Week Ten – Passion Of The Chris

I lost a little more weight this week, which is good cause I am worried about this upcoming Labor Day weekend. I will be away at a Family Reunion and not able to do my normal exercising for five days.

I am excited about this getaway cause this past week has been one of those weeks where there are just not enough hours in the day. I wish I had time to do everything but unfortunately you just get to the point that you have to start making compromises and concessions. Well I am happy to report that I did not compromise working out once. Sure at the time I was upset that I didn’t get to meet up with some friends like I had hoped and frustrated that all my errands didn’t get completed, but as I write this I am very happy I didn’t compromise my workouts.

I was talking to my sister the other day on the phone and was telling her about my morning Boot Camp and she said she thought I was addicted to working out. I laughed but she was serious. I explained to her that I am not addicted; I am just really focused on achieving this goal. After I got off the phone I kept thinking about what she said. Honestly I don’t think I am addicted to working out. I mean yes it makes me feel good and when I don’t do it I feel bad – wait, that sounds bad! Actually it does sound like something someone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol would say! Oh my god, am I addicted? hehe

I guess it is kind of easy to compare working out to drinking. I mean if you think about it working out is like taking a shot. At the beginning you are hesitant and worried it will burn but you do it anyways and before you know it you’re done and realize it wasn’t so bad after all. So maybe I’m just a social exerciser! I think my main hang-up is just the word addicted. If she had said focused or driven or even passionate I would have had no problem to owning up to the statement. I think it’s good to have passions; whether it’s for fashion or cars (yeah I’m talking about you Robert!) there is nothing wrong about being committed about an interest. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t tell my sister that I am thinking about joining a Commit to Fit challenge at my gym or she might have tried to have me committed!

The challenge reminds me of the biggest loser in the fact that we are competing against other teams to see who loses the most. Part of the program is you have to keep food logs and not only work out with your trainer but also do extra workouts on your own that they create. I guess I’ll talk about it more once I complete my first training session next Saturday. Okay, enough about future workouts, here’s how I did this week:

08/21 Boot Camp for an hour and twenty minutes; 1479 calories burned
08/22 3 mile walk at Memorial Park; 488 calories burned
08/23 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/25 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/25 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned
08/26 Boot Camp for an hour and twenty minutes; 1479 calories burned
08/27 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/27 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned

As of now, I am focused, determine and very optimistic I will reach my goal. Whether that makes me addicted or insane or passionate I’m going to keep doing what I am doing because like Barack Obama says, nothing great in this world has ever been accomplished without passion.

I say find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it and let it become you. I think you’ll find great things will happen for you, to you and because of you!

Week Nine – I’m a Sore Loser

I lost another 3 pounds this week. And apparently I found new muscles to make sore. I’m very happy that the scale continues to decline, I just wish I were stricter with my diet cause I know the pounds would really come off…

Speaking of coming off, while out to lunch with some friends this week I was taking off some extra cheese and ingredients from my salad and I had a moment of clarity, the more I take off – the less I have to take off. Meaning, the more food I can take off my plate, the less I have to burn off at the gym later. Now I know you’re probably thinking, well yeah, that’s pretty obvious but for me, seeing a side plate filled with “extras” just really put it into perspective for me.

I’m also changing the way I order things now too. For instance, my Subway sandwich is definitely a lot thinner but honestly it still tastes the same without the cheese, oil, vinegar and copious amounts of vegetables.

I believe this past week is the most I have worked out since I started nine weeks ago, actually this could be the most I’ve worked out in one week ever! I managed to burn almost 7,000 calories working out everyday except Sunday. Here’s how my week went:

08/14 Boot Camp for an hour and twenty minutes; 1479 calories burned
08/15 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/16 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/18 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/18 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned
08/19 Boot Camp for an hour and twenty minutes; 1479 calories burned
08/20 Elliptical Machine for 20 minutes; 210 calories burned
08/20 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/20 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned

You’re probably wonder why I am sore even though I have been doing similar workouts for over two months, the only explanation I have to that is I guess it has to do with the intensity level in which I am trying to work out now. Or it could be because I am not giving my muscles enough rest in-between workouts. Justin at the gym said it could be because I am not stretching enough before workouts, hence the twenty-minute elliptical workout I did yesterday before Zumba.

