Ok, so I have not been sticking to this new workout like I wanted to. I have not been consistent six days a week. I have, however, been making up for it on other days. If I skip a day, I do twice as much the next day. Today was the prime example of that.
Yesterday I was off from work and did not do much all day. I really didn't feel like working out. Tuesday has usually been my off day from workouts so I took advantage of that. I didn't eat much all day. I never really had anything for supper. Then went to a friend's house to celebrate her birthday. I had chips, a couple of cupcakes and two Jagerbombs on top of all that. I didn't get home until after midnight and stayed up later goofing around on the computer. I finally didn't go to bed until around 2:00 a.m. I got up around 9:00 or 10:00 a.m., had some cereal and watched SportsCenter all day. I did get dressed in my workout clothes and kept saying I was going to workout starting at noon. That never happened. I finally gave up, went and grabbed some Burger King for lunch, and went to work. I didn't take a lunch, nor could I leave to go and grab some Subway, so I had to have a greasy sandwich from the Cafe. It was delicious but I knew it was not healthy at all.
The other thing that has been knocking me down has been that I have not seen the big results on the scale like I used to. I used to be able to do several workouts and drop three to four pounds in a week. Now I am doing P90X and I am not losing anything. I am still at 311 lbs. The one glimmer of light at the end of this tunnel is one of the other numbers on the scale. One of the readings tells me the weight of my body fat. Last time the scale read 122 lbs. of body fat. Now it's down to about 121 lbs. I did notice that, yes, I am down to 311 lbs. and that is TWO pounds less than two weeks ago. Okay, so I have lost a couple of pounds. I am proud of that. It's just that I was used to bigger numbers. I know my body is changing and adapting to the new weight. Now, to lose some more serious weight, I need to hit this hardcore. I'm talking serious calorie counting AND P90X workouts. I'm getting there. Right now it's just gonna take some time to find the right meals all over again. I need to find new meals that I can cook up in bulk and store them so I can take them to work.
I guess that's why I was in a grouchy mood all night. I didn't exercise when I knew I had to. And I really wanted to, too. So as I was getting ready to leave for the night, I told myself, "I have to workout when I get home." I knew it was something I wanted to do. I also knew I HAD to do it for myself. So I did. I popped in the shoulders and arms workout of P90X and followed up with Ab Ripper X. Feeling great! Great sweat! Now I feel better about myself. I don't feel like such a slob anymore.
As I was resting a bit in the middle of the ab workout, I was laying there and saying to myself, "I really needed this workout. Who would have thought a year ago I would be saying this." I know I would not have believed it myself, but it's true. If I don't get to workout I feel like crap. Not only physically but mentally and emotionally. I feel like I let myself down for not sticking to my commitment. I also feel bad for eating all the unhealthy food. And the way I make up for it is by doing these late night workouts.
I do what I have to do. I do what needs to be done. I am doing this for my health. I am doing this for my well being. I am doing this so that "future Rene" will be here a lot longer.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
P90X: Week 1 Update
Week 1 was a bit rough. It was difficult to get back into that mindset of working out hard six days a week. I only did about four or five days. However, on one day I did to two workouts. I started off with the Yoga X workout. I didn't really get the sweat I wanted so I did the next day's workout which is Kempo X. I have done the Kempo workout before. It is basically a lot of shadow boxing and kicking, which is what I have been doing for the past several months with The Biggest Loser DVDs. I really enjoyed that workout.
After one week of a few workouts and watching what I ate, I lost about a pound. Once again I am sore all over the place. Right now I am not able to do some of the exercises they do in P90X, but I do modify and give it my best. That is their motto they repeat all the time: "Do you best and forget the rest." That is what I am doing.
I came to realization yesterday. P90X is a 90 day program. If you stick with it for 90 days, you will see results. So I have to think of it as a 90 day challenge. I've stuck with a challenge before so I know I can do this. That is how I have to look at it if I am going to stay with this. It's only NINETY DAYS. Since I started in late August, three months from now will be towards the end of November.
I can do this.
I KNOW I can do this.
