Archive for November, 2009

I have been making some tweaks and adjustments at home and at work. I promise, I will start daily posting soon. Everything is okay. I have not gained or lost any weight.

My fitness room at the house is near completion. As soon as I’m done, I’ll post some pics.

Have a great week!

Everything has been great this week. I have been eating well and working out every day. Hopefully I won’t be so tired tomorrow night, and I’ll be able to tell you about my week and plans for this weekend.

Have a great week!!

Well, I managed to complete the 10k today. Fortunatly, I had a walking buddy, my Mom.

The race officially started at 8am but we started at 5:42am so we could finish with the other runners. If we had started at 8, we would have finished around 11:45am, which is an hour and 15 minutes past the awards ceremony.

The first 4.5 miles were easy. It was the last leg that we both had trouble with. But we made it to the end.

Now my legs must recover.

Finally, thank you everyone for your kind words of encouragement.

Enjoy the  pics:

Mom and I started early at 5:42 am.

Mile 2

Mile 2

Mile 3

Mile 3

Mile 4

Mile 5

Mile 5

Runners

Well, the 10k is in the morning. That’s 6.4 miles.

This will be my longest walk thus far, and it is kicking off my new training. The transformation begins.

If I can’t make it, it’ll be okay. I am completely unprepared for the walk, but let’s see what happens. I know that I can get at least half of the walk done.

I also have to work after the race. So we’ll see how that goes, but as a friend told me today, I have to take care of business.

Let’s do this.

I’m finally getting my mojo back. It’s amazing how quickly we can allow a couple of bad days to affect us. I see a lot of weight loss blogs where people are doing great for a few weeks, then all of a sudden they stop posting. Then they’ll come back a few weeks later, usually back on track. I’ve got a friend right now that was doing extremely well, but now he hasn’t posted anything for 4 weeks. I’ve been in the same boat. It’s not fun. We end up feeling like a failure.

I’m learning that I’m not the only one that goes through this. We are all human, and in our planning for weight loss, we set high goals. Which is great, but we all must strive to work our hardest to meet those goals, and forgive ourselves when (not if) we don’t do as well as expected. We also must realize that there are going to be setbacks. The most common setbacks are illness and injuries. There are two things that we can do: do our best to prevent illness and injuries, and plan for them. The preventive stuff is what we commonly see on TV: wash your hands, cover your mouth, take vitamen C, stretch before and after exercising, etc. Planning, though, is the smartest thing we can do. Plan ahead for the bad times.

So here’s my plan for when I feel down about not following my nutrition and exercise plans:

1. Forgive myself. (Like I said before, we’re all human, we all make mistakes.)
2. Workout. – No matter how much I’ve eaten, or if I slacked off, from now on, I am gonna get that workout in.
3. Call or email a buddy – Setup a support system with friends. These friends can be your local friends or online friends. If you need a support buddy, let me know. I have a bunch of online friends that can help. Contact me here. Also, see below about the upcoming MizFit Motivational Matchups.
4. Finally, immediately start following my nutrition and fitness plans. There is no tomorrow. Start right now!!!

Other setbacks that we need to plan for are special occasions, holidays, birthdays, and vacations. If we at least have a plan, we don’t feel helpless.

What are your plans for those bad times?

If you haven’t seen this already, MizFit Motivational Matchups are BACK!!!! MizFit and PriorFatGirl are teaming up for the third motivational matchup where they will pair you with a motivational buddy. Once you have a buddy, you and your buddy decide on how to contact each other and how often to check in. I am excited about this because I am realizing that I need all of the motivation and support that I can get. There is no fee and no rules. All they do is pair you with a motivational buddy, and then you both decide what you’re gonna do. Here are all the details.

Finally, here is yesterday’s workout:

• Dumbbell Upright Rows with 20lb Dumbbells… 2 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbbell Squats with 20lb Dumbbells… 2 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbbell Clean & Press with 20lb Dumbbells… 1 set of 10 reps and 1 set of 8 reps
• Modified Push Up… 2 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbbell Curls with 20 lb Dumbbells… 2 sets of 15 reps

In addition to this morning’s workout, I also worked out with Donny at Fitness Together in Patton Creek (Hoover, AL) today

Here’s my second workout:

• 8 minute warm up on treadmill
• Deadlift 95lbs… 3 sets of 8 reps
• Barbell Squats… 1 set bar only8 reps, 2 sets 75lbs 8 reps
• Step Ups… 3 sets of aprx 1 – 1.5 minutes
• Barbell Clean & Press Bar Only… 1 set 10 reps, 1 set of 8 reps
• Dumbbell Chest Press 25lb Dumbbells… 2 sets of 10 reps
• The Russian Twist for abs… 1 set bar only of 20 reps, 1 set 55lbs of 20 reps, and 1 set 60lbs of 20 reps

It was two for Tuesday!!

