Five Guys and setting myself up for failure

Day 10-  Opening day of the new Five Guys Burgers and Fries restaurant within walking distance of my office,  needless to say,  my co-worker decided to break me down so that I would drive over during lunch. I ate a burger and regular fries…and it tasted great.  But, of course,  the calories weren’t so great (1,460 cal).

Lunch time is actually very difficult for me due to the fact that I have co-workers who like to eat out…especially eating out at the fatty, unhealthy places (McDonald’s, Moe’s,  Five Guys, etc).  I always tell myself that I should eat the healthy food that I brought,  but I always end up succumbing to my desires for greasy goodness. I have come to the conclusion that the key to my weight loss is controlling my lunchtime urges…basically eat subway or something that I make at home and bring with me to the office.  If I can get use to not going out for lunch,  I can save myself the needless calories that come along with eating fast food.

Also,  I originally wasn’t planning on working out today,  but now thats changed since I added about 1000 extra calories to my normal lunch allotment.  So I guess I’m going to the gym today.  Woot.

Day 9- 8hrs of sleep is not enough

Day 9

So I had a good 8hrs of sleep last night…and I woke up exhausted.  Why, u ask?  Well,  I was able to fit about 3 hours of workout in between work and class.  Once again,  Mondays are my long day,  the day I get back form class at 10 pm,  so fitting in 3 hours of workout are a great escape. 

Let me break it down. 

I spend 40+ hours a week working/travelling.  2 of the 5 days,  I have class for 6 hours after I get out of work.   I don’t get as much time for myself as I would like sometimes,  so I look at the gym as “me” time.  I am able to workout any stress that I have by running/lifting/swimming.  It’s funny,  but I also forget about how lazy and fat I am when I am in the gym..and I always feel better about myself after I get done working out. 

Am I physically exhausted..yes.   Mentally…  I feel refreshed. 

 Conclussion… I just need to stop being to “lazy” to go to the gym.

Day 7 & 8 Pre-game/post game

So I forgot to blog in Sunday (day 7)…and I baked cupcakes (I’ve had a craving for the last week for cupcakes…so I decided to save myself some money and baked my own)  But fear not faithful listeners,  I only ate 2 cupcakes.  Along with cupcakes,  my roommates and I had a small Superbowl party consisting of chicken wings, taco dip, mozzarella stick and of course,  beer.  Did I overindulge?  Nope.  I had 5 wings, 2 mozzarella sticks and 3 beers. It was a pretty good day for eating,  but then I realized that the next day would be monday…the dreaded weigh in day.

Day 8

Slept great,  woke up refreshed and then realized it was time for the weigh in (gulp).  I took out the scale and prepared for a big let down…..265.6…not bad, not bad at all.  I lost just about a pound and thats pretty good,  especially with the food I ate this weekend. It’s always amazing to me how great one feels when they lose some weight,  especially when they work hard to do it.  I know, 1lb isn’t that much,  but I also didn’t gain anything.  Also,  I know that if I eat a little better this next weekend,  then I should be able to lose a lot more weight. 

Well,   tonight is my long chef class,  so I really have to get back to work now.  I will see you all again tomorrow.

Day 6- Weekend Woes

Well,  it’s day 6 and I didn’t make it to the gym.  I wanted, really, I wanted to,  but my body wouldn’t let me.  My back and sides are in a bit of pain thanks to thursday’s workout.  This isn’t a surprise because the first week is always hell when doing a new exercise routine.  Also,  I slept in today so my eating schedule was off.  Basically, I didn’t eat till dinner, but I did happen to stop myself from over-indulging. Very slow day,  of sitting around tending to my new set of muscle aches,  but all in all,  a good day (I’m rambling).  Now I just have to figure out how I’m gonna fit in (get it..the title of the blog…”fitting in weight loss”… a lot can be read into this one) a long workout on sunday,  at the same time completing some work for my job as well as watch the Superbowl.

