Day 25 - Not much going on today

I really don’t have much to report today.  Our daycare person was sick today so I spent the morning at home watching the kidlet so my wife could go to work.  We played in the yard for a while.  Chasing after a toddler can be pretty good exercise.

My wife came home at lunch so I could finish the day at my office.  I would have preferred to keep playing with my daughter instead of sitting in meeting after meeting this afternoon.  I would have given anything just to hop on my bike and go for a ride, just a little exercise to clear my head. 

I’m enjoying my outdoor exercise more and more (still don’t like running but I like being outside).  Maybe I should quit my job and become a forest ranger so I can get paid to hike.  I don’t think that will be happening anytime soon.  Back to reality.

Breakfast

Crispex cereal with skim milk

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Ham and turkey sandwich

Dinner

Ham steak

Mashed potatoes

Jell-0 cup (sugar free)

Activity

2.0 mile walk

See you all tomorrow morning for an early morning run.

Day 24 - Welcome back Spring

Spring is upon us and I welcome the warmer weather.  Ski resorts in Colorado shut down in a couple of weeks so I don’t think I’ll be hitting the slopes again this year.  Time to put away the ski equipment for the winter.

The nice thing about warmer temperatures is that I’m not freezing when I get up at the butt crack of dawn to go running.  Instead of the 20-degree weather from last week, it’s been in the upper 30’s and low 40’s.  I still hate running but at least I haven’t been cold this week.

I really didn’t enjoy my food today.  Nothing was really good (tasting) today.  Yuck.

Breakfast

Fat free cinnamon bun muffin (I don’t recommend this muffin.  It was just plain nasty)

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Qdoba grilled chicken salad (again, not very good – I hate salad)

Iced tea

Dinner

Skinless chicken tenderloins with gravy (kind of bland)

Green beans

Brown rice

Activity

3 mile run

1.25 mile walk

Day 23 - Dessert is calling

Today was a rest day on my training schedule, but I’m thinking that I may change that going forward.  I’m finding that on the days that I’m getting up to run or some other activity, I feel energized.  While I understand the importance of rest days to let the body heal, but I think some activity is better than none.  It doesn’t have to be strenuous exercise everyday, maybe some yoga or walking at lunchtime.  Either way I think I’m going to try and do this going forward.

Breakfast

Oatmeal

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Cheeseburger on whole grain bun (not the best for me, but everything in moderation, right?)

Dinner

Skinless chicken tenders with gravy

Brown rice

Green beans

The last couple of days, I’ve really been craving dessert.  I’ve done really well resisting the last few weeks but I finally gave in tonight.  So I packed the family in the car and we headed to…Cold Stone.  Now before you start telling me how bad this was for me, I want you to know that I went with the healthiest option they had. 

Dessert

Sinless Sweet Cream (no sugar or fat)

Raspberries for mix-ins

I don’t plan to make this a habit.  If I do this again in the near future, please feel free to yell at me.  The good news is that even with the cheeseburger and dessert today, I still stayed under 1500 calories for the day.  Not too bad.

Days 21 & 22 - Weekend update

I just realized that I didn’t post my entry for Saturday so I’m combining Saturday and Sunday into one post.

On Saturday, the weather started getting better with the exception of the wind.  The wind was blowing 30 mph for most of the day that made it cold.  So my wife and I decided to change our schedule and make Saturday our “EZ” day and train harder on Sunday.

Breakfast

Crispex cereal

Skim milk

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Ham and turkey sandwich on whole grain bread

Dinner

Stroganoff (Lean sirloin steak strips, whole wheat pasta, light sour cream)

As I said, we decided to make Saturday our EZ day for training.  We still got out and walked quite a bit.

 

Activity

3 miles of walking around Costco, Kohls and Walmart.

Today (Sunday) was a great weather day.  I was excited to get outside, not necessarily to run but really just to get outside.

Breakfast

Whole wheat pancakes

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Ham and turkey sandwich

Dinner

Grilled pork tenderloin

Cous Cous (strange pasta)

Once it warmed up a bit, we put Kaitlyn in the jogging stroller and we headed out to run the trail.  This was the first time my wife has joined me on my run and I was really impressed with how well she did.  I’m not a speed demon by any means, but I have been running for the past two weeks and she hasn’t.  We stayed together for most of the time but then I split off from her for a bit to hit the distance I needed to go.  It was a great day for running.  I still don’t like it, but I’m doing it.

Activity

3.5 mile run

1.5 mile walk

Yoga tonight (got to stretch)

On the whole it was a pretty good week.  I’ve lost another 2lbs. and I’m now down a total of 10lbs.  I’m feeling better as well.  I’m excited to see how things progress over the next couple of weeks.  Only 4 weeks until the 5k.

