Day #3 - More Battles to be Won!

The Day in Review

Hey my friends!! It is Friday, September 14, 2012 and this is officially Day #3 of the "Heavy Man's Diary!" If you have been following this blog for the last few days, you will know what I mean when I say the word "battles". If you are just joining us for the first time, I mentioned in the Day #1 post, that we all face battles on a day to day basis and will continue to until the day we die. However, no matter how many battles are won and lost, the main goal is to win the "War"! And my "War" is a little something I like to call, "The Mission to Healthy."

Anyway, the first battle of my day started early this morning. I originally planned to execute my workout routine before my busy day had begun. I had a lot to do today and I had the feeling that if I did not get my workout in this morning, I would have trouble getting it in later in the day. However, the morning didn't go exactly as planned. I woke up early for my baby boy Connor's early morning bottle. Everything went well like it normally does but then something that I did not plan for happened. He was wide awake and smiling after he finished his bottle! He is usually asleep after he is done with his bottle and back in his crib shortly after. Now don't get me wrong, I loved spending that time with him and seeing his face light up! But when Daddy has a busy day that needs to start off with his exercise routine, he would have loved for Connor to go back to sleep. Eventually he did get back to sleep. However, I ended up sleeping in a little later than I wanted to. None the less, I have been so motivated lately that I decided to wait until the end of the day to go to the gym. And let me tell you, it actually worked out better that way. I won the workout routine battle of the day and still got to see my son smiling this morning!

The second battle of the day took place at dinner time. Last week my wife Patty and I had made dinner plans with my Grandmother for tonight. That part is all good. However, I had been so caught up in bringing "The Heavy Man's Diary" back and with work that I forgot to mention to her that I was back to eating healthy. So when she called this morning to let me know that we were having Turkey and all of the normal side dishes that you have for a Thanksgiving Dinner, I did not panic! Well let's say, I did not panic that much. My family and friends are always awesome when it comes to helping me stay on track when I eat at their houses. So I knew that I was not in danger of eating anything that would screw up my Weight Watcher's Points for the day. However, I was worried more about how I was going to be able to control myself during dinner. Meaning.... I needed to control my portion intake! What many of you don't know, is that Thanksgiving Dinner is my most favorite meal of the year. I love it so much, that my Mother cooks it for me on my birthday as well. Yeah I said it.... I get two Thanksgiving Dinners a year. Anyway, I think I came out with a win for this battle as well. I made sure that I took the time before dinner to calculate the Weight Watcher's Points that I would be eating with the correct sized portions. And I made sure that I stuck to those portions, even though it was extremely hard..... BOOM!

All in all, Day #3 was a success! I stared the battles of the day in the face and I knocked them down. Now let's recap the details of the day:


Today's Meals (I am allowed 57 Weight Watcher's Points / Day)

Breakfast - 2 Boca Chicken Patties with 2 Slices of WW American Cheese on Wheat Bread and a side of Baked Tostitos Scoops = 15 Points
Lunch - Bumble Bee Tuna Fish on Wheat Bread with a side of Baked Tostitos Scoops = 18 Points
Dinner - 4 Slices of Oven Baked Turkey, 1/2 a cup of Stuffing, a cup of homemade mashed potatoes, a cup of carrots, with a 1/4 cup of gravy = 21 Points (I calculated this meal the best I could)
Snack - 1 Apple & 1 Pear

Total Points of Eaten for the Day = 54 Points (3 Points Short of my Daily Allowance)


