Oh No!!!!!

I will start this post by saying that the purpose of this blog is to share my journey. All parts of my journey. good and bad.  That being said, I must share the fact that my train derailed the last couple of days. Monday started out well. I had a good weigh in and everything seemed great. As the day progressed I started to feel very tired. Almost felt like I was run down.  So I decided to take the day off from the gym and eat some extra calories thinking it was from my lack of calorie intake. My first 2 meals were solid and my last I had more of a cheat meal in order to give myself a big boost in calories.  But it didn't seem to help.  Monday night I really couldn't sleep; I just felt sluggish and foggy. Tuesday morning I woke up with a huge headache. And this is where things went bad for me very quickly. My first true test and I failed. I was home with my youngest daughter and feeling like crap so I reverted to the old me. Instead of muscling through and making something healthy I ordered a pizza, breadsticks and, the worst part, a 2 liter of Coke.  I knew I shouldn't have but at that point I didn't care. I rationalized it to myself that it was only because I wasn't feeling good. I rationalized that it was easier for me and also so my little one could eat. I lied to myself to get what 'fat me' wanted. I regretted it from the minute I ordered it. But that didn't stop me from eating it.  This morning I woke up with a clear head and lots of regret and anger towards myself. Especially when I stepped on the scale. It's amazing how fast it can come back.  This wasn't a true derailment but more of like hitting a dear at 70mph in your car. It's dangerous, jacks your ride up, and has the potential to keep you from driving again. However, it's nothing that can't be fixed. While I'm very disappointed in myself, it has taught me something very important. No matter how strong I feel on any given day, 'fat me' will always be in the wings waiting for his opportunity to take back control.  I lost yesterday's battle but the war is far from over.  So I will pick myself up off the floor, put yesterday in the past and make today a positive day.

WOOHOOOOOO!

Started out the day with a bang.  Monday morning weigh and in I knew I would be down weight but was a bit nervous because Sunday is my rest day.  So I step on the scale and, after the scales screams in agony, it pops up a number. 461. I was pumped. That's 17lbs in 2 weeks. I'm almost at 10% of my goal in 2 weeks.  I will be switching a few things up this week. I will now work out 2 days, then take a day off, then 3 days, and rest on Sunday.  I'm hoping that will help me not lag so much at the end of the week.  I will also begin weighing in with my doctor today on those scales that give you your BMI and body fat percentage, which I'm not looking forward to, but I will post the results later today.

Great motivation

So yesterday I'm doing my thing at the gym. Using that stupid machine where you pull the rope down and it never ends.  On a side note I think that is legalized torture, but back to my point.  Another, shall we say, plus sized gentlemen walks up to me and introduces himself to me. Then proceeds to tell me he's seen me in there a lot recently and he sees how hard I've been working, and that I look smaller already.  That statement on its own is fantastic to hear, but he continues to tell me that watching me has made him work harder because he doesn't want me to lose weight faster than him😂😂. I found that really funny as well as motivating.   We talked for a quick couple of minutes, as I don't like chatting during workouts. We were comparing eating plans, workout plans and weight loss to date (btw winning).  As he walked away I smiled to myself and came to the realization that I now have a weight loss nemesis. A friendly person to compete against. There are all sorts of ways to keep yourself motivated. Whether it's internal or external, doesn't matter. Use anything in your power to keep yourself going. Competing with friends and family members is a great one. If your internally motivated then write down how long you can last at a cardio exercise and try to improve them. It really doesn't matter if it's only a minute or 20 minutes. Don't let the scale be your only motivator. For the scale can be a fickle mistress and you don't want anything to derail your mind set.  What I have found recently is that weight loss really is mind over body.

Weeks end

Today is the final day of my workouts and I'm happy to say I am proud of myself.   I have stuck to my workout plans and me eating plan. Tomorrow will be my day off from the gym so I will use it to rest.  I plan on do as little as possible. Food wise I will stick to my eating plan. Here are my final numbers for the week

Calorie intake 1600

cardio

eliptical  6 min

Stationary bike 12 min

Kettle bell wok out 20 min

Dinner is served

I thought I would try a new recipe tonight.  Chicken Apple Sausage Vegetable Skillet.  Long name for an easy quick dish.  Started out  simple enough with basic ingredients.  Garlic, onions, zucchini, peppers and Chicken Apple sausage.   And it ended as easy as it started basically you chop it all up throw it into your skillet and 20 minutes later.