Day 20 - No diet night

Last night I made the conscious decision to forget about the diet.  I wanted to go out to eat and not have to worry about what to order.  This was probably not the best decision that I’ve made but I’ve really been good.  I think one night every few weeks is okay.  So off to Old Chicago we went, and it was good!

Breakfast

Oatmeal

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Chicken soup

Dinner (Old Chicago)

Pepperoni and Sausage calzone

Killians red ale

Activity

1.5 mile walk

I’m hoping it warms up today.  Right now it’s cold and windy and I need to go running.  I told myself I would run 4 miles today to make up for the calzone last night.  Worst case scenario, I’ll use the elliptical if the weather doesn’t improve.

Day 19 - I am that guy

This morning when the alarm went off I just couldn’t will myself to head outside to run.  It was only 12 degrees outside and the roads were still icy from the spring snowstorm.  I just couldn’t do it.  So I decided that I would go running after work.  It would be warmer and hopefully the snow and ice would melt some more.

Once my wife got home I headed outside to run along the trail.  It was a bit windy so I decided to run against the wind first so I wouldn’t have to battle it towards the end of my run.  As I was jogging along, there were a couple of teenagers walking the other way.  When I passed them I could hear them making fun of how slow I was going and how out of shape I must be to be breathing so hard.  It was then I realized that I am that old, out of shape guy that I used to make fun of when I was younger.  Of course back then I didn’t think I was being mean; it was all in good fun.  But now that I’m on the other side, it hurts a little to hear.

Motivation comes in many forms.  For some it may be looking in the mirror and not liking what you see.  For others, it could be as simple as wanted to help a friend reach their goals.  For me, I’m doing this for my family.  I want to be around to see my girls grow up.  I don’t want to be the Dad that can’t run around a playground with his kids because he’s too out of shape.  So when I hear kids laughing at me as I’m jogging down the trail, it gives me even more drive to accomplish my goal of being healthier.  Point your fingers, laugh and mock me, I don’t care! I’m not going to be that guy much longer.

Breakfast

Oatmeal

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Chicken teriyaki bowl with brown rice

Iced tea

Snack

Peanuts

Jell-O cup

Dinner

Pizza on whole wheat crust and hamburger topping

Activity

3.5 mile run

1 miles walk

I’ve also decided to start getting up early every morning.  On the days I’m not running, I’m going to do some yoga.  Until tomorrow…

Day 18 - Nothing much going on today

Last night, Denver got hit with a snowstorm.  Yes, it’s spring but apparently Mother Nature doesn’t care.  This morning we had about 14 inches of snow outside.  Roads were a mess so I decided to work from home.  The only bad part about working from home is that I don’t get up and walk anywhere.  I just sit at my desk and stare at my computer screen.  This means I really didn’t do too well activity wise today.  I feel the difference today.  Because I haven’t really done anything today I’m feeling tired and run down.  This sucks!  I’m going to try to do some yoga tonight to make up for it.

Breakfast

Crispex cereal with skim milk

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Ham and turkey sandwich

Snack

String cheese

Dinner

Chicken with risotto

Up early tomorrow to run.  I hope the roads won’t be too icy. 

Day 17 - I've found my stride

Well I’m still not a huge fan of running, but I’m still going.  When the alarm went off this morning, Erin went downstairs to the elliptical and I headed outside to go running.  At least it wasn’t too cold this morning (35 degrees).  I turned on the iPod and started running down the street.  But something felt different this morning, after my first lap around the block I didn’t feel like I needed to stop.  I felt like I finally found a rhythm for my running.  When I came up on my 3 mile goal for this morning, I felt as if I could keep going.  It was actually pretty cool.

Breakfast

Fat free blueberry muffin

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Progresso chicken noodle soup

Dinner

Spaghetti with whole wheat noodles and ground turkey

Glass of red wine

Snack

2 chocolate chip cookies

Before you jump all over me about the cookies, let me explain.  Today my office sponsored a blood drive.  After I donated, the vampires wouldn’t let me off the bus until I had some water and a snack.  All they had was sugar, but I guess there is a reason for that.

Activity

3 mile run

1.25 mile walk

Cross training tomorrow.  It’s a good thing too since it’s a blizzard outside and I don’t think I’d get out to run. 

Day 16 - Diets and dining out don't really mix

I’ve discovered that dining out while dieting isn’t a very easy thing to do.  Even a lot of the salads (not that I eat rabbit food) have a ton of calories.  This gets real challenging when friends at work want to go grab a bite to eat.  Lucky for me I recently found a website that can help; www.healthydiningfinder.com.  While this website doesn’t list all restaurants, it does give a pretty good selection along with the foods that are dietician approved.

