I look back on the past 3 months and think....you've lost over 20lbs and look at you! How great of a job you are doing! And then I think.....it's been 3 months and you've only lost 20lbs....and look at you. What's the hold up?
Self perpetuated negativity can be real damaging to your progress and success. It's difficult to look at yourself and think that while you look much better than you used to, you still don't look as great as you want. I found myself being glad to reach my first goal, but frustrated that I have such a ways to go. This type of frustration is dangerous and I don't like it!
I've been reading so much stuff on eating healthy, how to ramp up your metabolism, things that work and don't work. Counting calories vs. Weight Watchers, wondering if I'm doing enough cardio, am I lifting the right amount of weights during strength training. Could I be doing more? Am I eating enough? Am I eating the right things? Should I be losing more weight? Why aren't these love handles going away?
IT IS MADDENING!!!!!
I can definitely understand why people get overwhelmed, confused and frustrated. It's like you try and try and try but your best never seems like enough and you're left wondering, 1. Is it worth it? 2. Am I doing enough?
As I've wrestled through these emotions the past few weeks I've talked myself off of the ledge a few times! I can tell you that it definitely IS worth it in the end. Even if the progress is slow and I'm not seeing the OVERNIGHT results that I've been hoping for, I know that I am making progress and that I'm giving it 110%. I've analyzed a few things and I am certain that my workouts are on point, but my diet could use a little tweaking. I think I rely a great deal on pre-packaged foods and processed meals instead of creating my own from fresh, wholesome ingredients. I am almost always within my daily points target on WW and typically NEVER use all of my weekly bonus points, but I realize that sometimes the choices I make in using those points may not be the best. Trust me when I say that it is a science and it takes some work to get into a healthy eating style.
I have 19lbs to go to reach my goal weight of 169lbs. Some may say, what an odd number to shoot for. It's 40lbs from my starting weight, so it was more about the amount of weight I wanted to lose rather than the actual weight itself. What I find even more intriguing, based on my height even at my goal weight of 169lbs. by medical standards I will still be considered overweight! In order to be in the "normal" range, I would need to hit 150lbs. Um, I'm pretty sure at 150lbs I'd look like a starving child! LOL. Eventually I will try to program myself to look more at my body fat % and measurements vs. how much I actually weigh. If I'm a muscular 175lbs, I'm ok with that! :-)
That's my rant for the day! I hope that if you ever hit a point where you feel like giving up, you will look at how far you have come and where you are wanting to be and realize that you CAN do it! It will take dedication, persistence and consistency. It won't always be easy, and you may have to try a few different methods along the way to find what works best for you and keep going!! Any progress is better than no progress!
That's all I have for today!
Keith
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
100 Days And Counting.......
Can you believe that it has been 100 days since I began this journey? That is incredible! I can remember starting Week 1 Day 1 and thinking....26 weeks that's a heck of a long way away! And here we are 100 days later!
Officially this morning I was down 20.20lbs and feeling fantastic! My clothes don't fit me anymore and pants I bought just 2 weeks ago are already too big! What a great problem to have!
I can't even begin to say what a journey this has been so far. I've had ups and downs and plateaus. It has not been easy but I have kept pushing myself forward, always looking toward my goal! I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends and family who have been encouraging me and motivating me the whole time! Even when I didn't want to go on, they kept pushing me to do more!
When I started this journey my goal was to change my lifestyle, not just to lose weight. To look at food in a different light and learn how to eat normal portions and make healthier choices. At this point I know I have accomplished that. With recent events that have brought on a great deal of emotional distress, instead of turning to food to comfort me I have turned to exercise and other activities to de-stress. Knowing that you have power over food instead of the food having power over you is an incredible feeling! I can eat just ONE cookie, or stop at 2-3 pieces of pizza vs. having a whole bag of cookies or eating an entire large pizza on my own! I feel like a whole new person!
What I don't want to happen however is to get comfortable with the results I have achieved. While 20lbs is definitely commendable, I have quite a bit of work left to do and I plan on finishing strong! These next 13 weeks I want to give it my all and make them count! When I get on that scale for the last time I want to see a number that I can be proud of and that I can reasonable maintain and never return to my old self or habits again!
