One Ninety Nine Point Four

Well, ladies and gents, the day has finally arrived. For the first time since before my ankle surgery in 2004, I am under the 200lb mark!! Weighed in at 199.4 this morning!!! 199.4. havent seen that "1" in front in 5 years. FIVE YEARS. I guess this is kind of like those people on "The Biggest Loser", when they go from the 300's down into the 200's, and they say they haven't seen that "2" in a long time....haha. Well, just thought I'd share my happy news. and just for any doubters, here's some visual evidence for you.

Things I've Tried...

::edit:: (i forgot about the 3-hour diet!)
So, I just got to thinking of all the various workout programs/gadgets and or diets that I've attempted in the past to lose weight or get healthy, and that have ultimately failed. Here's how the list rounds out.

Windsor Pilates
3-day Diet
Special K Diet
Some ab-belt thing (dont ask)
Walking from my office to Penn Station (roughly 20 blocks, 25 min)
Hydroxycut
3-hour diet

All have failed mostly due to lack of motivation/determination. All but P90X now. I'm not really sure why. Maybe because the results come relatively quickly. and its fun, for the most part. Almost under 200 pounds for the first time since college. just 1 little pound to go. hopefully i will get there soon, and you'll be sure to hear about it!

running

Currently on week 8 of P90X, Phase II Recovery Week, so i decided to go for a run last night, with a couple of colleagues. this is the third time i've gone and i must say it is getting easier, i've also done Plyo X a few times since the first time i ran. we did the small (1.7 mile) loop twice, but walked about half of the second lap. as you can see, i'm no runner and still fairly new to this running thing, and running on a treadmill is NOTHING like the real thing.

i dont think i realized how weak my legs have gotten. i've always had strong legs (big too), but i think that was because i used to play sports regularly, from bball to football to softball. but in the past couple of years, its only been softball and volleyball (and not very regularly), and the 10 minute walk from my house to the LIRR station! but softball and volleyball really do not compare to the intensity of bball or football. plus i've put on some pounds since then. so i'm hoping with the combination of Plyo X, Legs & Back (P90X), and running, i'll regain the endurance i once had in my legs.

Plateau

its been a long time since i've updated. so here goes!

so, it looks like i've really hit a wall in my weight loss journey. i've been stuck around 205 lbs since the middle of april, and its May 14th today. weighed in at 206 @ 20.5% fat. wondering what i'll need to do to get that jump started again. Currently in week 7 of P90X (round 2.5). Will have a recovery week coming up and then Phase III, so i'm hoping that will do the trick. or perhaps i'm just not working as hard! =P in any case, here's a summary of results so far:

	1/7/2009	5/14/2009	Totals
weight	223.8	206.4	17.4
fat %	26%	20.5%
waist	40"	35.5"	4.5"
belly	42"	35.5"	6.5"

Round 2: P90X

ok, so i stumbled to the finish in round 1. so, after 2 months off. i think its time for round 2. who's with me?

P90X: Week 12

Ok, so week 11 totally sucked (in terms of consistency). busy at work and an aching knee contributed. so, after a spotty weeks 10 and 11, started up again on week 12. i did back and bicep tonight at the gym...and worked out pretty well. i jumped around a bit on the workouts, because i had to keep going back and forth from the free weights area to the lat pull down machine. only 2 weeks left to go, i need to finish this off strong!!! its interesting to note that i ate like complete CRAP over the weekend, and have been pretty inconsistent with the routines, yet it still looks like my body is still getting more toned....haha, or maybe its what my mind wants to believe to justify the way i ate.

but ok!! 2 more weeks, 2 more weeks....

did i mention i haven't done ab ripper x in forever? ugh. should get back on that.

