Last Day.... For Now

I must say I am pleased

Day ????

Hey guys I am wrapping up nursing school and am really busy. I am going to be out of town this next weekend and then it graduation time!!!!!!!!!!!. I will have a final weigh in and pictures on Wednesday then continue the weight loss when I get back to California. I have really enjoyed doing this and I felt it kept me honest and lead to better results. My advice is if you are thinking about this program it works and it works really well. You just need to have 50 minutes and a little discipline. I am not where I need to be yet but I feel I have found the program to get me there.
-Ben Pearce

Day 50

Update: definitely had a bad week diet wise. I guess that is the one good thing about the Sabres being eliminated from the playoffs. So here is virtual B:


So as you can see I gained about a pound. Now that my clinical is over I can get my diet and workouts back on track. I am going to rest again today (Monday) and start week 8 on tuesday

Day 49

Meal Plan
breakfast: homemade egg mcmuffin
Snack: string cheese
Lunch: Ham sandwich
Snack: almonds and walnuts


Workout: kenpo X
Back to a "easy" week after this. Work from 12a-8a tonight and 8p-8a tomorrow then I am done!!!

Day 48

Meal
Breakfast: Oatmeal with blackberies
Snack: Cheese stick
Lunch: Turkey sandwich
Snack: protein shake
Dinner: Chicken breast onions and bell peppers

Workout: Legs and back

Day 47

Meal Plan
Ok so I was 30% sure that the sabres were going to get eliminated last night so I had a few beers while watching the game.
Breakfast: omelet with onion
Snack: cheese stick
Lunch: turkey sandwich
Dinner: chicken

Workout: Yoga X
Worked hard. Kinda sorta earned those beers

Day 46

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: eggs and sausage
Lunch: turkey sandwich
Snack: wheat chex and soy milk
Dinner: chicken breast and edame

Workout: Back and Bi's
Really planning on a big week so i'm busting my ass

Day 45

Meal plan
Breakfast: eggs and sausage sandwich
Snack: cheese sticks
Lunch: turkey
Snack: protein shake
Dinner: burger


Workout: plyo-X
Got it done worked my ass off

Day 44: I'm Back!!!!!

Meal Plan
Breakfast: oatmeal with blackberries
Snack: mixed nuts and cheese
Lunch: Turkey sandwich
Dinner: Chicken Stir-Fry and brown rice


Workout: chest arms and shoulders
I did really well here. I did 3 one armed push-ups and was on my knees a lot less then usual (thats what she said). Every push-up exercise I did at least 5 legit push-ups. Starting to feel Redlands line backer strong.

Day 43

Update: First lets just talk about me real quick. When I am being self deprecating it is not to fish for compliments or because I hate myself. I do it to keep myself honest. I do it because I can only be so proud of myself until I reach my final goal. So if I seem like I am not happy I am, its just me. Here is the 6 week update:



So as you can see I lost 3.7 pounds and am ever so close to the 220's. I just hope that it is because of my hard work and not my erratic schedule. As you can see from my meals I have been averaging about 2.5 "real meals" when I work nights. I felt it in my workouts a little bit but starving myself is never going to be part of my plan. Again I hate sounding like I am not happy I just don't want this week to go to my head. So I am going to strive to get in the 220's by the end of the week. Time to work extra hard.

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Kashi Bar
Snack: 2 cuties
Lunch: turkey sandwich
Snack: cheese stick
Dinner: Turkey burger

Workout: None
I know what your thinking after the good news why get this week off to such a bad start. The truth is I just got off my 5th night in 6 days. I slept until 1 then had to go to a simulation lab. Then I went back to sleep. I really think this 2nd day of rest will get my body "normal" again and improve my workouts throughout the week.

Day 42

REST!!!

Day 41

Meal plan
Breakfast: sausage and eggs
Lunch: turkey sandwich
Snack: cheese stick
dinner: turke burger (no bun)

Workout: Kenpo X
This is getting pretty easy!!! Another week in the books

Day 40

Meal Plan
Breakfast: eggs and sausage
Snack: 3 cuties
Lunch: soup
snack: nuts and string cheese


Workout: Legs and Back and Ab ripper X
Not too bad and helped me get back to sleep. Gotta run to my 3rd night in a row!! So far so good.

