End of the Year Update

So I lasted 60 days on my last attempt at weight loss. In that time I had managed to lose about 25lbs, which had put me about one third of the way to my goal. I got burned out though. The eating became too monotonous to me. I was eating the same thing almost daily and after 2 months of it, I had enough. The getting up and working out every morning began to wear on me as well. So I started to slack a day here or there. And that signaled my downfall. Once I started doing that, it became harder and harder to get back into the groove, until I stopped doing it all together. I have not worked out since I stopped and I went back to eating horribly again. I've since put back on all the weight I lost.

But I am mentally ready to get back on track. I was waiting until after the holidays as I know those are the hardest times of year. I am starting to get more anxious to get started though. I am currently on vacation in a hotel and they have full length mirrors and I am disgusted by what I see. I look like an amorphous blob. I am not happy with that. Nor am I not happy with my clothes not fitting right. I got a really nice suit for Christmas and I want to make it look good. I can't do that right now.

My plan is to do the Power 90 program again. I saw good results on that and I felt good. I'm doing something different for meals though. I've signed up with Nutrisystem. I was a bit wary of the price, but figured I was spending about that much on healthy groceries anyway. Also, I get a lot more variety than I would have cooked for myself. The meals come already prepared and just need to be heated. So I don't have to worry about a lack of desire to cook things. I'm excited to get started on this again and start seeing the results I did earlier this year.

Here is hoping I stick with it until I hit goal this time. Third time is the charm right?

Day 0 Stats and Pictures

As mentioned in my last post, I am getting ready to start a new exercise program. I feel motivated for different reasons. I hate the way I look now, and also with things going so well for me in other areas of my life, I want to improve this area. It really is amazing that when you are happy, you feel more motivated to get into shape.

The program I am getting ready to begin is Power 90. It is by Beachbody.com, the same people that do P90x. I looked briefly at that, but it looked too intense for me at my weight. Power 90 was the program that led to P90x and is supposed to be more beginner friendly.

While I have not started working out yet, I did start eating right today. My breakfast consisted of a bow of Special K with yogurt crunches and fresh strawberries. Lunch was a grilled chicken breast with a touch of orange mango BBQ sauce and 4-cheese rice. For snacks I had 2 protein bars and celery with hummus. And dinner was a salad with grilled chicken, carrot chips, cherry tomatoes, and a fat-free balsamic vinaigrette. And I only drank flavored carbonated water.(which the program says is okay to drink) I am focusing on protein in this first week per their recommendation.

In preparation for the program, which goes 90-days, I took my measurements and took new pictures. My stats are as follows:

Weight: 290lbs.(Yes, I've gained weight since I started this blog)
Waist: 51"
Hips: 51"
Chest: 49"
Right Arm: 15"
Left Arm: 14.5"
Right Thigh: 26"
Left Thigh: 26"

And the pictures of me:







As these pictures show, I have quite a bit of weight to lose. Unfortunately, most of my weight accumulates in my stomach. That is definitely my "problem area" and what I hope to change the most. I am at the heaviest I have ever been and I am done with it. I want to be in good shape and in good health. So let this be the last day that I look like this.

Update 5/21/11

It's been nearly a year since I last posted. Shortly after my last post I had a death in the family that had a major impact. I then was job hunting and graduating college and found many reasons not to be working out. I'm at a point where things are going quite well for me in life and I want to focus on another area, my weight.

Today I had an awards dinner I had to dress up for. I was looking at myself in the bathroom mirror at work and I just looked sloppy. Not because I was unkempt or anything, but because of my size. I looked fat. And I've lately purchased larger cloths, in the 3XL range. Large clothes don't seem to lay nicely. I'm a big fat guy in big fat cloths and I just hated the way I look.

Along with that, at the awards dinner, I ran into a fellow classmate that I haven't seen in like 6 months. The last time I saw her, she was out of shape and had a bit of a pooch. She looked great tonight. She had worked out like crazy using programs like Insanity, P90x, and Turbofire. Seeing how she looked, and remembering how I felt earlier in the day, I renewed my commitment to myself to lose this weight.

The step I took to doing this was purchasing the Power 90 exercise program. I had considered the P90x, but was intimidated by it. I am very overweight and that seemed to be very intense for a beginner. Power 90, from what I could tell, seemed to be more entry level while still offering great results. More for weight loss, and less for body sculpting. So I decided to start there and see where that takes me. I plan on chronicling my daily routine. I know my previous plans always went offtrack, but with more time now and more stability, I'm hoping to be able to follow through this time.