THIRSTY THURSDAY!!

I HAVE FOUND MYSELF DRINKING A TON OF WATER!! I AM THIRSTY, THIRSTY, THIRSTY! I GUESS MY BODY IS CRAVING WATER. TODAYS WORKOUT WAS TOUGH MY LEGS FELT LIKE LEAD TODAY. WE DID KICKBOXING AND MAN MY LEGS WERE SORE!! TOMORROW IS GOING TO BE TOUGH BEAR(MY TRAINER) SAID HE IS TURNING UP THE HEAT...SO I KNOW TOMORROW IS GOING TO BE HARD. TOMORROW IS ALSO WEIGH-IN SO IT IS A LITTLE STRESSFUL BECAUSE I WANT TO DO WELL AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD SO I EXPECT RESULTS.


BREAKFAST....5AM....2 PEICES OF CINNAMON/RAISIN TOAST
SNACK....POST WORKOUT SHAKE
LUNCH....GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD/ITALIAN DRESSING
SNACK...STRING CHEESE/2
DINNER...CHICKEN FAJITA/ NO TORTILLA...PINTO BEANS...2 SLICE OF AVACADO

TODAYS WORKOUT WITH TORI AND SHONTARIUS WAS FUN. BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY ARE AS SORE AS I AM THIS WEEK. IT IS ALWAYS GOOD TO GET FEEDBACK FROM THESE GUYS IT HELPS STAYING MOTIVATED.

HUMP DAY!!

HERE IT IS WEDNESDAY...HUMP DAY!! THIS MORNINGS WORKOUT WAS REALLY TOUGH!!! I AM GETTING PUSHED PRETTY HARD AND I AM PUSHING MYSELF PRETTY HARD!! I AM EXCITED A FRIEND OF MINE IS PLANNING ON SIGNING UP AND GET ON BOARD DOING BASICALLY THE SAME PROGRAM AS I AM. THAT IS EXCITING!! MY WIFE HAS LOST AROUND 10 LBS...SHE HAS JUMPED ON BOARD ALSO!! SHE HAS BEEN GOING TO THE GYM EACH MORNING....YEA GO PAULA!! NY NEIGHBOR HAS ALSO BEEN GOING TO THE GYM NOW HER HUSBAND IS GOING...IT IS CONTAGIOUS! A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE ASKED ME WHAT WAS MAKING THE MOST DIFFERENCE...THE BEST ANSWER I COULD GIVE IS CONSISTANCY....WITH THE DIET...AND THE EXERCISING...

BREAKFAST...6AM...TWO PEICES OF CINNAMON/RAISIN TOAST
POST WORKOUT SHAKE
LUNCH ROAST BEEF/TWO PEICES EZEKIAL BREAD/PICKLE/FAT FREE CHEESE
SNACK....GRANOLA
DINNER...1/2 CHICKEN BREAST/QUINUA/GREEN BEANS
SNACK...SYNTHA-6 SHAKE

I CANT REALLY EXPLAIN IT BUT DURING MY WORKOUTS I AM HURTING...BUT I'M NOT SORE LIKE I WAS THE FIRST WEEK.

LET IT SNOW...LET IT SNOW...LET IT SNOW!!!!

MY DOG IZZIE WAS FREEZING!! SHE DECIDED TO CHILL OUT BY THE FIREPLACE. WHILE MY DAUGHTER MADISON HAD HER OWN IDEA OF A SNOWMAN...I MEAN SNOWWOMAN!!

WHAT A GREAT DAY!!I'M FEELING IT I'M READY TO PUSH IT THIS WEEK...HAD A GREAT NIGHT WITH THE KIDS IN THE SNOW IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!! HERE ARE SOME PICS WE HAD FUN IN THE SNOW!!

HERE IS MY SON HUNTER WITH THE BEGINNINGS OF A LARGE SNOWMAN. HE HAD TO CALL HIS GOOD FRIEND HALLIE OVER TO DECORATE HIM. I DIDNT GET MUCH DONE AT WORK TODAY THE WEATHER GOT THE BEST OF ME...