I hope it doesn’t come off that I am complaining about being sore because I'd hate to be a sore loser. However if I were this sore and gaining weight - now then I’d really be sore!

Week Seven & Eight – Back On Track

After falling off the wagon I am now back on track. I am happy to report that I lost the weight I gained a couple weeks ago and a couple additional pounds as well. So for those of you keeping score, I’ve lost almost 30 pounds in two months. Its funny how two months can feel like an eternity and also like the time has just flown by.

Well obviously a lot has happened in these past two weeks so I suppose I should take a minute to back track a little… week seven started off great, I took my first Friday night Zumba class at Jerry’s new location and did my normal Saturday morning Zumba class. However with an approaching Tropical Storm early in the week and the death of my dog, my exercise regimen quickly fell apart. I was pretty confident that I didn’t lose last week so I decided I would give myself a week off from weighing in (literally and figuratively).

Instead of grieving about my loss or lack thereof, I decided the best thing to do is to really kick butt this past week and that’s just what I did. I ran into my Boot Camp instructor, Melissa one day before Zumba. I kind of felt like I was running into a girl I dated and never called back but instead of giving me a hard time she just encouraged me to get back on track. I took her class this morning and although I am already really sore, I am glad I followed through. I’m also thinking maybe its not too late to return some of those calls… ok, I’m getting off track!

Although I didn’t go into great detail, I did mention my mission to Melissa and she said if I really want to see fast results, I should be keeping track of my food intake with a food log. Sometimes I feel keeping track of my weekly exercise is problematic enough, let alone keeping track of ever meal but I guess she knows what she is talking about…

Before I lose track of time, here is a rundown of the exercise I completed these past two weeks:

08/01 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/02 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/09 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/11 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/11 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned
08/13 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
08/14 Boot Camp for an hour and twenty minutes; 1479 calories burned

I think it's safe to say these past two weeks (actually more like these past two months) have been really difficult for me but I refuse to view my brief relapse as a failure cause I didn’t give up. Not only did I not give up but I approached it as a challenge and got myself back on track. I am really focused right now and I pray I can maintain this concentration in the coming months. But not to worry, if I get off the beaten track again I know what I have to do; and more importantly I know that a one-track mind sometimes have their train of thought derailed!

Week Six – Gaining Perspective

I have bad news and good news: The bad news is that I gained some weight this week. The good news is I know what I did wrong so I can correct my mistakes…

While attending an Astros game Tuesday night I had a realization. Life is going to throw us curve balls, but what makes us different than professional athletics is how we react. When life throws me a curve ball I instantly turn to excuses. For instance, "there’s a fire at my building", I can’t go to Boot Camp or "I have out of town guests to entertain", I can’t stay on my diet. This mentality is what got me to be so overweight in the first place and I can’t believe it’s taken me six weeks to realize that I need to stop making excuses!

The truth is, if a person really wants something bad enough they have two choices: (a) they will find a way or (b) they will find excuses. For now on, I will work hard in finding a way, after all this is suppose to be the best weigh…

In the spirit of no more excuses, here’s what I did the past week with no excuses explanation:

07/24 Boot Camp for an hour; 1116 calories burned
07/26 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
07/28 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
07/28 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned
07/30 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
07/30 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned

I know its not going to be easy but I am going to really try to approach life’s curve balls differently because when I lose control - I gain weight; and who knows, maybe next week I can hit one out of the park like Carlos Lee…

Week Five – Back Talking

I lost another 5 pounds this week! Yep, that’s 26 pounds in 5 weeks for those of you keeping score…

Even though I am proud of how much I have lost this week and over the past five weeks, I know I could do better. Looking back, I think this fifth week has been the most challenging.