Tada!  it looks like this

Served with some baby carrots and Snap peas.  Dessert was fresh strawberries.  

Calories 452

Quick lunch on the road

Avocado chicken salad with dressing 500 calories

Don't be Selfish

As I sit on a bench at the park next to our local farmers market, I am watching my 3yr old run around without a care in the world.  It makes me reflect on my weight loss journey and really emphasizes how important it is that I succeed.  I know what you're thinking.  That I need to lose weight to be there to watch my daughter get married and all that stuff.  The truth is that's selfish thinking but, that's not really what sticks out in my mind.  Next time you're out in public look around at the parents of any kids you see.  When I do that, an overwhelming pattern forms.  Fat parents= fat kids.  That may sound mean or heartless but the truth sometimes sounds harsh.   Our kids don't choose to be fat.  We, as parents, either keep them healthy or make them fat.  Now, if you are overweight then you know how being fat limits you.  I don't want that for my kids.  I want them to have every opportunity to pursue what ever their hearts desire.   We, as parents, have to teach them how to be healthy.  How to eat right and how to put your iPad or phone down to go outside and run around.  How to have fun in the sun and get a good sweat going.  To date, both my kids are very healthy and not overweight, but that's because I'm conscious of that.  I make sure they eat good foods for the most part and don't drink soda or eat a bunch of candy and crap.  They both eat veggies on the regular and drink plenty of water.  They only get crappy cereals on the weekends and so forth.  But how long can I keep doing that if I am fat.  At some point, my girls will look at me and say "daddy, why do we have to eat good to not be fat when you are".  Up until 2 week ago I was being a hypocrite.  So, for me, I can't afford to fail because it's not just about saving my life, but about saving my kids' future lives.

Late night work out

week 2 is coming to an end.  I have 1 more day before I get to rest and just like week 1 the end of the week is hard. I drive to the gym tonight at 9pm. I sat in the parking lot for about 20 minutes trying to talk myself into going back home and crawl into bed. I'm sore I'm tired and I really isn't want to be there. But eventually I got myself in and I killed it. This wasn't the first time and I know it won't be the last time I struggle to get to the gym. I'm not fat because I love going to the gym right?  Now I'm home even more tired and about to crawl into bed but I am glad I went in. I won't be going to bed thinking what I should have done.   You will never regret going to the gym but you will always regret giving up on yourself and not going.  The only bummer about going so late is I wanted to by a protein shake after my workout but they close the damn snack area. So I had a banana and 2 slices of bacon for my post work out meal.

Final calories 1477 which is too low I will correct that tomorrow

More Food Talk

Been a busy day but wanted to share my meals.  I forgot to take a pic of my lunch but it was chicken and veggies.  Calorie intake was 480 calories. My dinner on the other hand was a big one. Had some delicious smoked brisket and pulled pork with baked potatoe casserole. And a small side salad.  In the pic you see bbq beans but I ended up not eating them.

 Again ithe eating plan I'm following seems to lend itself to real world eating. Paleo is just eating real natural foods meats veggies and fruits.   In addition my food window is condensed so I tend to eat 2 larger meals and a snack to make up calories if I feel I'm too low. I was able to eat dinner with my family with out being difficult to order. My calories for this meal was 751 which gibes me. A total of 1231 calories. So I still have to consume another 600 cal to mot be so low. That amazing to me. Most diets your craving food and I have to make myself eat more. I don't need to avoid natural fats like butter or red meat. So far I'm steadily losing and never feel like I'm lacking.  Now off to the gym for a late night work out.

It's Working

I know you're not supposed to weigh yourself everyday. But I can't help it. Every day I get on the scale and every day I'm down pounds.  It's awesome. And for me it's motivation. It keeps me pushing forward inspite of feeling tired or being sore.   I also think that for the first time I have a positive cycle. Seeing the scale makes me focus on my workouts.  When I have a great workout it keeps my eating on point so I don't feel all the effort and sweat was for nothing. I go to sleep, wake up and the cycle starts over again. The biggest difference for me this time around though is I am not having cravings or feel like I'm missing out on anything.   In the past I would crave the bad foods and especially soda. Man I used to guzzle that stuff.   I don't know if it's the paleo diet or the intermittent fasting that's helping me.   I will focus more on that later. For now I will just keep marching on.

