Another Huge Milestone!

I had an absolutely fantastic weekend!  Friday night after work I weighed in at 224.4 pounds, which is 2.2 pounds down in 10 days.  I was very happy about that and headed home to eat dinner.  After dinner we went out and visited family and bought some Mega Millions tickets.  We sold our TV that was replaced by the projector to Ashley's grandma and I got it all set up in her bedroom for her.  Now she doesn't need glasses while in bed because the TV is big enough to see.  We headed home before the lottery drawing and had some fruit as a snack.  We didn't win the jackpot, but we won $6 dollars and broke even.

Saturday morning I made bacon and eggs for Ashley and I and then we had my grandfather over to see the new house and he really liked it.  After he left we headed out to a friend's house to sell him one of my old Xbox 360 games because his infant daughter broke his disc.  We then headed up to GameStop and traded in some old games so that I could buy Skyrim, which is something that I have wanted to do since November.  After GameStop we went and did some grocery shopping and then went home.  I made hamburgers and corn on the cob to help feed one of Ashley's cravings.  

After dinner I played Skyrim until it was time for bed and then fell right asleep.  On Sunday morning, I made bacon and eggs again and made myself a delicious omelet.  I  put a few pieces of pepperoni, cheese, hot sauce, banana peppers, and sweet pickles with 2 eggs.  Ashley laughed at the sweet pickles, but they ended up making the omelet amazing!  Ashley went to run a few errands and I went on what was supposed to be a very long bike ride.  I only ended up riding for 20 minutes because I got hurt, but I am okay just a little sore.  

When Ashley got home Ashley made chicken nuggets and tater tots.  We ended up hanging out while I play my Xbox in the living room.  I talked Ashley into finishing the blanket that she started crocheting for me a few years ago.  Then we made hamburgers and fresh asparagus.  It was the best asparagus I have ever had and the best burger Ashley has ever had.  After dinner we got showers and gave Gizmo a bath because he got into some stuff and was very dirty.  I did a few sets of push ups and crunches and I am now proud to say that I can consistently do 15 push ups at a time rather than 10.  I feel like I am gaining a lot of strength and my fat is starting to be less noticeable.  We took out the garbage and headed to bed to watch some TV.

Overall it was a great weekend and we wanted to "live it up" because our lazy weekends will soon come to an end.  Below is a little timeline of some of the key events in my Daddy Weight Loss journey.  See you all tomorrow!

February 15th, 2012 - Starting weight

February 16th, 2012 - First day of running

February 29th, 2012 - Started counting calories (MyFitnessPal.com)

March 7th, 2012 - First weigh in, 228.6 pounds (-6.4 lbs.)

March 19th, 2012 - Started bicycling

March 20th, 2012 - Second weigh in, 226.4 pounds (-2.2 lbs.)

March 29th, 2012 - Started weight lifting

March 30th, 2012 - Third weigh in, 224.4 pounds (-2 lbs.)

Weigh In and a New Biking Buddy

After work yesterday, I stopped to pick up mail from my parent's house.  While there I decided to weigh in because this is the same time and same scale that I always use.  I stripped down and climbed on the scale and looked down...

226.4 Pounds!

It may not be quite 2 pounds lost per week, but I had a slow week last week as far as exercising is concerned.  This all adds up to 8.6 pounds lost since February 15th, which is a little under 2 pounds per week.  I could care less, I am ecstatic!  I haven't been giving it my all either, I only exercise about 15-20 minutes each day and I don't follow a specific diet.  I haven't really lifted weights and I still eat 3 big meals each day.  All of the things that I am not doing are for a reason.  When I hit a plateau I will use these other things to blow right past it.

• 45 minutes of exercise 5 days a week
• Still count calories but eat healthier foods
• Start weight lifting 3 days a week
• Eat smaller meals spread throughout the day

These are going to be my "plateau busters" and I think they will be pretty successful.  I won't lie my motivation grows exponentially each day, Ashley is starting to get annoyed with me admiring myself in a mirror.  I can see the differences and feel the differences and that makes it all worthwhile!