Day 39

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: English muffin with ham and eggs
Snack: 2 cuties (makes me miss california) and a banana
Lunch: Soup
Snack: protein shake
Snack: almonds and walnuts

Workout: Yoga X
So was my schedule today. Got home at 9 slept till 2:30 ate breakfast. Did my workout about 3:30 and now I am gonna try and take a little nap before work starts again. Avoided all the junk last night and just had some nuts and a diet dr. Pepper. goddnight

Day 38

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: omelet with turkey and onion
Snack: Cheese stick
Lunch: Soup
Snack: Protein shake
Dinner: Ham sandwich with sun chips
Snack: cheese stick and almonds and walnuts

Workout: Back and BI's
This workout went well and helped me take my nap. The third snack is the stuff I packed for the hospital tonight. I work my first night (8p-8a). Gonna try to stay away from the junk food, but I am not gonna limit my caffeine consumption. See you in the morning

Day 37

Meal Plan (time to get this on point)
Breakfast: Kashi bar
Snack: Almonds and Walnuts
Lunch: Stuffed pita with turkey ham and sprouts
Snack: protein shake
Dinner: Soup

Workout: Plyo X
Really getting good at this. I make sure to wear my Jordan shirt every time I do it

Day 36

Update:


Well as you can see I gained .2 pounds. Cant say that I am all that surprised because I went out one night and have not been eating that great. I am at a pretty tough crossroads right now. I am trying to loose this weight, but I am also winding up with school. It is tough to not want to go out with the people from my nursing school. These are people that I have struggled through tough classes with and dealt with death with. I have to find a better way to eat better and workout harder so one night doesn't ruin everything I have accomplished all week. So thats where were at and I just gotta keep going.

Meal plan:
Breakfast: omelet with ham and onion
Lunch: Soup
Snack: protein Shake
Dinner: Chicken with onion and peppers

Workout: Chest triceps and shoulders and ab ripper X
Not too bad

Day 34-35

Sorry to be so brief just had a busy couple days. I ate at about a C level but did manage to make up the missed workout. Went out for a little bit on Saturday night but kept the damage minimal. I will continue with more detailed posts and have my weigh in tomorrow.

Day 33: It finally happened

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Eggs and turkey suasage
Snack: cheese stick
Lunch: Chicken sandwich
Snack: almonds and walnuts
Dinner: Lean Cusine chicken stir fry

Workout: NONE
Sorry guys it finally happened I missed my first workout. Just two tired after work.So instead of taking sunday off I am gonna make up for the missed session. I am a little upset but gotta bounce back.

Day 32

Meal plan
Breakfast: wheat chex
Snack: string cheese
lunch: Turkey sandwich and sun chips
Snack: wlanuts and almonds
Dinner: soup

Workout: Kenpo X
I know I am supposed to do Yoga here but I worked a 12 hour shift today so I decided to do kenpo which is 45 minutes shorter. I figured I would just do yoga on Saturday because I have the day off. I hope that is acceptable if not I dont care. Goodnight everyone.

Day: 31

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: omelet with red onion and turkey sausage
Snack: Cheese stick
Lunch: stuffed pita with turkey, ham, lettuce, mustard
Snack: protein shake
Dinner: homemade chicken noodle soup

Workout: Back and Biceps
Good ole back and bi's reminds me of training with P for the Mercy Warriors. This was an awesome workout I have a lot of new bicep exercises to show some of you guys. Sorry this post is so late but I just finished my last paper for nursing school!! Work a 12 tomorrow (8am-830pm) so i will probably be posting around this time tomorrow.

Day: 30

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: omelet with onion and peppers
Snack: almonds, walnuts, and string cheese
Lunch: turkey sandwich on a english muffin
snack: protein shake
Dinner: salad with ham turkey and dried fruit

Workout: Plyo-X
Ok this is really weird but normally when I do this workout I am blasting Rush (the conservative talker not the band) or espn radio. So I dont really hear what the dvd is saying. This is roughly the 4th time I have done this exercise and I just found out one of the 5 people doing the workout on the dvd has a prosthetic leg. I definitely have no excuses not to bring it from now on.

Day 29: The Big Reveal

Update:
Well lets start with the weight heres virtual B:



As you can see I lost another 2.5 pounds and am now down to 235. Very excited for the weight loss. I think sometimes I am too hard on myself and I am doing a lot better then I give myself credit for.
Ok now here is the big reveal:
First the front photos:



It is a little hard to compare because I am a lot closer to the mirror on the day 30 pictures, but I can see an improvement. I can see it mostly in my man boobs then my stomach.

