Weight Loss - 10 Weeks Later

Okay, so I've slacked.  I mean on posting, not on weight loss!

Okay, so I've slacked on that too.  But not anymore!  I had a week off from work a few weeks back and ended up stepping on the scale to discover I was back up to 209.  I was not happy.  Steps were taken.  Thankfully, I've gotten things under control.

Technically, Monday always started my 'weeks' off, so I'm a day or two early, but whatever.  I guess this is Week 41, and Monday makes Week 42.

I'm still terrible at running, but I'm alright at cycling.  I'm looking to get more into that and get a more regular gym schedule, but I'm lifting several times a week.  Currently, I'm down at 193.1 pounds.  180, you can't hide forever!

Week 32 Weigh In

Up to 200.4. Had a bad week of more cheat days than I really needed, but hey, there you go. Will continue to post progress, and I'm still aiming for 180.

Week 31 Weigh In

That's all.

Week 30 Weigh-In

Alright, get this: Week 30!  I NEVER thought I'd make it this far.  It's kinda crazy.  Watching sodium intake has helped a lot, it seems - I'm now down to 202.2 pounds.  Total lost thus far: 57.8 pounds.  I'm hoping to hit my goal of 60 pounds lost by the end of August.  Not bad, considering my original Lose It projection was for me to hit 200 pounds right on Christmas Eve.

I've now taken a liking to My Fitness Pal.  I think Lose It! is much more user-friendly and easier to navigate, but My Fitness Pal has more options, reports more things, and has such an expansive food listing that I've taken to using it now. 

The Starting Strength program I've started.... well, I haven't been following it very well.  Haven't been able to make it to the gym with the demands of work lately, although I'm shooting for tomorrow morning.  Guys that do curls or - God help me - BENCH PRESSES in the squat rack really piss me off and make it harder for the hour I have to spare to fit all my exercises.

That being said, I was able to finally leg press a little over twice my bodyweight.  No big feat, honestly, but it made me feel much better.  418 pounds.  Still attempting to get to the land of being able to do a single pull-up without assistance.  Started about three weeks ago needing 76 pounds of assistance to do one, now can do one with 40 pounds.  It doesn't matter where you start.  It only matters that you move forward.

Progress Pictures.

Warning: Shirtlessness ahead.

Week 29 Weigh-In

Alright, so I'm late.  Really, really late.  Monday was my weigh in date and I'm sorry I missed it.  Work has been rather... interesting as of late.  But enough of that.  Monday was a solid improvement at 204.7 pounds.  My initial goal was 200 pounds... but what about 180?  Strongly considering making a stronger push.

Week 28 Weigh-In

So, after 7 days of lowering sodium in my diet, I'm down to 205.7 and 36.75".  I'm happy with the results and will attempt to stick to it.  My first big goal is at 200 pounds.  Can't wait to see the scale read 199.

Week 27 Weigh-In

Better late than never, I suppose.

On Monday, I was back down to 209, but sticking at 38" stomach.  I had a long chat with some nice people on the internet (if you can believe that), and they made me really look at the sodium in my diet.  Since it makes you retain water, I'm going to cut sodium in my diet down to human levels and see what happens.  My goal is to stay as close to 2400mg a day as possible, but as long as I keep everything under 3000 it'll honestly be an improvement.

Already, I've noticed some significant results.  Today is Wednesday, and I'm back down around the lowest I've weighed during this whole thing and the smallest I've measured.  I'm down to 206.6 and 37".  Here's hoping the coming Monday will bring better results.

Starting Strength continues today.  Must do deadlifts.  Eek.

Learning As I Go

Recently, I posted my A-B-A split workout routine.  I'm going to go with a more traditional approach I've learned about, Starting Strength.  Starting Strength is a minimalistic approach to basic barbell training and centers around four main lifts.  Starting tomorrow, I'm hitting the gym and going with the following weekly set:

Practical Programming Novice Program:

Monday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench press / Press (Alternating)
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Wednesday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Press / Bench Press (Alternating)
1x5 Deadlift

Friday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press / Press (Alternating)
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

(Taken from the Starting Strength wikia.)

As it stands, I can't even do one Chin-Up or Pull-Up.  The page says to stay away from assisted pull-ups and chin-ups, but I'm going to go with them anyway.  Perhaps on Monday, with my Weigh-In, I'll start including where I'm at with lifts.  Or maybe they'll be so pathetic I can't bare to put them on here.  We shall see.

Week 26 Weigh-In

210.1, 37.5" on my stomach.  Bullshit.

The only thing I can think of that may have caused this was the cheat day I had on Friday, but even then, I wasn't *that* far over my caloric budget.  Maybe I need to cut out cheat days altogether.  I'm sick of moving backwards.  I'm so sick of being stuck around 210.  I was down to 206 on Thursday.

I was going to head to the gym today and run or cycle or bench or SOMETHING, but now I'm having a really hard time getting off my ass to do anything.

Running!

Didn't do any leg presses or calf raises today.  Instead, I tried out a barbell squat, and DEAR GOD that thing is brutal.  Works everything below the belt and your core, basically.  I finished up the day with a good walk and felt like trying my hand at jogging once more, kept my form in mind as I went, and it felt great!  No knee pain at all!

I'm considering starting the couch 2 5k again.  Considering.

