Day #8 - A Brief Update

Hey everyone!

I apologize for the very short post today (Wednesday, Sept 19, 2012). The day has been extremely busy and I did not get home from work until 9:45pm. And to make things even crazier, I have to be in the office by 7:30am tomorrow morning because myself and a group of my co-workers have an event in Buffalo, NY this weekend.... hence the short post. But I promise that I will have a full post up tomorrow with all the normal details.

I will however, leave you with some very good news today..... I had my weekly weigh-in this morning and the scale officially read 264.6 lbs!!!! This means that I have lost a total of 6.8 lbs since last Wednesday!!!! This was a great way to start off the day and a great way to motivate me even more!!

I am going to end this brief post with my photos for today and I will see you all tomorrow with a fully updated post! Good night everyone!

Today's Photos

Wednesday, Sept 19, 2010
(Weigh-In Photo)

Wednesday, Sept 19, 2012
(Front Shot)

Day #7 - Weather Permitting

The Day in Review

Hey everyone! Tonight's post is going to be short and sweet! I was swamped today at work trying to get everything done, as quickly as possible. I have a big business trip coming up this Thursday - Sunday. Sometimes there just isn't enough time in a day to get everything done that needs to be accomplished. But to say the least, I got a majority of what I set out to do today completed. So that is a good thing!

I also want to point out to everyone that I managed to stay on track with my eating today! Even though I was extremely busy, I still found a way to eat healthy. I also woke up early enough to eat breakfast as well! I know yesterday I made the mistake of not taking the time to eat in the morning and I paid for it dearly later on in the day. But as for today.... mission accomplished on the food side.

As for my workout routine, well that is another story. The weather actually played a big role in me not going to the gym tonight. Because when your area is issuing tornado warnings and you can not see a foot in front of your car window due to rain, you go straight home! The weather was so bad outside that it was extremely hard to drive home. I was also attempting this in the dark, so that did not help at all. And when I arrived home, I immediately jumped into helping my wife with the baby, while she made dinner. I realize now that I could have done at least some push-ups at home to get some sort of exercise in for the day. I know I have to stay on top of this as much as possible.

There is always tomorrow! I realize that are going to be days like this. My success with the "Mission to Healthy" will not be determined by one crazy day.... I will not let it! Have a great night everyone and I will see you all tomorrow!


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

Breakfast - Egg whites on Whole Wheat bread with a slice of WW American Cheese = 5 Points
Lunch - Foot long Double Turkey Sub on Wheat Bread with 2 Slices of American Cheese, pickles, and a side of Sun Chips = 26 Points
Dinner - 2 Serving of Homemade Chicken Pot Pie (Weight Watcher's Recipe) = 20 Points
Snack - 2 Apples = 0 Points

Total Points Eaten Today = 51 Points (6 Points Under my Daily Limit)


Today's Workout / Exercise Routine

* I did not make it to the gym today due to a busy day at work and bad weather. I will make it back to the gym tomorrow.


Today's Photo

Tuesday, September 18, 2012
(Front Shot)

Day #6 - A Busy Day With Much Support

The Day in Review

What's up everyone! It is Monday, Sept 17, 2012 and the day was filled with nothing but busy work. I wanted to start the morning off with my workout routine because it was going to be another busy day. And I thought that I prepared for the morning extremely well! I set my cloths out that I was going to wear, I made sure all of my business related things were packed up, and I even set the alarm for 7am to get up for the gym. But of course things didn't happen the way I wanted them to!

As a matter of fact, this is how the morning went. I woke up at 7am, reset my alarm for 8:30am, and rolled over & went back to sleep. When I woke up at 8:30am, I reset my alarm for 8:45am and went back to sleep. Once the 8:45am alarm went off, I jumped out of bed to get dressed and quickly realized that I left myself no time for breakfast. Way to go Chris! Anyway, I rushed out the door to get to my morning meeting without eating at all. By the time lunch rolled around I was so hungry that I ate my sandwich  in around 5 minutes and then went back to work. So as far as my eating schedule went today, I failed miserably. However, I did come in 10 points below my daily limit. So I guess that could be counted as a win but not in the way I wanted to get that win. I am going to have to concentrate more on sticking to my meal schedule when days get this busy.

