Weird Week

So I had a really weird week this week. I started a new job, and it's really intense training. I've literally been studying at night like crazy, and then waking up early to get there early to study. I want to be really prepared. With that said, my breakfast is not happening as much as it should. What I mean by that is... I usually consume 500 calories for breakfast. I've been getting around 250-300. Not enough! I also haven't really been working out. My food, other than breakfast, has been pretty decent. I always make good decisions wherever I go. My wife and I have been cooking at home a lot which helps control the calories/fat. I need to get back on track if I'm going to hit my goals. This week, I'm going to be strong and really take care of business!

Good news is... I've lost 10lbs so far. People have been commenting at my looking "skinnier." I'm starting to feel a lot more energy during the day. All in all, I'm happy with my progress so far, but it could be a lot better. I'm excited for my end result, and will do anything to get it. Boo Yah!

Ugh!

Ok... I've been so sick lately, I haven't been able to do anything! I can't eat, I can't workout, and I can't wait to get over it. I probably have lost weight though... but what a horrible way to do so. My energy is so low all I can really do is sit on the couch and watch Food Network or HGTV. Hopefully I'll feel better soon and start to get on track again. I was thinking though... It probably would have been smart to be drinking protein shakes. At least I would have been getting some nutrients and those are a lot easier going down than food. I think I'll try that today and see how my energy feels.

I called off of work yesterday, but I'm going to try and go for a little bit today. I got a new job and I start on Monday, so this is my last day there. I have to say goodbye to all my team mates. Starting a new job will definately throw a wrench into my routine. I'm used to working out around 1:00am and waking up at 10:00ish. I used to go into work at 2:30pm and get home between 11:30 & 12:00. Now it's 9:00am-6:00pm. Like a real person job. I haven't ever had one of those. The consistency will be nice and I'll really be able to plan my meals and workouts around work. The best part of it all, they have a gym at work! So I can get there early, beat traffic, workout, then shower and get to work. That's exciting. 2 weeks of training, then on to the real thing.

Well... that's it for now. Hopefully I'll get better soon. Have a great weekend!

What's My Motivation?

Lately, for some reason, I haven't been feeling very motivated. I've lost weight before, and I'm remembering how hard it is. Maybe it's just the holiday season, but it's hard for me to keep it up. I saw another picture of myself when I weighed less, and that kinda motivated me a little bit more. The thing is, as human beings, we want the results without the work. Let's say you're on the plane to Hawaii. If you've ever made that flight, you always think, "I wish I could just teleport and not have to take this 5 hour plane ride!" Am I right? We just want to jump to the destination. But it's the journey that makes us grow. If I just jumped to my my goal of 210lbs 12%BF, when I get there, how will I maintain it? This journey I'm on is teaching me discipline, self encouragement, and motivation. I KNOW I can hit my goal by April, I KNOW it's going to be extremely tough, and I KNOW I will be a better person because of it. It's just these short little motivational dry spells that make it toughest. I'll jump back up soon... I always do. My goal today is to have a different attitude and keep truckin. Only 50lbs to go. Easy money!

My Legs Hurt!!!

All I can say is that my whole body is aching. My trainer, Chris Groves, really kicked my butt on Wednesday. I got there and did 25min of cardio, then we worked out for about 45 minutes. I have a heart rate monitor that helps me keep my heart rate in a zone that is best for losing weight. It keeps track of my workouts ie. max heart rate, average heart rate, time of workout, and calories burned. During that workout I burned... 996 calories! Like I said, he kicked my butt. My body is still recovering from that workout. My quads hurt the most. I'm going to take some time today and stretch them out. Maybe that will help.

I had a really fun Thanksgiving. I don't feel like I overate, but I still probably consumed enough calories for the day in one meal. It was my free day, but I still don't normally eat that much on my free day. Regardless... it was one of the best Thanksgiving meals I have ever had. My brother brined his turkey and it was extremely juicy! My grandma was the big winner with her stuffing. It was a cornbread dressing with onions, celery, pink lady apples, re-hydrated cranberries and pine nuts. Amazing!

I'm excited for the Cooking Me Skinny Bootcamp on December 19th. It's FREE and you can register by e-mailing your name, age, and phone number to bootcamp@cookingmeskinny.com There are also prizes that are going to be given away, so sign up and start your resolution early this year :) Check out the flyer below.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I know I did!

What Nature Does To You...

