Category Archives: exercise

Day 656: [HEALTH UPDATE]

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[HEALTH UPDATE]

So I don’t have hip bursitis like I thought (don’t self diagnose folks) I actually have arthritis in my left hip and my left knee. Nothing life threatening and I can still run a half marathon but I need to alternate it with other stuff.

The first thing he asked was if I had had any significant weight loss not knowing that I was a weight loser. Come to find out the arthritis was from all of those years of being obese. I am so thankful that I started my weight loss journey when I did, because the prognosis could have been much worse.

 For all those years I thought I was relatively healthy. I still exercised pseudo-regularly and my cholesterol was actually pretty normal. I hid behind those two pointless factors even though I was rapidly eating myself to death. In hindsight, I wish I would have gotten a physical when I weighed 357 to find out what was all wrong with me. I know my blood pressure was terrible and odds are (between my weight and family history) I probably had some type of diabetes or was at least on the road to Diabetesville.

What I’m trying to say is if you are thinking about losing weight and have put you keep putting it off, start today. Eating brocolli instead of Whataburger is way less painful than hip arthritis. Trust me. Make a change people! Even if it’s just going for a walk or drinking water instead of Dr. Pepper, do something that your future self will thank you for later. Get to it. See ya tomorrow.

Day 655: Ouch Edition

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So as most of you know, I have been having issues with my hip when I run. While it has been pseudo bearable (even for a guy like who has a lackluster pain tolerance) it was painful to even run three miles last night. I stretched after I was done, which helped, but when I got home I noticed I had a super dark bruise around where the hip meets the femur. After much research (and pending a doctor’s review soon) it looks like I have bursitis of the hip. It hurts to sit in a chair and I have to gingerly walk up stairs. Needless to say, sitting for eight hours straight was not fun.

So what does this mean? It looks like I’m going to have to rest and hold off running for a while. It’s not ideal, but I can still swim and I’m planning on focusing on strengthening my core and arms. Trying to make the best of a bad situation. Good times.

Breakfast: Today I just had two pieces of toast with a little more than a tablespoon of peanut butter. Around 11 I realized that’s not enough breakfast. I was starving by then. All this week, I have been eating either oatmeal or a breakfast burrito. Both of those are full of protein and really sticks to your ribs. PB and toast isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Lunch: I had some whole grain spaghetti with spaghetti sauce (no meat.)

Dinner: As you can see, at this point I hadn’t had a lot of calories. I was tired, I was in pain and frankly, I was still really sad about the shooting Colorado. It was kind of a downer of a Friday. Now, I don’t usually eat my feelings (not like I used to anyways. I’ll write about about eating your feelings sometime.) but today, Megan (who was also feeling really wompy) and I both needed some comfort food. So, we went out for some therapeutic Pho. It hit the spot. The aromatics of the basil and sprouts, the heat from the siriacha and jalapenos and the succulent beef just made my evening. I felt better.

A Little Exercise: After we let our food settle, we decided to take a dip in the pool. I did some laps just using my arms. It was invigorating.

So that’s about it for the day. It’s been a good one. See ya tomorrow.

Day 651: Monday Time Awesomeness.

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One day down… only 13,505 to go.

Today was my first day in the real world. It feels pretty darn cool. If anything, it’s just nice to have some structure in my life that I can build my weight loss around. I know that sounds weird but it’s the truth. Speaking of weight loss, today was definitely a win the in the weight loss column. I ate really well and even got some good exercise in there! Awesomeness!

(How do you like my jacket?)

Breakfast: I was awoken early with a call from my dad (thanks for the wake up call Pops) followed by the smell of delicious eggs being cooked. I had one breakfast burrito with some homemade salsa. Yumtastic.

 

 

 

Lunch: I went home and a little chili. I didn’t eat that much and only a little rice. I was proud of my portion size!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: I came home to a ginormous salad. It was amazing and filling. That’s all that needs to be said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: Megan made another amazing recipe out of the always-awesome Skinny Taste. She made the Grilled Flank Steak with Black Beans, Corn and Tomatoes. She grilled it on the George Foreman since it was thinly sliced. The steak was juicy and the black bean concoction was cool and delicious. You definitely need to try it. NOW!

