, if you break it down it isnt. Is it technically hard to weight yourself regularly? No. Is it hard to limit your intake somewhat? No. Is it hard to get a normal amount of exercise when you can? Not really.<br /><br />But put it all together? Is it hard to keep that mindset day in and day out for the rest of your life? Yeah, for me it is. Here's my deal: I focus on things and they consume me. Weight loss and fitness was one of them. <br />When I stop making them my #1 priority they fall off somewhat. They don't completely disappear but they definitely fall off some. When a healthy fit lifestyle falls off a little we pay the price, and before you know it if you're not careful you find yourself in an unhappy situation again.<br /><br />Duh.<br /><br />So of course that said, it's clear I havent been keeping the healthy lifestyle as much as I'd of liked to. Let's break it down.<br /><br />Here's the bad:<br /><br />- I haven't weighed myself in a while. Like probably some months. I'm kinda afraid too which is a bad thing. I just don't want to be depressed and pissed off by the number.<br /><br />- Eating hasn't been good for a while. Holidays, not into counting calories or paying much attention to intake. Not mentally in it. Call it what you want but eating hasnt been great. <br /><br />I guess that's the extent of the bad. <br /><br />Here's the good:<br /><br />- Still working out. I biked up until late November, then I started running again. I'm going to run the half marathon again and I'm in my second week of training for that.<br /><br />- I suppose I'll count that I'm still thinking about my health and worried about things getting out of hand as a good thing. Obviously if I wasnt even admitting I need to get back on track then I'd be back on the road to blubber.<br /><br />So there you have it. Some shirts are getting a little tight. I went up a jeans size from a 34 to a 36 about a month and a half ago. No one is calling me fat and no one has told me I look like I've gained weight, but I can tell. I know I have and that's all that really matters. What is different for me this time if that you're not going to see me going all out living a 100% completely healthy lifestyle like I did when I lost 100 pounds in 6 months. It's not sustainable. My goal this time is just to dial it in a little bit. Get back on track. Get back into a 34" waist pant. Start weighing myself again, just not every day. But I do have to say I don't think I'm ready to weigh myself yet. I want to give myself another week of marathon training and decent eating...I know, some of you will disagree with that, but it's what I want to do.<br /><br />I'll also be posting again until I feel I'm back where I want to be. In a 34" jeans, feeling good again. Ha! that's funny, because I never felt 100% good even when I weighed 200 pounds. I always felt like I still had love handles and some flab. Even in this pic I felt flabby and not how I wanted:<br /><img src="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v360/61/103/1468446487/n1468446487_30094697_2870.jpg"><br /><br />Now I look at it and wish I was there again. So it's a bit of a state of mind. Finding what's comfortable for you I guess.<br /><br />Here's me a few months ago:<br /><br /><img src="http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs107.snc1/5062_524333913903_43200649_31241830_5157803_n.jpg"><br /><br />felt fat there.<br /><br />here i am about a month and a half ago:<br /><br /><img src="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs193.snc3/20068_1302893580272_1468446487_30819883_4401436_n.jpg"> i know it's not the best pic because of the big bulging jacket, but i felt fat there too.<br /><br />anyway, I don't know what I'm saying anymore, except that I want to be back in a 34" pants and I want to feel good about myself. I'm not there right now. But is the grass always greener on the other side? I just don't know.<br /><br />Talk to you soon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-57918372137690605312009-09-14T11:45:00.000-07:002009-09-14T11:58:49.632-07:00Had a scare - back on track.First of all, Hello blog. I've been ignoring you for a while. Much has happened since our last meeting. I'm now a father of a beautiful now 9 week old boy named Henry:<br /><br /><img src="http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs124.snc1/5334_1201663489583_1468446487_30542153_6694833_n.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs268.snc1/9521_1213090135242_1468446487_30579423_3172939_n.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs268.snc1/9521_1210522271047_1468446487_30570130_5582562_n.jpg"><br /><br />He's awesome.<br /><br />But the real reason for my post it to come clean. A while ago I found my maintain weight of around 215 or so. Well, after maintaining that for a while I got comfortable and stopped weighing myself. Eventually I knew I'd gained weight but grew afraid to step on the scale. Not cool. That's an old habit that got me to over 300 pounds eventually. Not cool at all. <br />I finally came clean a week ago after an especially debaucherous evening. The next morning i jumped on the scale ready for the worst, and it was the worst, 231.6. OUCH!<br /><br />To rehash the past few years, I lost 100 or so pounds over 6 months, reaching 202 or so in early 2008. I maintained that for a while, at the same time getting comments from people telling me I'd gone too far. I eventually settled on a maintenence weight I felt comfy with, and that was 210-215. I maintained that until about 3 months ago after I finished a half marathon. Then the impending baby came. Goal-less "maintenence-land" existed for while. I stayed active, riding my bike daily, but my diet eventually started to slip and I stopped weighing myself.<br /><br />That brings us to last Monday and my 231.6 weigh-in. <br />I'm now happy to report that after a week of much better eating and daily weigh ins to keep me honest I'm back down to 224 , on my way back to 215 or so.