Last night I got an unexpected offer from someone to ride bikes with me.  Ashley offered out of the blue and her doctor said that it was okay as long as she doesn't push it.  We went for a short ride around the block and after we circled around she went home and I continued for another lap.  It was nice to have someone to talk to and it didn't feel like a workout.  After she went home I could really feel my heart pumping and the sweat dripping off of me, but I didn't notice when we were talking.  It is funny how the mind and body works.

The weather is wonderful and I will be out riding tonight after cooking "breakfast for dinner" for Ashley and I.  The Daddy Weight Loss journey is moving at a steady pace and I'm loving every minute of it!

Do I Really Have to Eat Junk Food?

Yesterday I was under on my calories again.  I looked back through my log and made sure I had entered everything.  I was under 1200 calories for the day without exercise included.  I admit that I am not eating as much as I was before I started counting, but I seem to be a little more conscious as to what I am eating.

I think that adding a few snacks throughout the day may help me to not be as hungry and still eat enough calories.  I am thinking something along the lines of fruit, vegetables, or nuts.  I have also been really slacking on my water intake and I need to step that back up.

I didn't get a chance to go walking yesterday because we sat at the emergency room for a few hours.  (See my other blog Daddy To Be 2012)  Thankfully the weather looks good this weekend, so as long as we don't have any surprises, I'll be strapping on the running shoes!

I will be returning on Monday, wish me luck in my Daddy Weight Loss!

Completely Sore and Loving It!

After my long day at work yesterday, I went home to run a whole bunch of errands.  I stopped at the casino and had to park quite a ways away.  I got home and was completely exhausted.  Ashley and I stayed up until around midnight and then I was up to get ready around 5 AM this morning.  I'm not tired today, but my muscles are sore.

I didn't do so great on my calories yesterday, but it wasn't because I went over.  I was way under my calories for the day and I had only eaten about 1,000 calories total for the day.  From what I have read this is just as bad as eating too many calories, because it causes your body to go into "starvation mode."  I need to keep a closer eye on my calories throughout the day.

This morning when I was up early we watched some infomercials and I saw both the P90X and Insanity infomercials.  I know people personally that have had great success with P90X and I have only heard about people starting Insanity recently.  P90X requires a bit of money for equipment and a lot of time dedicated each day around an hour and a half.  Insanity requires around 40 minutes, don't quote me on this, each day.  I might look into something like this as it would give me more organization to my exercising.

Has anyone had any experience with either of these programs? (P90X or Insanity)  Until next time, the Daddy Weight Loss journey continues!

Still on Track - Cocoa, Ice Cream, and Snacks

The title may be a little misleading, but I still managed to stay under my calorie goal while enjoying some treats.  I didn't plan on eating all of that, I was just really hungry.  I had a little bit of Chex Mix, about a half serving.  After the Chex Mix my sweet tooth went into overdrive and I had a half serving of ice cream with some peanuts.  Ashley had a craving for hot cocoa so she made some for both of us and it was really good!

I was pretty nervous when I went to add all of this to my calorie counter, but I came in with 61 calories remaining for the day.  I submitted my log for the day and the app told me I was still on track to lose 10 pounds in 5 weeks.  Yesterday also marked a milestone of being the 10th day in a row that I have logged calories.  Only slipping up once in the first 10 days is pretty impressive for me and I am very proud of myself.  I just need to get back to exercising as soon as the weather cooperates.  I am still doing my daily crunches and push ups, but we all know that I need some cardio in my life.  The weather forecast looks good for this weekend so maybe I'll be able to strap the running shoes on!

On a side note, I think baby weight loss sounds a little weird, so I am going to go with Daddy Weight Loss.

Buffet - Not All I Could Eat

We went to Ponderosa yesterday for Ashley's birthday with her family.  I was able to eat at the buffet and still stay within my calorie goal for the day.  I only had 50 calories left after the buffet, but I think I did pretty good.  Ashley had a coupon for her birthday so we got 2 orders of Sirloin Tips that I was able to eat today for breakfast and lunch, so that will help with today's calories.  After the buffet I decided to do some crunches and push ups, but instead just one set I did multiples.  I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but I am now doing push ups without having my knees down which is a big accomplishment for me.  I was able to do 11 during each set last night, which is 1 more than I can usually do.  Crunches burned a little bit more last night, but I was paying closer attention to technique and I could tell the difference.