Workout Routines and Whatnot

I re-read my earlier posts and there was one about not wanting to go to a gym.  I want to say that I am loving my membership and am using the hell out of it, but I'm still wrapping my mind around what to do there.  I'm a fairly self-conscious person, so the simple act of grabbing a dumbbell is terrifying for me, especially since I'm starting with such small weights.  I am getting more comfortable with it, and can laugh at doing chest flys with 20 lb dumbbells while the woman next to me does the same thing with 25s.  She was a tiny thing.

Right now, my workout looks a little bit like this:

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Week 1	A	Cardio	B	Cardio	A	Cardio	REST
	Cardio		Cardio		Cardio
Week 2	B	Cardio	A	Cardio	B	Cardio	REST
	Cardio		Cardio		Cardio

Workout A is Chest, Shoulders, and Arms.  Workout B is Back, Abs, and Legs.  It's working alright for me, but I'm still slacking on the cardio.  I've been spending time on the stationary cycle and trying to fit in 30 minutes a day (since the machines have a 30 minute time limit), but I find myself wussing out and quitting much earlier some days.  Today, for instance, I only did 15 minutes on the cycle.  Yesterday I did 10.

Part of the issue is that it is fairly boring.  Music helps but only so much.  Tomorrow is another day, though, and here's hoping I can push forward.  My arms and shoulders have been sore since Sunday, so I really did a number on them, but I didn't do nearly as much on Tuesday to my legs.  I guess I'm training under what I can lift on those.

My upper body is incredibly weak.  I'm struggling with 20 lb weights for pretty much everything with upper body, but I'm looking at sneaking in some leg work tomorrow and topping out the calf raise machine.

Week 25 Weigh-In

209.7.  I hit 209 even earlier in the week, but that was at a random spot in the day and didn't really mean anything.  This is a step in the right direction, but I am getting a little frustrated that the number on the ribbon measure isn't changing.  It's changing a little and moving around within an acceptable mark - I seem to have gained a quarter inch since last week - but I just want it gone!

I say this because if you're dieting and working out or planning to, you need to know that results take time.  If you're significantly overweight, like I was (and still am, really), then the weight will come off quickly at first.  But you're not going to have glorious abs and ripped biceps within a month.  I would like to have abs for the first time in my life.  That's one of my goals.  But now that I know what it takes to get them, I also know how much work it's going to be.  I'm not sure if I can make it, but I am certain that it won't happen before next year.

Week 24 Weigh-In

I'll be honest with you.  I never, ever thought I would make it this far.  See, I have a pretty solid history of starting things and not finishing them.  I've left more compositions started and unfinished than finished, and I even LIKE music!  So here we are.  Week 24.

I'm at 212.1, which is 47.9 pounds down - and although up from last week's total, I'm not worried.  I'm actually pretty happy.  Why, you might ask?

Last Tuesday, I finally joined the YMCA and immediately started attacking their stationary cycles.  It was great cardio and it was a way to start building up to the 90-mile round-trip Bike to Jack and Back, a charity event I'll be taking part in come October.  I'll be representing the company I work for, along with another colleague, and the moment I have any information on donation and sponsoring and whatnot, I'll post a link.

I also started lifting weights, which I've been very, very, very, very lax on.  I hit a low point on my weight mid-week last week at 209, which was great, but I'm back up to 212.1 and I'm down another 1/2 inch on my stomach!  Speaking of lifting weights, I found a great website that will help you track what you're doing and motivate you to keep going.  It's the most positive, supportive place on the internet.  Check it out over at fitocracy.com, and if you want to add me, please do!  You can see what I'm up to over there: My Fitocracy profile

I started all this on Janaury 9th, and it wasn't until January 24th that I actually took some measurements.  Since then, I've dropped 47.9 pounds, sure, but 21.5 inches on what I originally measured - hips, stomach, and thigh.  When I started, my stomach was larger than my hips.  Not so much anymore.

I know a lot of friends and family have started taking steps here and there to get healthier.  I'm touched that so many people have gone along with what I'm doing.

Let's see what another six months does.

Week 23 Weigh In

In 23 weeks, I've gone from someone that loathed exercise to someone that is now angry and restless that a bum knee is keeping him from exercising.  Funny what almost half a year can do.  More than a couple people have told me that this blog has been inspiring to them, and I suppose I can see that, but I'm still having trouble believing it.  About ten people have started the 100-day burpee challenge now, one of which is up into the 50s!  Exciting things going on all around me, and I'm glad I'm able to take part in it.

As far as the weigh-in goes, I finally hit another drop!  I'm down to 211.2, down 48.8 pounds from 23 weeks ago!  Knee is getting better, and if the YMCA will ever make up their mind on what I need to bring in for 'income verification,' I'll have actual exercise equipment - those stationary bikes are going to be very important in the coming months.

But that's a story for another time...

Week 22 Weigh-In

I'm so sorry, running.  I really mean it.  I said some awful, terrible things about you, but I take them all back!  For those of you that I haven't whined to yet, I hurt my knee running on Thursday and wasn't able to start week two of the Couch 2 5K yesterday, which is really bumming me out.  I'm trying to stay off my right leg to give my knee recovery time, but it's not easy.  Here's hoping it gets better soon and I'm able to start up again next Sunday.

As for the weight, there is a success there.  After a cheat day yesterday, I weighed in at 215.2 - down 44.8 pounds!  Almost at the 45 pound mark - here's shooting to cross the line next week!  75% to my goal weight.  Pretty exciting.

Week 21 Weigh-In!