<br />I'll keep updating this blog until I get down to where I want to be again and to keep me honest. <br /><br />But yeah. It just goes to show that it really is a lifestyle change and that has to mean forever. You cant allow yourself to slip into old habits and if and when you do, you have to adjust and get out of them. I'm working on doing that now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-73411985443827512862009-06-11T09:46:00.000-07:002009-06-11T09:53:33.187-07:00Zone Maintenence - Paranoia Check<span style="font-weight: bold;">Today's weigh-in: 215.4<br /><br />Today I'll be blatantly ripping off Bill's Zone theory, adjusted of course for my numbers.<br /><br /></span>Green zone: <212 lbs<br />Yellow Zone: 212-220 lbs<br />Red Zone: >220 lbs<br /><br />220 was my original goal to reach, back in January of 2008. Since then I've found myself averaging as low as 203, to having weigh-ins as high as 221. There was an upward trend that started the past 4 months since I stopped Half Marathon Training, so the past few weeks I've been trying to get things in line and my number is coming back down. The reason I consider my green zone a little higher than my lowest recorded averages is that I've put some muscle on. Basically I don't start getting nervous about my weight if my number is below 212 or so.<br /><br />So that's it really. Thanks for the idea <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">BillyBob</span>!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-83190319886858585422009-06-08T08:13:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:40:23.217-07:00Psycho Killer Qu'est-ce que c'est?Hi.<br /><br />Been a while eh?<br /><br />Well you know, I had those neck issues and all. I re-injured my neck after it was almost completely healed, so that set me back. That was a few weeks ago though and it's been 100% now for at least a week. So, no more excuses really.<br /><br />Know what sucks? As soon as my workouts tail off or I don't watch those calories quite as close as I normally do, what happens? Fat shows up. Where? Directly on my hips and gut. Not so much anywhere else really, but right on my gut and love handles. How annoying is that?<br /><br />I mean, I was still active, riding my bike and running maybe once a week, but I just lost the fire. And I was relaxing big time on watching my caloric intake.<br /><br />Maintenance is hard...man.<br /><br />So after just being tired, hurt, and maybe a bit lazy and watching my weight show my numbers as high as 221-ish, last week I decided I'd better get back on the bus. Err, wagon, and off the retard bus.<br /><br />I surrounded myself with healthier snacks. I rode my bike a few more days, and I ran in a 5K.<br /><br />Right, so that 5k. I ran this on Saturday:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.wmmr.com/upload/image/Rhys/Try1%20copy.jpg" /><br /><br /><br />On paper I guess I did well, running it in 23:45 and placing something like 170 out of 2000-ish people, but in reality, it hurt. I started the race towards the front for some reason, I guess I thought I was being more badass. You know, the place where they ask the real runners to start from...<br /><br />I stood around with these 90lb women runners all decked out in spandex and muscles and told myself I'd pace with them for a bit. I mean, come on, I just ran a half marathon, I can do this. That's what I told myself. I forget the Half was almost 3 months ago and I've barely run 12 miles since then.<br /><br />The Mayer of Philly sounded the alarm and the runners took off, myself included. That first 90 pound women took off, running between large fat cop legs, weaving in and out of Dunkin Donuts eating traffic. I stuck with her, but being 6'3" 215-ish I wasnt quite so agile as her. I found myself running at top speed to get around people in the crowd to try to work my way towards the front.<br /><br />We hit the first mile marker and it said 6:45. That's when I was like, uhhh wow! I've never run a mile faster than 7:15.<br /><br />What the hell am I doing? I cant breath! my legs hurt! where the hell did those women go?<br /><br />I had to slow down and catch my breath and try to recover enough to finish the race.<br /><br />My splits were something like<br /><br />mile 1 - 6:45<br />mile 2 - 8:15<br />mile 3 - 9:30<br /><br />hahaha! Way to pace myself! That hurt!<br /><br />The short of the story is I got a decent time for me, but I almost died. I could have nailed a low 22-ish 5k time two months ago, but I've definitely lost some cario ability. My muscles hurt after the race too.<br /><br />At the end of the race I basically collapsed at the finish line and layed down on my back for a minute. A random stranger kicked me lightly to make sure I wasnt dead. I just gave her a thumbs up since I still couldnt breath.<br /><br />So yeah, I ran a 5k.<br /><br />I've been eating a little better. If Bill's kryptonite is a Cheese Steak, mine are nacho's. beautiful, cheese and meat covered nacho's. Warm. Crunchy. Sour cream. Delicious....<br /><br />I'm cutting those out for a bit. The constant snacking? Gotta stop that too.<br /><br />So here I am, trying to eat a little better, ride my bike a little more, lift a little more, and drop about 8-10 pounds. I am down to 215 after topping out at 220.<br /><br /> Last summer I was maintaining around 204. I've put on some muscle with all the running and lifting work in the past year, so I'd like to maintain about 210 this year.<br /><br />We'll see. Honestly I'd really like some nacho's though.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3086939420869382067.post-62510513779361592812009-05-11T09:20:00.000-07:002009-05-11T09:22:41.845-07:00UpdateI still have neck pain that is keeping me from lifting because I don't want to make it worse. Considering this is how I injured it to begin with I think it's the right choice.<br /><br />I've been eating OK, and in fact I'm trying to dial my eating in more than usual since I'm not getting the workouts in.<br /><br />I rode my bike to work on Friday, and for a short ride over the weekend, but once again, the neck is an issue and I'm afraid that whatever I do will make it worse.<br /><br />So really, all I feel like I can do right now it monitor my food intake and try to maintain. It's pretty frustrating because I'd much rather be exercising. <br /><br />That's all I've got right now. Hopefully someone soon I can get active again and maybe even set some fitness goals.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4