4XLT

Today’s Weigh-In: 304.4 pounds
Next Goal: 295 pounds
Days to Go: 19
Pounds to Go: 9.4

I went to the gym for weight training for the first time since March last night. It was a mixed bag, but I have to admit the whole time, my internal monologue was going solely along the lines of “Eff yeah, muthaeffas! I’m back! Graaaaaaaarrgg!”

I started out with power cleans, then moved to seated plate machine rows and standing military presses with the barbell. The shoulder presses were particularly brutal, and I only finished three of my last set. The pull down plate machine went well enough, even though my last set was really sloppy.

But by the time I hit the chest press (horizontal press), the wheels fell off – I think because the military press (vertical press) worked me over so much. I was shedding plates left and right just trying to get some semblance of an actual set count going. I went from 80, to 70, to finally just 45 pounds on each side and still struggled even then.

After that, I went and recouped with a bicep routine and then with some dumbbell swings. The swings were interesting as I’ve usually done a 3×15 rotation (5 with both hands, 5 with the left, and 5 with the right), but this time I’m going to go with the rest of my routine and try a 4×6 double handed format. Trouble is, I spent all four sets increasing weights, and I’ll have to do the same this weekend.

All in all, I was pretty pleased to be back. I’m going to take today off and give my body a chance to rest from three days of work, and then hit the gym Saturday for lifting again. Sunday, I’m getting my body fat measured for the first time in about a year and then going to do cardio.

New to the Gym?

But being back weight training at the gym (and planning on being consistent and dedicated again) for the first time in a few months definitely reminded me of how daunting the whole proposition seemed when i weighed 440 pounds and was just beginning the weight loss fight.

Some of you reading this might be there yourselves, so let me offer you some encouragement.

No One Really Cares That You’re There

Being well over four bills, I remember being so nervous that not only would I stick out like a sore thumb, but people who notice and point, laugh, or generally make fun of me. I know that Tony at The Anti-Jared has a story along these lines of his first time on the treadmill, but I think that is an extremely rare occurrence!

The thing I’ve come to realize about the gym, especially up on the weight floor, is that unless you’re a hot girl in tight/skimpy workout clothes (just keeping it real), no one really cares that you’re there except for you! Of course we’re self-conscious about our size, but all you can do is divert 100% of your energy onto the task at hand – cardio or weight training – and the reasons you’re there. Worrying about what other people are thinking will only distract you and wear down the results you could be seeing.

It’s Better to Underplan than Overplan

If you’re like me (a painfully textbook ENFP personality type), then it’s easy to get so excited about something – in this case working out/weight training/getting healthy – that you spend too much time coming up with a giant plan for world domination and total life reinvention that you fail to actually carry through with doing what you want to do!

Too often, we can spend our time worrying about exactly what exercises to do and all that, that we fail to get the most out of our time at the gym or fail to even go to the gym because we’re so tentative about what to do. Much like diets, I’m convinced that most plans will work if you stick to it and work hard enough at it. That’s not to say that some plans don’t work better than others! I’m pretty convinced on the value of high intensity interval training (HIIT) cardio and total body weight training in how I’m losing weight, but whatever your plan is, go hard at it!

If You Won’t Eat Right, Don’t Bother Going to the Gym

I have the above written in big red letters on my fridge because it’s so true.More than anything, losing weight happens as a result of what you eat. Your exercise habits only hinder or help that. If you exercise smartly (see above), then your weight loss will be helped a lot!

But just because you’ve gone and had a massive weight training session or blasted through a CrossFit routine in record time, doesn’t mean you get to have four or five beers that night for no good reason (although I fully support planned splurges and cheat meals). Eat smart, work hard, and enjoy your splurges when you earn then. But if you’re still going to chomp down on that fried chicken or super-sized fries, then you’re just going to be spinning your wheels at the gym. And why waste so much effort?