I WILL do this.
After one week of a few workouts and watching what I ate, I lost about a pound. Once again I am sore all over the place. Right now I am not able to do some of the exercises they do in P90X, but I do modify and give it my best. That is their motto they repeat all the time: "Do you best and forget the rest." That is what I am doing.
I came to realization yesterday. P90X is a 90 day program. If you stick with it for 90 days, you will see results. So I have to think of it as a 90 day challenge. I've stuck with a challenge before so I know I can do this. That is how I have to look at it if I am going to stay with this. It's only NINETY DAYS. Since I started in late August, three months from now will be towards the end of November.
I can do this.
I KNOW I can do this.
I WILL do this.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
P90X: Day 1
Today I did the first disc of the P90X workout. Today was Chest & Back with Ab Ripper X afterwords. The Chest & Back workout focused mainly on that with tons of push ups and chin ups. Since I don't have a chin up bar at the moment, I had to hold off on those exercises. As for the push ups, I had to modify at times and drop to my knees. In the beginning I did about 12 of the classic push ups. Then we started doing other variations. I tried to stay on my toes but soon had to drop to my knees. At the end of the workout he started to do dive bombers. Those were some of my favorite to do with The Biggest Loser workouts. But to attempt dive bombers after 20 minutes of push ups was virtually impossible. I was barely able to do one complete dive bomber. My arms were just too weak and tired.
Long story short, I think I did pretty good for my first day. I modified where I needed to but kept the pace up. Then we went into the Ab Ripper X portion of the workout. Uhm.....yeah....I'm gonna have to wait on that. I was barely able to do a few of them, even with my modifications. I'll have to slowly work my way into that one.
The one thing that concerned me about the workout was that I did not sweat as much as I thought I would. Granted, I did not suit up like I used to. I have on a pair of light shorts and a t-shirt. That's all. I figured I would need to be more flexible and comfortable for these workouts. In the middle of it I did feel a good sweat coming on, but nothing like the buckets I used to drop with The Biggest Loser workouts. But again, this was just Chest & Back. I'm sure I'll be sweating in the coming days.
Long story short, I think I did pretty good for my first day. I modified where I needed to but kept the pace up. Then we went into the Ab Ripper X portion of the workout. Uhm.....yeah....I'm gonna have to wait on that. I was barely able to do a few of them, even with my modifications. I'll have to slowly work my way into that one.
The one thing that concerned me about the workout was that I did not sweat as much as I thought I would. Granted, I did not suit up like I used to. I have on a pair of light shorts and a t-shirt. That's all. I figured I would need to be more flexible and comfortable for these workouts. In the middle of it I did feel a good sweat coming on, but nothing like the buckets I used to drop with The Biggest Loser workouts. But again, this was just Chest & Back. I'm sure I'll be sweating in the coming days.
Goodbye Casual Male Big & Tall
I am so happy to say that I have officially dropped an "X" from my clothing size. I no longer need to wear 3XL and 4XL shirts. I can fit comfortably in most 2XL shirts. That is such an amazing feeling. My entire wardrobe has started to open up for me. I'm glad I held on to all my shirts. I guess I always knew I would be able to fit into them someday. Well, that someday is now.
The big revelation came around my birthday. One of my aunts gave me a shirt that was a size 3XL. I looked at and told her, "I no longer wear 3X. I'm a 2X now." I laid the shirt over my chest and she agreed that it was too big. So she took it back and exchanged it for a 2X. Now the shirt fits fine. It's now one of my new favorite shirts. I've already received several compliments on it at work. And I'm always eager to tell them the story behind it.
