Where have I gone to?

Hello there, for those who have forgotten, my name is Kevin and I blog... LOL!!

Been a long time since I've done one of these and there are many reasons why, but the main one is really I've had nothing positive to say/report. I have completely stalled out and backed up just a little, luckily just a little!!

I am tired of the program we have been doing. While it works, it is extremely restrictive and VERY expensive, so we stopped getting the supplements a while back and I have come to the realization that I have begun to tune them out. I want to get exercising again and that program isn't designed for that. I need extra carbs to work out and If I have extra carbs I am instantly "cheating", which I do anyways because I am on a program and I am not unlike 99% of people who are on programs I think.

I have come to the realization that I need to do this for myself on my own. I can no longer rely on someone else to do it for me and let's be honest, all the programs out there are nothing but a crutch; something to blame when you don't succeed. Now I know those programs work for many people, but if you don't have the personal fortitude to take control and do it yourself, then when that program ends, and you don't have that crutch anymore, back you go.

I like food, I will admit that. I love to cook!!! I don't see anything wrong with that. I have already gotten to the point where I don't gorge myself anymore. I measure almost everything I eat now, and carb count like a pro because of my insulin pump program. I need to get better about junk food, I know that, but that is a by-product of being on a restrictive program and feeling put-out.

Pam & I played softball together last night and it was awesome. Tonight we are doing something else, maybe pull the bikes out and go for a family ride? I hope so, either way I am making a lovely pasta dinner and then continuing my active streak. I feel 100x better than I have in years and I'm not going back, I'm going further until the journey is complete... hopefully in about 60-years from now. ;)

Softball Season!!

Aaaahhhhhhhhhh, so it begins! Other than getting smoked 28-11, and playing like a retarded monkey at 1st base it felt so good to be back at it. It also didn't hurt that half the team noticed I had slimmed down.... which upon further reflection might be considered a little gay.... LOL!!

I was supposed to workout Thursday as well but i was too sore, so tonight is the night and then golf tomorrow. weight is down a bit this AM so I am positive for tonight and I feel good in an emotional way. Not feeling so frustrated I guess. Short post I know, but I haven't got much to say.

oh and I went 2-4 and was hitting the ball really well Wednesday night, all that BP really helped. ;)

Did it!

well I did it, I managed to get a workout in, which was no mean feat as I was fighting my blood-sugar all afternoon. I did 30 minutes on the Treadmill and then 15 FULL sit-ups and then some kettle weight exercises and then of course stretched.

It felt really good and I am proud of myself. the only negative was that my blood-sugar got low after and I needed to eat something at 10pm, right before bed, which means my weight is up this AM. Oh well, small battles right?

Tonight I have my first ball game of the season, late game of course, but I don't care. Tomorrow I will use the treadmill again and the day after that, and then Saturday I go golfing (first round of the year, it's going to be ugly) and Sunday is a double header in softball so I have a sporty few days ahead of me. I feel like a teenager again!! Without the smoking and chasing girls of course ;)

Will keep you all posted.

Dog Ate My Homework

LOL, see Pam's blog to find out why I didn't workout last night!! :)

And for the record, I understand the concept of listening to John Gabriel at bed, I just can't fall asleep with it going. I have never been one to listen to music to fall asleep and this is more of the same idea for me.

Plus let's be honest, the guy does sound a little douchie.

Stirring the pot ladies, stirring the pot!! LOL!!!

Resetting

Alright, so enough pity-party, lazy asshole, quitter bull-shit. Time to re-up and start over before things get out of hand. I am very close to being in the 21's and all I need to do is recommit to the process and I will get there.

I will fully admit that I am not following the H1 program the way they would like me to, but, I am using that more as a check and balance thing than anything. I don't feel that the diet they want me to follow is really safe for me, so I have been working my own way through it and finding things that work for me while lowering my carb count to a level that I am comfortable at that allows me to lose the weight with out almost passing out if I walk to the mailbox and back.

I know the next step for them will be to "remove" choices and that ain't going to fly with me, so I will use them as an accountability tool and keep doing my own thing and make adjustments as I need to that work for me and my body. Next step is EXERCISE. I am such a lazy prick these days it is stupid. I just can't seem to get my ass off the couch. I know that it will speed up the process but I can't wrap my head around it. I need to exercise early in the evening so I can get to bed at a decent time, so now I just have to do it! Tonight is the night. I am walking on the treadmill and then having a good stretch and then relaxing after Pam is done with her softball.

On that last note, I just want to express how very proud of my wife I am for joining a league. It was a big step for her and I couldn't be happier that she made that choice. It is a tough thing to do, especially when you have never played an organized game in your life. Good work baby, I love you.

Total Funk....

So how long has it been since I have posted on here? No idea? Me either.

I have been in a total funk the last few weeks, I have completely plateaued on my weight loss and have even crept back a little. I AM FRUSTRATED!!! I can't seem to get out of it either. I am trying but nothing seems to work. I will admit that I have had few non-program treats in the last little bit but not to this extent, but maybe my body is being a bitch and holding on for some reason. Whatever.

