Weekends Suck

Weekends are incredibly difficult for me on this road to getting healthy. I'm so used to sleeping in until noon and sitting on the couch watching sports. In the past year, I never really thought much of drinking my Friday and Saturday nights away at all. This year though...it's not exactly easy to wake up the next day to eat breakfast, go for a walk and hit the gym later in the day.



I did reward myself this weekend though. I decided I have earned myself a weekend off from the gym as I went Monday through Friday. On top of that, my ankle injury has recently flared up and I have a sore hamstring. I don't mean to whine on here but I think I deserved a weekend of moderate rest. I may have taken that a little bit for granted though!



Saturday night was just a little too much fun if you know what I mean. It was K-Rock Adult Night out as Kinosoo Ridge and I was presented with a bottle of tequila in a fine gesture...knowing that mixing alcohol with sugar-ridden drinks is not really the goal of being healthy, I just drank the stuff straight. A lot of it. Kind of an ironic and hypocritical statement, I know but it leads to a funny story. The night ended up with my supper on the floor and me losing my cell phone. I was supposed to meet my mom in Lloydminster for dinner the next day but I had no phone to make plans. I ended up calling on a pay phone and setting up a time and place but I misheard and ended up sitting at the wrong restaurant for an hour so I munched on their brunch buffet. I was proud for only drinking water and having some salad while my parents worried if I made it from Cold Lake to Lloydminster.



Point is...I lose every ounce of routine that I establish during the week. I have trouble waking up and kickstarting my metabolism with breakfast. I have trouble not ordering a pizza or munching on some chips as I watch sports.



Over the weekend, I seemed to develop a terrible cold as well. I'll admit, I didn't make it to the gym today or yesterday but I went sick a few weeks ago and figured it was best that I just rest this cold away. I have a sore throat, I've lost my voice and my nose is like Niagra Falls. This is another roadblock because, in the past, I have struggled with going back to the gym after a cold or something similar knocked me off the track. I NEED to get back in the gym as soon as my immune system does its job. This whole thing is actually getting kind of discouraging...

Results

One of the biggest things I can say right now is that I'm proud of myself. I really didn't think I could do what I have already accomplished and I only started living my new healthy lifestyle a little over two weeks ago.



I was reminded of how far I've come when I was riding the stationary bike at the gym late last week. When I hurt my back in 2004, I was unable to control anything below my waist directly after the incident. My entire left leg and foot was especially bad. I began rehabbing and part of the process was riding the stationary bike. I had problems keeping my foot on the pedals if it didn't have those straps that most bikes have. We actually had to tie my feet to the pedals with those tensor bands. In my ride last week, I rode for half an hour with my left foot falling off once. It's such a little success but it has already made me so proud of myself.



As far as eating healthy and losing weight goes so far, I couldn't be happier with myself. I've been able to pack a lunch most days including a turkey sandwich, an apple, and some vegetables. I find that snacking on some almonds in the afternoon holds me over until supper quite well. I also haven't had a drink of COKE. This is a massive step for me...in the first few weeks I'd honestly get head aches and feel cranky because I didn't have my daily Coke going into my radio show at 2 o'clock. Those have since gone away and I thought I would reward myself after last weekend but I haven't really felt like having one, to be honest. I felt like I needed that extra dose of caffeine to keep me awake throughout the day but even this week when I was covering the morning show for Chris, I didn't have an ounce of caffeine. Not even a coffee. All I had was water and I had no problems waking up...maybe eating breakfast attributes to that.



I've hit the gym at least five times every week since I've started and late last week, something weird happened. I kind of felt like going if that makes any sense. I didn't even have a hard time pushing myself while I was there. I find the best way for me to work out is by target heart rate. Once I get to 150 range, I really start to sweat and feel like I'm accomplishing something. It's cool!