Another Day in the Books

Today was a tough day for me. Food wise I was good except the 3 cookies I snuck in.  My dinner was 6 oz New York strip steak and steamed veggies.  But physically I was really tired. I completed all my move goals and calorie burn but my step count was low. I took a huge power nap today and that makes me think I'm not getting enough sleep. I am not one that normally gets his 8 hours of sleep every night; it's generally more like 5-6. But I am noticing that I am increasingly tired in the evening. I am assuming it's from all the exercise that I'm doing and my body being in a constant state of repair.  So I will tweak my sleep schedule to try and get at least 7 hours and see how I feel. As far as the soreness goes I just have to keep training through it.

Daily calorie intake. 1792

Cardio. Elliptical 5 min 

              Bike        11 min

Resistance training 

Bench press 3 sets of 10 reps

Dumbbell flys 3 sets 12 reps

Dumbbell curl 3 sets of 12 reps 

SHHHHHH I have a secret to share

Was at my kids preschool performance and I failed. Cookies as far as the eye could see. I tried to ignore them but then these oatmeal cookies  caught my eye and I couldn't resist.

                                                                   I am so ashamed

First meal of the day

The beauty of intermittent fasting is you can really make it fit your schedule no matter how hectic it is. I had a super busy morning today. Well, not sure if I can call a 3 hour nap really busy but I'm doing it. So when I woke up I had to get to the gym then after I had kids to pick up and so I wasn't able to eat until 4pm. After a long debate with myself I decided to make a nice 4 egg omelette with ham and spinach.   It was supposed to come out looking like this.

But I flopped when I should have flipped so it ended up like this 

 Oh well they can't all be perfect. Just like us we strive for perfection in our diets and our work outs but we have to be ok if we flop from time to time. Even though it wasn't as pretty as it was supposed to be.it tasted just as good.

Approximate calories 490

This is for all the non fatties

Ok. Time to dive into my mind and get a glimpse at the crazy rolling around in there.  Hopefully this makes sense.  Going to the gym is a completely different experience for non fatties.  While both fatties and non fatties have there own set of insecurities I think ours is a lot harder to over come.  We can't blend in with the rest of the crowd at the gym.  We stick out like a sore giant sized thumb.  And that in itself is a huge obstacle.  Now before I go any further let me clarify that the thoughts I'm about to share are my thoughts only and not reality.  Before my first trip to the gym I felt everybody would stare at me due to my size.  Maybe talk amongst themselves about how pathetic I am to let myself get so fat.  From a male perspective I don't want women looking at me thinking "awe look at the wee fattie go.  Good for him".  There is also the worry about the machines themselves.  They are not built for people of my size so I tend to stay away from them because I am afraid if I try to use them I won't fit and then I will look like a jack ass.  There are personal concerns too.  See, when a normal sized person lifts their arms and their tummy shows its no big deal.  But when I life my arms and my gut is hanging out, well nobody wants to see that!!!!!  Then there is the profuse sweating and heavy breathing.  All these things and more make me want to avoid the gym.   But the reality is none of those things happen.  (Well, except the not fitting into the machine thing.  I avoid those at all costs.)  In fact, the exact opposite happens. As far as I can see nobody really gives me a second look.  Everybody there is trying to accomplish the same goal.  Some are just closer than others.   So don't let thoughts in your head scare you off from things you want to do.  Not just the gym, but anything.  Don't let your weight or anything else for that matter hold you back.

Now here is a special note for the non fatties.  If you want to help inspire somebody to lose weight  the single best thing you can do is follow Jeremy's example.  I was at the gym today and after my workout I was sitting on  a bench catching my breath before I left.  A guy walks up to me and introduces himself as Jeremy and tells me he's seen me in there a few times now and in his words "you're crushing it man".  He then went on to tell me if I needed any help with my workouts to feel free to ask him and he would be happy to help in any way he could. That is a huge mental boost for me.  Not only is nobody pointing or laughing but they are taking note to how hard I am working and beyond that they are offering help if needed.  For me, I don't need help but not everybody is like me.  I was an athlete in high school so I know my way around the gym.  But some people have never been to a gym or lifted weights and to have somebody offer their assistance is priceless. So to Jeremy I say Thank You for taking the time to give me words of encouragement.  I only hope others will follow suit.