Breakfast

Oatmeal

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

French dip sandwich

Iced tea

Dinner

Turkey breast

Corn

Today is a rest day on my training schedule, however I did have some activity while I put together a toddler bed.  It may not seem strenuous but trust me when I say that I was sweating while trying to get the pieces to fit.

Activity

Toddler bed assembly

Walk 1.25 miles

Time for bed, I have to get up early to go running.   

Day 15 - It's a family affair

Since I started doing this “healthy thing”, my wife has been telling me how she wished she could run the races with me.  She can’t run the Bolder Boulder with me because, 1- We don’t know if she has the day off and, 2- They don’t allow jogging strollers at the Bolder Boulder so we’d have to find someone to watch our little girl while we run.  I’ve been wondering if she has been feigning interest in joining me on a run, so today I called her bluff. 

Last week I registered to run the Cherry Creek Sneak 5k at the end of April.  The race is on a Sunday and they allow jogging strollers.  I started talking to Erin about training for the race and how we could make it work.  One major obstacle was that we didn’t have a jogging stroller.  So I hopped online and found a used stroller on craigslist for $45, drove out to Thornton, and brought it home.  Now we have the stroller, Erin has the day off, and we have a training schedule worked out.  No more excuses.  She registered for the race tonight.  I’m excited to have her join me.

I was talking to my 10 year old tonight and I told her about the 5k, and she says she wants to run with us.  She’d probably kick our butts but I’m going to see what I can do to get her out here to join us.

Breakfast

Cheese and spinach quiche

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Ham and turkey sandwich

Dinner

Pizza on a wheat crust and hamburger topping

Glass of red wine

Even with the pizza tonight, I stayed below 1300 calories for the day.  In fact, I’ve lost another 2lbs and an inch off my belly. 

Activity

3 mile walk with the family.

Yoga 

Day 14 - Back on track

After my slip yesterday, I’m happy to say I’m back on track.  No calzones were ingested (by me) today.  However I did enjoy my meals today and I stayed under 1400 calories.  It’s amazing to me how much good food you can eat as long as you pay attention to the food content and the portion size.  Portion control has always been a problem for me.  I find a food I like and I devour as much as possible.  I’m really trying to work on my self-control with portion size.  I feel that I am doing much better than I ever have.

Today started with my wife cooking an incredible quiche for breakfast.  Typically this wouldn’t be the best for dieters to eat, but again, it’s all about portion control.

Breakfast

Quiche (one slice)

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Ham and turkey sandwich on whole grain bread

Dinner (Texas Roadhouse)

6oz sirloin (smallest they have)

Broccoli

Applesauce

2 Dinner rolls (for any of you that have been to the roadhouse, you know that their rolls are a little slice of heaven.  Eating only 2 is a huge feat for me as I usually eat 2 baskets full)

Iced tea

I took advantage of the sunny weather today to go running.  I enjoyed being out in the sun and running along the Cherry Creek trail today.  It’s normally dark when I run during the week so I stick to the neighborhood, as the trail isn’t lighted.  I’m still slow but I ran further today than I have all week.  Slowly but surely I’m going to work my way up to the 10k distance.

Speaking of races, I’ve decided to run in a 5k at the end of April as a warm up to the 10k Bolder Boulder.  I figure going through a trial run will help me better prepare for the 10k.

Activity

3 mile run

1.5 mile walk

Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day so I’m looking forward to getting outside with the family.

Day 13 - Everyone slips, right?

Today I took as a rest day from running.  I think it was a god thing to do given how sore I’ve been this week.  The only bad part is that I ended up taking a rest day from dieting as well.

My boss is a bad influence.  He knows that I’m trying to diet and exercise more but he likes to tease me with treats and other bad food.  Well we had our monthly status update meeting and he really wanted to go to Big Bill’s pizza for lunch.  I have no willpower so I agreed.  I really tried to look for something not too bad on the menu but everything there comes with a side of grease.  Long story short, I ended up ordering a calzone.  It was so good (and so bad for me).  I’m going to have to make up for it tomorrow.

Breakfast

Oatmeal

Coffee with creamer

Lunch

Pepperoni and sausage calzone

Diet Coke

Dinner

Tacos with whole grain tortillas

75oz water today

Activity

Walked about 1.5 miles today

Day 12 - Running continues...

The last couple of days my legs have been really sore.  So when the alarm went off the morning, it was really difficult to get out of bed to go running.  But I’ve made a commitment to myself to be healthier and this is one of the best things I can do to achieve this goal.

I commandeered my wife’s iPod last night (I’ve been forbidden from buying any new electronics for a while so I have to use hers) and started loading it with some music from running.  Creating a playlist for working out can be difficult.  If anyone has some suggestions on music for running, I’d love to hear it.

