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!
January 31stHi All!
I’ve been very busy with work lately, so less writing, but found a few minutes tonight and am happy to report that the Biggest Loser Challenge just completed Week 3 and since the PM team won the week, I get to write the blog this week! (Nyaa, nyaa, Monika!) Ron, Matt, and DB have come up with some pretty cool challenges and events for this contest and so far, everyone really seems to be into it! I know I am!
So first – I did very well in the previous week’s challenge even though we (the PM team) lost. In 5 minutes:
Ski Machine: 1259m (pretty good but I thought I was going to die)
Airdyne Bike: 3186m (1.98 miles – I SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN TWO!)
Rowing Machine: 1417m (#1 overall – I seem to do better on this machine than any of the others as a rule)
Grand Total: 5862m – wow!
This was better than I could have hoped for but it did not come without a cost – I was wiped out after this week. REALLY wiped out. After I did the bike (Thursday) I couldn’t work out – partially because I was experiencing what I have come to know as an “ocular migraine” but more on that later – I was just completely spent and could not go on. (more…)
March 11thWell, it’s been a while since I made an entry – I’m long overdue… life has been busy and I’ve been doing a little hiding out too. Anyhow, The Biggest Loser contest at TrainWithRon ended on March 5th and of all the participants, I came in 8th – having lost 14.5 pounds, which is 5.78% of my body weight when we started. It was quite an accomplishment for me, although I would have liked to have done better, I did pretty well and any progress is good progress! I worked hard on it, I ate very well for most of the time (the main exception being my birthday weekend – I kind of pigged out that weekend).
Since the contest ended, I’ve stepped up my efforts while working out. I realized sometime after my birthday that I put a lot of effort into things that I’m really not as invested in as I am in my own well-being – the truth that every moment I spend trying to keep or get things which cannot inherently belong to anyone – youth, possessions, children, favor with others… is a moment wasted. When I am discontent, the source is usually the fact that I am chasing or clinging to things that aren’t ‘ownable’. I appreciate the people and things around me, but when I wake up to the illusion of owning anything other than my own dignity, it makes me feel a bit empty. When I feel empty inside, one of the ways I used to deal with it was to eat a lot. So, I made a point of working harder at TWR and focusing on the idea that the only thing standing between me and feeling good about myself is my own brain telling me I don’t deserve to.
In a couple of weeks, Monika and I are going to Hawaii and I really need the break from life. I will still work out and eat right while on the trip, but I will relish not being at work, not being beholden to answer the phone or check emails, and just enjoy life for a week. I will recharge my batteries on the beach and the golf course, and I will spend some real unadulterated time with my wife, whom I’ve grown so much closer to during this change in our lives. I will also be able to take my shirt off on the beach! 
The trip is a reward for all the hard work we’ve done, but I’ve so much further to go… I’ve lost about half the weight I want to lose.
That’s all for now… more soon! I promise not to take such long breaks from writing from now on.
January 9thHappy New Year everyone! The year is new but the routine has been the same – three rigorous personal training workouts per week at Train With Ron. During the holidays we were a little bit less careful than usual with all the chocolate and what not going around, but we got right back to it this week and ate carefully. This morning, DB put us through what he called the “Body Weight Decathlon” which consisted of 30 sit ups, push ups, switch lunges, step ups, low-bar pull ups, suitcase sit ups, mountain climbers, squat thrusts (burpees), squat jumps, and dips… all with the clock running. I can tell you that after the first three movements, the clock was the last thing on my mind. It was tough but both Moni and I got through it – and that was only about 1/2 of our workout for the day. I ate well all week, the usual whole foods (rabbit food). During the holiday weeks, I only lost a pound or two, but it was MUCH better than gaining weight from eating poorly.
Today, DB started “The Biggest Loser” contest at TrainWithRon, when I was there today DB had over 45 people registered who had weighed in, gotten their body fat / BMI measured and their waistline measured, as well as blood pressure and resting heart rate. Whoever loses the highest percentage of weight over the 8 week period wins everyone’s entry fee ($25 per person) so about $1000 or so at stake… should be really fun to compete in this… I am of course going to try to win by continuing to eat healthfully while perhaps adding a day or two to my exercise plan.
Also, Matt runs a program at the gym called “Pure Steel” – its a bench press based upper body strength training program – but that’s all I know about it… I’ve been meaning to ask him more about it and will do that next time I’m there, which will be Monday. In high school I could bench about 210 (I weighed about 150)… I’d be interested to see how far beyond that I could go, if I trained for it.
This coming Saturday I am going out of town for about 5 days for work, so I will be missing my Saturday training session, but I’ll be at a hotel with a gym and plan to take full advantage of it while I’m there. I’m going to try to push myself while I’m there for a full hour just as if i was at the gym with Ron, Matt, or DB training me and see how I do.
Just to throw the totals out there: I currently weigh 251 lbs (lost 27), 32% body fat (down 10%), and have trimmed 5 inches off my waistline. I would love to drop about 10% more weight over the 8 week period (about 3 lbs per week) during the Biggest Loser contest, that would take me down to 225 or so. That’s my goal… I don’t know if losing 10% would be enough to win the contest but it would certainly be enough to be proud of…
I’ll keep you posted!