Today's numbers

Had a great day. My food was great. Dinner was a leftovers from last night so my total calories for the day were 1505 which is a little on the low side I think. Would prefer to be around 2000.  Although I was not hungry through out the day so I'm ok with where I ended up. I hit all my move goals so I'm pretty pumped with that.

Today's work outs

Stationary bike  15 min
Eliptical.              5 min
Rowing.               5 min
Kettle bell circuit 25 min

Healthy and Delicious

Ok I know I said I was going to start cooking more meals at home but how do you pass up a delicious and healthy lunch like this.

I didn't eat it all, what I did eat was approximately 548 calories and only 14g of fat. A little carb heavy due to the rice but nothing a good gym trip won't take care of.

Why I'm tired of being fat

While at lunch today my buddy asked me  "what's different about this time, why are you so dedicated this time around compared to other times". There are lots of reasons that I feel stronger this time around. One is my mortality. You really don't see fat old people. Another is my mobility. My knees were starting to hurt on a daily basis if I walked around too much. I was a sprained ankle away from being the fat guy in the little cart cruising around Home Depot.  I know if I were to have any kind of serious injury that could be it for me as far as my mobility goes. I have been very lucky so far due to my genetics. I have always been athletic and strong. I think that's why I have been able to keep going. I was riding dirt bikes at 400lbs. People used to come up to me and say "man I can't believe how fast you are for a big guy".  The funny thing is although they were being complimentary I always took what they said as " how is this lard ass able to ride a bike".  I have also been very lucky medically. I have slightly elevated blood pressure but other than that I'm good to go.  Funny story, I rarely see my doctor but last time I went he wanted me to get blood work done.  He bet me that due to my weight I would have high cholesterol and diabetes. But after blood work came back he had to eat some humble pie. Again, pure luck because at my weight I should have more issues than I do.  So the way I see it I'm on the bubble. I'm a few pounds from this house of cards crumbling. Umm...does anybody remember the question at the beginning of this because I seem to have rambled on and am off topic I think. Oh wait I remember. "What's different this time?"  Simply put I'm tired of being fat.  Life in general is hard but as a fat person it adds so much more difficulty.  (I will delve into the details of that at a later date.) As a fat guy I feel I am missing out on a lot of life and I'm just tired of it. I don't want to be limited on what I can and can't do because of my weight.  I'm not talking big things either. Just little stuff like playing with my kids. I couldn't take my kids to Disneyland. And not because I can't get on the rides but because I wouldn't be able to walk around all day with them. Forget all day. I probably wouldn't make it from the parking lot to the gate. And forget about standing in line.  I feel trapped in my own body. My mind still wants to get out and do things but my body won't let me. F*#k you body, I'm taking control again!

I Was Lazy

I think another reason why most fail at diets is because we are too strict with them. We try to be to perfect and don't allow any room for mistakes.  I know for me this was a big part of my failed attempts in the past.  I would plan all my workouts and all my meals.  Then I would wake up late and not have time to prep my lunch. When that happened I would allow myself to eat like I used to because I didn't have a lunch.  Well then lunch is ruined so why bother with a healthy dinner.  By expecting perfection we are setting ourselves up for failure. All last week I only cooked 2-3 meals. The rest I ate out. Now I'm not saying everybody else should follow that approach. But for me last week was a tough week. Starting to eat healthy, cooking, working and going to the gym daily would have overwhelmed me. And I would have gone right back into my cycle of failure.  So instead I used restaraunts as a tool. I made smart decisions with my food choices and ended up with a successful week. Eating out isn't the cause of me being fat. It's the daily choices I make in what foods I shovel down my throat.  That being said it's almost always better and healthier if you cook your food at home. You have better control of what ingredients are being used to fit with your diet. For example, I only cook with natural oils like olive, coconut or avocado oil. So this week my goal is to try and cook more meals at home.   I started last night with some barbecued chicken, grilled zucchini, asparagus, and a small side salad with snap peas and tomatoes.