Breakfast

Oatmeal

Coffee with creamer

Lunch (leftovers)

Pork tenderloin

Green beans

Brown rice

Dinner

Scrambled eggs with ham

Wheat toast

Diet Dr. Pepper

Activity

2 mile run

1 mile walk

According to my training schedule, tomorrow is a rest day.  My legs really could use it.

Day 11 - Not the best food day

So it wasn’t the best day for dieting.  I started off strong with my oatmeal and coffee, but then came lunch.  My wife and I had plans to meet up for lunch today but we were struggling to find a restaurant somewhere in the middle.  Finally we decided on Chili’s.  I didn’t think Chili’s was a bad choice because last time I was there I remember this whole section of the menu of “guiltless grill” choices.  See, I can eat healthy when I go out to eat.  Well their menu has changed.  Besides a few salads, there weren’t a lot of choices.  So…I ordered a steak.  I know, steak isn’t on most diet plans but at least I ordered it with brown rice and broccoli for sides.  I should have ordered a salad but I haven’t been able to jump that hurdle yet.  But I’ve felt bad about my lunch all day today.

Breakfast

Oatmeal

2 cups of coffee with 2 tablespoons of creamer

Lunch

8oz sirloin steak

Brown rice

Broccoli

Dinner

French dip sandwich

Ice tea

Surprisingly, even with what I thought was bad eating on my part today, I still stayed at about 1500 calories.  Wow!  I thought I really blew it today.  No matter what the numbers added up to, I still feel bad about my choices today and I will do better tomorrow.

As for activity today, according to my training schedule today was supposed to be a rest day or cross training.  It was such a beautiful day today there was no way I was just going to just rest.  I went and picked up my little girl from daycare and we rushed home to go on a bike ride.  I hooked up her trailer and we went for a ride down the Cherry Creek trail.  It was great!

Activity

5 mile bike ride

1.5 mile walking

Yoga later tonight.

Up early again tomorrow morning for some running.  See you out on the road!  

Day 10 - The sound of silence

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!!!  No that is not the sound of me backing up, it’s the evil sound of my alarm clock at 5:30 a.m.  It would have been so easy hit that snooze button like I normally do but no, I dragged my butt out of the warm bed and headed outside into the 23 degree darkness to start running.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve done any sort of running so I kept things at a fairly slow pace and started running around the block.  I had brought my iPod with me but the ear buds kept falling out so I just took them out.  It was dark and still this morning.  An eerie silence seemed to just hang in the air.  The only sounds were my feet hitting the pavement and my out of shape breathing.  I couldn’t believe it but I was actually enjoying myself.  Running in my neighborhood this morning was so peaceful.  I ended up going about 2 miles.  Not too bad for an old, out of shape guy that hasn’t really run in 15 years. 

We’ve decided to try and do some yoga every night.  It has really helped me relax before going to bed.  I also think that the stretching will do some real good now that I’m stepping up my activity level.

I’m still doing well with my meals.  My goal is to stay under 1500 calories per day.

Breakfast

Fat-free blueberry muffin

2 cups of coffee with 2 tablespoons of creamer

Lunch

Turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich on whole wheat

Dinner

Grilled pork tenderloin

Brown rice

Green beans

Dessert

Sugar-free Jell-O cup

Activity

In addition to my 2 mile run, I walked another 1.5 miles and I’ll be doing yoga again in a few minutes.    

Day 9 – Yoga rocks!

Last night after I completed my blog post, my wife and I decided to do some yoga.  I jumped onto Netflix and found a yoga video we could stream to the TV.  It felt so good to stretch and relax.  It’s been a couple of years since I last did yoga and I didn’t realize how good it makes me feel.  Last night was the first good night sleep I’ve had in a long time.  I think this may become a regular thing.

I’ve been searching the web for some training suggestions for my upcoming 10k and I found an 8-week program I think I’m going to try. http://running.about.com/od/racetraining/a/10Kbeginner.htm

It’s a slow build up adding more distance every week.  It also incorporates some cross-training and rest days.  No matter what program I’ve looked at they all include rest days.  I hadn’t really thought about the importance of rest days but they make sense.  If you have any suggestions on a training schedule that you think might work better, let me know.

Breakfast

Instant oatmeal

Coffee with 2 tablespoons of creamer

Lunch

Ham and egg sandwich on whole wheat bread

Snack

Protein bar

Dinner

Pizza – we used a whole-wheat crust with a low-cal tomato sauce, a little bit of hamburger (no processed meats like pepperoni), and a small amount of mozerella cheese.  This was the highest calorie item for today but I still stayed under 1500 for the day.  I only had two small pieces.

Glass of milk

Today I walked about 1.5 miles.  Tomorrow I’m getting up early to train (following the schedule above.)

