87 Days to go

Only 87 more days till I have completed my first round!  A huge milestone was achieved today, my weight went down to 260.8 from 262!  I am already seeing the changes from my diet which I started a week ago Monday.  Its been a week of being hungry throughout the day, eating smaller portions of healthy food and actually reading whats on the nutrition label.  I conquered eating out on the road last week as well which is a huge step for me.  Being I travel anywhere from 2-4 nights a week its so easy to eat bad.  But I feel more comfortable now to make the right decision.  It helps to have the support at home as well with my wife cheering me and driving me to do good.  

This weekend I also did an extra exercise.  The weather has turned not so oppressive here in South Texas that I actually took my bike off the wall, pumped up the tires and went out on a trail.  I took a few snap shots while I was out there as you can see.  The weather was so perfect, low 80's not a cloud in the sky.  I enjoyed the hell out of it even though it was a tough workout.  In the end though I did close to 5 miles! 

The wife was quite surprised as was I at how far and long I went!  This is something I am going to add in to my routine as its something I enjoy doing and want to get out and see more of the country side.  The wife even said she would join me once she feels more comfortable.  I want to bike a longer trail that is here in town, around 10 miles.  But that will be once I get a few short trips under my belt.  I am so enthused with this endeavor that I decided to cash in a bunch of travel points to get a new bike.  The one I have currently, the gears don't change well and the wheels get a bit wobbly at high speed. 

This next week will be a challenge for me.  I will be out on the road for 4 nights training a new employee in California.  That means I need to take my work outs with me this time and find time to do them in the morning as well as continue to eat well.  This is hopefully one my last week long trips for a while. 

This is me.....

This is me....fat....lazy.....overweight....actually obese.  Should I be embarrassed to post this on the net?  Yup.  So why am I doing it?  Because I want to change.  The picture you see above is the result of many years of not caring about what I put in my body, if I was active enough, or how I looked.  Its amazing how I haven't had a heart attack yet, or any major health problems outside of constant acid indigestion and one round of kidney stones five years ago.  Pretty pathetic if you ask me.

But now after years of having this apathy, I want to change.  Why now?  The realization that I weigh 262 pounds, that I can't do things I once loved doing because I tire out, because sometimes I wonder if my wife still finds me attractive (she swear she does) and the constant change of having to buy bigger and bigger clothes.  When I bought pants that were size 44 I told myself enough...but I didnt change.  Now those are getting tight.  That was one catalyst.

The other major catalyst is the fact that me and my wife are trying to have a child.  Because of infertility issues (which I wont get into much here) we are having to spend a crazy amount of money just for the chance to have a kid.  Not a guarantee, but a 60% chance.  My wife is having to endure a procedure she swore she would never do again because of the pain it caused her the first time just so we can have a chance.  Her strength made me think, if we were to have a child, what kind of life would I have?  I cant work out in the yard for more then 15 minutes before I am out of breath.  How would I take care of a child?  And what if I did have a heart attack or stroke at a young age, I would be leaving her and our child.  This is when it struck me like an anvil.  I need to change.  We needed to change our habits.

So we are embarking on a 90 day lifestyle change.  We have done something similar many years ago and it worked (P90X) but we only made it to day 40 before life got in the way.  I cant let that happen again.  I MUST make it to the end.  We are doing something different though which will hopefully make us more successful.  See P90X is an extreme workout and it was LONG.  An hour and half for some routines.  With the latest release of P90 but the creators of P90X they have given me something I have always wanted, a gateway to the more difficult routines.  See I have never been an athletic type.  This routine is actually supposed to help people learn form as well as lose weight to get them to that next level to be successful. 

The other part is eating right....and thank god for technology to make it easy for me.  I purchased a Jawbone UP24 to help track my steps, sleep and calorie intake.  The device is really really awesome!  I have had it for about a week now and I hardly notice when I have it on.  It also syncs up with myfitnesspal which is an app that will track all your calories.  It will take into account your steps and workouts to show you the correct amount of calories you should be eatting every day as well as the amount of Fat, sugar, protein, and other items that you need to be wary of.  Its honestly made life alot easier when it comes to eating right!

So why am I doing this blog?  I want to keep myself motivated.  This will be a place I can document my struggles, my successes, and anything else that may be thrown at me during this life style change.  Hopefully by the end of my 90 days, that picture you see above will be something I wont be embarrassed about.  It will be a picture of a mountain that I climbed and overcame.  Only sweat and determination will get me there though.  Lets do this!