Now as far as the gym goes for today. I mentioned above that I slept through my planned gym time this morning. So I had to make the adjustment to get to the gym after I was done with work. I also had my buddy Glenn with me, so I was excited about having my first workout partner in a while. Unfortunately, the gym that I go to wasn't thinking the same way I was. They wanted to charge him some crazy amount just to workout for an hour and I wasn't about to let him do that. But as we were walking towards the door, he told me to go workout because I have been working so hard. He actually ended up running outside while I executed today's workout routine in the gym. That meant I a lot to me because he knew how much it meant to me to stay on schedule. It is support like this that keeps me motivated and on the right path. I will never forget my buddy for doing that for me!


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

Lunch #1 - 2 Pieces of Grilled Chicken with 2 Slices of American Cheese on a French Roll and a side of Honey Mustard = 25 Points
Dinner - 2 Servings of Turkey Meatballs with Pasta (Weight Watcher's Recipe) = 21 Points
Snack - 1 Piece of Turkey = 2 Points

Total Points Eaten Today = 48


Today's Workout / Exercise Routine

Exercise #1 - Dumbbell Incline Press on Swiss Ball (12 Reps x 3 Sets with two 30lb Dumbbells)
Exercise #2 - Reverse Grip Lat Pull down (12 Reps x 3 Sets at 85lbs)
Exercise #3 - Dumbbell Squats on Bosu Ball (10 Reps x 3 Sets with a 30lb Dumbbell)
Exercise #4 - Swinging Bicep Curls (12 Reps x 3 Sets with two 15lb Dumbbells)
Exercise #5 - Triceps Cable Push downs (12 Reps x 3 Sets at 80lbs)
Exercise #6 - Cable Wood Chops (12 Reps x 2 Sets at 30lb - Each Side)
Exercise #7 - Cable Side Chops (20 Reps x 2 Sets at 30lbs - Each Side)
Exercise #8 - Dumbbell Side Raises on Bosu Ball (12 Reps x 3 Sets with two 10lb Dumbbells)


Today's Photo

Monday, September 17, 2012
(Front Shot)

Day #5 - A Normal But Challenging Sunday

The Day in Review

Today turned out to be a normal slow moving Sunday. With the way my workout routine is developed, I go three days in a row with an intense workout and then I take a day off for my body to recover. But after that day of rest is over, it is back to the grind for three more days in a row of working out. So you could only imagine how happy I was to give my body a rest today!

What better way to rest than to do it on NFL Sunday! I just love turning on the TV, throwing my team's jersey on, and watching nothing but football from morning until night. And that was how my day was shaping up to be! However, here is the twist that made my day so much more challenging than just sitting down and watching football. Today was the first day since I started "The Heavy Man's Diary" back up, that I literally had nothing to do. Which means I was going to be sitting at home with all of the food in my kitchen. And what do most people do while watching a football game....... eat crappy food and drink!

Since I started back up with the "Mission to Healthy", I have been on the go and moving around constantly. So because I was keeping myself busy, all I really had to do was remember to eat my meals, go to the gym, and write the daily post. But like I mentioned before, I was taking a day off from the gym and sitting at home to watch football. And let me tell you.... the temptation to pig out was there. Now before you all think I have a ton of crappy food in my kitchen, I want to assure that I do not! Patty and I made sure, during our last trip to the food store, that we stocked up on healthy meals and snacks. But that doesn't mean that I can sit there and stuff my face with healthy meal after healthy meal. The real challenge was to make sure that I did not over eat and surpass my Weight Watcher's Points limit for the day. I will honestly say that there are a lot of good tasting healthy meals and snacks out there that could cause me to get carried away.

To make a long story short, I ended up eating the exact amount of points I am allowed for the day, while enjoying a few games. Anyway, tomorrow is a new day and the start to a new week. I only have two more full days until I weigh myself on Wednesday morning! Then we all can see how I did for my first official week back. Have a great night everyone!


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 Whole Wheat Bread with a side of Bake Tostitos Scoops = 15 Points
Lunch #1 - 2 Boca Chicken Patties with 2 Slices of WW American Cheese on Whole Wheat Bread with a side of Bake Tostitos Scoops = 15 Points
Lunch #2 - 1 Homemade Stuffed Pepper = 9 Points
Dinner - 2 serving of Homemade Two Cheese Veg Lasagna (Weight Watcher's Recipe) = 14 Points
Snack - 2 pieces of Turkey & 2 Apples = 4 Points

Total Points Eaten Today = 57 Points


Today's Workout / Exercise Routine

* Today was a day off from the workout routine. I will pick it up again tomorrow.


Today's Photo

Sunday, September 16, 2012
(Front Shot)

Day #4 - M.O.T.I.V.A.T.I.O.N!

