Post Holiday Week Update

I hope that you had a merry Christmas.  To paraphrase Bob Cratchit, "I was making rather merry this week."  I thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas week.  There was plenty of food, fun and fellowship, though I tried to keep the food part under control.  I can’t say that I was entirely successful where the desserts and treats were involved.  I indulged more than I should have.  Knowing this, I kicked up my activity levels and banked some calories by consuming fewer calories at breakfast and lunch.  Even so, I was not looking forward to my weekly weigh-in.  To my surprise, I broke even; no loss or gain.  While I didn't gain, the downside is that I would probably have posted a loss if not for the extra dessert calories.

Activity

I skipped Monday’s workout to attend a group Salsa class, which turned out to be a really good decision.  It was a really good time, with dancing afterwards.  If you have chance to try a class, I highly recommend that you do it.

I had some good workouts at the gym, with a double session on Friday.  I mixed in more minutes of reverse stepping on the elliptical machine, spent a little more time on the track, and tried out a few more machines.

Goals

It looks like I’m going to miss my goal of wearing a smaller pants size by New Year’s Eve.  I’m closer, but they’re still not fitting comfortably.  I’ll push that goal to January 23, 2014, which will be the one year anniversary of the restart of my fitness journey.  On a related note, I’ll be doing Daniel’s Fast again, starting on January 2nd.  This is the three week fast that helped get me back on the fitness path when I tried it last year.  By coincidence, I happened to watch “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” on HLN tonight, a film about film about a guy who is 100 lbs overweight and his weight loss journey.  His program included fasting and juicing.

Motivation

I had some good motivational moments this week.

• I spent Christmas Eve with friends and extended family, some of whom I hadn't seen for months.  I got lots of positive feedback and congratulations on my progress.
• While viewing a slideshow of family pictures, my three year old grandson was happily pointing out everyone he recognized.  When a "Before and Current" comparison picture of me came on the screen, he identified me in the "current" photo, then asked "Who is that?" while pointing to the "before" picture.
• I ran into an acquaintance in Zumba class who I hadn't seen for several months.  She was happy to see that I was still in the class and complimented me on my weight loss.

Salsa

I don’t know how many calories I burn during a night of Latin dancing, but I’d guess that it’s a fairly significant amount.  More importantly, it’s a lot of fun.  As I suggested before, if you get the chance to learn, take it.  Here’s a video that I've found helpful.  It doesn't take the place of live lessons, but it may give you a taste of Salsa sabor (flavor).

Weight loss to date: 40.2 lbs.

Still On Track

I was out of the gym for four days straight this week, doing holiday stuff.  That’s probably the longest stretch that I've gone without working out since I started this year.  I did manage to get my walks in, did my “snow shovel workout” and had a salsa lesson, so I wasn't exactly sedentary.  When I finally got back into the gym, on Thursday, I had some very good workout sessions.  I worked with fairly heavy weights, paying attention to maintaining proper form.  I’m trying to concentrate on “feeling” the particular muscle(s) that I’m working.  For instance, when I’m using the pec deck or doing incline dumbbell flies, I try to pull with the pectorals, not the arms.  When I get to the top of the movement, I contract (squeeze) and hold the muscles for a second, then return to the starting position.  I try to control the negative (return) movement just as much as the positive, so no swinging the weights or letting gravity complete the rep.

I mixed in more of the reverse stepping on the elliptical machine and some crouched stepping.  I can really feel the effects in my quads and glutes.

I feel like I’m doing pretty well in the diet department, even with the holiday temptations, so I’ll continue with the plan.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I weighed myself.  I weighed in 1.8 lbs lighter than last week.  So, less work equaled a loss.  I've quit trying to figure it out.  It just gives me a headache!

I again got lots of positive reinforcement:  My dedication to my workouts was complimented and my wife’s trainer noted the changes in my physique.  The icing on the cake was my wife telling me that she could see the “placeholders” for my abs.  I’d been doing some extra core work, so it was nice to know that it’s beginning to pay dividends!

