Water Water more Water

Just so you all know I did go for that walk.  Unfortunately I did not follow that up with a walk the following day. 

So we begin yet again.  Or at at least continue to climb the same mountain that I was climbing before.  It seemed easy before.  It seemed like nothing could slow me down and I would make it to a goal weight and be happy and live there forever.

The that bitch reality came by and slapped me in the face.  This is not an easy process, and I need to stay constantly vigilant.  Basically I need a new plan of attack, or at least a tweaked plan of attack.

So over the past few days I have been weening myself from the diet coke and moving back to water.  Water water water.  I forgot what it feels like to have a full bladder all day.  It is an old and oddly comforting feeling.  I will begin to track my food intake and make some better decisions.

I would like to ask a question of you folks out there who still happen to read.

When you run across that Friday night out, do you indulge a bit but not too much?  Do you indulge and then just work harder the next day? 

The reason I ask is because I went all out last time and hardly ever had that indulgence.  I was Hard Core.  I was alot like Tony P.  Who I wish I was more like.  I understand his stance when in comes to indulgence.  I am just wondering what everyones stance is.

Thanks guys. 

Matt

As the crickets sound.

Just like many bloggers.  There are often false starts and false restarts.  So when you last heard from me I said something like... No really I am here to stay.  And time passes and no Matt.  You drop in only to find the sound of crickets and cobwebs everywhere.  I will not try to tease you with promises of daily posts or anything like that, but I will tell you what has been going on with my life in general.

First and foremost on March 13th I got married.  That's right ladies.  I am off the market.  Don't cry now... It will be okay.  Seriously though I hope all of you either find or have found what I have.  Being married to your best friend is really the best way to go. 

On the weight loss front.  Well.  I dropped a few pounds for the wedding which I immediately put right back on.  I really do not know what I am at right now.  I can tell you that I know I need to get out and exercise more.  I need more cardio exercise.  My lungs are shot.

So I will wake up in the working and go for a walk.  Then the next day...  try to do the same.  One day at a time for now. 

I did not wander away, I promise

I am not gone, I promise.  I have just been insanely busy, crazy stressed and just have not had time to sit down for a few minutes and chat about what has been going on. 

I can tell you that my eating habits went south this past week and really I am hoping to have maintained or only gained a couple of pounds.  This week that would really be a huge victory.  The next week and a half are likely to be a repeat of the same.  The fact of the matter is I am in this for the long haul at this point and there are going to be weeks when things do not go as well.  I am okay with that.

I will get back with you guys soon.

I lost.

Lost in a good way.  Looks like the shock to the system was a good thing.  Back on track and following points.  Well that and the fact that I removed my shoes for my weigh-in, in addition to wearing slightly lighter clothes.

I was able to recognize a scale loss of 11.6 lbs.  I am pretty damn excited.  I am feeling a bit better just over a week in. Heartburn is gone.  I have a bit more energy.  I even am noticing a bit of a difference in my asthma.

So a good week for sure and I have kept on truckin.  Now I just need to get to the gym and really give my body the kick in the ass that it needs.

Sorry for the short post.  I will try to get you guys something good tomorrow.  Till then.

Oh my early morning

So I worked till about 8:30 or so last night and then because of the software installation we did I felt the need to be back in the office at 6:15 to make sure the early morning crowd was supported properly.  Let me just tell you that 5:00 am is very early for me.  I had a hard time getting out of bed. 

So here I am this morning, peach yogurt and diet coke firmly in hand waiting for the caffeine to kick in. 

This brings up a question for the viewing audience.  When do you prefer to work out?  I was a early morning guy before.  I am not sure I will be this time around.  I am curious to hear when you work out and why you choose that time.

Have a great day y'all

A question from the viewing audience and The weekend that was

Jacinda asked: I am interested in how many times/amount of time per day you worked out, I'm trying to get a feel for what should be "required" for weight loss.

Well when I was working out and not training for the 5k I ran I was going about 3-4 times a week.  I would do about 45 - 60 minutes on the elliptical and then do a quick run through the weight machines trying to concentrate for on my weak upper body for 2 days a week and then lower for 1.  The logic there was that my legs were getting a good workout carrying my fat butt around.

I will say this.  Start slow and work your way up.  I remember how good I felt when I was eating right and exercising.  I had energy to spare.  That said I cannot just jump right back in.  When I get back on the exercise train I will have to start all over again.  That means 5 minutes on an elliptical and working up from there.

So the weekend was full of challenges.  We went out Friday night to celebrate my Dads birthday.  To a Mexican restaurant.  So I get this dish with grilled chicken, onions and peppers over rice.  I did my best to lay off the rice and did a decent job.  It was a stir fry kinda Saturday with stir fry for lunch and dinner. Sunday rolls around and breakfast out with my friends and half my points gone.  But it was a late breakfast so it ended up working out as best it could.  A tame dinner and some late night carrots.

It is getting easier again.  I am still very hungry by the time I eat.  My body is reacting much like it did the last time I did this, and only now am I recalling that when my body gets dramatically less calories it needs to be fed more frequently. 

I am pretty excited about my weigh in tomorrow and while I am excited to see a loss I am more excited that I feel a bit better.  I feel more clear if that makes sense.  I have less of the afternoon yawns.  I have not chewed up a pepcid since day1 (part 2)  that in itself is a big deal.

More pre-weigh in coverage tomorrow.  

Lets back up a bit

So as I embark on the journey all over again I thought it important to ask a few questions.

• How was I successful last time around
• How did I fail last time around
• What can I do differently this time

All meaningful questions that I am not sure I have the answers to.  However I am going to do my best.

How was I successful last time around?

Well this may be the easiest of all the questions.  What made me successful in weight loss was that I ate clean for the most part and managed to exercise regularly. Those are to huge pieces.  I also kept a journal of my progress through the blog and kept track of what I ate through the WW website. And finally I managed to get more sleep.  The eating right thing came somewhat easy.  I almost always ate breakfast, had fruit and vegetables for snacks, and then had a salad with grilled chicken for lunch.  I would end up with some lean meat a veggie and a small amount of some starch for dinner.  Maybe some frozen fruit as a snack.  Exercise came much less easy.  That is the one routine that is so easy to break.  Going to the gym 3 - 4 times a week or running 3 times a week is fine when you are in the routine or you are training for something but you break it for a week and you might not want to head back.

How did I fail last time around?

This is the hardest, or at least much more difficult.  In this case many answers could be correct.  What might true for me may not be for you.  I think though that it started with a let down in my consistent exercise.  Or maybe I was exercising enough and my eating habits had failed.  Or maybe it was both.  I think probably one thing that happened was that I continued to work out and started to change my diet.  I was maintaining and doing okay, but I was not losing weight.  Then I stopped working out.  You can guess what happened.  My weight went right back up.  My eating habits got worse and worse.  It all has a domino affect.  For instance.  I was getting enough sleep because I was going to be earlier so I could wake up and go work out.  Then I stopped working out so I started staying up late.  It is all excuses I know but maybe If I can identify the things that lead to failure before maybe I can succeed this time.

What can I do differently?

Also tough.  And this might be something I have to figure out as I go.  I know whatever my decision it needs to be permanent.  I cannot have this be a year long thing, or a until I get below 300 thing.  It has to be something I do forever.  If that just means I make sure to walk every week and eat right, than that is great.  I think a big thing might be to attempt to not over indulge in some of the things I love.

I am open to all suggestions.  I think where I might start is to read my blog again.