Day 8 - What happened to my sunshine?

Denver had the perfect spring weather yesterday, 60 degrees and sunny.  We played outside most of the day.  Well that perfect weather came to a screeching halt today when the clouds full of rain and snow drifted in from Utah (yes, I’m blaming Utah.)  Needless to say the weather put a bit of a damper on our plans to go walking along the trails today.  Lucky for us we had a backup plan in case of bad weather. 

We packed up the kid and headed out to REI and then to the mall.  My wife wanted to get a pedometer so she could track her activity throughout the day, hence the stop at REI.  We quickly made our purchase and drove across the street to Park Meadows to be mall walker commandos.  Our plan would have worked out perfectly if it wasn’t for our little one having plans of her own.  We barely made one lap around the mall before she started throwing one of her little fits.  She didn’t want to sit in the stroller.  She didn’t want to walk while holding our hand.  She wanted to run (away from us).  When we caught up to her, she through herself and the ground and started screaming.  I love the terrible twos!  Anyhow, thanks to the fits being thrown, we had to cut our walking activity a bit short. 

Now that I’m adjusting my diet, we needed to go grocery shopping again.  We are trying to change our diet to minimize processed foods, sugar, enriched white flour products and cholesterol.   Have you ever tried to buy food without this crap in Safeway?  It’s a near impossible task.  It looks like we will shopping more at Sprouts, Sunflower and Vitamin Cottage in the future.

Breakfast

Whole wheat pancake with blueberries

Apple juice

Lunch

Rotisserie chicken breast

Dinner

Left over spaghetti from last night (whole wheat pasta)

Glass of red wine

Sugar free Jell-O cup

Activity

While walking through the mall and chasing after a 2 year old (almost 2), we walked about 1.5 miles.  I really need to step it up for this race in May.  To help, I’m going to bring our elliptical machine up from the disaster zone I call a man cave and put it in our bedroom.  With it being more accessible, I hope to use it more, especially on cold days like today.

Week 1 Summary

Even with a few bumps along the way, I think the first week went pretty well.  I lost 5 lbs. and an inch off my belly.  My waist and chest measurements stayed the same.  I think this is a pretty good start.  I’m tracking all of the food that I eat and I have a pedometer to track my activity throughout the day.

This next week I really plan to step up my exercise routine.  Nothing too drastic, but definitely and increase in activity.  I also want to vary my exercises by incorporating cardio, strength training and stretching.  I really wish I could take a yoga class for the stretching part.  A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to have a co-worker offer free yoga classes after work.  Even though I was skeptical, I really enjoyed the class.  Unfortunately, I no longer have the time after work for a class like that.  I rush home everyday to pickup my daughter from daycare.  So if anyone knows of a good yoga DVD, please let me know.

Overall it’s been a good week and I’m looking forward to the weeks and months to come.

Day 7 - Happy Trails

What an incredible day!  The weather out here was near perfect today.  It’s been the kind of day I’ve been waiting for all week.  Today was also the first day of training for the Bolder Boulder.  Seeing that I haven’t ran in many years, I’m taking a slow approach to this training.  So I put on my new shoes and headed out the door with my wife and youngest daughter in tow.   We are very lucky to have access to the Cherry Creek walking/biking trail from our neighborhood.  The trail is a paved pathway that stretches for about 26 miles from start to finish with offshoots all along the way.  The best part…no traffic to contend with.  We had a great walk of about 3.5 miles before my baby girl needed to go down for a nap.  I think it was a great start and it was fun having my family with me.

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we are making this type of activity a regular thing every weekend.  We’ve even created a calendar to schedule the time on Saturday and Sunday.  It might be walking one day or biking or anything else we can come up with.  It felt great to be outside and do something active.

My wife also showed me a website to help with my new diet plan (no longer Atkins).  I will say that it is nice having a variety of foods to eat.  I know I only was on the Atkins for a week but I was really craving some fruit, and I don’t even like fruit.  But now I can eat it, but I’m going to in moderation along with everything else.  I plan to pay attention to the calories, sugar, fat, carbs and everything else in my food.  I’m also going to try and eliminate any enriched white flour products.  While this is not a specific diet plan like Atkins or South Beach, I think it will work for me.  Plus my wife is doing it with me so the additional support is fantastic.

Breakfast

Crispex cereal with ½ cup of 1% milk (I will be switching to skim as soon as we finish up this gallon.  Milk is expensive)

Tully’s caramel bellecino (This was really bad, I know)

Lunch

Ham and turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with 2 slices of cheddar cheese

Dinner

Spaghetti with whole wheat pasta (and it was good.  I couldn’t tell the difference)

I had about 80 oz of water today. 

