In the Starting Blocks

On the heels of the Men's 100m Finals - all hail Usain! - I think the title of today's post is quite applicable.  By the way, can we all just stop a second and admit that he is ridiculous? Any time I watch his run my jaw just drops - so impressive.

Anyway, if you read my post from yesterday, you know that I am now 28 years of age and am embarking on a year-long journey (a la Chris Powell) to get to my sub-200 pound goal. So before I get started, I want to establish where I'm starting. I'm adjusting my feet in the blocks and getting ready to tear up the track. (But of course this isn't being treated as a sprint!)

This morning I took stock of where I find myself after a week of vacation and a week + of slacking on my half marathon training schedule. And it was worse than I thought.

If any of you follow me on YouTube, you'll know that I also just joined a couple of challenges - so to speak - that require me to make regular update/progress videos. In my initial videos for #CHANGE and "Hot 4 Halloween" I made a guess before vacation that I weighed around 270 despite having not seen a scale for a week prior to that. Well...I must have been wrong. Here are my starting numbers as of today:

Starting Weight: 275.6

Measurements (in inches):

I took some 'before' pictures that I will show you at the end of each three-month "Phase" (again with the Chris Powell comparison). I will also be giving short, weekly reports each Monday letting you know how my last seven days went - mostly statistical with a little analysis. I'll also have a running, weekly, weigh in tally in the upper-right portion of the blog.

I also want to note that I don't want to stray too far from the running focus of this blog, but that shouldn't be a problem since I'll be continuing my half marathon training this next month and using it as a huge part of my weight loss. My ultimate goal after all of this is done is to become a hardcore runner (like some of you!) and maybe even dabble in some du- or triathlons. Hmm? Hmm?

But let's take this one day at a time, k? I'll have my first progress post for ya on Monday.

A 365-Day Transformation?

On days such as this (my birthday), I find it hard not to evaluate the year that was, and the potential of the year to come. Unfortunately - and only due to a result of my own efforts - I haven't seen much progress in the health & fitness arena since I turned 27 last year. But I'll get back to this in a second...

The rest of my life, however, has changed quite a bit! Back in September of last year I married my wife and best friend, and in March I started my first, official full-time job in downtown Chicago (after a few years of freelance/part-time gigs). Even scored a new car last month! Just about every other aspect of my life has improved since my last birthday. So why not this last part?

Now don't get me wrong - this isn't me lamenting about how bad my life is AT ALL. I am so happy for all the blessings I have received between 8/6/2011 and 8/6/2012 and I wouldn't go back and do a single thing differently. As far as weight loss goes, the past is the past - and now it's time to only look at today and set goals for this next year of my life.

My primary verse for the next 365 days

I'm a big fan of Chris Powell and his show Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition on Sunday nights. Instead of a 'ranch' format of group training a la Biggest Loser, he takes on a client one-on-one for an entire year to completely transform them. Now I'm not looking to lose half of my body weight (thankfully I haven't let myself go THAT much), but I am going to aim for my goal weight by my birthday next year - so I have 365 days to do so.

So beginning tomorrow, I will weigh myself, take pictures and measurements and establish my official "starting (over)" position. More details will come in tomorrow's post pertaining to my plan on how I will approach the next 365 days.

Let me know what things have worked for you that you think I should include in my plan!

I Need a Plan!

I like having a plan. I like schedules. I enjoy check lists and spreadsheets. Call me weird. I don't even care. It's how I stay sane and on the straight and narrow. If I ever finished all my lists and plans I don't know what I'd do with myself.... Probably think up a NEW plan!

Anyway, as I try to get my running legs back and slim down, I need a plan. While I was training for my half marathons, training plans were a no-brainer. If I didn't have a plan, I'd be sure to fail. Or at least be forced to clutch my aching side and limp to the finish line. But I don't have any races scheduled so far this year...so what plan should I follow?!?

So I've decided to try one of those "Couch to 5k" programs. It may not be the 'official' program, but I'm guessing they're all pretty similar. The one I'm doing is "5k 101" and can be found online here or as a podcast on iTunes. I just started yesterday and am looking forward to doing it each Monday, Wednesday & Friday. (They also have a 10k program!)

Now I think that it took some sort of pride-swallowing before I was able to start a 5k program. I look at the running schedule and think, "I've run four half marathons...I don't have to start from square one with a 5k plan! Run for 2 minutes at a time then walk? That's for baby beginners!" Well...unfortunately that's where I've regressed back to at the moment. And it's something I have to accept.

So I'm going to own the program and do it perfectly. I really want to get back up and running by the time spring rolls around so I can just strap on my shoes and hit the road for hours at a time.

I've also started putting together the foundation and frame of some sort of weight lifting program as well that I can do on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays when I'm not doing the 5k program. I'm hoping to focus on two muscle groups a day with 2-3 exercises per group. That's about where I'm at now...lots of work to do! Any advice/tips you have on lifting programs would be much appreciated!

I also just finished a YouTube video letting my subscribers know that I've been doing all this fun blogging as of late. Also want to give a big "thank you" to everyone who's been reading these past few weeks and giving me feedback - I'm having so much fun!

The Secret to Success

Efficiency

It's something that I used to spend WAY too much energy on (and still do, to a point). I make checklists, make plans, make schedules, make spreadsheets only to end up remaking plans, remaking schedules, etc. This goes for work, for chores around the house and especially for setting a plan to lose weight.

But should I be focusing on being the most EFFICIENT I can be? 

