Power 90 Day 57 – 63 & 29 – 35 – Tim’s Bogus Journey.

Alright.  I am a big enough man to admit when I am wrong.  (I should be; I still weigh 300 hundred pounds.)  This week I messed up.  Instead of posting these as 5 separate posts, I am going to quickly go through my failure after failure and try to look at why.  But as my dad would have said (in nicer language) I failed because I didn’t do what I should have done.  There are no excuses. 

Monday:  I actually did more work on Monday than any other day this week as I spent 4 hours waxing the gym floor.  (According to My Fitness Pal this is quite the calorie burn).  I also hit the Power 90 Sculpt 1-2 tonight although I could not finish it, after being up since 6:00 and working all day, I was just exhausted. 

The other big problem I faced Monday was a lack of food.  It was such a busy day I only ate about 1000 calories for the day.  I also didn’t drink enough water.

Tuesday: This should have been a great day back, but it wasn’t.  After getting back from the radio station, I decided to take a nap.  I slept most of the afternoon.  When I did finally wake up the internet was back on after not having it Monday (It’s why I didn’t keep a food journal).  Since I had internet and the house to myself, I decided to download video games (instead of working out) and my day was spent sitting in front of the TV. 

That night my wife and daughter wanted to watch Olympic Gymnastics.  They went snack shopping for the event, and I didn’t flee from temptation.  Although I had three healthy meals, that evening I snacked on double stuffed Oreo’s, Pringles, and Gummy Worms.  Ugh, let the hating myself begin.  O yea and when the Olympics finally went off 1:00 am I was too tired to work out.   (I saw this picture and tried it.  Nope cant touch my foot to my head)

Wednesday: Again wore out from the morning show, I crashed in the early afternoon.  That evening my nephew had his last T-ball game, and I wanted to see him play.  Sporting events have never been a good spot for me, nachos and hot dogs are my favorites at a ball game and the more chili and nacho-cheese, the better. 

Well I avoided all the ball-park food, and headed out, when we decided to take the kids out for ice cream.  Well what started as kids turned into adults and I was the guy bringing the party down, so I broke and ate a peanut butter ice cream sundae… (The nachos may have been healthier).  When I got home, I felt sick after all that ice cream and didn’t work out (2^nd Day in a Row)

Thursday:  Notice how these keep getting worse.  Today one of my closest friends was going to stop by in the evening, so I knew I had to work out before he got there.  Yet after morning show, summer school, and station manager work at WPCJ, I never got the chance to.  On top of that, my wife decided to make zucchini bread (since we have so much zucchini) and I have a big weakness when it comes to homemade baked goods.  I was going to enter a slice into my fitness pal, to see if I could afford a slice, but the internet was out.  So I ended up eating the better part of a loaf.  And although I had a great time with my friend, I never got to working out (3^rd day in a row)

Friday:  This is getting too depressing to record.  I woke up Friday and took Randy out to breakfast.  I should have had eggs and wheat toast with coffee. I had eggs, wheat toast, bacon, and hash browns.  The rest of the day didn’t go much better.  

We left for a wedding on the other side of the state around 5:00 and I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.  By the time we were sitting in the reception it was nearing 8:00 and I still hadn’t eaten since breakfast.  That’s when I had a piece of the chocolate grooms’ cake.  Just a piece I thought.  Then they started bringing around the wedding cake.  It was made by the sister of one of my basketball players and I had to try a slice.  (BTW truly one of the best wedding cakes I have ever eaten!)  Two pieces of cake, two scoops of ice cream, and my head was swimming in a sugar rush.  I haven’t eaten that much sugar in months and months.  Still having not eaten anything but cake since breakfast I looked for someplace to stop on the way home, to help with all the sugar.   Unfortunately not a lot open at 10:00 pm.    I ended up at McDonalds and eating a deep fried chicken sandwich and French fries… Ugh… Did not feel good upon returning home.  I stuck in power 90 to give it a go but barely made it through half the disk before calling it quits. 

Saturday:  I’m not sure if I was depressed from all the food I had eaten the day before.  Or perhaps my body was in sugar shock, but this day is a blur.  I know I didn’t exercise and I didn’t eat much, the day was kind of a wash. 

Sunday:  Some days are best left not talked about.  I will say my 9 year old son convinced me to eat a Baconator and I still feel bad about it.  I came home and fell asleep and didn’t get much done through the rest of the day.  (So not proud of the Baconater)

This was not a week we felt good about.  It was a week of failure.  Strangely enough as I stepped on the scales first thing Monday morning to see the damage, I found there wasn’t any 299.8.  Despite everything, my weight stayed the same.  Since the second week of June my weight has stayed between 298 – 302.  I will try to get back on top of things this next week… Till Then…

Power 90 Day 56 - 28 – Beating the Buffet.