The number one thing I find that keeps me going is compliments I get from people. When I'm out and about and someone asks if I have been working out, it makes me want to go directly to the gym and keep going. My jeans I got for Christmas (the first pair I've owned in 10 years) are actually already falling down. I'm glad I didn't use my own money to buy them!



P.S. - I promised myself that I would weigh in every Friday buttttt...I weighed in two Fridays ago at 314 pounds and then the next Friday at 344 pounds. I can assure you I didn't gain 30 pounds in seven days, haha. I'll see what number I get this week or maybe I'll just get a new scale.

Still Truckin'..

I'm going to go on record saying that I'm very surprised with myself thus far. Tomorrow will be the seventh day of my new lifestyle and I still haven't had a Coca-Cola. Have I thought about it? Absolutely. I feel like if I get off to a rocky start, then it will be an even tougher road.



Friday was really hard...I felt like I had nothing in the tank so instead of going to the gym right after work, I went home and tried to motivate myself. I struggled and struggled and finally went to the gym at around 8:45 (they're open until 10:00) and actually had one of the better work-outs of the past week. I ended up rewarding myself with a few beers that night.



I woke up on Saturday, feeling very refreshed, and decided I'd get a morning work-out in. That did NOT fly so well. I honestly thought I could just go seven days a week but I guess I'm not ready for that. I was completely out of gas and couldn't give the best effort I could have. Maybe it was the lack of recovery time. Maybe it was the beer. Regardless, it was at that moment that I decided that I needed to take Sunday off.



I was really worried about the weekend because that's usually when I'm at my worst when it comes to eating. I controlled myself very well. I went to a sport bar to watch the Detroit Lions/New Orleans Saints game on Saturday night and ended up ordering a buffalo chicken wrap with a salad. I am SO PROUD of myself for ordering that instead of the alternatives that you usually order at a sports bar. It was nice to get out of the house.



For the Sunday football games? Munched on cauliflower and carrots instead of chips and chocolate. Had a hearty roast beef meal (hold the gravy) to finish off the week.



Today I'm going through exactly what I was worried about when this whole change started. I have a nasty cough that just won't go away. I know if I don't go to the gym then I'll fall out of this good routine that I've developed so far. I feel if I go to the gym than I may slow down my recovery from this darn cold. I might have to take a light walk instead of heavy bike ride. I'll consider this my first road-block of my "journey".

Whoa

There's something that people always tell me that I'll never believe.

"Working out will give you more energy" - Insane people

Really? Expending energy is going to give me more? Is it wrong for me not to believe that because it makes absolutely no sense to me. As of right now, I don't have any extra energy at all. Maybe that will change. I've been actually been falling asleep around midnight instead of 3 AM. Apparently people get "high" from sweating. I get angry, haha!

On that note, it seems like I can get to the gym much faster if I have something to be angry about. I'd rather have a burger if I'm happy. So instead of thinking "happy thoughts" I think "angry thoughts" and get my frustration out on the stationary bike. Got a good sweat on and IT REALLY HELPED that they had the ROCK station on. Rock music inspires me...then again, pop music angers me and I'm able to work out to that too.

I've been eating whole wheat spaghetti and going for walks after supper and the spaghetti isn't actually that bad. I can deal with it. I haven't had any other fluids other than water and it seems to be cleaning me out. I'll do a weigh-in tomorrow at the gym and plan to do it at the end of every week.

One Day Down

I'm getting the feeling that a lot think I'm being an "attention whore" for posting my last blog post but there's a lot that has happened to me over that past 48 hours that have made me really not care. There has been a number of people that have called or written to let me know that I said a lot of things they wish they could say so I guess I'm the leader of some sort of movement, haha. I feel that by writing my feelings here, I am holding myself accountable. I CAN'T fail after putting it here.

 

The first day of the "lifestyle" change went relatively smooth. The toughest thing was not having a bottle of Coke. Oh how I want one of those. I think if I am able to make it through the weekend, I'll treat myself with one of those mini-glass bottles. It gives me something to look forward to! I also noticed that after I ate breakfast (for the first time in a long time) I felt a lot better a lot sooner. I am not a morning person at all but the simple breakfast of a poached egg on a piece of toast sure got me going.