And one week burpee-free!  Not much weight lost - for a rest week with two cheat days, I'm not very worried (or surprised) by a week loss of 0.3 pounds - down to 218.6.  This week should prove to be far more challenging, with six days of workouts and a renewed zeal to down water rather than soda.  Let's see what next week brings.

C25K - Day One

Oh sweet Lord, another multiple-week challenge?  At least it's not 100 days, nor is it EVERY DAY.  Woke up around 7am and went out to get the run out of the way early on.  The breakdown for today, as well as the other two days this week, is thus:

5 min warm-up walk
60 seconds jogging
90 seconds walking
60 seconds jogging
90 seconds walking
60 seconds jogging
90 seconds walking
60 seconds jogging
90 seconds walking
60 seconds jogging
90 seconds walking
You're donLOL NOPE SCREW YOU KEEP RUNNING
60 seconds jogging
90 seconds walking
60 seconds jogging
90 seconds walking
60 seconds jogging
90 seconds walking

5 min cool-down walk

For some reason, I had it in my head that it was only 5 total minutes of running.  So when I thought to myself, 'Hey, I'm almost done!" the app snapped me back to reality.

"Begin running.  You're halfway done!"

I would have called my phone a stupid hussy, but I couldn't really breathe at that point (because, DAMN, am I out of shape), but I'm sure it knew of my fury.

During the last half of this happy little jaunt, a squirrel skittered onto the asphalt track and was all like, "Hi."  I had to awkwardly extend my stride (which was not easy at this point) to keep from kicking him in his little squirrel head, and when I looked back to see if he was going to apologize, he was up on his hind legs, arms outstretched.  If squirrels were capable of human speech, he would have been all COME AT ME BRO and I would have been all MAYBE LATER I HAVE TO KEEP RUNNING FOR SOME STUPID REASON.

As it turned out, I wasn't that weird-ed out by the rodent's audacity, because I was much more confused by me actually running.

Eventually, though, it was over, and I wobbled victoriously towards a vehicle, drove off, and wept.

What's for June?

Click to enlarge!

I'm not a very organized person, but I love me some spreadsheets.  Those that know me personally have seen the spreadsheet for the 100 burpee challenge probably.  The Xs are placeholders, and I'll fill in the weight-equivalent resistance bands I used for each exercise so that I can track progress and make sure I'm improving.  Yes, this is 6 days of exercise a week.  Oh boy.

If you're interested in starting, especially at the same time I am, the countdown is on!  Sunday, June 3rd, I'll take my first run.  If you'd like more info on the Couch 2 5K program, check out the info page here.

Day 100 and Week 20 Weigh In!

Well, the day is finally here.  Day 100.  I've done 70 of them already, so...

5,045 down.  30 to go.

I'm pretty excited.  I'm less excited that I gained weight over last week - I'm back up to 218.9.  A lot of that probably has something to do with the meal I had last night from Wendy's - I really wanted that bacon cheeseburger - so I'm not too worried, especially since this is the first time I've gained weight over a week.

Total lost: 41.1 pounds.  I'm taking a break from the exercise for a bit; I was going to start the Couch to 5K program tomorrow, but then I realized what an astronomically stupid idea that was and have postponed it until next week.  Running will definitely kick start some flab loss.  Let's see what the next 100 days brings!

Day 93

Day 93 is history.  For the total duration of the challenge, I'm exactly 25 burpees over where I'm supposed to be.  Can't wait for this whole thing to be done.  I've been saying that people who have known me for years probably thought an exercise challenge is the LAST thing I'd ever start, much less finish.  I'm happy with the weight loss I've achieved, and now that I'm over 2/3rds of the way to my goal weight, I'm excited to see what the next challenge holds.

Couch to 5K.  Did I mention how much I hate running?

Week Nineteen Weigh-In

What a week. Fell behind on burpees, had a few mishaps at work, and celebrated the week ending by eating an entire pizza by myself. Mind you, it was a medium thin crust spinach, tomato, onion, and mushroom pizza at 130 calories a slice, but still.

I'm happy. ONE MORE WEEK TO GO! And I'm down 43.3 pounds. I'm hoping to hit 45 by the end of week 20.

Also, HOLY CRAP, I forgot to mention - I'm finally measuring success again!  I'm down a total of 10 inches in my gut total.

Week Eighteen Weigh-In

After the greatest barbecue in the world and my second-ever cheat day, I am happy to say I still managed to lose half a pound.  221.1 is the final tally for the day, and I'm hopeful that I can finally get under 220 soon.  Just two more weeks and the burpee challenge is OVER!  I'm up to date and need just 30 more burpees to finish out day 86.

Day 80.  Let the countdown begin.

Side view

Haven't done a side view yet, I realized. Down to a size 38 pant and XL shirts... Big difference from January, when I broke down and bought a pair of 44 pants because 42 was getting too small, and XXL shirts were a little tight.

Week 17 Weigh-In / Day 79

If you'll recall, I was sick last week, and as a result, didn't quite finish my burpees.  I'm still playing catch-up.  I knocked out 220 burpees Saturday and 81 yesterday, and I'm done with mine for today, plus an extra, which only puts me at 132 burpees behind schedule - much better than it was, believe me.  I'm going to try and sneak a bunch in today at work and I should be caught up by Friday if all goes to plan (which it never does).

But enough of that.  After my stomach bug settled, I'm happy with where my weight rested.  Last week, I was actually 226.2.  I've been able to keep much of what I lost from the festivities off, and am now resting at 221.6 - 38.4 pounds down from where I started.

Now to do all the burpees I can at work!