Today's Workout / Exercise Routine

Exercise #1 - Push Ups (10 Reps x 3 Sets Leaning Downward with my Feet on the Swiss Ball), (10 Reps x 3 Sets of Normal Push-Ups), (10 Reps x 3 Sets Leaning Upward with my Hands on Dumbbells)
Exercise #2 - Step-Up Bicep Curls (10 Reps x 3 Sets Curling two 15lb Dumbbells While Stepping Up and Down on a Bosu Ball)
Exercise #3 - Alternating Bent Over Rows (10 Reps x 3 Sets with two 25lb Dumbbells)
Exercise #4 - Dumbbell Swings (10 Reps x 3 Sets with a 20lb Dumbbell - Each Arm)
Exercise #5 - Single Arm Chest Press (10 Reps x 3 Sets with a 40lb Dumbbell, Lying on a Swiss Ball - Each Arm)
Exercise #6 - Floor to Floor Crunches (10 Reps x 3 Sets with a 14lb Medicine Ball, Lying on a Swiss Ball - Front & Back)
Exercise #7 - Medicine Ball Circles (16 Reps x 3 Sets with a 14lb Medicine Ball, Bent Slightly at the Waist, and Squatting)
Exercise #8 - Triceps Push downs (10 Reps x 3 Sets at 80lbs on the Cable Machine)
Exercise #9 - Renegade Shoulder Press Squats (10 Reps x 2 Sets with a 20lb Dumbbell - Each Arm)

* The entire workout took roughly 1 hour & 15 minutes with a 30 second - 1 minute rest between sets


Today's Photo

Friday, September 14, 2012
(Front Shot)

Day #2 - Oooohhhh Exercise... My Old Friend

The Day in Review

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that was not able to exercise due to a lot of driving, 7 hours to be exact. And I will admit that I was upset with myself for not making time. This only ended up fueling the fire a little more and made me determined to get into the gym today, no matter what.

Now please understand that I have not stepped a foot inside of a gym or anything that resembles a gym for a while now. A little over two months to be exact. So I wasn't quit sure how my body was going to react to the stress of lifting weights combined with cardio. I will be completely honest and share with you all, that some parts of my workout today felt like I picked up right where I left off. While other parts of my workout were not so pretty. To be exact, every exercise having to involve my legs was a little tough to get through. At one point I thought I was never going to be able to stand up straight for the rest of the workout. I think I have to pay more attention to stretching before I start the workout and realize that my body isn't what it used to be....lol!

The gym was not extremely crowded today, which I liked very much. When there are not a lot of people there, it allows me to get through my workout quicker and more efficient. And even though it was not crowded, I noticed that I was getting stared a lot. I think it was because of this new workout routine I am trying out that a buddy of mine set me up with. There are a lot of exercises within this routine that I have never seen before. And by the looks I was getting, I imagine there were others that thought the same. Anyway, my buddy's name is John Bankhead and he actually trains NFL Players during the off season. And this new workout routine targets the core and involves both weights and cardio at the same time. I have tried a routine similar to this in the past but nothing to this extreme. Many of the exercises he has me executing, are the same exercises he gives to his clients, watered down of course. Because I for one, do not want to pass out during the first week of getting back into the gym!

All in all it was a good Day #2 and I am still motivated to keep going. I can't wait for Day #3 to start! So with all of this being said, let's get to the details of today:


Today's Meals (I am allowed 57 Weight Watcher's Points / Day)

Breakfast - Egg whites with a slice of Weight Watcher's American Cheese on two slices of Whole Wheat Bread = 4 Points
Lunch #1 - One Tuna Fish Sandwich on Whole Wheat Bread with a side of Baked Tostitos Scoops = 18 Points
Lunch #2 - Two Boca Chicken Patties on Whole Wheat Bread with Two Slices of Weight Watcher's American Cheese and a side of Baked Tostitos Scoops = 15 Points
Snack - 1/2 serving of left over Chicken Parm (Weight Watcher's Recipe) with a side of Whole Wheat Pasta = 10 Points
Dinner - 1 serving of Crusty Pork Tenderloin with a side of Sweet Potatoes and Baked Apples (Weight Watcher's Recipe) = 10 Points