My week started off great. On Friday, I met some friends at Hermann Park and played a round of golf – well sort of, we stopped half way through the back nine. It’s been a long time since I’ve played and it showed! Although I wasn’t up to par (pun intended) I still had a great time. I even lost a bunch of calories too, 967 to be exact. Perhaps next time I play I will not rent a cart and just walk cause I found out I could have burned an additional 500 calories if I had done so. After all I am doing this Fore fitness (ok I’m done with those, promise!)

It seems I’m not the only one with reasons to celebrate recently. This past week I had my nephew’s birthday, my friend’s birthday, my brother’s birthday and a friend’s wedding. Let me just say, that’s a lot of cake to hold back from.

Although I did well eating wise, I ended up drinking two nights this week instead of my scheduled one. I know it’s easy to fall back into old habits so I really need to watch when and how much I drink, regardless if it’s a special occasion or not…

On Saturday I met some friends for lunch at their place to catch up and to check out their new pool. I told them all about my 28-week plan and they told me about a dietician they see who is really good at explaining nutrition. I’m not too proud to say, I am nutrition illiterate! For instance, I will skip dinner if I know I will be drinking that night or I’ve even skipped meals cause I figured the fewer calories I’m consuming, the better. I guess my mindset is I shouldn’t eat if I’m not hungry but apparently that is the wrong approach to have when it comes to dieting (go figure!) I’ve never been one to turn down assistance so I am scheduling an appointment and hopefully this sustenance-guru can get me straightened out and back to basics!

Speaking of back, I pulled something in my back Monday night during Justin’s abs class after Zumba. We were doing an exercise where we lay on our back with our legs in the air and we push our legs up so our butts come off the floor. I think the exercise is called “Heels to the Heaven”. All I know is I felt like I was in Hell while doing them and later that night I was praying for the pain to go away so I could sleep. I don’t know if I did the exercise wrong or perhaps I shouldn’t be doing back-to-back abs sessions or perhaps they should just rename that exercise the backbreaker – all I know is that exercise was the straw that broke the camel’s my back!

Since I didn’t get much sleep I ended up skipping my Tuesday morning Boot Camp. I couldn’t fathom running back and forth down the street or up and down the stairs when all I did was toss and turn in bed all night.

By Tuesday night my back and my spirit had bounced back and I made up for my missed Boot Camp class by doing an exercise video. Although it’s called the 4-mile super challenge, it’s definitely not as challenging as Boot Camp but I figured it was better than nothing.

I was back in the saddle by Wednesday night and finished Jerry’s Zumba and Justin’s abs classes without incident. I even made a point to go to bed early because I was nervous about Boot Camp this morning. Not that I was afraid Melissa would pay me back somehow for missing Tuesday (although I heard I don’t want to be late to class cause her paybacks are hell) I think I was just worried cause it had been a whole week since I last worked out like that. Well I wasn’t going to let fear hold me back so not only did I show up this morning, I was the first one there again…

I know I keep saying this, but I think this Boot Camp was harder than last time! Screw that old adage that ‘it gets easier over time’ – as far as Boot Camp, it keeps getting harder for me.

Since it was raining we didn’t have to run outside but after a few minutes of drills, I wished we were. Calisthenics are really hard for me – maybe it’s because I don’t have much upper body strength or maybe because we are doing exercises I haven’t done since seventh grade. Since Melissa knew I hurt my back Monday she was really watching me today. Several times she caught me with bad form and had me straighten up my back. One thing I like is that when I can’t do an exercise perfectly she modifies it somehow so that I can it in a way that is a little easier but still very beneficial.

Throughout class not only is Melissa really encouraging but we all try to support each other as well. It’s always nice to get a pat on the back, even if your back is sore! Here’s how I did this week:

07/17 Boot Camp for an hour; 1116 calories burned
07/18 Golfing for 2 hours; 967 calories burned
07/19 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
07/21 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
07/21 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned
07/22 4 Mile Super Challenge Video; 558 calories burned
07/23 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
07/23 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned

Everyone keeps encouraging to “stick with it” and I can honestly say I am trying my hardest to be as consistent as possible regardless of what obstacles (and sometimes objects) are thrown at me. Its kind of funny to think about but the more consistent I become the more changes I see - - and there’s no way I would ever turn back now!