Here are the side photos:



I told myself not to suck my gut in, but maybe subconsciously I did a little bit. Still I think there is a huge difference in these pictures. I am really happy with these pictures and for as much as I messed up I think these results are great.

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with blackberries
Snack: string cheese
Lunch: Stuffed pita with ham turkey and onions
Snack: protein shake
Dinner: homemade chicken noodle soup

Workout: Chest Shoulders and Triceps with Ab Ripper X
For those of you who have seen the infomercial this is the workout with the clap push-ups. It was really difficult but I liked it. Each workout contains 24 exercises and the first three weeks you did 6 exercises then had a water break. For this second phase you do 12 exercises then a break then the last 12. It makes the workouts go quicker but is really tough. I definitely forgot how tough ab-ripper was. This phase also gives you the option to do doubles which means you do cardio-X in the morning and lift weights at night. Don't know if I will get there but I will try. Again really excited and I am just going to keep pushing play.

Day 28

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: turkey sandwich with sun chips
Dinner: Easter spread (I was relatively good though)

Workout: Rest
Pictures and weight tomorrow. I figure I would take this time to evaluate the first four weeks with grades.
Workout: B: I slacked from time to time but I pressed play everyday. I need to work on pushing myself
Meal Plan: C: I really need to get it together here. Need to plan my meals before hand so I dont get stuck
Drinking: C+: Had a few hiccups but way less then what I was doing.

All in all I am proud of myself. I am still discovering what works and what doesnt for me. I am working out regularly and have only ate fast food (not counting subway) twice this whole month. I start my capstone this week so my schedule is a little more open. Hopefully this will help me get my ass in gear.

Day 27

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: omelet with onion and cerrano chili
Snack: string cheese
Lunch: Soup
Snack: protein shake
Dinner: Stuffed pita with turkey peppers and onion

Workout: Yoga X...again
I cant believe I am saying this but I am actually starting to like this workout a lot. I am getting a lot more flexible too.

Day 26

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Rice chex
Snack: Apple crisps
Lunch: Ham and turkey footlong
Snack: protein shake
Dinner: Ground turkey with onions and peppers

Work Out: Core Synergistics
A little better the second. Unfortunately still a little sore from the first time I did it

Day 25

Meal Plan:
So today was my last day of clinical for med surge. We got out early and went to dinosaur bbq for lunch. They have something called the T-rex challenge. If you can Eat a pound each of pulled pork and brisket, half a chicken, a full rack of ribs, and a loaf of cornbread the meal for your group is free and you get a picture on the wall and t-shirt. After a lot of shit talking by my cohort I went for it. I did the whole thing and chased it down with a couple beers.










APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Meal Plan:
Breakfast: kashi bar
Lunch: We did go to dinosaur and I did cheat a little. Pulled pork and a piece of cornbread
Dinner: Protein Shake


Workout: Stretch X
Not hard at all just yoga without all the hurt.

Day 24

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: rice chex
Snack: String cheese
Lunch: turkey ham foot long
Snack: Protein shake
Dinner: tomato basil soup

Work Out: Kenpo X
Not bad still sore from core synergistics

Day 23

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Omelet with ham and onion
Snack: almonds and walnuts
Lunch: Ham sandwich and sun chip
Snack: Protein shake

Workout: Core Synergistics
This was a fun workout but very difficult. I think being a new workout I struggled because I didn't know some of the moves. I think I have this workout one more time this week and I think that I will improve greatly.

Day 22

Update: So my bathroom scale ran out of batteries so I am going to use my wii board from now on. Which gives me the opportunity to introduce virtual B:


So as you can see I am about 237.5 so either I gained back the two pounds I lost last week or it is just using the new scale. I am not worried about it and will use this scale from now on. So virtual B will make an appearance every Monday unless I have live pictures I have to take. This will also prevent those skeptics to accuse me of lying.