 

I WALKED to work with an iPod rather than getting a double double before driving to work. I don't know about the nutritional value of a double double but I imagine it's not all that good and it denies me the opportunity to walk to work. Who would want to go get a coffee, park at home, and then walk with it? Not me. I'm glad I walked too because I found a $20 bill on the sidewalk on the way!

 

I knew the hardest part would be heading to gym after my show and it was. I really didn't want to go. That's $50 a month that can go toward something else. I didn't even know what shoes I would wear but I found my pair of Saskatchewan Roughriders running shoes and thought that would inspire me. It did! I rode the stationary bike the best I could for half an hour, got a good sweat on and felt good for going.

 

I do think the culture in gyms needs to change though. I walked in there and totally felt like I didn't belong and that's exactly what I was afraid of. Maybe it's me being self-concious but it felt like the whole damn gym was looking at me as I was walking in. I just wanted to do my thing and get out...it really didn't look like there were other people like me at the gym. They were probably getting ready for Canada vs. Russia and I don't blame them. What a waste of time though, eh?

 

Day two starts now but I worry about the weekend and all the temptations that come with it.

Bring on 2012

Warning: This is not going to be the most inspiring "weight loss blog" you'll ever read but it's real and from the heart. I've got a lot to get off my chest.



I'm fat. There's no way around it (no pun intended). There's nothing more frustrating than having someone tell me, "Nah! You're just big boned". Stop lying to me because I'm not stupid.



2011 was a year that I'm extremely happy to see go. I can think of eight good days in total that happened last year. Two were in Los Angeles in August, three were in Vancouver for the Grey Cup in November, one was Christmas Day, one was New Year's Eve and one was June 15th when the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup. Everything else was pretty much garbage. 2012 represents a fresh start for me and I'm taking it very seriously.



I ended up breaking up with my first girlfriend ever of five and a half years in April and I blame it on my weight one hundred per cent. If she wasn't no longer physically attracted to me, then my weight was affecting my head and preventing me from being the partner I should and can be. Really, it's been affecting my head for a long time but I've really just failed myself by doing nothing about it.



The thing that bothers me the most is when girls or guys come up to me at the bar or anywhere and grab my "man boobs". It is certainly the most embarrassing in the entire world. If you think "bullying" stops after elementary school, you're sadly mistaken. Yeah...sticks and stones, right?



Maybe it's more important to get those people out of my life than a slice of cake.



I grow a beard every few months not only to keep warm but to hide my extremely round jaw line and double chin. I like to wear a giant Saskatchewan Roughriders jacket to give me a sense of protection and pride.



Eight years ago, I blew two discs in my back and had to learn how to walk all over again. For some reason, that wasn't enough to scare me into losing the weight. 2012 is the year when I finally make the change. I have never been thin so I don't really know how it feels, to be honest. I've always been a big guy but then I could actually move around...after hurting my back, that all changed and I pretty much gave up on myself.



I am NOT excited for the journey. I AM excited for the results. This will not be fun and it will never be. Maybe that's why I've never went through with losing weight. I am not going to count calories, try and get sponsors out of this, or run a marathon. I am doing it to add years to my life.



I honestly don't believe I can do it. If I can get ONE person other than my mother to believe in me, then I won't be so damn nervous about this goal. The K-Rock listeners are probably my best friends right now. They're there to call me a jerk when I'm being an ass, there to compliment me on a good song they haven't heard for a long time, and willing to call me up to talk about something more than just winning a prize. I appreciate that.



I know a lot of people that want to lose weight but think they can't. They're afraid. This year, I'm facing my fear and crushing it.







Waist: 48

Status: Embarrassing



Let's shave 8 numbers off of that by next year. No. I'm not going to shave my chest.