Some more pictures

I haven't posted any pictures in a while, so I thought I'd find some more.  Above is from 2008, when I think I was at my heaviest.  I never set foot near a scale during this time, so the most I KNOW that I've ever weighed is 270 pounds... but in that bright yellow Simposons muumuu up there it looks more like I'm pushing 300.

The following are from the yearly LARP we do.  This was back in early March.  I had lost a little by this point.

There will be more pictures to come, but I'm waiting on them to appear in my email.  Perhaps they'll show up in the morning.  I need sleep anyway!

May 1st - The Final Month!

So here we are - the final month of burpees in the 100 day challenge!  I'm not going to lie, this has been extraordinarily difficult, and though I'm feeling a little better today, I don't think I'm quite up to doing 73 burpees, much less those plus the catching up I need to do from yesterday.  It's okay.  There is a way.  I've come too far to fail now.  So how does the month look?

Date	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Day / Burpees	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80	81
Total Burpees	2701	2775	2850	2926	3003	3081	3160	3240	3321
Date	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Day / Burpees	82	83	84	85	86	87	88	89	90
Total Burpees	3403	3486	3570	3655	3741	3828	3916	4005	4095
Date	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Day / Burpees	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	100
Total Burpees	4186	4278	4371	4465	4560	4656	4753	4851	4950	5050

Yikes. I'm very much looking forward to getting these done, but I've always been worried about the last month.  50 isn't impossible to do in a day, especially broken up, but once you start looking at 80 of them... yeesh.

Week 16 Weigh-In

Oh, what a night.

Those of you that know me personally know that I weigh myself practically every day, but I only post my weight on the blog on my weigh-in days.  It's a good thing, too, because today, I have two different weights to report.

Let me explain a bit.

I stayed at 229.3 for a few days after Monday until I hit 228.0 on Friday.  Sunday morning randomly saw me hit 226.2, which was extremely exciting.  33.8 pounds down from my starting weight?  Hell yes!  Meanwhile, my lovely girlfriend had a stomach bug, which I ended up catching.  After spending the wee hours of the morning (actually about 4 am to 9 am) experiencing the symptoms of said bug (I won't go into them here, but they involve the words 'simultaneous' and 'bucket'), I figured I'd weigh myself as a laugh.

220.9.

So, officially, I'm going to go with 226.2.  But that 220.9 isn't too far off from gaining legitimately.  I ache all over, especially my triceps, so it's a good thing I did 22 burpees last night after midnight but before getting hit with the deathbug.  50 more to do today that I won't get to - I just hope I feel well enough to do the required 123 tomorrow.  I really don't want to be staring at Wednesday with 197 of the damn things to knock out.  This is not a time to not be doing them.

Let's see where the week takes us.

Week 15 Weigh-In

Well, 14 weeks down and 2,100 burpees under my belt. Today is the start of week 15 and Day 65 of the burpee challenge. So where am I?

Happily I cracked the 30 pound mark. I'm down 30.7 pounds now, but woke up late and am currently at work, posting from my phone. In other words, I will probably be burpeeless until midnight. Oh, the horror...

Day 60

You know, when I started this thing back in February, I didn't think the 100 day challenge would be difficult. After all, you can break them up however you want.

Oh dear, was I wrong. Let me just say that this is ridiculously awful. I've wanted to quit every day since the 40 day mark. But I've come too far to quit.

Week 14 Weigh In

Well, I seem to be losing about 0.4 pounds a week now. Down to 230.6, which is nicely close to the 30 pound mark, but damn, I want it to hurry up. Haven't lost any of my stomach, and likely won't, until after the burpees are over and I can start running or something.

Also, I tried to do 40 burpees this morning, with 4 sets of 10, about 5 minutes apart. After two sets, my shoulders pretty much have given up. Yesterday was terrible, but I'm not behind. 38 more to go today!

Uh oh.

So I missed Day 56. I did a total of 1 burpee. So today, day 57, will require 112 of them.

Yikes.

Week 13 Weigh-In

Another Monday, another day to Weigh-In. I'm not too terribly excited about the progress, as I've only come down to 231.3, but progress is progress nontheless. My gut doesn't measure any smaller, but it certainly looks smaller than it did a few weeks ago even at the same measurement. Go figure. I've crossed the 50 day mark in Burpees, and today being day 51, I've already knocked out 31 of them, which is a pretty big accomplishment for me. I've come this far, so I can't quit now.

Hoping to finally get over the 30 pounds lost hump by this time next week!

Day 44, the Outlook of April, and Weigh-In

I thought all too late of including an April Fool's post. Perhaps next year. Too bad.

Anyway, today is the start of Week 12, for those of you keeping score at home, and that means a Weigh-In. Last week I had lost a total of less than a pound over the course of the week, but Week 11 was much kinder to me. I'm down to 231.9, which is 28.1 pounds from where I started. Pretty happy about that one.

Sorry I didn't get this up yesterday, but we need to look forward throughout the month of April and our terrible, terrible burpees. The breakdown is thus:

	April
Date	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Day	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52
Total	946	990	1035	1081	1128	1176	1225	1275	1326	1378
Date	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Day	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60	61	62
Total	1431	1485	1540	1596	1653	1711	1770	1830	1891	1953
Date	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Day	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72
Total	2016	2080	2145	2211	2278	2346	2415	2485	2556	2628

In other words, at the end of today, since my total is 17 over what it should be, I'll cross the 1,000 burpee mark. All while at work, most likely. That's okay - I don't think they can think I'm any crazier than they do already. Looking through the month, though, does make you pause an realize how difficult April is going to be. We're crossing the halfway point pretty early in, and from there we're doing 50 or 60 every day.