Total Points Today = 57 Points


Today's Workout / Exercise Routine

Exercise #1 - Dumbbell Incline Press leaning on the Swiss Ball (12 Reps x 3 Sets with two 25lb Dumbbells)
Exercise #2 - Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown (12 Reps x 3 Sets at 85 lbs)
Exercise #3 - Dumbbell Squats standing on the Bosu Ball (10 Reps x 3 Sets with a 25 lb Dumbbell)
Exercise #4 - Swinging Bicep Curls with Dumbbells (10 Reps x 3 Sets with two 15lb Dumbbells)
Exercise #5 - Medicine Ball Lunge Press (10 Reps x 3 Sets with a 10lb Medicine Ball)
Exercise #6 - Cable Wood Chops (12 Reps x 2 Sets at 30lbs - Each Side)
Exercise #7 - Cable Side Chops (20 Reps x 3 Sets at 30lbs - Each Side)
Exercise #8  - Dumbbell Side Raises standing on the Bosu Ball (12 Reps x 3 Sets with two 10lb Dumbbells)

* The workout took roughly an hour to complete with 30 seconds - 1 minute rest between sets


Today's Photo

Thursday, September 13, 2012
(Front Shot)

Day #1 - Let the Battles Begin.... to Win the War

The Day in Review

Well my friends..... Day #1 of the official return of "The Heavy Man's Diary" is a wrap! The battles have definitely begun but the goal is to win the overall War! And that "War" is shedding the fat and losing that fat in a healthy way. A task that is not easy in any way, shape, or form. Take it from me, I know this from years and years of experience.

The first battle of the day started early this morning when I was trying to find a pair of pants to wear for the day. I was meeting up with a gentleman, for business, who was roughly 3 1/2 hours away from where I currently live and of course I wanted to look presentable. So with that in mind, I was aiming to wear a nice pair of jeans that would be comfortable enough for the long car ride. Unfortunately, the pair of jeans I had my mind set on were to tight on me and thus I was not able to wear them. And the crappy part about the whole situation was that they fit fine at the beginning of last week. So, battle #1 of this early stage of the "Mission to Healthy" was an article of clothing that did not fit me well anymore. I actually had to settle for a pair of Khaki pants that felt like they were on their way to barely fitting me as well. I have my first small goal already..... getting my jeans fit me comfortably again!

The second battle of the day was being able to survive nearly 7 hours in a car without being tempted to eat bad food for the day. I have mentioned it in the past and I will say it again, traveling for a living takes a toll on your body. Mainly because of all the crappy food that is out there in the world. However, I have learned that eating healthy while traveling is something that can be managed, if you put your mind to it. And my greatest weapon while traveling is a little chain of restaurants I like to call.... Subway! Yes my friends, Subway is my way of eating healthy while I am traveling. And let me tell you, Subway came up big once again today! I also want to go on record now by telling you all that Subway does not pay me to mention their restaurants within my posts. I just love eating at their restaurants so much because not only is it healthy but the food taste great as well! So as you can see, I won the second battle of the day.

The third and final battle of the day was not being able to workout / exercise like I wanted to. Sitting in a car for almost 7 hours did not help me with trying to win this battle. And the important thing for me to realize is that I am not going to win every single battle. I will admit that in the past I would get really upset over something like that, not being able to workout, and think that the day was a total bust. There will be battles that are won and there will be battles that are lost but the most important thing is to keep my eyes on the prize and that is winning the "War!"

So as for today, I had three main battles. I am admitting that two out of those three battles were lost. But I do recognize that I managed to eat healthy the entire day and I think that really does count for something! Don't you all?


Today's Meals (I am allowed 57 Weight Watcher's Points a Day)

* Before I continue with my meals for the day, I wanted let everyone know that I am following the Weight Watchers for Men Nutritional Plan. Calling it a diet means that it will be temporary..... Calling it a Nutritional Plan means that I understand it is for life. I love the Weight Watchers program because it teaches me to prepare and eat real foods. By being able to eat real foods, it makes the process of having to eat healthy a little more bearable.

Breakfast - 3 Egg Whites with a Slice of American Cheese on a Whole Wheat Bagel = 11 Points
Lunch - 1 Footlong Double Turkey Sandwich on Whole Wheat Bread with Two Slices of American Cheese, Pickles, and a bag of Sun Chips (Subway) = 28 Points
Dinner - 1 1/2 Servings of Homemade Chicken Parm (Weight Watcher's Recipe) with a Side of Whole Wheat Pasta with Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese = 17 Points

Total Points for the Day = 56 Points


Today's Workout / Exercise Routine (I will be recording my daily exercise routines)

* I did not have a chance to workout today because of the amount of time I spent driving.


