Losing Focus

I been in a rut for the last couple of months, I been distracted in my personal life life and it's really affected what I have been wanting to get done. I'm not sure if it was cause I came far enough to be satisfied, or if it's because my goals somehow became my 2nd priority. It could be as simple as I've gotten LAZY. I am still seeing my trainer 3 times a week, but me doing cardio consistently on my own has completely fallen off. Diet-wise I have been slipping as well. It's crazy how things just seem to snowball and you realize how bad it's gotten, luckily I haven't lost too much progress. So I am gonna get back on track and focus on me and my goals, no more distractions. I have 60 more pounds to go to get to my goal of losing 200 pounds... I need to get my shit together and knock this out.

Phase 2

"Phase 2" is what this Summer is supposed to be about, my schedule is completely wide-open and I have the time to commit myself to my goals. Basically, I want to be as close to my goal weight of 270 as possible by September 1.  

So...

I gained about 14 pounds during the legislative session, putting me around 344. I was working 90-100 hours per week the last month of the legislative session, which completely through off my workouts. I was still able to make it to Paul somewhat, but I didn't have time at all to knock out my early-morning cardio. It's a lame excuse, but I was coming in to the office at 7:30 a.m. and not leaving til 1:30 a.m. ... everyday for two weeks straight. I have knocked off 11 of those pounds in two weeks, so I'm feeling good about that. It's gonna take me a few weeks to get back to a consistent cardio schedule and cooking/eating schedule. 

I'm back on the grind... 

    

Diet Tips for a Workaholic

I work with the state legislature, which means I am super busy for six months every two years. I'm talking 80 to 100+ hour work-weeks. So, when I started getting healthy it was during the break in between; where I had all the free time in the world to plan, shop for, and cook healthy meals. It was a major concern of mine with what I would do once I was going in to the office at 8 a.m. and not being able to leave til as late as 5 a.m. the next morning. Another concern was me being constantly surrounded by free unhealthy food: donuts, Starbucks, breakfast tacos, cookies, sodas, Red Bulls, etc. I think I have done pretty well at having self-control and avoiding eating crappy.

Here are some thoughts/tips:

Eliminate empty calories as much as possible:

This mainly means eliminating sodas, sweetened teas/coffee, and Red Bulls. Go with water and unsweetened tea or coffee. I think it's hard enough if your crazy work schedule forces you to have to eat something that is not entirely healthy and you double-up on calories and sugar cause you wanted a large soda too. So stick with water and unsweetened tea/coffee. It's weird how easy I find myself feeling dehydrated just from sitting behind a desk, but I do, so I am constantly drinking water.

You have to Snack... healthy:

I go to my grocery store at least once a week to pick up just snacks. I grab enough fruit to last me a few days. I try to stay away from bright fruits as much as possible but for the most part it's apples, blueberries, bananas, avocados, and sometimes oranges.

I buy the individual packs of Fage Greek yogurt to throw in a handful of blueberries or sliced bananas. I also sometime buy the ones with the honey included in case I want something sweet. 

My go-to protein snack is tuna, I especially like the Roasted Garlic Starkist Yellowfin tuna. It has more calories than other canned tuna, but it's packed in olive oil, which is a healthy fat. I'll usually add a half of avocado and eat with a a few multi-grain crackers.

The one thing I have that isn't that great is those cubed cheese they sell in the deli section of grocery stores. I do eat these in moderation though. I usually go with the aged white cheddar.

Don't eat because you're bored: 

This one is easy to understand... eat only if you're really hungry!

Sometimes you have to grab something quick and fast:

It's unavoidable sometimes, so at least try to make the smartest decision and get something that is at least mostly healthy. McDonald's is out of the question. If I'm trying to grab something quick, it's usually a turkey or chicken sandwich with spinach instead of lettuce and no mayo or special sauces and baked chips if I want some texture.

"... or perhaps whole meal of food, if that would be agreeable"

In Austin we have plenty of healthy pre-made meal companies such as: My Fit Foods, Mel's Meals, and Snap Kitchen, I prefer to My Fit Foods. All of these places are little pricey, but I figure I'm paying for the convenience of not having to shop, prep, cook, and package meals when I'm completely exhausted. I get about 75% of my main meals from places like this. I know it's not ideal budget-wise, but if I was working anything less than 60 hours a week, I would be preparing my own meals myself. 

Picture Time!