Yikes.

Day 43

During burpees today, I was reminded of a quote. But now my arms are too damn sore to remember what it is.

Day 39

is done. And now on to day 40. Yikes. I still can't believe I'm doing this. Sometimes I think this stupid Burpee challenge is a bit much, but what the hell, I've come this far.

Week 11 Weigh-In

Well... Not too much excitement here. I'm down to 235.9, which is about 0.4 lbs down from last week, and 24.1 lbs overall.

It will be difficult to get cardio in with this class coming in. We shall see what next week brings.

Day 36

Do you need further proof that the Burpee Challenge is evil? Day 36, if you do the exact number of burpees per day, will leave you with a to-date total of 666 BURPEES.

I just got chills. Also, I was able to top my previous best and today did 16 burpees in a row. I feel good tonight. I didn't save my burpees until 11:47pm, I am sporting some new underwear (don't worry, we're a long way away from those pics), and I start a new class tomorrow at work. Tomorrow is ALSO the start of week 11 of weight loss, which means a weigh-in! I'm hoping for a good one, having downed less than 800 calories today. No, I'm not starving myself!

What I've been doing to help cut back on calories on a meal is take a can of Progresso Light soup and add a cup of frozen mixed vegetables to it. That's 2 servings of soup and more than one serving of the veggies, and with water to drink, you're under 250 calories for a whole meal. It's been pretty good, but beware the French Onion soup they have. Only 50 calories a serving, but it tastes like French Butthole soup instead. Maybe not even French. Maybe, like, Luxembourg.

It's not without its problems, though. The soups are, like you've probably guessed, high in sodium - usually well over 1,000mg per can. I'm upping my water intake along with it, and it's not an EVERY meal thing, so I think it'll be alright. Hell, it's got to be better than what I was cramming into my body previously, right?

Either way, it has been a fantastic week, and I'm looking forward to another one as well. We'll see what tomorrow morning holds on the weigh-in!

Back on Track... For Now

So Thursday I came to grips with the fact that I've been slacking too much on the diet and exercise. I'm back on track with the diet. I never went over my calories, but I really wasn't watching what I was eating very much, and if I had the calories to spare, then what's a fried chicken sandwich going to hurt?

I'm no food saint or anything, and I'm still not exercising like I really should be. The burpees, though, are still right on track, and those things are awful. Twelve in a row seems to be the new constant, which considering I started with about 5 or 6 at a time, is pretty good.

Day 31

Day 31 is done, and this brings me to over 500 total burpees I've done. I've done a few extra on some days here and there, and without those extra few, Day 32 is when you cross the 500 threshhold. Fun fact.

Week 10 Weigh-In

At the start of week 10, I'm down a total of 23.7 lbs and 9 inches in my gut. I'm pretty excited, to say the least, but I'll admit I've been slacking on exercise.

I've been doing the Burpee challenge, which is nothing short of torture, and today is day 30, so for the next 70 days I'll be doing plenty of them. Fitting those in while at work should prove entertaining for my colleagues, if nothing else.

I've been meaning to start up on cardio seriously all this time and still haven't gotten around to it. It's so hard to get motivated to do it, but I know that's where I'll see even more fat fall off.

How do you stay/get motivated?

Day 29.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Burpees and work are eating up my time. I challenged a friend to the 1000 Pushup Challenge, because I'm an idiot. Basically, you do 1,000 pushups in a week. Break them up however you want. I quickly realized earlier today what an awful idea that was and will shortly be messaging said friend with my tail between my legs, telling him that I'll be waiting until perhaps day 101 of the Burpee Challenge - i.e. when it's over.

15 in a row today, though. Pretty happy with that one. Weigh-in tomorrow!

Week 9 Pictures

Kind of silly for someone showing weight loss to not show a side view, huh? Let's fix that. These photos were taken a few minutes ago.

Day 24

You know, after doing 45 burpees yesterday (and hitting my first streak of 12 in a row at the end), 24 kind of seems like a break. They're hard work, but my arms are much more defined. It's pretty awesome. I'm glad I've stuck with it. I know it's going to be hard, but I think I can make it.

If you're doing the challenge, let me know in the comments. What day are you on? How do you feel?

Monday Weigh-In

After the meals I had yesterday, I was sure I would have packed on some pounds. But, funnily enough, I'm down 21.7 pounds this morning. That's the good news.

The bad news is no burpees yesterday. That means 45 today. Yikes.

I knew it!

I hit the 20 pound mark this morning. Figured it would be on a Wednesday. And now for the final day of a short work week, and then all of the cooking.

I'm not going to lie.

This sucks. Workout out sucks. It's hard, it takes too long, and it can be boring. It's even harder when you hurt, or you're sick, or you're in a lazy coma. Dieting sucks. I want to eat a hamburger with a large pack of salty, golden-brown fries and wash it all down with SugarSlop brand soda.

No, I'm not quitting. I've no intention of that. But I know I usually stay positive and people think I have great willpower or great fortitude or something. But I don't. I'm just like you. I want it. I want the fried chicken and the chocolate and the lying around doing nothing.

When it comes right down to it, I guess I just want to get slimmer more than all that other stuff. And deep down inside, you want to get healthier more than you want a large side of onion rings. It's something to think about.