So what about you? That’s my question for those of you who have spent some time at the gym, living a healthy life, and working hard? What helpful tips or suggestions do you have to those who are daunted by the prospect of exercise and the gym?

Today’s Weigh-In: 306.4 pounds
Next Goal: 295 pounds
Days to Go: 20
Pounds to Go: 11.4

As I mentioned yesterday, I was planning on going to the gym last night for some cardio. However, I was running on fumes by the end of the day and wanted to wait until this morning (payday) to gas up. So, last night, I went out for a mile run/jog on the sidewalk.

It’s the first time in three to four years I’ve done so, as all my cardio since I’ve started working to lose weight and change my life has been at the gym on the machines. And let me tell you: it was brutal!

I had to stop to walk about 50-100 yards twice just because my lungs felt like they were on fire. My legs were doing fine, and awesomely enough, my shins don’t hurt. Everything was going good up until I took a spill on the concrete. I’m not scratched up bad – really it’s just my ego that’s bruised. And it was pretty funny, really – the fall was one of those sloooow moootiooon falls where you seem to have plenty of time to recognize, “Hey, I’m gonna fall.. oops, now I’m falling.. still falling.. aaaaand there’s the concrete.” My left hip (that took most of the fall) was pretty sore this morning, but I’m not sure if it’s because of the tumble or run itself.

All in all, I’m pretty stoked that I went out to run, even though I didn’t like it much. I just can’t get into running or cardio of any sort, but it’s so necessary to all this work. Tonight, I’m going back to the gym for weight training – the first time in over a month. The last time I consistently went with a regular plan and tracked my results was in 2008.

I had great results back then, but I’m a bit nervous to see how much strength I’ve lost. Oh well – got to (re)start somewhere, right?

How I’m Losing Weight

On a pretty regular basis someone will ask me how I’ve lost 130 pounds. I’ve been able to solidly identify five distinct arenas that I’ve had to focus on to be successful: 1) inner resolve (the most important by far), 2) smart nutrition, 3) worthwhile cardio, 4) weight training, and 5) blogging & community support.

I’ve taken an email I wrote in response to someone and added a new permanent page to 4xlt called “How I’m Losing Weight” that goes into detail about those five areas. At the moment, it’s a pretty rough read as the email was more of a shoot-from-the-hip affair, but in time, I plan to edit the page and add more links to helpful resources.

But if you’re staring down the monster of weight loss, whether that’s two pounds, twenty pounds, or two hundred pounds like me, then this page should help get you started.

Today’s Weigh-In: 307.4 pounds
Yesterday’s Weigh-In: 308.6 pounds
Next Goal: 295 pounds
Days to Go: 21
Pounds to Go: 12.4

Well, I’m mostly out of the woods with being sick, and quite happy to be here. The sore throat is gone; I feel pretty much up to snuff; and I’m off of the decongestants, Halls throat lozenges, ibuprofen, & NyQuil. I’m sticking with my Allegra just to stay safe as I still got the sinuses flaring up a bit. So, with that summary, I think it’s safe to say that I’m back, and now I better get back in action.

Three Week Challenge to Myself

In three weeks, I’m going to be taking a long weekend to visit the family. The last time I was back in Oklahoma, I was around 320 pounds. That was six months ago. I’ve only lost ten to fifteen pounds in six months. Granted, I’ve been as low as 303, and have bounced around in my teens a lot, and now have bounced around in the 306-312 range, but this is just ridiculous, and embarrassing.

But haven’t I gone through this two weeks ago?

So, I’ve got three weeks to get ready for my weekend trip, and I’m going to just be embarrassed to go back and only be ten pounds down from where I was six months ago. That would be a joke. That would make me a joke. So, it’s time for me to man up and get to the gym to restart my lifting program. It’s time to gasp for air with interval training. It’s time to get smart and disciplined about eating right.