Another Sunday in Lansing this week the second of the three I will be filling in for Randy Barton.  This Sunday was especially nice as a number of my former students, and some parents of my former students showed up to hear me preach and visit afterwards.  Although this has little to do with weight loss, let me encourage you it is always nice to do something for someone else.  This simple act really lifted my spirits and made me feel good all the day long.

Perhaps it was the positive feelings flowing through me that led me not to me angry when we pulled into Fire Mountain once again.  Fire Mountain was of course the site of last week’s large buffet failure.  But my wife, in an attempt to lower my children’s displeasure (they hate all the others favorite restaurants, except for fast food, which I hate) told them we would go there and by the time I got in the car it was set.  And I would never want to make my wife a liar in their eyes. 

Now I know one can eat well at Fire Mountain, I have eaten here with Randy Barton which says it all.  But I have never done well here.  I tried today though.  And although I doubt it would have been up to Randy Barton’s standards, I was At least happier.  Here is a side by side of my Fire Mountain experience for you to decide:

Fire Mountain Week 2                                  Fire Mountain Week 1

Plate 1:                                                            Plate 1:

Salad:  Mixed Greens, Spinach,                      Steak, popcorn shrimp, coconut shrimp,

Eggs, mushrooms, Blue Cheese                      Large Dinner Roll with Honey Butter

Plate 2:                                                            Plate 2:

Beef Stir Fry                                                   2 pulled Pork Soft Taco’s; Nacho’s

Desert:                                                            Desert:

Small bread pudding                                       2 slices bread pudding

Small Ice Cream                                              Medium Ice Cream covered in Carmel

So although you can see I did not do perfect, and my good friend Randy at Extreme Faith and Fitness may be shaking his head in disgust, this may be an all time high as far as buffet eating goes.  And at least I can go to bed happy about that.

On another positive note, I picked up the 15 pound weights from Randy tonight and look forward to working out with them tomorrow.  Although on the Negative side of things I will be starting a week of filling in at WPCJ’s morning show.  Those who know me know I hosted a morning show for years.  But I am not a fan of mornings.  This summer I have seldom gotten to bed before 3:00 and seldom awoke before 10:00.  This will be a smack in the face week for me, but hopefully I will be ready for school to start, as I would like to work out before school.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  Till Then…

Power 90 Day 55 - 27 – The Amazing Spider Man!

I am going to have to chalk this week up to a bad week, There is really nothing left to do.  I missed another workout today.  My third this week.  An internet that is going in and out (more out then in) has kept me from blogging regularly and I had too much popcorn today at The Amazing Spider Man. 

Over the summer, I have figured out my secret to seeing movies. The Hudson Cinema small popcorn.  150 calories, in a set amount, 1 small box.  I could eat it, and know exactly how much I was eating.  As they always said in G.I. Joe “Knowing is half the battle”.  Today however I let my cheap side take over again, as I took my son and daughter to see Spider Man, because it’s cheaper to get 1 large popcorn then 3 small popcorns.  And in theory one large equals 3 smalls.  (Although that is simply a guess to make me feel better about the amount of popcorn I ate.) 

In the end my daughter shared with her cousin instead of me, and my son wasn’t very hungry.  Next thing I know my hand hits the bottom of that large bucket, and I feel once again like a failure. 

This has not been a good week.  Every night I keep telling myself tomorrow is the day I get back on track, and the next day is little different than the one before.  My workouts have dried up.  Just three this week, and the last two, I have had trouble bringing the intensity that I need to bring.  I thought maybe if I got back into my gym and really started with a solid sweat again that would help, but they are redoing the floors, and I am afraid I would pass out, far before Tony told me to start run lounges. 

In the end, I am not sure how to do it but I need to find motivation once again.  I think the lack of weight loss and the fatigue have just been taking their toll on me and am honestly having trouble getting past them.  I am not sure what the next step is.  I may just try to keep away from the scale next week and see if that helps.  Maybe the heavier weights I will have next week will help me feel more like a man with this as well. 

I guess we will see… Till Then…

Power 90 Day 52 - 24 – Sometimes I feel the world is Against Me.

Today my children had a dentist appt.  As a parent there are few things worse than taking your children in to have cavities filled.  Especially my son and his world’s biggest gag reflex.  But in the end we made it through, I sat with my son, and my wife with my daughter and their teeth are as good as knew.  The problem here lies with the fact my wife has grown into a habit of taking the kids out to Steak and Shake after dr.’s and occasional dentist appointments.  And the kids have grown to expect it. 

Now I of course had missed breakfast again this morning, and knew there was no way I could handle Steak and Shake (I LOVE that place).  But there was a Wendy’s nearby, and I figured I could eat a salad, or perhaps a grilled chicken breast and a sweet potato.  So I convinced the kids that Wendy’s was a better option. 