 2 legs, 2 thighs, grilled veggies and salad
 approximate calories 590

What a difference a week makes!

it really is amazing how fast the body adapts.  Last week I hit the gym with excitement and as I started working out t showed very quickly how bad I was out of shape. I struggled to finish my cardio   After 5 minutes on the elliptical I thought my heart was going to explode right there. And  to be honest at that point I was ok with that.  1n addition I was only able to do 1 exercise per muscle group and that wore me out.  Left me toast for the rest of the day. Today was a completely different story. I finished all my cardio and was able to work two different muscle groups with ease. In between sets my heart rate returned to normal faster and when I left the gym I walked out normally. Not like a wounded animal limping to the safety zone away from the gym. I am very happy and excited with my progress to this point. Just have to keep it going.

Breakfast

First meal of the day for me is around 11-12. I'm not one to limit only eggs for breakfast so today was taco Tuesday   Since I was on the road and didn't pack my lunch today went with som tasty chicken  street tacos. I know the corn tortillas aren't perfectly paleo but in a pinch they work and they are much better for u than bread. Now off to the gym!!



Calories approximately 500

Lets Talk About Food!

Week 1 is in the bag and I had a week of good solid eating habits.   Best I have had in a long long long time.  I haven't written much about food simply because I wanted to see how my new eating habits would make me feel and how affective it would be for my weight loss goals.  That being said I feel it worked very well for me.  So I will go into more detail about how I plan to eat.

For the foreseeable future I will be following whats called the Paleo Diet.  Basically all that means is eat like our ancestors used to.  Natural foods no frankenfoods.  So all meats all veggies and natural fats.  No processed foods at all and no wheat, grains, legumes or dairy products.  I will be tracking my foods and calories but I will not restrict calories.  If you need any more info on the Paleo Diet google it.  In addition to paleo I will be using intermittent fasting.  Whats intermittent fasting you ask?  Well basically it means you fast part of the day and only eat during your food window.  So I will be fasting 16 hours and consuming all my calories during an 8 hour food window.  So thats it.  Pretty simple in theory and so far fairly simple in practice.

Now for the fun part.  Every week I will give myself a "CHEAT MEAL".  In that meal I will eat what every my little heart desires.  Guess what?  Mondays are cheat meal day.  I took full advantage of that meal.

How Yummy does that look?  It tastes even better.  For those of you who read my post    "Day 1" that will look familiar.  Chicago style deep dish pizza yum yum.  Now here is the weird thing about it.  My Cheat meals are planned for Mondays.  I assumed when I started that I would be craving bad food constantly and I really don't.  As good as it was I would have been ok not having it.  So then why did I eat it?  Thats a great question and I'm glad I thought of it.  Because using my cheat meal at my planned time will give me a tool to use at later date if I do have cravings.  Right now the diet is still new and although I have had a couple of days where the grind was hard physically, food wise I was solid.  I know that won't always be the case and mentally I know when that happens i just have to make it to Monday.  Besides that if you work hard and stick to your plan then you should get a small reward.  If you never have that opportunity to stray under a controlled setting I think at some point you will lose control and wreck your diet on a bigger scale.  As I continue with my new life style I will share more pics of my food and work out plans in more detail.

Its a Beautiful Day

Looking out the window it's grey and cloudy and looks like it's going to rain.  How is that a beautiful day? A simple reason.   I stepped on the scale this morning after a week of hard work and I was down 10.2 pounds.  Yes I'm claiming the .2 pounds.  That's over a pound per day.  That is a very satisfying feeling.  Especially after last Friday and Saturday.   Both those days were tough for me.  I was tired and sore and I really didn't want to go to the gym.  I procrastinated and kept putting off the gym until the very end of the day. I forced myself to get in my truck and drive to the gym.  On Saturday I actually sat in the parking lot for about 20 minutes trying to talk myself into going home.  But eventually I told myself to just go in and hop on the bike,  give it 5 minutes and see how you feel.  After the 5 minutes I told myself just finish the 15 minutes you're supposed to do and then you can leave.  And that's how my whole workout went.  Just get through the next 5 minutes.  I focused on small goals instead of the whole workout.  My workout wasn't the best, but I finished.  That to me was the most important part of the whole week.  When it was the most difficult I didn't give up.  If you look at the simple act, it looks small.  What's one workout right?  I worked hard all week, why not skip just this one workout.  But that small act, that small battle, is huge.  It means my thought process is changing. In the past I would have rationalized and justified me sitting at home.  I would have made myself feel like it was ok.  But that way of thinking is what got me into the situation I'm in.  Making excuses for myself to sit on the couch, to eat pizza instead of chicken, to start tomorrow instead of today.  To say "eh, it's only 1 pound".   NO MORE!  No more will I give up on myself.  No more will I allow myself to be lazy. No more.

