Day 06 - Free Day 1

So today is my free day. I chose to take it on Saturday because today is my Mom's birthday and she wanted to go out with us for drinks. I slept till around 10 for a change and went out and got some Kolaches and a Jamba Juice with my wife. After that I met up with my friend Eric and had lunch and some drinks at the Flying Saucer. I think he is going to do body for life starting in May and he asked if I would train with him and help motivate him. I think that would be great as I plan on doing BFL twice in a row anyway. This time is for losing fat and slimming down, the next 12 weeks is going to be for shaping and growing muscle. I am going to Hawaii in August and I would like to be looking great on the beach. ;-) I finished up my day going out to eat and drink with my Parents for my Mom's birthday. That was lots of fun and I'm glad I got to go out with them.

Day 05

Today I did my second upper-body workout and it was tough! I managed to finish the full workout but barely. My muscles were at the point of collapse after doing my chest, shoulders, back and tris. I need to work on figuring out what weight to put into my plan because I was really struggling on some of the exercises when I should have been at a level 7-8. I guess thats part of the learning process though. I have been keeping up with my nutrition and the meals are great!!! I am never hungry and for the first time in a long time, I am feeling full of energy throughout the day.

Day 04

I did my cardio routine on Day 04 and stepped it up a notch! It was a much more demanding workout on the bike. I think I will start jogging soon though on advice of one of my friends. He says I will get better results jogging that using the bike. I think he is probably right. I hate jogging. ;-)

Day 03

I woke up feeling great on day 3 and headed over to the gym for a lower body workout. The workout went well. I found out that my calves are not in very good shape though. I had to lower the weight so I could get through all my sets. I did it though, and it was a definite 10 effort for those! I still had a bit of nausea after working out for about 25 minutes, so I think it may be something I just have to overcome. My body is not used to being forced to do stuff all the time, but that is changing. I got through my 46 minutes of exercise and headed home for a shower and some breakfast.

I managed to get through the day again eating only what was on my menu and drinking mostly water. I will admit, I probably didn't drink enough water, so I'll be careful about that in the future. The beef stew was delicious once it finally got done cooking. I didn't get to eat until about 8:30, so of course I didn't get to bed till around 10:30. Overall though it was a good day. 3 days, still going strong. Looking forward to the next. ;-)

Day 02

So I survived day 1 and only cheated a little and woke up on day 2 after going to bed at 11pm. Waking up at 5 was not what I'd call pleasant, but I did it. I got in my 20 minute aerobic exercise by using the stationary bike. I started at a level 5 on the bike, which I now know is a bit too low, and worked my way through the 20 minute routine. I worked up a great sweat, but didn't feel like I pushed myself hard enough. Ill have to do better thursday.

As far as meals go, I did very well on day 2! I ate only what was on my meal plan and drank only water and 1 cherry coke zero. My upper body started to feel very sore from day 1's workout but it was a good feeling. At least I know I did something good on day 1 despite having to quit early.

I went to bed early so I could wake up refreshed on day 3.

Day 01 - The Beginning

I should have posted this yesterday as that is when I really started Body for Life, but I suppose better late than never. I have decided to keep this log as a journal for myself and any others who come along to be inspired by what can be done if you put your mind to it.

I learned about Body for Life about 5 years ago, but I never got around to giving it a real chance. I always came up with one reason or another why I couldn't do it. Either I couldn't afford it, or I got sick, or I just didn't feel like reading the book. Now that I have read the book and have a wonderful wife to help support me, I truly believe I can complete this 12 week program.

Yesterday, I started off by getting up at 5am and going to the gym in my apt complex for some upper body exercises. First I was a bit annoyed because they only had one 15 lb dumbell and only 1 25 lb dumbell, so my weight progression was a bit messed up and I think I may have pushed myself too hard. I also think I drank too much water, so about 30 minutes into my workout, I had to go throw up. To me, that just about signals the end of a workout. I went home and showered and tried to eat, but I felt miserable so I stayed home from work. I think the FLU that I had the week before just wasn't ready to let go quite yet. So, I only ate about half of my breakfast and I missed my first Myoplex bar of the day as well. :-(

I got back on track at lunch and ate lunch at 11, a Myoplex bar at 2, a Myoplex shake at 5, and dinner at 7ish. Dinner was delicious. I would have never believed this was health food by the taste and portion size. Great stuff.

Before Dinner I went over to my parents' house and had my mom take pictures of me for the competition and I took pictures for her. I'll post mine here as soon as I get my camera back from my parents. (I left it there after shooting the pictures) I'm pretty sure no one wants to see pictures of me looking fat, but it's part of my motivation that I put them here so when the 12 weeks is up, I can see how I've done.

I cheated a little and finished off the last serving of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice cream. Then, off to bed by 11. It should have been 10, but I got tied up trying to get a computer installed. I will do better about that tomorrow.

My starting weight is 289.0. BF% 37.5
My jeans size is 44"