Meal plan
Breakfast: Oatmeal with mixed berries
Snack: Cheese stick
Lunch: Turkey sandwich and sun chips
Snack: Almonds and walnuts
Dinner: Soup

Workout: Yoga X

Day 21: Rest

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Omelet with onion
Snack: String cheese
Lunch: Soup
Snack: Almonds and walnuts
Dinner: Chicken with brown rice

Workout: Rest
So three weeks of the same thing and its time to switch things up. This next week is supposed to be "relaxing" but from the looks of it I think it is going to be tough. Instead of doing the weight lifting exercises that I like it is a lot more "aerobic" exercise. So here is my schedule for the week:
Monday: Yoga X
Tuesday: Core synergistics (seems like jacked up pilates)
Wednesday: Kenpo X
Thursday: Stretch X
Friday: Core synergistics
Saturday: Yoga X
Sunday: Rest
So that what I have to look forward too. Had a good talk with my personal trainer Beamus on Saturday night and I need to tighten up my diet. Still can't believe I have came this far but this journey is far from over.

Day 20

Meal Plan
Breakfast: Omelet with ground turkey onions and bell peppers
Snack: String cheese
Lunch:Turkey sandwich
Dinner: chicken with broccoli

Workout: Kenpo X
Not bad a little worried that this one is getting too easy. It was hard to keep my heart rate above 120.

Day 19

Meal Plan:
Lunch: ham and turkey footlong from sub way
Dinner: Moes burrito
(Not a very good meal day)

Workout: Back an legs
Not bad! Sorry so short mad about the ohio st game

Day 18

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Kashi bar
Snack: string cheese
Lunch: grilled chicken sandwich
Snack: protein shake
Dinner: Turkey chili

Workout: yoga X
Getting a little better still the toughest workout by far. The bad news is I have it like 4 times next week

Day 17

Meal Plan
Breakfast: Kashi bar ( I keep sleeping in)
Snack: cheese stick
Lunch: Turkey sandwich with original sun chips
Dinner: ground turkey chili (Homemade with beans)

Workout: Arms and Shoulders and Ab Ripper X
I own this workout son!!!!!!!! Yoga tomorrow ughhhh

Day 16

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Kashi Bar
Snack: String cheese
Lunch: Turkey sandwich
Snack: Protein shake
Dinner: soup

Workout: Plyo X
It is probably closer to my 4th or 5th but I definitely got my second wind. I am dealing with some school related stress and instead of letting it get me down I took it out on plyo's today. Feeling good and hopefully I can finish the week strong and loose those LB's.

Day 15

Update: Lost 2 more pounds pretty excited. 5 lbs from being in the "overweight" BMI and not obesity.

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Grilled chicken sandwich
Snack: Protein Shake
Dinner: Soup

Workout: Chest back ab ripper X
Last time doing this for a bit and I continued to improve. Again sorry these are so short but I got a lot going on with school

Day 14: Rest

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Egg and sausage
Snack: Dried fruit and nuts
Lunch: roasted red pepper soup
Dinner: Pita stuffed with ground turkey onion and bell peppers

Day 12-13: Little Hiccup

So first the good news. I have not missed a workout, I did my leg and back workout on Friday and Kenpo today. However I did do a little bit of drinking on Friday night. It was a buddy's birthday so I helped him celebrate. Unfortunately I also had some arbys to try and cure my hangover. In order for this process to work I have to be honest with myself and all of you so there it is. Again the good news is I didn't miss a workout and now its time to keep kicking butt. One more week of this craziness and then it is my "off" week.

Day 11: Yuck

Meal Plan:
Breakfast:3 3 Egg omelet with ham
Snack: Trial Mix
Lunch: Mac and Cheese (I was at a school thing)
Snack: Protein shake
Dinner: Steak and onions with broccoli

Work Out: Yoga X
Well the theme of this week had been about how things are getting easier but that was not the case today. Yoga is just hard my body does not move like that. I am proud of myself for doing this workout though. I had school stuff all day and didn't do this workout until 7:00. I am done with school for the week and got all my work outs in. So far so good.

Day 10: Comfort Zone

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup soy milk, water and blackberries
Snack: Trail mix with no sugar or salt added
Lunch: Subway ham and turkey foot long with lettuce, onions, and peppers
Snack: Protein shake
Dinner: Roasted red pepper soup
Drink: 1 Guinness (its st. Patricks day gimme a break)

Work Out: Arms and Shoulders and Ab Ripper X
Again this workout is not that bad. I up'd my weight in all the exercises and worked my A@! off. I had to find a way to earn that Guinness and I think I accomplished that. I had my trainer Oscar laying on my stomach during part of the ab workout so I think I worked extra hard. I keep making ground and can do reps of 20 in just about every exercise (they do 25).