Instead of trying to be perfectly efficient and not waste any time, I think it may just be more important to be perfectly consistent instead. If you consistently keep the same routine and discipline yourself to get to the gym in the morning, make it to work on time, have your meals at similar times of the day and get enough sleep every night, the efficiency will come as a result of your consistency.

If you form good habits, only good results can come from it. This has been an issue for me over the past year or so. I can have spurts of greatness, but can't hold myself to a consistent schedule and plan for more than a couple of weeks.

So that's my goal. One day at a time, one meal at a time, one decision at a time. Get enough sleep every night and get to the gym on time in the morning. Eat a good breakfast before work and keep the snacking at bay while sitting at my desk all day. (The latter point is my biggest downfall.) But I'm also going to be putting together a plan of sorts so I know what I'm supposed to be doing at the gym every morning.

What kind of routine actions do you do every day to make sure 

you're as healthy and fit as you can be?

Now Where Were We?

Lately, (especially in the area of weight loss) I've been really good at starting things gung-ho only to fizzle out or give up after a week or two. A recent health & fitness endeavor fell into this category, but it's time to resurrect it and give it new life!

I've actually TWICE tried to do the "90-Day Fitness Challenge" by former Biggest Loser contestants Phil & Amy Parham. If you glance back a handful of posts, you'll actually see some entries pertaining to said challenge. I made it through a solid week of the challenges, but probably only put about 45% of my effort into it.

Before Jason Bourne, I wanted to be Michael Scofield

I'm also the kind of person who likes to begin unfinished tasks from the BEGINNING again. Even though I've seen 3 seasons of the show "Prison Break," I recently started from the very genesis of the series and watch it all the way through to completion. Even though I've already read "The Bourne Identity" as well as "The Bourne Supremacy," I had to re-read them before moving on to "The Bourne Ultimatum" once I got it.

Okay, maybe I'm slightly O.C.D. So sue me.

Either way, I'm giving the Parham's a second chance. And since it's par for the course, I'm starting again from the beginning. But instead of trying to post every day about the challenge, I'll just post once a week showcasing my favorite or most helpful challenges from the previous week.

Sound like a deal? Raise your hand if you care. Yeah, that's what I thought...but it's not for your benefit anyway. Just please read along - because I love watching that little view counter on the right-hand side move in the positive direction. Savvy?

Also, I'll now be posting my weight loss progress in the column on the right of the page. (In case you were curious).

Yours Truly,
Jordan

Post Blog Thought (P.B.T.): Maybe I continue to fall back to my heaviest because of this nagging urge to always start failed projects over from the beginning...

*REBOOT*

After a weekend filled with pizza and soda, I think it's time to take a step back and gather myself (since I put on a few pounds, especially) and just write a little post about where I am and where I am aiming to be by next summer. Now I know some of you are probably thinking "okay, here goes Jordan once again 'recommitting' to this - I bet he'll forget all about this in a couple of weeks."

Not my feet, I promise

Now I don't blame the nay-sayers since I've really never given anyone any reason to believe that I'm actually going to go through with this at any point, but I do thank those of you who still believe that I'm capable of finishing what I keep starting! But anywhere, where do I begin?

Monday morning I weighed in back up at 272 pounds again - right up there with my heaviest I've ever been. I wasn't happy to see that number creep back onto my scale, but I wasn't completely surprised since I've been around there for the last couple of months, unfortunately. But I also made a decision that I can't let that number get any higher. So here's my tentative schedule/game plan.

Over the years I've tried too hard to lose the weight. I'd try to work out everyday and eat perfectly only to burn out after a couple weeks. So I'm trying to take it a little slower this time. I'm aiming to lose an average of 10 pounds a month. Doing so would put me at goal in June or July (goal being 190 lbs). But I don't want to get too ahead of myself. Gotta take things one day at a time!

On a daily basis, I'm aiming to get to the gym nice and early in the morning (6am), eat less than 2,000 calories a day and drink TONS of water. I'll have to say 'no' to soda for a while too...bummer. Along with these things, I hope that healthy choices make all the difference as I attempt to do this. It's usually the saying-no-to-food part that trips me up every time!

So here goes! Feel free to stay up-to-date with my progress on the Weight Loss page where I update my weight and graph a few times a week. Also feel free to visit my YouTube channel where I'll be making weigh in videos every Monday.

Couch to 5k

Since it's been a little rough getting my running legs back, I thought I'd check out the ever-popular "Couch to 5k" program. Sure, I've run a handful of races in the past, but it's amazing how quickly your endurance and stamina can take a nose dive after even a month or two of not running!

This program advertises that it can "transform couch potatoes into runners" who are capable of running a non-stop three miles "on a regular basis" in nine weeks. It has you running three times a week for 20-30 minutes at a time. While mostly walking at first, it slowly incorporates running more and more each week until the participant reaches the three mile mark in Week 9.

Now I don't doubt that this program could get Joe Schmoe running a 5k in a couple months, but with how much I want to be on the treadmill and burning calories, it's just not quite enough for me. The site that I found has you logging 60-90 minutes a WEEK at the gym. My goal is to be at the gym five times a week for an hour at a time. I'm looking to burn some calories! And to be honest, I'm pretty sure I could be back in 5k shape in half the time. (Do I smell a challenge?)

So after checking this program out, I think I'm going to take a pass. But don't get me wrong, I think this is a GREAT program for someone looking to get off of their couch and into their running shoes. I've included the link to the program for anyone interested in giving it a try. You can also download the iPhone app of this program that can talk you through your workouts while at the gym or on the pavement.