Shirts are not the only thing that has changed. My pants size has gone from a 54" waist down to a 46" - 48" waist. I can now buy pants at Wal-Mart where they are a lot less expensive than the ones at Casual Male. A LOT less expensive! At Casual Male, a pair of blue jeans would cost me around $45 - $50. At Wal-Mart, they were $19.99. A package of four boxer briefs at Wal-Mart are $9.99. Casual Male, $15 for a set of two. Undershirts: a package of five at Wally World for $9.99. CM: $10 for TWO! I am so glad that I can now say I like they way my Hanes look on me. And my new jeans feel great! I am so happy to have more than one pair of blue jeans that fit me properly. And I was also able to buy a couple of comfortable shorts, also by Hanes, that I can wear around the house. The only shorts I had were my sweat shorts with no drawstring and they kept falling down. The only pair I had that did fit comfortably were extremely hot. They were a thick material that made me uncomfortable every time I wore them. The only reason I bought those was because I was out with some friends at Old Navy and needed a pair of shorts fast. They were the first ones I found that fit. Maybe I'll use them just for my workouts.
The big revelation came around my birthday. One of my aunts gave me a shirt that was a size 3XL. I looked at and told her, "I no longer wear 3X. I'm a 2X now." I laid the shirt over my chest and she agreed that it was too big. So she took it back and exchanged it for a 2X. Now the shirt fits fine. It's now one of my new favorite shirts. I've already received several compliments on it at work. And I'm always eager to tell them the story behind it.
Shirts are not the only thing that has changed. My pants size has gone from a 54" waist down to a 46" - 48" waist. I can now buy pants at Wal-Mart where they are a lot less expensive than the ones at Casual Male. A LOT less expensive! At Casual Male, a pair of blue jeans would cost me around $45 - $50. At Wal-Mart, they were $19.99. A package of four boxer briefs at Wal-Mart are $9.99. Casual Male, $15 for a set of two. Undershirts: a package of five at Wally World for $9.99. CM: $10 for TWO! I am so glad that I can now say I like they way my Hanes look on me. And my new jeans feel great! I am so happy to have more than one pair of blue jeans that fit me properly. And I was also able to buy a couple of comfortable shorts, also by Hanes, that I can wear around the house. The only shorts I had were my sweat shorts with no drawstring and they kept falling down. The only pair I had that did fit comfortably were extremely hot. They were a thick material that made me uncomfortable every time I wore them. The only reason I bought those was because I was out with some friends at Old Navy and needed a pair of shorts fast. They were the first ones I found that fit. Maybe I'll use them just for my workouts.
A New Beginning
Nine months after starting my new, healthier lifestyle, and losing about 100 lbs., I hit a plateau. I have been maintaining a weight between 311 and 315 lbs. I have still been watching what I eat. I just drifted away from working out 4-6 days a week. Doing the same routines day in and day out finally became too redundant for me. So I quit working out. It has been about two months since my last series of serious workouts.
On June 15, 2010, my weight was 322 lbs. Today my weight is 313.5 lbs. That is pretty damn good for just maintaining a healthy diet and very little to no exercise. There were times when my weight fluctuated from 317 to 311 then back up to 314 all within a few days of each other. I worked out for a couple of days then blew it all on a big, unhealthy but ever so delicious dinner, and gained it back. I have not been doing that too often, unless once a week is TOO often. My eating habits have been very off considerably compared to a few months ago. I have not been eating my three meals a day. I have not been keeping up with my healthy snacks at work. I have had a soda from time to time but no more than once or twice a week, if that. I just don't crave it as much as I used to. I still drink plenty of water, especially at work. You see, everything is still in place except the motivation to keep up with the workouts.
I know in my last post I said that I was going to start working out. Well, I didn't start then. I'm starting now. I needed to change up my routines. So I borrowed the P90X DVDs from my best friend Roland. He bought them a while back and gave it a shot. He wanted to gain muscle and get in shape. He became a bit discouraged when he started losing weight and not building any muscle. So after working with them for a couple of months, he was ready to hand them over to me. Now it's my turn. I just did the first disc today for the chest and back. I did my best to keep up with him. The one thing I needed that I don't have right now is a chin up bar. I modified the push ups and kept up as best as I could. Let me tell you, my arms feel like jelly! Then I tried to do the Ab-ripper X workout. F U TONY HORTON! Good God, those were intense. There is no way I am ready for that kind of workout right now. Give me some time and I'll see what I can do.
So here's where I stand today, Day 1 of P90X:
Weight: 313.5 lbs.