Week Four – Pièce de Résistance

In the past month I have lost 21 pounds, worked out a little over 25 hours and have burned almost 21,000 calories! Although it hasn’t been easy, I have easily doubled my expectations as far as how much weight I had hoped to lose for my first month.

When I started this 28-week program four weeks ago I had hoped to be at minus ten pounds my first month, so obviously losing 21 pounds is more than I could have hoped for. Surprisingly, doing so well this first month only makes me want to work even harder for next month. One task I think will really help me this next month is to really work on resisting temptations as far as eating and drinking.

Speaking of resisting, I am now doing a resistance training Boot Camp two days a week. The classes are held on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 5am. On the way to the gym Tuesday morning I had a funny epiphany when I passed a nightclub with their lights still on and it hit me how nuts it is that I was up, driving through midtown at 4am on my way to go workout, not on my way home.

Those who know me know I’m more of the guy who would go to bed at 4am even if I had to work the next morning, not the guy who would get up at 4am to go workout...

For me, the hardest part about getting up so early is going to bed early. Let me just say, there’s something very humbling about going to bed when the sun has not completely set, but trust me I was thankful for my night’s rest about five minutes into my first Boot Camp.

My first class was definitely a lot more challenging than I thought it was going to be. Although there was no drill sergeant with a whistle, the class was definitely serious business. What really made my first class challenging is I did not know what to expect. For instance when we were told to run to the end of the street and back, I assumed after we completed that we would move on to something else – to my surprise that was not the case. Had I known we would be running back and forth ten times, I definitely would have done my first lap a lot slower! Basically my first class consisted of a short cardio warm up, running up and down stairs three times, jogging outside followed by squats and lunges and then we moved inside for circuit weight training on the machines. In between each of the five weight stations we had to do more stairs – let me just say, stairs are not my friend!

Monday and Wednesday after Zumba I’ve started taking an abs class taught by a new personal trainer at the gym named Justin. I’ve talked with him a couple times and am thinking about using him for some one-on-one sessions.

This morning was my second attempt at Boot Camp and sadly, getting out of bed this morning was definitely the easiest part of my morning. Boot Camp kicked by butt today! We started with cardio again, then stairs, then outside for some more running, then back in for weights, however this time not only did we have to do more stairs in between sets, we also had to do twenty pushups too. My first class I learned stairs are not my friend and today I am officially marking push-ups off my allies list as well!

I really tried to workout as much as possible this past week; I guess you can say I was resisting a rest! (sorry, couldn’t resist) Here’s what I did:

07/11 4 Mile Super Challenge Video; 558 calories burned
07/12 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
07/13 Yard work for an hour and 30 minutes; 1152 calories burned
07/14 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
07/14 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned
07/15 Boot Camp for an hour; 1116 calories burned
07/16 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
07/16 Core class with Justin for 15 minutes; 209 calories burned

Oh one new development this week: I got my first weight loss compliment! Sure my family and friends have been encouraging and supportive but there’s something about getting complimented from people who are not related to you…

After Zumba Wednesday night one of the instructors said I was “shrinking” and that “they’ve all noticed”. It really made my night cause I was extremely sore from boot camp and contemplated not going but even though I could barely raise my arms – I did it anyways. Truth be told, after the first 5 minutes or so, I forgot all about my soreness. It’s really funny how the smallest smile, thumbs up or nod of the head in a “you're-doing-good-kind-of-way” from my instructors can really give me the push I need to pull through.

Not only am I trying to always pull through I am really trying to follow through. Like they say, "Nothing in life worth having comes without some kind of fight.” I think this quote rings true in my life. Nothing worth having is easy. The problem is my natural tendency is to take the easy road. I don't know why but I always try to take the path of least resistance.