In addition to the walking today, I started doing some push-ups and sit-ups.  I figure it’s time to go back to the basics.  I completed 3 sets of 10 each.  As I get back into the habit, I will increase the numbers in each set.

I’m looking forward to some more walking tomorrow.  I hope the weather holds up.

Day 6 - Houston, we have a problem

The last day or so my stomach has been killing me.  Not hunger pain, pain pain.  Not to get into too much detail but I’ve had a hard time keeping food down and I’m constantly hunched over in pain.  Against my better judgment, along with some prodding from my wife, I called my doctor today.  It turns out I left out an important part of my health background when I discussed my diet plans with him.  I am prone to stomach ulcers.  The last flair up was about 6 months ago after I completed the HCG diet.  Ends up that this high protein Atkins diet will not be doing me any favors when it comes to my ulcer issue.  By eating the red meats, pork and lots of eggs, it causes my stomach acid to work in overdrive, therefore aggravating the wonderful hole in my stomach lining.

So…it’s time for plan B.  I have to lay off the high protein diet in favor of something more traditional.  This is going to be a bit more difficult for me because I’m the type of person that needs a strict diet plan to follow or it’s too easy for me to stray off course.  The good news is that my wife is 100% with on this and is going to help.  We’re going to have to rethink our menu plan to come up with options that won’t cause me pain and will help me change my eating habits.  I might actually have to eat a salad or two!

I’ve already started some of the changes today.

Breakfast

Oatmeal

Coffee with 2 tablespoons of creamer (I’m going to have to cut this back going forward)

Lunch

Chicken soup and a Sprite (I was trying to settle my stomach and came home early from work)

Dinner

Rotisserie chicken

Mashed potatoes (I know, complex carbs are bad…)

I really didn’t drink enough water today and I’ll make a better effort tomorrow.

Tomorrow, as long as my stomach is feeling better, I plan to start training for the big race.  I’m going to start by walking a good distance.  I need to break in my new shoes and I need to slowly work my way up to running. 

Day 5 - The Bolder Boulder

A few days ago I posted that I was going to participate in a 5k run.  Well, it looks like I’m expanding my horizons.  Another friend started telling me about the Bolder Boulder 10k race on Memorial Day.  The 5k may have had me scared, but the 10k has me petrified.   I asked a few people around my office if they had ever participated in this race and they all raved about how much fun it is.  Fun, really?  Running for fun has never made sense to me.  But after listening to everyone talk about their experiences with this race, I started to get excited about the possibility.  So….I’m going to do it.  I’ve already got two other people committed to running the race with me. 

Now I’m really on the hook to do it.  I may have been able to find an excuse not to make it to SLC for the 5k.  It would have been easy because there was no local pressure.  But now that I have friends here in Denver, that I see almost everyday, committed to running the race with me…I have no excuse to get out of it.  Hurray for peer pressure!

On my way home from work I stopped by Runner’s Roost to get some shoes.  I couldn’t believe how expensive running shoes can be.  But everyone I have talked to have said not to cheap out on running shoes or I’ll be sorry.  Lucky for me I received $100 Visa gift card today from work just for going to the doctor for an annual physical.  Yeah for a great benefits department!  Since my shoes are meant to help me be healthier, I couldn’t think of a better use for the gift card.  I’m now the proud owner of some new Nike running shoes. 

On to the boring stuff…

Breakfast

3 egg omelet

Mid Morning

Protein shake

Lunch

Grilled chicken breast

Snack

Protein bar

Dinner

Pork chop

½ cup of broccoli

Activity

Walked about 1.5 miles today.  Once again I couldn’t drag myself out of bed this morning to do anything else.

Training for the race begins this weekend.  The countdown begins….

Day 4 - I hate stairs

Now that I’m doing this whole healthy living thing, I’ve been trying to find a bunch of little things that I can change.  While some of these things don’t seem like much, I figure they’re a start.  I’ve been parking in the far corner of the parking lot so I have to walk more to enter the office building.  Another change I’m trying to make is to take the stairs instead of the elevator.  My office is on the 4^th floor of the building.  Now four flights of stairs may not seem like much to you people that are in shape, but after taking the stairs multiple times today, I can honestly say that the stairs are the devil.  But I’m committed to changing my life, so I’m going to continue to take the dreaded stairs.  For those of you that work with me, if you see me approaching the elevator, please push the button to close the door before I get there.

Breakfast

2 fried eggs

Mid Morning

Protein Shake

Lunch

Ham and Cheese rolls

Afternoon snack

Protein bar

Dinner

Grilled chicken

1 cup of cauliflower

90 oz of water throughout the day

Once again, by breaking up my meals I've been able to manage my hunger much better than I originally thought.  I haven't slipped yet.