The Day in Review

Hey everyone! It is Saturday, September 15, 2012 and I am feeling extremely Motivated today! Well to tell you the truth, I have been very motivated since I brought back "The Heavy Man's Diary". But as for today, I am feeling extra Motivated.

Before I get into my day, I would first like to address an issue that I noticed last night. For all of you who read this blog from a desktop computer or a laptop, you know that I like to start each post with an intro video. I just recently added this piece to my posts because I feel that it gives you all a little more insight into my personality. Sometimes I feel that I have a hard time portraying my personality through written word. And even if each video is only a few seconds long, I think it is a cool piece. Anyway, I was on my IPhone last night looking at the blog site and I noticed that there is a vacant spot where the video is supposed to be and it actually makes me look like I have a problem with spacing. After I noticed this, I tried logging onto the blog site from my IPad as well and the same problem popped up! As frustrating as this is to me, I still want to continue to add the intro videos into my posts because it feels like a post is incomplete without it. On the other hand, not everyone is able to view the videos. It all depends on what device you are reading the blog on. I am curious to know what you all think about the intro video piece. Should I keep it or should I get rid of it? Please let me know, Thanks.

OK.... Now getting to the day! I woke up this morning extremely sore! And when I say I was sore..... I mean I was SORE! And to be accurate, I am still feeling very sore right now. You all know by now that I have not visited a gym or done any physical activity for the last few months. And this past Thursday was my first day back. Now fast forward to today, which was my third day in a row working out and I am feeling like I just went through a week of getting the crap beat out of me. Sorry for the analogy but I wouldn't be honest if I didn't express it this way. So you could only imagine how I was feeling before I even gathered the courage to go to the gym today, to complete my third day in a row.

To tell you the truth, I was delaying the trip for as long as I could. And then I started to read all of the comments and personal messages I have received from all of you over the past few days. It was one great message of support after another and before I knew it I was lacing up my sneakers to walk out the door towards the gym. You see.... it may say in a lot of your messages, that I help to motivate you but I think it is a two way street! I can't tell you how many times in the past that I wanted to give up because losing and maintaining a healthy weight is extremely hard for me. But then I would receive a great message of support / encouragement and I would be motivated all over again! That is what I have been feeling now for the last couple of days. It was something that I lost for the past two plus years but by an act of kindness from many of you, I am able to get that motivation back! I believe we all can help each other out! Because I have been there before and I know I can't do it by myself.

So I would like to thank you all once again for helping me find the strength to keep going now, like many of you have done for me in the past. Let's do this together and make it a little bit easier to get healthy!


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

Breakfast - 2 Boca Chicken Patties on Wheat Bread with 2 Slices of WW American Cheese and a side of Baked Tostitos = 15 Points
Lunch #1 - 2 Boca Chicken Patties on Wheat Bread with 2 Slices of WW American Cheese and a side of Baked Tostitos = 15 Points
Lunch #2 - 2 drained cans of Bumble Bee Tuna with two Tbsp of Real Hellman's Mayo on Wheat Bread and a side of Baked Tostitos Scoops = 18 Points
Dinner - 1 serving of homemade Two Cheese Veg Lasagna (Weight Watcher's Recipe) = 7 Points
Snack - 1 piece of left over Turkey from last night's dinner = 2 Points

Total Points Eaten Today = 57 Points


Today's Workout / Exercise Routine

Exercise #1 - Bench Press (12 Reps at 35lbs on each side of the bar), (10 Reps at 40lbs on each side of the bar), (8 Reps at 45lbs on each side of the bar), and (6 Reps at 50lbs on each side of the bar)
Exercise #2 - Bent Over Cable Rows (12 Reps x 3 Sets Standing on a Bosu Ball - Reverse Grip)
Exercise #3 - Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curls (12 Reps x 3 Sets with two 15lb Dumbbells)
Exercise #4 - Triceps Extension (12 Reps x 3 Sets with a 25lb Dumbbell sitting on a Flat Bench)
Exercise #5 - Dumbbell Punches (30 Seconds x 3 Sets with two 5lb Dumbbells)
Exercise #6 - Close Grip Row (12 Reps x 3 Sets at 70lbs)
Exercise #7 - Medicine Ball Circle Hops (10 Reps x 3 Sets with a 10lb Medicine Ball)
Exercise #8 - Single Arm Cable Pull (12 Reps x 3 Sets at 20lbs Standing on a Bosu Ball going across the body - Each Side)


Today's Photo

Saturday, September 15, 2012
(Front Shot)