Oh,  one last thing.  I love Men’s Health Magazine.  It has some great ideas for healthy meals and new exercises.  I suggest all men getting a subscription (no…Men’s health is not a sponsor of my blog).

Dark Days Behind. Brighter Days Ahead.

Day 5

Today was probably the worst day ever,  all starting when I stood on the scale.  I’ve been working my butt off the last few days and I’ve been doing my best to eat healthy.  So,  I decided to get just a peek at my progress and I took out the dreaded scale.  Standing on it…waiting…waiting…266.  (What…266…same as the initial weigh in…what the f*ck?)

This was beginning of a day of lost faith.  Faith in myself and this diet plan I have set out to accomplish.  How could I work out so hard and yet not lose 1 pound.  Now I know that I have snuck in a few unhealthy snacks,  but no weight loss?! I began to doubt myself today,  and that led to a JUICY burger for lunch as well as chicken wings and soda for dinner. 

I momentarily gave up on myself,  but then was luckily inspired by what else… TV (sounds weird, I know). 

I was watching a show about heroes who, even when the chips are down,  still struggle to accomplish greatness.  The idea of working hard and sacrificing (fatty, unhealthy, tasty food) to achieve something great is the kind of mentality that I can understand,  something that I hope to aspire to one day.  This means that I cannot be one who gives up when I am unable to achieve the expectations I have set for myself.  In the past I would just give up,  letting the foods take me over,  but now I need to strive even harder for control over the things that cause me grief.

Tomorrow is a new day,  with a renewed chance at achieving my goals.

Day 4- Oops I did it again

So after I retired my blog last night,  my roommate came home with smorgasboard of chips and candy.  Of course he sat down next to me and began to eat.  I gave into temptation and partook of the feasting (bad john.  Bad) I’m guessing I at about 500-600 extra calories and then I went straight to sleep (they say never to eat crap and then go straight to sleep- bah).

Day 4

Travel day again,  but this time I was able to get home a little early…so I went to the gym and worked out for 2 and 1/2 hours.  Oh yes.  Let me say that again.  2 1/2 hours.  (oh yeah baby).  Finished the workout with a little time with the roommates and then made some dinner for everybody. I made this beautiful chicken dish that was braised in tomatoes and chicken stock.  Great and healthy dinner,  except for the fact that I made a mushroom risotto containing parmesan cheese and marscapone cheese (hopefully this was balanced out by the amount of working out)

Well,  thats all for today.  See you tomorrow.

The Muscle Pains Cometh!

Day 3-  I’m in pain and it’s hard to lift my arms above mid-waistrd shoulder workout of course.  Guess I’m just gonna have to swallow 2 advil before I go to bed tonight.

So today was the first day I actually had to travel since I began this  journey and I have to say that it’ wasn’t a bad day.  I was able to fit in 30 min on the elliptical machine today after work which had been my mini goal today.

It isn’t working out that is the number 1 problem when I’m traveling, its the food.  I made sure to take some Kashi Granola bars with me when I traveled,  and I even woke up extra early to make some eggs and whole wheat toast.  I did stay off lunch for a little later, but eventually found a subway and had a club sandwich (nothing tastes better than a mix of roast beef, turkey and ham… and at only 320 cal,  its pretty healthy)

Pretty good day,  but since sitting here typing feels really uncomfortable due to the angle of my arms and shoulder combined with muscle pains,  I must end this blog for today.

Day 2- The Cheat Meal

Day 1 (cont’d)- I had a great workout yesterday.  Between work and class,  I was able to get in 1 hour of elliptical, 1 hour of arms and shoulders and 15 minutes of lap swimming.  Of course I finished off the great workout with some chillin out with Bombard in the hottub discussing life…cause what else is there to do in a hottub.

Dinner was actually an easy choice because on the way to class,  there is a subway.  I stopped and voraciously scarfed down a 6 inch oven roasted chicken breast on whole wheat sub, apple slices and some 1% milk.