The problem with the path of least resistance is that it leads nowhere. It’s for people who want the fruits of labor without having to do the labor itself. People who want the rewards with out the challenges, the victory without the fight, the good times without the sacrifice.

I am proud to say I have veered away from that Path on this journey; not only am I putting in the efforts, I am reaping the rewards!

Week Three - I Deserve To Lose

I never thought I would be happy to only lose one pound, but after the week (or more accurately) the weekend I had, I’m ecstatic!

For some reason this past holiday weekend I let my diet go on holiday as well. I knew going into the Fourth that I would be eating and drinking things I shouldn’t, however I did not plan on doing that on the fifth and sixth as well. I don’t know what got in me, well figuratively cause I know what I put in my mouth: breakfast tacos, hot dogs, beer, chocolate, barbeque, free dumb fries - I think you get the idea, I was out of control…

Thankfully Monday I was back on track and on the wagon. In an attempt to undo my weekend gluttony, I was very critical about what I ate and tried to exercise as much as I could – even if it meant back-to-back sessions.

Although I didn’t do the Pilates in the Park on Tuesday night like I hoped, I am happy to report that I did do my first Zumba in the Park last night. I wasn’t planning on doing Zumba in the Park but after I got to my normal Zumba class almost 30 minutes late (freeway shut down – long story) I figured I better exercise some more. On a side note: I am really proud of myself for showing up to my first Zumba class. I was extremely frustrated from being stuck in traffic for almost 45 minutes that I really wanted to just say fuck it and go home, but I didn’t. Three weeks ago I would have, but not now. The funny thing is I didn’t even realize what a huge coo it was for me until I went up to Jerry after class to apologize for coming in late and he said, “at least you showed up – a lot of people wouldn’t have even come”.

Anyways, after my little personal breakthrough I decided to check out the Discovery Green class. It starts at 7pm so although I was a few minutes late I still was able to get in a great workout.

Even though they are both Zumba classes, there were lots of differences between the two, well besides the obvious ones of indoor versus outdoor, 75 degrees versus 95 degrees, etc. The instructor at the park class concentrates on the upper body a lot more than Jerry, which is good because I need to work on my arms and chest however I could barely raise my arms this morning in the shower!

After my double Zumba classes I was exhausted but I went ahead and went to the park. I don’t know if it was being outside at Zumba or the idea of gaining weight that convinced me but I ended up doing three miles at the park. I’ve been trying to walk at the park as much as possible this past week. Partially cause I needed to burn extra calories this week to offset my binge and also because I want to start preparing for the Susan G Komen breast cancer walk later this year.

Losing Zumba classes Friday and Saturday because of Independence Day really made it hard to reach my goal of 5,000+ calories. Here’s how I did this week:

07/03 Swimming for 30 minutes; 558 calories burned
07/07 Zumba class for an hour; 838 calories burned
07/07 Walked park for an hour; 488 calories burned
07/09 Zumba class for 30 minutes; 419 calories burned
07/09 Zumba in the park for 45 minutes; 629 calories burned
07/09 Walked park for an hour; 488 calories burned

Although I lost control for a couple days this week, I still lost, and that’s the most important thing – well that and showing up! So even though I only lost a pound, it turned out to be a win-win situation and like they say: you win some, you lose some. Lets just hope I lose more than a pound next week….

Week Two – Hard Core

I cannot believe in just two weeks I’ve lost a little over 17 pounds!

Two weeks ago if someone said the word ‘core’ to me I would have instantly thought about an apple core, my close group of friends or perhaps Weight Watcher’s core plan.

Well as of this week, core equals abs. For the first time in my life, my stomach has been sore from exercising. And I’m not talking for a little tender, I mean hurting all day long sore. Last Friday I thought I might have food poisoning until my friend straightened me out.

She’s not the only one straightening me out; my Zumba instructor is constantly on us (well me in particular) about good form. At first I was really embarrassed by him coming over to me saying straighten up your back, reach straight up next time, etc. I guess it was just my fat-kid-in-gym-class mentality. But now, I really appreciate him making sure I am doing it right – and not only that, I am very conscious about making sure I am doing them correctly now too. I guess you can say I’m learning new core values.