Exercise: After a while, Megan and I went down to the pool and swam some laps. It was nice because there wasn’t anyone down there. After an hour, I had a little (emphasis on a little) peanut butter and a banana along with some watermelon. It feels good to fill up on healthy things.

So that’s about it for today. Pretty awesome. See ya tomorrow.

Day 647: Thursday Run and Stuff

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Today was a day of getting stuff done.

You know the kind I’m talking about. When you go all Tasmanian Devil on your house and donate the majority of your old fat clothes to Goodwill and run six miles? Yeah, it was one of those days.

Run and Stuff: So this morning I just had a two pieces of toast with peanut butter, a cup of coffee and a glass of water. I would go on to greatly regret that I did not eat more around mile 3 of my run when it felt like I was literally running on empty.
For those of you who are new to the blog (if so, welcome!) I live in Florida, where the humidity is above 100% more than 90% of the year (why yes, that is a made statistic I just made up.) I decided to go on a run since I had taken a gander at the weather and it was suppose to be in the 90’s the majority of the day. So, I suited up… in to my workout clothes… and took it to the streets! (Michael McDonald style!) My first two miles were both under 10 minutes and then the someone turned up the heat in Tallahassee [insert global warming joke here] and it got brutal. I pushed myself like crazy and it paid off. Lately I have been battling with the mental aspect of the weight loss game. When you’ve been “dieting” this long, you begin to rest on your laurels and think of it all in some formulaic way that takes the passion out of it. Today, I put my heart back in to it and it started with conquering this run. So, my time wasn’t too bad considering the heat and the hills. I obviously want to get better, but that will just come with time. I also burned a crapton of calories which was awesome as well.
One thing that did suck was that my hip/left leg started to give me trouble again. It was fine during the run, but later in the day it would hurt to walk. It felt like it was seizing up or something. Whatever it was, I wasn’t a fan of it and I need to go get it checked out soon. Either way, I got my SAWS in today which is what matters!

Post Run Re-Fueling: When I got home, I immediately drank a ginormous glass of water followed by a glass of chocolate almond milk. I have always heard that drinking chocolate milk after a run was good for you, I just figured that almond milk would do the trick too. Anyway, I also made salad with peppered turkey deli meat, a cap full of olive oil, a pinch of parmasean and some balsamic vinegar. Needless to say, it was delicious.

Lunch: Megan, being the awesome wife that she is, made some French onion soup with low fat swiss. It was epic and really hard to describe. You’ll just have to come over sometime and try it yourself!

 

 

 

 

 

Smoothie Time: Megan is the Smoothie King Queen of the household and since it’s summer, she whipped up some of her classic super berry smoothies! It was actually more a delicious sorbet so I ate it with a spoon. All she did was put a banana, frozen mixed berries and a little orange juice in our Ninja and whipped it up! Awesomeness!

Dinner: For dinner tonight, I whipped up some quarter-pound burgers and cooked them on my grill pan. I also ran over to Wing Stop and ordered one basket of fries and had them as a side which is only 5 points for half a basket which is a normal point amount for a side. The burgers turned out amazing. Not to mention we just used low-cal bread instead of a bun. Pretty awesome “cheat” day!

So overall, today was pretty good! I’m going to try to swim or some sort of exercise for the rest of this week to drop some pounds! See ya tomorrow.

Day 631: Back on the Horse Edition

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I have been in a whirlwind of emotions dealing with my weight loss for the past few days. A lot of self doubt, a lot frustration, and a lot of thinking “why do I keep having this conversation with myself?” Every time I see an ad or an e-mail that says “Drop 30 pounds in 3 months!” I immediately click on it to find out what theircureis. The thing is that I know the cure: diet and exercise. I’m proof that it works! And I think when I get these negative thoughts in my head, I need to sweat them out of my body. It’s amazing how much clarity you gain from exercising.