BREAKFAST...5:15AM 2 PEICES OF CINNAMON/RAISIN TOAST...BOWL CREAM OF WHEAT

SNACK POST WORKOUT SHAKE

LUNCH CACTUS/ONIONS/4 SLICES OF AVACADO

STRING CHEESE/ LMONDS AND A BANANA

DINNER...6PM PINTO BEANS

HAD A GREAT CARDIO WORKOUT TODAY WE REALLY WORKED HARD DANI MADE US SWEAT. THIS MORNING I DID THE ELIPTICAL MACHINE FOR THIRTY MINUTES STRAIGHT KEEPING MY HEARTRATE AROUND 140ISH. THAT WAS TOUGH I WAS OUT OF BREATH!! I AM REALLY TRYING TO PUSH MYSELF A LITTLE HARDER EACH WEEK. ITS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT IM IN MY THIRD WEEK!!

Monday!! Monday!!! beginning of week 3

I am pumped up!!!! i feel energetic and excited!! last week towards the end of the week I felt like I wasnt making much progress after looking at the scale i felt like I was doing something wrong ...found out Friday that last week...in only one week I lost three pounds of fat and gained 2 pounds of MUSCLE!! yea I am making progress I guess I understand what Lindy means when she says dont look at the scale...that was such a motivator i bought a BMI tester...they are 29.00 at Academy to give to my wife so that she can check her progress as well. I guess the main thing that I learned from that is...keep plugging away dont give up and dont give in!!! there is progress being made. This is such as awesome experience I hope that at some point I can share the knowledge that I'm learning with my friends and family and help them along as well!!

todays menu...when I first started I had to make myself eat as soon as I woke up the first week now when I wake up I am starving!!

breakfast 5am 2 peices of ezekial(cinnamon/raisin bread) toast, 1 bowl of malt-o-meal
post workout shake
cactus/onions/4 slices of avacado
lunch...seafood gumbo/dozen raw oysters
trail mix
dinner...7pm three slices lean brisket/pinto beans/ pickles, onions, jalapenos

workouts are getting easier...dont overdo it when getting started, I have found now when I push myself it feels different... i dont feel quite as sore.

ITS FRIDAY END OF WEEK 2!!

TODAY I FOUND OUT THAT SINCE LAST FRIDAY I HAVE LOST 3 POUNDS OF FAT AND GAINED TWO POUNDS OF MUSCLE!!!! YEA I AM MAKING PROGRESS. THE HARD WORK IS PAYING OFF. TODAY BEAR GAVE ME A TOUGH WORKOUT. BUT I WILL SAY THAT THE WORKOUTS ARE GETTING EASIER....BUT THEY ARE STILL TOUGH. I GOT UP AT THREE THIS MORNING WENT TO MY OFFICE TO GET A PROPOSAL TOGETHER FOR WORK AND BY THE TIME MY WORKOUT CAME UP I WAS STARVING!! MY MEAL SCHEDULE WAS KIND OF MESSED UP BECAUSE OF HOW EARLY I GOT UP. TODAY I LEARNED THAT WITH THE PROPER TOOLS THAT YOU CAN MONITOR YOUR PROGRESS SO THAT IT IS EASIER TO STAY MOTIVATED. I CANT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW WE HAVE GROUP CLASS....BUT ON THE SAME TOKEN I AM SAD THAT TORI CANT BE THERE SHE HAS TO GO TO HER MOM'S FOR HER BIRTHDAY...WE ARE GOING TO MISS HER. IT IS A LOT OF FUN TO HAVE EVERYONE THERE.

WEDNESDAY WEEK 2

Today was crazy I am worn out...its been a long day today and I have a ton of work to do by the end of the week!! I took my BMR dont really know what it is but it told me that I need around 3000 calories per day dangit!! I cant hardly eat what i have now...but in order to maximize weight loss i must double my intake of calories to lose weight. Crazy...huh.
Breakfast 5:30am 2 pieces of Ezekial cinnamon/raisin bread
snack 7:30am post workout shake
lunch 12:15 bean soup(2 BOWLS)
snack marethouse smoothie(smoothie king)
dinner beef soup

todays workout was pretty tough they are turning up the intensity a little.....LETS DO IT!!

week 2 day 3

today i was tired!! this morning we had a cardio workout. this week the intensity was turned up a notch. i am scheduled for a BMR test(whatever that is) on wednesday at 4:15. Then I will know how many calories i should eat each day. I started entering my food intake on the Sparkpeople.com web site and it looks like i have been averageing 1000-1300 calories per day whick i dont think is going to be enough. today's tip is: reduce your carb intake by the end of the day to virtually nothing by the end of the day.

breakfast: 5:30am 2- peices of ezekial cinnamon/raisin toast
snack: 7:00am post workout shake
lunch: 12:00pm grilled chicken salad, no cheese, vinegrette dressing
snack bowl of kashi cereal, soy milk
dinner 8:00 2 bowls home made chili

I'm tired today tomorrow is a new day!!...........Good Night!!

