I forgot to update on day 15, but things were pretty much the same. P90X, some cycling. On Saturday the 13th Chelsea and I went shooting with some friends. We played a version of bump, but with shotguns. There were also lots of rifles and pistols of varying calibers. All in all there were about a dozen people out having a good time.

Last week was spring break, so instead of working extra hard on the dieting and exercise I took a break from P90X. On Monday I pretty much did nothing but clean the apartment. It needed to have a nice deep cleaning and I was happy to do it. That night we had the missionaries over for dinner and I invited some friends over as well. It was pretty fun and relaxing.

On Tuesday my friend Ken and I got on our bicycles and headed over to Pullman. We stopped at DQ and ate whatever we wanted. I had an Oreo Cheese-quake blizzard with Butterfinger, and a crispy flamethrower chicken sandwich. It tasted pretty darn good. The entire trip was about 21-22 miles and was a pretty good workout despite all the crappy food we ate at the midway point. That night Chelsea and I went over to Ken & Chelsie’s place for burgers. We had brownies and ice cream for dessert. It was fun, but I was tired and felt a little bad. I don’t think I was a great guest because I could feel my mind drifting off.

Wednesday through Friday I just sorta farted around the apartment and internet. I played a fair amount of computer games, which was nice. By Friday I was getting a little restless and I was feeling ready to do something like mod or program or something, but didn’t. On Saturday Chelsea and I did a repeat of what Ken and I did on Tuesday. Again, another 21-22 miles on the bikes, and I ate the same thing I did on Tuesday at DQ.

Today I weighed myself. 204.8 lbs. Not awful considering all the crap I ate and the fact I was pretty inactive for the week, but I’m not losing weight and the first month is getting close to being over. It’s also not enough of a loss to be confirmed as fat. It could just be water. Darn. I gotta recommit myself. I fall out of my routine so easily. I guess the thing I gotta do it just get back on it.

I didn’t do P90X today. My last class got out at 12:20, and there were “first come first serve” interviews in Pullman for summer jobs on the WSU campus starting at 1:30. About 11 miles and one hour later I got to the building. There was a large line forming already, but I filled out an application and had three interviews for different positions on campus. I’m about 99% sure that I have a job maintaining the grounds during the summer. If I don’t get that then I’m almost positive that I’ll get a custodial position. After the interviews I headed to Chelsea’s work and she gave me a ride home. My total biking distance was 12.8 miles. Nice!

Alright so it has been one week. I think it is better to post weekly updates instead of daily. Thursday I got a bicycle and it was a very busy day anyway, so P90X just plain didn’t happen. My wife and I went bowling with some friends that night as well and I had buffalo wings, which aren’t bad as long as they aren’t the deep fad fried version (they weren’t). The bad thing was that I ate too many. I felt pretty gross after.

Friday I skipped P90X on account of my new bike and went riding instead. I love the feeling of your muscles getting hotter and hotter as you do a repetitive motion such as cycling. It’s just so good.

I didn’t do a proper workout Saturday either, but I went and played paintball for about five hours, so I don’t feel bad at all.

Sunday is the day of rest, so that’s exactly what I am going to do every Sunday. No work or workout for me. Just worship, meditation, relaxation, and family time.

Now for the results of one week of working out and eating better. I weighed myself again after doing P90X Chest and Back. 207.3! There are a few options for what is happening. One: I ate fish and rice for dinner. It’s low fat, high protein food and I ate quite a bit. Two: While working out I try to drink plenty of water. I easily have a spare half gallon or more in my stomach when I weigh in. Three: I am replacing the fat with muscle. It’s possible, although I don’t really have faith that this is the case. Four: I am gaining muscle and keeping the fat. This is more likely, but unwanted. I would rather lose fat and gain no muscle if I had a choice between three and four. Five: I am just getting fatter. This one is also a possibility, although it is quite unlikely considering that I am doing a lot more activity and eating so much better.

When I weighed in earlier this week to see if I would be allowed to eat a brownie I was at 204, so I’m pretty sure this is just a full stomach sort of thing. It’s still not very encouraging.

Today’s P90X workout was shoulders and arms. I was in a lot of pain before doing the workout, and even now the flexors in my elbows are killing. If one thing is true though, it’s that working out sore muscles does nothing but make them feel better.

After looking at my food intake yesterday, I realized that I need to be eating more. This may seem strange, but it’s true. If my muscles don’t have the energy to work out, then this whole thing will be an uphill battle. On that note, this is what I ate today.

Two big bowls of Chex.
Three PB&J sandwiches (not super healthy)
A tuna sandwich (shoulda swithed out some of those PB&Js for more of these).
A protein shake with 80g of protein.