Thank you to each and every one of you who read this blog and who have offered me support in my journey so far. To those of you who were inspired by my journey to start your own I say good luck and keep going, you can and you WILL do it and we will achieve our goals together! Summertime approaches and I plan on looking HOT at the pool this year! How about you?!
Here's to the next 100 days and getting healthy in 2012!
Wishing you all the best
Keith
Officially this morning I was down 20.20lbs and feeling fantastic! My clothes don't fit me anymore and pants I bought just 2 weeks ago are already too big! What a great problem to have!
I can't even begin to say what a journey this has been so far. I've had ups and downs and plateaus. It has not been easy but I have kept pushing myself forward, always looking toward my goal! I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends and family who have been encouraging me and motivating me the whole time! Even when I didn't want to go on, they kept pushing me to do more!
When I started this journey my goal was to change my lifestyle, not just to lose weight. To look at food in a different light and learn how to eat normal portions and make healthier choices. At this point I know I have accomplished that. With recent events that have brought on a great deal of emotional distress, instead of turning to food to comfort me I have turned to exercise and other activities to de-stress. Knowing that you have power over food instead of the food having power over you is an incredible feeling! I can eat just ONE cookie, or stop at 2-3 pieces of pizza vs. having a whole bag of cookies or eating an entire large pizza on my own! I feel like a whole new person!
What I don't want to happen however is to get comfortable with the results I have achieved. While 20lbs is definitely commendable, I have quite a bit of work left to do and I plan on finishing strong! These next 13 weeks I want to give it my all and make them count! When I get on that scale for the last time I want to see a number that I can be proud of and that I can reasonable maintain and never return to my old self or habits again!
Thank you to each and every one of you who read this blog and who have offered me support in my journey so far. To those of you who were inspired by my journey to start your own I say good luck and keep going, you can and you WILL do it and we will achieve our goals together! Summertime approaches and I plan on looking HOT at the pool this year! How about you?!
Here's to the next 100 days and getting healthy in 2012!
Wishing you all the best
Keith
Monday, February 20, 2012
Say Goodbye.......
Sometimes it's hard to say goodbye to certain things. Friends, relatives, jobs, a home. One thing I have no trouble saying goodbye to is weight! Today was weigh-in day and here are the results!
Starting Weight: 209.0lbs
Last Weeks Weight: 190.8lbs
Today's Weight: 189.2lbs
Difference: -1.6lbs
Total Weight Lost: -19.8lbs
GOODBYE 190's! I hope (or better yet, I know) I will never see you again!!
I was a bit miffed at the scale today because I was .20lbs from an even 20lb weight loss! GRRRR! Oh well, I am going to destroy that number next week!!!
This week we begin Week 14, the start of phase 4 of Inferno Standard. Now some of you might be wondering what happened to the end of Week 13 Day 4. Allow me to fill you in! I skipped it! LOL. Now I didn't actually skip it intentionally but it was skipped nonetheless. As you might recall the weather put me behind in wrapping up Week 12 Day 4 and so I jammed 4 days of workouts back to back. My body was literally beat down and wore out! Saturday and Sunday night I passed out right after dinner and was asleep well into the wee morning hours, thus having missed my opportunity for working out.
I'm not sad or upset about it. Day 4 of that phase actually was relatively easy and I still pulled off a 1.6lb weight loss this week so I was happy. I'm excited to start Week 14 and do some different exercises again. I'd like to say I was done with the weekly 5k's but I think every week here on out has a 5k built in. BLAH! Oh well...at least it burns off a lot of calories!
Speaking of calories...I started tracking my calories to see where I needed to be and where I actually was based on my activity level. Let me tell you I was a bit off! The calculator tells me I should be eating around 1900-2000 calories to meet my goal weight by mid-May and I was eating around 1500-1700/day. Now you would think this would cause me to lose weight faster but that's not true. So I think I have possibly (hopefully) found the reason behind my plateau and can break through and start dropping some more of this fat! 20lbs to go to reach my goal of 169lbs!
That's all I have for today! We say goodbye to the pounds and to the Phase 3 of Inferno Standard! YES!
How are your goals coming along? I hope you are succeeding in everything you are trying to accomplish!
