2 year anniversary ... lessons learned.

Well year # 2 is coming to a close. Today 11/22/13 is my 2 year anniversary of my weightloss journey. So I only lost technically 15 lbs this year by itself. Let me explain why.

When I started this year my goal was 199 by today. I also, because I didn't last year, gave myself a reward that I wanted. I had networked with 2 people that could make it happen. I'll go into what that was here in a moment. But this reward overwhelmed me because it didn't make sense. I consulted with my mom, my friends, and some people outside my circle to find out why I wanted this reward. Most explained it adequately but I never internalized what they said and accepted it and moved onto putting in the work.

6 days prior (11/17/11) Jim Capoot of Vallejo Police Department was killed in the line of duty. There were constant news coverage about it and the statements from the family through VPD and their friends inspired me. I was completely and totally taken by his family, his wife Jennifer, daughters Jillian, Jamie, and Justine, and their “Charge On” spirit. They faced Thanksgiving without Jim to be there. This was my mitigating and motivating factor.

The following day, Thanksgiving, I told my mom that I was beginning my weightless journey. I told her that we need to prove that just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean we can’t “Charge On” and defy the odds and lose weight now. She jumped on board with me.

Every year I bought a prepackaged dinner from either Raley’s or Safeway. So after it was cooked up on Thanksgiving I broke out my plastic containers and portioned out (using measuring cups and a scale) a dinner into each container. My mom and I had our dinners and the rest went in the freezer for the following 7 days.

So my reward was I wanted to set up just a brief introduction with the family and tell them this. Today, 11/22/13, I did so indirectly. I posted the story in image format and tagged them in the comments on Facebook.

So while for the most part my calories were always on point the exercise never was. My days off led to overeating and destroying the calorie work I did on my work days. So in other words the loss I experienced on my work days was gained on my off days canceling itself out.

My Heart Rate Monitor died this year so tracking became almost impossible. In fact I can't track anymore I just have to know I'm putting in the work. 

But fortunately I have my mindset back where it needs to be thanks to an amazing person I met this year, a fitness place in Vacaville. She saw the potential in me and reignited the flame I had let it get buried under all that doubt.

I'm setting an aggressive goal for 183 by June 15, 2014. So beginning tomorrow I begin year #3.  Every year I've given myself a theme. My first year was The Biggest Loser theme “No Excuses”, Second Year was “No Limits”. I’m again steeling The Biggest Loser’s theme which this season is “Second Chance”. As I enter my 3^rd year of weight loss tomorrow I’m giving myself a “Second Chance” to get it right.

So here is to year #3 coming up tomorrow…”Second Chance” to “Charge On”!!

Brandon

2013 Goal and Reward...Owning my shortcomings

I'm not gonna preface this with an apology for not posting. Let's face it. Its been over a year and I haven't posted. Let's accept this and move on.

I ended 2012 with a total loss of 70 lbs lost. I went from 347 down to 277. I also changed pant sizes by about 10 inches if memory serves me correct.

Let's talk about rewards and goals. I started my journey on November 22, 2011. 1 year later when the anniversary came up I didn't give myself a reward because honestly the reward was the loss.

For 2013 I set an aggressive goal of seeing 199. My body for whatever reason has decided to plateau and maintain between 270-280. The lowest I've seen is 269 then it goes back up again. I have a couple of theories as to why.

Theory 1: My exercise hasn't really been on point and my diet also hasn't been on point. But the 2 balance out.

Theory 2: I actually set a reward for the 199 bench mark and I think the the reward overwhelmed me and the work I needed to put in to make it happen. I think my psyche has decided that we're gonna plateau until you come up with WHY you want this reward.

Well let me tell you a story. Early November 2011 my mom and I were introduced by my friend to MyFitnessPal to track food and such. I toyed around with it discovered that yes I needed to make a change and such. But we had decided it being the holidays that we'd wait til January 1st and get through the holidays.

Then November 17th, 2011 happened. Vallejo Police Officer Jim Capoot was shot and killed in the line of duty while pursuing a bank robber. 5 days later was Thanksgiving. I thought about Jim's family who had adopted the motto of "Charge On". While I'm pragmatic and know that in public it was "Charge On" but in the solitude of home they were mourning and weeping for their loss. I know my dad was killed in '95 and in public there was a need to be stoic and at home that could all melt away.

But it was the "Charge On" mentality that struck me. So I told my mom who was spending Thanksgiving with me that we were starting our journey on that day. I cooked the Safeway prepackaged dinner then broke out the measuring cups/spoons and began dishing out the food in portion sizes and scanning into MyFitnessPal the meal and what I had consumed that day. My weight loss journey began in earnest.