Body Fat: 122 lbs.
Body Fat %: 39.0%
Body Water: 44.4%
Bone Mass: 9.3 %
On June 15, 2010, my weight was 322 lbs. Today my weight is 313.5 lbs. That is pretty damn good for just maintaining a healthy diet and very little to no exercise. There were times when my weight fluctuated from 317 to 311 then back up to 314 all within a few days of each other. I worked out for a couple of days then blew it all on a big, unhealthy but ever so delicious dinner, and gained it back. I have not been doing that too often, unless once a week is TOO often. My eating habits have been very off considerably compared to a few months ago. I have not been eating my three meals a day. I have not been keeping up with my healthy snacks at work. I have had a soda from time to time but no more than once or twice a week, if that. I just don't crave it as much as I used to. I still drink plenty of water, especially at work. You see, everything is still in place except the motivation to keep up with the workouts.
I know in my last post I said that I was going to start working out. Well, I didn't start then. I'm starting now. I needed to change up my routines. So I borrowed the P90X DVDs from my best friend Roland. He bought them a while back and gave it a shot. He wanted to gain muscle and get in shape. He became a bit discouraged when he started losing weight and not building any muscle. So after working with them for a couple of months, he was ready to hand them over to me. Now it's my turn. I just did the first disc today for the chest and back. I did my best to keep up with him. The one thing I needed that I don't have right now is a chin up bar. I modified the push ups and kept up as best as I could. Let me tell you, my arms feel like jelly! Then I tried to do the Ab-ripper X workout. F U TONY HORTON! Good God, those were intense. There is no way I am ready for that kind of workout right now. Give me some time and I'll see what I can do.
So here's where I stand today, Day 1 of P90X:
Body Fat: 122 lbs.
Body Fat %: 39.0%
Body Water: 44.4%
Bone Mass: 9.3 %
Monday, August 9, 2010
New Goal, New Motivation
It's been a while since I've updated this blog. The reason is that I have plateaued at around 315 lbs. I haven't worked out in quite some time. For the most part I've still been watching what I eat. However, my "off" days, my "splurge" days, have been a bit more frequent. I've been eating the "bad stuff" about 2-3 times a week for the past couple of weeks. The good thing is that my weight has stayed under 317. The lowest I've been down to is 310.9 lbs. I still have not cracked 310.
Well, NOW play time is over. I am no longer happy with how I feel. Yes, I have lost about 95 lbs., but now it is time to lose some more. One of the reasons I stopped exercising is because I was tired of feeling sore all the time. It got to a point where my elbows were aching so bad every time I tried to lift something. So for the time being I thing I will try to stick to mostly cardio exercises. I will mix in the "Last Chance Workout" every now and then. That one uses weights for strength building. I may downgrade to the 10 lb. weights from the 20 lb. ones.
Another reason I want to lose weight is for my sister's wedding. The wedding is coming up on September 17. The other day, my dad and I went to The Men's Warehouse to get fitted for our tuxedos. The one thing I noticed was that my waist was officially measured at 48". Granted, I was wearing my 46" jeans and a belt, BUT STILL, my waist measured at 48 inches! Compare that to my original pant size of 54" and that's six inches off my waist. So yes, I want to lose weight to look better for my sister's wedding. I will be one of the groom's men. This is going to be a big showcase in front of a lot of family members that probably have not seen me in quite some time. I want them to notice how much weight loss I have lost.
Starting today, August 9, 2010, I will resume my workouts. After the morning managers' meeting, and a trip to H.E.B. for a few groceries, it's back home to resume my workouts. I have been weighing myself practically every day now and I've seen the number go up and down a lot. Part of the reason has been my mental state. I'm just not completely happy with my position in life right now and it's been difficult finding the reason to get up in the morning. Well, that may be putting it a bit harsh. It's just life's problems have been piling up on me and it's just been a bit overwhelming lately. Compared to others, my problems probably don't seem that bad, but it's all relative. These are my problems and I have the right to feel how I feel about them. (See, this is part of the internal dialogue that goes on in my head all the time. What can I say: Gemini.)