I need to start exercising. My energy levels are crazy low,and I need to get more sleep. That is so important. It also doesn't help that I have had some weird bug that makes me nauseous and dizzy every once in a while and that has been going on for over 3 weeks now. The only way to feel better? Eat, that's right, have to eat something to feel better, so that ain't helping.

I need to reset and get going again. I have done pretty good to this point and I have to stop being lazy and get moving. Diet will only take it so far, I need to get my lazy ass moving if I want see any results.

Venting done...

I am a strong, independent woman, who doesn't need to smoke..... ;)

Birthday Weekend

Yep, it was my birthday on Easter Sunday so needless to say I did not have a good weekend of eating.

We got the bathroom finished and then tidied the house as we were having people over on Saturday night so we chose quick and easy over sensible and healthy a few too many times. It's done and I've accepted the consequences which were 3 pounds put back on over that span from last Wednesday to Monday. Gonna happen from time to time, gotta look past it and move on, right?

That's what I did. I have seen the scale swing 6 pounds at home and I am very pleased with that. I figure I was retaining a tonne of water and I have been able to expel it I guess. I also got in 20 minutes on the treadmill last night so that is a good thing as well.

I am hoping to see a good number tonight at weigh-in, maybe even a reset. We'll see I guess, but my goal is to be below 225 by Friday. I think I can do it.

UPDATE: Yeah, goal accomplished. 224 pounds as of Wednesday night. Lost 4 1/2 pounds since Monday. Can you say water retention? LOL!!

Powder Room Reno is DONE!!!

Well she fought us the last couple of days and we are two days past our scheduled end date, but she is done!! This was our first ever real reno job that we have done, and while it is not perfect, it looks pretty darn good and I couldn't be more proud of the job we did!!!

Here is the finished product. Enjoy!!


Floor all done with new vent cover.

New light fixture; we ended up changing the original we bought as it made everything REALLY green. This one is nice and simple and really lights up the room.

Gorgeous new vanity all installed.

New mirror and towel rack.

And of course the nice new toilet.

Mini-Goal Reached!!

So I said to myself the other day as I looked at the scale at 5:30 am, "225 before I am 36..." Done & done!!!

Yep mini-goal reached. I am very proud of myself. It is a small milestone but this is the lightest I have been in about a decade so woo hoo!!

I think Pam is actually more proud of me than anyone. It's nice to see results from just clean eating (mostly) as we have been busy with the bathroom reno & haven't had time to exercise. That starts up with a vengeance Sunday or Monday as Baseball is fast approaching and I need to get myself moving so I don't hurt myself. Happy Easter all!!!

New Demo Pics

Holes patched.

Patches done!!

New Light installed.

Gorgeous painter Girl!!!!!

Powder Room Demo!!!

And so it begins.....

This is what it looked like before.... so dreamy...

will post some new ones soon......

A Short Break

Well not so much a break as a time-consuming side project.

We are re-doing the powder room in the house which is taking us away from our workouts. I'm okay with that as it is a physical job and is BADLY needed.

We demo'd it last night and tonight I get to patch it and get it ready for paint tomorrow. we are changing the vanity, toilet, mirror and laying tile and putting in all new trim along with a new paint job, light and fan. So big job. I will post some pics on here to tack the progress.

Oh and I hurt my hip.... while I was asleep... LOL!!! I was sleeping too close to the edge of the bed and my leg fell off & I guess my body tried to save it and pulled something. Too funny. Oh well the "rest" of renovating the powder room will be just what the doctor ordered I am sure.

Watch for the pics!!!

My Wife Hates Me!!!!!

And that Tony guy needs to get his ASS KICKED. WTF was that that!!!!

Seriously though, KempoX.. First time.... WOW!! I will admit that it was a lot of fun but I was not expecting to sweat that such. That Tony guy is insane.

We started again this week on our exercising. Monday I used the treadmill for 20 minutes and last night was my first session of KempoX. How funny was that!?! I spent almost as much time laughing as I did exercising I think. But, I made it through the whole DVD and that is what matters, AND, I was able to do some things that Pam couldn't! In fact, she said on more than one occasion, "I can't believe how strong your are!!" Who's the man? I'm the man!! LOL!!!

I am a little sore today but it really was a great workout and I am glad I did it, bitching and moaning aside, but hey I'm a dude and that's how we do. My weight is at 226 1/2 and going down and other than a little stomach issue today that has me home from work, I feel pretty good. The process continues to work and I am getting healthier everyday.

Don't know yet what wifey has in store for me tonight, but we will see. Maybe it's my turn to kick her ass tonight? Hhhhhmmmmmm........

What a Weekend!!

Well we pulled it off. Pam managed to get to Burlington and surprise Lisa without slipping up. It was so great to be witness to that. Lisa was shocked and I think she may have teared up a bit (did you Lisa?) and it was a great moment.

I am so proud of my girl for accomplishing what she did; all three girls actually. You all did great!! I know Pam is very sore from her race and wants to properly train for the next one, so guess what? That is what we are going to do!! We have decided to do a 5K as a family, the Whitby 5000 on July 24th. Pam, Rebecca and myself are all going to do it. we are going to figure out a route in our neighborhood that is the right distance and start walking it, then build on up from there to running it. It is going to be awesome.