From last Thursday night to Sunday morning, I went with my wife's family to Julian. All I can say is... AMAZING! I never could have imagined how beautiful it would be. Any time you go on a vacation, it's very hard to eat well. But I can say that I am pretty proud of myself. The first night wasn't great... but not that bad. Friday was my best day of them all. Luckily my father in law, Dennis, was there to encourage me to always make good choices, as he was trying to do the same.
The next hardest thing to achieve on vacation is a good cardio workout. Again... lucky me, my father in law was there to the rescue! I told him I was thinking about taking a fast walk when I woke up. He said he was going to do the same... but at 6:30am. Now I usually work till 11:30pm at night... so I rarely ever see 6:30 in the morning unless I'm going fishing. So, when I woke up, around 8:30am, he said, "Want to go for a walk?" I said, "I thought you already went?" He then said, "I did, but it'll be nice to go with you." So we went for that walk.
What I was thinking was going to be about 1/2 hr, turned into an hour + walk. And that hour + was amazing +.
This picture was our turn-around point. We huffed it up the hill and took a quick rest and then back to the house. I'm kinda embarrassed to say that he beat me up that hill, but oh well. My endurance will get there.
The rest of the day was right on point food wise. I even went into the town to get some brown rice for dinner because there wasn't a good healthy option for me. That is how committed I am to losing this weight and becoming a healthy person. I had a lot of times to "cheat," but I never did, and it feels great to know that I can overcome the cravings.
Now, the next day was another story. It was my free day though. Even though it was my free day, I didn't go overboard. I still drank a lot of water and ate reasonable meals. Usually my free day is also free of cardio, but my family wanted to take a hike at William Heise County Park in Julian. Let me tell you, this hike got me hooked on hiking! I'm thinking about doing a hike every Saturday morning now. Here are some pictures I took. My brother in law, David, took some pictures with his really nice camera, so I'll post those when I get them. All in all, it was an amazing weekend.

It's amazing what nature does to you. If everybody lived in such a beautiful place, I think more people would exercise... especially if there were deer prancing, turkey's gobbling, cows mooing, bulls... doing whatever they do, and leaves blowing in the wind that actually change color given the season. Julian really solidified that I am in love with the mountains and trees. Maybe some day I won't need to drive that far just to look at them every day. I think I am going to print out the picture I took while walking and talking with my father in law and put it in front of me when I'm on the elliptical... just to remind myself of the peace I felt while I was there, and the rekindled love of the great outdoors.

Day 3 - Determination

So I had my very first training session with our Cooking Me Skinny's Head Trainer Chris Groves! That was pretty exciting. When I got there, he took a lot of measurements and figured out my body fat. Needless to say, I was floored at my body fat percentage... 29% HOLY CRAP #1! I have a lot more work cut out for me than I thought. My goal is to get down to 12% BF by April. It's going to be a hard goal to hit, but Chris is confident that I can do it. I'm confident too. I can do this! It's not going to be easy, but when you want it, you'll do what it takes to get there.

HOLY CRAP #2... I'm freaking sore! It was only about 15 min after my light workout and my abs feel like they are not going to want me to ever use them again. I was talking to Chris about the CMS (Cooking Me Skinny) program and all the work we had to do, and I was trying to keep a face that looked like there was no pain behind it. When in reality, I felt like my legs were going to give out from underneath me as if they were made of jello (and we didn't even do a full leg workout). All in all though, It hurt so good!

Right after I was done with my session, my wife called me and wanted to go out to lunch. So I made her go to Subway with me. I had whole wheat bread, turkey, spinach, tomatoes, pickles, olives and mustard... no cheese. I told her I was going to put a little light mayo on it, but then she gave me that look that says... "are you sure about that?" So of course, like a good husband, I listened. No mayo for me. That is a hard one. As Season 2 Top Chef finalist Sam Talbot said, "If I could have an IV running mayonnaise through my veins, I probably would." What can I say, I love mayo. But with 90cal and 10g of fat per .5 oz serving... not gonna happen. All in all, I'm glad I made a good decision... with the help of my wife :)

One of our staff members, Coreena, is also doing a blog on her journey, and I now feel a little competitiveness going on within me. Who's going to hit their short term goals first, who's going to cheat first, and who is going to smash this weight with a ton of bricks? A little friendly competition and wagering might be in order. What do you say Coreena? You in?

By the way... here is what I used to look like after I had lost 50lbs for a show. In the picture with me is my girlfriend... and now loving wife.


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