I will be charting my progress more frequently as the wedding day approaches. My goal this time is to finally get under 300 lbs. That gives me six weeks to lose approximately 15 lbs. I KNOW this can be done. I just need to stay focused and stick with it. There was a time when I lost 3-4 lbs. every week for about a month. So I know how to do it because I have seen the results with my own eyes.
I had my "last meal" tonight, a double Whataburger with cheese and all the fixings. It was so delicious! I enjoyed every bite of that sucker! That will be the last time greasy fast food will touch my lips. It's time to get back on the right path.
Well, NOW play time is over. I am no longer happy with how I feel. Yes, I have lost about 95 lbs., but now it is time to lose some more. One of the reasons I stopped exercising is because I was tired of feeling sore all the time. It got to a point where my elbows were aching so bad every time I tried to lift something. So for the time being I thing I will try to stick to mostly cardio exercises. I will mix in the "Last Chance Workout" every now and then. That one uses weights for strength building. I may downgrade to the 10 lb. weights from the 20 lb. ones.
Another reason I want to lose weight is for my sister's wedding. The wedding is coming up on September 17. The other day, my dad and I went to The Men's Warehouse to get fitted for our tuxedos. The one thing I noticed was that my waist was officially measured at 48". Granted, I was wearing my 46" jeans and a belt, BUT STILL, my waist measured at 48 inches! Compare that to my original pant size of 54" and that's six inches off my waist. So yes, I want to lose weight to look better for my sister's wedding. I will be one of the groom's men. This is going to be a big showcase in front of a lot of family members that probably have not seen me in quite some time. I want them to notice how much weight loss I have lost.
Starting today, August 9, 2010, I will resume my workouts. After the morning managers' meeting, and a trip to H.E.B. for a few groceries, it's back home to resume my workouts. I have been weighing myself practically every day now and I've seen the number go up and down a lot. Part of the reason has been my mental state. I'm just not completely happy with my position in life right now and it's been difficult finding the reason to get up in the morning. Well, that may be putting it a bit harsh. It's just life's problems have been piling up on me and it's just been a bit overwhelming lately. Compared to others, my problems probably don't seem that bad, but it's all relative. These are my problems and I have the right to feel how I feel about them. (See, this is part of the internal dialogue that goes on in my head all the time. What can I say: Gemini.)
I will be charting my progress more frequently as the wedding day approaches. My goal this time is to finally get under 300 lbs. That gives me six weeks to lose approximately 15 lbs. I KNOW this can be done. I just need to stay focused and stick with it. There was a time when I lost 3-4 lbs. every week for about a month. So I know how to do it because I have seen the results with my own eyes.
I had my "last meal" tonight, a double Whataburger with cheese and all the fixings. It was so delicious! I enjoyed every bite of that sucker! That will be the last time greasy fast food will touch my lips. It's time to get back on the right path.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Play Time Is Over!
It has been a month now since I have done any serious, consistent workouts. I plateaued and I was fine with that. I knew eventually my body would reach a point where it just could not drop those huge numbers on a regular basis. Hopefully it has had time to adjust to its current conditions and realizes it still has a way to go before it gets into its optimum health.
Why am I talking about my body as if it's another person? It's not my body I have to worry about, it's me. It's MY mindset and MY determination. I guess I just needed some time off from having to worry about getting my workouts in every single day. Plus, I have been working in the studio a lot lately and making some tremendous progress on my scenes. (That post is coming soon on my other blog.) So that has been taking up quite a bit of my time. I have been on such a roll that making the time for the workouts has seemed like a big bother. I can either workout for an hour or so, shower, eat breakfast or lunch and THEN go about my day of studio work, OR I can jump into the studio RIGHT NOW and get to work on what I really love to do. Usually my work has taken precedence over my workouts.
But now it's time to get back into that routine. My current weight is 316 lbs. It has been fluctuating between 311 and 317. Luckily, I have not let it get too out of control that I gain 10 - 15 lbs. in one week. I have been splurging more, though. I have had fast food and other non-healthy meals a lot more often these past few weeks, but it's usually just one meal a day. To help balance the calorie intake, I would eat sensibly the rest of the day before any splurging.