I managed to maintain my weight after the weekend which means I am at 228 1/2 pounds.... that would be exactly 20 pounds I am down, yeah baby!! I am very happy with that, and why shouldn't I be? We had an odd weekend for us. We don't stay at Hotels or eat out regularly so I was a the mercy of restaurants all weekend and I did okay. We stayed at the same hotel as our friends Jacqui & Eugene and we all went out to dinner together at Montana's which is my very favourite restaurant where I indulged in some ribs... oh baby, were they good. Then the buffet for breakfast the next day and I still did okay, so I am happy about that.

It was such a great time meeting Pam's WLW friends this weekend. It is always a little nerve-racking meeting new people because you don't know how or if you will get along. My worries were, of course, unfounded as we all got along famously. I think we spent more time laughing than anything else which was great and I think we have made some friends for life. I am really looking forward to getting to know & spending time with Lisa and Greg in June as we didn't get a tonne of time with them this weekend like we did with Jacqui & Eugene. But the time we did spend was great so no worries there.

So the training routine is about to change with more emphasis on building to that 5K and of course baseball training as the season fast approaches. I will try to keep this as up to date as possible. Until next time!!

Wasted Week

Wow, one whole day of exercising!!!! Ahhh, what will I do?

Well for one, I will continue with my don't worry about it attitude and will really try to get back to it in the next couple of days. On the plus side, my eating has been spot on and the scale shows it. I have not been a total lazy ass. I have been taking the dog for more walks, taking more stairs on my way to and from work and getting in all my water everyday. So I am keeping on the road, just in the slow lane this week.

Have to wait and see now what the weekend brings I suppose. Hopefully something cool happens... we'll see....

I will update my weight in a bit....

Too Many Days Between Posts......

But what are you going to do...... I am not being defeatist about this, pessimistic, whatever, just being realistic. I can't control circumstances, no matter what i tell myself. We had dinner out on Saturday and as a result I had what I can only imagine was a tonne of sodium, which as a result of my choices, doesn't happen anymore, so I was up almost 2 pounds come Monday. That's just how it is. we are at the mercy of the restaurant or in this case the individuals we choose to dine with. Now granted I didn't need to have the few chips I did have, or the veggies and dip, or the 3 glasses of wine, oh and the carrot cake, mustn't forget that... lol!!

Again, not being dismissive of this at all, i think that I am just really into this now and I know that it's not always going to be losses and good days, it is hard this and I choose to do this with as positive attitude and the biggest smile on my face I can. Now that smile may fade when I am tired or I am on minute 9 of 10 on a 7% incline at 4.6 on the treadmill like tonight (30 minutes overall) but it's still there, because I am accomplishing something. Not as fast as I would like of course, but again, it takes as long as it takes.

The only negative tonight was my blood-sugar going low near the end of my half hour on the treadmill, but that happens and I know how to deal with it. I am just going to concentrate on what i can control and brush off the stuff that I can't because that is my choice. don't like it, too bad.....

Stuck in Traffic

Don't you hate it when life gets in the way? That has been my story the last two days. I will admit that I skipped my workout Wednesday as I was tired but I had lost another pound and a half so I didn't feel bad about it and I stuck to my eating regime so no harm no foul. Thursday we had some good friends come by for a visit and that also got in the way of me working out, which honestly is fine.

I am taking a slow approach to my working out and listening to my body and not making excuses to not do it, but circumstances sometimes get in the way. Yesterday was one of those days. Tonight might be another as well as the same friends, who actually live north of us, but are expecting their first child any day now so are staying with his parents 10 minutes away as he has to work in the city, might come by to watch the hockey game as his parents don't have HD, priorities you know. ;)

As you can tell I am not too worked up about any of this and it very well may turn into me restarting on Monday or Sunday night because that is just how it has to be.

I wish I could get up early for work and get a workout in like Pam is doing, and believe me I am so proud of her for doing that with Jacqui, but I am pretty sure nobody else wants to get up at 4am to workout, so you can forgive me for not wanting to do that.

I am slowly finding my rhythm in this process; the biggest being balancing my dietary needs as a Diabetic who is trying to lose weight. No easy task believe me. I can't "diet" like everybody else, it's not viable as my body works differently than a normal person. I may look normal (shut it Pam!!) but I have an issue that is life-long and a royal pain in the ass, BUT, I have finally figured this beast out.

First step was my Insulin pump, it allows me the flexibility to do a lot of this through counting carbs and adjusting my basal rates (how much insulin I get per hour) to allow me to reduce the amount I eat while allowing me to still exercise with a lot less fear of going low. Granted it still happens, but I also know how to treat a low properly now, so I am not panicking and eating half a box of cereal or half a bag of cookies like I did before. (No exaggeration by the way). That is huge, because before it was all a guessing game and panic as I was going low constantly on WW when I tried that in the past, or going low 5-minutes into a workout because I was out of whack.