I did a little posing in the mirror last night and I am really starting to see the effects.  My stomach seems flatter and my arms seem more defined.  I still have a long way to go, but these little motivations help quite a bit.  Operation baby weight loss is in full effect!

Count Calories on the Go with the MyFitnessPal.com Mobile App

MyFitnessPal.com Logo

I have never in my life counted calories and I never thought that I would.  I thought I was eating healthy, but I knew something must be wrong if I never lose weight.  As I mentioned before I started counting calories a couple days ago and I mentioned I was using an Android app to do so.  I am using MyFitnessPal.com's app to track my calories and exercise (Also available for iPhone and iPad).  

Example screenshot from app

Once you download the app, you will be required to create an account and fill in some personal details.  It asks for things such as age, weight, height, and daily activity level.  I believe it also asks how often you will be exercising.  Once completed with that it will ask what weight is your goal and how many pounds you wish to lose a week (within reason).  Finally, it will give you your recommended daily calorie allowance.

Now each time you eat, drink water, or exercise you pull out your phone and enter the details.  Exercises are pretty straightforward, for example you type push ups and hit search and then enter sets and reps.  If you search running it gives different speeds, but if you put strength training it will give sets, reps, and weight.  Exercises that burn calories will subtract from the food you have eaten for the day.  For example if you ate 1500 calories and went running and burned 500 calories, you would only have 1000 calories counted against your daily allotment.  MyFitnessPal does not count calories burned from weight lifting or strength training.

You can also add water which is just a nice way of keeping track of how much you drink each day.  Food is where the app really shines in that it is extremely easy and useful at the same time.  This morning I took a multivitamin, drank a low carb Monster, and ate a sausage and cheese muffin from Burger King.  While taking the multivitamin; I pulled out my phone, clicked on the app, hit add to diary, chose breakfast, and scanned the bar-code on the vitamin label.  The app scans the bar-code and puts the nutritional value into your diary.  I also did the same for my Monster, and searched for my breakfast sandwich.  Throughout the day you can look at your nutritional goals and see where you are in excess and where you are lacking.  MyFitnessPal.com states that they have nutritional details for over 1 million foods!  If you can't find something you can add custom entries and even recipes.

The first day of calorie counting I really thought I was doing great, but at the end of the day I noticed that I had consumed about 90g of sugar over top of my allowed total.  Yesterday, I had more cholesterol than I should have.  I can see where my vitamin deficiencies might be and when I don't have enough protein in my diet.  The app stores all of these details and you can look back and see what foods you might want to avoid next time.

The app and website (MyFitnessPal.com) have a plethora of other features as well, the biggest being a social network.  I don't use this yet, but I might look into it.  From MyFitnessPal's research, those with friends on the service tend to lose 3 times as much weight as those that don't.  This is because you are not only sharing these details with yourself, but also with others who can hold you accountable or motivate you.  The site has forums, chat, and blogs to help motivate and educate.  On the website you can also run reports on various things such as nutrition, fitness, and weight loss.

Example report of my net calories consumed

At the end of the day each day, you can close out your diary for the day.  At this point it posts to your "wall" saying that you finished your day and how you did.  My favorite part however, is that after you finish for the day it pops up and gives you an update.  It is along the lines of, if everyday was like today you will weight XXX.X pounds in X weeks.  Last night mine said that I will weigh 221.5 (from 235) in 5 weeks, even if those numbers aren't true, it sure is a great motivation.  I have noticed over the last 2 days that at night I feel like I should have a snack before bedtime, I fire up the app and think to myself is it really worth it?  I imagine in my head how that one snack every night could be an extra pound lost each week and I forget all about having a snack.

Example of what you see at the end of each day

All in all, I think that this will really help me to keep track of my weight loss and exercise.  You can never have too many tools for this type of thing.  It is the convenience for me that makes this a real winner in my book.  If you would like to join me on the site, my username is ryanlthornton.  The Android market and iTunes links are below.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.myfitnesspal.android

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/calorie-counter-diet-tracker/id341232718?mt=8

Rest Day

Yesterday I had a rest day.  It was my first day of counting calories and I was a little sore from the day before.  I still did 10 push ups and 30 crunches on lunch and took a 15 minute walk around the block with Ashley.  I ended up 200 calories under my daily goal of 1780 and I was pretty high on my sugar intake, but the app said that if everyday was like yesterday I would lose 11.5 pounds by April 5th.  I hope that it is right because that would be pretty good progress.