There was one week where I did start to workout for a few days that gave me some interesting results. I weighed myself on Monday and the scale read 317 lbs. I worked out and ate sensibly that day. I weighed myself Tuesday morning and it said 314 lbs. NICE! Lost three pounds! Same thing, workout and sensible meals. Weighed in on Wednesday morning at 311 lbs.! AWESOME! Lost ANOTHER three pounds! I could not believe that I lost SIX POUNDS in two days! So what did I do? That night I had a huge Mexican dinner and apparently gained it all back the next day. I realized then that I was not ready to continue with the workouts. So I made a conscious decision to hold off on the workouts until I was ready.
Well, I'm ready now! It's been a long enough break. I cannot let the hard work of the past seven to eight months go to waste. I have come too far to go back to my old habits and my old weight. Another thing that spurred me on was a recent photo I saw of myself. It was from a party this past weekend. I was standing at an odd angle and I wasn't prepared for it and I look HUGE!! I thought I looked like I did before I lost all this weight. I kept staring at that photo and realized I need to start up again. I am only six pounds away from my 100 lbs. mark. SIX POUNDS! Which means I am only 17 lbs. away from finally getting under 300 lbs.
Plus, there's someone I'm interested in and I want to look my best. Not that I'm trying to lose this weight because of a girl. I'm doing for me so I can have more confidence when I talk to this girl. We'll see how that goes. Right now it does seem promising. But that's another story...
Why am I talking about my body as if it's another person? It's not my body I have to worry about, it's me. It's MY mindset and MY determination. I guess I just needed some time off from having to worry about getting my workouts in every single day. Plus, I have been working in the studio a lot lately and making some tremendous progress on my scenes. (That post is coming soon on my other blog.) So that has been taking up quite a bit of my time. I have been on such a roll that making the time for the workouts has seemed like a big bother. I can either workout for an hour or so, shower, eat breakfast or lunch and THEN go about my day of studio work, OR I can jump into the studio RIGHT NOW and get to work on what I really love to do. Usually my work has taken precedence over my workouts.
But now it's time to get back into that routine. My current weight is 316 lbs. It has been fluctuating between 311 and 317. Luckily, I have not let it get too out of control that I gain 10 - 15 lbs. in one week. I have been splurging more, though. I have had fast food and other non-healthy meals a lot more often these past few weeks, but it's usually just one meal a day. To help balance the calorie intake, I would eat sensibly the rest of the day before any splurging.
There was one week where I did start to workout for a few days that gave me some interesting results. I weighed myself on Monday and the scale read 317 lbs. I worked out and ate sensibly that day. I weighed myself Tuesday morning and it said 314 lbs. NICE! Lost three pounds! Same thing, workout and sensible meals. Weighed in on Wednesday morning at 311 lbs.! AWESOME! Lost ANOTHER three pounds! I could not believe that I lost SIX POUNDS in two days! So what did I do? That night I had a huge Mexican dinner and apparently gained it all back the next day. I realized then that I was not ready to continue with the workouts. So I made a conscious decision to hold off on the workouts until I was ready.
Well, I'm ready now! It's been a long enough break. I cannot let the hard work of the past seven to eight months go to waste. I have come too far to go back to my old habits and my old weight. Another thing that spurred me on was a recent photo I saw of myself. It was from a party this past weekend. I was standing at an odd angle and I wasn't prepared for it and I look HUGE!! I thought I looked like I did before I lost all this weight. I kept staring at that photo and realized I need to start up again. I am only six pounds away from my 100 lbs. mark. SIX POUNDS! Which means I am only 17 lbs. away from finally getting under 300 lbs.
Plus, there's someone I'm interested in and I want to look my best. Not that I'm trying to lose this weight because of a girl. I'm doing for me so I can have more confidence when I talk to this girl. We'll see how that goes. Right now it does seem promising. But that's another story...
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