After Zumba we do a 15-minute core class consisting of standard crunches, knee crunches, oblique crunches, hip lifts, planks and a whole bunch of other stuff that I don’t know their proper names. Well the past couple classes I have been really concentrating on my form – I figured it’s ok to do fewer reps as long as I am doing them correctly. After all, I’ve always been a believer in quality over quantity.

Well earlier this week we did a brief yoga-esque routine with lots of stretching after our core exercises that was really relaxing. When I told a friend about it she said it sounds a lot like Pilates. I’ve decided since they are canceling my Tuesday night Zumba class I will try Pilates in the Park next week, you know now that I’m all hard-core with my core.

Another reason I want to add a Pilate’s class is because I am loosing calories in more ways than one. The thing about loosing 13 pounds last week is that I am burning fewer calories doing the same activities this week, not that I am complaining! For instance, an hour-long Zumba class last week burned about 887 calories, and at my new weight I burn 852. Not a huge difference, but remember I need to burn over a quarter-of-a-million calories! Thankfully I was able to burn over 5,000 calories this week; 5,770 to be exact! I pray that an hour of Pilates will be equivalent to an hour of Zumba. Here’s what I did this week:

06/26 Treadmill for 40 minutes; 394 calories burned
06/27 Zumba class for an hour; 852 calories burned
06/27 Tennis for an hour; 992 calories burned
06/28 Zumba class for an hour; 852 calories burned
06/30 Zumba class for an hour; 852 calories burned
07/01 Zumba class for an hour; 852 calories burned
07/02 Yard work for an hour and 15 minutes; 976 calories burned

Burning calories is not the only reason I am loosing weight, although I must say it helps me stay on track. I am still very conscious of what I consume. There’s just no way I am going to eat crappy after I just worked out for an hour.

It’s pretty obvious that my core problem with food is that I over eat. One thing I am noticing these past two weeks is exactly how much I use to put away. It was so ridiculous. A couple weeks ago if I were grabbing a quick lunch at McDonalds I would not only order a value meal but an extra six-piece nuggets or a dessert to go along with it and somehow I would rationalize it as being ok cause the nuggets don’t have sugars and I did order a diet coke...

It wasn’t just when I went to fast food places that I would over-order and over-eat; I would do it at regular restaurants too. My biggest weakness is hands down appetizers. Whether it was chips and queso, fried cheese, bread baskets, waffle fries with blue-cheese dressing, yeah I don’t even like blue cheese but I would order them – damn you Barnaby’s! Seriously, appetizers, starters, hor’dourves, amuse bouche – whatever you call them, I would order them – and the funny thing is, I still can. However, I stop there. There’s no reason I need to have an appetizer, entrée and dessert every meal. Last Saturday I went out with friends to a new wine bar and I knew I would be consuming extra calories with champagne so I decided to just order the crab cake appetizer and I was completely fine. Granted I wish I didn’t have those couple extra drinks later in the night but hey, no one’s perfect.

One thing I am really proud of is I knew I would be drinking Saturday night so I did some research on what to drink beforehand: primarily, which has fewer calories, champagne or vodka tonic? It turns out champagne by a double long shot; champagne has about 85 calories and a vodka tonic has about 170.

All I can say is cheers to being hard-core when it comes to dieting and exercising (self control).

Week One - Choices

I lost 13 pounds!

Well I can’t say my first week was unproblematic but I am really happy with my efforts and results. I am making changes here and there and although there was a meal or two I could have done better, there were many that I think I did great.

I went into my first week knowing that exercising several times a week was going to be hard, but not only is it getting easier by the day, I am finding myself excited about doing it.