My mini goal for next week is to sell out during my workouts and close out the year strong.

Weight loss to date: 40.2 lbs.

The Snow Shovel Workout

Last winter my wife talked me into buying a snow thrower.  She’d seen me in the driveway huffing and puffing, taking forever to clear the snow with the shovel.  It was so bad that my neighbor, who has about twenty five years on me and has a plow service taking care of his driveway, would come out with a shovel and pretend work in his drive, so that he could keep an eye on me!

I used the snow thrower last winter, and it did make clearing the driveway much easier, but I resented having to use it.  Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate the fact that I have people who care about me and my well-being, but it was still a serious blow to my ego.

We've had snow falling on and off for the last few days.  While the city trucks have done a good job of clearing the streets, they've pushed a lot of snow into the apron of the driveway.  I decided to skip the gym tonight and open up the driveway.  I grabbed the shovel instead of starting up the ‘thrower and got started.  I cleared the apron up to the sidewalk and realized that I hadn't stopped for a rest and my breathing was pretty even.  I kept going, clearing the rest of the driveway, the side entrance, the front stairs and walkway.  By the time I was done, I’d broken a light sweat and was breathing a little heavier.  Truthfully, I believe that I breath harder using the elliptical machine than I did shoveling snow this evening.

My heart rate recovered quickly and I had no aches afterwards.  It felt really good to knock off driveway in that fashion.  I felt completely vindicated.  The cardio and resistance training is really paying dividends.  I joke with my wife, when she asks me to do some physical chore, saying that these aren't “working” muscles, they’re just for show.  It seems I was wrong.

Holiday Festivities

The holiday season started in earnest this week.  Lots of food and parties.  It took some doing, but I managed to keep things in check.  I ate relatively small portions and only had small desserts.  I tried to satisfy my sweet tooth with offerings from the fruit trays.  When the dust settled, my weigh-in showed 1.4 lb gain.

In spite of the scale, I view this week as successful.  I didn't overindulge and got in some good workouts.  The mirror and my clothes both show me that I continue to make progress, particularly in the traps, delts and pecs.  I’m also seeing more definition in my quads and calves.

I strained a bicep and had to rest it a couple of days.  It’s still a little sore, but manageable, as long as I cut down on the poundage.  I've also been fighting off a cold, which has left me feeling a little tired.

Inspired by an acquaintance at the gym, I've started stepping backwards on the elliptical machine for the last five minutes of the set.  It was a little awkward at first, but I'm getting my speed up.  I also had a conversation with some others, whose physiques I admired, about their diets.  They pretty much confirmed what I already knew:  I need to eat more vegetables.  I mentioned that I’m not a big fan of vegetables.  They told me that it was all about the preparation and suggested that I look up some recipes on the internet and give them a try.  I plan on doing my research, selecting a couple of recipes to start with and making them after the holidays.

Weight loss to date: 38.4 lbs.

Accomplishing A Hidden Goal

I woke up about fifteen minutes before my alarm was set to go off this past Saturday morning.  I’d set the alarm to get to the gym early so that I'd get a full workout in before the start of the Zumba class.  I was so stoked to get to my workout, I'd awakened early.  As I was getting ready to step out into the twenty three degree morning, it occurred to me that I’d accomplished a goal that I hadn't consciously set:  I’d made a lifestyle change.

I’m not sure when it happened.  I know that it must have been a gradual process.  After thinking about it, I decided to list the changes that have become part of my daily routine:

• I use to stay up into the wee hours of the morning.  Now I get 6-8 hours of sleep per night.
• I've changed my eating habits, consuming much healthier food and portions.
• I would keep at least two two-liter bottles of pop in the house, going through one a day.  I drastically reduced my consumption and I don’t keep any bottles in the house.
• My snacks are healthier.  We almost never have chips, pies, cakes, etc., in the house.
• I truly enjoy working out for the workout’s sake.  I actually feel guilty if I don’t get my workout in.

