Painful Reminders

If you often find yourself enduring peaks and valleys when it comes to healthy living and working out (like I do), then you know the feeling. The feeling of those eye-opening, post-work out/run muscle aches and pains that come with restarting a fitness regiment. Oh. My. Goodness.

I won't lie to you guys - I've recently found myself tipping the scales at my new highest weight ever. Not proud of it. Not looking for sad panda faces or your typical "you'll do it this time!" comments. Just stating a fact. And when one sees a number they've never seen before, it usually springs them into action. Hence my return to the gym and the blog-osphere. Time to tighten it up and get my mind focusing on the right things (healthy foods, helpful reading materials, supportive environments, etc)

Well, when one sits on their rear for a month straight, it's a hearty wake-up call when they start working those dormant muscles again. Take this morning for instance. Today I decided that I would 'do legs' - which is a weird way to put it, but you all  know what I mean. I have a weight routine that was provided to me by a dear friend and today it had me scheduled for a handful of leg workouts using some of the machines.

I get to the first machine - taken. I head over to the second - occupied. And since these workouts are supposed to go in a certain order, I found myself aimlessly walking around the gym playing the waiting game. It then finally dawned on me - "hey, I don't need machines to work my legs - let's do some lunges." Well I did not know what I was getting myself into. Apparently I forgot how much I weigh because when I got to the end of 60 lunges - 30 on each leg - my legs were noodles. I mean, it was terrible. As a result, I unfortunately abandoned all my other leg workouts.

But instead, I thought it'd be a splendid idea to hit the treadmill for 30 minutes. Let's just say I'll probably be paying for it tomorrow... It's a long road, but it's gotta start somewhere, I suppose. But hopefully these painful reminders will make me realize the need to continue moving forward rather than sitting on the sideline and allowing a month to go by and watching the progress I'd made fizzle out and disappear.

After enduring this same cycle probably 10 times a year for the last 4 years, you'd think I would have put this all together by now. I see a lot of stories of people who decided to lose 50, 75 or 100 pounds and they just did it, and I find myself saying, "wow, I wish I could do that." Well...why don't I? Why do I assume that's something I can't accomplish? It's that mindset I tell ya...it's crucial.

Just thought I'd toss this lunges graphic in here. Also thought it was interesting that I was wearing the same thing during my lunges this morning!

Update + Camping Trip

So if you've "Liked" my Facebook page, you've already seen that I posted a picture today showing yesterday's read-outs from my Nike+ Fuel Band, my LiveStrong calorie counter, and my WeightBot app as well. This is something I want to do on a daily basis to keep myself accountable and also to show people my progress. I'll probably only be posting these pictures on my Facebook page (so all my Facebook friends don't get uber annoyed after a week and a half).

I've decided to do this because I have a tendency to avoid calorie counting on days that I mess up. I don't want to put numbers to the amounts of snacks I'm eating and the ounces of soda I'm downing. This way, I feel that I'll be forced not only to count my calories everyday, but to keep me more disciplined (since I have to report!). If you missed it, here's the picture:

I have a daily goal of 3,000 "Fuel Points" set for myself. Fuel points are more or less just a measurement of movement that Nike made up. (The band also counts calories and steps.) For me to hit my 3,000 goal, it usually needs a 30-60 minute jaunt on the treadmill in the morning, a couple pointed walks around the office and maybe a little extra walk or something at night. With a desk job, I feel this is a good number.

As for calories, I currently have my goal set at 1,800 calories per day. If that's averaged out over my three meals and snacks, it comes out to be about 450 calories each - not too shabby. Add in some burnt calories from exercise, and I'm in good shape! Definitely a number I can stick with.

Also, I get the privilege of going CAMPING this coming weekend! It's going to be fantastic to get away from the city and work for a while and just enjoy the great outdoors with my wife and some of our friends. Unfortuantely, the temperatures for the Indianapolis area are forecasted to be between 95-100 everyday...guess we'll be swimming a lot!

I'm really looking forward to being outside and utilizing the opportunity to be active and burn some major calories. A great majority of my workouts have been in the gym (except for a few outdoor runs), so it'll be nice to take advantage of it. I'm bringing a football along, we'll be swimming, and hopefully some hiking as well! Once I get back I'll make sure to share some pictures and stories! And the amount of weight I lost in the process!

