Dropped 7 pounds last week! Yea! (sorry ladies) Upon Jess' advice, I moved all my starches to the early part of the day and ate fruit and veges with protein for the last 3 meals of the day (I am eating 5 small meal a day).

Climbed the stairs at work twice, had 3 one-hour weight training sessions, two treadmill sessions, and 4 swim sessions (man is my back sore). Oh yes, I also had my second swim lesson. And darn if she didn't take my kick board away! My homework for the next few weeks is 20 laps freestyle, working on breathing, rotating fully so I slice through the water, then 10 laps of a modifed doggie paddle where I extend my arms out fully in front of me and pull hard all the way through. (Well, slicing through the water at my size is a relative term, more like Orca at this point instead of a marlin). :-)

This weeks' workouts:
Sunday - swim 30 laps, 30 minutes treadmill (done)
Monday - morning: 45 minutes treadmill (done), evening:Chest and biceps (done)
Tuesday - morning: 30 laps swimming & 30 minutes treadmill (done)
Wednesday - morning: 45 minutes treadmill (not done-fatique), evening: back and triceps (done)
Thursday - morning: Swim 30 laps & 30 minutes treadmill (done)
Friday - morning: 45 treadmill (done), evening - legs and shoulders(done)
Saturday - Rest

The Journey Starts

Here I am at 471 pounds, Janaury 2006.




Q: How did I get to this point when I used to look like this ?
( December 1983)

A: Living a couch potato lifestyle which included medicating with carbs through a couple bouts of depression and stress, sitting in front of a computer 9 hours a day, and eating the typical standard Amercian diet (SAD).

Not only was I a couch potato, but I was just about an invlaid. It was hard to even walk to my car in the driveway! But with a great wife and two beautiful daughters who I want to see grow up, I had that epiphany/paradigm shift/get off my butt decision moment one day. So here I am, proclaiming publically that I am going to become an Ironman. It has been a dream for quite a while. So, you ask, what are you doing to change your lifestyle? Well, I'm glad you asked!

First, I realized I need to eat to live and not live to eat. I need to change my relationship with food. I've had enough pizza, dounuts, and junk to last several people a life time. I just don't need anymore (picture all the donuts you've ever eaten stacked up in a big pile and ruminate on that for a while, or, whatever food vice you may have).

Second, I hired a personal trainer with a kick-@!* attitude who is really a good accountability partner (Jess Hogue of www.shapeplus.com). I weight train for one hour, three times a week, doing two body parts per session. I do treadmill or swim 5-6 days a week. I also started climbing the stairs in my office building twice a week (I work on the 10th floor). All told, 8-9 workouts per week not counting the stairs.

A couple of weeks ago, I swam for the first time in about 25 years. Boy did I flounder! I even got sea-sick from being so out of breath. I immediatley signed up for private swim lessons. The instructor changed my whole way of breathing and I can now breath the right way, huge difference. I swim 750 meters in each practice session. I am really looking forward to the next lesson.

My fitness goals this year are to walk a 5k with my family on May 21st and to complete the Tri-Glenwood Triathlon on September 10th, which is a race with a 825 meter swim, 15 mile bike ride, and 5 mile run (which I will walk most of). Oh by the way, is there a grouping for "super-clydesdales"?

Next year 2007, my goals are to walk the Big D marathon in Dallas in April and then complete the 5430 Long Course (half Ironman distance) in August. Then I will set my sights on an Ironman.

Jess shared with me a key point that really hit home with me. If I total all the time in a day I cook, eat, and enjoy food, it probably adds up to an hour, two at the most. So I was enjoying food for only 1-2 hours and then suffering being extremely fat for 22-23 hours each day. The tradeoff was not worth it. Jess is at a weekend with Tony Robbins and I suspect he will come back and kick my butt in my workouts since he will be so fired up.

So that's the start. Check back for more as I share my workouts and the mental/emotional improvement associtated with this change in lifestyle. Thanks for stopping by!