Good News:  I’m going to be a dad!  My first.  I’m nervous, scared, and excited all at the same time.  I’ve started another blog to detail my experiences with that.  The link is http://theperfectdad.wordpress.com/.  Visit me there and share your experiences with me.  The link is also on my blogroll.

Bad News:  I’ve lost focus with my weight loss.  I have all kinds of excuses as to why but won’t list them because they are just excuses.  I’ve gained back 10 lbs of the 35 I lost.  I realize that I am on a journey and there are going to be high points and low points.  It is now time to get re-focused and pick up where I left off.  I have added incentive now to be healthy.  I want to be around and active for my wife and my child.  Stay tuned for my success!

My original goals included getting healthier, strengthening my relationship with my girlfriend, and documenting frequently to chart my progress.  As I do this for myself, I hope that those of you who do read my blog gain some insight to learn from my progress in life as well as my mistakes.  I do not strive to be perfect in life, only to be the best me I can be.

Back to my goals…here is an update as to where I am with each:

GETTING HEALTHIER:  At the time I started this blog I was 265 pounds which was the heaviest I had been in my 32 years on this planet.  Needless to say I was unhappy with where I had let myself get to.  I remember myself pretty fit as a teenager telling myself that I would never let myself get to the point that I got to.  What’s strange is that my mental picture of myself is still that teenagers fit body, not saying that I was a teen hunk or anything but I was in pretty good shape.  From 265, I made my way up to 270?  How could this happen?  I was focusing on losing weight and I gained.  Crazy huh?  3 1/2 months later I am happy to say that I am currently at 240 pounds.  I’ve had my ups and downs, I’ve cheated a lot but do my best to pick back up and stay on track.  My final goal is not any specific weight.  My goal is to get down to single % body fat.  How much you weigh and how healthy you are does not depend on how much you weigh.  Your goal should be to decrease body fat.  I have found a book that has helped me tremendously with this and will give you more information about it on a later post.

STRENGTHENING MY RELATIONSHIP:  I have known BP now close to 3 years.  She is 11 years my junior, but she is mature beyond her age.  Our relationship has been great although not perfect…Who’s is?  The problem that we had early on is our communication, more so when we are upset with each other.  When we did get frustrated with each other, we both shut down and didn’t talk to each other; we are both pretty stubborn.  This was our one major flaw.  We both realized it and talked about it and decided that it wasn’t healthy and that we would do our best to talk out our differences when they arise.  I am happy to say that as of August 16, 2008, we are happily married and doing great. 

CHARTING MY PROGRESS:  I started off great doing this, but have not done well as of late.  I will need to set aside some time to do this and make it a habit.

That’s the update for now.

Since that post, my office was broken into and my computer was stolen which is part of the reason the posts have been on a hiatus.  The other main factor was that I wasn’t having much success in my weight loss goals.  I was working out more than ever and wasn’t seeing the results on the scale.  I needed to reformulate my plan.  I have recently found success in the last two weeks via the help of a gadget that I’m not even using and the program that comes along with it.  I will give you more details on my next post.

Here are my current stats:

Day 45 of BFL challenge: Starting Weight: 265  ~  High Weight: 270  ~  Current Weight: 249  ~  Net Loss/Gain: -16 pounds

Here are the juicy details:

• Chest           46.5 inches
• Waist           47 inches
• Beltline        47.75 inches
• Right Arm    15 inches
• Left Arm      14.75 inches
• Body Fat %   33%
• Weight         259 lbs

Today’s Weight…259

This will just be a quick update as I will be posting later tonight.  Today is Day 1 of my Body For Life Challenge.  I will be adding my body stats and photos to show my transformation.  This is day 1 of 12 weeks.  Wish me luck and take the challenge with me.

Day 28: Starting Weight: 265  ~  High Weight: 270  ~  Current Weight: 259  ~  Net Loss/Gain: -6 pounds

Today’s Weight…261

As you can see, I’ve had some success since my last post. I have lost 8 pounds in 7 days. I realized after 18 days of no success that I needed to make a change. It would have been easy for me to just stop,but as explained in my last post, BP decided she needed to lose some weight as well so that has helped a ton.

What have I done to finally start losing some weight? I’ve stopped the p90x for now and focused on cardio only. I’ve been putting in 30 minutes a day on the elliptical at various speeds and intensity settings. I can’t remember the last time I’ve sweat like this. I’ve also started eating a lot better. We are following the eating guidelines of Body For Life. As a matter of fact, I just entered the 2008 Body For Life 12 week challenge. As a commitment to myself and this challenge I will have my before picture and body stats posted on this blog by Monday.