It was pretty cool to realize that this is who I am now.  Its encouraging to know that if I apply the same principles to other areas of my life I have a good chance of being successful there, too!

December's Goals

I missed a couple of workouts and had one shortened this week.  This turned out to be for the best, as I was starting to feel a bit run down.  I felt more rested for the workouts that I did get in.  I was more relaxed and focused.  I got into a pretty good groove and the exercises flowed really well.  At the end of the week I’d lost 1.4 pounds.

Like last week, I got a lot of compliments and encouragement.  I’m continuing to make strength gains and have started introducing “forced reps” into some of my exercises. 

I needed to set a goal for myself to reach for December.  I wanted to get away from the “lose x number of pounds” model, since that doesn't seem to really be the best measure for me.  I decided to make it a size challenge.  I figure that we’ll probably do something for New Year’s Eve, so I’ll buy myself a new pair of pants to wear to the event.  My goal will be for that purchase to be in the smaller size that I mentioned last month.  They should not just fit, they should fit comfortably.

I don’t plan on changing my approach.  Though, with all of the upcoming holiday parties, I’ll need to keep an eye on the refined sugars.  I’m sure I’ll have some, but I don’t want to over indulge.

Weight loss to date: 39.8 lbs.

Thanksgiving Week

I didn't think that I’d be able to maintain last week’s level of intensity with my workouts, so I focused on simply remaining consistent.

I banked some calories early in the week, because I planned on sampling everyone’s cooking when we got together for Thanksgiving dinner.

I got my workouts in Monday through Wednesday.  I hadn't planned on working out on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, until I found out that the gym would be open that morning, so I got in a bonus workout.  I considered doing another double session on Friday, but I was a little tired and decided to take it easy.  I was planning on taking my wife Salsa dancing that night and Friday would have been a leg workout day.  I decided not to mix them.  I spent some time practicing a few new Salsa patterns, which I guess could be counted as an aerobic workout.  I was feeling less tired afterwards, so I pulled out the dumbbells and did a high rep, low to medium weight workout.  After a fun night of dancing, I managed to get to the gym on Saturday morning and completed my regular elliptical, resistance training, Zumba workout.  Plus, I did a little extra track work after the Zumba class.

After all of that, I weighed in 2.8 lbs heavier than last week.  Go figure!

Anyway, I had so many positives this week that I can’t help but consider it a successful week.


I received a number of compliments and encouragements from friends, acquaintances and even strangers.  The best was the reaction I got from a friend that I hadn't seen for a few months.  It’ll keep me encouraged for quite a while!

In an October post, I mentioned that I was close to getting into the next lower pants size, but that I wanted to wait until after the Thanksgiving holiday to try them again.  I got them fastened on Saturday!  They aren’t comfortable enough to wear regularly yet, but a win is a win.  This means that I've dropped three pant sizes since I restarted my fitness journey!

Speaking of pants, the ones that I’m wearing in the photo from Salsa night were bought over a year ago.  I knew that they were too small when I bought them, but I hoped that I’d eventually be able to wear them.  Eventually came this past Friday night.

To stay positive and motivated, I try to read lots of positive, motivating articles.  Here are a couple that I thought I’d share.

Mentally Strong People: The 13 Things They Avoid
Expect Immediate Results. Whether it’s a workout plan, a nutritional regimen, or starting a business, mentally strong people are “in it for the long haul”. They know better than to expect immediate results. They apply their energy and time in measured doses and they celebrate each milestone and increment of success on the way. They have “staying power.” And they understand that genuine changes take time.

How Long It Takes to Burn Off a Thanksgiving Dinner 10 Different Ways
The jury is out about how much the "average American" actually consumes on Thanksgiving every year. Some claim it's 4,500 calories, others say it's between 3,000 and 5,000 calories. Either way, considering the recommended daily calorie intake is between 1,600 and 2,400 for most of us, it's safe to say that we'll be putting in more than our bodies will appreciate.

Weight loss to date: 38.4 lbs.