A personal training & food journal. Read about our weight loss progress at Train With Ron in Chicago, our nutritional habits and the life changes we're making to get in shape and stay healthy!
October 24thAnother week is in the books, and MAN am I sore. Right now it’s the quads… DB got a hold of us on Wednesday night and there was a lot of leg work. I did too much too fast and basically overheated / hyperventilated myself into a headache, dizziness, and had to take it slow from the 30 minute point on. Monika got through the whole workout, I didn’t, although I did do as much as I could.
Friday morning, as I got dressed, I noticed something. I wear a braided belt, and the slot where the notch goes through the belt is pretty well worn. Well, in my 6am haze on Friday I realized I was having a little difficulty getting the notch through… then I realized that I had a full inch of extra belt and a fresh new(ish) spot! VERY EXCITING!!!
That morning I had breakfast with my 100%+ sales representatives and my boss, I instituted this breakfast to reward them for their hard work over the last month or year-to-date. When I ordered nothing but steel-milled oatmeal (it was good!) with fruit and a side of egg whites, it raised a few eyebrows. I explained the workouts and eating changes and they were really impressed, especially my boss, who is on the heavier side himself (he’s a former offensive lineman for the Wisconsin Badgers, but got hurt). It felt great to hear their compliments and encouragement.
Our one “bad” meal this week was pizza on Friday night. It was the first time Moni and I had pizza since we started on 10/5/09… well, we did have a “pizza” but it was whole wheat crust, tomato, basil leaves, and a little fresh mozzarella very lightly sprinkled on… hardly a “pizza”. We used to have actual pizza at least once per week… we’ve cut our ordering for delivery down to once every two weeks… this used to be 3-4 times a WEEK.
Saturday’s workout went really well. It was a little bit more cardio than usual… Monika’s arms were very sore after DB worked her hard, and my thighs have been burning for 3 days… so there wasn’t a lot of weightlifting, just a little (leg extensions and hamstring curls), and a lot of running, jumping jacks, and “scissors” which is just jumping in place while switching your feet forward and back. I felt really good all day today energy-wise… as usual, after our Saturday workouts. Thighs still hurt but it’s not horrible.
I really need to do the 20 minute power walks on off days. I’ve been TERRIBLE about it and the next time I write this blog, it’s gonna include power walks because I’m losing a lot of calorie burning opportunity there… I already got an inch off the belt line… if I do the walks I know it will accelerate my progress. Still going strong with eating right, just need to involve more daily activity.
I’ll write more soon…
October 17thIt’s been a week since I last wrote, it’s been a very hectic week at work and that definitely kept me from writing… there were a couple nights when I came home and immediately crashed. We had our workout Tuesday night this week, as well as today. Tuesday was very tough, as we did interval training… we carried a 25lb weight power walking down and back (not sure of the distance) and while one was doing that walk, the other was doing push ups. It was pretty brutal. Then we did some core work (abdominal); I did this OK but it hurt and I couldn’t really finish the timed exercises. I would get to the 40 second point – out of a one minute length – and have to stop. Then we did some squat walking and my hamstring tightened up, which resulted in me doing leg presses instead. We were a little sore the next day – Moni moreso than I – but we both are recovering more quickly and less sore with each workout. Monika was able to do the full 60 seconds on the exercise and did the squat walks too. She’s awesome!
Today Matt had us again, and we did intervals with lifting and running. Tricep rows, one arm chest presses, and a one arm exercise where the movement takes the weight from the floor, bending at the knee, all the way up over your head. Mixed that in with some running and squat thrusts (Matt calls them Burpies – must be a midwest thing, haha) and I was at the very maximum of my lung capacity. We both got through it, but like last week, I came home and passed out for an hour, after which I felt GREAT for the rest of the day.
As far as the eating is concerned… we’ve both been doing really well. Monika has been better than I have. Tuesday I had a meeting that ran really late, and it was in the middle of nowhere… so by the time I was done I was STARVING and the only thing remotely near to where I was was McDonalds – BAD – and I felt horrible but I HAD to eat. Yes I know, McDonald’s has salads… but if I pull into a McDonalds and I’m starving, I’m not eating a stinkin’ salad, I’m sorry… just not gonna happen.
