The Gym Versus the Weather

For these last couple of weeks, my workout story has been mostly about the weather.  It's been cold and snowy.  Some days, it was not about desire or motivation.  It became about clearing a path through the snow.  Last week, I cleared my driveway three times.  As I type this post, the temperature is -4 degrees F.

Fortunately, when I've made it to the gym, I've been able to do some quality workouts.  I even reached a few personal bests:  I worked through the entire stack of plates on the pec deck, curled 110 lbs on the preacher curl bench and moved up to 40 lbs on my standing dumbbell flies.

My diet has been okay.  I made better choices and practiced portion control.  My weight seems to have plateaued again.  I'm considering doing seven to ten days of Daniel's Fast to get things moving again.  For now, I'll continue to tweak the plan and stay the course.  Full disclosure:  I did treat myself to a late dinner splurge meal on the way home from a dance, last Friday evening.  It was a decadent and delicious Po' Boy with Cajun chips.  I regret nothing! LOL!

I upgraded my phone to a Samsung Note 4.  It came with S-Health fitness apps installed.  I've turned on the pedometer to track my steps.  The goal is to reach 10,000 steps per day.  That's been pretty hard to accomplish in this weather.  I'm averaging about 4,000 steps per day, not counting the steps in my fitness classes.  The app sends a notification if I'm inactive for a long period and reminds me to move.  This has come in handy at work, where I ride a desk.  I get up and walk for a couple of minutes instead of sitting.  I've also used the heart rate monitor.

Overall, I feel good about how things are going.  It's great to feel strong and healthy.   I thought about that on trash day, oddly enough.  In the first picture, you can see some trash bins.  I'd piled up so much snow from shoveling that I couldn't reach my tree lawn from the sidewalk to place the trash bin.  I took the bin to the street side, grabbed it by the bottom and the handle that the garbage truck uses to empty it.  I then hoisted it onto the snow mound.  The shape of the bin made the lift a little awkward, but the weight was not a problem.

Well, now I need to decide whether I'm going to brave this wind chill warning of -25 to -30 degrees and hit the gym or do a more limited set at home with the weights that I have here.  To be honest, home gym is looking pretty good!

Reps and steps!

Day 365

Day 365.  A milestone.  One year ago today, I restarted my fitness journey.  It feels simultaneously like a long time ago and a short time ago.

I started out the morning with a breakfast of fresh fruit and nuts, followed by a tall glass of ice water and a multivitamin.  I didn't work out the day before and had gone to bed early.  I wanted to be fresh and rested for today’s session.  I took the day off from work because I wanted to work out early in the morning, when fewer people would be in gym, giving me better access to the equipment.

When I leave the house, it’s snowing and streets are covered.  The temperature is 10 degrees Celsius, not counting the wind chill factor.  I take this as a good sign.  The weather conditions should make the gym even emptier this morning.  I ask God for travelling mercy and head off to the gym.

As I hoped, the gym floor is pretty empty.  I move from station to station with no waiting.
After I get home and weigh in, I’m surprised to find that I've gained 3 pounds, while still on the fast.  I’m going to assume that the gain is muscle mass and move on.  I know that I've definitely lost some inches!

Unfortunately, I didn't formally track my weight loss from the start of the process. This chart shows my weekly progress for the last twenty weeks.  As you can see, there were plenty of ups and downs, but the peaks were always followed by a deeper valley, so don’t get discouraged!

I've heard it said that fitness is the poor man’s plastic surgery.  After assembling my before and current pictures, I’d strongly agree.  You can’t really tell how well you are doing without the comparison photos.  Many times during the process, I would have doubts as to whether or not I was making progress.  From these photos, I can tell that I have.

Before & Current: Same clothes

Before & Current:  With a bit less belly!

Before & Current: Holding my approximate weight loss

I know that I have more "squish" that needs attention, but for today, I'm celebrating the progress that I've made to date!

Accomplishments

In the last twelve months I've…

…lost 49 pounds, going from 271 lbs to 222 lbs.
…burned 107,800 calories.
…lost one shirt size, going from XXL to XL.
…lost three pant sizes, going from size 42+ to size 36.
…gained more strength, energy, endurance, and stamina.
…become more proactive in my healthcare.