I hope that I am able to work out tonight, whether it be cardio or strength training.  I am starting to get a headache from grinding my teeth today and my shoulders are still sore from lifting the other day.  My shoulders have always been my weakest muscle and I hope to change that this time around.  The push ups are getting better, at least my knees aren't on the ground anymore.

See you all tomorrow!

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.

Back to Work

I'm back to work today after a very relaxing weekend.  I went for a half hour walk on lunch and I'm feeling great!  I think tonight will be the night that I add in some more exercising other than just aerobics.  I will start with  push ups and crunches for now.  I'm not sure if I am losing weight, but I have never felt better.

I will be grocery shopping tonight, and as I mentioned I am not exactly on a diet yet.  I will let my weight loss journey influence what we buy tonight though.  I have a very busy day ahead of me today, so today's posts are a little short.  I'm sure I will have more to say tomorrow!

Nutella: Not So Healthy

Mmm... Nutella...

So I was browsing the web recently and stumbled across the Nutella lawsuit article again.  For those of you that haven't heard about this hilarious lawsuit I will post the link at the end of this post.  After reading it for probably the 10th time I decided it was time I try some Nutella for myself.  Now just a bit of history, I will eat anything and everything and probably enjoy it.  While at the grocery store I picked up some Nutella and bread and headed home.  I toasted up 2 slices of bread and spread Nutella on it, I noticed that it was hard to spread and the container was pretty small.  I ate the bread and instantly fell in love with Nutella.  Fast forward a few weeks and I have tried Nutella as a pretzel dip, with ice cream, and even straight from the jar.

I have decided that Nutella will not be brought into my house again, because it is far too tempting to have around.  Now the point of this post really wasn't Nutella, the point of this post is to point out that I am not currently on a diet or watching what I eat.  I do have a reason for this folks, and I'm here to explain it.

My biggest problem in the past with losing weight was doing too much at once.  I would start exercising, watch what I eat, cut out pop from my daily routine, and constantly research new diets and exercises.  I would also push myself too far with my exercises, and by that I mean push my body too hard and devote too much time.

These problems always lead me to the same destination, giving everything up at once.  This time I am going to do things differently, at least that is what I'm telling myself.  I am going to start by running 3 times a week, I figure this is a good starting point and doesn't push me too hard or take up too much time.  I know that I won't see significant results from this, but that is why I don't own a scale.  I am not a results driven person, results give a false sense of success that usually ends up going to my head.

As far as running this week, I am on a 3 day losing streak for running after work.  However, yesterday and today I ran during work.  Today I spent 4 hours on a project, of those 4 hours only 1 of the hours was spent standing still.  The other 3 hours were spent walking or running, I am absolutely exhausted.  I would still like to try to run after work today if the weather permits.

Well I brought you all here under the false assumption that I would be talking all about Nutella, but I stayed on my blog topic and just brought a little something else to the table.  For those that wanted to read that article it is linked below.

"Shocked" That It's Not Healthy, Mother Sues Nutella - The Consumerist

Buffet and Running

I went to a buffet last night (Ponderosa Steakhouse) and for the first time in my life I didn't eat all I could eat.  I had 2 plates compared to my normal 4 or 5 and a little bit of ice cream for dessert.  Afterwards we went straight home and our dog George was in his cage, so when I let him out he was very hyper.  I took him out and tied him up to go to the bathroom.  While he was doing his business I stretched.  When he was finished we went for a 20 minute run at the soccer fields.  While running I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, there is a 20 step wooden staircase leading directly to my house!  I didn't see it due to the brush around it, but we ran up that which was definetly a workout. 

We went back in the house and I ate some pistachios and a glass of milk.  Then Ashley and I sat on the couch and watched a scary movie (Insidious) afterwards I had a slight stomach ache and we went to bed.