Phase I, Day 24

Hello! I know, I've been slacking with posting. The good news is, I haven't been slacking where it counts the most....diet & exercise. I'm very happy to report that after my workout yesterday, I weighed in at 204. That's a whopping 12 lb. loss since I started phase I! I feel like I've been on the Biggest Loser or something. It's quite miraculous what happens when you do everything right and workout hard with some consistency. Aside from getting sick twice, I can say that I feel better than I have felt in a very long time.

In order for phase I to be a success, I need to drop below 200 by this Monday (3/16/09). I think I can do this even by the end of the week. I've got 2 intense workouts planned for today and tomorrow & if the weather is decent I can squeeze in some outside runs this weekend.

It's been a very challenging 4 weeks. Let's review:

1. Jess got sick the day before I started & neither one of us got any sleep that night
2. I got a 24 hour flu bug 1 week in.
3. I got an upper respiratory infection in week 2 & am still battling a cold
4. Ty got sick over this last weekend & none of us got any decent sleep over a 48 hour period
5. Oh yeah, the economy sucks ;-)

All complaining aside, I'm so excited to start phase II (achieve a 6-pack). Since this will be uncharted waters for me, I am admittedly nervous and somewhat skeptical as to whether or not I can actually do this. All I can do is continue what I'm doing and follow Tom Venuto's (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle) advice & make any necessary changes if things aren't working. Since putting everything together (written goal, nutrition, weights & cardio), I'm achieving faster results than I ever have before in my life. I know that if I just keep it up, I will see my abs. See you tomorrow!

Phase I, Day 19

Oops! I slacked off yesterday! Sorry guys. This week has been a challenging one. I've been fighting off this nasty cold (still have a lingering cough) and my workouts have definitely suffered because of it. I've pushed myself as hard as I could, considering the circumstances, but definitely need to get back on the high-intensity track. On a positive note, my weight is creeping closer & closer to the 200 lb. hurdle. Just as a reminder, before I started this challenge, my weight had crept up close to 220. In fact, in January I remember stepping on the scale one morning and seeing the needle touch the "220" indicator and I almost cried. Yesterday after my workout the gym scale said 206. 14 pounds dropped since January! 10 pounds dropped just the past 18 days alone. More importantly, I've got only 10 days to lose at least 7 more pounds. Remember, my weight needs to drop "below 200" in order for Phase I to be a success. Tough but not impossible. I need to do cardio for the next 10 days. It must be done!

Do you like the pic? Thought I'd throw in a flex just to enhance the progress I've made to date. I can't wait to see my abs. I'm convinced I've got a pretty gnarley set underneath all that fat. May 25, 2009 will be the big unveiling! See you tomorrow....

Phase I, Day 17

Hello! Well, I'm feeling better, not 100%, but better. So, I'm posed with the challenge of whether or not to push myself & workout or take it easy until I'm back to 100%. On the one hand, I know I could risk being sick for a lot longer (and making myself even worse off) if I rush back too soon. On the other hand, I haven't had a real challenging cardio session since LAST WEDNESDAY, and I skipped yesterday's workout completely, so the guilt factor is really building. As you can see, I'm faced with quite a pickle. I think I'm going to hit the gym today & budget my intensity until I really feel like I can kick it into high gear. I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes. See you then!

Phase I, Day 16

Still Sick. No need to dwell on it. See you tomorrow....

Phase I, Day 15

Hello! First off, I'M SICK AGAIN! I don't know what it is, but whenever I start a new eating/lifting/cardio regimen, I always get sick early on in the process. Last week, I had like a 24-hour flu-like bug that I thankfully worked out by Tuesday. This time, it's a chest cold. I've got congestion, a very painful cough, body aches & chills. I have to believe that I'm just not eating enough calories day in and day out to fuel this transformation. I'm putting more stress on my body than ever before, so my calorie requirements have to be higher. this should be an easy fix.

As far as this cold goes, I expect to be fully recovered tomorrow after drinking tons of fluids & getting to bed early tonight.

I forced myself to do an arm & cardio workout today. I'm getting my strength back with the weight training, but I didn't want to push it during cardio because of my chest cold. I kept coughing while running so I cut my workout to 20 minutes. I felt miserable the entire time. Like I said before, I'm not going to let anything get in the way of completing my transformation, so this cold just better go away ASAP. Time for bed. See you tomorrow.

Phase I, Day 14

Hello! I am happy to report that I am 2 weeks into Phase 1 of my physique transformation challenge and I am right on track to hit my goal. As of this morning, I am still hovering around the 206-207 lb. range, which was where I was earlier in the week. I believe the temporary plateau is more like a stabilization from having the flu last Sunday. I had a dramatic loss in the first week, followed by an additional 3 pounds from being sick.

I expect to be closer to 200 at the end of this week. When I started this phase, I was 216 pounds on Valentine's Day. I was completely dissatisfied with my body & self image and was ready to do something about. Well, I have done something about it. But I'm not even close to my ultimate goal: a 6-pack by my 32nd birthday, 5/25/09. Jess took this picture of me this morning and I really can start to picture what I will look like in almost 3 months.

After finishing the book Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (by Tom Venuto), I have more knowledge than I have ever had before in my life when it comes to permanent fat-loss. The idea behind total fat-loss (and not just "weight-loss", which most of the time is just water weight) is combining weight-training, cardio, nutrition and motivation at the same time. Sounds simple enough, which it is, but I can't even begin to tell you how many times in the past that I've been in a weight-training or running phase, only to have my nutrition be at its worst. I'd make the excuse, "well, I'm working out, so I'll just burn this pizza, beer, wings, chocolate chip cookies, etc, off anyways". WRONG! While it may be true that my metabolism had increased with the increased exercise, I would usually fill the newly needed calorie void with "anything" I could get my hands on. Which 100% of the time would be something high in fat or sugar.

Anyway, enough talk. I'm ready for the start of week 3. See you tomrrow!