8 Days after that was Jim's funeral and I was taken with the "Charge On" atmosphere and his daughters maintaining their clear knowledge of what the day meant and allowing themselves to be unguarded but guarded if that makes sense.

1 year later 70 lbs lost and no specific reward. I had read that you should have a reward, not food, but a reward. So I set a very aggressive goal and reward for the next year. I wanted to lose 199 lbs and if I made that goal I wanted the honor and privilege of meeting Jim's amazing family to tell them all this.

But again this goal isn't going to happen, I can't say the reward won't happen because if I limit myself to saying I won't meet people until something like a weigh loss goal happens I might miss out on an amazing encounter. If you look at it fractionally though the reward has 1/4 happen. Why 1/4? There's Jim's wife and 3 kids = 4. I had the honor of meeting Jim's youngest daughter strictly by accident. I did not know that she worked at a restaurant in Vacaville and the chance meeting was amazing.

I have 3 months and still maintaining the 270-280 weight range. I'm working out 6 days a week. I haven't participated in near the 5k's I did last year. In fact only 2 so far. I know I need to get on track but I just question what, if any progress will be made. I know I've been adding muscle lately but the scale keeps bouncing between 270-280.

I had adopted a motto of "No Limits" for year 2 of this weight loss. But I really realize that I should've kept the "No Excuses" I had for year #1. I'm going to do my best and accept what will happen between now and 11/22/13 and know that year 3 I will meet all my goals NO EXCUSES.

Until next time ... Be Well

Its been 6 months and ...

Looking at that title I just can't believe its been 6 months since I began my weightloss journey. I mean wow! I began my journey on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 just 2 days before Thanksgiving. Most thought I would be crazy to start right before the holidays. I wanted to prove that you could still eat healthy and in moderation even during the holiday. So on Thanksgiving and subsequently Christmas I was there in my kitchen with measuring cups and the food scale weighing out portions, putting portions into containers and freezing, etc. Since that date I have lost 48 lbs and said goodbye to the 300's.

As of today I am at 299.4 lbs. Sadly though I've hit another plateau which has really caused me some issues throughout this journey thus far. My goal was 10 lbs a month but I will not argue with 8 lbs a month at all I'll take that everyday! But it would be nice to get my 2 lbs a week consistently. Right now the pattern is I'll plateau for a week or a week and a half then all of a sudden nail 4-5 lbs lost in a week. Its like my body is catching up or something. I don't know I just know the body is an interesting device.

Speaking of which I've been learning about my body's physiology. Since I began this journey and was using www.myfitnesspal.com to track my food/exercise I have NOT replenished burned calories. However, through trial and error I found that my plateaus happen more frequently so I have to replenish about 30-50% of burned calories in order to attempt to combat the plateau.

So what have I been up to and doing? Well I've, in celebration, have been participating in a 5k every month and have done 4 so far! Each time my time is improving. My last 5k the miles have been about 14.5 minutes.

My exercises have been kind of all over the board. I still have my "gauntlet" that I do and try to do about 2-3 times a week. I've been doing a lot of walking I try to do a 5k walk 2 days a week. Today I am going back to my Tae Bo. I took a hiatus from Tae-Bo because during the workout Billy would say "2 more sets" and like 5 sets later would say "Walk it out" I realize now that wasn't him per se it was the editors/producers. Also Billy would do like 1 set then walk around the room and motivate/talk to the camera. I got irritated and instead of using that irritation to push harder I walked away. Now that I understand a little more about what it takes to make a workout video and that its not a 1 shot production its usually 3-4 workouts spliced into 1. Also that the motivation/walking around talking is an important part to keep the person watching/using the video to keep going. So now tomorrow I'll reintegrate Tae Bo back into my workout regimen because its something I love to do and if I get irritated I'll use it to push forward and if all else fails I'll concentrate on the other people working out in the video because they are pushing through with those of us using it.

So that's about it for now. Just wanted to post a blog about my 6 months especially considering some of the "followers" of this blog aren't on my Facebook.

Until next time! Here is the latest profile pic I took on the 6 month anniversary.

Owning it...

So I downloaded the blogger app so I could post more. Today I wanna talk about owning the shortcomings. I was staying pretty consistent with my workouts but I've faltered here and there.
Now I could, and have in the past beat myself up, get depressed over it but ultimately what does that accomplish? Being depressed, beating myself up, or starving myself as punishment does nothing. So I've had to learn the hard way is I gotta own it, accept it, and move on. Once I adopted that mentality I've been able to forgive myself those shortcomings and start over.