Win the Battles

Every war is a series of battles. Some small some big. And to win the war you must win the battles. And make no mistake I'm at war with myself   but if I focus on the war(the mountain of weight I have to lose) it will be over whelming. Every day I must win small victories over myself. For example today I went to lunch and my meal came with bread. Being that I'm following the paleo diet wheat and grains are a no no. But I love bread. Especially garlic bread.  I told myself just don't eat it. You will be fine. The longer I sat there eating my meal the more I focused on that damn bread. So as weird as it sound I asked my buddy to take that bread and lick it.  Again I know that sounds weird but it was the fastest way I could think of to remove that temptation.  Battle won!

My second battle of the day was the gym. I sore.  I was tired and it was insanely hot today. My body is telling me. Rest, take the day off you deserve it. But in my head I knew that was wrong. I have a plan and goals to achieve and taking the day off was not going to help either of those two things. So after a long drawn out fight with myself I went to the gym. It wasn't the greatest work out but I did it. Battle won!  

I don't expect to be perfect but I will fight to win every battle every day in order to win the war.  

My status

Today is day 5 and I thought I would give an update to how I'm feeling. In 2 words, "I hurt". I'm sore everywhere. I'm not new to working out, just very very very rusty, so the soreness was expected. What wasn't expected is how little it would take for me to be this sore. My game plan was to ease into the work out program and slowly increase the amount and intensity of the workouts.   I have been sticking to the game plan. The problem is that my body is so out of shape and used to not doing anything that now it's in shock. It's screaming at me "hey fat guy what are you doing? Get back on the couch. We like it on the couch".  Haha, body, not this time. I will continue with my journey and have accepted the fact that I will constantly have a part of me that will be sore. And that's a good thing. Now for the positives. I seem to be sleeping better. And even though I am sore I feel like I have more energy and my mind is more active. Little things I do are no longer done with lethargy but with purpose.   Which is crazy since it's only been 5 days of eating healthy and getting off my ass. So all in all things are going good.


P.S.  I fell asleep at the wheel last night and didn't post my calorie burn and movement goals so here they are.

Wear a Cup!

My biggest problem is allowing things out of my control to control my life. I've had. A great many issues and tragedies in my life and I allowed them yeti control me. I allowed them to make me turn to food for comfort. As my weight spiraled out of control It pushed me to a darker and darker place while limiting my options of escape.   See that's the thing with getting fat. It creeps up on you. Then when you finally realize what's happening it's too late. No longer is it only 20-30lbs to lose its 100lbs or more.  And now you feel like your at the bottom of a giant pit with walls to steep to climb.  And that starts the vicious cycle of self hate.  You try and fail which frustrates you so you turn to food. which is what got you into this mess to begin with.  A few more pounds creep on and the cycle starts again.   But heres the secret to escape.  In that pit hidden by shadows there is a way out.  You don't see it at first because your scared.  Scared of failing, scared of what it will take to succeed.  But its there  a small rope and ll you have to do is climb the rope.  Yes there will be obstacles thrown in your way.  You will slip.  You will fall.  You may hurt yourself and life will surely try to kick you in the balls so you fall back down into that pit.  But don't let go of that rope. Get back to your feet  keep climbing.  Its a lonely climb.  You may have support from family and friends or you may not.  But it really doesn't make a difference because this is something you have to do for yourself on your own.  Nobody will walk the miles for you or lift the weights for you.  Nobody can control your decisions that you make when it comes eating healthy.  Its 100% YOU.