Activity day was been pretty light.  I only walked about a mile today.  I had planned to get up early this morning to do some more exercises but my daughter woke up 4-5 times last night screaming bloody murder (for no reason).  Needless to say I didn’t get the most restful night of sleep.  When the alarm went off this morning, I just couldn’t do it.  I know this isn’t a good excuse but that’s what happened.

I will get up tomorrow morning.  I plan to make this a habit.

Day 3 - Holy headache, Batman!

I don’t know if it’s that I didn’t sleep that well or if it’s the lack of carbs and sugar but I have had the headache from hell today.  It’s probably just my body adjusting to this new way of eating.  So I downed some Tylenol and drank a ton of water today to try and fight off the construction crew jack-hammering in my head.  Thankfully, it has started to subside.

Now that we have gone grocery shopping, I can plan out my meals a little better.  Today I broke up my meals into smaller portions, but I ate more frequently.  This really worked well for me today, especially when I started getting cravings in between my normal meals.  I think I’m going to try and continue doing this for the next few months.

Breakfast

2 scrambled eggs with a little cheddar cheese

2 cups of coffee with 2 tablespoons of creamer

Mid-Morning

Protein shake (not as good as a milkshake from Maggie-Moos, but it was tolerable)

Lunch

Ham and mozzarella cheese

Afternoon Snack

Atkins protein bar

Dinner

Turkey breast slices

½ cup of broccoli and ½ cup of cauliflower

I drank well over 100 ounces of water today.  I think I walked at least 2 miles today just going between my desk and the restroom.

This morning my alarm went off at 5:45 and I got up to try some of the activities outlined in my book.  The book recommends only doing some basic stretching activities for the first 2 weeks of this diet.  I completed the stretches but really felt like I needed to do more.  This is where I know I’m going to deviate from the book’s recommendations.  Lucky for me I already knew I was going to have a little time to day for a short bike ride.

Activity

2 mile bike ride

Walked 1.5 miles

I’ve also started taking some additional vitamin supplements.  In addition to my normal multi-vitamin, I’ve added fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids) and a fiber supplement.  We’ll see how it goes.

One last note…a friend of mine in Utah read my posts and suggested that in 90 days I join him for a triathlon or a 5k race.  The idea of participating in a race scares me to death.  I haven’t run a 5k in 20 years.  I’m not a runner.  I hate running.  But, it makes sense for me to work for something like this race in order to stay motivated.  Therefore, I’m going to do it.  I guess this means that I have to work harder at getting my butt off the couch and my feet on the pavement.  Warning to my neighbors, don’t be too frightened when you see the out of shape, fat guy slowly running around the block while trying to catch his breath.  It’s only me.  But do me a favor and keep an ambulance on speed dial for when I collapse on the side of the road.

Day 2 - It was a long day...

I’ve been tired today.  My youngest daughter was sick all night, which meant we were up most of the night with her.  The poor thing could keep anything down.  My wife, who is the greatest woman ever, volunteered to rock with her so I could get some sleep.  This was a very kind gesture, but I still didn’t sleep well.  I was too worried about my little girl and so I tossed and turned all night.

I ended up staying home this morning while my wife went to work and then she would come home early so I could work this afternoon.

With the little one being sick, it put a damper in our plans to go grocery shopping last night.  I should have been more prepared for this diet plan of mine but I’m a procrastinator.  Because of this, I really had to scrounge around the house for breakfast this morning.

Breakfast

2 small ham steaks

1 cup of coffee w/ 1 tablespoon of creamer

Lunch (I was in a rush to get to work)

Chick-Fil-A grilled chicken breast (no bun or condiments)

Atkins protein bar

Dinner

8oz sirloin steak

String cheese

Jello cup

My water intake has been much better today.  Throughout the day I had about 80 oz of water. 

I didn’t have as much activity today.  I had a great plan of getting up early this morning and doing some stretches that my book recommended.  But as soon as the alarm went off this morning I hit the snooze button and loved every minute of the extra time in bed.  Tomorrow will be better.

Activity

Walked 1.3 miles

We went grocery shopping tonight.  The bakery smelled especially good tonight.  They also had a perfectly glazed donut that would have been the perfect dessert.  But seeing how I’m only on day 2, I’m not ready to give up yet.

My Plan Going Forward

I’ve gotten a few comments and questions on why I’m going on the Atkins diet.  I think a bit of background is needed to give everyone an understanding of my goals.

When I spoke with my doctor a couple of weeks ago, we went through a number of diet scenarios.  The first thing we talked about is my current eating habits.  Let’s say that he was less than pleased.  I mentioned my love of junk food, red meat, bacon, pasta and bread.  Fruits and vegetables had no place as one of my food groups.  Ever since I was a kid, I have been a picky eater.  And when I say picky, I mean it.  My poor wife has a very boring selection of foods thanks to me.