My wife made brownies for some people in our ward (church congregation) who just had a baby. I wanted to eat one, but decided that if I was going to I needed to weigh less than 200lbs. I will not say what my weight was, but I did not get to have a brownie. I attribute this to my calorie intake and the fact that I’ve been drinking a lot of water. I’m fine with it. I know that my daily, or even hourly weight does not change the fact that I’ve been eating better and working out.

I decided I should post some before-I-got-fat pictures. This is from my senior year. These show off just how thin I was, but also just how scrawny I was. Despite being so thin I did not have a six pack. The over-the-hill moment for my fitness should not have been in high school. I gotta get in the best shape of my life now.

Today I did the P90X Plyometrics X workout. It’s an hour long of jumps, squats, jump squats, squat jacks, leapfrog squats, lunges, Mary Katherines, and other stuff.

My back hurts from yesterday’s workout so I took some drugs about 30 min before working out. Right after the workout I mixed up about 80g of protein in 1cup of milk. It was thick and not that great, but not horrible either. Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be my harder days to workout because I’m out of the house from 9AM to 5PM. Tuesdays I have meetings after 5 as well, so it doesn’t help. The good thing is that I never have homework due on Wednesday or Friday, so I can workout as my homework.

I don’t get money from Beachbody for saying this, but P90X really is a great workout. The big motto is “do your best, forget the rest.” Tony Horton is really good about getting you past your mental blocks to keep you motivated through the hour long workouts. They are also designed really well to warm you up (hard) for the first 20 minutes, kill you in the middle 20, and then ease up a little (still really tough) for the last 20 minutes to destroy whatever you have left. Tony is really good about telling you to just show up, just hit the play button and keep coming back every day. You don’t have to perform like a star every day, all you have to do is your best and that is good enough. How could you expect any more than that anyway?

Finally, here is what I ate today.

90 Calorie cereal bar for breakfast.
Tuna sandwich
~15 lowfat pringles
The last slice of Pumpkin Pie (it was crowding the fridge)
A pork chop with apple sauce
Protein shake

I’ve been gaining weight ever since I graduated from high school in 2005. I was 175 when I graduated, which for me at 6’4″ is pretty thin. I was skinny. I wouldn’t say I was fit because I was scrawny, but I didn’t have very much spare weight on me. Today I weigh over 200lbs. I’ve tried a few things to lose weight, and I’ve committed to P90X, Wii fit, and eating right with varying levels of commitment and success. Now that I’ve broken the 200lb mark, it’s time that I wake up and get in shape. Otherwise I’ll wake up in a few years at 250+ and wonder whatever happened to me. Losing that much weight would be a lot tougher than losing what I have now, so it’s time to bite the bullet and lose weight in time for summer. If I lose the weight then I think I’ll treat myself to some short legged, retro swim trunks.

No matter how you do it, weight loss is not easy, and it isn’t fun (for the most part).

I’ve challenged my brother, who is at ~260lbs to try and lose 50lbs in the next three months. I have 25 to lose, which is 2.08 a week, so he’ll be at 4.16lbs. It’s a tall order, but weight loss is about being motivated and staying on course. I’ve told my brother that I’ll give him $1 for every pound lost, and if he reached 50lbs in the three months I’ll give him $100. For now there is no penalty if he gains weight (I doubt he will anyway) and no prize for me if I reach my goal. Nonetheless I think being healthy is important, so I’m willing to have some fun with this.

Your job is to keep me motivated, so if I start to dog it you need to say something positive and get back in gear.

My Plan:

The first thing I’m going to do is quit eating garbage. I eat too much sugar. This will definitely be the hardest thing about this three months. No sugar based cereals, no candy, no ice cream, no pie. :/

The second part of the plan is P90X. The farthest I’ve ever made it in this program is the end of the first month. I can’t do that anymore. I’ve got to stick to it and I need you guys to help me stay motivated. A protein shake chaser will help me bulk up fast.

The third thing I’m going to do is get a new bike and ride every weekend. There are tons of trails around where I live. My wife is going to get a bike too and then we can ride together, which will be great.

Some final details will include not consuming any calories after 9PM every night and being in bed before midnight. Healthy habits like these can make a huge difference in your overall health and well being. I haven’t been doing so great lately and now is a good time to fix my sorry ways.

Day 1:

I just weighed myself on the bathroom scale. I weigh 206.2lbs. I’m 6’4″. This makes my BMI 25.097. Crap! I’m overweight! I’ve never been overweight! I need to lose it and keep it off. My goal is 180lbs. I weighed 175 in high school, but I was really skinny and had little to no muscle mass. I should be able to hit 180, which will be 25lbs lost and should be less fat and more muscle than high school.

I just finished P90X for today. I did Chest and Back as directed by the workout guide. I’m somewhat nauseous and still need to do ab ripper x for today. I have my protein shake in hand and I’m trying to down it without triggering a vomit response. It’s amazing how much you can feel it in your muscles even after one hard workout. They’re bigger already! Haha.