WEEK 2....DAY 1

WOW HAD A GREAT WEEKEND WITH MY VALENTINE AND FRIENDS. WENT TO GRUENE HALL TO SEE BOB SCHNIEDER AND HAD A GREAT TIME!! THIS WAS PRETTY HARD AT FIRST I ENDED UP HAVING 1/2 OF A RUBEN SANDWICH WITH NO DRESSING FOR LUNCH BUT THEN HAD TWO BLOODY MARY'S. I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE FINE SINCE IT HAD TOMATO JUICE IN IT. BUT ACCORDING TO MY TRAINERS ALCOHOL IS THE WORST FOR YOUR METABOLISM!!! DANGIT I GUESS I MADE A ROOKIE MISTAKE. YA KNOW IT WASNT REALLY WORTH CHEATING AFTER ALL THE HARD WORK THAT I HAVE PUT IN THIS.....HERE IS A PIC OF ME AND MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE OF 15 YEARS. I AM SSSOOOOOOO PROUD OF HER SHE HAS BEEN GETTING UP EVERY MORNING AND GOING TO THE GYM AT 5:30...SHE IS AWESOME!!! AND EVERYONE LOOKING AT THIS PLEASE DO BELIEVE THIS IS A MAJOR LIFESTYLE CHANGE FOR US!!

BREAKFAST 9:00AM 1 SCRAMBLED EGG, 4 EGG WHITES, FRUIT, OATMEAL

SNACK 11:00AM SYNTHA-6 SHAKE WITH WATER

LUNCH 12:30PM CHICKEN FAJITAS(NO TORTILLA, CHEESE, OR CHIPS)PINTO

BEANS

POST WORKOUT SHAKE 6:20PM AFTER WORKOUT

DINNER 7:00PM GRILLED FLOUNDER, BOILED CABBAGE

HAD A GREAT WORKOUT TODAY....TODAY I LEARNED THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER TECHNIQUE...I GOT OUT OF POSITION A LITTLE TODAY AND TWEAKED A MUSCLE A LITTLE.....VERY IMPORTANT!!

FREE DAY!!!! END OF WEEK 1

OMG!!! I AM SOOO SORE I CANT HARDLY MOVE!!! SOCCER WORE ME OUT. TODAY IS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGING DAY I AM OUT WITH 3 OTHER COUPLES IN GRUENE, TX. I KNOW THAT I AM GOING TO HAVE A FEW DRINKS BUT I AM TOTALLY AWARE OF WHAT I AM GOING TO DRINK. ALCOHOLIC DRINKS ARE NOT ON THE DIET BUT WE SHALL SEE HOW WELL I FAIR. SO FAR TODAY I HAVE DONE WELL. THESE GUYS ARE CRAZY...I'M NOT SO SURE THAT I CAN MAKE IT ALL NIGHT...I ALREADY GAVE IN EARLIER I HAD THE LESSER OF EVILS...A BLOODY MARY...AT LEAST IT HAS SOMETHING HEALTHY IN IT. I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU GUYS LATER...PROBABLY TOMORROW. HAVE A GREAT V-DAY!!

CHALLENGE DAY!!

Today was a challenge day!! We had split up into teams first we started out dribbling the ball in and out of the cones 20 times. our team won(Me, Shontarius, and Tori) then we teamed up in pairs....dont know who the winner of that was yet but I bet its Shontarius and Rebecca, Then came the real challenge...a soccer game!!! Me, Jackie, and Tori against Jay, Shontarius and Rebecca. That was a hard fought battle!! It was so fun!! It is a lot of fun playing when everyone is there...Man you can tell who is the most coordinated that would not be me!!I slipped and slided all over the place...with the forces of Jay, Shontarius, and rebecca comeing at us like a new seen force thier passing abilities got the best of us!! They won 3-2. But I can promise you it was a hard fought battle!! We didnt give up easy!! Hats off to my partners Tori and Jackie!! Had a great time and a great workout!! I told one of the other players "you know...before I started this challenge I would have been hanging out around the house probably doing nothing" this was a lot of good clean fun!!