I’m giving myself three weeks to finally cross through the 300 barrier and get down to 295. That’s basically four pounds a week. That’s absolutely possible as I’ve done it before. I know I’m capable of it, but the time is here to prove it to myself. I’m still holding on to a dream of being 240 (and even below, depending on things) by the end of 2009, but that’s pretty pointless if I don’t get going here and now and get below 300.

Tonight, I’m slammed full with work, but will get to the gym for at least a HIIT session on the elliptical and rowing machines. And while I’m working, I’m going to cook up some chicken for food prep. Tomorrow, I’m going to restart my lifting program and get back on my “Too Easy to Mess It Up” food plan.

For the next twenty-one days, nothing else in my life can be as important. I have to get this train rolling on down the track again. I’ve done it before. I’ve lost 130 pounds! I am changing my life! But I’m not satisfied here at the cusp of 300. I’m still a fat guy. I’m still not who I want to be.

I’m giving myself 21 days to prove it to myself. How bad do I want it?

Today’s Weigh-In: 312.2 pounds

Yeah, that’s a gigantic jump in numbers. I know.

I’ve been feeling pretty crappy this week – the sinus congestion in my head, the nasty postnasal drip, the sore throat, the coughing and phlegm starting to settle down in my chest because of the postnasal drip because to the sinus congestion, etc. It’s just pretty lame. And I’ve been sucked out of all my energy, too. Just feeling pooped.

And then yesterday, I tell a girl friend that I’ll help move some of her stuff (one of those I really don’t want to do this, but she doesn’t have any other guy friends to help out, and I am Big & Strong™ after all – I have to be honest and admit to liking being able to lift and carry large objects, that’s nice). That didn’t do me any favors, I don’t think.

At any rate, all this is sounding like a giant excuse for the fact that I’ve eaten like a grazing buffalo the past week. Cookies, Pop-Tarts by the truck load, fast food, no water, peanut butter toast (not real fun for the sore throat, as I found out), three giant slices of Chicago style stuffed crust pizza, candy bars: the works Basically, what it’s boiled down to is that whatever tasty thing I’ve had the slightest whim to put in my mouth, I’ve eaten.

It’s been a 1-2 knockout combo of being zapped of my mental willpower to make smart choices and just having the lame excuse of “I’m sick, f*** it. I’ll eat what I want.” Today’s been better, but not exactly by much. So I can’t even – or won’t, rather – make any prediction what the scale will say tomorrow.

All I can do for right now is find my spine and start making right food choices from here on out until I get to feeling better (still waiting on the pills I’m popping to do that). That started tonight and had better keep going from here on out.

The three day Memorial Day weekend is upon us, and I’m not sure how me being under the weather is gonna play into any plans I’ll make (got none right now, and that needs to change in a hurry). I think I’m going to go with a general bull rush and recuperate, then repeat plan. Have fun Friday night watching the fireworks for the start of the Rose Festival, take it easy and nap most of Saturday, do something plenty of fun Saturday night, do absolutely nothing on Sunday, and party/grill/party on Monday, but get to bed early to stave off a Tuesday crash at work.

And in the midst of it all, I need to do my best to keep a clear head, stay away from too much booze, too much beef, and any chips. But for now, I’m gonna go to bed early. That’s step one.

Today’s Weigh-In: 305.8 pounds

I really, really want to write something wonderful and insightful here, guys, but I just don’t have the gas for it right now. My sinuses have slowly been draining down over the past week to the point where I’m feeling, well, I’m feeling like I got hit by a Mac truck. This got pretty nasty Friday. Sinuses draining down the back of my throat, sore throat, stuffed up ears, congestion, the works.

So I guess a more apt metaphor would be that I got hit underwater by a Mac submarine, because I feel like I’m up to my ears in H2O right now.

I’ve been taking some Allegra and Benadryl, swapping out, along with some ibuprofen for the throat. I’m thinking about throwing in a decongestent and maybe an expectrant to get stuff out of my chest before it settles there for too long.

So yeah, lot’s of fun in Willtopia these days.