This is my journey and I have learned to embrace the highs and lows, (no pun intended) and just roll with it. I will admit that I thought I was going to hit it out of the park and be at my goal weight in like 3 months, and was a little cocky about it, but the reality is much different. It really is a slow road to healthy, but the scenery along the way is important, so I am glad that I am not missing any of it.

oh and one more thing...... GO CANADA GO!!!!!!!

Still going down that road

Two days in a row and it feels good! Got off to a nice early start even though my blood sugar tried to not cooperate, but I had an orange and a granola bar, turned my basal rate down and off I went to the basement, turned on the Canada/Germany game and started walking.

I did 30 minutes at 4.6 and to add a wrinkle at the 15-minute mark I increased my incline to 7%. Let me tell you that will cause a sweat to go from a nice glisten to Kevin on the beach in Delaware 4 years ago during that massive heat wave. Needless to say, it's a lot..LOL!!! I then did my Perfect pull-ups Ab Straps and then stretched it out.

Oh, I almost forgot, I also for the first time since I was a teenager probably, did a FULL PULL UP!!! I just decided to try it before I worked out and low and behold I did one! I will admit that it did not physically feel good to do, but emotionally... WOW!!!! I am down probably 20 pounds now and I am physically stronger than I have been in years and it shows! My upper body strength is improving slowly but surely and there are tangible results I can point to now as proof. I still need to build up the strength in my right leg as it is still an issue but nothing some lunges won't cure, but MAN!! what a night!!!!


day 3... tomorrow!!!!!!!

Merging back onto the Highway.....

Guess who's back... back again... Boomer's back... well you get the idea. Enough cheesy Eminem ripoffs. Yep, finally back on that Slow Road.

So, I finally got to working out again and I am glad to report that my weight is down to 231 1/2 pounds,which is wicked. It feels so good to be back in the saddle and taking some control back. i almost thought it wouldn't happen tonight seeing as we finally got some snow this year and as I was getting ready to go workout I looked out the window and saw how much snow was down and quickly realized I was heading outside. I didn't let that stop me though. i came in and hit the treadmill for 20 minutes and then used the resistance bands.

It has been tough since I strained my knee to get back to it, i lost all my momentum, but i finally got over myself and got my lazy ass back on my trusted treadmill and walked. It was great to work up that sweat again even if it was a little later than i initially wanted. now it is almost 10:30 and an hour past my bedtime, so until tomorrow.....

The Road just got slower.....

yeah.... so I hurt my knee on the treadmill last night. It stiffened up on me last night. I iced it and used some Tiger-balm on it, but i woke up this morning and it was SORE!!

There is a walk-in in the Underground on the way to work so I stopped in there and they figure it is a soft-tissue thing, not structural thankfully. I can squat and all that without any trouble it is just stiff and sore when walking and doing stairs etc. So I need to lay-off it for a few days and then start slowly back into it. It happened because I jumped in after some time off and didn't pace myself; stupid I know but I am a guy after all.

So I will be sulking for the next few days and then hopefully back to it by the weekend or Monday, walking only of course.

Until then........

So Tuesday it is!!!!!

Yeah....... I fucked up.......

So by the time I finished entertaining myself with DJ Hero, and realized I hadn't turned down my basal rate, it was 8:45 and way to late to start a workout. So after much self abuse I had to put it off until tonight.

This is now Day 1. The other exercising I have been doing up until this point doesn't count anymore unfortunately because I have had too much time away. My fault & I take complete ownership of it. This is starting to sound like a broken record and I need to commit to this properly if I am to get any benefit out of it. It's so easy to write those words, it's a completely different thing to follow those words, but I have to try and I have to succeed. If not for me then for my beautiful daughter and my beautiful wife who deserve to have the Daddy and husband that I want to be, and I am going to be. Not the couch potato that I have become. Enough empty words, it's time for action and results!! No more fucking around Boomer!!!

( I apologize for those who may be offended by my choice of words in this one, but sometimes you need to put it out there you know?)

Dropping the Ball

Well I work at a sports station so I might as well use a sports cliche or 3. I have not been giving 110%, nor have I been taking one for the team or myself for that matter.

What a waste of time the last few weeks have been for me. I have plateaued and gotten completely off my program. I figured if my darling wife can come clean so can I. I am back at it tonite and will continue everyday until Baseball season starts. I have (according to my home scale) 55 lbs to lose still and I want at least half of those pounds gone by May 1st. Now I am not down on myself, I have still lost 15 pounds and have expunged a lot of bad habits, I just haven't found that will-power that I used many years ago to quit smoking and turned that into self-motivation to get my lazy ass onto my treadmill.

That stops today. I am very disappointed in my attitude lately and I need to turn that around.
A Monday seems as good a day as any.....

Back on the Wagon, Blog 2

So I skipped Wednesday as I was dead tired and my knees were sore (no idea why) so I took the night off. Also went up half a pound which is disappointing but really my own fault. i have not been honest with myself lately as i have found that I am slipping into old habits of nibbling on things I shouldn't. IE: Candy bars. Yep, I love em which is stupid because I am Diabetic, but there is a certain freedom with my Insulin Pump that I can have anything I want as long as I know how many grams of carbs are in it and well, they print that shit right on the wrapper so....

