220.4 – Cheers!

Well… It was close. I bet Rick that I would be below 220 lbs on Friday, back on Tuesday when I weighed in at 224. Missed it by half a pound. Dadgummit!

In my defense, my cardio workout was cut short last night. For all kinds of reasons, I didn’t make it up to the gym until just after 10p. When I left my kids were still awake. About 40 mins into my elliptical workout Rachel called me and asked me to please come home, our 3 year old daughter Drew had been crying for me since I left. So no one was able to sleep until I got home to console her. She apparently just wanted her daddy last night.

I had planned to do a full hour on the elliptical and 30 minutes in the treadmill in my last ditch effort to get my weight below 220 when I woke up this morning. Would I have hit my goal if I finished my cardio session last night? It was only a half pound more… Who knows? But a bet’s a bet and Rick will be drinking free this weekend.

We’re running the Flatwoods 5K on Saturday. I’m hoping to cross off one of my Strong Gator challenges (see tab above) – To run an officially timed 5K without any walking. As long as my calf doesn’t seize up on me, I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to knock that one out of the park.

221.8

Had an exhausting workout last night at YouFit. An intense hour on the elliptical followed by 20 minutes of running on the treadmill. My legs are sore from all the squatting I did raking and bagging leaves the two days prior.

I can’t remember when the last time I got this much exercise every day. It’s tough at times but it’s worth it. Down nearly 17 pounds now from March 11th.

Unfortunately it looks like I’ll be buying my buddy Rick’s beer this weekend. We made a small mini bet two days ago when I weighed in at 224, I told him I thought I could get my weight down below 220 by the time Friday rolled around and I headed down to his place for Orange & Blue weekend. If I did then Rick would have to pay for all my beer this weekend. If not, then I must pay for all of his. I guess it’s still possible, but highly unlikely. I’ll have to lose 2+ lbs by tomorrow and that seems a bit too much. I figured if I weighed in this morning at 221.4 then I may have a chance but as you can see, that didn’t happen. But I’m not disappointed. I’m at my lowest weight in a very long time and buying a good friend beer won’t diminish that in any way.

SDV

11:30 pm. YouFit baby!

Damn it’s late. So tired. 

Sacrifice.

Dedication.  

Victory.

224.0

I strayed from the formula and it bit me. Up a pound and a half. I ended up doing 4 hours of yard work yesterday, but no night time cardio. The key to my success has been that cardio workout before I go to bed, but after 4 hours of raking and bagging leaves, I was tired and my lower back was killing me.

I was exhausted and hungry. We had Jimmy John’s for dinner which put me over my daily calorie max for the day. On top of that I had subway for lunch. I definitely seem to do much better when I make my own food. I eat healthier and I know exactly how many calories I’m ingesting.

Tonight may be a challenge. Rach and I are supposed to have dinner with a friend at Hooter’s, the healthiest of all places. jeez…Maybe I can talk them into eating somewhere else where I have a better chance to eat something healthy. I really hope we don’t stay there too long as I am determined to hit the gym tonight no matter what. No excuses! It could quite possibly be a very late night for me.
I need to be under 225.6 pounds this Saturday to remain on target for my weight loss goal of reaching 170-175 pounds by August 30th. I’m below 225.6 now, but definitely not content with it. I want to be under 220 when I had head to Gainesville on Friday.

224.8

Oops. Sorry, forgot to post this.

Up one pound from Friday. Had Barnaby’s with friends last night. Car died in parking lot of restaurant. Needed a new starter. Had to get it towed. It sucked.

Didn’t get to run, but did do an hour on the elliptical.

Ricky came over and made us maple glazed salmon with a rice medley  The salmon was a bit too “fishy” tasting for my likes but I’m sure it was healthy.

Daily calories each day for the next week are 1798. Weight x 8.

223.8

Holding steady at 223.8 this morning. I guess I should be happy about that. I didn’t eat very well yesterday. Had peanut butter and jelly toast with orange juice for breakfast. Had some peanut butter crackers with a Coke for a mid morning snack. A turkey sub from Publix with a bag of Doritos for lunch. And had some stir fry from a restaurant called 1 fresh stir fry for dinner last night. I was all over the map. Lost track of my calories along the way although I’m certain I well exceeded my daily max.