After going over a few different options, my doctor recommended Atkins because of my current eating habits.  By going on a low carb diet, I would still be able to eat a good amount of protein such as steak and chicken.  He thought that this would give me the best chance for success.  If I were to cut out everything that I love and have grown accustomed to eating, I would set myself up for failure.

I will not be cutting out carbs altogether.  Initially I will be cutting down to 15-20 grams of carbs per day.  But as time passes, I will slowly be adding more carbs back into my diet.  This will be a gradual process in order to give my body time to adjust.

We went to the library last week so that I could do some more research on Atkins and other diet plans.  While there, I found a book called “The Atkins Advantage”.  This book lays out a 12 week plan that includes diet and exercise.  I was really impressed with the detail of this book.  It explains why I’m cutting down on the carbs and how to slowly add them back into my diet.  It also gave me an exercise plan.  This plan starts slow (which is good for me given how out of shape I am) and then will increase the level of physical activity every week.  I know that all of the activity I had today is more than the recommended amount, but how do you say no to a bike ride with your daughter?

I plan to use this book as a guide for the next 90 days.  I doubt I will follow it 100%, but it has put me on the right track.  While I don’t plan to be on Atkins forever, I feel it will give me the jump start I need for changing my habits.

Day 1 - Getting Started

Today is the first day of the whole new me.  I’m excited and nervous about posting all of this information in the public world.  But hopefully while I’m under the watchful eye of my friends and family, I will stay the course.

I’m working on the format of this blog and how I want to record information and what information to put out there.  I’m sure it will evolve as time goes.  For now, I think I’ll start by listed my meals for the day followed by my physical activity.

Breakfast

3 Eggs with some ham and cheddar cheese

2 cups of coffee with a tablespoon of creamer

Lunch

Cheeseburger without the bun

16oz of water

Dinner

Chicken tenders

Broccoli

16oz of water

I also had another 16oz of water throughout the day.  My water intake is going to need to increase.  I'm not drinking enough.

Lydia was here this weekend and she wanted to go for a bike ride.  It was a beautiful day in Denver so we went for a 5 mile ride together.  In addition to the ride, I actually did quite a bit of walking today.  According to my pedometer, I walked almost 5 miles today. 

I’ve been hungry this afternoon.  I blame myself for the carb load I had at Olive Garden last night.  Nothing like stuffing yourself full of breadsticks and pasta the eve before a diet.  I hope that tomorrow will be better.  The first week is always the hardest.

Introduction - Why am I doing this?

I have wanted to lose some weight for a long time.  I’ve become too complacent in my life when it comes to diet and exercise.  Junk food and I are the best of friends, and have been for many, many years.  I’m also a self-proclaimed couch potato.  Having two TiVo boxes in the house probably doesn’t help this addiction I have the glowing screen in my house.  My level and inactivity has been steadily increasing over the past 15-20 years, along with my weight and blood pressure.

I have tried diets before with mixed results.  Typically the word “diet” is synonymous with failure for me.  Weight Watchers works well for my wife, but I hated tracking everything I ate everyday and for me it wasn’t restrictive enough.  Give me an inch of wiggle room on a diet and I will take the length of a football field.  Last year I went on the HCG diet and was very happy with the results that came from starving my self.  I lost 20 pounds in 6 weeks, but I couldn’t eat anything! 

Recently I went to the doctor for my annual wellness checkup.  Let’s just say the results of my blood work have been an eye opener for me.  While my cholesterol levels were surprising good for someone with my bad eating habits, I am also pre-diabetic.  This first thing he told me to do was lose some weight and get some exercise.  Seeing that the HCG diet worked for me last time, I asked my doctor his thoughts.  He didn’t have a lot of good to say about the diet.  I won’t go into the details of what he said, but know that was enough to convince me not to go on the HCG diet again.  What he did recommend for me was the Atkins diet along with some exercise.

Obviously I need to make a change in life.  I need to be healthy.  One of the problems I have is staying motivated.  It’s too easy to fall back into bad habits.  Last year one of my friends created a 90-day fitness challenge for himself and he blogged about it everyday. The idea of having other people track your progress and hold you accountable was all the motivation he needed to succeed.  He suggested that I might try the same approach.

So here it is, I’m going to put it all out there for the world to see.  I plan blog everyday about my eating habits, activity level and anything else related to my goal of getting healthy.  I really want to be in better shape.  I want this to be a lifestyle change and not just a short-term diet. 

I welcome your comments and support as I try to change 20 years of bad habits.  I know this is going to suck, but I’m hoping with your help I can do it.

Thanks,

Jared