Keith
Starting Weight: 209.0lbs
Last Weeks Weight: 190.8lbs
Today's Weight: 189.2lbs
Difference: -1.6lbs
Total Weight Lost: -19.8lbs
GOODBYE 190's! I hope (or better yet, I know) I will never see you again!!
I was a bit miffed at the scale today because I was .20lbs from an even 20lb weight loss! GRRRR! Oh well, I am going to destroy that number next week!!!
This week we begin Week 14, the start of phase 4 of Inferno Standard. Now some of you might be wondering what happened to the end of Week 13 Day 4. Allow me to fill you in! I skipped it! LOL. Now I didn't actually skip it intentionally but it was skipped nonetheless. As you might recall the weather put me behind in wrapping up Week 12 Day 4 and so I jammed 4 days of workouts back to back. My body was literally beat down and wore out! Saturday and Sunday night I passed out right after dinner and was asleep well into the wee morning hours, thus having missed my opportunity for working out.
I'm not sad or upset about it. Day 4 of that phase actually was relatively easy and I still pulled off a 1.6lb weight loss this week so I was happy. I'm excited to start Week 14 and do some different exercises again. I'd like to say I was done with the weekly 5k's but I think every week here on out has a 5k built in. BLAH! Oh well...at least it burns off a lot of calories!
Speaking of calories...I started tracking my calories to see where I needed to be and where I actually was based on my activity level. Let me tell you I was a bit off! The calculator tells me I should be eating around 1900-2000 calories to meet my goal weight by mid-May and I was eating around 1500-1700/day. Now you would think this would cause me to lose weight faster but that's not true. So I think I have possibly (hopefully) found the reason behind my plateau and can break through and start dropping some more of this fat! 20lbs to go to reach my goal of 169lbs!
That's all I have for today! We say goodbye to the pounds and to the Phase 3 of Inferno Standard! YES!
How are your goals coming along? I hope you are succeeding in everything you are trying to accomplish!
Keith
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Sir, You can't have the fish and the chinese together....
Oh my stars what was I thinking!!? Yesterday I had convinced myself that since I had built up all kinds of Activity Points and still hadn't touched my bonus points for the week that it would be a good idea to indulge a bit on lunch. So where do we go to? Long John Silvers of course! Now I have not been here in probably over a year but it sounded DELICIOUS! Here's the trick, I only had 1 piece of fish and 1 piece of chicken, 2 hush puppies, NO tartar sauce, NO cole slaw and had fries. Overall the meal was like 18pts. Surprisingly NOT bad at all, considering it's FRIED! LOL. Well my stomach was not having it and started throwing a fit the minute I choked down the last fry.
As if this torture wasn't enough I was so un-motivated last night to cook anything, we ordered Chinese food. Are you kidding me?! So I shovel that in on top of the fish and chicken and let me tell you....not a good thing! LOL. Then I actually convinced myself to get up off the couch and go to the gym and workout AND it was 5k run day!! OH my word! Never again will I do anything like that! LOL.
Let me explain my rationale. I've been hitting a plateau on the scale this past week or two and I couldn't really figure out why. I hadn't changed my diet and I was keeping up with my workouts. Well I determined that I possibly wasn't eating enough to cover the calories I was burning at the gym in addition to my normal daily calorie burn. This can cause your body to shut down and prevent weight loss. So, my thinking was that I needed to feed my body, shock it back into burn mode and get things up and going again. Maybe I jumped in a little too close to the deep end! LOL. At any rate I am still trying to tinker with my calorie intake and deciding exactly what is holding up my progress on the scale. I seriously doubt however that eating like that is going to help my cause at all! (It was worth a shot though, right? LOL)
While my body is beat down and tired, tonight I will officially close out Day 4 Week 13 and phase 3 of Inferno Standard. Can you freakin' believe it? We are halfway there! This is the longest I have stuck with anything and I have amazed myself that I have kept it going. It's downhill to the home stretch from here so there is no quitting or turning back now! Looking in the mirror and not seeing a gut hanging over my pants anymore and knowing that a size 34 pant is loose on me is motivation enough for me to keep going!