6 hours of class, standing in 85-100 degree heat.  Exhausting.

I had the greatest sleep of my life last night.

Food totals

Ate: 1261 cal  Workout: 4494 cal  TOTAL:-3233 cal for the day

  

Day 2- Good news..no class tonight

Bad news…Work related function that will end about 11pm meaning that a workout is out of question.

Badder news… Food is provided.

Worst news… Food provided is wine braised short ribs, risotto and some kind of dessert.  (I love this menu because I love food.  I hate this menu because I hate being fat.)

This lead me to an idea I hear all the time when it comes to dieting…THE CHEAT MEAL.  I figure this means that you should at least enjoy one unhealthy meal in a week in order to not drive yourself crazy.  I am really cool with this idea (mainly because I want to use it tonight),  but it just seems wrong to use the cheat meal so early in the week/diet plan.  What’s gonna happen when I reach Friday?  In the past,  I would have tried to convince myself that because I had burned 1000 cal working out,  I could then eat 2000 cal at McDonald’s (its true..look up the calories.  I live in NY and a lot of chain restaurants are posting calorie counts right on the menus now).  See,  this was the old John.  Now,  I’ll have to attempt to either 1. curb my appetite and consciously choose to eat the healthy option or 2. Workout and burn 2500 cal so I can eat the McDonald’s food (this option is really not an option because it’s not just about calories of course.  What about Fat content and sodium and all the other junk that isn’t beef in the 2 all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.)

Nope.  I mark day 2 as the cheat day for the 1st week.  No other cheat meals for another 6 days…which you can be sure I will be counting down in my head.  What can I say.  I like food.

By the way,  calories for today are not going to happen because I really don’t want to do the research to tell you how many calories were in those short ribs,  risotto, and cake.  Without research,  I can confidently tell you that it is too many cal.  Sometimes it is just better to not know so that I can actually enjoy my great tasting,  disgustingly fatty meal.

 

A New Start and the Dreaded Initial Weigh-in.

I want to start off by saying that I always have a hard time with sunday nights when it comes to sleep.  On the weekends,  I generally get to bed between 2-3 and wake up at 8am.  I rise with the sun most of the time,  which is both a gift and a curse.  That said,  6 hours of sleep on saturday and sunday really throws off my sleeping schedule for the workweek.  I’m the type of guy that likes to get a minimum of 8 hours of deep slumber, so monday mornings can be a challenge.

7am-  The alarm rings.  This is it.  The day that I have both been looking forward to and dreading.  Day #1 of my 365 day workout plan and blog. I’m not going into this thing unprepared.  I’ve been dealing with weight issues for years,  so I do know a little bit about trying (trying being the key word here) to eat healthy and workout.  I am a subscribed reader to men’s health magazine and am always scouring the internet looking for tips about eating healthy…but I’m getting ahead of myself here.  First things first….the weigh in.

I’ve been dreading the weigh in for the last few days now.  I know I’ve been eating badly,  but I didn’t want to change my routine until day 1 of the plan. Sure,  I would have liked to work out this past weekend and eaten really healthy in order to begin at a lower starting weight, but I needed an accurate account of what eating badly and not exercising  regularly has done to my weight and health.

Standing on the scale,  looking down over my belly,  the numbers appear…266.2.  What!?  Ugh!? Expletive!? *note-  heaviest I have ever been in my life…not feeling so great right now.  DISGUSTING.*

A few things here stand out.  1.  Not happy with myself as seen above in my note/though on the weight.  2.  I am 5’8.  What does my height have to do with this? 

BMI (body mass index).  BMI is basically the medical determination of body weight and healthiness.  I know there are people out there who disagree with the accuracy of BMI, but for all intents and purposes,  I will be using BMI to track my healthiness by the medical standards.  So of course,  with a little downtime at work,  I find a website and calculate my BMI.  5’8- check.  266.2- check.  BMI=40.4=Obesity.

Good to know,  now the plan for day 1. 