So moving on. Since my last post somethings have changed. I've inspired a few more people to change their lifestyle which is awesome. Also my friend has started working out with me a few days a week and we're trying to go on a hike at Lagoon Valley Park, aka Pena Adobe Vacaville. That hike by the way is a gruling 6.5 miles around the lagoon and up hill.

Also I have been trying to do my "gauntlet" 3 days a week, 5k on the treadmill 1 day, the hike 1 day, then I have an insane 4 hour cardio workout that burns 3200 calories. This consists of 2 hours treadmill, 1 hour stairs, 30 min elliptical, 20 min bike, and finish 10 min rowing. This require a 30 min replenish break and have a little something to eat (I.e. banana, protein bar, 1/2 blueberry bagel). Without the calories to burn that 4 hours is rough!

Well just keeping y'all posted now that I have the app on my phone hopefully I post more!

So its a long process complete with injuries

Wow I find it so stunning that I haven't been here in a month to post a blog! Shame on me!

So I'm making a few changes on this blog. I realize I've been going at this for about 2 years now and my weigh ins have shown the ups and downs. However, I didn't get serious until November 22. So I removed all old posts and updated with starting and my check in as of today.

Well as of today I have lost 28 lbs! I started at 347 and brought myself down to 319. I'm telling you I couldn't be happier!

I wanna talk briefly about a reward program for weight loss. You have to have a reward for small goals. My goal is 25 lbs at a time. When I lost the 25 lbs as metro sexual as it sounds I got a manicure, pedicure, and massage. The reason I went that route is lets face it if you use food as a reward you'll never succeed at weight loss! So for 50 lbs its time for some new clothes! I'm at a point where I might have to order new work uniforms sooner than planned!

So lets talk a little. Since my last post on January 29th I've been keeping a rigorous workout schedule which consisted of:

Sunday, Tue, Thur - 90 min circuit training

Monday, Wed - 60 min of cardio

Fri - 30-60 min of Yoga or meditation

Sat - Off

To see my circuits check out my previous post please!

I've been sticking with MyFitnessPal as my means of tracking calories and have been very honest. I allow myself 1 cheat day a week where I'll consume 1000-1500 calories extra just to let my body know I'm not starving. I usually do this on my rest day.

So why the "injury" part of the title. Well this past Saturday during my rest day I was feeling pain in my lower back. I couldn't help but think I overdid the day before which was my birthday. I added an extra circuit day to my week in lieu of Yoga/Meditation because I knew my birthday would be a indulge above the 1,000-1,500 calories. As a result I suffered a pulled muscle in my lower back.

If it was anywhere else I could have modified my workout however given its in the "core" area there's no modification just rest. So I reduced my caloric intake by 250 calories to compensate for the lost exercising for this week and will resume on Sunday coming up my workouts. The massage was a God send for my back!

So that's about all I have for ... oh wait lets talk inspiring and motivating! I have taken 2-3 people under my wing and its so cool to have people to share your tools and tips with! =) These people have inspired me by picking up their own gauntlet and running with it. Remember success is best shared and if you can get a group to motivate and work with success is all the more sweeter!

Until next time be well.

A new year a new attitude

Current weight 322 lbs, BMI: 43.7

Wow I can't believe I haven't posted a blog for this year! So where do I begin with a month and a half past my last post. Well what the heck let's take it from a week ago because it was more of a defining moment for me!

I've been staying on track with the MyFitnessPal logging absolutely everything. Now when I say on track I do not necessarily mean keeping my calories below the daily intake. I've had my landslides where I've taken in way too much. I am happy to report I haven't gone over 3,000 though like I was before MyFitnessPal.

My heart rate monitor (Polar FT4) has been an integral part of the workout process. As I mentioned before MyFitnessPal has every exercise in it but its calorie burn calculation is a bit off! I have also added a new device called FitBit its a small device almost looks like a flash drive that you hook onto your belt, pant pocket, (or if your of the female persuasion your bra). I was looking for a device that could be worn 24 hours a day 7 days a week (excluding water activities such as swimming or showering). It tracks your steps taken, stairs climbed, distance traveled, calories burned (its NOT a heart rate monitor it uses your height/weight to calculate), and lastly you can wear it during sleep and it evaluates your sleep pattern for efficiency. It integrates nicely into MyFitnessPal so having that added bonus is great.

Anyway the downside of logging exercises. MyFitnessPal gives you "credit" for exercises in your calorie intake. If you burn 300 calories they give you 300 more you could potentially eat. Yeah as long as you don't go over its all good but I prefer to stay under and have that bigger deficit.