Lessons Learned

I've learned that…

…it is essential to make a plan and to track your progress.
…setting short term and long term goals is vital to success.
…it actually takes much less food to get full than I thought.
...pounds lost are less important than muscle gained.
…consistent effort is key.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I thank God for giving me the tools to make my progress possible.  Next, I thank my wife for her love, support, and participation.  I thank all of my instructors and trainers for their help and insights.  Thanks to all of my family, friends, and acquaintances who gave me encouragement.  Thanks to the strangers who gave me positive feedback just with a look or a smile.  Thanks to the folks who shared their fitness stories on the internet.  They provided lots of information and inspiration.  Finally, thanks to those who wished me less than well.  Those vibes got turned into workout fuel!

Goals

My fitness goals for the next 365 days are to…

…incorporate the dietary lessons learned on the fast into my normal diet.
…get my waist size down to a size 32.
…have a visible “six pack.”
…further refine and develop my musculature

Thanks to all who have been following my journey.  I hope that it has provided some inspiration in your own fitness quest!

Weight loss to date: 48.8 lbs.

Still Making Progress

Another week of the fast down.  We did well on the fast up until the weekend, when we face-planted.  I plan on adding another day or two to the prescribed time to make up for it.

I lost 3.2 lbs this week.  It’s obvious now that I’m not going to finish this fast with the type of numbers that I had when I did it the first time.  I hope that’s because I'm not carrying as much fat now as I was then.

I've been feeling the effect of the diet in my workouts.  My energy has been down, so it’s been difficult to work at my usual levels.  I cut back on the cardio and so that I could concentrate more energy on the resistance training.

Milestones

I finally hit the 50 pound mark!  Even though I've been more concerned with losing inches than pounds, this felt good!

I started wearing the next smaller pant size this week.  That means that I've lost three pant sizes in a year’s time!

Motivation

I’m seeing some reduction in the belly area.  Others have noticed, too.  I’m getting more questions on how I’m doing what I’m doing.
 
Thursday, January 23, will mark one year since I restarted my fitness journey.  On that day, I plan on posting photos and numbers, along with a wrap-up of the year, lessons learned, and my goals going forward.

Weight loss to date: 51.8 lbs.

Versus The Polar Vortex

A polar vortex (also known as a polar cyclone, polar low, or a circumpolar whirl) is a persistent, large-scale cyclone located near either of a planet's geographical poles.  Wikipedia

This week started out with a visit from the Polar Vortex, which resulted in subzero temperatures.  Monday’s temperature dropped down as far as -11 degrees Celsius, not to mention the wind chill factor.  Needless to say, if you didn't need to be out, you stayed indoors.  Tuesday started out almost as frigid, -7 degrees, but we managed to get above zero later in the day.  So, I wound up working out at home, which doesn't come close to doing gym work.  I also missed Wednesday’s workout due to another Salsa class.  I finished off the rest of the week in the gym.

I've made a couple of “slips” with the fast, but overall, I've managed to stick to the restrictions.  It’s been mostly fruit for breakfast, with an occasional cup of organic oatmeal.  Then, it’s snacking on nuts, seeds and more fruit throughout the rest of the morning.  Lunch has been mostly beans and fruit, with more snacking in the afternoon.  Dinner is beans, potatoes, and veggies.  I’m also drinking lots of water.  This has all resulted in a 5 lb. weight loss for the week.

I have to admit to being a little disappointed with the number this week.  I expected to hit the 50 lb. mark on this weigh-in.  I’m going to blame the miss on this week’s arctic conditions [Shakes fist at the Polar Vortex!], since it kept me from getting to the gym for my full workouts.

Goals

My main goal for next week is to get in a full week of workouts at the gym to maximize the benefits of fasting.  The next thing I want to do is to smash through the 50 lb. barrier.  This is very doable, as I’m only 1.4 lbs away.  So if I make goal one, it will certainly take care of goal two.

Motivation

It’s about time to replace my suits.  Past time, actually.  I’ve been using suspenders to hold my suit pants up, to extend the life of the suits.  I can’t wear belts with them as there is too much extra fabric, which would just gather in the back.

This morning, I grabbed on old jacket on the way out of the house.  I had to toss it back into the closet, as it’s now too large for me.  More stuff for the “clothes to be donated” bag.

Salsa

For Salsa class, we worked on Copa variations.  This video will give you an idea of the type of patterns we were dancing.

I should mention that this is "on2" Salsa.  I dance "on1."

Weight loss to date: 48.6 lbs.