I know, I know... knock it off dummy, you're only cheating yourself. Saying it out loud makes it easier to deal with, part of my 12-steps. Had a good workout tonight, did my 45 on the treadmill with 2 sessions of running. 4 minutes at the 30 minute mark and then I did another 3 minutes leading up to the 10 minute mark. Felt good, to push myself on that. Did some resistance bands after that and stretched as it was getting late and I was running out of gas.

All and all I feel pretty good. I need to start getting to bed earlier, as I am dragging a bit during the day but overall I feel fantastic. I have noticed that my clothes are a little to big on me now. I can now take of my jeans without undoing the button and my 2x t-shirts are starting to fit awfully big on me. Pam and I have decided to not buy any new clothes until our journey is done as it will be a waste otherwise so I will deal with it for now. I will be one of those "pants on the ground" kids for a while I guess. Good thing I work where I work and I can get away with it.

I am starting to think of this blog as my diary now, which I know is a little girlie, but it is something I can look back on in six months and have a chuckle at my early struggles and track my progress as I go. I love the encouragement I get on here, but that is not why I write. It is my history that I am putting in words for me and those who wish to follow along, and I just love doing it.

Oh and one more thing... protein shakes are gross!!!!!!

IIIIIIIII'mmmmmm BBBBAAAAACCCCCKKKKKK!!!!

Well it has been a little while but I have gotten back on the wagon. I actually got back on on Monday but it was late and I didn't have time to write it down.

So it was a weird little cold that I had. I would run out of gas everyday around 2pm and was useless (more so than usual) for the rest of the day. I even dozed off on the GO train which never happens, so needless to say I was not exercising. My weight loss has been good, I am at about 15lbs down now so I am happy about that.

I have jumped right back into my routine: 45 on the treadmill, perfect pull-up, resistance bands and stretching one day and Tready and Ab-straps the other day (plus stretching). Monday I also included a 5 minute jog at 6.2 mph for 5 MINUTES!!!!!! It was awesome, got my heart rate up to 80% (bought a new heart-rate watch so I can tell) and a great sweat going and did 3.65 miles on the treadmill. Then I did a proper perfect pull-up workout as I was doing it wrong this whole time. I was doing the incorrect number of reps of each exercise so I had to start over; I now do 3 sets of 3 Australian pull-ups and then 3 sets of standing pull-ups that consist of 15, 12 then 8, so much better this way as you really have to work on the last sets. Then my resistance bands etc.

On Tuesday I barely made my 45 on the treadmill but I powered through and finished, although I only did a 3-minute jog as I completely ran out of gas, to the point that I had to step off the treadmill to catch my breath, but I finished and that is what counts. Also did 3.6 miles total and had my heart rate at about 65% the whole time, then did my ab-straps which are getting easier I must admit.

So all in all, I am so glad to be back working out again, I missed it and it feels good to pick it back up. I know I will not always feel up to it and on some days I will bail as that is what my body will need, but I didn't just drop it this time and that is the important thing right now.

Still Sick..... pooh....

Sick and tired of being sick and tired. I just want to get back to exercising, but that is tough when you can't breathe but I am hoping to have a go, hopefully, tonight.

I managed to maintain my weight over the weekend which I guess is a good thing but at the same time I was really angry about it. I have to be careful that me getting frustrated doesn't make me give up. I know it won't but the little annoying doubts creep in that "this isn't working" etc, and I am not a negative person generally but I want to see results!!!! Yes, in case you haven't guessed it, I'm extremely impatient. (must be the combo of being an Aries and my Irish heritage).

I know if i keep working at it it will happen, I just need to expunge the last little bit of lazy from my system and get on with it. Easier said than done I know, but I find by putting it into words it makes it easier to face the problem.... "hello my name is Kevin and I am a Lazy-holic." My own version of a 12-step program... only in mine you give up chips instead of getting them.... :)

Fast road to sicky.......

Yep..... my Turn! As you can tell from the title I am sick. I am so mad. I had to skip exercising Thursday as I had aggravated my hip and shoulder so I decided to rest after we had a Chiropractor appointment and I got it all sorted out. i also noticed a little pressure building in the old noggin as well and of course woke up Friday with a full-blown head cold. well, i didn't feel that bad actually and I had hopes that it was going to be very mild. I had plans for Saturday to go and hang out with the boys from my baseball team and have a good old video game/drink fest at my buddy Matt's place in Little Britain fro the night. well, now I am not going as I feel even worse today and Matt's wife is pregnant to boot so, not going anywhere near his house. Very disappointing but c'est la vie.

another negative was I went up by 1/2 a pound yesterday, which i know is not that big a deal but is still frustrating. being sick is probably making it seem worse than it really is but, and Pam will attest to this, I get pretty emotional when I get sick. I know it's just a blip, but still.

I feel like ass, so I am going to take the weekend to feel better and get back to it, hopefully, on Monday.

