The After Holidays Effect

So Christmas didn't go off as smoothly as I had hoped. But I do have to say that I tried, and I emphasize TRIED to keep a handle on it, but here's how it went, I started off Christmas Eve hungry because the wife and I had to go out and finish up a few last minute things, so we didn't eat a lot during the day, so by the time we went to the festivities that night I was starving, or so I thought. I can probably actually hibernate all winter without eating and not feel the effects. So I ate. A lot. Christmas morning, same thing and then I snacked through out the day. Christmas dinner at the in-laws I didn't eat a lot, because I had snacked through the day. Then the day after Christmas, I snacked all day again. Needless to say, by the time Sunday came around, I really was tired of snacks. So Monday I went to work with the full intention of eating healthy and working out, which I did until that night, when I dug into the popcorn bin that my mom had given to us. And so here it is Wednesday and I have worked out for two day, and I start off the day great, but then when I get home and sit with my wife and I choose to eat. I think next week is a time for purging the home of junk and getting a fresh start. My wife loves candy and I told her that if she wants to have candy she better find a dang good hiding place and just eat it when I am not home because I need to be strict for the next few months otherwise I will not get anywhere. Most of the battle is eating, and I need to be strict for several months in order to change my habits.

Day 4

If I thought day 3 was bad, compared to day 4 it was a cake walk. It was a long day today. Our little girl kept waking up during the night last night, and we took turns checking in on her. Six o'clock comes early when your running low on sleep. I do have to say though that my diet seem a lot easier to follow today for some reason. A co-worker brought in cookies today that I was able to contain myself to only two. I know that is two to many, but it is the holidays and I figure I need to be moderate in my treats. The rest of the day was great. My mom even took Nichole and I out to dinner to Mimi's Cafe. Instead of ordering the Jambalaya that looked really good, I decided to order the Grilled Veggie Ciabatta...plus! Then I ordered Onion Rings...minus. The thought was there to try! I actually couldn't finish it either. I was rather surprised that I got a to go box. Portioning my meals out has helped me to be wiser in my decisions. My PT gave me a saying to post on my fridge that says, "Nothing Tastes Better Than Thin" granted I don't know what thin tastes like, nor feels like for that matter, but it has to taste better that the feeling you get when you stuff yourself at the local buffet, or when you stop exercising for a couple of weeks and start to feel groggy. I look forward to the taste of "thin".
My exercise on the other hand, not so awesome. I was able to finish it, but it wasn't without the fight of my life today. I have been alternating the eliptical with running and today was running day. Because of my workout yesterday, my legs were pretty tired, so I took it slow to start out. By the end I was feeling pretty good, but there was more punishment on the horizon. It was leg day and I had to do lunges in my routine today. By the time work was over I was done. I had had enough. My legs completely were and still are exhausted. Hopefully they will be some what ok for tomorrow. I don't know what I am going to do, but I'll figure it out when I get there.

Day 3...Dejavu

Today is the third day of working out this week. I'm just going to say it was a little rough starting out. I started with 30 minutes on the eliptical and by the time I was finished I was ready to be finished, but I wasn't done. I haven't done any weight lifting yet this week, so I decided to do both my weight lifting routines in one day. I usually split it up, but it felt nice to do it all at once.
I stuck with my diet very well today. Yesterday was another story. I did really well during the day and when I came home and ate dinner. It was after dinner when our friend dropped by with some chocolate covered pretzels. I stepped on them because they were on the stairs and I didn't want them to get broken more, so I decided to eat one or two, and then my wife said she didn't want them so I decided to finish them, and then start in on other Christmas candy. I know, where was my control? It went out the window last night. Tonight wasn't so rough though and I am hoping that it is going to get easier the healthier the choices I make. Well I am going to bed because my workout was seriously intense today and I am really tired.

