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.

On the Rebound

Weigh In: Reported Earlier Today
Calories Consumed: 1888

As you guys know, I check my blog and everyone else's blogs probably 10-15 times a day. That means that 10-15 times today I got to see my blog staring back at me. You know the one - it's the one right below this where I was a whining little brat complaining about the gifts in my life like the ability to go back to school when I'm 30, a job that is flexible enough to allow me to do so, and all the other good things in my life.

So that being said, I wave goodbye to the slump that I was in. I was watching the finale of "Fat March" a few night ago, and if you're not familiar with the show, they walked like 550 miles from Boston to Washington DC. The premise was that they were a team, and whenever someone got voted off or quit, they lost a percentage of their money. But what was key was the fact that all they did was eat right and walk (a LOT) and they lost weight. There were some of the most miserable people in the world at the beginning of this show (me earlier today), and by the end, they were motivated and seeing results (me now).

Here's some of the quotes at the end:

“You just have to get up off of your big butt and walk”

“Just watch what you eat – it’s not brain surgery”

“It really comes down to getting up, going out, and doing SOMETHING”

“Once you look at yourself in the mirror and say that you’re tired of hurting yourself, defeating your future – once you do that, you can do anything”

“There’s no magic to weight loss – there’s no magic to becoming who you want to become. You just start to believe in yourself – you start to accomplish small goals, even if it’s just walk a block, and then it turns into a mile walk, it starts to become three miles, and then five – and then pretty soon, you can walk a marathon, where you couldn’t even walk a mile before”.


It makes sense. And it's a lot simpler than I've been making it out to be. So, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to suck it up, and MAKE it happen.

Oh, and I saw this in my Sports Illustrated magazine today. I opened it up right to this page, as if it was fate:

Chris Chelios's Hour of Power is a workout that Detroit Red Wing Chris Chelios does. One hour straight, doing this non-stop. He's 45 years old, the oldest player in the league. There's a reason he's in such great shape.

Pimpin' Ain't Easy

Weigh In: 281.5

I've come to the realization that I'm in a slump. Mentally, I've got so many things going on that the importance of working out and eating right is still there, but it's fighting the need to take care of work and school, and it's a struggle. By no means have I quit (of course), but it's just been a tough road lately.

Physically, I've been exhausted as well. Constantly going from A to B - having 30 things on my plate. My schedule is a balancing act, and it's frustrating as hell. I'm having to find cracks in my schedule just to get my workouts in.

That being said, something has to be done. This isn't supposed to be easy - or everyone would be doing it. If this is a SACRIFICE, then that's exactly what I have to do. We've gone out and had a great time this week for Erin's birthday - been having family meals, going out to eat, you name it. I've talked myself into coasting when I need to be going full speed ahead. I just haven't been doing enough to EARN it - which is what has led to my lackadaisical attitude. I'm afraid that I've come off as "not caring" lately - that's just not the case. It's still the first thing on my mind - I just haven't put the time in, so unlike the past, I'm not allowing myself to be really pissed off.

One thing I haven't been doing is officially counting the calories every day. I'm going to start being more conscious of that. I haven't been - quite frankly - because I didn't want to see the number counted every day.

It's great when you have the motivation and drive and WANT to be doing this. Sometimes, you don't have that drive and motivation. But you know what? You suck it up, and you just do it anyways, whether you like it or not.

Just like any other responsibility in my life - it's got to get done. So, I'm going to keep doing it. I've always said that the "best motivator for weight loss is weight loss itself". Maybe if I EARN a few pounds lost, I'll regain that steam.

It is what it is.

Weigh In: 282.5

It is what it is, I suppose. The last few days haven't been great for the diet, and my workouts have been slim to none. I could give a ton of excuses, reasons, or whatever - but it is what it is. I haven't done what I need to do, and the weight is up. I'm pissed off about it on one hand, but on the other hand, I'm pretty calm. I don't like it, but I expected it.