Well I finally did it. After over a week without doing it, I did it. What did I do? I WORKED OUT! Was it the hardest thing that I’ve ever done? NO Was it as bad as I imagined it would be? NO Now it’s time for the dangerous question: Why did I wait so long to workout? I DON’T KNOW (“Why” questions are dangerous.)

Here’s my simple morning workout:

• Dumbbell Upright Rows with 20lb Dumbbells… 3 sets of 12 reps
• Dumbbell Squats with 20lb Dumbbells… 2 sets of 12 reps
• Body Weight Squats… 1 set of 12 reps
• Dumbbell Clean & Press with 20lb Dumbbells… 3 sets of 12 reps
• Modified Push Up… 3 sets of 12 reps
• Dumbbell Curls with 20 lb Dumbbells… 3 sets of 15 reps

How do I feel? A little tired but I feel like I accomplished something, which adds to my self confidence. If I don’t workout, it takes a little of my self confidence away.

I weighed in yesterday at 509 lbs, a 10 pound gain from the previous week. It sucks, but it is what it is. I’ve gone back to the drawing board, and am getting back to the basics. Eat less, work more, and drink a heck of a lot of water.

I now have a theme song for my 300 pound challenge: Frantic by Metallica

Here are some of the lyrics of the song:

If I could have my wasted days back,
Would I use them to get back on track?
Stop to warm at karmas burning,
Or Look ahead, but keep on turning.

Do I have the strength
To know how I’ll go?
Can I find it inside to deal with what I shouldn’t know?

Could I have my wasted days back?
Would I use them to get back on track.

Keep searching
Keep on searching
This search goes on
This search goes on

Frantic tick tick tick tick tock
Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tick tock
Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tick tock
Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tick tock

I’ve worn out always being afraid
An endless stream of fear that i’ve made
Treading water full of worry
This frantic tick tick talk of hurry

Do I have the strength
To know how I’ll go?
Can I find it inside to deal with what I shouldn’t know?

I’ve worn out always being afraid
An endless stream of fear that I’ve made

I will still be walking the 10k this Saturday although I am completely unprepared. I don’t foresee any problems, I will probably just be worn out and sore after the race.

Finally, please mark your calendars for Monday, November 9th because I will be posting a “preview trailer” for the 300 pound challenge. It will be motivating and inspiring. This trailer will be a two minute or less video preview for the upcoming 300 pound challenge deadline in April 25, 2010. This video is either gonna be really good or really cheesy, but everything is better with a little cheese

The countdown begins: 6 days until the 300 Pound Challenge preview trailer.

Here’s the last batch of pictures from the concert this weekend. I had a great time!!

Steve Higginbotham

Cool ambient lighting

Person dressed as Dale Jr. for Halloween

Zac Brown Band

Gumby gettin his drink on.

Dale Jr.

I don't know who this guy was.

Q&A with Dale Jr.

The toast.

Zac Brown Band

Save the best for last. (Just kidding.)

Here are some videos from Talladega Superspeedway on Halloween 2009:

We had an incredible time at Talladega Superspeedway yesterday. When we arrived, the truck race was still running because there was a long rain delay. It was fascinating to watch the trucks circle the track. Television does not do them justice. It is completely different live. As expected, there was a ton of people.

Before entering the track, security inspected the undercarriage of my truck with a mirror. Then we drove through the tunnel to the infield. It took us a long while to find where we needed to park. After parking, we took our gear to the tent and got setup. After that, we got to enjoy the race atmosphere for a while.

Then we took some pics of the Zac Brown Band with a few fans. Next, we took pics of Dale Jr. with a lot of his fans. Then took pics of Dale’s Q&A in the tent. Finally, we covered the concert. I took crowd shots and then made my way to the stage. I took videos of the concert and will have them posted tomorrow. Youtube is not working at the moment.

Here are some pics that I took with my phone and point & shoot camera. I’ll have better pics from my big camera tomorrow. Steve (the other photographer) has my memory cards so he can upload the pics to the web.

This was definitely an experience that I’ll never forget.

Yesterday is playing a BIG role in losing this weight. I had A LOT of fun yesterday and I know that come April next year, I will have one of those milestone days that I will talk about until I die. It’s gonna be one of those reflection days that everyone has. You know, it’s that day you mention when a conversation leads into participants comparing fun events. April 25, 2010 is gonna be my day, and I AM GONNA BE READY FOR IT!

$3.00 Last-Minute Halloween Mask

Truck race was still running when we arrived.

Cow hangin out on top of da bus.

It was cold!!

Steve aka Santa

Thumbs up with the trucks runnin in the background... Oh Yeah!!!

My name is mud. - THERE WAS A LOT OF MUD!!!!!!

Smile

The infield

The stage

Football in the infield.

The AMP tent

Dale Jr. Pic 1/3

Dale Jr. Pic 2/3

Dale Jr. Pic 3/3

Carl Edwards

The passes.

Parking Pass

Talladega Mud 1/2

Talladega Mud 2/2