So my pivotal moment. As I mentioned in the other post we all wait for "Sunday" or "Monday". Well I guess despite my "making today my Monday" promise I fell short. My workout Billy Blanks PT 24/7 has a rotation calendar. The first week is a 6 day workout with 1 day off. Because I kept skipping or ignoring days each Sunday was my new start and had to start over. Sunday the 22nd of January I made more of a committment.

I have an insane weekly workout that I do on Sundays now that consists of:

- Billy Blanks PT 24/7 video (34 min)

- Circuit Training Round 1: 15 min on treadmill @ 3.5mph, 1 set of 10 on all upper body machines

- Circuit Training Round 2: 15 min on treadmill @ 3.5mph, 1 set of 10 on all core body machines

- Circuit Training Round 3: 15 min on treadmill @ 3.5mph, 1 set of 10 on all lower body machines

- Circuit Training Round 4: 15 min on treadmill @ 3.5mph

- Billy Blanks PT 24/7 video (34 min)

*add 1 set ever week on machines until maxed out at 5*

By doing this on Sundays it takes about 2.5 hours and I usually burn about 1500 calories. I call it "The Gauntlet" or taking a term from The Biggest Loser "The Last Chance Workout".

Then on the other days I follow the PT24/7 rotation calendar working out 4-5 times a week with the video and afterwords walking 1 mile around the neighborhood.

So have I seen progress? Well take a look at my weight from last time til now! Since I started using MyFitnessPal on 11/22 I have lost 25 lbs! Its possible to do this without an official diet folks! Its possible to do this without medicine or a medical procedure. Just gotta believe in yourself and have a good support system.

I have my mom on board using MyFitnessPal and has lost 8 lbs! I have a support system of 3 amazing people. A friend who I knew in high school keeps me motivated and gives me tips. My friends who I met shortly after the Billy Blanks Boot Camp series came out on the Tae Bo message boards.

I do have numerous friends I can mention here who have kept me motivated and I'm thankful to each one. To those of you who are these people you know! =) ... love you all!!

Keep fighting the good fight!

Back in the saddle again

Current Weight: 339 lbs

BMI: 46.0

Well I honestly get irritated with coming here time and time again to tell you all my excuses for not exercising. Let me be clear I'm not irritated with you all, the irritation is at me. But not for long.

So at the urging of a friend of mine, he recommended a site called MyFitnessPal (to save typing I will abbreviate it MFP). This is a calorie counting website and could quite possibly be the best one I've ever seen in my life! It also includes an app for on the road calorie counting. Needless to say I'm not getting rid of my android now! LOL ... I began using MFP on 11/22/11. At that time I weighed in at 347 lbs. Since then until today (12/11/11) I have, by counting calories, lost 8 lbs!

A REALIZATION:

How do you define that "AHA" moment. Well its when you put the numbers in front of your face. It was rather quite humbling when I have been telling my friends that my daily intake, that I mentioned on another post, was under 2500 a day. Well when you input it all into a website that has ever name brand known on it then its hard to argue the facts!

I discovered that my intake was well over 3500 calories a day! Which means if I hadn't made that discovery I could potentially have been gaining almost a pound a day (keep in mind a pound is 3500 calories). You can't argue with those numbers!

The Struggle:

Okay so I'm logging calories right ... well you would think that this would make me say that okay alright I know what I'm doing wrong and I'll now keep my calories under what the site tells me.

ASIDE: I didn't mention it up top. The site asks you your goals, current height/weight. Then calculates what you would have to take in everyday.

Anyway, well for the most part I've stayed close to, if not under, the daily limit. I've still had those few days where I went over. A few days by a couple hundred, the worst by 1,000.

The plan:

Well I don't know what it is about the human mind that makes us think we HAVE TO start on a Sunday or Monday...or better yet "tomorrow". But I decided I was going to integrate the exercise back into the daily routine so that I can get the calories in check. Well I am doing the Billy Blanks Tae Bo PT 24/7 which has a rotation calender that, you guessed it, starts on a Sunday.

WELL TODAY IS SUNDAY. I did my workout this morning and feel great! HOWEVER, there is an added bonus. #1 MyFitnessPal has TaeBo listed, HOWEVER, the site is a bit off on the calorie burn. So as a result #2 I bought a heart rate monitor (HRM) that includes a calories burned. So when I did my workout I discovered that I:

Burned 360 Calories in 38min38sec of the workout.

Maintained my "in the zone" heart rate for 23min49sec.

Max heart rate 183

Anyways I've gone on quite a bit. But wanted to share with you the strides I've taken. The new tools in my life. And assure you MY FRIENDS I'm back in the saddle with the weight loss.

Until next time