P.S. Stay tuned for another HUGE giveaway today or tomorrow!

Setting Up My Summer Plan

Well now that my 'big race weekend' is behind me, it's time to focus on what REALLY needs the appropriate attention - losing the weight.

I've actually set sort of an 'unofficial goal' of September 1st as the date that I'd like to really make strides in my weight loss efforts. I don't want to assign a specific goal weight to this date, but since that is me and my wife's anniversary weekend, I'd love to be able to look back on our first year of marriage and see the healthy changes that I was able to make - for the better. And I want to be able to share a 'before and after' comparison with you using my wedding photo!
So what kind of plan am I going to put into place to make 'skinny Jordan' a possibility? That's a good question...

I think I've gotten to the point where I've almost read TOO much material on workout plans. Like dieting, it seems like everyone has their own method that's worked for them, and swears that it'll 'work for everyone!' So understandably, I'm kind of confused as to what might work best for me.

My goals are to not only lose six dozen pounds, but also to slim down my wasitline, flatten my gut, deflate my thighs and get some solid arms and shoulders. I also want to vastly improve as a runner!

But first things first. One day at a time. Sure, I have lots of goals, but they're all going to take time to accomplish. Another goal is to make weekly videos updating you on my progress. I'll videotape my weigh in, talk about my week's accomplishments and failures and give you an insight into my mind and how I'm handling the hard work that lies ahead of me. I'll also take measurements every few videos and post them here as well.

So I would love it if you checked back here on a weekly basis to see the progress that will be happening on this site. I'm excited to share my journey with you and show you what I'm capable of. And if you have any workout program tips, please let me know!

IT HAS ARRIVED!

I almost became giddy yesterday when a coworker dropped a UPS package off at my desk that I've been anticipating since my dealer friend sent it on its way.

I'm enthralled with anything that collects and spits out numerical data - especially if it has to deal with weight loss! For a while, I entertained the possibility of buying a FitBit - I have friends who currently use it and cannot say enough about how it motivates them to be more active and how it's helped them drop weight. However, I couldn't find a used one or one that wasn't being sold for full price, so I looked elsewhere.

I then heard about something called the Nike+ FuelBand. I'd seen commercials on TV for it and checked out the website and thought that looked pretty cool too. And you know what? Turns out a friend was looking to sell his - bingo!

Well as I said, that package came yesterday. I then got it charged last night and strapped it on first thing this morning before hitting the gym. To be honest, I still don't ACTUALLY know what NikeFuel is at this point... I just know it's different than calories. I guess it's some sort of 'measurement of activity?' Either way, the mobile and desktop applications let you set a daily goal for yourself and you can monitor your progress right on the band (see picture). Today my goal is 3,000 units of NikeFuel. As I type this I'm at  2,412.

Turns out that having a primarily desk-oriented job doesn't bode well for movement and activity. So therefore I'm either going to have to get out and take a walk during my lunch break on days that aren't too busy or a nighttime walk with my wife - or both! I'll definitely be keeping you posted.

What kinds of weight loss tools/toys like this do YOU utilize?

Lunchtime Walking

So yesterday I decided that I better take advantage of the remaining warm weather and head outside to take a lunchtime stroll on the bike patch behind City Hall. It was about 65 degrees and sunny, so I grabbed my iPhone, cranked up some Dave Matthews Band (since I didn't have my headphones, I just let it play) and grabbed my phone to use as a stopwatch.

However, I didn't find a stopwatch function on my phone. Instead I found this program/application called "Eco Walk" which counted the number of steps I took as well as the amount of CO2 emissions I saved by walking instead of driving. Pretty cool! It also keeps a history of your walks so you can try to beat your previous "high score" each time you go for a walk! Here's just a little video from my walk yesterday:

Today I plan to get out and do some more walking for sure! Not only do I get to leave my desk/computer and stretch my legs, but I also get to enjoy the fresh, autumn air and hear the sounds of nature. Unfortunately, there's a hospital construction project going on nearby, so that sometimes drowns out the birds... What are some little ways that you burn calories throughout the day?