Week 2, day 2.

Been having trouble waking up in the mornings, which in turn makes my mornings a whirlwind and poor Pam has had to suffer as I keep dragging her out of bed, and the poor thing has a sinus infection, so I feel awful about that.

Today was a good day. I was nice and busy all day, even had the boss in working with me today which was an experience. Ate really well today, leftovers for lunch and 2 grilled cheeses with fat free chicken and a bowl of tomatoes with fat-free dressing for dinner.

My workout got off to a nice early start tonight and I did 3.56 on the treadmill at 4.6 and then I wanted to get my heart rate to a steady 120 so I upped it to 4.7 which almost did the trick. Averaged about 118 give or take. Then my pull ups, Sparq and Resistance bands.

I am noticing a difference in myself. My jeans are fitting really well, almost loose, right out of the closet which is usually not the case and I have noticed that my t-shirts are(yes, I have a job that allows me to wear jeans and t-shirts all year long if I like) fitting much better. I feel stronger, i feel better and I am still loving heading to the basement for my exercises. I am not trying to get ripped (sorry Pam) I am just trying to get in shape; get healthy and the fact that i am noticing progress already is so gratifying. this may be a means to an end, but it is also a very important beginning for me.

Week 2... good start!

So had a great day today. My diet was bang on today, drank a tonne of water and when i weighed in I was down another pound and a half. 237 baby!!!! Haven't been this weight since before Becca was born which was 7 1/2 years ago, so i am super stoked about that.

Had a great dinner tonight, made my first ever batch of no sodium added BBQ sauce which turned out pretty good, needs a tweak or two but it was still pretty good. Not sodium free as there is some from the ketchup and mustard in it but still better than store bought.

workout was good tonight, just treadmill and the ab-straps; yep keeping with it, only 5 sets of each exercise and 3.53 on the treadmill and it felt good, no great.

Planning on knocking it out of the park this week, day 1 down, 4 more to go as it will be a night out with the boys on Saturday, with restraint of course. Maybe an early workout Saturday as well.

Better late than never.

So this is a recap of the last 3 days.

Friday was a workday and I got off to a late start on my workout after a late dinner and a 1/2 pound back-up at weigh in.... gggrrrrr!!!!

Anyway, so I did an abbreviated workout on Friday: 20 minutes on the tready, my perfect pull up routine with an extra standing pull-up to replace the standard ones I cannot do still, Sparg routine which I changed up to do 2 full widths of the basement on all exercises to broaden the workout (it had been on like a width and a half on the 20 second routine) and then I added in resistance bands to the mix. Curls, pull-ups and triceps using the medium band. Not thrilled about the 20 minutes on the treadmill but I did some interval training to get a sweat going and it seemed to work pretty good. Actually really enjoyed this workout.

Saturday was a no workout day as we were out and about all day. Also went to the movies and had some popcorn (my one must have) and had a slice of pizza and 2 chicken wings for dinner. Not great I know, but you still have to live and i didn't do any damage as far as weight gain went as I drank a tonne of water that day. Life is going to happen like that sometimes and I think your inclination is to avoid the situations instead of just being smart about it. I'm not going to cut myself off from those people around me I count as friends simply because I am on this journey. if I can't handle this type of thing now with a better approach, how will I be when I am done this journey and off my program. I will just revert back to old habits. I love food; that will never change, but my approach and attitude towards it must and has changed so as long as I behave myself, a little indulgence on occasion is just fine in my books.

Sunday was another run around day but I got my full workout in. Full 45 on the treadmill and did my pull-ups, Sparq and the resistance bands again. Got off late but no excuse not to do the full workout last night. Got to bed around 10:30.

Today is weigh-in and I am hoping for the best but we will see. If I go up it will be my own fault and not much and that is something I have to deal with. I won't feel bad about it because it was my decision to eat what I did and circumstances didn't allow me to workout like I have been.

We will see.

Day 5... rest...

So I rested last night. I will admit that I was tired and I just needed a night to relax. I have no problem with that because unlike before, while I may have lounged on the couch, I wasn't lounging with a crap load of Junk food in front of me. I had an omlette with a little cheese, spicy corn and chicken with some Body-Wise toast for dinner and a skinny cow with a Diet Ginger Ale for a snack.

I ate really well yesterday and got in like 4 litres of water, and I will do the same today along with a workout tonite, early though. Weigh-in as well.

I feel really good about everything still and that is a big part of all this. I didn't feel discouraged last night; I just knew that I was in no state to use the treadmill and my body needed a rest. I've been going strong since Saturday and I guess Thursday was my rest day. I also got to hang out with Pam the whole evening, and what isn't great about that? ;)

Tough One....