Today's Photos (I will be taking one "Front Shot" photo every day & one "Side Shot" photo every month)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012
(Front Shot Photo)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012
(Side Shot Photo)

This Week's Official Weigh-In (I will be taking my official weight once a week to show my progress)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012
(Weigh-In Photo)

The Return of "The Heavy Man"

Hello Everyone!!!!

You do not have to adjust your computer screens....... The Heavy Man has returned!!

I would first like to take a moment to apologize to everyone that I abandoned over two years ago. For all the people out there that remember me and my blog, I am extremely sorry! I know I let a bunch of you down. I only hope that I can work my way back into your hearts and gain each & every one's trust once again!

For all of you who do not remember or know who I am, please call me "The Heavy Man." It has been roughly two years & three months since my last post and a lot has happened since then. But first I would like to share a little back ground about myself.....

On May 31 , 2010.... I introduced the world to "The Heavy Man." On that very memorable day, I officially weighed in at 302 lbs and I was a very miserable person.

Monday, May 31, 2010
302 lbs

Monday , May 31, 2010
(Side View)

A few days before that day (May 31), I had gotten into an argument with my mother over my weight and health. Later on that night, after the argument, she called me up in tears telling me, "I do not want you to die." Hearing those words coming out of your mother's mouth are very life altering. So from that point on, I was on a mission to fix my health and to get into the best shape of my life for my wedding (Friday, August 26, 2011). I called this mission, "The Mission to Healthy." (If you would like to read the story in more detail, please feel free to go to the archive section of my blog and look up my very first post).

Now fast forward a little in time.... Everything was going extremely well with the "Mission to Healthy" and I even managed to get my weight down to 190lbs!!! But then stress started kicking in, traveling for work was taking a toll on my body, and the mission started going into a downwards spiral. I began not keeping up with my posts and before I knew it, my wedding day was here and my weight was back up to around 250lbs! Now don't get me wrong, the wedding was a huge success and I married the love of my life!

Christopher & Patricia Dombrowski
(Friday, August 26, 2011)

However, my health was declining again and it was getting extremely hard to get back on track. And to make things even worse, my weight sky rocketed back up to 280lbs! I felt like there was nothing that I could do to get back on track. Until, I received some of the best news of my life! My wife was pregnant and I was going to be a father!!!!!! Now let me tell you..... I was not struggling anymore to find that motivation!!

Things were starting to look up again, as far as the "Mission to Healthy" goes. I was loosing weight once again and my health was taking a turn for the better!! I even managed to get back down to around 250lbs the day my son was born!! And believe me, it was the happiest day of my life!!

Me & My Son
(Monday, July 9, 2012)

My Beautiful Son.... Connor Lee Dombrowski

Unfortunately, like so many times in the past, stress and the demand of traveling all the time started taking a toll on my body once again. And now I am back in the same boat. Trying to figure out a way of loosing the weight and getting back to the good health that this body had a long time ago. But this time around, it is not for me but for my beautiful wife & my amazing son.

My Wife Patty & My Son Connor

I need to be around to watch over and take care of them both. This is so much bigger than me now and that is why I am back my friends!! Yes I said it again..... The Heavy Man is back!! And I am bringing back the "Mission to Healthy" with me!

So as for my current state of health, I am back up to around 270lbs and I can feel my self gaining fat every single day. My plan is to pickup with the blogging on a daily basis (to the best of my ability) as well as exercising and eating healthy once again! I am hoping that this time around it will be a little easier getting back into the swing of things.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I apologize to everyone who was reading my blog a long time ago. You all did not deserve me stopping like I did and I am extremely sorry for that. I hope to make it up to everyone, as well as gaining some more friends along the way. The "Mission to Healthy" has officially started once again and I hope everyone can join me!

Until tomorrow... I hope everyone has a great night!