The good news is, I've done well today. I went and did a great workout tonight. I'm having a hard time getting to the gym in the mornings right now because I'm taking two classes that are absolutely tearing me up. I'm getting up early, and usually when I'm at the gym at 6am, the last few mornings I've been in front of the piano working on these arrangements for class. Again, it is what it is.

So I am finding time for everything. The last time my schedule was swamped like this, it was December when I was buying a house, and the weight was horrible. I gained, stayed steady, and gained more. I won't let that happen again.

The bottom line is that I need to find the time. I actually took a half day off of work today so I could visit Erin at her school (it's her birthday today), and then to go to the gym. I actually took the time off of work specifically to work out, because we're going to the Tigers game tonight and I knew that I would have no other time to work out. That's obviously something I can't ALWAYS do - but again - it is what it is.

So, let's see what happens tomorrow. A new day - following a good one.

Never Forget

Weigh In: 280.0

Sometimes, weight loss is important. Sometimes, it isn't as much so.

Today marks the 6th anniversary of the day the World Trade Centers crashed. I find it hard to believe that 6 years have passed since. I remember sitting in my parent's living room watching CNN as the first tower was hit by what we thought was a 'commuter plane'. Every single one of our lives changed the moment that second plane hit - we immediately knew it was terrorism.

This was our generation's Pearl Harbor. Every time I see the combination of a 9 and an 11, I think of what happened in 2001. Whether it's seeing the date on the calender, or it being 9:11pm on the clock, I'm constantly thinking about what happened to those innocent lives that day. All those people who were minding their own business, trying to live the American Dream, all wiped out by a terrorist group. There's so many political views on this that I don't want to get into - but the bottom line is, these people were in the line of fire in a war they weren't aware that they were in.

So much has changed. It's not just the time frame at the airport. It's about families lost, and a perspective that we all got that day. "War" happened elsewhere. It wasn't supposed to happen around here. To think about everything that happens in this world that we're de-sensitized of - I for one never thought it would happen in this country.

But it has, and it's the world we live in. I'll never forget for the rest of my life the images of firefighters climbing into those towers to save those lives.. and I'm not convinced that they didn't realize what was going on around them. I wonder if they knew they were walking into their own firey grave. I think about all those people around the country who were watching on TV as the towers were on fire, desperately pounding the buttons on their cell phones trying to get ahold of their family who worked in New York, with no luck.

Today's a day to remember the victims of the largest terrorism attack on our country ever. A day to appreciate the family members and friends in our own lives - and to make sure we let them know that we appreciate them - because you don't know what tomorrow brings.

Never forget.

Weak.

Weigh In: 282.5

I'm irritated, pissed, frustrated and fed up. First off, the weight today was rediculous. I'm doing all the wrong things at exactly the wrong time. From a week ago today to now, I've GAINED 6 pounds. Completely the wrong way.

I'm falling into the old traps - eating great all day and then blowing it at the end. Missing work outs. Not being completely focused. Making excuses and bullcrap justifications for poor behavior.
Here's a few:

1: Last night we had dinner at Erin's parents house for Erin's birthday week (yes, week). Her mom was serving stuffed shells. I "had" to have that.

2: I have been so busy with classes and work that I'm stressed out - that's why I haven't hit the gym as much as I have in the past.

3: Ever since the gym was closed last week, I'm out of my habit of hitting the gym early every morning. It takes time to get 'back into gear'.

4: Ever since classes started, I've been forced to weigh in much earlier in the day (like 6am) instead of around 8:30 or 9am like I've been recently. That's part of why the weights have been off.

All of those are complete crap. Why I allow myself to buy into that garbage is beyond me. I'm better than this, but here I am, coming up with reason after reason for being a complete asshole when it comes to my weight loss goals this week.

This has a lot to do with my "inner fat" and self-doubt. Every time I gain steam (last week), I find a way to screw myself over. This has to stop. And nobody is going to do it for me.

Also, I'll get the challenge numbers up sometime today, the aforementioned work/school schedule's got me against a wall this week, and we're still missing a few weigh-ins, so it'll be done soon. Sorry for the delay.

Tuck's Big Challenge Weigh In #1

Alrighty, everyone. One week in the books. What's your weigh ins?