The rest of the week all I ate was fruits, nuts, vegetables, brown rice, chicken, turkey sandwiches on whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, and mustard… whole oatmeal for breakfast, which is very good when infused with banana… and an occasional glass of soy milk. Oh, and my morning coffee… I’m just not ready to give that up.
Today Monika made a modified version of her delicious Breakfast Sandwich (2 scrambled eggs with only one yolk, turkey sausage, yellow peppers, on whole wheat bread with a thin sheen of mayo… TASTY!).
Tonight we went out to dinner at the Capital Grille (pretty good but expensive). We both had lobster bisque (shouldn’t have but it was delicious), then for the main course Moni had sea scallops and I had a steak. As a side dish we both had Brussels sprouts, and we both drank water and unsweetened iced tea. So not an ideal meal, but we kept it reasonable. The steak was fantastic. The only thing that was totally “out of bounds” was the lobster bisque, because it probably has a lot of cream in it. There weren’t any heavy or sugary sauces on the entrees. We talked and laughed and ate, it was a good time! I had jeans on and they seated us in this quiet, tucked away little back room… where I noticed that at least one person at every table had jeans on. We didn’t see a lot of denim in the main dining room. DISCRIMINATION! Haha!
The only thing I REALLY need to do better with is the daily power walks. I didn’t do them even once this week – not good. I have to get into a routine of doing it. Telling on myself here might help a little bit.
We go to the gym again on Wednesday this week…
October 10thWe had our second session today. The trainer was Matt Ulrich, former Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman and special teams player. He is the first Super Bowl Champion I have ever met and I could not help but be awed by that colossal feat. I had to ask him: “What’s it like to win the Super Bowl?” He thought a second, as if to relive the moment, then looked at me and said, “It’s a pretty cool deal, man.” He is very humble but clearly proud of the accomplishment… I mean, how many of us reach the absolute pinnacle of our career at the tender age of 27? I was humbled.
That humility quickly turned to agonizing pain as the workout commenced. It was mostly a cross training session: 30 reps of weights, then run a bunch, then 30 more reps of a different movement, then run… weights… run… pushups (I could not do even knee pushups after the warmup 25 I had to do). We did the full warmup (which caused me great pain 5 days ago) plus 40 more minutes of cross training. When it was over, I was overheated, lightheaded, I thought I might pass out. It took me about an hour to cool down and feel like myself again. I feel pretty good right now but I know that more is coming.
I have stuck to the eating regimen, except for the guilty pleasure of a daily cup with cream and sugar, although much less cream and sugar than I used to use.
Tomorrow will be a “free” day, I’ll still exercise (20 minute power walk) but I will not worry as much about what I eat… I’ll just reduce quantity and enjoy some football… Week One is almost in the books and although it’s been tough, it really hasn’t been THAT bad.
October 8thToday: Ate well again… right now I’m having a slice of 100% organic whole grain bread and a glass of soy milk. Not too bad… but I shouldn’t be eating this late. I did do my 20 minute power walk… outside this time (about a mile). I had to push through lower back pain and my thighs were burning but I did push through and banged it out. One more day of power walk before the trainers get a hold of me again. I need to be able to soak in Epsom salts or something because the pain in my arms was so bad last night that I couldn’t sleep, kept waking up and then couldn’t get back to sleep… I’m gonna have to clear the empty boxes out of the extra bathroom so I can use the tub this weekend! I can’t wait til Sunday, when I can watch football and have my one “bad” meal per week. 
October 7thI have been eating raw vegetables, sandwiches on whole wheat bread, grilled chicken with brown rice, and a few other whole foods. Not really craving sugar too badly, but still having eating cravings at night at 10:00pm or so. I’ve eaten at that time, but very small snacks… a glass of soy milk and a slice of whole wheat bread, or a rice cake with organic peanut butter.
My body HURTS. My whole upper body is sore from (sadly) knee pushups. Last night I did a power walk for 20 minutes but tonight I am just too sore and tired so giving the body a rest.
I have to believe I’ve cut my caloric intake in half at least… and I’m doing other smart things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, for example, to get a little extra burn in.
Monika and I go for training session #2 on Saturday morning. I need to do my 20 minute walks tomorrow and Friday without fail.
Did I mention that I am hurting? Wow. My shoulders, pecs, lats, chest, and arms are just tight and aching. If anyone knows of a good way to relieve this I’d love to hear about it.
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