P90X (Somewhere between week 11 and 13...)

ok, so its been very on and off due to a busy schedule, and my knee issues. but the knee has gotten a lot better, but still need to get back on the boat. even so, just wanted to report i weighed in at 219.4 this morning. havent measured my waist again in a while, but pants are definitely fitting well, and the third hole on my belt is progressively getting more confortable. i would really like to finish this off STRONG!

and i believe i'm going to purchase 10 minute trainer (for my mom...haha). but i will give it a go as well, to get rid of some extra pounds. then its back to the X, in say, October? we'll see.

P90X: Week 11

alright, 3 weeks left, the end is in sight!

unfortunately, i've developed some pain in my left knee. it hurts when i bend it about 30 deg, but then if i bend/squat further, its fine, and can come back up pretty pain free. its kinda odd. but i'm pretty bummed out, because i'm going to need to modify these last 3 weeks. i'm supposed to Plyo tonight, which most likely isnt going to happen. i have an appt with a doctor of physical medicine and rehab on Aug 14th (the earliest date he had!!). i should be just about done by then, i hope it holds up. for the time being, i'm doing a regular routine of stretching, taking MoveFree (Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM supplement) and icing. hopefully this will carry me through.

on a more positive note, i did Shoulder & Arms (for the last time!!!) last night, at the gym. and man oh man, what an improvement! i was doing more weight, and was able to last through each workout and keep up with the reps. i was amazed. especially my biceps, which i feel are one of the hardest parts of my body to develop. i had energy throughout the routine, and i didnt feel tired or wasted at all. it was great. and can i just say, i really liked what i saw in the mirror while working out, all pumped up and stuff....haha. and i even did some cardio (interval training) afterwards, for 15min. solid, solid day yesterday.

i'm wondering if i can do the remaining resistance days at the gym....

P90X: Phase III

Phase III, (week 9, day 57) started for me last night, revisiting Chest & Back, and Ab Ripper X. I can confidently say I completely "crushed" this workout last night! ok, maybe not, but let me just say how much i've improved since the last time I did this exercise, which was back in week 3. 2 significant improvements- 1) i did ALL the push ups, NOT on my knees. compared to phase I, where i did the majority of the workout ON my knees.
2) I was able to do the Dive Bomber push-ups, BOTH rounds. In phase I, i was barely able to do 1, in the FIRST round...

Still struggling to do pull ups tho (probably due to my weight...), and can still only achieve 1 unassisted. the rest were chair assisted, but i do have the chair further away and am making a conscious effort to not step on the chair TOO much. Diamond push-ups are still a struggle as well, so i do have my hands a little further apart.

Still hovering around 221-223 pounds (depending on the day and what i ate the night before), and fat percentage is in the 23-25% range (again, previous night's dinner dependent).
I'm satified with those numbers so far, remember, i started at 230.8 @ 27.5% fat. i have not followed the prescribed meal plan, but have been trying to limit my carb intake and eat every 3-4 hours, and not eat as much.

Oh, and i've also decided i'll replace Kenpo with Core Synergistics, since i am not a huge fan of Kenpo X.

P90X Update

Well, it feels like its been a long while since i've updated. maybe because it has. but Phase II has taken a little longer than scheduled due to my schedule. so what i did in week 7, was i strayed a bit from the routine and doubled up on the strength portion. so it went something like this:

Chest, Shoulders Tri's; Ab ripper X
Back & Biceps
Yoga
rest
Chest, Shoulders Tri's
Back & Biceps
rest

I can do a ton more push-ups than i could when i started. and i'm accomplishing more reps in the bicep exercises, meaning i can probably start upping the weight. Ab ripper X is still a pain in the, err...hip flexor? haha....but again, it is still slowly progressing.

Going to take another rest day tonight (due to schedule) and then start on week 8, which is the Phase II recovery week. Yoga kicks things off tomorrow.

I weighed in at a feathery 221.8 lbs this morning, making it 9 pounds in a little more than 7 weeks. definition in the arms is definitely coming through, and my gut is almost completely gone. still a long ways to go, in terms of fat %, but its getting there.