Breakfast 9:00am two egg whites, cup of beans
lunch 12:00pm home made chicken soup
snack 4:30pm post workout shake
dinner 6:30pm chicken breast baked, 1/2 baked sweet potato, spinach leaf salad with lite vinegrette

today I learned that just going out and having fun can be a great workout!!! Its a great family activity!!

FINALLY FRIDAY!!! DAY 5

YEAH!! Its Friday!! upper body. OK we did upper body today heavy on the arms now I know what Shontarius(another challenge member) means by saying that my arms dont hurt they just feel numb!! Iam sore but the hardest thing that I had to do was try to do pushups...dangit!! Pushups are hard after upper arm workouts!! Today I got filmed a lot there is going to be a video on the Marethouse.com website. Hope its not as embarrassing as the first video!! Bear(my assigned Marethouse trainer) was getting all types of angle videos of me...we shall see how that turns out!!

breakfast: 6:00am 2 pieces of cinnanon/raisin toast(ezekial brand), with olive oil butter
snack: 7;15AM POST workout shake(gladiator from Smoothie King)
lunch: 12:15pm salad(chicken, lettuce, peppers, cucumber, olive, purple cabbage, and vinagrette dressing)
snack: 4:00pm syntha-6 shake
dinner: 8:00pm lean brisket, pinto beans, onion, pickles, jalapenos, and just a little sauce


tonight was pretty challenging we went to the Duckmasters Banquet so I had to eat around my plate and stay away from the bread, potato salad, cole slaw, and sweet tea! But I did it and I was very proud of myself.

WEEK 1 DAY 4

Today was a cardio day. we did kick boxing punching, stretching and eliptical machines. the cardio workout was a little easier today. I felt better. actually for the first time this week I actually had a bit of energy!! I drank water yesterday and this morning to hydrate myself it worked I didnt feel sick after working out....so lets chalk this up to a tip!!!....DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS!!

BREAKFAST 5:15AM 2 PIECES OF CINNAMON/RAISIN TOAST WITH OLIVE OIL
BUTTER
SNACK 7:30AM GLADIATOR PROTEIN DRINK POST WORKOUT
LUNCH 11:00AM 3 EGGWHITES, WHOLE WHEAT TORTILLA, PINTO BEANS
SNACK 2:00PM SANDWICH(EZEKIAL BREAD, CANOLA MAYO, PICKLE, ROAST
BEEF, SPINACH LEAVES) STRING CHEESE, ALMONDS
DINNER 7:00PM STEAK, GRILLED SQUASH, STEAMED CAULIFLOWER

For some reason I was hungry today. so I ate a lot we will see what they say about that. Hope everyone has a great day!!!

DAY 3....My Birthday!!!!

Today was a pretty hard day we did strictlly legs on weights then we did lunges then we did abs, 3 sets of 20 leg lifts, then 3 sets of 20 flutter kicks then we stretched. during the workout we talked about diet a little he asked me what I had for breakfast I told him I had an apple and a banana, he said lets see how that works out for you, I thought I was doing fine but then on the way home I puked the whole way home!!!! I'll find out tomorrow why, but from what I have been told by Bear I should eat maybe a handful of nuts with my carb to make the carbs in the fruit last longer in my system. but something weird happened today even though I was really sore mid day today I had more energy then I have had in a long time!! That was strange. we got hung up at church tonight so my b-day dinner is not going to be that great.

breakfast 6:30am: apple, banana
snack(it was heavy cause I felt sick) 9:00am: whole wheat tortilla, chicken fajita meat, salsa, avacado, lettuce, tomato
lunch 12:30pm: grilled chicken breast, lettuce & tomato salad with italian dressing
snack 5:00pm: synth-6 shake(mix from Smoothie King) with blueberries and soy milk
dinner 7:44pm: 1/4 of a Kashi pizza, and a spinach leaf salad

I am really getting excited about the next few days tomorrow I will be working out with shontarus and Tori...it should be a lot of fun!!......Hopefully no puking tomorrow!!