How are you doing in your journey? I know a lot of people read these blogs (because I have a stat tracker that tells me so! LOL) but no one ever comments! I want to know what you are doing to lose weight and how you are doing. Has my blog been helpful to you? Is there anything you have a question about or would like me to talk about in a blog? Hit me up...let's make this a bit more interactive! :-)
I hope everyone is doing great and that you are exceeding your weight loss goals! I am here to support you in any way I can! YOU CAN DO IT! That's all I have for today....
Keith
As if this torture wasn't enough I was so un-motivated last night to cook anything, we ordered Chinese food. Are you kidding me?! So I shovel that in on top of the fish and chicken and let me tell you....not a good thing! LOL. Then I actually convinced myself to get up off the couch and go to the gym and workout AND it was 5k run day!! OH my word! Never again will I do anything like that! LOL.
Let me explain my rationale. I've been hitting a plateau on the scale this past week or two and I couldn't really figure out why. I hadn't changed my diet and I was keeping up with my workouts. Well I determined that I possibly wasn't eating enough to cover the calories I was burning at the gym in addition to my normal daily calorie burn. This can cause your body to shut down and prevent weight loss. So, my thinking was that I needed to feed my body, shock it back into burn mode and get things up and going again. Maybe I jumped in a little too close to the deep end! LOL. At any rate I am still trying to tinker with my calorie intake and deciding exactly what is holding up my progress on the scale. I seriously doubt however that eating like that is going to help my cause at all! (It was worth a shot though, right? LOL)
While my body is beat down and tired, tonight I will officially close out Day 4 Week 13 and phase 3 of Inferno Standard. Can you freakin' believe it? We are halfway there! This is the longest I have stuck with anything and I have amazed myself that I have kept it going. It's downhill to the home stretch from here so there is no quitting or turning back now! Looking in the mirror and not seeing a gut hanging over my pants anymore and knowing that a size 34 pant is loose on me is motivation enough for me to keep going!
How are you doing in your journey? I know a lot of people read these blogs (because I have a stat tracker that tells me so! LOL) but no one ever comments! I want to know what you are doing to lose weight and how you are doing. Has my blog been helpful to you? Is there anything you have a question about or would like me to talk about in a blog? Hit me up...let's make this a bit more interactive! :-)
I hope everyone is doing great and that you are exceeding your weight loss goals! I am here to support you in any way I can! YOU CAN DO IT! That's all I have for today....
Keith
Friday, February 17, 2012
Dear Stair Climber, With Love!
Well today was Week 13 Day 2 and the focus was all on cardio. The goal was to burn 365 calories and I trumped the goal by burning 450! All in all I climbed 160 floors in 32:00 minutes. It was quite exhausting yet invigorating at the same time if that makes any sense? I felt like I gave it my all and felt like I had worked out when I was done and that always feels good!
Afterwards I took some time to sit in the steam room and relax and then a refreshing shower! Let me tell you, I do feel relaxed!! However, driving home I realized that I was BEYOND starving! Even though I had eaten dinner less than 5 hours ago. This is how I know that my metabolism is just torching everything I'm putting in because I am ALWAYS wanting to eat something! I mentioned before but just have never gotten around to it that I wanted to evaluate my caloric intake vs. what I should be taking in given my level of activity. If I'm not eating enough that could be slowing down my weight loss. That sounds kind of odd doesn't it? If I'm not eating enough I won't lose weight. However it is very true and it is very important to ensure we are fueling our bodies enough to push them through the day, otherwise they hold on to whatever we do give them instead of burning it!
Anyway, I won't ramble on again about caloric burn and food intake. I have 2 more days of working out in Week 13 and I can't wait to be finished! Of course tomorrow is Day 3 which is the 5k run day and I will admit I am NOT looking forward to it at all! Day 3 in this phase is SO ridiculous and exhausting but I know I have to push through it! I just keep thinking that the body I will have when I am done is worth it!
That's all I have for now! I hope everyone is keeping up their hard work and that you are meeting and exceeding your goals! You have my support!