So it's been 14 months since I made a change and started getting healthy. I'm down close to 130 pounds! I feel a lot better about myself physically, but I still have some work to do. I have 70 more pounds to go to get to my ultimate goal. I've been doing progress pics throughout this process and Paul and I decided to take a few after our session this past weekend. So here they are!

They Spinnin!

About three weeks ago I decided to mix up my cardio by going to my first spin class. I was kind of intimidated going in because I didn't know what to expect and I've heard that it's pretty intense. I got there about 30 minutes before class because I wanted to get there a little early to get a good spot and to have plenty of time to adjust my bike. So, classes last an hour with the first and last five minutes used for warming-up/cooling-down and stretching while on the bike. I cycle often enough that I was comfortable being on the bike and with the movements. I couldn't imagine myself doing a spin class a year ago; it's pretty crazy! I was completely soaked with sweat when it was all over. It was an incredible workout and a good way to mix up what I was normally doing for my cardio. My only complaint the first couple of classes was my feet were killing me. I know it's because I'm not normally out of the saddle and standing that often when I'm out on an actual bike ride. It did feel good to be there my first time and see other people struggling with getting through the class! I've noticed a few people hop off their bikes to "adjust" the bike, get more water, or just disappear  right in the middle of class!

     

I'm kind of hooked and since then I started going three times a week, this week I'm going to try to do five classes and see how I feel. I really like how time kind of flies by, unlike on a treadmill or an elliptical, were I'm constantly staring at the timer and it seems to take forever. I don't get bored, which is huge when I need to be doing 45-60 minutes of cardio daily. 

Observations After One Year

It's been awhile since I posted on here. I been caught up in my routine and staying on top of this blog hasn't been the priority it should have been. So I'm down 120 or so pounds! It's not were I wanted to be in a year of working out and getting back in shape, but I'm very happy. I guess that's how I know being active is now a part of my life; I completely changed my life for the better and I still want better results for myself. So it has been one calendar year and I have learned enough to make some observations and maybe offer some advice to whoever is reading this.

•  Scales kind of suck - I know this is gonna irritate my trainer, but it's true. There have been weeks that I have not dropped a pound, even after 6 days of cardio, 3 training sessions with Paul, and an on-point diet. It's very discouraging and it's not a good indicator in my opinion on weight-loss. The way your body looks, fits in your clothes, and how you feel is the most important way to know your losing weight. It's gradual but it will come if you keep working. 

• You're gonna want to take a break - You need to stop sometimes and let your body rest and recharge. Things get sore, or plain hurt so you need to listen to your body. That doesn't mean you can go crazy and eat what you want the whole time, but you are allowed to rest for a few days.

• Treat yourself - I pretty much wore the same workout clothes as I lost my first 100 pounds. My shoes were beat to crap and my shirts grew looser and looser. I decided I lost enough weight to pick up some new workout shoes and some nice workout shirts. I started out at a 6XL shirt and now I can get into 3XL shirts. It feels really good to finally get into a new brand that didn't have your size before. I even went and bought a health-related toy; an Nike+ Fuel Band! I was curious to how much activity I was actually doing and since I knew it would be used everyday, I decided why not?! It tracks calories, steps, and and activity number called Nike Fuel... it's dorky, but I love it.

• Don't get distracted by compliments - You start losing a good percentage of your body weight and people around you will notice, they should. You will start hearing good things from the people you know, don't let yourself think you should slow down or stop... don't get content with yourself and get lazy.

I have a few more things, but I figure this post is long enough. So, to those looking to make a change, you have to just do it! Stop putting it off and get after it! It's gonna be tough at first, it's gonna plain suck, but it gets easier and becomes routine, I promise.

My Diet Lately

So my diet the last 3 weeks has been atrocious! I had a death in my family during that time and between eating out and going to a random bar just to take a break or visit with family & friends; my diet completely went out the window. It was more of a convenience-thing than a comfort-thing, there were a lot of errands and I didn't really feel like shopping or cooking afterwards. Another thing, there were a lot of people bringing  my family food, most of which weren't the healthiest dishes. I been feeling kind of crappy and I know my diet is the main reason.The only thing I was a little surprised about was that even though the wheels fell off diet-wise, I only gained 6 pounds total. I decided yesterday I'm getting it back under control. I hit the grocery store hard and loaded up on healthy stuff. I'm looking forward to getting my act together. The main thing I've learned during this whole process is that diet accounts for at least 85% of losing weight and getting healthy.