Day #23 - The Travel Series Part 2b / Never Be Afraid to Show the Real You

Today was a great and productive work day for me in a very hot and sunny Charleston, SC. When I say hot, I mean HOT!!!!! It had to be at least 110 degrees down here today. That is not what I like to call "Heavy Man Weather." I was literally sweating just walking to my car. Besides the heat, Charleston, SC is really neat place to visit. The entire city is so rich in history, that I would recommend a visit to anyone who loves to learn about our country's past. There are also a few great places to shop down town at "The Market" as well as "Marion Square." Charleston also plays host to South Carolina's Aquarium as well as a battleship from World War II called, the USS Yorktown. I do recommend that you spend a few days down here if you come to visit, because there is so much to take in and see.

I had an interesting lunch meeting today. The person I met with took me out to a cool little southern restaurant with the best smelling food. We all know by now that food has not been kind to me is the past. As soon as I walked into place I automatically remembered the advice I received from an anonymous person on the Day #19 post. This person quoted, "that some meals will be out of our control" and I totally believe that statement to be true. I did the best I could with the situation I was in. I didn't want to disappoint this person because it was a very important meeting. So, I studied the menu and came up with the best case scenario. I ended up ordering a BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich. I asked for the sandwich without the BBQ sauce and I substituted the sweet potato fries with a nice side of cooked rice. I think I improvised pretty well.

Never Be Afraid to Show the Real You

After suffering through an extremely hot day, I decided that I was going to take a swim in the hotel pool. Now for all of you who know me and for all of you who are starting to get to know me, I don't take my shirt off in public at all. For the past few years I have been avoiding pools & the beach for the fear that I will have to take my shirt off. I even used to go into pools and the ocean with a shirt on. My weight problems have caused me to be so self conscious about the way I look, that it has made me to cut things out of my life that I used to love doing.

Since the start of this blog, I find myself gaining a new found confidence. Believe me, it took a lot for me to put my first shirtless picture up on this blog. But now I am feeling a lot more braver. So, I went down to the pool after my workout today, I took my shirt off and jumped right in. I actually did this in front of people. Here is how a I see it now, everyone is going to see me my go from my worst to my best. I can't think of a better statement then that. Never be afraid to show the real you.

With that being said, let's get to the details of the day:

Meals of the Day (The Heavy Man = 41 Points)
(For everyone who is new to the blog, I follow the Weight Watchers Points System)

Breakfast - 1 rice cake, 3 scrambled egg whites with a side of 2 pieces of whole wheat toast and a cup of fruit = Points 8
Lunch - A Pulled Chicken Sandwich on a Kaiser Roll, with a side of cooked white rice = Points 14
Dinner - Footlong chicken teriyaki sub on whole wheat bread with 2 slices of cheese, a bag of baked chips, and a bag of apples slices = Points 18
Dessert - 1 Special K Bar = Points 2

Total Points Eaten Today = 42 Points (1 point over my limit)

Exercise

Today, I ran for 20 mins on the elliptical machine at the hotel gym. Then I did an upper body workout that consisted of: dumbbell bench press (4 sets), dumbbell flyes (4 sets), dumbbell inclined press (4 sets), and three different biceps workouts (3 sets for each). After I was done working out, I jumped in the hotel pool and swam for 40 mins. I had a very productive day today. Tomorrow, I will be doing more cardio as well as a core body routine.

Day #23 - Weigh-In = 284.6

Day #23 Weigh-In

Day #23 Front Shot