Today life tried to kick me in the balls again after trying to just 2 days ago.  If any of you read the "about my blog" section you will know that being fat has cost me so much.  One of the biggest is my ability to work.  I was and kind of still am a contractor.   But being overweight and not being able to physically do what I need to do makes it impossible to do my job.  That being said in the spirit of changing myself body and mind I picked up a small job that I started Monday along with my blog.  Well today as I am working I noticed a weird humming sound.  I look up and see a tornado of bees flying all around me and of course I vacate the area and run into the nearest building.   That alone in the past would have stopped me from completing my job.  I would have packed up and used it as an excuse.  But not today.  Long story short I learned that as long as I don't mess with them they won't mess with me.  So I put on my big boy pants and finished.

Losing weight is more than the calories you don't ear or the miles you walk and the pounds you lift.  Its about changing your mind.  Beleiving in yourself and following through in all aspects of your life especially when its difficult.

That mass of bees was 15ft from where I was working.

Hello soreness my old fried I've come to talk to you again

It's currently 1am and I'm lying in bed sore in lots of places. As much as it's uncomfortable it's a good thing. Means I am accomplishing what I set out to do. And in this case pain is a side effect of hard work.  So now I am going to try and go back to sleep knowing every time I move and it hurts it is worth it.

I did make my goals today except for steps💪🏽💪🏽

Why people fail at losing weight

Does anybody know what the hardest thing about losing weight is. I bet most people will say either the exercise or eating healthy. But both are wrong. In my opinion the biggest reason people fail at losing weight is LIFE. Life never co-operates with your schedule or your desires. Take yesterday for example Day 2 of my new lifestyle and I have my whole day planned out. But guess what Life kicked me in the balls. Water pump goes out in my truck and so instead of going to the gym for cardio making my meals and planning my workouts for the following day I spend most of the day fixing my truck. Instead of nicely prepared meal from home I have to get something already prepared. But you know what thats ok. I didn't let that derail me. Instead I made the best of a bad situation. Was my eating perfect? No. But I did choose the healthiest thing I could find and stuck to my fasting window. And for me thats a victory. Ok heres the thing. Fat people are fat for a reason. Its something we do to ourselves. Why we do it has as many answers as how we do it. Some over eat our of boredom some for emotional reasons. Me I stress eat. When shit goes wrong i find comfort in a full belly of shitty food. So the fact that I didn't allow that to happen yesterday counts as a win. When LIFE tries to kick you in the balls, wear a cup!

First Day Completed

Day 1 is in the books and it was a resounding success. As happy as I want to be about we all know that the first few days of a new diet, or lifestyle in my case, are the easiest. As time goes on and the newness and excitement star to fade is where the real work will begin. I did go to the gym and met all my movement goals yesterday.

I will be posting my starting weight and measurements later today along with a pic of myself so we can all see where I am starting from.

Day 1 food

Where to begin? I started out my day strong. I am doing intermittent fasting coupled with a paleo type diet. For those that don't know intermittent fasting is when you compress your meals into a smaller eating window. For me it will be 11am-7pm. So I had no breakfast which was fine. Around lunch time I got hungry and my buddy "The Ron" suggested going out for lunch. I thought "hey why not. I'm strong. And there are plenty of places to go eat a healthy lunch. So whwew does my buddy take me you ask? He takes me to Romanos, and orders this which is served right in front of me.

Can you say friend fail. Just a quick note that pizza is by far my favorite food. And Chicago style deep dish pizza is fanfreakigingtastic. But don't worry I didn't give in to the temptation. I had this

a nice antipasto salad with balsamic vinegar. My take away from this is that temptation will be all around and it will be a daily, no i take that back, a hourly struggle to make good decisions with every meal. So for now I will take it 1 meal at a time.

Night Before Christmas

It is currently the night before the first day of my 12 month journey. You may ask how is that the night before Christmas. Well the simple answer. I consider tomorrow Christmas day because I will be unwrapping my best present ever. My present is a better, healthier, and longer life.(quick disclaimer if I get hit by a bus you can't blame the new lifestyle for not extending my life) So long story short tomorrow will be day 1. And I'm excited. I know it will be a long hard road, but in my mind the end will justify the means. I will lay out my entire plan tomorrow on new tabs as this is my first blog and I'm not exactly sure how this whole thing works. I will learn along the way and hopefully bring some enjoyment to who ever reads this, and maybe if I am lucky, provide some inspiration to somebody along the way.