Starting anew

Well, it's been WAY too long with out any recognizable effort on my part. Last night, I went to the gym and used the treadmill for an hour. Fast walk, steep incline. I was sweating profusely, and it felt great.

I plan to go again tonight.

Since I've dropped my weight strictly through changing my eating habits, the physical activity should make an apparent difference in a relatively short timeframe. We're heading down the southern California to see my family at the end of June, and I'd like to have a bit of muscle tone by then. Of course, that means sticking with it, and not slacking.

Wish me luck.

Status of the slacker

Wow. It's been several months since my last post. I haven't been working out regularly, but I have been eating better (primarily portion adjustments). As a result, I'm down to 200 lbs, just 5 pounds shy of my target. I'd like to get to the gym more, and am aiming to go at least 3 days a week.

:: Moving forward ::

Having successfully completed (and exceeded) my goal for completing a 5k, I'm very motivated to keep this fitness thing up. This evening I will be going to the gym. I intend to do 5k on the treadmill (not neccessarily running the whole way), and a bit of free weights. I'd like to target going to the gym at least 3 times a week. I'm now on the lookout for 10k's in the area, as I'd definitely like to run another one.

:: 10k Run Pictures ::

Here are some pics from the 10k run, taken by my co-worker Alex. My recorded race time was 1:11:02, and I placed 777. Woot!

Here I am, sweating towards the finish line:

And here I am in the post finish corral area, where they collect the lower tag of the race number for the record keeping. Note the classy race wear.

:: I Completed A 10k! ::

Yesterday was the Palo Alto Moonlight Run, an evening event, run in the dark by the light of the full moon, along the shore of the bay. I had planned to compete in the 5k run, but several friends and coworkers were doing the 10k, and talked me into it. I ran the first half (so I did run a 5k), walked a mile, run a half mile, walked a half mile, then finished the last mile at a run. I was breathing like a donkey at the end, but it felt great to complete it.

My calves were like jelly immediately after the run, and after the drive home, I could hardly stand. So I did a good bit of stretching before bed, and woke up with hardly any stiffness in my calves. My quads are another story. I've been hobbling about today, but it's definitely a good feeling. I'm looking forward to my next run.

As for the rest of the fitness agenda, this has definitely re-energized me. Look forward to many more updates.

:: Slipped a bit... ::

Ugh. So, as apparent from the lack of posts in the past week, I slipped a bit. I'll be changing things a bit. The meal postings were a bit too depressing to focus on, so I will be dropping them. I'll be focusing more on the physical activity side of things. So, after a week+ of not doing a whole hell of a lot, I returned to the gym last night:

• 1 mile on the treadmill @ 6 mph
• 20 minutes on treadmill @ 4 mph
• 2 sets, 10 reps, 25 lb bicep curls
• 3 sets, 10 reps, 80 lb seated row
• 30 situps

Also, this weekend, Iris and I cleaned out the entire garage, which involved a lot of lifting and carrying heavy items, and lots of hauling heavy stuff up and down a ladder. This was a pretty good workout in and of itself.

I still intend to run the 5k midmonth in Palo Alto. It'll be a bit of a challenge, but I intend to be ready.

I'll be heading back to the gym again tommorrow night, to bump up the cardio a bit, and shift the weight focus to the chest and triceps. Alternate workout sessions will shift between back/biceps, chest/triceps, and legs. I won't do a weigh in this week, since I've made no progress to speak of yet, and I've once again missed the Sunday night goal. Stay tuned for a weigh-in this coming Sunday.

- L

:: Week 2 Weigh-in ::

This week's weigh-in is a day or two late do to the LA trip. This week's weight is 209.4. And the photos:

:: Day 9 ::

Breakfast:

• V8
• Nutrigrain blueberry breakfast bar

Lunch:

• 3 small fish tacos w/ cabbage, salsa, gaucamole, sourcream
• side of fruit salad

Snack:

• Handful of cashews

Dinner:

• Caprese salad (mozzarella, tomato, basil, balsamic vinegar)
• Chicken & potato w/ red curry
• Prawns & eggplant w/ sweet sauce
• White rice

Tonight I used the treadmill for 40 minutes, 15 of which was at a 6mph run (1.5 miles). My coworkers told me about a 5k run coming up on September 17. It's the "Palo Alto Moonlight Run". It's in the evening under a full moon. I think I'll be ready for it.

:: Day 8 ::

Breakfast:

• Banana nut muffin

Lunch:

• 1/2 of a quarter pound hamburger w/ grilled onion and mushrooms
• 1/2 portion of french fries (I split lunch w/ Iris)
• cup of cream of broccoli
  

Dinner:

• Chicken & Potato w/ red curry
• Prawns & eggplant in sweet sauce
• White rice

After a full day of driving, putting stuff away, and settling back in at home, no exercise occurred.

:: Day 7 ::

Breakfast:

• Banana nut muffin

Lunch:

• 3 slices of quesadilla w/ whole wheat tortilla

Snack:

• Pita chips w/ hummus
• Veggies and dip

Dinner:

• Tri-tip
• BBQ chicken leg
• Coleslaw w/ vinegarette dressing
• Pasta salad w/ bay shrimp
• 1 small scoop vanilla ice cream

An hour and a half of casual swimming. I intend to start providing better estimates of portion size. If I can obtain a cheap digital camera, the ideal solution would be to photograph my portions.