So today I was really good with my food. Yesterday, I went on a mini-binge of “healthy” carbtastic snacks in the 3:00-4:00 window. It’s part hunger, part boredom and part lack of discipline. Today, I made sure that didn’t happen! Here we go~

Breakfast: I had the standard peanut butter and toast with banana.4.5 points

Lunch: I was on the run this morning, so I pulled a Lean Cuisine Chicken Enchilada Suiza out of the freezer. I usually get the Smart One version, but I thought I would give the LC version a shot. It took 9 minutes to microwave (which made my co-workers incredibly jealous because it smelled so good) but it was worth the wait. It was pretty impressed! 6 points.
I also had a 40 calorie Dove Chocolate and five M&M’s .5 points.

Pre-Run Meal: Instead of eating junk food after work, I had a salad with a little lunch meat, a cap of olive oil, some balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of Parmesan. It was only 5 points and then I had 3 points of almonds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Run: #FFK Tip of the Day: if you are scoping out a run on Google Maps, be sure to look at is from every angle. What goes down must go up… in a very steep fashion.

I decided to go for a 5 mile run since Debby has finally decided to peace out of Tally. It was cool for the first mile, but then it got super humid. My first mile was a solid 9:25, but then I hit a lot of hills on some roads I haven’t been on before. It turned out to be a rough, but exhilarating run. Between the run and the cool down, I burned 950 calories total. The issue is my left hip has been acting up a lot which has made my running a little painful at times. I need to look in to that.

 

 

 

 

Dinner: I came home to delicious tacos and plenty of water. They were epic and around16 points(4 points a taco.) For dessert I had a banana and a large Tervis full of hot green tea. Pretty delicious stuff.

So today, I got to 35 points and with my run and doing pushups, situps and squats during the commercials of Extreme Weight Loss, I am in good shape. I have set a good example for the rest of the week, and it feels great. See ya tomorrow.

Day 622: Finally a Post and a Weigh In!

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It feels like I haven’t posted in forever. (Oh yeah, that’s because I haven’t.)

So today was Father’s Day and I have to thank my Dad for everything he has done for me. He has worked hard every day of my life to support me and my family. If I didn’t have a Dad like him, I don’t know where I would be today. Thank you Dad. I love you.

Alright, so this was kind of a weird week. I was pretty good for the majority of the week. Yeah, I wasn’t posting my points online, but I was still was counting to make sure I was on the right track. Then, my “conscience” was nagging at me to post them which was a little weird and threw me off a little. I know my “conscience” meant well, but it still odd. (Look at my last Monday post in the comments to see what I’m talking about.) I know I’m not perfect, but I’m going what I can to keep at it. And I am going to do what I can to count my points to optimize my weight loss awesomeness. I’m going to be even better this week because I’m back in the weight loss saddle again. I lost 1.6 pounds this week! So I am down to 240.8 which is about 5 pounds away from where I was before our trip! I’m getting there! Let the awesomeness continue!

Breakfast: I had a bowl of Special K Strawberry which was not too shabby!

Lunch: After church, Megan and I went to Momo’s for pizza the size of our heads. I had the Big Meaty (or whatever it was called.) Awesomeness.

Dinner:This afternoon, we went over to our friends Jacob and Emily’s house to chill by the pool and have dinner (along with that Andrea person.) We had grilled chicken with Emily’s delicious potatoes along with some squash and corn. Then Megan made her awesome blackberry cobbler! Needless to say that you should be jealous of our cookout. It was awesome.

So that’s about it for the day. This week is going to be good.

Oh yeah, I’m going to run a half marathon in July 2013. Get stoked.

See ya tomorrow.

Day 609: A Super Case of the Mondays and a Weigh In Edition

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Have you ever felt like your life is just passing you by? That everything is going in fast forward and you have no control over anything?

That is exactly how I feel this week.

Job hunting is such a waiting game that makes me so frustrated, confused and frankly a little scared.

I know that something will work out and that the right door will someday open up, but in the meantime I am just excerified (yes, that is the combination of excited and terrified.)

With all that being said, I have felt really held back this week. For the first time in a long time, I feel fat. My the button-up shirt I’m wearing is pulling for the first time, I feel lethargic and I abso-freakin-lutely hate it. Well I should feel fat. I deserve to. I somehow gained 14 pounds on my vacation! What the crap? I mean yeah, I did eat a lot of BBQ, I did enjoy myself but 14 pounds? Are you flippin’ kidding me!?!?!?!?!?!?

