Paying It Forward

Weigh In: 278.5
Calories Counted: 2182

I don't know how great this blog is going to be because I'm exhausted, but I wanted to at least report in today. You'll notice the weight's starting to go in the right direction. I was in the gym at 6am this morning even though I didn't have to be anywhere until 9:30. I want to get back into my old habits - even if the situation doesn't call for it. That means trying to plan out and prepare meals, getting to the gym ass-early if that means I get it done and out of the way, and recording all my calories each day. It's what's gotten me to where I am today - and it's the only way that I'm going to continue at any respectable pace.

Tomorrow morning, Erin and I are going to hit the gym. That'll make 4 or 5 days in a row for me, which USED to be the norm. Now, it's something I'm really making an effort to do, and I'm going to keep doing it until it's the norm again. I've been doing a pretty standard workout that's seeming to work pretty well for me. It goes something like this:

- 30 minutes on the Elliptical
- Inverted Bench Press: 3 sets of 165, 12 reps
- Tricep Curls: 3 sets of 50 or 60, 12 reps
- Butterfly Curls: 2 sets of 12, 110-120 pounds.
- Rocky Situps: 3 sets of 12 - body weight approximately 75 degrees inverted.
- Ab Machine (tough one, not the easy one): 2 sets of 10, 60 pounds of resistance.

I'm not too concerned about working my legs TOO much - I get a good workout with the Elliptical that I do. Also, when I'm doing my Tricep curls, I stand on my toes to build stability and calf strength. I'll eventually add my leg presses and curls, squats and lunges back in, but this is the plan for a while.

So this is the path to a healthy lifestyle. I've said it a billion times now, but it's hard work, planning and constant focus. Sometimes I convince myself that I'm the only one watching myself, but I'm starting to realize that there's a lot of people watching what I do. It seems as if many people expect me to fail - and I constantly try to prove them wrong. On the other hand - and I think this is more important - I'm starting to realize (through many of your comments on the blog, and also people at work and in my life) that I'm a source of motivation to others, and in a way, a role model.

If I'm being totally honest, I'm honored as hell that I'm viewed that way. It's the same way that I view Billy - someone who has been there, done that, and it blazing trails for me. For instance, I keep looking at his "before" picture lately and I can't help but remind myself that he was 258 pounds in that picture. I'm about 20 pounds from that, but also about 4 inches taller. What does that tell me? That tells me that if I work hard for another 9 months, I can look in myself in the mirror and know that the transformation he made, I can also make.

And that motivates the hell out of of me. In the end, in a year or so when I hit my fitness goals and I'm built like a brick shithouse with muscles ripping left and right, I can point to Billy as a main source of example and motivation.

So, if others get that feeling of motivation from me, it's up to me to really put it all up there and prove myself worthy of that level of respect. I may have lost 100 pounds, but I can't rest on those laurels. I've got quite a bit left to go, and in order to achieve that, I have to take it to the next level. There's too much at stake NOT to.