Got in a pretty intense workout yesterday. My schedule called for me to do it today, but I was feeling so good yesterday I went ahead and got it in. My legs are screaming at me for the punishment I put them through. Mentally I am in a good place though because I am pushing myself to do better and stay on track.

Have to work today, so I was able to get in breakfast. That is a meal I may not have even enjoyed since mid-October. Had two servings of maple oatmeal with pecans(made with water instead of milk), a banana and a whey protein shake.

Well into the shower I go to get ready for another day at the prestigious Bradwell Institute.

Update and Fresh Start

Well my brother came home from Germany for a week in October, and it all fell apart so to speak. He was on leave before deploying to Afghanistan, and we lived it up. Eating out often, me drinking sodas, and food not too healthy. Then before I knew it Thankgiving was here, followed by Christmas. Then New Year's Day and my birthday hit me. I turned 28 on January 16, and as my gift to myself I re-committed to getting healthy. My buddy Mike got his home gym set up and so away we go.

As of today I am on a MWF schedule of going over there to get a workout in. Today was day two. I am not pushing any great amount of weight, but rather setting baselines and getting my body used to exercising again. I have been pretty sore since Monday's initial workout and was not feeling it today. I did not want to go workout today, but I committed myself, so I went. I am still sore, but I felt energized afterwards and am happy I willed my mind into pushing my body.

I started back into eating healthier this week, but I am still not eating properly. I am getting my calories down, but not divided into the right amount of meals. I have to make sure I am getting 3 meals and 2 healthy snacks. It does no good to starve all day and then eat dinner.

I am also going to start publishing progress photos. It is going to be embarrassing for me, but I need to see visual proof of my progress.

Week One

Slacking on the blogging

Been slack on the blogging, but not on the dieting. Been doing fine on watching what I eat. Still have not had a soda or high calorie/high sugar beverage. Sticking to water and the occasional glass of sugar free tang.

Moved on from stretching today with a mild workout. Went to the track about 5am and did a half mile. My calves were killing me after the first lap so I slowed down and made sure to get in at least a half mile. It's not much, but you have to start somewhere. After the track, I came home and stretched out my legs. While I was watching the news I went ahead banged out 100 crunches in increments of 10.

Hopefully I can keep it up on a daily basis.

Rest of Today

Managed to do okay today. Did some walking around the school and ate fairly well. Had a hand full of multigrain crackers for mid morning snack. A few more crackers and a cup of brown rice for lunch, and a banana for mid afternoon snack. Had roast and some more brown rice for dinner. Evening snack was a sugar free Klondike bar. Still drinking plenty of water(3-4 quarts) everyday. Haven't had one carbonated beverage or sweet tea since I started this blog. Been almost a week. I think tomorrow I am going to take the next step forward and increase my exercise. The weather has cooled down and been really nice for outdoor activity. I don't know if I want to hit the track for my walking, or just walk around my neighborhood.

Weekend

I didn't fall off the wagon per se, but I didn't eat as healthy as I need to. Friday my main meal was a turkey sandwich on sourdough at Cracker Barrel. I got a bit of activity in as I went shopping with my folks, which always involves a fair amount of walking. Saturday my main meal was a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Saturday evening though I consumed my calories for the day at our Oktoberfest. The Tucher Dunkel Wiesse was soooooo good. After Oktoberfest I had two slices of pizza and a few more beers at my friend's house over a game of NCAA 09 on Xbox.

Other than the beer on Saturday, I have continued with nothing but water to drink.

I got back on the wagon this morning however. For breakfast I had a bowl of low fat oatmeal, two eggs cooked in EVOO and an apple. I'm working today, so the rest of the day will be a challenge.

Today, not so hard.

Today wasn't a great day, but I sidestepped any major setbacks. Because of work, my 3 hour time frame suffered.

Breakfast 7am- two tablespoons cottage cheese, one banana

Mid morning snack 10:30am- Kellog's Fiber Rich antioxident bar

Mid afternoon snack 1:30pm- same as 10:30 meal

Lunch/Dinner 4:30pm- bowl of homemade vegetable soup and a ham and swiss sandwich(mustard only)

At this point I fell asleep about 6ish, waking back up around 10pm. For what should have been a late evening snack I ended up with a hotpocket and a small portion of chips.

As has been my SOP that last few days, water is the beverage of the day. I am on my 4th quart right now. So by the time I go back to bed, it will have been a gallon today. That's where I need to be.

On the excercise front, I was stuck inside all day. I did take time during my lunch to do some stretches and during my planning period I walked some laps around campus.
Hopefully the rain will stop tomorrow and I can ease into about 15-20 minutes of outdoor walking.

Goal One

The first goal, and probably the most important for the immediate future, is to lose weight. I have battled this all of my adult life and there is no time better than now to make a change. Step one in this process is to change my eating habits. I consume far too much sugary goodness and not enough fruits and vegetables. I am also a big fan of John Pemberton's invention of Coca Cola. Regardless, I have already begun changing my food intake. Part of this blog will serve as a food and exercise diary, in which I will list all physical exercise and all food and drink that I consume. So let's start this off right.

The first step I took has been to increase my water intake. Since yesterday morning, water has been the only beverage going down my gullet. I am attempting to steadily increase my water consumption to at least 4 quarts a day.

Breakfast 6:30AM- Egg Salad consisting of 2 hardboiled eggs, Cholula Hot Sauce(0 calories), French's Yellow Mustard(also 0 calories) and a banana.

Mid morning snack 9am- 2 slices of ham rolled up in 1 slice of swiss cheese with a dab of mayo

Lunch Noon- Pepperoni Pizza Hot Pocket, two tablespoons of cottage cheese and a small cup of brown rice.

Dinner 6:15pm- Some kind of steamer bag. Cooks in the microwave and very tasty. It was asian inspired with lots of vegetables and a fair amount of chicken. I ate most of the bag even though there were two servings. It was about 550 calories for the entire bag, which was the biggest meal I had today.

I missed my mid-afternoon snack and I'll probably have a low-cal fiber rich granola bar around 9. The plan I am following is a three hour diet type plan. 3 meals and 3 snacks throughout the day spread about 3 hours apart. I drank water again all day and one glass of sugar free tang with my lunch. I went to Walmart today and bought three 1-qt mixer bottles to keep my daily supply of water in. This should help me make sure I am drinking enough each day.

Unfiltered Item of the Day- The water is already paying off. My urine has changed from deep amber to a very light yellow. This is most likely from my body finally getting properly hydrated.

On the exercise front it was rainy all day so outdoor activity was limited. I went through a program of stretches inside the house. I am so out of shape that it is going to take a few weeks to build into a solid exercise program. In addition to the stretching, I parked further than normal from the door at Wally World and spent an extra 15 minutes or so walking around.

Tomorrow is going to be a challenge on the food front. I have to work, and that means not leaving campus for lunch. I am going to have to take something with me to snack on and make sure I keep my calories in check.