So to start with, diet was excellent today as I mentioned before and had a lovely little past dinner tonight after weigh-in where I was down another pound and 9 1/2 inches in total, yeah baby!!!

so my workout tonite got off late as we got dinner started late but that is fine. did my 45 on the tready but threw in some intervals tonite. Did 10 minutes at a 7% incline, stolen idea from Biggest Loser and it really got the sweat going and I even managed to do it at 5.5 for 3 minutes. did the rest at 4.5 with a 2-minute 5.5 thrown in at the 25-minute mark. Did an extra angled pull-up tonight to replace the standard pull-up which is still a no-go, but that is OK. The only side-effect was I had trouble doing My Australian pull-ups, but after a false start I managed them. Then off to the Sparg ( god I love that thing) and then stretched out to end. Now it is timefor some water, a Skinny Cow sundae as a reward, some water and an episode of HIMYM season 2 before bed-time, for a good night's sleep.

Good day, all in all.

Total weight lost is 10 1/2 pounds in 4 weeks. 48 more to go......

a thought....

this has nothing to do with my workouts, but seeing as this is my forum for all things random, I figured what the hell. So I was making lunch today in the lunchroom here at The Score and I realized how much more work it is to eat healthy. I have taken to bringing in my sandwich fixin's and putting together my meals here so I can toast the bread and put tomatoes etc, on if I want without making everything soggy.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind doing it, but it really does explain a lot of what ails society today, especially in these instant-gratification days we all live in. People want it now, and no waiting please and heaven forbid if they have to lift a finger to do something themselves, when a fast-food joint can take care of it for them. I'm loving making a fresh sandwich for my meal or heating up something delicious from the night before.

I didn't even realize how satisfying it was until just now to make it myself instead of having Subway do it for me.

Again, just some thoughts.....

Day 4, sick day for Boo.

Spent the day at home today because my daughter got sick at school yesterday so we kept her home and I stayed with her. Diet wise, not bad, not great. No junk food today but I did have some Cream of Broccoli soup for lunch with some crackers and a little cheese. Low fat soup but a little more sodium than is the norm right now. Had a great dinner of Talapia coated in Fat-Free Ranch dressing with some seasoned breadcrumbs, steamed rice and carrots, and a Pear for dessert. Did my workout around 8 pm tonight which is still earlier than the last few days so it is a start. BG was 16 before the workout as the pear was an extra that I didn't take Insulin for, which was the plan and i cranked back my basal by 90% for 2 hours. worked like a charm.

Made it through my 45 minutes on the treadmill no problem, only made it up to 4.8 on the speed as my shins were being troublesome tonight(pretty sure i need new runners), but still managed a distance of 3.49, still doing it at a 3% incline and it really works up a sweat. Then I attempted the ab straps again. I hate these things, they plain hurt. Will continue doing it and as my weight goes down, hopefully it gets better.

The routine is building and I am still enjoying it, which is the biggest part for me. It's all part of my journey and it's going to be long and hard (that's what she said) but it will be worth it in the end.

until tomorrow.....

Day 3.......

Alright day 3. So I had a great day as far as diet goes, didn't get off track at all. Weighed in and was down a pound. Made dinner for everyone and then went to work out.

Did 45 minutes on the treadmill for a distance of 3.60. Then of course, low BG reared it's ugly head.... again!!! Shit, crap, poo.... started with BG of 10.9 and dialed back my basal by 80%, so thought I was golden... so wrong... so pissed. Have to get this figured out, before I pass out on the treadmill. Treated it and then did my perfect pull-up routine,was a little easier this time which is nice to discover as I have only done it once before, maybe I pushed myself a little harder this time. Did the powerband to finish off and really worked it this time, really felt it in my legs. Love pushing myself, love the feeling after.

Well, still at it and that is the important part. I think tomorrow I will aim to start earlier so I have more time to relax in the evening.. of course Pam just informed me she will workout in the evening so maybe it's the afternoon for me.

PS. Thanks for the encouragement Lisa, it is most appreciated.

Day 2... setback?

So it's day 2 and I feel like I have had a setback.

Started the day well with a nice healthy brunch of an omlette with Tomatoes, cheese (fat free of course) and a little leftover Steak from last night; very good. Then we ran into the city to visit with some friends and then back out to Whitby where we live. We couldn't exit at our usual ramp as it was closed off because of the repatriation of the fallen soldiers today so we continued on out to Oshawa to the Walmart Superstore to pick up a few things. A new mount for our GPS as our old one one was stolen out of our car, some yogurt and other lunch stuff and...a frozen pizza... stupid. Delicious, but stupid. Can't go back ad change it now but I was determined to work it off on the treadmill. Tested the old BG and it was 7.9. Not bad, but not where I like it to be for a workout but away I went anyway. About a 1/2 hour into my treadmill routine, started to feel a little dizzy, so I stopped and checked my BG... 3.2.... fuck!!! So had to stop and treat that which so sucked because I was really into it. That took half and hour to get over and by that time I had cooled down (obviously), so I did the ab-strap workout that came with our pull up contraption; so hard, so good, but so hard. Don't know if I will use it again however as it left major marking on my arms and it hurts a lot to use it as you hang with your arms in it. We'll see.

Trying not be too down about this as it is only day two and I don't want to put excuses into my head this early. That is my pattern. Do really well for a week, month, 2 months whatever, then find an excuse to stop. Not this time.

