Weigh In?

Don't get excited, I am not weighing in today.  Someone very special to me is weighing in today and I hope that he is gaining weight.  I am talking about my son Tobias, Ashley is having a sonogram today to weigh him and see how big he is.  Usually we all talk about losing weight, but it is funny to think that we want him to gain weight.  Throughout the whole pregnancy, all of the doctors have claimed that he is a big boy.  Today we will find out and it will be the last time I see him before he is born.  I am doing good on my diet, but every time I get anxious I want to eat.  Thank god for self control!  I hope you all understand, but I won't be writing a long post today.  See you all tomorrow!

Motivation From God?

Disclaimer:

I try very hard not to be religious on my blogs because I want them to be appropriate for everyone.  I just couldn't pass up this opportunity. 

Yesterday I wasn't feeling the greatest after work and I was contemplating skipping my daily exercise.  Something kept nagging at me to get on the bike, ride, and push myself harder than I usually do.  After much hemming and hawing I jumped on my bike and headed out to the college which is about 5 blocks away.  I rode through the college and did a few laps around the parking lot.  Something urged me to not take the direct route home and go out and around the college and then through town.  I was pushing myself pretty hard and I thought I couldn't push anymore.

Then I saw it, it looked like garbage at first glance.  Something told me to stop and look.  On the side of the rode were 2 car seats.  Now I know that car seats aren't supposed to be reused and I completely understand why.  However, the bases on the car seats are the same ones that Ashley just ordered for the car seat we have.  

I rode as fast as I could home, probably faster than I have ever rode before.  I quickly put my bike in the shed and grabbed Ashley.  We jumped in my car and drove back over to the house with the car seats.  I went up and knocked on the door and nobody was home.  I loaded the car seats in the car and something told me that I needed to thank the people properly.  I left a note in the mailbox on the front of the house.

We drove home and made sure, but the bases do indeed fit our car seat!  The car seats seem to be fairly new so I may clean them up and possibly use one for my car.

What I took from this experience is that God is always listening and he always knows when you are going to give up.  He gave me incentive to keep on trucking and I can't thank him enough for that.  Maybe he reads me blog and knows that if I give up he has nothing to read everyday.  I will not accept that this was a mere coincidence and I hope that I do not offend anyone by feeling this way.  I just thought it was necessary to share as I am trying to lose weight to become a father.  Maybe this was a gift from above to help keep Daddy Weight Loss going!

A little nervous...

My back in the mirror

Okay, so I have finally manned up.  I never planned on putting pictures on here, but I was thinking last night that it would be a great way to show my progress.  Also, it is hard for all of the readers out there to imagine what I look like.  My starting weight was 235 pounds in these pictures, my goal is to weigh in at 150 pounds.  

 My side

I started using an app called MyFitnessPal for my android phone to count calories.  At first I just want to use it for a baseline to see where I am at and where I need to be.  The app says that for me to lose 2 pounds per week that I will need to consume 1780 calories daily.  I had a low carb Monster energy drink and a banana for breakfast, I currently have 1650 calories remaining for the day.  I think that tracking my caloric intake might be the best way for me to concentrate on a diet, so once I am comfortable with counting calories I will start taking it serious.

 My thigh

Ashley really helped to motivate me last night.  I got home from work and we were both hungry so she made a nice salad and I cooked steaks on the grill.  After dinner she walked with me around the block and then I ran 2 laps around "my track."  After running I did a few exercises in the house:

 Me flexing

• 30 push ups
• 30 crunches
• 15 jumping jacks
• 15 barbell curls (60 lbs)
• 15 dead lifts (150 lbs)
• 15 barbell shoulder press (60 lbs)

 My calf

It has been along time since I have worked out like this and it feels amazing.  I actually broke a sweat while running and maintained momentum while lifting weights.  I don't feel too sore this morning, but I can feel in my muscles that I worked out yesterday.

 My front

Things are really coming together for my weight loss journey and I am hoping that I find success at the end of the tunnel.  The people around me and the people that read this blog are really what keep me going.  The thought of becoming a father is really my biggest motivation, I want to be a role model to him in more ways that one.

 My back while flexing

I will go for a walk tonight for sure and probably do some push ups and crunches.  I don't want to push myself too hard and burn out before it begins.

A Little Break

I took Sunday and Monday off from running, don't worry though this doesn't mean that I'm falling off track.  Sunday I was very active and was exhausted by the time it came around to running.  Last night we worked on putting up mini blinds in the house, so between that and running back and forth to the store I got my exercise for the day.  I will resume running today and will update tomorrow as to how much stamina I have.

I will also be adding in some of my original workout routinely slowly.  I don't want to make the mistakes I have made in the past and burn myself out too quickly.  We have a baby appointment today, so I will be getting out of work early and this will give me some extra time to get started.

New Motivation

Well everyone, I have some new motivation for weight loss and exercise.  My fiancee (Ashley) is currently 7 months pregnant, and I would like to be able to keep up with my son when he gets here.  This means that I need to be healthy and in good physical shape.

My biggest issue is that I never fit cardio into my schedule.  I don't own a treadmill and I don't have a gym membership.  I don't enjoy running where I will see other people, but I get bored when I run alone.  We just bought our first home in January and we live across the street from some soccer fields that don't get used much.  I have been telling myself that I will start running there once the snow is gone.  Well the snow has been gone for a few days and still no running.

Last night, I got a dog, he is a German Shepard/Bloodhound mix named George.  After getting everything set up at the house for him, I strapped on my running shoes and grabbed a leash.  We walked over to the fields and then ran all the way around them and back home.  It was a small start, but at least I went running.  After coming back I felt amazing, I ate some cottage cheese and pistachios and then went to bed.

I may not get in perfect shape before Tobias Edward is born, but at least I will have a jump start on the process.  Please sound off in the comments if you have any suggestions that would help.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

I completely fell off of the weight loss wagon, life has been absolutely nuts.  I've got a new job, bought a new home, and me and my fiancee are having a baby in May.  Everything is finally settling down and I am in fairly good shape because of all of the changes.  I bought a pair of running shoes last night and I will start running everyday starting on Saturday.  The wedding may be bumped up, but I will keep you all updated!