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?