Day 9: Short and sweet

Note: School is starting up again so from now on these are going to be a lot shorter

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: 3 egg omelet with turkey and red onion
Snack: nuts with dried fruit and string cheese
Lunch: turkey sandwich with mustard
Snack: Protein shake
Dinner: Baked chicken with Italian seasoning and broccoli

Workout: Plyo-X
Well I can say that it is easier then it was but this is still a bitch. I tried to use my yoga mat to lessen the impact on my knees but it kept sliding and I almost fell on my ass a few times so I just stopped using it. So far I have done a good job balancing school and working out but tomorrow I have clinical from 7-3 and am usually drained afterwards so lets see how it goes.

Day 8: The middle of the beggining

Update: Well it was early and I had to wipe the gunk out of my eyes, but after checking and re-checking my wii fit told me I weighed 237 pounds!!!!!! That is a 7 pound loss in one week. I am very happy with those results. I will admit to being a product of my generation and wanting instant results. I don't know what I would have done if I had only lost 1 or 2 pounds. Now I don't expect these results every week but I am glad that all my hard work is paying off. I am already feeling more energetic and starting to get addicted to lifting weights. Again just a minor step on my journey, but I hopefully will never see the 250's or 240's again.

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: 3 egg omelet with ham and turkey
Snack: walnuts and almonds with mixed dried fruit and baby carrots
Lunch: Roasted red pepper soup recipe from the P90x cook book (get used to seeing this I made a swimming pool full yesterday and it is delicious)
Snack: Protein shake
Dinner: 1 turkey sausage with onions and peppers (no bun)

Work out: Chest and Back and AB ripper X
Well I didnt puke this time so I consider that a great improvement. I increased my reps and weight in every single workout and did my first pull-up without the assistance of a chair (yeah it was that bad at first). I am getting a lot better at the ab workout and actually get excited to do it. Hopefully I continue to improve because I am not excited about plyo's tomorrow. 7 f'n pounds Bring It!!!!

Day 7: R and R

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal with Blackberries
Snack: Almonds and walnuts with mixed dried fruit
Lunch: 1/2 cup whole wheat pasta with egg, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper flakes
Snack: string cheese
Dinner: STEAK (4 oz) with balsamic caramelized onions and mushrooms

Workout: REST
It gave me the option of doing stretch X but to be honest I put the DVD in and got Yoga X flashbacks and stopped after 10-20 minutes. So I did a lot of cooking getting ready for the week. Next week is the big test I start school up again and have to learn a balance between working out and studying. I think I laid some good groundwork this week and have a good plan of action for weeks to come. So the insanity starts all over again tomorrow see you then.

Day 6: Karate Kid

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: 3 egg (1 yolk) omelet with red onion and bell peppers
Snack: protein shake (used mixed berries instead of just strawberries)
Lunch: 4 celery wraps with 1 laughing cow wedge 2 slices of ham and 2 slices of turkey
Snack: cheese stick
Dinner: Edamame with pinch of salt and dash of spicy sesame oil and the rest of my pork stir fry

Workout: Kenpo X
This is definitely the easiest of all the workouts it is only about 40 minutes long and is very low impact. Dont get me wrong it still had my heart rate up and I was covered in sweat afterwards but compared to the Yoga X and Plyo's it was nothing. Kenpo is basically tae-bo training lots of punches and kicks. It was perfect timing because I just pictured Joshua Clottey with all of my punches. Still heavily debating weather or not I can handle going to a bar to watch the fight or not. Ill probably just stay in and order it from home. Well I made through week 1 "relax" day tomorrow and then I will have my first weigh-in on Monday. Go Pacman!!!!!!!

Day 5: Last day of weights... this week

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: 3 egg (1 yolk) omelet with chicken fajitas(yeah I still had some)
Snack: Protein shake
Lunch: Turkey sandwich with lettuce and mustard
Snack: string cheese
Dinner: Pork stir fry
You will notice a bit of repetition in my meals. When I cook I like to cook a lot of food. I have no problem eating leftovers and I would rather cook enough to last me 4 meals then just 1.
Work out: Legs and Back and Ab Ripper X
Not a bad workout at all I think that the strength workouts will continue to get easier I just need to make sure to keep upping the weight and pushing myself. Im already noticing a huge improvement in the ab workout and can almost completely keep up with the DVD. I have kenpo X tomorrow then rest day on Sunday cant believe week 1 is almost over.