For the sake of variety, my wrist hurts today instead of my ankle.

I was able to get 7 of the day's 17 off before leaving work. Some people count their day from wake to sleep, I count from midnight to midnight. This weekend I'll be cooking a ton of food for a once-a-year LARP event a bunch of friends and I do, and it won't exactly be health food. I've no idea what calorie count I'll be looking at, but I'm expecting it'll be the first time I go over. After all, my character's not on a diet!

This means that I'll be stopping mid-soup-making and bust out a few burpees. Which excites me, because I am a strange person.

Watching calories really is pretty easy. I feel weird calling what I'm doing a diet, since I'm currently munching on a fried chicken sandwich at 1:30 in the morning, but hey, like I've said, it's about doing things in moderation rather than just outright taking them out of your diet all together. I do feel a LOT better than I did before I started this whole thing, and one or two fried items a week won't put all the pounds back on at once.

In an unrelated note, when you search 'welcome home' on youtube, Coheed and Cambria comes up before Metallica. Too bad.

Monday Weigh In

I was hoping to hit a total of 20 pounds lost by today. That didn't quite happen.

Yesterday was day 15, and I was able to knock them out before 6pm, which is only possible on weekends, it seems, as my weekday work schedule runs me to midnight. Unforunately, I've been slacking on not only my exercise, but my intake of water. I need to get back on track with those, but I've been keeping up with tracking my calories, of course.

So what is my total for the start of week 8? A total of 19.5 pounds lost, although there hasn't been any noticeable difference in measurements since the last time I measured. It seems most of my weight loss seems to happen around the middle of the week, so I'll post here if I finally hit 20 pounds. I'm so close!

Day 14

So I had a friend who joined in with me on the challenge and is attempting to catch up with me. A few, actually, but this one had put it off, and needed to catch up from days 9 and up. While I was feeling proud of myself for finally completing my first set of 10 consecutive, this fit bastard knocks out 20 at once.

I did another set of seven, three over the day's goal! He did two sets of fifteen. Burpee jealousy is very real, and it is tearing at my soul. Oh well. He has to do 34 tomorrow to get caught up. I just have 15. It does make me look forward toward day 30... 50... 78... on and on and up and up. It seems never ending. A co-worker (the same one that pointed me to the Lose It! app in the first place) asked me if I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I said absolutely not.

On the plus side, I have heard from at least person that I've inspired them to start making some healthy changes too. It's also nice when other people in my department ask me, "what is this burpee thing?," to which I have to show them in response, so there's one for the day (lately, I'll work two in there - gotta make sure they understand).

Weigh in and measure on Monday, as always. I'm going to try and not weight myself every single day like I usually do until then. Two milestones I'm looking forward to: 20 lbs lost; 26 lbs lost (10% of my starting weight!).

Hope you have a happy Day 15!

Burpees: Day 13

The Burpee Breakdown goes as such: 4 on break, 9 immediately after my shift was over. Shooting to get 10 in a row tomorrow.

I also posted a photo on my twitter of my patented "half Burpee," as seen below.

'Beginner' Workouts

Type in 'beginner workout' into YouTube sometime and you'll get a very mixed bag. Some are good, with them including things like 'if you can't do a full pushup, do this' or 'if you can't stretch all the way, just do as much as you can.' Others, though, depict shirtless guys, bulging with muscles, who say they have a great beginner workout that anyone can do. This usually consists of nine hundred pushups (over the course of sixteen strange variations, each more awkward than the last), a quick, invigorating 16-mile jog, and they'll end it with a workout you've never heard of that they show once.

Get real. These videos made me feel even worse about trying to work out - it's one of the main reasons I stayed away from working out in a gym. No one that is trying to be healthier should feel ashamed. It's something to be celebrated!

Just like with setting a weight loss goal in the Lose It! app I mentioned the other day, start realistically. I've heard plenty of people say, "I'm out of shape and overweight. I have trouble doing one or two pushups! Should I start by doing P90x, or should I just go straight to Insanity?" Neither. P90x is an effective program, sure, but if you're really overweight and really out of shape, chances are you'll be dead on the ground halfway through the warmup. Start with something simple and realistic.

Begin with stretching. Before working out at all, stretch. These should be done one muscle group at a time, for 30 seconds at a time (use an actual timer, don't estimate!), and when you stretch, hold it. Don't bounce or continually flex while stretching, this can actually be detrimental.

Focus on doing exercises you can do with proper form. There are no shortage of weird exercises someone made up on the internet you can watch, and most of them will show how they are going 'beast mode' on their apartment building's staircase by hopping up and down them while holding a 600lb kettleball. Is this effective for building leg strength? Probably. Is it safe? OH GOD NO.

Build up. Start slow and safe. Do 8 to 15 reps of an exercise with a weight that is heavy enough to make you struggle on the last rep, but not so heavy that you're in danger of dropping the weight on your toes (if you're using resistance bands, this isn't as much of an issue). Don't overexert yourself. Injury means more time sitting around doing nothing.

