The Heavy Man's Diary: Day #73 - A Different Kind of Cardio

There is too much to do and not enough time in the day to do it. But that is life, if it was easy then everyone would be doing it. Anyway, I needed a break from work tonight and I couldn't wait until I got into the gym to clear my mind. However, I did not end up in the gym. Patty (My Fiance) had talked me into running outside for the first time in..... well, I can't even remember how long. I was a little hesitant at first because I have been doing so well lately with my workout routines and I really didn't want to mess up the flow. But she did remind me that the human body will get complacent after a while if it does the same thing over and over again. So, I figured I would take her up on the idea.

Within the first few minutes, I noticed that I was getting short of breath quicker then I would be if I was running on the elliptical machine. Not to mention, I was sweating before the timer on my IPOD reached 5 minutes. I thought that was interesting because it would usually take me until around 8 mins to start sweating on the elliptical. Now don't get me wrong, by the time my workout on the elliptical is complete, I am always in a heavy sweat but never as quickly as I was sweating tonight. Another thing I noticed was that my legs felt really heavy, especially in my quads and before I knew it, I was starting to slow down. I ended up being able to run only 15 mins and I had to walk for the rest of the 30 mins.

Maybe my body has become a little complacent with my normal cardio routine. I am still losing weight at a nice healthy pace so I really thought that it was still effective. But after being able to only run for 15 minutes outside, I think I will switch up my elliptical routine to make it a little harder. Who knows, maybe it will shock my body and as a result it will hopefully turn into more weight loss. On the other hand, I am intrigued that I can go for 40 mins straight on the elliptical, making it all the way to a level 10 resistance. But I can't even last at a steady jog for 15 mins outside on the pavement. I guess it is something that I am going to have to gradually get better at. I know for sure that I am down for the challenge. I think I will start by running outside for at least 1 day during the week to start. Just like my mission, I know I can do anything once I put my mind to it.

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

Meals of the Day (The Heavy Man = 39 Points)
(I am currently following the Weight Watchers Points System)

Breakfast - 2 eggo nutrigrain waffles with a cup of Light'n Fit yogurt, a serving of strawberries, and a touch of brown sugar = points 5
Snacks During the Course of the Day - 1 Weight Watchers brownie, 1 Weight Watchers blueberry muffin, and 1 Weight Watchers ice cream cone = Points 7
Lunch - Two grilled cheese sandwiches (All Weight Watchers Ingredients) with a side of baked potato chips = Points 9
Dinner - 2 servings of homemade Ham and Cheese Calzones (Weight Watchers Recipes) = Points 14
Dessert - 1 Weight Watchers ice cream cone = Points 2

Total Points Eaten Today = 37 Points (2 points under my daily limit)

Exercise

Tonight Patty talked me into running outside. I was only able to run for 15 mins before my legs started to cramp up and I was getting short of breath. I am going to gradually work at it so I can run outside for just as long as I am able to run (40mins) on the elliptical in the gym. Tomorrow I will be executing my Back and Triceps routines.

Day #73 - Weigh-In = 263.6 lbs