Well, luckily (and I use that term loosely) a lot of that was retained water, so when I weighed yesterday (sorry about not posting last night. That was wrong and dumb.) I still am up 7.2 pounds from two weeks ago. This is not okay with me. What makes it even worse, I have no one else to blame but myself. I should cut my portion sizes in half, I should have exercised more, I should have done a thousand things differently. But there is nothing I can do it about it now except learn from it and move on. My addiction to bad (but delicious) food is still far from over. I need to keep at it. I have high goals for myself and I aim  to reach them and beyond. Time to get to work.

Breakfast: I had two servings of the always awesome Kashi Go Lean. Awesome and filling.

Lunch: I had the last SmartOne that we had in the freezer. It was okay, but not the best choice. The one delicious thing about lunch was eating cinnamon roasted almonds and biting in to an apple at the same time! It was awesome! It was a symphony of awesomeness in my mouth. Fantasticness.

Snack: I had some chips and a few wasabi peas. Nothing special

Dinner: Tonight we had Uncle Jim’s chili, but better. Last night, Megan soaked the beans instead of using canned. It made all the difference, it wasn’t near as salty as it usually is. It was even better with some rice, some cheese and sour cream, not to mention some fantastic green Tabasco sauce. Yumtastic.

Run Time: A little after dinner, I went on the first run of my 10k training. Tonight was a 4 miler and it was brutal. Thankfully, it wasn’t 97° outside like it was earlier today. The wind was cool and the humidity was low. I ran a new route tonight that I can’t wait to go run again. Like most trails in Tallahassee, it was hilly and beastly. So much sweat and some many calories burned (710 to be exact.) I love running, and even though my time was meh (48:30) it was a stepping stone for a better time soon. At this point, it’s all about building that endurance back up to where it was in the fall.

Oh, and one more thing… celery is awesome.

So that was my day. A lot of highs and lows but it ended well. Tomorrow should be better. It always is. See ya tomorrow.

Day 595: The One Where The Fotographing Fat Kid Went To Boot Camp Fitness

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cIt’s Monday. Monday. Gotta get down on Monday!

Today was pretty good stuff! I ate well and worked out like a boss.

P.S. I’m addicted to Downton Abbey. Does anyone else think that the theme song kind of sounds like the X-Files theme song? Anyway…

For breakfast, I had two eggs seasoned with pepper and cayenne, two breakfast veggie patties and two pieces of dry toast. For some dipping, mixed some ketchup and sriracha. A lot of spicy deliciousness.Between breakfast and lunch I had an apple and a banana. It kept me full all morning. Awesomeness.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Lunch: For lunch, I just had a Smart One Chicken Suaza which was as good as a frozen meal can be. For dessert I had two fat free Fig Newtons which were awesome. For a snack after I got off work I had some of the epic salsa that Megan had made this morning.

(I know the food part was short so I could get to the fun part!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bootcamp Time!: So last week I called Laurel over at Boot Camp Fitness and Training about trying out their classes for a trial run now that I don’t have Leach to rely on anymore. Megan and I then signed up for a week free trial. Boot Camp is located in a warehouse off of Capital Circle and has been open since 2005! The facilities are really nice and definitely get the job done. While there are 5:30 and 6:30 am sessions, we opted for the 5:30 pm class which was the much hotter decision. When we got there, we Laurel and the other instructor Dave showed us around and gave us the rundown of Boot Camp. I felt like a kid in a candy store (no, I’m not trying to promote childhood obesity with that simile) beteween the kettlebells, the TRX setup and the boxes, I knew I was going to have a blast with this. There were around 25 of us in the class and we started out with stretching as a group, then we numbered off in to two groups. Then, there were two decks of cards in the middle of the room. Come to find out they would be the death of us for the next 45 minutes. On the wall (which all of the walls were whiteboards where you could write down quotes and your goals for the 4 week session. Such and awesome idea!) there where the card suites with a workout next to it. For example, a Diamond would be a TRX Row. You had to do as many reps as the value of the card. Faces were 10, Aces were 11, but Jokers… were wild. If someone in your group got a Joker, then you did suicides outside in the parking lot! So you would pick a card, do the reps (the lowest value in the deck was 9) and sweat like you were in a sauna. Although I have done Insanity and personal training, it was brutal but so much fun. Dave and Laurel were super nice and helpful. There were there to give you encouragement and help you out if you were doing something wrong. There was no yelling or any of those weird drill instructor hats and no R. Lee Ermey did not show up and ask me if I could suck a golf ball through a garden hose. It felt like a bunch of friends going through a really hard workout. Kind of like pledging.