A typical exercise routine for me may look something like this:
5 minutes stretching

Set 1: do 8-12 reps of each, with 20 seconds to 1 minute MAX between exercises
Chest Flys
Back Rows
Bicep Curls
Tricep Pulldowns
Shoulder Lat Raises
[wait two minutes and then repeat set]

Set 2: 8-12 reps of each, with 20 seconds to 1 minute MAX between exercises
Squats
Pushups
Lunges (reps per leg)
Calf Raises
[wait two minutes and then repeat set]

Set 3: 20 seconds MAX between exercises
30-second Plank
30-second side plank
30-second side plank (other side)
[wait two minutes and then repeat set]

5 minutes stretching

This is a good general routine I've found that will help you to tone, build muscle, and burn some fat. I generally don't do pure cardio workouts, mostly because it's so difficult for me to at my weight, but I am hoping to start incorporating some soon. Instead of straight jogging or walking, though, I may try to go for Non-Pushup burpees, which feel deceptively easy on the first two reps. I'll post when I start doing that and we'll see where it goes.

The One Piece of Exercise Equipment I Use

I don't like gyms. They make me feel self-conscious. My house doesn't. I'm comfortable here. I want to work out here, not there. When I made the decision to start eating better and doing a little exercise here and there, I knew that would be a problem. Running and walking can be an issue as I have a fear of dogs and no one in Tennessee knows how to keep theirs on a leash. I needed something inexpensive that would help me get in shape at home, inside.

I went to the mecca of health and fitness supplies, Wal-Mart. Knowing absolutely nothing about anything, I stared at the fitness equipment aisle, eying some dumbbells but not making a move toward the 10-pound set until the other guys in the aisle left. I bought those along with a set of ankle weights, while my wonderful girlfriend purchased a set that included resistance bands and a jump rope.

I quickly found out that the ankle weights didn't fit and the dumbbells did practically nothing. I liked the resistance bands, though. I used the hell out of those things. And because I used the hell out of them, I started noticing that they weren't exactly made of extremely high quality. So I looked around for another solution.

Enter Bodylastics. I've had my Bodylastics set for a few weeks now and love them to death. You can use them to recreate practically any cable machine exercise in the gym, they are easier on your joints than free weights, and if you drop them on your foot, your foot doesn't explode (I imagine foot explosions are common in gyms. Like I said, I don't go.), and they take up about as much space as a couch pillow. Oh, and did I mention that it's inexpensive, too?

My set was about $50, and allows for anywhere from 5 pounds to 134 pounds resistance for exercises. The Bodylastics people also run liveexercise.com, where they have live workout shows that are also recorded and stored online for you to view, completely free of charge.

If you're looking for a way to get a complete body exercise in your own home without shelling out hundreds or thousands for a home gym (and a new room to store the machine in), check out Bodylastics. You can pick up resistance bands from a lot of stores, but believe me, spend a few extra dollars for the quality.

I would like to caution those interested: if you use all the bands at once, it can look like you're exercising in Nyan Cat's wake. Seriously though, check out Bodylastics' webpage -- the FAQ, the exercises, everything. I like them so much I'm considering getting a set just to keep at my job to use on breaks.

Man, I hope my boss doesn't read this...

March Burpee Madness

Got one extra in yesterday! Woo!

As promised, here is our outlook for the month:

Date	March
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Day / Burpees	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Total Burpees	78	91	105	120	136	153	171	190	210	231	253

Date	March
	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
Day / Burpees	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32
Total Burpees	276	300	325	351	378	406	435	465	496	528

Date	March
	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Day / Burpees	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Total Burpees	561	595	630	666	703	741	780	820	861	903

Told ya. By the looks of it, this is about the time the whole thing becomes really 'real' and you realize you've no idea what you're in for. That's okay, though. I'm not giving up, and dammit, neither are you.

What Facebook Thinks I Want to Do

Since I've started exercising and eating a little healthier, Facebook has really been supportive. It even showed me ads for the Spartan Race every day, because I think it wants me to enter.

Either that, or it wants to kill me.

Burpees, Day 11

As previously mentioned, I missed day 9. Following the rules, that means day 10 had to see a total of 19 burpees, which were done throughout the day -- I don't think I'm anywhere doing so many in a row, although I was able to get through nine consecutively without throwing up and/or passing out.

Heading into the teens, I can start to see why this challenge is so difficult. On paper, it doesn't look bad at all: one burpee a day, plus one more for each day. They don't even have to be done in a row! I've already noticed a change in arm definition, and there's been a noticeable change in the amount of fat sitting on top of the bicep.

It's funny. I read about the 100 day challenge and started that day, then I made a spreadsheet to track progress and keep up with the days and totals I'd done. Day 100 will actually land on my father's birthday, May 28th.

Want to celebrate the completion with me? You can still jump in! If you're starting today, though, you'll need to do a total of 66 burpees before midnight. Wondering how it breaks down? This takes us from the start date last Sunday to the end of February:

Date	February
	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29
Day / Burpees	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Total Burpees	1	3	6	10	15	21	28	36	45	55	66

So if you've been keeping up, you've done at least 66 so far! Great job keeping up and squeezing in these awful bastards along with everything else you have to do. You don't want to know what March looks like. But I'll post it tomorrow anyway!

Lose It!: The Best Weight Loss App Ever

I mentioned in my first post a great smartphone app you can get to assist you in losing weight. Available for both Android and iOS, Lose It! is a calorie and exercise tracker.

You don't need a smartphone to use the service, though. You can create an account on the website (did I mention the website and the application are both free?) and have access to the same features there.

All you need to do is enter your gender, birthdate, current height, and current weight, and Lose It! will give you a daily caloric budget based on how fast you want to lose weight and what your goal weight is. It allows for anywhere from 1/2 a pound to 2 pounds a week, but fair warning,, you will probably not have much success if you go 2 pounds a week starting out - this will put you down to about 1,500 calories a day. It's too much of a jump.