Day 4: WOW

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: 3 egg (1 yolk) omelet with turkey sausage, red onion, and cerrano chilies
Snack: Smoothie (see day 1)
Lunch: Chef salad (see day 1)
Snack: string cheese
Dinner: Pork stir-fry with chilies, onion, bell pepper and broccoli and 1/4 cup brown rice
Workout: Yoga X (95 minutes to be exact!!!!)
So I didn't have to do it during any of the weight exercises or even plyo but Yoga X got me to press pause. Mostly because there were no scheduled water breaks but this shit was tough. The balance part was a lot easier then the movement portion, again this fatty has some athletic ability. I have never been very flexible but I have decent balance. It will be cool to improve in this discipline along with getting stronger. See you tomorrow for back and legs.

Day 3: Getting that Beach Body

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: 3 egg (1 yolk) omelet with leftover chicken fajitas I made last night
Snack: post workout smoothie (see day 1)
Lunch: chef salad (see day 1)added 1/4 cup dried assorted fruit
Snack: 1/2 cup raw almonds and walnuts and string cheese
Dinner: One stuffed pita with more leftover chicken fajitas

Workout: Shoulders and Arms (which seems repetitive) and Ab Ripper X
To be honest this workout was pretty easy. Although I'm a fatty, I am still pretty strong especially in my arms. The good thing is it gave me more energy for the ab workout which was a lot harder this time now that I did more reps. I really liked doing the "static curls". While you are doing your curls with one arm hold the other dumbbell in your off hand and keep your arm at a 90 degree angle. I will probably never do curls any other way. I used to make fun of kids that went to the gym and only worked biceps and abs, but I guess I can blame it on following the program. I literally have had trouble brushing my teeth and putting on a t-shirt but my soreness usually only lasts me about a week. I have Yoga-X tomorrow which sounds like a day off but I have been warned by my friend Cindy (shout out) that it will kick my ass. Looking forward to it and I will see you all tomorrow.

Day2: Jump Man

Sorry I just love adding pictures

Well some of you may have lost a bet but I actually made it two days in a row. I'm pretty much sore everywhere and my man boobs hurt with every jump but I made it.

Meal Plan: I slept in a little bit (come on its my spring break so there is no snack between lunch and dinner.
Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal with soy milk and blackberries
Snack: Smoothie (see day 1)
Lunch: 4 wraps with 4 celery stalks 1 wedge of laughing cow cheese 2 slices each of turkey and ham
Dinner: Tortillaless fajitas with shredded chicken, bell peppers, onion, garlic, and cilantro

Workout: Plyometrics X
F*&@!!!!!!! this was tough. For those of you unfamiliar plyometrics is basically jump training. It is supposed to help with jumping and quickness. Tony the creator of this program calls it the mother of P90-X, and it definitely had me saying mother something during it. The lunge jumps were really killer and it was a very fast paced high intensity work out. Believe it or not there was no puking today probably because I paced myself a lot better this time around. So two days in the books the weights come back out tomorrow for shoulders and biceps. Hopefully I can move my legs enough to get out of bed.

Day 1: The Ugly Truth

Well there is no reason to delay this any longer so here we go. Here are the "Before" pictures:



I don't have my actual camera so it was hard to get a front on shot but I think that you all get the point. Here is the good news I weighed in at 244. I attribute the 6 lbs of weight loss to giving up drinking for lent, but I have been eating healthier leading up to today. At 6 foot 2 inches that makes my BMI: 31.29 which put me in the obese category. I think that I am going to post my weight every week and pictures every 30 days. So thats where I start my journey, and this time there will be no looking back.

Meal Plan:
Breakfast: 3 eggs (1 yolk) omelet with red onions and Bell Peppers.
Snack (post workout): Smoothie with 1/2 a banana 1/2 cup strawberries scoop of protein powder and 1 cup soy milk.
Lunch: Chef salad with ham, turkey, red onion, romaine and rice vinegar
Snack: String cheese
Dinner: 1 cup wheat penne pasta chicken and homemade marinara (carrots, celery, onion, tomato, garlic, ground turkey,red wine, and herbs)

Workout: Chest and Back and Ab-ripper X
Man this was tough. I think I got a little too ambitious in the beginning and payed for it later. I puked during my second round of decline push-ups. I would recommend watching the video before the workout so you know what to expect. It probably would have saved me. Other then that the workout was entertaining and really hard. I did a lot of knee push ups and needed the chair for almost all of my pull ups and chin ups. So I guess I have a lot of progress to make. So thats day 1 I have plyometrics tomorrow lets just hope I push play.