More Time

Well graduation day has come and gone. Now the question of the day is what to do with all of my new found extra time? No more going straight to school from work until 8:30 and then coming home to do three more hours of homework. No more waking up at 6 in the morning on Saturdays in order to maximize my homework time. No more worrying about the next test. No more drinking a thousand gallons of soda in order to stay awake through the day because I only had four hours of sleep the night before. No more excuses. No more next months. It's now. When I started this blog a little over a year ago, I started it because I wanted to find out why I did what I did, and that was put off exercising and overeat.
While I still haven't quite figured out why I overeat, I have figured out the exercising issue. Although I knew that exercise was the key to having more energy, when I came to the next test, or the mountain of homework that I had to finish for class, exercising takes time; and when I was so tired at night that I just couldn't remain awake a minute longer, or my brain was to tired to think of the next solution there comes a point when you have to call it quits in order to get some sleep to somewhat recharge the battery for the next day. So many times I would skip exercising and work on my homework on my lunch break in order to finish what wasn't done the night before. And soon soda became my best friend. Well to be all honest, soda has ALWAYS been my best friend, but more so when I was tired and needed to make it through the day. It doesn't help that soda is free at work and unfortunately that much soda drinking comes at a price, 1. it made me feel bloated most of the time; 2. I now have my very first, and only, 4 cavities; 3. it makes my body retain water; 4. I gained weight for sure.
So what to do now. Well I have been giving it an awful lot of thought, and I am going to start a new lifestyle. Yes, I know I said that last year, but I really can do it now because I can really focus on it now. I have a very hard time spreading my focus over several different things, especially when they are big events like finishing school or taking on the monumental task of losing as much weight as I have to lose. Although 100lbs isn't a ton of weight to lose, when it comes down to it, I look at it and I feel like I am standing at the base of K2. It feels like I am never going to reach the summit. Something that I learned yesterday during my graduation ceremony from one of the speakers, is that even though it may seem ridiculous and overwhelming, I can do it and I can make the change. I am the ONLY one who can make the change. And though it may seem like a monumental challenge, an impossible feat, I can do it because I can do anything I set my mind too. I just graduated from college for crying out loud. That is no easy feat in and of itself.
I have a few goals that I would like to set. By April, I would like to be ready to, or almost ready to run a 5k. I really want to start running, a lot. I know my wife wants to also, and I think we can do it together. Second, I want to start delving into that part of my brain that says, "eat it and don't stop until you are disgustingly sick and you leave nothing there." Yes, my brain does say stuff like that to me. Third, I want to become almost annoyingly healthy. What is almost annoyingly healthy? You know those people that are REALLY healthy and they criticize you for what you eat? I want to be almost to that point, but not quite. I love food, especially meat, breads, fruits, vegetables.....really all of it, except brussel sprouts; so I want to take the things I love and find healthy alternatives to preparing them. Finding ways to cut down on the fat and calories, etc. I know they are out there. Finally, and I guess this is really number one, but I put it here because it really is important to me, is that I want to be an example to my daughter and other future children and also to the rest of my family. I want to prove this to myself. I HAVE to prove this to myself!!

It's Here!

You may have noticed the new background. Though the guitar was good, it wasn't really anything inspirational. I have always loved mountain biking, but have never been all that great at it because of my weight. So I made it my background so I can use it to help me get going. I started this blog over a year ago with the goal of using it to help me figure out who I am and why I do what I do. Well much hasn't changed except I did figure out that when it comes to weight loss, it takes a backseat when it comes to things like having a new baby arrive or going to school. I can't say that losing weight won't help me in getting a job, bit I can say when it comes to school in my mind, it won't help me make more money. But you know what they say, it's all about the first impressions. Having a nice suit and being trim and cut would make a great impression, so it is still my goal to get myself into shape.
Now on to the great part. I am finally graduating from school. I will walk on Friday!! I am really excited and I look forward to the future opportunities that I will have. But it is now time to buckle down and start getting serious about getting in shape. I have giving this a great deal of thought and I would seriously like to run four or five 5k races next year and also maybe one or two 10k, and also train to run a few mini marathons. You might say to yourself, really? Well, yes really. I am going to do this, my wife would like to run a few also. She wasn't able to run this year being pregnant, but next year we will both try to run a few. I don't know if we will try to run together, we both are at different stages in our fitness levels, but it might be fun to try and run one together one day.
Tonight I was able to get my food ready for tomorrow and write down all the food information. I am going to go back on the plan that my PT had me on when I first started with her. I am hoping that it won't take me long to get back to where I was and then surpass it. With school over with, I am excited to see what is going to happen and where I will go.