Keith
Afterwards I took some time to sit in the steam room and relax and then a refreshing shower! Let me tell you, I do feel relaxed!! However, driving home I realized that I was BEYOND starving! Even though I had eaten dinner less than 5 hours ago. This is how I know that my metabolism is just torching everything I'm putting in because I am ALWAYS wanting to eat something! I mentioned before but just have never gotten around to it that I wanted to evaluate my caloric intake vs. what I should be taking in given my level of activity. If I'm not eating enough that could be slowing down my weight loss. That sounds kind of odd doesn't it? If I'm not eating enough I won't lose weight. However it is very true and it is very important to ensure we are fueling our bodies enough to push them through the day, otherwise they hold on to whatever we do give them instead of burning it!
Anyway, I won't ramble on again about caloric burn and food intake. I have 2 more days of working out in Week 13 and I can't wait to be finished! Of course tomorrow is Day 3 which is the 5k run day and I will admit I am NOT looking forward to it at all! Day 3 in this phase is SO ridiculous and exhausting but I know I have to push through it! I just keep thinking that the body I will have when I am done is worth it!
That's all I have for now! I hope everyone is keeping up their hard work and that you are meeting and exceeding your goals! You have my support!
Keith
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
I'm back....and have I got something to tell!
Ok so I don't want to over hype anything by my catchy title but I do offer my apologies for taking such a long break from my blog! I've had some events that have kept me otherwise occupied! But fear not because I have not gotten off track from my goal! Since we missed a weigh-in let me catch you up!
Starting Weight: 209lbs
Last Weigh-in: 191.8lbs
Current Weight: 190.8lbs
Difference: -1.0lbs
Total Weight Lost: -18.2lbs
I am getting VERY close to my 20lb goal! Well it is my first goal. My ultimate goal is 170lbs which is another 20.8lbs away! I am going to get there!!
Yesterday I completed Week 12 Day 4. I now have an intimate love affair going on with the Stair Climber. I remember when we first joined the gym I tried the Stair Climber and lasted about 5 minutes. Now I can blaze through 35 minutes with ease! Ok, maybe not with ease but it's definitely a great deal easier than day 1! Yesterday I did 35 minutes and burned 467 calories!! It will definitely make you sweat!
Here is the link to the blog that I do for my work in case you are interested in following along. There will be another post coming to that page soon! Currently I have 2 entries but I think you will enjoy them both!
http://millsapartments.net/neighborhoods/author/keith-moore/
I'm so excited about all of the people I see starting to take control of their lives and getting in shape! I know that it's never easy and that there are days that you want to give up but you can't, you have to keep moving forward! It may take time to get to your goal but I promise as you keep working toward it you will reach it and the new body you will have will make it all worth it!
Tonight I will start Week 13 Day 1. Week 13 is the end of phase 3 and halfway to the end of the program. I remember when I started Week 1 Day 1 and I thought about how far away 26 weeks seemed. Now that I'm going to close out Week 13, it seems so much closer and I can't believe how time has flown! The changes I've seen in my body are amazing and I have increased my endurance and overall fitness. Can't wait to run that 5k in April!
When I had the gym do another body analysis and compared it from July when we first joined, I had lost 3% of my starting body fat! I can't tell you how that felt! Even a size 34 feels loose on me! :)
That's all I have for now. I'm glad to be back on the blog track and hope you are glad to be reading about my life again! :-) Good luck to you in your journey and may you meet all of your goals!
Have a great week!
Keith
Starting Weight: 209lbs
Last Weigh-in: 191.8lbs
Current Weight: 190.8lbs
Difference: -1.0lbs
Total Weight Lost: -18.2lbs
I am getting VERY close to my 20lb goal! Well it is my first goal. My ultimate goal is 170lbs which is another 20.8lbs away! I am going to get there!!
Yesterday I completed Week 12 Day 4. I now have an intimate love affair going on with the Stair Climber. I remember when we first joined the gym I tried the Stair Climber and lasted about 5 minutes. Now I can blaze through 35 minutes with ease! Ok, maybe not with ease but it's definitely a great deal easier than day 1! Yesterday I did 35 minutes and burned 467 calories!! It will definitely make you sweat!
Here is the link to the blog that I do for my work in case you are interested in following along. There will be another post coming to that page soon! Currently I have 2 entries but I think you will enjoy them both!
http://millsapartments.net/neighborhoods/author/keith-moore/
I'm so excited about all of the people I see starting to take control of their lives and getting in shape! I know that it's never easy and that there are days that you want to give up but you can't, you have to keep moving forward! It may take time to get to your goal but I promise as you keep working toward it you will reach it and the new body you will have will make it all worth it!