Back to work in the AM and I am honestly looking froward to the return of the routine. It will put me back in my zone I think and really get things back on track. Luckily, I'm not terribly far off.

Until next time..........

Here we go...

So it is Saturday, the last one before I head back to work after Christmas vacation and I had finally gotten off my lazy ass and decided to jump in both feet with a workout. I was nervous I will admit as I have changed my eating habits and would be testing my insulin pump, for the first time really, on a temporary basal rate so that I didn't pass out while working out... that might be counter-productive you see.

First things first, I have managed to not gain any weight over the holidays!!! In fact I have lost some weight, which is HUGE!!

So, before I began, I had to run out to buy a couple of supplies; most notably a heart rate monitor watch just so I know what is going on. Now unfortunately (because I didn't read the box thoroughly) I won't be giving up how many calories I've burned because it ain't got that feature but that is okay. I also bought a Nike Sparq Power Band, which is this thing you strap to your ankles with a thick rubber band between that helps to strengthen you hips, groin and hammys, but more on that later. I also, previously, had a bought a "Perfect Pull-up" set up at Fitness Source so that Pam, my wife ( you already knew that Lisa ;)) could use it for her P90x workouts if she wanted to, but I also planned on using it.

So... Had a good day as far as eating went, had a weigh-in this morning and I had backed up a little because of New Year's ( 1 1/2 lbs) but I can live with that, so today was a good day for eating. Made myself my favourite Spicy corn omelet (sounds strange but so good) with a sliced up pear for lunch & then made a great steak for dinner with sweet potatoes and peas ( we purchased like 225 lbs of hormone free beef from a family North of Bobcaygeon, and it is awesome!!! If you and your hubby ever want the info Lisa they deliver to you area as well, just ask Pam for the info) and then a cup of blueberries with 3 tablespoons of Vanilla yogurt for dessert. Then it was time to exercise.

Checked my Blood Sugar before heading to the basement and it was 16.1!!! not good but I can deal with that and I am honestly more comfortable having it a little higher when I exercise,. So I had to correct for that and at the same time had already decreased my basal rate on my pump by 50% at that point so that may have had something to do with it. Grabbed my big Nalgene bottle, filled it up and went to the dungeon. My plan was to walk on the treadmill for 45 minutes at a 3% incline which is 25 minutes longer than normal and I normally do it on the flattest setting. However, I had read that if you want to mimic walking on solid ground it is better to have it a 3% incline to better attain the same level of stress on your legs that you get from walking outdoors, so I figured I would give it a whirl. So 45 at 3% it was and I started at 4.5 for my speed ( i want o say it is km/h but I think it may be miles/hour as I am pretty sure that I can walk further than 3.5 k in 45 minutes). at about the 35 minute mark I cranked her up to 7.5 and jogged for 2 minutes to get a good sweat going and to get the old heart rate up (156 after) then back down to 4.5. At the 20 minute mark I increased slightly to get my heart rate up again as I had been only at 125, so up to 5 I went and the HR hit 140 which was pretty good and I did that until the last 5 minutes where I went back to 4.5 until the end. I made it!!!.... through the first part....

So now it was time for the perfect pull-up. Now I can't do a regular pull up so the magic of this thing is that it allows you to do 3 versions of a pull up depending on you fitness level; regular, standing angled and Australian which is lying on the floor and pulling yourself up as the Perfect Pull-up swings down for just such the case. So regular was out so to start you have to see what your max is and you build your workouts from there. My Max is: 5 Australian and 10 standing with my feet against the door frame and me angled away from the door... I am feeling them this morning so don't write off this thing as a gimmick, f%#king thing WORKS!!! It progresses through a 3 week cycle and then it increases from their so I will keep you informed.

Off to the Sparq I went. Now this is a setup for athletes (or wannabes in my case) who want to strengthen their hips/groin/hamstrings so they have a faster first step and are less prone to injury while playing their chosen sport, which in my case is Softball where on my team I may not be the star second baseman... but I am the tall one.... (sorry little Dave) Being in the shape I am in it has really hindered my ability to play like I did when I was younger where I was a pretty good first baseman, so this little set up is going to help strengthen my Right hip which is really week after I hurt it a few years back ( at the driving range no less, because I was stupid and didn't stretch first). So this thing you stand in your starting defensive position, which is basically feet should width apart, knees bent and and then you kick back with one of you feet, plant it and bring your other foot back. You do this for 20 seconds and then repeat with the other leg. Then you do something similar, moving laterally. I love this thing, it is so good and it works as well.

So, 1 1/2 hours later and 1 1/2 episodes of Long way Round on the DVD player I stretched, drank some water and then was off to bed.

I can honestly say that I am proud of myself for doing this. Having this outlet to talk about what I have done, my fears and to know that someone (2 of you anyway) are following along is encouraging to keep going. I plan on being down at least 30 pounds by the start of baseball season in May (hoping for 50 to be honest) and this is step one. Of many more.... and don't worry the posts will be shorter from here on.

ps: My weight this morning was 239.5 which is the lowest I have seen it in about a year. Can you see the smile on my face?