Re-Group

Sunday evening . . .

Took Thursday off, walked around a bit Friday at appt. in town at the VA. Saturday I rested. Today I went to a shoot at the trap club, and got "sick" on the buffet -- All the wrong food and too much bad coffee.

I was thinking three days off. I lose track.

Upshot is that it seems I need more "recovery." That makes sense -- Every other day schedule would work.

Despite regroup, the diet is improving. Lots of fish, veggies, yogurt/fruit smoothies. Cutting out the fat, red meat.

Standing around today at the trap club, my back pain issues are seeming to resolve, maybe.

Tomorrow we will work on walking or the spin bike.

I'm thinking about a clean and jerk routine, couple sets w/ moderate weight. Need to get the "gym" cleared out. That's on the agenda for this week. Let's try to make it an objective.

Day Eight --

256.8 lbs. 32%

20 min. spin bike, then sleep most of the day. I feel OK, but get tired. 20 min. on the bike is hard work.

Replaced batteries in the heart rate monitor, $3.99 ea. Sony. Pulse rate cycling started about 115, to 120, and finally in the last minutes up to 130. But it's difficult.

Diet improving. Smoothie in the morning. Popcorn, avocado/tomato, some pepperoncini and O'Doul's.

Day Seven --

Workout stuff in my garage. We're organizing it these days.

Weight machine in the back left corner (universal machine).

Jogging "trampoline."

Rowing machine behind the spin bike.

Spin bike.

Weight bench, free weights, curl bar, dumb-bells, Olympic and standard weights.

Smoothie is working out for breakfast. I'm eating less in the evening. Just stepped on the scales and 249.8 lbs. No clothes, and I wonder if the scale needs to warm up. It was 248 just a few minutes ago.

I think about taking the Cruiser bike to the beach for a ride.



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Later --

20 min walk on the waterfront from Three Cups (coffee house).

Lower back is wiping me out! Ten minutes and I need to stop, rest. Hard to get aerobic when walking. I'm counting this as a "rest day."

I don't think anyone is reading this blog.

Day Six --

Some measurable progress on clearing out the garage "gym." I have plans and places for the remaining clearance. There's a momentum and direction emerging, better diet, focus, objective.

I stopped by the bike shop. My road bikes are designed for about 180 lbs. That's 80 lbs under where I'm at right now. Spin bike is rated to 300 lbs. Mt. bike is probably OK, if I pay attention to what I'm riding on. Beach cruiser should be fine w/ balloon tires.

Smoothie this morning! Get organized to have one in the AM! I drank it in the truck, but then the mug bounced around in the cab, in a plastic bag so it doesn't drip on the interior.

15/20 min. today on the spin bike . . . That's the plan, when I get home, in a bit.

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Follow up --

20 min. on the bike. It's hard work. Diet improving. 248 lbs.

Day Five

Rested yesterday, tired.

Moved the spin bike into the great room so I can ride and watch TV. The hope is this low impact aerobic option will relieve the back stiffness. (Lower back "tightness.")

I used to race bikes and so spin bike is a good option to get in shape. I understand the process. We raised the bars, about 2" above the nose of the saddle. Light resistance, and about 18 min. easy pace. We still got "aerobic."

Moved stuff out of the garage, cleaned up so I can use the "gym." I have a universal machine (Hoist H310), weight bench w/ leg extension. Olympic and standard free weights, 80# "heavy bag" (boxing), rowing machine, Swiss ball, heart rate monitor, and several books on weight training, exercise physiology. We've done this before.

Finally got the blender out, "smoothies" . . . Frozen fruit, orange juice, banana, yogurt. Diet is improving a bit, less red meat, more fish, more veggies/fruit.

Immediate goals are strength and endurance -- longer aerobic workouts, weight loss, and some strength training w/ free weights, universal machine. (But nothing "heavy" -- low weight, high reps, 3 sets max.)

Probably start with just a medium weight and a clean and press . . .

255#, and even at just five days, I'm seeing some slight gains, feeling better.

Day Three

Slept most of the day, tired.

Walked down to the mailbox, and around the neighborhood, 20 min. Faster pace, but lower back gets stiff. Feels like it's getting better.

I hope to head out and bicycle tomorrow . . . beach cruiser on flat terrain. That should not bother the back and allow for a longer workout.

Day Two

Walk your butt off . . .

Day Two:

256 lb. Walked down to the mailbox, end of the street. 25 min. Back is painful, stopping me from walking. I need to stop, rest, stretch to be able to get home. I've never been in this poor of physical condition.

Sunny, warm.

Diet is improving, Mahi Mahi and veggies (poached), but I'm still snacking and munching in the evening. I "feel" hungry and ruminate about food. Watched Dr. Dan Amen on "Change Your Brain, Change Your Body." QuackWatch.com lists him as a bit of a nut case. He seems suspiciously evangelical.

More fish, veggies, fruit . . . I need to start having some sort of breakfast.

Allison Wunderland's Walk Your Butt Off Blogzilla

We could stand to lose 100 lbs. Last time I stepped on the scales it was in the 260 realm. (Relax a bit! I'm a guy, not a woman!)

Still too heavy, by about 100 lbs. Getting down under 200 lbs would be a good start.

So -- Today, St. Patty's, 2010, we're working on diet improvements, fish, veggies, fewer ham & cheeze sandwiches (Grey Poupon, white cheddar) . . . Less pizza, hot dawgs at Costco.

Today I parked at CostCo and walked for 20 minutes. I'm so out of shape that I get severe lower back pain!

But we know what we're doing . . . and will keep at it.

Noooooooo . . . I'm NOT going to post a "before" photo.