Tonight I will start Week 13 Day 1. Week 13 is the end of phase 3 and halfway to the end of the program. I remember when I started Week 1 Day 1 and I thought about how far away 26 weeks seemed. Now that I'm going to close out Week 13, it seems so much closer and I can't believe how time has flown! The changes I've seen in my body are amazing and I have increased my endurance and overall fitness. Can't wait to run that 5k in April!
When I had the gym do another body analysis and compared it from July when we first joined, I had lost 3% of my starting body fat! I can't tell you how that felt! Even a size 34 feels loose on me! :)
That's all I have for now. I'm glad to be back on the blog track and hope you are glad to be reading about my life again! :-) Good luck to you in your journey and may you meet all of your goals!
Have a great week!
Keith
Monday, February 6, 2012
Press Record and Watch Me On My Video Phone......
I DELETED THIS ENTRY BECAUSE APPARENTLY PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WAS TOO LONG!
I will likely NOT do another video blog since that one didn't bowl over very well. My apologies as I thought it was a pretty good video and story. Guess you can't please everyone! :-)
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
700 Calories and defeated....
So today was Day 2 of Week 11and a focus on cardio. The goal was to only burn 340 calories with my choice of cardio. When I started out I was pumped and ready to burn some calories, being an overachiever I decided I was going to burn 1000 calories! Realizing this was a lofty goal and would require over an hour of running on the treadmill I set up my Netflix to play some episodes of Biggest Loser and started running.
As I pushed onward toward my goal I got close to my required 340 calories and as I looked at my other running stats I realized that I was also coming up on the 5k mark (3 miles) having a desire to shave time off of my last run I ramped up my speed and barreled to the 3 mile mark. I ended up beating my prior time by over 1:35! But I kept pressing on racing toward my goal of 1000 calories! I finally hit 700 calories and hit the "Pause" button to take a breather. Now the "Pause" gives you 1 minute before the treadmill resets itself. As I caught my breath and took a drink of water, I got side tracked by The Biggest Loser...when I looked back at my treadmill stats my "Pause" time had ran out and the treadmill had reset. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I started to restart my run but felt disappointed that I wouldn't have a stat of 1000 calories to snap a pic of, so I decided to stop. 700 calories and a defeated 5k time...it was a good run!
Tomorrow on day 3 is the actual 5k day....maybe I'll try and beat my time today again!
I also made a commitment to myself today to stop weighing myself everyday! It gets maddening when I don't see the scale move everyday so I decided that I am only going to get on the scale on Monday, the actual weigh-in day. It will be a surprise for us all!!
That's all I have for now. My legs feel like they are going to fall off and my body is beat! Bring on tomorrow! Have a great week and I wish you all the best in succeeding at your goals!
Keith
As I pushed onward toward my goal I got close to my required 340 calories and as I looked at my other running stats I realized that I was also coming up on the 5k mark (3 miles) having a desire to shave time off of my last run I ramped up my speed and barreled to the 3 mile mark. I ended up beating my prior time by over 1:35! But I kept pressing on racing toward my goal of 1000 calories! I finally hit 700 calories and hit the "Pause" button to take a breather. Now the "Pause" gives you 1 minute before the treadmill resets itself. As I caught my breath and took a drink of water, I got side tracked by The Biggest Loser...when I looked back at my treadmill stats my "Pause" time had ran out and the treadmill had reset. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I started to restart my run but felt disappointed that I wouldn't have a stat of 1000 calories to snap a pic of, so I decided to stop. 700 calories and a defeated 5k time...it was a good run!
Tomorrow on day 3 is the actual 5k day....maybe I'll try and beat my time today again!
I also made a commitment to myself today to stop weighing myself everyday! It gets maddening when I don't see the scale move everyday so I decided that I am only going to get on the scale on Monday, the actual weigh-in day. It will be a surprise for us all!!
That's all I have for now. My legs feel like they are going to fall off and my body is beat! Bring on tomorrow! Have a great week and I wish you all the best in succeeding at your goals!
Keith
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