The problem was that as I pulled into the Wendy’s the parking lot was full, and the restaurant looked full.  (Maybe a lot of people had the same problem I did).  Now I had a car full of hungry people who are all a little irritable after a morning in the Dentist’s office.  So I do what any wise dad would do I hit the drive through.  Now if your smarter than I am you have already realized my problem.  I didn’t realize it until I pulled up to the order screen. 

None of the items I had planned on eating could be eaten while driving a car.  As a matter of fact, as far as I can tell, nothing on the healthier side of things can be eaten while driving a car.  I panicked but went the other way and I didn’t order myself anything.  Now I am driving back from Jackson it’s around 1:00 in the afternoon and I still haven’t eaten today.  The smell of Wendy’s fill the car and I am growing more and more angry as I really want to be eating myself. 

Finally as I pull into my own town, I stopped and bought a roast beef sub without mayo.  It was the healthier option, but I wasn’t a happy camper by the time I got to it.  I once again forgot to keep my food journal.  These last few weeks have been difficult.  I remember how easy this all seemed back in June.  I am hoping August will go more like that then July has gone for me.  Till Then…

Power 90 Day 51 - 23 – Another Birthday Party, and Potato’s

A while back I saw an interview with Bob Harper (Biggest Loser Trainer).  The question was asked of him when was the last time he had eaten a cupcake.  After thinking about it a while he said “a couple years ago I had half a cupcake at a birthday party.  I’m guessing that was not the only Birthday Party he had been to in the last few years.  I’ve heard similar responses Tony Horton (Power 90) that he just doesn’t eat cake and such things. 

Although I want to be in shape, lose weight, and build muscle, I didn’t want to become that guy.  Someone who could never enjoy a little cake at a birthday party or a little ice cream on a hot summer day.  However to enjoy these small treats every now and then, it is important that we plan ahead.  This is the lesson I learned today at my nephew’s birthday party. 

It was a busy day today, and I was looking forward to my nephew’s 1^st birthday party taking place this afternoon.  I didn’t have time to eat much going in to it as well, and even as I shopped for a present at Wal-Mart I knew I should grab a salad or something to fill up before I went, as I was unsure what the menu would be.  However I am cheap; really cheap sometimes, and I didn’t want to spend the extra money.  I should have spent the money. 

Its not that the food was bad, my brother is a good cook (second only to me) J .  But as I started on these lifetime changes, a couple things I gave up is white bread, and white potatoes.  I have had zero potatoes since I started back June 1^st.  I have also not had any white bread in that time, only Whole Wheat.  The menu for this Birthday Party included sloppy joes on white buns, and homemade french fries.  Deep fried potatoes were definitely not on my new healthy eating plan.  And the white buns are just full of the wrong type of calories and carbs. 

My plan at first was to avoid dinner entirely, but as the afternoon went on I grew more and more hungry.  Finally I caved, I ate a sloppy Joe, I ate a couple helpings of French fries and I had a piece for birthday cake to top of this day of indulgence. 

To top it off I didn’t work out today as Power 90 Cardio/Abs level 3-4 left me so sore I could barely get around today and just didn’t have a workout in me.  Chalk this day up to an Epic Fail.  It seems I have been jumping on and off the weight loss wagon so much the last few weeks that I am bound to get slivers in my butt. 

No food journal today.  I couldn’t face myself enough to write it down.  I’m sure it wouldn’t be good though if I had.  Tomorrow will hopefully be a better day.  Till Then…

Power 90 Day 50 - 22 – Power 90 Sweat 3-4; still kicking my Butt

To date Power 90 Sweat 3-4 is still the toughest workout I have done as an adult.  Today was my fourth time completing this workout.  For those unfamiliar with Power 90, this is 45 minutes of an intense cardio workout.  Highlights include three 35 second sets of jumping jacks, lounge runs, and knee ups.  It also has some pretty intense kickboxing.  The workout is finished by Ab Ripper 200.  Tonight, I hit a new high.  160 crunches, if I keep improving at this pace I should be pounding out 200 by mid August. 

Tonight I worked out from 8:00 – 9:00 pm.  I think the rough part is no longer having a set work out time.  The extra hot summer has pushed me out of the gym where I like to work out.  I have been using the gym at my brother’s, my in-law’s basement, and my own living room.  The problem is they all involve working out on somebody else’s schedule.  I look forward to things cooling off and perhaps being able to get on a solid schedule again.

As I write this now, several days have passed.  Not sure why I didn’t finish this through the first time through, but it has been a crazy couple days.  I’ll tell more about them in Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s blogs.  That being said for some reason that I cannot remember why I didn’t finish my food journal from Monday. 

I do know I had Frosted Mini Wheat’s for breakfast and a large salad with crab for lunch.  But as far as what else I ate that day, I am really not sure.  Perhaps Monday night was as busy and out there as Tuesday and Wednesday were for me and I have just erased them from my memory.  I will try to catch up on the blog so I can better remember the day.  But tomorrow I will tell you about my Nephew’s Birthday Party and the worst I have ate in 2 months.  Until then…