Tools of the Trade

For the most part I am writing this post to mess around with the pictures. I also want to show off my new toys. So one of the great things about P-90x is you don't need a lot of equipment. You need dumbbells/resistance bands, a pull-up bar and push up stands.

Dumbbells and Push Up Stands

So I went with the Bowflex adjustable dumbbells that can go from 10-90 lbs in increments of 5. There is a set that goes from 5-52.5 in increments of 2.5, but for me I wanted more weight for leg and back exercises. The one downside to these dumbbells is price. I got mine for Christmas/Birthday and they were about $500. Thats where the resistance bands come in. P-90x sells their own for about 40 dollars and will work just fine. Again I just wanted more weight so I went with the Dumbbells. The push-up stands were really cheap ($20)and you could probably use your dumbbells if you wanted to save the money.

Pull Up Bar:



These are actually really cool. I Got mine for around $40. You just hang it in your door frame, and if it can hold me trust me it can hold you. They do show you ways to do the pull up exercises using the resistance bands, but I think it is worth it just to buy the bar.

They also want you to buy a yoga mat, heart monitor, and their supplements, but I think they are not necessary. I had no idea that a yoga mat was so expensive so I am going with a good old fashion towel. I take GNC multivitamins, but I don't think that supplements are a must. So those are the tools of the trade. I start tomorrow and will be posting my meals and the dreaded before PICTURE. See you all tomorrow.

It's Come to This

Hello blogesphere!! Not a huge fan of these things but I think staying organized will keep me honest. I also think letting my friends kick me while I am down will inspire me. I think that the only people that read this will be my friends and family, but hopefully this will be something for me to look back on after a successful journey.
If you cant tell by the title this is a blog about losing weight. My road to fatassness started in 2002. Growing up I was a relatively skinny kid. I come from a family of skinny fit people. I grew pretty quickly and got to my current height of 6 foot 2 by about 7th grade. I entered High School at around 170 pounds. I found football and started lifting weights and graduated at about 200 pounds and in "good" shape. I played football in college for two years and maxed out at about 225 pounds. I was in the best shape of my life and was a gym rat. Due to bad grades I had to quit football and it all went downhill from there.
I switched schools and moved in with 2 then 3 then 4 of my close friends, and a few more that were a few hours away. Looking back I think I can attribute my weight gain to 2 main causes. 1. I continued to eat the portions that I could get away with when I was playing football. When I was playing ball going to In and Out and getting a 4x4 animal style was something I never thought twice about. Unfortunately I never stopped these eating habits and it caught up to me. 2. UMMMMMMM......Drinking!!!!! I had a lot of spare without football so I filled it with alcohol. Living with my friends didn't help matters, but I don't regret a second of it. With all the drinking and bad eating it only took me about 8 months to go from a fit 220 to a flabby 255.
To be honest I really didn't notice my weight at first. It took a friend calling me a fat ass for me to even take notice. Since then it has been 6 years of yo-yo dieting and failed attempts to establish a workout regimen. It has been a very frustrating journey with way more lows then highs.
I am trying to loose this weight for all the typical reasons (better body to get healthier), but I also want to loose the weight because of the profession I am about to enter. In May God willing I will be completing a nursing program and will hopefully be employed shortly after that. I have already noticed during clinical the strain that my weight puts on my knees, back, and feet. Losing this weight will make me a more productive nurse and hopefully prolong my career.
It took me a while but I think I found a program that is going to work for me. The P90X program by beach body has been recommended to me by friends and seems to be getting good reviews online. With my busy schedule being able to work out at home was important. I purchased a pull up bar that hangs in the door frame along with a set of adjustable dumbbells ranging from 5-52 pounds. This is a 90 day program that uses muscle confusion to get your body to work harder and burn more fat. Unfortunately I started a little late and my graduation date will be on day 75 of the program. I am going to try to get as much out of this program as possible until I graduate. I have said this a million times but this is the time I finally lose the weight and keep it off. The package came today and I watched the info book and read through the diet plan. I plan to go shopping on Friday and start the program on Monday. I will post my routine and food journal every day, and throw in a little commentary from time to time. I plan to be honest on this blog and if I screw up and drink 20 beers you will hear about it. So lets get this party started.