Another huge motivation for me is figuring out how many calories I am burning. I found a Calories Burned Calculator online which allows me to enter my weight, the duration of my exercising, the type of exercise I did and of course my energy level; and with a push of a button my totals are calculated. I figured out I burned a little over 5000 extra calories this week. I say extra because this calorie calculator can compute totals for things like shopping and sleeping, which I am not counting. Here’s how I did for my first week:

06/19 Walked neighborhood for an hour; 517 calories burned
06/20 Zumba class for an hour; 887 calories burned
06/21 Zumba class for an hour; 887 calories burned
06/23 Zumba class for an hour; 887 calories burned
06/24 Zumba class for an hour; 887 calories burned
06/25 Yard work for an hour and 15 minutes; 1016 calories burned

I started wondering how many calories I would need to burn to reach my goal of losing 75 pounds. The answer, thanks to Natural Physiques is 262,500! Knowing that I have a long way to reach my goal doesn’t scare me cause I know I can and will do it, and when it comes down to it, it’s all about choices.

Speaking of choices, I finally finished The Choice by Nicolas Sparks. It’s been on my to-do list for quite some time and I gave myself a goal to finish it this week. If you haven’t read it, I recommend it. The book is based on a man named Travis Parker who is faced with many hard choices throughout his life. Reading this book made me realize just how indecisive I am. I don’t know why but I have the hardest time making the easiest decisions: what movie to rent, what to have for dinner, what to serve at a party. Last night I had to decide if I was going to stay at my parents to look after my mom who wasn’t feeling well or go home to my apartment, exercise and attend a party I was looking forward to. I decided to keep my mom company. It turned out that I could keep my mom company and work out as well – I ended up working in the yard for a little over an hour and what’s really funny is that this morning I figured out how many calories I burned and it was more than I would have burned at my Zumba class! So not only was I able to be a good son, but I was able to get a better workout in and save myself the sixty dollars I was going to pay the gardener to come do it this weekend.

Somebody once said the biggest room in the world, is the room for improvement. I know that every day, in every way, I am getting better and better. And although I did a lot of activities by myself this week, I know I am not alone. I think pretty much everyone I know is trying to better him or herself in some way. Whether they are trying to overcome an addiction by tackling a new hobby, hiring life-coaches, talking to debt consolidators, checking into rehab, training for their first triathlon or just trying to jog for thirty minutes here and there so they don’t become “grande”...

If there’s one thing I’ve learned this week is that there are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.

A Man With A Plan

There are 28 weeks left until the end of the year. I figure I can do a lot in 28 weeks, I mean after all that is almost 200 days.

I know that a huge portion (pun intended) of my success will not only be what I eat, but more importantly how much I eat. I have enlisted My Choice Fit Foods to help with that. Their meals are pre-packaged, pre-measured and pre-tty tasty. Although they say 80% of my weight loss will come from what I consume, I know I'm going to have to exercise too.

Actually tomorrow I will be signing up for Zumba classes which are held several nights a week. I really enjoy taking these classes because (a) you sweat your ass off and (b) because they are so fast paced I feel like the class is over before you know it. But if I get bored with Zumba I know I can substitute my daily exercise regimen by hitting a couple buckets of balls at the driving range, playing tennis, walking the park and trails, swimming laps in my pool or finally utilizing my building’s gym that I pay for.

So with eating less and moving more I hope to see great results. Honestly I would like to lose 75 pounds by the end of the year, which is only about 3 pounds a week. I know I will feel healthier, become physically and probably mentally stronger and if I happen to drop a few pant sizes - I guess that wouldn’t be so bad either.

Emancipation Day

Today is Juneteenth, which is not only a celebration of the abolition of slavery, better known as Emancipation Day; it is also my parent’s anniversary.

I looked up the word emancipation and when you dissect it, it really comes down to freedom. And when I think of freedom, words like choice, freewill and self-determination come to mind.

Well in the spirit of Emancipation Day, I am freeing myself from yo-yo diets and unrealistic weight loss goals.

Today I start my journey for a healthy lifestyle. I know that I will have setbacks and obstacles to overcome, but I will try my best to not look at them as problems, but choices because I have the willpower and self-determination to change.

So for now on, Juneteenth will be the day that I said goodbye to my Umpteenth diet attempt and hello to my first real plan.