Keep tuned in for my journey and for some pretty exciting news in my life that I have to share.

Day 25: Starting Weight: 265 ~ High Weight: 270 ~ Current Weight: 261 ~ Net Loss/Gain: -4 pounds

Today’s Weight…269

It is now official.  It has been closed to three weeks and I am not having any results.  I have been doing most of my workouts, although I have missed a few.  I have noticed that I am getting stronger and my endurance is picking up, but it isn’t carrying over to any weight loss.  I realize that it must be my diet…what I’m eating.  I will be the first to admit that I haven’t been eating healthy.  I am frustrated with myself for this.  What am I doing?  I know better.

As I sat and wallowed today in my own self pity (not a normal occurrence), I received an instant message from BP.  What was it?  A solution…a breakthrough.  BP decided that she is ready to lose weight along with me.  When she said that, it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders…i felt lighter already.  Her goal is to lose 25 to 30 pounds in 30 days.  It is a big goal which isn’t going to be easy, but if she does it the right way by eating properly and exercising…she can do it.  Now that she has a similar goal to lose weight as myself, my diet should be easier.  She is starting June 1, so I’m looking for the pounds to start dropping then.

Wish us both luck.  I will keep you updated on our progress.

Day 18: Starting Weight: 265  ~  High Weight: 270  ~  Current Weight: 269  ~  Net Loss/Gain: +4 pounds

Today’s Weight…268

After the long Memorial Day weekend, my weight loss can be looked at as either I went five days holiday eating without gaining a pound or I went five days without losing a pound. I’m sort of at a impasse at deciding which it is. Does it even matter? I know that I did not even come close to eating the way I should. Knowing this, I did not even step on the scale until this morning to which I was a bit surprised that I hadn’t gained any weight. Some of the food on my Memorial Day weekend menu include bbq pork ribs, macaroni and cheese, honey bbq chicken wings, croissants, and even milk & cookies.

Maybe exercise was the reason I didn’t gain any weight? Well, I did not do any exercise on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. I had no excuse for Thursday or Saturday. On Friday, I spent the night assembling a new NordicTrack elliptical that I bought. It is the AudioStrider 990 Elliptical model. It took a couple of hours to assemble. I bought this to help BP and I with our cardio. I figure that this along with the P90X workouts should help on my weight loss journey. I did a workout session on Sunday and Monday. Both were 20 minute sessions. On Monday, I also did the P90X Chest & Back workout. Those workouts may have gone a long way to keep me from not gaining any more weight.

The long weekend has now passed and it’s time to get back on the wagon.

Let me know how you spent your Memorial Day Weekend and what weight loss pitfalls you faced.

Day 15: Starting Weight: 265 ~ High Weight: 270 ~ Current Weight: 268 ~ Net Loss/Gain: +3 pounds

We have been having small bits of bickering over the past week or so and most of them are petty things that are of no real importance.  Not sure why we are doing this.  It may be that we are both tired.  We have to get up very early in the morning and our combined commute is about 3 hours a day.  We have been doing this since February and it may be starting to wear on us.  We have also been looking for a house closer to where we work and are having bad luck with that.  It just seems like there is so much to do and so little time to do it.  I do know that I LOVE her and don’t want to let these small things ruin our future.

That brings me back to my original question, Would I Marry Me?  My mom has always told me that I’m a good catch, but that’s what she is supposed to do.  But as I think about what she has told me, I have to agree.  I am in my early 30′s.  I have never been married.  I have no kids (no baby mama’s).   I own my own home.  I cook and keep a clean home.  And I don’t think that I am that bad looking.  With all that being said, I am in a loving, committed relationship with a beautiful, young lady who says she wants to spend the rest of her life with me.  The answer to the question is yes, I Would Marry Me.

Today’s Weight…268

Another day, another pound!  Usually when I start a program like this, the pounds drop off a lot quicker in the beginning.  So while I’m glad the pounds are starting to drop off, I’m a bit disappointed it’s not happening quicker.

The holiday weekend is coming up in a couple of days and that is usually a recipe for disaster when it comes to weight loss.  I will be looking to focus on my P90X schedule and stay on the wagon.

Day 10:  Starting Weight: 265  ~  High Weight: 270  ~  Current Weight: 268  ~  Net Loss/Gain: +3 pounds