Day Two!!

my legs are sore today!! I had my workout this morning at 6:00 so again I had to wake up and eat immediately...I'm not use to that I felt like puking. I got to Aggieland Fitness Dome and there was Tori and Shontarius two other contestants ready to go to work!! We had a 3 person group for cardio boy did I learn a lot!! O.K. we started out on the treadmill getting my heartrate up around 120( which was nothing more than a walk) keeping my heartrate between 108-153 for 30minutes was not too bad except for my legs being sore. It was no more than a brisk walk. so the way to figure out your maximun heart rate is take the number 220 subtract your age then you have your max heart rate. then take 60-85% and thats the range you need to stay between...no more no less. So me for instance:
220-40(my age)=180
60-85%=108-153 is my target heartrate to stay within
So for the first time I felt I actually had a target and a model to follow. Then we went down stairs and started boxing and kicking for more cardio...did I mention that my legs were sore...the kickboxing kicked my butt!! Then we stretched and Bear(my Marethouse Fitness Trainer) emphasized how important stretching is after each workout...it also really helps the soreness. Todays menu included:

5:15am breakfast: Kashi cereal with soy milk
7:30am snack: Post workout shake(Gladiator Protein from Smoothie King)
12:30pm lunch: sandwich(lean deli ham, canola oil mayo, Ezekial 7-grain bread)
string cheese, pickle
3:30pm snack: banana, string cheese
6:00pm dinner: spinach leaf salad(with red wine vinagrette dressing) baked chicken
breast

I'll tell you I have not been hungry at all!! I cant believe it!! Temptation has not got the best of me yet but it is early. One thing that I will say is by eating all the time, it is easier to turn down food...it is all around us....just today I was asked to go to Denny"s to have a free Grand Slam breakfast, then had a meeting at a mexican cafe(chips in front of me!!), then had a standing meeting at another restaurant in town, then in the office I walked around the corner and saw the most beautifully decorated cupcakes in the breakroom up for grabs...dangit!! but being satisfied it was no problem not eating, in the past I would have gave in. the funny thing is by not eating bad it is contagious it seems to be stimulating others to start to live healthy!!

Day one!!

Whew!! it was an early morning this morning. I was so excited about getting started this morning that I couldnt go to sleep last night. Big mistake!! I was tired this morning!! We started the workout today, just as every day when doing weight training 5-10 minutes doing cardio, getting heart rate up to around 110-120 just to get blood pumping then Bear Moore(Trainer for Marethouse Fitness) who is my assigned trainer. I was so thankful we are easing into the weight training getting my weak muscles built up a little before hitting it real hard. we only used machines for now until I get use to working out. the workout lasted about an hour and when I was through I felt a little like puking and a lot like jelly. We worked a little on upperbody muscles as well as lower body then finished up with stretching. Bear emphasized how important it is to stretch as much as possible. I will be posting what i am eating each day the first day not bad at all....i really didnt get hungry....I wasnt expecting that..

5:00 Breakfast: bowl of Kashi cereal with soy milk
7:30 snack: after workout had post workout shake
12:00 lunch: sandwich(Ezekial bread, canola oil mayo, pickle) string cheese, and sugar free jello
4:30 snack: string cheese
7:00 dinner: lean hamburger patty(grilled onions, garlic, bellpepper, mushroom mixture)
steamed brocoli, sugar free jello

OK I know what your thinking...gross...but it was actually really good...the reason that I am posting my meals is to give you an idea of what there is to eat. I will go into more detail on what I have learned about what to eat on a later post...but for now I must get ready for bed I have an early morning tomorrow.

Overview of challenge

Just to give everyone an idea what the cahallenge is:
There was a radio announcement that Marethouse Fitness was going to do a fitness challenge. Each person had to fill out a 6 or 8 page application in order to apply this started back Dec 1. 09. Then after going through several hundred applications and a ton of interviews they ended up with 6 individuals three guys and three girls. Myself being one of them, what it includes is personal training for the next twelve weeks, being put on a nutritional plan, $200 gift card from Smoothie King, 6 dry fit shirts,a discount of 10% at Village Foods and body composition testing compliments of Fit Life. Even though this is a "challenge" the plan is to be supportive and help each other progress through the next 12 weeks successfully. The point system that does determine a winner in the end is complex but fair to everyone. So follow along with me along this journey and hopefully you too will choose a healthy lifestyle!!