Guess I gave into my cravings yesterday. Not sure why it was so hard to fight them yesterday more than any other day. I know my body was dragging. I was really tired all day. Guess all the working out and not getting enough sleep finally caught up to me. But that’s no excuse. I have to remain vigilant to see this thing through by August 30th.

Last night I was exhausted. I really didn’t want to go to the gym. I was falling asleep sitting up at eight o’clock. But even still I forced myself to change clothes to prepare for my workout. But before I left, my wife Rachel (who’s been a huge motivator of my transformation) asked me to skip the gym. She wasn’t feeling well and just wanted me to stay home with her and the kids. I mean, I really have been hitting the gym every night for several nights in a row. One night off wouldn’t kill me right? My body was telling me that I needed rest anyway, so….

I said “eff you fat” and went up to YouFit anyway. I had eaten so poorly yesterday, that of all days I just couldn’t skip my workout last night.

Knocked out a solid hour on the elliptical. Pushed up the intensity. Crushed over 400 calories. And put a halt to any weight gain I should have had this morning due to my poor choices yesterday.

Got to bed by 11 last night and feel well rested this morning with a new focus. Official weigh in is tomorrow.

223.8

So last night at the gym after my 57 minutes on the elliptical, I got on the treadmill to walk it out and cool down while I watched the end of the Bulls/Heat game. The Heat were on a 27 game winning steak and looking to break the all-time record of 33 games by the Lakers. Of course I got drawn in like I do with all exciting sporting events. I figured I’d only be on the treadmill for about 10 to 20 minutes but I’ll be damned if it didn’t take 45 more minutes to finish that game. I just HAD to know if the Bulls could end the streak and the only way to keep that little TV on the treadmill on was to keep moving. They did… And I got a bonus 45 minutes of light cardio in. turns out to be a good thing as I weighed in under 224 lbs this a.m.

Still didn’t get much sleep though. 😦

Night Time is the right time

It’s 10:30p. You know where I am. The gym. YouFit. Throwing down another cardio session. Hoping to be under 227 tomorrow.

Even though my sleep has been taking a hit, I kind of like these night time workouts for the time being. After doing them, I feel like I go to bed with my body still burning calories like mad which helps my weight loss. Conversely, if I eat dinner and just hang out at the house without doing any exercise afterward, I feel like that food just sits there and collects as fat, causing a weight gain. I realize that there will often be nights that I can’t get in a workout. Hopefully on those days my calorie restriction will be enough to prevent any weight gain.

Late night at YouFit

Yep. Another late night workout at YouFit as predicted. Just got back home. 11pm. The workout tonight was tough. 57 minutes on the elliptical -5 of which was my cool down.

I like to keep my RPM’s between 70-80 and usually I just crank the music and it’s not a problem. But for some reason, tonight I was just drained. No energy. Really had to push myself to keep pace. Maybe it’s because I had a headache. Maybe it’s because I had to drive 250 miles today after work. Maybe it’s just one of those days. Oh well.

I still did the workout and punched fat in it’s effin neck.

228.6 – 10 lbs down!

So Challenge Week – Dinner #2 was another success. As stated, we went to a  chicken wing restaurant. and as soon as we got there Rach ordered two appetizers – smoked fish dip with tortilla chips and fried pickles. I was starving and the apps looked really good, but I held my own -having only a couple of each. For my meal I got grilled Caribbean chicken with a small side of broccoli and a small side garden salad with low calorie dressing – water to drink of course. The chicken had a hot-terriyaki glaze and was very good. The salad had shredded cheese in it which wasn’t what I needed but ate anyway.

After dinner, Rachel and I decided not to go to a movie. Instead we went to Kohl’s to find Rachel some clothes for her new, upcoming job.

I was uneasy about my calorie intake from dinner so at 10:15 at night I changed clothes and headed up to the gym. The old Andy never would have done that. I was tired. Yawning. I had been awake since 5 that morning and had to get back up at 5 the next morning for work. But I pushed myself to go and am glad I did.

So my first Strong Gator challenge had been met – to get under 230 pounds! This puts me ahead of the 230.6  lbs that I need to be at on Saturday in order to remain on target to guy my goal weight on August 30th.

Very excited.