Diet-  I have begun with changing my diet.  Most mornings,  I’ll eat and egg McMuffin and drink a hot chocolate (not a coffee drinker here)= 450 calories for breakfast.  I’m not going to start my healthy eating plan by limiting myself to only 1000 calories a day.  No.  I’m gonna start by trying to fill up eating healthier options and in turn hopefully bringing my daily calories down.  I bought these 100 calorie whole wheat sandwich thins.  These things are great because they are really soft and actually taste like bread.  I sandwiched some smart balance omega 3 peanut butter between the 2 thins and chased that down with a V8 juice (i warn those reading about V8 juice.  When I started drinking it,  I had to hold my nose and down it in one gulp or else I would dry heave a little.  Also,  don’t go with the low sodium version because that tastes just awful.) I finished off that meal with  a kashi granola bar.  For lunch I brought a turkey sandwich with low-fat mayo and sandwich thins (again).  I’m kinda at a loss for snacks and dinner tonight because I have class from 3-10. 

Breakfast= 1 deli flat whole wheat bread (2 slices)+ 1/2 serving omega 3 peanut butter+ 1 serving Kashi trail mix bar+ 1 serving V8 juice= 370 cal.

Workout-  I called a good friend of mine last night and made a workout man date.  I figure that having someone who is expecting to meet you at the gym is a good incentive to actually go.  I plan on meeting my buddy (Bombard) at the gym around 1pm.  Because I have class on Mondays,  I have moved my work schedule around so that I only work half-day on Mondays, giving me a bit of extra time to hit the gym before I go to class.  Since Bombard is meeting me around 1 and I get out of work at 11:30, I plan on getting to the gym ahead of him and running on the elliptical for about an hour.  I already have a lifting plan in place at the YMCA (a workout plan that I created using Men’s Health Hard Body Plan Book),  but I definitely want to focus on upping my cardio.  Whats good about meeting Bombard is that he can help to spot me when I am lifting weights,  which I find helps me to push myself a little harder. 

The rest of the day will be up in the air.  If I can get out of the gym at a decent time,  then maybe I will be able to run home and make something quick for an early dinner before I have to spend 7 hours in a hot kitchen.

About Me

My name is John and I am  a 26 year old man who will attempt to balance work and school while trying to meet a hefty weight loss goal. 

My blog is a guide for the everyday person who struggles with balancing and prioritizing their everyday obligations.  I am currently working a 40+ hour a week job and spend another 12 hours a week going to school.  The difficulty with my work schedule is that my job requires a good amount of traveling.  At one point,  I was traveling an average of about 3 days a week.  Nowadays,  I likely travel about 1-2 days a week.  This means long days spending many hours on the road,  traveling to towns that, for sustenance,  sometimes only have a McDonald’s. I eat a lot of fast food. 

I also spend 2 days of the week at school taking  6 hour courses.  Not that two 6 hour courses are bad,  but they are culinary classes.  Needless to say,  I love food, both preparing it and eating it.  So,  for two days a week,  I leave home at 7am and return at 10pm,  eating some kind of fast food between work and class.  The other 3 days of the workweek,  I could be traveling up to 3 hours away,  so my hours are all over the place.  Weekends are the time that I usually veg.  I gotta be honest,   after the workweek that I go through,  I am lethargic about doing anything but sitting around the house on saturday and sunday. 

This has got to change. 

My plan is to begin working out and eating healthy while still traveling for work and going to cooking classes.  I plan on writing on my blog everyday and doing a weekly weigh in every monday.  What is motivating me to change my life?  Well,  I would like to be more comfortable with myself (since I am very conscious of my weight {gain}, I am not very comfortable).  Also,  I will now be accountable to you,  the readers of my blog.  Hopefully,  having to report my progress (or lack there of), will make me stick to the plan.  If everything goes good,  not only will I be able to lose a lot of weight,  but maybe I will inspire someone like myself to change their life too.

GOAL:  Lose 90 lbs. in 365 days.