Although I’ll have some more later in the week (the classes are Monday, Wednesday and Friday) so far I have been really impressed with Boot Camp! Most of the people there have been doing the four week sessions for years, including a lady who has been there since day one! So far, it was the best workout environment that I have ever been a part of. I can’t wait to go back!

Okay…

So for dinner, Megan made a jambalaya recipe from the 100 Days of Real Food website which promotes… real food. It was full of deliciousness from andoullie sausage to shrimp to brown rice. Unlike most Cajun food, it almost light and it wasn’t sodium stacked at all! After that beastly workout, two heaping helpings of it really hit the spot.

So that was it for today. Overall, it was pretty epic. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 592: The Fotographing Fat Kid Goes To Impact Health And Fitness

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Before I started tonight, I just wanted to show you this picture that was featured on an ABC affiliate’s Facebook page today. This was taken in Hillsboro, Texas, where I grew up. This is why Texas is awesome. That’s all I have to say about that.

Anyway, so today was overall pretty good. Food was better than it has been which is a win in itself. I decided today that it’s time to really get serious about my goals. I know that’s not something you usually just wake up and say, but I am 37ish pounds away from my next goal! That is totally possible! I’m on the homestretch of sorts! I’m not going to lie, there are times that I have eaten light ice cream and have not counted it on here. It’s not because I’m hiding it. It’s because  I just plain forget to post it. Granted it’s something like 2 points or so (because Breyer’s is awesome) but those little snacks have sugars and things like that. It’s time to get back to the super dieter I once was. Time to give the 230’s the boot!

Impact time!!!

So now that I’m all graduated and stuff, I don’t have a place to work out. No more Leach for this guy. It’s going to be tough to lose weight when I don’t have a gym readily available. So… time for a new installment of the blog called “THE FOTOGRAPHING FAT KID TRIES OUT A NEW GYM!” I’m going throughout Tallahassee to find a new place to get my SAWS on!

Earlier this week I talked to Vince over at Impact Health & Fitness and he gave me a free week pass to test drive his gym. Impact is located in north Tallahassee right next to the Tallahassee Mall (which looks like the mall the characters end up in during a zombie movie.) From the outside, Impact looks like a business building from the 80’s. I was ready for Joel Goodsen to pop out of a corner at any moment (imdb it.) But when you walk in, the place is MASSIVE!!!!! There are multiple levels with any piece of workout equipment you can think of! I started out on a treadmill to warm up. It was a little older, but it got the job done. Then I went over in to their circuit area and started to work out. I did medicine ball throws, bosu ball squats, kettleball squats, and some lunges. There was enough room to do anything I could think of and it wasn’t because it was empty or anything. I was there around 4:30 when gyms usually start to pick up traffic. Anyway, I finished up with 30 minutes on the ARC Trainer. So much sweat… As far as demographics, there were a lot of older ripped guys (think retired Navy SEALS), some moms, some college-aged folks and the occasional meathead. It was really a nice change of pace. Plus they have a bunch of classes to choose from including TRX and spin classes! Overall, I was impressed with Impact. It’s not that far from campus, you can breathe in there, you don’t have to worry about being in people’s way and the staff is really helpful. Oh yeah, and they have a sauna and childcare! What more could you ask for?

If you are looking for a new gym that is a local business, definitely give Impact a try! Their pricing is competitive with other gyms in town and they have different rates to fit with what you can afford. Let me know if you decide to check them out.

Here are some pictures of my adventure at Impact. See ya tomorrow.

(I’ll post some more when I go back!)