Start with 1 pound a week. With exercise, believe me, you will lose weight faster than that. Just be consistent. The occasional cheat day where you go over by 400 calories won't kill you, but you can't eat an entire pizza by yourself every week an expect to drop weight.

The app is how I started. Virtually no exercise at all. Ease into that part. Don't think you're going to wake up tomorrow and eat nothing but salad and tofu and never touch another soda or french fry. It's not realistic. Don't cut out the foods you love, but you will need to scale them back. Hell, I still drink soda. I just drink a lot less of it, and drink a lot more water than before. If you have any questions on getting started or the app, feel free to comment and I'll do my best to give you an answer.

Burpees, Day 10

Didn't get any done at all yesterday, so that makes a full nineteen I need to do today.

If you do this, please don't miss a day!

Day 9 and Weigh-In

In addition to watching what I am eating and some exercise, I am attempting the 100-day burpee challenge. Basically, it asks for you to do one burpee on day 1, two on day two, and so on until the final day pushes 100 burpees out of you. "What the hell is a burpee," you ask?

Like any exercise, there are four hundred variations. I am doing the pushup burpee variation, which I think is about the standard right now for the challenge:



But there are, like I said, many other versions you can do if the pushup burpee is too hard:



As I said above, today is day 9. Now, If you miss any from a day, you have to make them up, and the burpees don't have to be consecutive! So far, I haven't missed any. We'll see what happens today.

As it is Monday, the start of my weight-loss week, I should report in. My weight hasn't changed from yesterday, when I was down to my lowest thus far, nor has my tummy shrunk since Saturday. This is fine, you usually aren't going to see an inch off your waistline every five hours. Unless you have, like, malaria. But that's not a very good exercise.

Current: 244.7 lbs, 42.5" tummy

Fun fact: thus far, I've done 44 burpees total over the course of the challenge (I did some extras in the earlier days), but by day 100, the total number is 5,050.

Side-by-Side Comparison

< Before

Current >

Some may wonder what a 5'9", 260 pound man looks like. This is one example. In other specimens of the same height/weight setup, the beard may not be quite as pronounced.

I've no idea made me make that face. To your left is a picture I took roughly two years ago. To your right is one I just took, frumpy comfy hoodie and all. This is actually the first time I've looked at the difference side-by-side.

Introduction

For those of you that don't know me from the rest of the faceless internet, let me start by saying that I am unhealthy. Unhealthy and fat. Everyone knows someone who has a few extra pounds on them and constantly complains how 'fat' they are. I want to assure you that is not me. Not at all. No, dear reader, I want you to understand that I have become very familiar with the term 'fat.'

I say all this because I had made a few tenth-hearted attempts at weight loss or even eating healthy before. These usually lasted less than a full 24 hours before dropping back to my normal habits. Every year, I would make a New Year's Resolution to eat healthy and lose weight, because I was fed up with the way I looked. They would sometimes go great for about two days or so. One year, I just made the resolution to work out every day. It happened for a few weeks and then abruptly stopped. Knowing me, I probably missed a day and said, "I'll try again next year."

Now, I want to make it clear that I am not setting up to sell you something. I am not going to share a tear-filled success story, because I haven't succeeded yet. I'm nowhere near my goal, but I know that there are hundreds of thousands of people out there that think that they cannot lose weight or make any sort of change. I'm starting this blog partly because I want to show people what is working for me, and to show people that there is always hope, partly because I know that this will force accountability on me, partly because I haven't fallen off this yet, and partly because I'm sure many of my friends are getting tired of my Facebook statuses about it.

So, some important things to share: I am not any sort of nutritionist or diet expert or exercise technician or anything. I AM a fat guy who has found some exercises that can be done his kneecap breaking in half and some options for food that allow me to stay within limits without wanting to kill myself (most of the time).

Right, so the weight loss stuff. I guess that's why you're reading this. I think it's working this time because I DIDN'T make a New Year's resolution to lose weight. I had a few days off from work, and when I came back in on a Thursday, the team I work with, who are pretty awesome, had apparently decided they were all going to be accountable with each other and lose weight and eat right and exercise and all that jazz. I told them good luck with that and promptly ham-fisted six or seven hamburgers into my mouth. Friday, I had the same attitude. Saturday, too.

That Sunday night, I had a dinner that stuck with me (but not for very long): four Taco Bell crunchy tacos, followed by two or three chocolate glazed donuts. Afterward, I felt about like you might imagine I did. The next day at work was January 7th, and a co-worker pointed out a smartphone app named 'Lose It!' And so, I began watching what I was putting into my body. And being more and more horrified.

I am a white American male that stands 5 feet, 9 inches tall. When I started, I was 260 pounds and had a stomach that measured 49 inches at the gut. It has been six weeks so far - as I type this, I'm heading into the start of the seventh - and while I'm nowhere near to my goal weight, I am down 15.3 pounds and 6.5 inches in my gut. No, there's no miracle diet food or low-carb or fad diet or secret exercise or drug or supplements involved. There's no expensive exercise equipment - in fact, I really only own one thing, which like the smartphone app mentioned above, will be covered in more detail in a later post.

I'm not going to say "If I can do it, YOU can do it," or the more popular, "If I can do it, ANYONE can do it!" I can't say that because I haven't done it. It's still happening. But dammit, I'm a quarter of the way to my first weight loss goal, and if I am doing it, YOU can am doing... wait, YOU can do it with me!"

No, that didn't sound right either. Hell, you know what I mean.